“Oh, don’t move.”
Louis puffed out his cheeks in disapproval. Anastasia, who had been scratching her cheek, quickly lowered her hand, looking embarrassed—but he’d already caught her.
“It’s hard for me to keep painting if you keep moving.”
“I see. I’m sorry, Louis,” Anastasia replied a bit awkwardly.
Louis was painting her portrait, something he had intended to do last time. But staying still wasn’t as easy as she had expected.
“Um, Louis?”
“Yes?”
“How much longer do I have to stay still?”
“About 10 more minutes.”
“Ah…”
Another 10 minutes? The answer made Anastasia silently groan, but seeing Louis’s intense concentration, she couldn’t bring herself to complain.
‘I’ve never seen him look this serious…’
The way he moved his pencil was just like a little artist. Anastasia couldn’t help but smile, only to be immediately corrected.
“Oh, you can’t smile,” he pointed out.
“Oh, sorry, Louis. This is… harder than I thought.”
“I’m still not good at it, so Your Majesty the Empress has to help me a lot,” Louis said in a somewhat sullen voice. Feeling like she’d done something wrong, Anastasia quickly reassured him.
“No, no, Louis. It’s my job as a model to stay still. I’ll do my best now.”
Anastasia sat upright with eyes wide open. Louis chuckled at her exaggerated posture.
Soon, only the quiet scratching of Louis’s pencil filled the room.
“Louis?” Anastasia softly called.
Without lifting his eyes from the paper, he asked, “Do you want to go to the bathroom?”
“No, it’s not that.” After an awkward pause, she asked gently, “Have you ever thought about having a mom and dad?”
Hearing those words, the hand poised over the paper came to a halt.
Anastasia looked at Louis, feeling anxious. His expression reminded her of his uncle’s reserved, unreadable look.
“…I don’t know. Why?” he asked.
“Oh, just…” Anastasia responded carefully. “I was curious what Louis might think. I wondered what you’d feel if someone wanted to be your mom and dad.”
“…”
“It would just be like… another family,” she added quickly. But Louis remained silent. As the quiet stretched on, Anastasia regretted asking, feeling she might have been too forward.
‘Was I too hasty?’ she wondered. With Avelin’s arrival still two months away, perhaps it was rushed. Though Louis had grown more comfortable around her lately, maybe her question had come too soon.
“I’m sorry, Louis. You don’t have to answer…”
“Are you going to be?” Louis interrupted with a question that caught her off guard.
Anastasia blinked at him. “Be…?”
“My mom.”
“That’s…”
“Your Majesty the Empress!” At that moment, Selene’s urgent voice filled the room. “It’s terrible!”
“What’s going on, Selene?” Anastasia asked, a bit tense.
“I just heard something outside the conference hall… It’s awful!” Selene said, gasping as she reached Anastasia.
Before she could explain further, another voice chimed in. “Ah, I see I’m just in time.”
Wilhelm appeared behind Selene, and as she quickly bowed, Anastasia stood up in surprise.
“…Your Majesty?”
“Empress.” Wilhelm paused after a short breath. “Could we talk for a moment?”
~~~~~
It felt eerily similar to the last time, yet even worse. Last time, it was merely a suggestion for a paramour; now, it was a call for a concubine. A concubine, though not recognized by the court, held official status as the Emperor’s wife within the imperial family. Unlike paramours, any children of a concubine would be deemed legitimate heirs to the throne.
Wilhelm couldn’t help but wonder how Anastasia would react this time. Would she simply brush it off again, perhaps say, “Do as you please”? Or, worse, would she even suggest, “Lady Fontaine would be a suitable choice as a concubine”?
The thought made him uneasy, a realization that startled him.
‘Why does this bother me?’ he thought, bewildered. It didn’t make sense; he should be pleased with the arrangement. If Olivia Fontaine became his concubine, he would gain control over all her closest allies, from Barantes to the Fontaines. This arrangement provided numerous opportunities for mutual restraint and offered him significant advantages in various aspects.
In fact, he should have been concerned that Anastasia might oppose it. And yet, he found himself unsettled by the exact opposite feeling.
“I don’t agree.”
Her unexpected response left him momentarily stunned. He looked at her, wondering if he’d misheard.
“I said no,” she repeated firmly.
