Until The Real One Shows Up​

“This is it.”

Despite arriving at her destination under Mrs. Rochester’s guidance, Anastasia could not easily enter the entrance to the dungeon.

‘… It’s been a while.’

The place where she was dragged to like a dog and took her own life before her return. The place where the most terrible memories remained.

Therefore, it was impossible to decide to visit this place again without great courage.

She could just turn around now if she wanted to. Even so, no one will blame her.

But…

‘…I can do it. It’s for Wilhelm.’

She wanted to pluck up her courage. She had to pluck up her courage. It’s the last thing she could do for him.

“Your Majesty, are you all right?”

Anastasia stood with a pale face and a cold sweat instead of going straight down to the prison, and suddenly a frightened Mrs. Rochester asked.

“You don’t look well. It’s better to go now…”

“…No, it’s okay.”

Anastasia smiled at Mrs. Rochester, pretending to be calm.

“I’m going down now.”

Hiding her shaky legs in a long dress, Anastasia slowly climbed down the stairs.

The dreary and dampness peculiar to the dungeon made it gruesomely unpleasant.

But without an expression, Anastasia walked firmly to Olivia’s place.

‘…it’s funny.’

Of all things, it was the room where she spent her last moments. How could the location be the same?

“Lady Fontaine.”

As the elegant voice flowed out of her lips, Olivia, who was sitting dead, roared back like a stimulated beast.

It wasn’t a metaphor, but Olivia’s appearance was so terrible that it was like a beast.

All of the olive-colored hair, which was good normally, turned into a fluffy white color, and even that was sporadic, reminiscent of a ghost.

Her left eye was dented together, and her right eye, at least in good condition, was open, so it didn’t look like a human’s.

‘Looking at her, I think she’s already gone.’

Even a stink came out as she got closer.

Whether she was trying to escape or scratch a wall made of stone was evident on her hideously crushed nails.

But more than anything else, the look on her face when she saw her, staring as if she was going to kill her with her blue eyes, was simply ferocious.

However, Anastasia did not seem to be surprised or intimidated at all, but rather laughed at her.

“Oh, it’s not Fontaine anymore. Marquis Fontaine expelled you from the family.”

“What do you mean… what are you talking about?”

Olivia, who heard Anastasia’s words, immediately revealed she had never heard anything from outside.

“I am the daughter of the Marquis of Fontaine, no matter what anyone says! Are you expelling me from Fontaine? Ha, where are you getting such a messy conclusion!”

“I know. I didn’t know that the Marquis would abandon his daughter so coldly. Even if he’s not a bad person, he expelled you from his family using that as an excuse.”

Olivia’s face turned white when she realized that Anastasia was not lying. She soon began to stubbornly deny what was happening to her.

“Such words…… nonsense. There’s no way my father would abandon me! Stop lying, you wicked witch!”

“No matter how much you deny it, the fact that you were expelled doesn’t change.”

Anastasia resolutely reminded Olivia of reality.

“It must have been an inevitable choice for a marquis. There would be some disadvantages to the family if they embraced a woman who will be sentenced to death tomorrow.”

“What do you mean death sentence? Ha, why would I?”

“You will be sentenced to death for daring to assassinate the Empress at tomorrow’s trial.”

Anastasia raised the corners of her mouth curtly as she watched Olivia’s face twist at the words.

“Thank you so much. Things almost fizzled out because of insufficient evidence…”

Anastasia scratched Olivia’s insides with a friendly tone.

“Thanks to you coming to kill me at that time, I have evidence that can’t be excluded.”

“Do you think I’ll die the way you want me to?”

Olivia shouted, staring at Anastasia with wild eyes.

“I’m going to die after I reveal who killed the former Emperor and Empress!”

“Really? That’s good to hear that you were thinking that way. The conversation will speed up. That’s why I came all the way to this disgusting place.”

Anastasia said, looking at Olivia with an expressionless face.

“I need you to confess at the trial tomorrow.”

“Yes, I’ll reveal everything at the trial tomorrow.”

Olivia said with a condescending face.

“The person who killed my brother-in-law and sister is the current emperor.”

“No. That’s a lie.”

