Until The Real One Shows Up​

“I’m so glad Her Majesty woke up safely.”

On the way to the Central Palace after meeting Anastasia.

Colton spoke to Wilhelm as usual, but he didn’t get any reply.

‘What is this? Did I speak against him?’

It was Wilhelm who responded to everything he said.

Colton called Wilhelm carefully.

“Well, Your Majesty…?”

“Colton.”

Then, Wilhelm suddenly stopped walking. Colton looked at him nervously in the sudden serious atmosphere.

“No matter how much I think about it…”

However, after the serious atmosphere, the words that followed were spectacular.

“I think the Empress likes me.”

“…”

Colton looked at Wilhelm for a moment, speechless.

He thought he was kidding, but looking at his expression, he seemed to be serious.

“Oh my God.”

As Colton, who sighed inwardly, remained silent, Wilhelm still asked Colton for his reply with a serious look on his face.

“Don’t you think so, too?”

“Are you curious about my answer?”

“Of course you’ll think the same as me.”

But instead of answering immediately, Colton took a paper out of his arms. Then he wrote something down with a fountain pen and gave it to Wilhelm.

Wilhelm took it with a quizzical look.

“What’s this?”

“That’s my answer.”

Wilhelm opened the note with an intrigued look on his face, and then immediately wrinkled his eyebrow.

[Excessive self-consciousness]

“…hey.”

 “If the meaning is difficult, there are others.”

Colton pulled out another note, scribbled something, and handed it to Wilhelm.

A more detailed answer was written inside.

[She is not in love with you.]

“You understand now, don’t you?”

Wilhelm, who was looking at Colton, who asked proudly, said.

“You should work overtime today.”

“What? Why all of a sudden?”

“There’s a trial tomorrow.”

“What does that have to do with overtime…? Preparations for the trial were finished yesterday in the first place.”

“It doesn’t matter. Isn’t it not bad to be prepared thoroughly?”

“You’re upset, aren’t you? I didn’t give you the answer you wanted!”

“No way. But I’m curious.”

Wilhelm asked calmly.

“Why do you think it’s not the case? The Empress is the one who risked her life to swear by the Goddess. Besides, she persuaded the Duke of Barantes to swear by the Goddess. Is that possible with ordinary emotions?”

“That’s because you two are on the same side.”

Wilhelm closed his mouth unknowingly at the simple answer.

…is that so?

“Honestly, at a time like these days when the Fontaine family is trying to put Prince Louis on the throne, should there be an internal division?”

“…but.”

“What if you misunderstand for no reason and the relationship becomes more awkward?…”

“Alright, alright, that’s enough.”

“Then you can cancel my overtime, right?”

“When did I say that?”

Wilhelm said with a straight face.

“You have to work hard, Colton. As you say, at an important time like this.”

“What? Your Majesty, isn’t the urgent situation settled now?”

“I have another place to go, so Sir is going back to work first.”

“Your Majesty, there is no law like this! I worked overtime yesterday, too!”

Frustrated, Colton grabbed Wilhelm in a hurry, but Wilhelm dodged his touch and quickly moved away from Colton.

“Your Majesty, your Majesty!”

He heard Colton howling from behind, but as usual, he frowned and covered one ear.

In fact, there was an idea that made him so preoccupied that he couldn’t hear Colton’s scream.

‘Then all that action was, simply, for political harmony?’

That’s absurd. That level was too much for that.

It couldn’t have been a simple illusion that he felt that she was sincerely doing it for him.

‘…Wait. Don’t you call this self-consciousness?’

To be honest, it was true that the note Colton gave him was also bothering him. So…

“Your Majesty, where are you going?”

At that time, another attendant who followed asked Wilhelm, and Wilhelm was in agony.

‘Let’s check…’

At this point, there was the simplest way to check.

“Let’s go to the dungeon.”

If it’s the Anastasia that has been around for the past year, if it was for him…

‘You’ll go to the basement and try to get Lady Fontaine’s confession. at all costs.’

Of course, he had nothing to say if he lumped it as an illusion.

