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Louis wasn’t as easy-going as she thought he would be.
Anastasia eventually moved her helpless footsteps to the Empress’ palace without any progress.
‘It’s difficult… … Before returning, when I approached him like this, he immediately liked me.’
It was strange to see him desperately avoiding her.
‘I think it will be a more difficult journey than I thought.’
Anastasia was worried, but soon shook her head.
‘No, I can’t give up. It’s too early to get frustrated already.’
If one seriously knocked on the door of children’s hearts, they would surely open the door someday. It had always been what Anastasia experienced.
‘Let’s not think hastily. There are still three months left for Avelin to appear. Let’s try it slowly.’
Anastasia clenched her fists and swung them into the air.
“Come on, come on, fight! You can do it, ah!”
“What makes you so determined?”
“Ahh!”
Of course, she acted thinking that no one was around.
When Wilhelm’s voice suddenly came from behind, Anastasia, startled, reflexively turned around quickly.
“You’ve been quiet lately, and it’s very refreshing.”
Wilhelm was approaching her with a smile on his face.
~~~~
He preferred dark night walks to sunny days.
It was because everyone was asleep and he could be immersed in deep thought without any interference.
Even when he was suffering from insomnia, walking for a while helped him fall asleep.
The walk was usually over after a round around the garden of the Central Palace.
Of course, there were times when he went to other places on impulse.
Like today.
“Come on, come on, fight! You can do it, ah!”
It was amazing to see the empress, who had been quiet since last year, stretch her fist in the air and shout loudly.
Even that was funny. Originally, Anastasia was a very loud person.
It was ridiculous that he had forgotten her original personality because she had only been calm for less than a year.
“Your Majesty…”
“I never thought I’d run into you in this place like this.”
“…I know.”
It was very visible in the dark that she was quite embarrassed and blushing.
It was funny and cute to see her suddenly cringe as soon as she realized a person was there.
“What are you doing here?”
“I was just taking a walk. I can’t sleep.”
“…I see.”
“Where were you coming from?”
Wilhelm snuck a look at the route she was coming from, and added.
“You seem to be coming from the Imperial Palace.”
“Oh, yes. I’m was there to see Prince Louis.”
“You care more than I thought. To see the Prince at night.”
“Louis had a busier schedule than I did. So we only had time to meet now.”
“Is the schedule that tight? They arrived from Schweig Island yesterday.”
“Apparently. When I complained to Lady Fontaine, she refused to say anything, saying that Louis also agreed. … Well, we have to wait and see.”
“So, what did you do with Louis?”
“…”
If she told him the truth that she was kicked out without doing anything, … would he laugh at her?
When Anastasia coughed a lot and couldn’t give an answer easily, Wilhelm easily deduced it.
“I guess you didn’t do much.”
“…how did you know?”
“It’s obvious.”
Wilhelm smiled bitterly.
“Empress.”
Then he suddenly called Anastasia. Anastasia looked at Wilhelm in silence.
After a while, words came out of his mouth.
“You don’t have to try too hard.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Trying to get along with Louis… I mean, you don’t have to try too hard.”
“What do you mean?”
Anastasia said, narrowing her brow.
“I don’t understand. I’m his aunt. There’s no harm in getting close, and it’s right to get close. We’re a family.”
“Family.”
Wilhelm, who was pondering Anastasia’s words, soon murmured bitterly.
“Well, does he think so?”
“…what?”
“He may not want to. It’s no wonder he’s wary of us. He’s…”
The end of the sentence trailed off. Wilhelm looked like he wanted to say something, but he couldn’t move his lips any more easily there.
In the end, it was a long time later that he struggled to vomit a calm confession.
“Because he thinks I killed his parents.”
“…Your Majesty.”
“You, my Empress, are, of course, a part of me.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You don’t know either.”
Wilhelm said, staring at Anastasia.
“What rumors circulated at the beginning of his accession?”
She knew. Anastasia bit her lips.
Three years ago, Alexander and his wife died at one o’clock. It was a carriage accident.