Anastasia was no longer surprised by Olivia’s deterrence. She shook her head and corrected her words.

“Tell me the truth. You tried to kill your sister to become Empress, and in the process, you killed your brother-in-law, too, even though you didn’t want to.”

Olivia’s face turned pale when she heard Anastasia’s words.

“You…”

“…”

“How do you…”

Olivia seemed genuinely surprised. Like a goldfish out of the water, she couldn’t even breathe properly, and only her lips that didn’t speak properly were smiling.

Anastasia went on to warn her, not caring about her reaction.

“If you don’t say so, I won’t stand still.”

At the end of the words, there was silence in the prison for a while.

Olivia seemed quite shocked by the fact that her complete crime had been discovered, and for a long time, only her hard breathing continued, and Anastasia patiently waited for her to open her mouth again, looking at her with an expressionless face.

“…I’m going to die anyway.”

After a very long time, Olivia asked, shaking her body.

“What are you going to do if I don’t do anything?”

“I should reveal the truth instead of you.”

Anastasia answered calmly.

“After you die, a will will be found in which you confess and repent all your deeds. And in that suicide note, there will be more evil deeds than what you really did.”

“What, what? Do you mean you’re going to fabricate a suicide note?”

“Well, there’s nothing I can’t do.”

Anastasia shrugged her shoulders and gave an ambiguous answer.

“By that time, you will already be dead, can the dead speak any words?”

“Ha, do you think people will believe that? Won’t they think the Emperor and his wife have manipulated it?”

Of course, such doubts would circulate. That’s why Anastasia didn’t want to do something so untidy.

‘But scaring Olivia with these words is another matter.’

As Anastasia had expected, on Olivia’s face, the slightest fear that had arisen from the moment the perfect crime was revealed was spreading like a wave.

“I am giving you a choice. If you quietly confess your sins tomorrow, at least I won’t distort or misinterpret your sins. But if you stick to your guns all the way to the end, I can’t help it either.”

Anastasia continued her speech without blinking an eye.

“After you die, I will use the ugliest way to bring you down to the bottom of Hell. I’m confident I’ll be able to do that. I’ll do it even if it’s a shame that you died with your mouth shut until the end.”

“… I didn’t kill them.”

With Olivia’s trembling voice she denied her guilt.

“I didn’t kill her!”

“Go to the underworld and tell your sister a lie like that.”

Anastasia smirked in a cold voice.

“Oh, you can’t meet? After you die, you will not be in the arms of a goddess, but will be lost in hellfire.”

“No! No! Argh!”

In the end, Olivia couldn’t overcome the horror and screamed loudly.

“I didn’t kill then! I’m innocent! I’m innocent! Don’t frame me!”

“I knew you’d be this way.”

Anastasia left the last word casually as if she was not surprised.

“I’ll let you check if I’m lying tomorrow morning.”

And she turned right away from Olivia. Having said everything she had to say, there was no reason to stand in the terrible place anymore.

“Your Majesty, are you alright?”

Mrs. Rochester asked in a concerned voice, and Anastasia shrugged her shoulders to show that she was fine.

“… let’s get out of here.”

Unlike her determined attitude, Anastasia, who was in a hurry, grabbed the hem of the dress and hurried up the stairs.

She was under the illusion that the gloomy and damp air turned into an evil spirit and dragged her down to the bottom of the abyss.

As she was getting out of breath, whether it was because she had climbed the stairs, agitation, or both, Anastasia finally took her final steps to her ground.

“Ah…”

But was it because she was in a hurry or because she let her guard down because it was the last time?

The dress was released from the hand holding the hem of the dress, and the tip of the long dress was caught on the tip of Anastasia’s foot.

It was the moment Anastasia stumbled and was about to fall forward.

-Thud.

Someone grabbed Anastasia’s waist with a strong force and hugged her. In time, she felt the power holding her was as if she were restrained.

With the warmth that she felt for the first time as she just came up from the bone-chilling underground, Anastasia turned her head toward the one who hugged her with tears in her eyes.

“…I knew this would happen.”

An unstoppable but worried voice.

Anastasia almost shed tears.

“… Your Majesty.”

It was Wilhelm.