In the next few hours, Anastasia had a good time playing with Louis.
Perhaps thanks to periodic letters, fortunately, the child did not seem to be greatly traumatized by her sudden disappearance or return.
Anastasia was more relieved than anything else about that fact, and delighted Louis by presenting a new game she had thought hard about before returning to the palace.
How many hours had passed like that.
âEmpress, the Duke of Barantes wishes to see you.â
Louis quickly got up from his seat at the news delivered by Selene.
âI must have been monopolizing Her Majesty too much. The Duke of Barantes must have wanted to see Your Majesty a lot.â
âWell, Louis. The Duke is here now, too.â
Anastasia hugged Louis tightly and, proud of him, kissed him on the forehead.
âIâll go to the Imperial Palace later. You can have fun until then, right?â
âSure! See you later, Your Majesty.â
Louis, who answered bravely, kissed Anastasia on the cheek and left the room.
Anastasia looked pleased at the childâs back and went out to the hallway leading to the reception room.
After a while, when she arrived at the reception room, she saw the Duke of Barantes standing up from his seat.
âYour Majesty!â
âFather.â
Anastasia saw the Duke of Barantes with trembling eyes.
âLong time no see.â
âOh my!â
The Duke of Barantes ran to Anastasia with a face that looked like he was about to cry.
Anastasia smiled softly and opened her mouth as it looked not much different from her previous reunion with Louis.
âMy father is like this too. Why is the person I contacted most often after running away trying to cry like this?â
âOh, donât say that! Your Majesty must be in my position. How do you feel when you find out that your one and only daughter has run away at night and only has this one letter left?â
Duke Barantes blamed Anastasia with a mournful voice.
âI mean, you should give birth to a son who resembles Your Majesty later and experience it the same way. Your Majesty will never know how heartbroken I have been in the capital!â
âWhat donât I know? You are a father who always thinks of me terribly.â*
*TN: as in a lot
Anastasia patted Duke Barantes and said with a faint expression on her face.
âDid you have a hard time? Iâm sorry. Iâm such a bad daughter.â
âOh no⊠no. You came back safely, so thatâs enough.â
The Duke of Barantes continued to speak in a hoarse voice, dripping with tears.
âI am infinitely glad that you have returned, Your Majesty. How surprised I was earlier!â
âMy father is very strange. You got a letter saying I was coming back. You knew I was going to be there.â
âOh, well, I thought so too, but I wasnât sure. Oh my god, who knew you would appear in such a beautiful and majestic form!â
Even thinking about it again, it seemed like it was amazing, and Duke Barantes admired it with an exhilarating expression.
âYour Majesty should have seen Lady Hazelâs distorted expression earlier.â
â⊠Did you see it too?â
âYes? What?â
âLady Hazelâs expression, that is.â
âOf course! As soon as Your Majesty appeared, I turned my head right there. Iâm just wondering what kind of expression she was going to make. I was so surprised that her face crumpled in a flash.â
ââŠâ
âActually, I didnât like Lady Hazel from the beginning. I didnât think you took her place, but⊠It looked a bit insidious.â
âIs it insidious?â
âI didnât tell you this on purpose because I was afraid Your Majesty would be upset, but Lady Hazel was almost camped in the Central Palace right after your disappearance. What was she up toâŠ?â
Then the Duke of Barantes quickly changed his words when he saw Anastasiaâs increasingly hardened expression.
âBut why did you suddenly change your mind and come back? To be honest, I was on the verge of giving upâŠâ
âIâŠâ
Anastasia opened her mouth with a bitter look.
âI needed to be sure that I wasnât crazy.â
~~~~
Anastasia suspected that she might have heard a hallucination. It was because hearing the voice of the Goddess in the first place was a rare experience that could only appear in history books.
But right after returning from the templeâŠ
âYour Majesty, the sign is bigger?â
âIt got bigger?â
âYes. I think itâs half bigger than before.â
She checked it with the mirror she took over in a hurry, and it was true. Anastasia became more disturbed.
âAs if to prove what I heard earlier is realâŠâ
Nevertheless, Anastasia hesitated to return.
âIf the oracle is really false, it means that the High Priest colluded with the Hazel family and manipulated the oracle.â
Because the oracle can only be heard by the High Priest.
âBut why the High Priest?â
If discovered, it will not stop at mere dismissal. Heâd be thrown alive into fire for blasphemy and die painfully.
There was no reason for him to take such a gamble at all. Above allâŠ
âAvelin lied to me?â
It was hard to accept the fact. She was always nice and friendly to everyone before and after her return.
âWould it be hard to pretend to be a noble lady?â
Selene ended Anastasiaâs concerns.