But it was too powerful a test to ignore in that way.*

*TN: the test is too damning for him to decide it’s an illusion if he’s right

‘The thought of meeting a woman who tried to kill her as soon as she came to consciousness, no matter how much intention she has…’

It was beyond his comprehension. When he recognized that fact, his heart began to beat uncontrollably fast.

‘Don’t tell me, you didn’t go to see her.’

With that in mind, it didn’t matter anymore if Anastasia liked him or not.

His steps became as urgent as if being chased by someone. At some point, it became as fast as running.

Seeing Wilhelm acting as if something urgent had happened suddenly, the attendants and guards who followed were all puzzled, but there was only one thought in Wilhelm’s head.

‘No, Anastasia. No matter how detached you are from every situation, this is…’

At that moment, Wilhelm’s vision showed Anastasia coming up from the dungeon.

The moment she stepped on the last steps with a tired face as if she had come up in a hurry, her toes got caught on her dress and she stumbled. 

As soon as he saw it, he couldn’t think of anything more. The only compulsion was to approach her quickly and hold her so that she wouldn’t fall.

He hugged her tightly and let her fall in his arms.

“…I knew this would happen.”

The lark-like small and soft body had cooled down from how long it had been underground.

Wilhelm hugged her vigorously without realizing what expression she was making.

To the point where Anastasia felt frustrated and complained.

“Your Majesty, if you just let me go…”

“This is not right.”

In a trembling voice, he rather tightened his arm holding Anastasia.

Rather than hugging her, he embraced her cold body in her own arms as if trying to warm her up.

Anastasia’s body, who noticed Wilhelm’s intention, was drained of power.

“Where are you coming from?”

“…Your Majesty.”

Anastasia asked in a bewildered voice.

“How did you know?”

“Because it’s always like this.”

There was a strange sense of anger in the voice that said that. Neither Anastasia nor Wilhelm knew the cause of anger.

“Always for me rather than yourself. You thought I wouldn’t know?”

“Your Majesty, this is…”

“Okay, don’t say it. It’s obvious what you’re going to say.””

Anastasia, who was suddenly blocked from making excuses, smiled blankly, and Wilhelm sighed for a long time and buried his face in Anastasia’s shoulder.

Anastasia flinched and trembled at Wilhelm’s lips that suddenly touched her bare skin.

“I don’t know about anything else.”

In that state, Wilhelm moved his lips, and the soft touch of his lips touched her skin clearly.

Anastasia unknowingly stiffened her body and twisted it slightly in the sense that it was both ticklish and strange.

“There is one thing for sure.”

“What…”

“That you are on my side.”

Is it because of the hot breath? Anastasia felt dizzy.

“I like it.”

There was no word in his confession that could confirm anything between the opposite sex.

So it was vague. How should she take his words?

‘This is… Isn’t a good idea.’

She was worried in a confused state, but suddenly the warmth in her arms disappeared.

Anastasia, who realized that it was because Wilhelm who carefully released her, smiled bitterly inside.

The man’s arms, to her, were still as big as the sky.

“Are you cold?”

Anastasia shook her head, but Wilhelm took off his jacket and wrapped it around Anastasia without looking at her. Anastasia refused in a flustered voice.

“That’s alright, Your Majesty.”

“You must be cold. You’ve been in that basement for so long.”

“I didn’t stay that long…”

“Just wear it. It must be too much for your body to come here as soon as you wake up.”

“…”

The words just now seemed to worry about her, so Anastasia somehow felt strange.

“I didn’t get a confession right away.”

Anastasia tried to shake off the mystery and changed the subject.

Wilhelm nodded as if he knew that would be the case.

“If she had common sense, she would know that she will be sentenced to death tomorrow, but in such a situation, she doesn’t have to admit the crime three years ago without evidence. Confessing won’t make you lose weight. You don’t know if it will increase.”

“Yes, so I used my brain.”

“… it sounds like there’s a way.”

Wilhelm asked in a slightly perplexed voice, and Anastasia asked him with a pointed look.

“Don’t be surprised if anything happens tomorrow.”