“…Are you saying,” Wilhelm asked, regaining his composure, “that you oppose Lady Fontaine becoming a concubine?”
“Yes.”
…So he hadn’t misheard.
As Wilhelm looked at Anastasia in surprise, she muttered with a flustered expression, “Oh… that wasn’t the answer you were expecting, was it?”
Right. That was likely the case. But why…
“I’m sorry. But my answer stays the same.”
Why… did he feel pleased?
“Are you interested in me now?” Anastasia stared at him; her expression shifted to one of slight disbelief as if the question were absurd.
Struggling to keep a smile from breaking out, Wilhelm continued, “You’re opposed to making Lady Fontaine a concubine.”
“…Ah.” Realizing her reply had been misunderstood, Anastasia quickly attempted to clarify. “I meant…”
And then she paused, realizing that there wasn’t a simple explanation.
‘Olivia Fontaine is a cunning woman. Keeping her near you would be a mistake.’
This thought alone was enough to spark suspicion about her motives. But if she just remained silent…
“It seems your view has changed quite a bit since last time.”
“Your Majesty, I…” Anastasia hesitated before confessing reluctantly, her face reflecting a hint of distress as she grappled with the right words amidst the ongoing misunderstanding. “I just don’t like her.”
Wilhelm studied her face as she continued, now more resolute. “If it had been someone else, I’d have accepted your decision without question.”
“…What?”
“But she’s different. She…” Anastasia bit her lip before finishing, “She wouldn’t be a suitable mother figure for Louis.”
“…So,” Wilhelm responded with a touch of disappointment, “the reason you’re against Fontaine as a concubine is… because of Louis?”
“Yes. You could say that.”
“…”
Wilhelm bit his lip, looking momentarily stunned by Anastasia’s response. Anastasia felt a quiet sense of relief, knowing she had steered the conversation toward the outcome she wanted, albeit in a roundabout way. She didn’t want to give him any false hopes.
“…I see now. You haven’t changed at all since last time,” he remarked.
“People don’t change so easily,” she replied calmly.
Wilhelm stayed silent for a long while after hearing those words. Finally, Anastasia spoke again to break the silence.
“And about adopting Louis… I’m against it.”
This answer was also not what he’d expected, leaving him visibly taken aback.
“…Why? I thought you would approve.”
He’d assumed she would welcome the idea, especially given her evident care for Louis. Perhaps even enough to treat him as her own. Though his assumption wasn’t entirely wrong, it was simply too soon.
“I think it’s too early to discuss adoption,” Anastasia explained. “I believe the child should have a say in the matter.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“We haven’t… Your Majesty isn’t close enough to Louis yet for there to be a genuine father-son bond.”
Wilhelm’s face turned blank as if her carefully chosen words had caught him off guard.
“I think it would be best if you both got closer first and then made a decision about adoption.”
“…”
“…Is that asking too much?”
“No, you’re right,” he answered with a bitter laugh. “It’s clear enough to be humbling.”
It struck him that, unlike her, he hadn’t once considered Louis’s perspective from the moment he’d left the meeting room. He’d merely assumed that having a parent to rely on would be good for the child. How short-sighted that now seemed.
“No, Your Majesty…”
Noticing Wilhelm’s troubled expression, Anastasia said gently “I also heard about the poster incident.”
“…”
“I’m sorry I haven’t been able to ease your concerns.”
“No need to apologize,” Wilhelm responded with a smile. “Adoption isn’t something to rush into. I’d rather you make this decision thoughtfully.”
“…”
“As for Lady Fontaine,” Wilhelm added quickly. “I felt the same way as you from the start.”
“What do you mean?”
“I have no desire to take her as a concubine either.”
“…”
“From the start, Marquis Fontaine’s aim is to push her along with Louis, pretending it’s for the child’s benefit,” Wilhelm remarked, his expression devoid of amusement. “If you’re considering adopting Louis, I find it even more unnecessary.”
Anastasia nodded. “Yes, I’d like to adopt Louis and raise him as my child, as long as he agrees.”
“That’s good to hear,” Wilhelm replied.
At that point, he believed he understood her intentions.
“Then I’ll take my leave.”
Wilhelm was just about to rise from his seat, content with her response, when an unexpected question stopped him in his tracks.
“Are you just going to leave?”