âHis Majesty promised not to divorce Your Majesty. Even if the oracle falls, itâs not in the ladyâs favor. So shouldnât she at least manage her reputation well?â
ââŠâ
âBut if you really care, thereâs only one thing. A sure way to confirm Lady Hazelâs sincerity.â
â⊠What is it?â
âA personâs true intentions are best revealed in unexpected and sudden situations, right?â
Selene made eye contact with Anastasia and explained timidly.
âGo back to the Imperial Palace without telling anyone. It will be clear from the look on the face of Lady Hazel the moment she first hears the news of Your Majestyâs return. Whether or not she really cared about Your Majesty.â
ââŠâ
âBut is it possible to capture that momentâŠâ
âIt is possible.â
Anastasia realized that she had only a few days left for the visit of the Vislante delegation, and she murmured.
In her absence, Avelin would certainly appear in her place.
â⊠Okay. I will be able to judge for myself.â
So Anastasia went straight to the capital and appeared in front of everyone.
âThe only moon in the Rosenberg Empire, the Empress enters.â
And with those words, as she entered the grand banquet, she was the first to find Avelin.
â⊠Please.â
She hoped that her suspicions were wrong. If the truth she had firmly believed in from the beginning until now was shaken up to its roots, it seemed that she would not be able to bear the shock of it.
ButâŠ
Anastasia despaired as she saw the feeling of embarrassment that filled Avelinâs eyes. She was actually angry enough to say that she was astonished by Avelin.
Hers was a more distinct emotion in contrast to the purely surprised expressions of others around her.
â⊠Really.â
Anastasia became miserable. Avelin was so shocked that she didnât even seem aware that she had made such a face.
âReally⊠Does that mean that I was deceived?â
Now she had to admit it. She had been thoroughly deceived by Avelin. And in over two lifetimes too.
~~~~
Same time, Sienna Palace.
-Tear, tear.
After Avelin flicked her fingers a few times, the red rose petals ripped from the flower stalk fell helplessly to the floor.
ââŠâ
All of a sudden, rose petals piled up under the floor. There were dozens of roses that had already been damaged in the same way.
Avelin glanced at the rubble on the floor. At first glance, her face was expressionless, but she was clearly sensitive and nervous.
ââŠâ
At one point, Avelinâs expression changed wildly, and she grabbed the rose petals all at once and pulled them out in a bundle.
The rose petals flowed down the floor like blood.
âAnnoying.â
Things went wrong. The sudden return of Anastasia was unexpected.
âI thought she was going to die quietly in the countryside, butâŠâ
Two months ago, the black magic wasnât just for scare. Her body must have been very damaged because she filled it with magic.
The proof of that was that Avelin gave a lot of her life force in exchange for black magic and even bled blood.
She was scared like a child and left right away, so Avelin thought she wouldnât be seen in the palace for the rest of her life because she was afraid of the divine punishmentâŠ
â⊠Her color looked good*. She seemed like a healthy person.â
*TN: as in she wasnât pale from being sick
It was not at the level that would improve simply by recuperation.
âIt seems that the black magic has failed.â
It was the worst. Avelin asked nervously into the air.
âWhatâs wrong? The conditions were perfectly met.â
[It was perfect.]
The bizarre voice only heard by Avelin penetrated her ear.
Avelin frowned reflexively at the eeriness of not being able to adapt no matter how many times she heard it.
[Sheâs just defended too well over there.]
âWhat the hell are you talking about?â
[That means the divine power reflected your magic. Is it because sheâs chosen by the Goddess? Good luck, sheâs too lucky.]
â⊠What?â
[Should I say it simpler? Theyâre fine over there, and youâre the only one whoâs broken.]
Soon, a strange laugh penetrated into her brain and caused a headache. Avelin asked in an irritating voice, covering her forehead.
â⊠Can you please stop making that crappy laugh?â
[Itâs because itâs funny how itâs going now. Oh, my God, youâve wasted your life! Keh keh.]
Was he an ally or an enemy?
As Avelin stared fiercely into the air, the black light flashed rapidly in front of her eyes as if teasing her.
[You know thereâs only a few months left, right? If you donât become Empress by the day you first diedâŠ]
âI remember the contract clearly, so please shut up.â
Avelin chewed her words out with a troubled expression on her face, the creepy laughter still lingered in her ears despite her own warning.
[Whether itâs in the past or this life, I canât believe you didnât even win him over. Thatâs pathetic.]
More than anything else, those words bothered Avelin the most.
In other words, the problem was the starting point of all the contracts with this dark being and dragging the situation all the way to where they were now.
Wilhelm Rosenberg, because she didnât get that one guy.