A middle-aged woman greeted the two who came to her stall.
âTake your time to choose. Weâre offering you a good deal.â
While Anastasia answered with a smile, Wilhelm picked up the necklace that first caught his eye.
It was a necklace made of red stone, with an unusual letter clearly engraved in small letters in the center.
Suddenly, Anastasiaâs gaze turned to the necklace he picked up, and the owner of the street vendor next to him trembled with a high voice.
âOh my, my oh my! Well done! Itâs perfect for your wife!â
âI, meâŠ?â
âYes. Doesnât it match perfectly with these bright red eyes? A handsome man with a good eye!â
Anastasia looked at Wilhelm with a bewildered expression, and Wilhelm, who was still staring at the necklace in his hand, slowly turned towards her.
Wilhelm smiled as he lifted the necklace in front of Anastasia and set it over her neck.
âIt suits you.â
âAhâŠâ
âHow much is this?â
âGive me ten silver coins.â
The owner answered coldly.
âIt may seem expensive, but ten silver coins are very cheap. After all, this is a necklace that contains the breath of the goddess Rosenia.â
â⊠A necklace with the breath of a goddess?â
âYes. It is a sacred necklace that protects the wearer from evil and unclean things.â
âEh, how can you do that?â
Anastasia looked at the owner with a puzzled expression.
No matter how much Rosenberg venerated goddess Rosenia, overflowing with all kinds of marketing merchandise related to herâŠ
âThe breath of the goddess is too far.â
Besides, ten silver coins for one of these street vendor necklaces. It was too expensive.
It was when Anastasia was about to tell Wilhelm to leave because she was fine.
âHere it is.â
âThank you, guest!â
Wilhelm, without hesitation, took out his wallet and handed the owner ten silver coins, and Anastasia belatedly stopped him.
âMajest, Will⊠⊠Iâm fine.â
âIt looks good on you.â
Wilhelm smiled faintly and placed her necklace on Anastasiaâs neck. Then, his smile mixed with joy.
âI also like that itâs a necklace with the breath of the Goddess.â
Thatâs just a trick.âŠ.
âWhy are you so naive to fall for something like this?â
Anastasia was displeased with him on the inside, but she didnât show it on the outside, she just smiled.
âYeah, who cares?â
It didnât matter what she did with him today.
Even if that necklace was worth 100 silver coins instead of 10 silver coins, she decided to let it pass on as generously as he was today.
âBut let me ask you one thing.â
Then Wilhelm asked the street vendor.
âWhere did you get this?â
âYes?â
âDid you make this necklace yourself?â
Overwhelmed by the persistently asked questions, the owner of the street vendor shook his head without realizing it and told the truth.
âOh, no. Itâs not⊠⊠Actually, I bought it for one silver coin at the antique market while traveling⊠⊠Oh my, what am I saying now!â
ââŠâ
âUh, anyway, itâs from a foreign country, so itâs bound to cost more. Most of all, it really suits your wife, right?â
While the vendorâs owner was speaking gibberish, Wilhelm clasped Anastasiaâs shoulders, clutching the necklace, and walked away from the vendor.
Behind him, he hears the urgent cry of the stall owner, âGood-bye!â, and Anastasia quietly complained to him.
âIsnât that too much of a gimmick? A necklace with the breath of the Goddess. After all, Rosenberg abuses the name of the Goddess too recklessly.â
âGimmick, is it?â
Wilhelm smiled as he thought for a moment.
âIt could be.â
âIs that necklace the one you wanted to check?â
âYes.â
Wilhelm nodded his head.
âI wanted to. But itâs the same and maybe itâs notâŠâ
âWhat does that mean?â
âA necklace that contains the breath of a goddess.â
Wilhelm replied with a smile.
âIt really exists.â
âYes?â
âWell, I didnât buy it with certainty. Iâll have to ask the temple to check if itâs really true. First of all, I do not know the new language, so I do not know exactly what is written here.â
âWow⊠But maybe we were lucky enough to find the relic?â
âIt is very likely not. Would it be easy to find something like this?â
âFor a person who says that, you bought it without hesitation.â
âYeahâŠâ
Wilhelm said, looking into Anastasiaâs red eyes.