An autopsy on the horse pulling the carriage revealed that it had eaten mad grass, and everyone complained that Wilhelm was blinded by the throne and killed his half-brother, Alexander.
That’s because Wilhelm was the last person to ride the carriage of two dead people.
In addition, it was Wilhelm who benefited the most from Alexander’s death.
Although Louis was there, he was too young to be crowned as a three-year-old at the time, and the Empress, who would be regent, died together with the Emperor.
However, there was not enough evidence that Wilhelm murdered Alexander, and the nobles who supported Wilhelm did not want the investigation to be prolonged, so the death of the Emperor and Empress ended in a simple accident.
After that, when Anastasia received an oracle and became Empress, the threatened legitimacy was strengthened.
It was because there was a widely held opinion that if Wilhelm was really an unscrupulous person who killed the Emperor, the Goddess would not have chosen his Empress herself.
In the end, the people who talked about the Emperor’s story also hid under the water, but there were still many who believed in conspiracy theories.
“You are the one who made the legitimacy of my unstable throne unshakable. Even if you don’t want to admit it, that’s true.”
“…”
“If it weren’t for the Empress who was chosen by the Goddess, the imperial power would be at stake because of those who still don’t recognize me.”
“Even if there are people like that.”
Anastasia opened her mouth in a trembling voice.
“What a great Emperor you are will soon be revealed, and rumors will soon disappear.”
“…will I?”
Wilhelm smiled for the first time when he heard it. But he still looked sad.
“Thank you. If you’re trying to comfort me, you succeeded. That’s a pretty good thing to say.”
“…”
“Now that Louis has appeared, the Emperor commentary will probably come to the surface again.”
The mouths of many people are scary. People will soon be swept away if someone decides to re-spread the Emperor commentary.
‘And that [someone] will probably be the Fontaine family.’
They were the most likely candidate to benefit from such action.
As Louis grows bigger and bigger, he will become more disloyal, resenting the fact that the throne was originally his. To become the Emperor’s family.
“The Imperial Palace will be noisy again. I won’t be able to stand and say anything like a sinner again.”
“…Your Majesty.”
“Was the private talk too long?”
Wilhelm smiled embarrassingly.
“Don’t worry. It won’t hurt you. Even if the rumor is true, it won’t touch the Empress of the oracle.”
“…”
“Then go home safely.”
Was it burdensome to reveal too much of the inside story?
Wilhelm quickly said goodbye and walked past Anastasia.
Anastasia kept biting her lips and watched him moving away.
Thinking that he would be distressed by his nephew, whom he valued more than anyone else, she also felt distressed.
‘There’s only one thing I can do for him right now.’
Getting close to Louis. It had to be for everyone she loved.
Anastasia’s eyes, staring at Wilhelm’s disappearance, turned redder and redder.
~~~~
The second day at the Imperial Palace dawned.
Louis got up early that morning, too. He had a class from 10 o’clock today, so he was more relaxed than yesterday.
“My baby, I’m so proud of you. You defeated the Empress well by yourself yesterday even though I was not there.”
Throughout the meal, Olivia praised Louis for his behavior.
Louis chewed on the lettuce with a subtle expression and opened his mouth.
“Maybe she won’t come anymore, will she?”
“Who?”
“Her Majesty the Empress.”
“I heard you kicked her out yesterday because you didn’t like her.”
Olivia said with a shrug.
“Then she won’t come. She must have pride, too.”
“…I suppose so?”
“You don’t have to worry. Even if she comes, we can kick her out like yesterday.”
Olivia, who had come behind Louis’ back, gently grabbed Louis’ shoulder and asked.
“Can you do it?”
“… yes.”
“Good, my baby. You listen well.”
Olivia smiled happily, stroking Louis’ luscious hair.
“Then eat breakfast and rest. I’ll go somewhere for a while.”
After breakfast, it was already 9 o’clock.
It was when Louis was thinking about what to do for the remaining hour.
“Louis, what are you doing?”
what…? Was he hallucinating now?
Louis looked around with a puzzled expression.
“Hello, Louis.”
Anastasia was coming in with her brightly smiling face.