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The first thing that caught Anastasia’s attention was Avelin’s shoulders, which were exposed no matter what.
Her eyes as well as the eyes of others were focused there. Exactly on the sign of the goddess under her shoulder.
‘How the hell did you do that?’
Anyway, it was a mystery. Anastasia unconsciously touched her neck.
No one would have known that her own mark had been revived under her dress that covered her shoulders all the way.
“Ah…”
That was the moment. The hands, which had been covering Anastasia’s cheeks, naturally descended to her waist.
Anastasia looked at Wilhelm with her slightly enlarged eyes as he hugged her tenderly and held her by her hand.
But Wilhelm only smiled at Anastasia with a nonchalant face.
As if she had nothing to worry about, he smiled reassuringly. And one more worry melted away.
“… Congratulations on your birthday, Your Majesty the Emperor.”
Avelin’s voice trembled a little as she opened her mouth again.
It was then that Anastasia’s gaze turned to her again.
“I hope that the protection of Goddess Rosenia will last forever with Your Majesty the Emperor.”
“Thank you, Lady Hazel.”
“And I tried to prepare a little gift for you…”
Avelin, who had been given one of her small boxes by her maid, handed it directly to Wilhelm.
The moment Wilhelm opened it, Anastasia almost hardened her expression.
‘… This.’
“Purple… Is it a sapphire?”
“Yes, Your Majesty the Empress.”
Avelin replied with a curious expression.
“It’s great for you to recognize it at a glance. It’s such a precious gem, so people usually don’t know about it.”
“… Because I like this jewel.”
As Avelin said, purple sapphires were very rare, so it was a perfect gift for the Emperor’s birthday.
So it wasn’t unusual for Avelin to present this as a gift. But…
‘Before the regression, I gave this as a gift for Wilhelm’s birthday…’
The fact that a purple sapphire, reminiscent of an Erica flower, was Anastasia’s official birthday present for Wilhelm was a well-known fact that everyone in Rosenberg knew before returning.
So, as a birthday present for Wilhelm, purple sapphires were avoided by everyone.
Anastasia was planning to give a purple sapphire as a gift from Wilhelm’s birthday this year, as before the return.
Actually, that was the present she prepared for him today.
‘… It must be a simple coincidence.’
There’s no way Avelin would know what happened before her return.
But she didn’t feel good. Wouldn’t it be a natural comparison?
“Thank you for the gift, Lady Hazel.”
At that moment, Wilhelm opened his mouth in a low voice. Avelin’s expression brightened, then plummeted to the next words.
“But, I already received a purple sapphire as a gift.”
“Yes?”
“I don’t think it’s polite to receive a gift that overlaps.”
“… Does it matter? There is no law that says you have to receive only different gifts.”
“There isn’t, but it was a gift from a very special person to me. I’m a little concerned about it.”
Wilhelm asked, returning the jewel box to Avelin.
“Can’t you understand?”
“…”
Avelin’s expression was embarrassed by the obvious rejection.
Anastasia, who was watching the situation silently, grabbed Wilhelm’s arm urgently when someone suddenly came into view.
At the contact, Wilhelm looked back at Anastasia, checked her eyes, and opened his mouth again at Avelin.
“That’s why I will only accept your well wishes. Rather, I want to hear in detail why you chose this as a gift.”
“Then I’ll leave for a moment, Your Majesty.”
Wilhelm asked calmly at Anastasia’s words that followed immediately.
“Where are you going without me?”
“To the powder room. You’re not going to follow me there, are you?”
Anastasia, who smiled at Wilhelm, intentionally looked at Avelin for a moment with anxious eyes. Then she slipped away.
Avelin’s interest quickly moved away from her and toward Wilhelm, and Anastasia immediately hurried. It wasn’t a powder room, it was on the side where Lyell was.
“High Priest.”
When she finally got hold of him, Lyell looked at Anastasia with a little surprise.
“… Your Majesty.”
“Long time no see.”
Anastasia asked with a smile.
“Would you like to talk to me for a moment?”
~~~~
The fact that she had met Lyell should not have been known to Avelin. Because what they were aiming for was Lyell’s betrayal.
Therefore, as they had already arranged, Anastasia had to meet Lyell while he was dealing with Avelin.
“I didn’t know you would come back.”
In a sparsely populated place, Lyell spoke to Anastasia in a surprised voice.
“Since you left like that, I thought you wouldn’t come back until Lady Hazel became Empress.”
“Yes. That’s what I was trying to do.”
Anastasia quietly threw the bomb.
“Until I was called to by the Goddess.”
