âHis Majesty is still sitting at the door.â
The moment she heard her words, Anastasia felt all the thought circuits in her head stop.
âNo matter what I say, it seems that he has no intention of movingâ¦â
Before she could finish speaking, Anastasia jumped to her feet.
Even in midsummer, the floor was marble. It will be colder at night when the heat of the day is gone.
âHow did you keep sitting like that? What the hell are you thinkingâ¦!â
It wasnât funny. If he got kicked out, he should just quietly go back to the Central Palace and go to sleep.
Sitting there without telling her who to wait for. Sheâd rather Selene have liedâ¦
â⦠Your Majesty.â
Indeed, he was sitting there in front of her.
Hearing her little murmur, Wilhelm turned his head and smiled.
âAnastasia.â
Her heart throbbed at the look on his face as if he knew it was coming.
However, her reality soon came to awaken her.
âNow Iâm ⦠Shouldnât I just turn away from this and turn around?â
If she decided to leave him, shouldnât it be like that?
Anastasia bit her lip and opened her mouth with a stern look of anger.
âWhat are you doing here?â
âI was waiting.â
Wilhelm replied with a still light smile.
âI thought youâd come out like this.â
She was at a loss for words. Anastasia spoke to him with her brows narrowed.
âGo back. Youâre not gonna make any differenceâ¦â
âCough!â
At that moment, Wilhelmâs mouth broke into a cough.
Anastasia was staring at him with a bewildered face, and there was a constant sound of coughing.
âCough! Cough, cough!â
ââ¦â
Heâs telling her to listen to this, right?
Anastasia replied with a stunned look.
âI wonât be fooled even if you try to force it.â
âActually.â
Wilhelm opened his mouth with a sigh.
âIâm not feeling very well right now.â
âThen go back and rest.â
âNo.â
âYour Majesty, what are you doing nowâ¦!â
âWho cares?â
Wilhelm coldly interrupted Anastasia.
Anastasia looked at Wilhelm with a blank look on her face.
âYou said you hated me. You said you were dying to divorce me.â
ââ¦â
âWhat does it matter if I freeze to death or collapse from body aches here?â
âDonât act like a child. Even if you come out like this⦠Your Majesty!â
At that moment, Wilhelm staggered to the floor, and the startled Anastasia reflexively approached him.
âAre you alright? The palaceâ¦!â*
*TN: she was about to say doctor
âNo, thanks.â
Wilhelm shook Anastasiaâs hand helplessly and said.
âItâs just a migraine. I donât have a fever. You donât have to worry.â
ââ¦â
âGo sleep. You must be tired.â
â¦why are you sitting here saying that?
Anastasia was going crazy. To be honest, it was too obvious.
Who doesnât know that he was trying to get inside?
âButâ¦â
That said, she canât just leave him there.
Anastasia knew Wilhelm well. If he just went on like this, he may really wear only one nightgown here and get hit by the morning dew.
âAnd heâs going to catch a cold and turn my stomach inside out.â
She hated him. If he knew how she was pushing him away now, he wouldnât have made it so hardâ¦!
âBut what I hate more isâ¦â
She knew what he was up to, but she couldnât leave him on the cold floor.
Anastasia pondered about ten more times before finally making a big decision.
âWake up.â
âIâm not going.â
âWonât you go to my room?â
Wilhelm raised his head quickly at the words.
⦠Look, itâs so obvious.
âGet up quickly. Youâll catch a cold.â
ââ¦really?â
âInstead.â
Anastasia made the conditions firmly.
âYou have to sleep a meter away from me. I canât concede any more.â
ââ¦â
âYou donât like it?â
âNo, I like it.â
Contrary to his answer, he jumped up from his seat with a glum expression.
You look so fine all of a sudden⦠Itâs probably her misunderstanding, right?
It was when Anastasia narrowed her eyes and was about to enter the room again.
âAhâ¦â
Anastasia flinched in surprise as he grabbed her hand from the side.
How long he had been sitting, his hands, which had originally been cool, had become quite cold.
ââ¦â
Anastasia bit her lips and turned her head.
Wilhelm was staring at her with an innocent face as if he knew nothing.
As if she was going to say something to him with that face about holding hands.
ââ¦was there such a sly thing?â
It didnât seem like this was the case even before the return, so according to her calculations, Anastasia couldnât say anything more.
Instead, she tried to sneak her hand away, but he held it tightly and refused to let go.
Anastasia eventually gave up and strode forward. He managed to follow Anastasia like a puppy in time.
When she finally got to the bedroom, Anastasia sighed briefly and laid down on the bed.
When Wilhelm was about to lie down next to him, Anastasia narrowed her eyes and reached for him.