âBecause it looks good on you, wife.â
ââŠâ
âSo whether itâs a holy thing or not, it doesnât really matter anymore.â
With those words, Wilhelm took a step closer to Anastasia.
Naturally, before attending the recent Goddessâ rites, she looked away from him with her nervous look, as Anastasia recalled what had happened with him.
Then he gently collected Anastasiaâs fine hair, swept it to one side, and carefully hung the necklace around Anastasiaâs neck.
As his long, slender fingers gently brushed against her skin, she felt a cool sensation on her warm neck, and at the same time felt his hot breath.
As he leaned closely to Anastasia to put the necklace on, Anastasia felt her heart beating fast as if she was running, even though she was clearly standing still.
Anastasia bit her lip and closed her eyes, trying to control her composure, but it was not as easy as she thought, and her breathing kept trembling.
Her breathing was tense enough to worry that he might notice it.
Anastasia was finally relieved after hearing the sound of the button locking on her necklace.
But when she was vigilant, the crisis came.
âAhâŠâ
The moment he tried to detach himself from her, Wilhelm and Anastasiaâs faces intersected strangely.
Anastasia looked at Wilhelm in front of her nose with her eyes widening in surprise. If she made even the slightest mistake, their lips would touch.
Besides, Wilhelm looked at Anastasia with an indecipherable gaze, not moving from that position.
That long stalemate made Anastasia choke with tension.
âWhy are you so nervous?â
At one point, Wilhelm grinned and tapped Anastasiaâs cheek. At the same time, Anastasiaâs tension dispersed like a deflated balloon.
But still he did not intend to move from that state, Anastasia was unable to completely free the strength from her body.
âSomeone would think Iâm eating you. Thatâs the expression on your face.â
ââŠâ
âItâs like a rabbit trembling in front of a wild beast.â
And then he smiled sweetly, Anastasia narrowed her brow and took a step away from Wilhelm.
But Wilhelm still smiled calmly and couldnât take his eyes off Anastasia.
âThe owner is right. It matches well.â
âIâll take the gift gratefully.â
Anastasia said, trying hard and calmly.
âIt wonât be mine if itâs clear that itâs really a holy thing.â
âNo, you just keep it.â
âWhat? ButâŠâŠ.â
âCome to think of it.â
Wilhelm cut Anastasiaâs words softly and said.
âI donât think there is any need to ask the temple for a test. When it becomes clear that this is a sacred thing, it is obvious that they will ask you to release it.â
It will be. Most of the relics in Rosenberg were kept in the temple for research purposes.
âItâs strangely distasteful. It seems that the necklace suits you more than the temple.â
Wilhelm nodded his head as if he was right no matter what she thought.
âIâd rather you just have it.â
âStillâŠâ
âSince itâs my gift, wouldnât it be right to obey my will?â
At his gentle persuasion, Anastasia hesitated and finally nodded her head. At that moment, Wilhelmâs expression brightened.
âGood. Listen carefully.â
With those words, Wilhelm stroked Anastasiaâs head, and Anastasia looked at him with a strange expression.
Wilhelm asked her with a faint smile.
âAre not you hungry? Shall we go over there?â
~~~~
The place Wilhelm took Anastasia to was a street lined with street food stalls.
A delicious stench was everywhere, and Wilhelm asked Anastasia.
âIs there anything you want to eat?â
âYes. There is.â
When the first clear answer came, Wilhelm looked quite startled. Then, Anastasiaâs fingertips pointed somewhere.
âThat?â
âYes.â
â⊠okay. That would be nice too.â
âThen Iâll buy two.â
Anastasia rushed to the store and then came with two paper boxes.
Inside⊠⊠There was none other than a sausage made from giblets.
âOh, itâs been a long time since Iâve eaten it.â
Because by-products such as giblets were not well handled by the Imperial Palace, Anastasia would occasionally go out into the streets to eat giblets with Wilhelm.
âWilhelm loved it, too.â
Anastasia, who took a delicious bite, turned her head in anticipation of Wilhelmâs reaction.
But⊠⊠His expression was strangely distorted.