Lyell’s eyes widened as if they were about to pop out. Anastasia’s expressionless face stimulated him even more.
“Just, what…”
“I heard the voice of the Goddess myself.”
Anastasia watched as Lyell’s expression gradually turned into embarrassment and continued.
“She told me all about how I got into this embarrassing situation.”
“That, what…”
“High Priest.”
Anastasia, who called him quietly, asked him with her sharp eyes.
“Why did you make such a foolish choice even with such a high position?”
“… Your Majesty.”
“The Emperor already knows everything. Reveal all your sins now. Then at least you can avoid being burned at the stake.”
“What, as proof… Why would you say that to me?”
Lyell asked calmly. But the fact that he was already agitated was evident in his voice trembling like an aspen.
She was no different from a poet, so Lyell closed his eyes in the end.
“I’m sorry.”
Anastasia answered briefly.
“I know the High Priest very well. Being a priest with the background of a commoner and becoming their leader was by no means easy, wasn’t it?”
“…”
“Does the absence of evidence mean that the sin will never be uncovered? His Majesty will never divorce me, and I do not intend to divorce him as long as I know the entire truth. None of the things the High Priest intended will ever come true.”
Anastasia spoke to Lyell, who had a confused expression on his face.
“This is your last chance. Reveal everything and do not deceive the imperial family and the empire beyond this. If you change your mind even now, I will do my best not to let you suffer a dishonorable death.”
“… To me.”
After being silent for a long time, Lyell struggled to open his mouth.
“Give me some time.”
“How much do you need?”
“I won’t make you wait long. But it takes time.”
“Fine. I will give you five days.”
Anastasia nodded her head.
“If you have made up your mind, come to me in the morning in six days. You may come earlier. I will be waiting for you.”
“… Yes.”
“I hope you make wise choices. then.”
Anastasia ended the conversation briefly and then turned around.
At that moment, she did not miss the confused light in Lyell’s eyes.
~~~~
Meanwhile, Wilhelm was also faithfully carrying out his mission.
“More than that, Lady Hazel, I have a question for you.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Ask me.”
“If I don’t divorce the Empress until the end, what will the lady think?”
“… Well.”
Avelin thought for a moment before answering.
“I do not know. I never thought about that. Probably no one wants to marry me…”
“So I thought about it.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“What is it like to be a priest?”
“…”
It wasn’t an unfamiliar line. Avelin almost failed to manage her facial expressions.
Priest? How is it that people were so consistent before and after the return? Her teeth were trembling.
“Since you have received the sign of a Goddess, you will not be suitable to be a normal priest. I’ll make you a special title, so if you serve the Goddess with that weight, she’ll be happy.”
“I do not know. I never thought about that…”
“Then living alone wouldn’t be bad. Free and comfortable. Maybe even better.”
Avelin was getting more and more dumbfounded. It seemed that he had no intention of making her his lover until the very end.
“… Do you hate me?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“To reject me like this.”
Avelin bit her lip and put on a pathetic expression.
“I have no choice but to think so.”
“I never really thought that. I just love the Empress with all my heart.”
Wilhelm spoke to her with sincerity.
“It’s not polite for me to leave the one I love and have another woman. Not to the Empress, not to me, not to you.”
“…”
“So I hope you understand. In fact, I think the best solution to end this sluggish situation is for you to become a priest and to give up on me.”
“You don’t seem to be afraid of the gods at all.”
“Aren’t I offering an alternative to being a priest?”
Wilhelm looked at her with an innocent expression on his face, and Avelin seemed to choke on her breath.
‘How do you get in when there is no gap like this?’
Damn, there must have been a reason why the devil always failed before and after the return.
“Ah, the Empress.”
Then Wilhelm ended the conversation with Avelin with a smile like a child who had found cotton candy.
“I must go. Then, Lady Hazel, I hope you will consider my proposal carefully.”
And he was approaching Anastasia at a fast pace.
As she watched, it was as if he was a dog wagging his tail and chasing after his master.
Seeing such a scene, Avelin felt even worse at her sense of defeat.
[Why don’t you just give up early and hand over your body to me?]
At the same time, a sarcastic demonic voice taunted Avelin and provoked her.
[I don’t think there’ll be much difference as time goes by anyway.]
“… That’s enough.”
There was nothing to do, but he only scratched her temper. At this point he had reasonable doubts.
‘It’s a funny situation. It’s a good thing for you, no matter the case.’
He really thought she was going to pass her body over peacefully?
Avelin gritted her teeth, stared into the air, and turned her body around.