âYou didnât forget what I said earlier, did you?â
ââ¦â
âOne meter, Your Majesty.â
Anastasia made a line with a few scattered rose petals on the bed, then said.
âDonât come in here.â
ââ¦â
He didnât say a word of it, but he was expressing his feelings of it being too much.
Anastasia didnât care, laid on the bed and turned her back. Wilhelm, who saw it, protested, saying, âThis is not right.â
âYouâll turn your head, right?.â
âThen my head will be bent.â
âIâm telling you to turn your body around too.â
Wilhelm replied in a voice of astonishment.
âEmpress, you canât do anything from a meter away anyway.â
It was your, Anastasia said after turning around with a gracious look on her face.
âNow donât say anything and go to sleep.â
âYes.â
But even after answering playfully, Wilhelm still looked at Anastasia with glistening eyes.
Even though she closed her eyes, she felt the gaze was clear, so when she opened her eyes, she could see him closing his eyes as if it had never been like that.
ââ¦youâre quick-witted anyway.â
Anastasia stared at him with her eyes narrowed.
Whether he was pretending to be sleeping or really sleeping, the breathing sound was evenly heard, and his expression looked comfortable.
ââ¦â
When she saw that, she kept thinking about how he was sitting on the cold floor like an abandoned puppy, crumpled up, and felt uncomfortable.
ââ¦Yes, itâs a good thing.â
Even if she had come back with a cold heart, she wouldnât have been able to sleep at night because she was still worried.
Sheâd rather have this. He was a meter away and he couldnât do anything.
She was about to close his eyes, saying she should go to sleep, but at that moment Wilhelm opened his eyes and made eye contact with Anastasia.
âahâ¦â
A short moan escaped from Anastasiaâs surprised mouth. Wilhelm looked at him and smiled.
â⦠youâre awake?â
âYour gaze on me was so hot.â
Wilhelm nodded his head in a playful way.
âYou have to be able to sleep.â
Ha, look whoâs talking!
When Anastasia looked at Wilhelm with a stunned expression, he continued to joke around.
âIâll close my eyes again, so keep watching.â
âI didnât watch.â
Anastasia, who gave a single shot, closed her eyes, and then a low-pitched laugh was heard. With her eyes closed, the sound of his laughter seemed to resonate better in her ears.
â⦠This man is real.â
Finally, when she opened her eyes again and glanced at him, Wilhelm stopped laughing and closed his eyes calmly.
ââ¦â
Anastasia looked at Wilhelm for a while longer, then swallowed her silent sigh and closed her eyes again.
~~~~
It felt strangely heavy all over her body.
âUhâ¦â
Anastasia moved her body a few times, narrowing her brow slightly, but when that didnât work, she finally opened her eyes with her brief moan.
â⦠Ugh!â
At the same time, a desperate scream erupted from her mouth.
â⦠what is this?â
Anastasia, with a startled bunny-eyes, set out to understand her situation.
It didnât take long. Because she had Wilhelmâs face right above her as he held her in his arms.
There was no trace of where the roses had been scattered.
Anastasia turned to stone on the spot with her astonished face.
â⦠Whatâs the situation now?â
How did this happen? No, since when?
She tried to push her body to get out of there, but he didnât move as if he was a huge boulder.
He was even wearing only one of his nightgowns, so every time she pushed him, the gown kept coming open, revealing his bare chest.
At this rate the situation would end up becoming R-19, Anastasia eventually gave up moving further away and decided to wake Wilhelm.
âYour Majesty, Your Majesty.â
ââ¦â
âYour Majesty!â
But no matter how much she shouted, he showed no sign of getting up.
It was the moment when she was about to pull her cord* because she thought she had to call someone.
*TN: the route to ring a bell to call a servant
â⦠Your Majesty?â
Wilhelm opened his eyes as Anastasia stretched out her hand to the rope.
Maybe he wasnât pretending to sleep, his hazy eyes filled Anastasia.
Anastasia thought it was good he woke up, so she hurriedly told Wilhelm.
âYou have crossed the line a lot.â
ââ¦â
âI wonât say anything, so please let go of this hand.â
Doesnât his arm feel numb? It must have been tingling if he had slept like this, but Wilhelm had an expressionless face like a person who didnât feel any pain.
Then he smiled and moved his hand.
It was the moment when Anastasia was about to breathe a sigh of relief because she thought she would finally live.
-pop!
Suddenly, something soft and damp touched her forehead. It wasnât long before she realized it was Wilhelmâs lips.
When Anastasia, who was so surprised that the accident had stopped*, looked at Wilhelm with a blank expression, Wilhelm slightly raised the corner of his mouth and kissed Anastasiaâs nose this time.
*TN: him crossing the line
âGood morning.â