Chapter 12: CH 12

After Duke Barantes left the Empress’ palace, Anastasia immediately checked her properties list.

The result was shocking.

“So….”

Anastasia asked with a shocked face.

“You mean to tell me that I don’t have any money left, right? Not a single penny?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Madame Rochester answered calmly, but Anastasia’s heart could not be calmed in the slightest.

‘….I should have checked this one first.’

“I just thought that the Duke of Barantes was still supporting you again this time, because Your Majesty had not said anything in particular regarding this matter.”

Apparently, the time of her regression was the exact time where she had spent the last penny that she had on her private account. 

“…Can I request for an advance allowance or something?”

“You had already requested it several times, that’s why His Majesty the Emperor ordered them to ban you for using it.”

“……..”

‘Tsk.. Anastasia, your brain only works well in this kind of situation.’

(TN: She refers to the original Anastasia that she only uses her brain when it’s related to money or luxury.)

‘I am really in trouble. Of course I still have some of my private properties that I can use just in case my personal allowance runs out, but…’

But even the Empress herself couldn’t touch it carelessly to prevent an Empress like Anastasia from using it arbitrarily.

‘Once I am to be deposed a year later… There’s a vague expectation that my father would pick me up right away. Of course, no father would allow his only daughter to wander on the street…right?’

The main problem is that she already has a huge setback in carrying out what she had already planned for after a year.

‘If I tell my father about my situation, he would definitely support me with his own money, but still….’

Anastasia immediately shook her head.

The Duke would definitely agree to support her.

Because even if she apologized to her father, there was a fear that what he would do in the future would be pointless. 

‘I had to do it entirely on my own. So that it would be worth it.’

‘Okay, I’ll find ways for me to earn money. Let’s not worry too much about this.’

‘Maybe I’m just being too optimistic, but I wondered if I really could come up with a solution after being an Empress for a year. To see if I could find ways in case I will struggle for it.’

‘If this continues to happen, everyone will think that I have changed because I no longer have the money to spend luxuriously.’

Wilhelm, in particular, was more likely to think so.

He would think that she’s acting like a changed person because she intends to request for an advance allowance.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter. Since I didn’t plan on winning His Majesty’s heart in the first place.’

‘….If he continues to misunderstand me like that, then it would be better for me.’

Anastasia decided not to care anymore.

‘Then how should I start this off? How can I raise my own funds?’

Her worries didn’t last long because an idea came to Anastasia’s mind.

‘I was missing the most obvious answer.’

A meaningful smile appeared on Anastasia’s lips.

-ˏˋ ━━━━━━ ʚɞ ━━━━━━ ˊˎ-

As soon as Anastasia returned to her room, Madame Rochester immediately called the Imperial physician.

Anastasia was puzzled by Madame Rochester’s actions. She suddenly requested a full body examination, just because Anastasia hadn’t had any experiences working her whole life and suddenly became overworked. 

“I don’t see any particular health problems at this time.”

The result from the test is what she had expected it to be. Based on the original novel, nothing was mentioned about Anastasia’s health in particular.

“See, Madame Rochester. Didn’t I tell you that I’m perfectly fine.”

“…….”

However, despite knowing that there’s nothing wrong with her health, Madame Rochester’s expression still showed uncertainty on her face.

“That’s a relief then.”

She said it with a barely smiling face.  

-ˏˋ ━━━━━━ ʚɞ ━━━━━━ ˊˎ-

Just before Sir Faulkner, the chief royal physician of the Imperial Palace, was about to return to the Imperial Palace Medical Center after his examination, he was stopped.

“Sir Faulkner.”

As he turned around to the familiar voice, he saw Madame Rochester standing behind him.

“Duchess of Rochester.”

“I have a question for you.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“Her Majesty the Empress…..”

Madame Rochester asked in a serious voice.

“Are you sure that she doesn’t have any health problems?”

“What?”

“What I mean is, you’ve probably heard of it from the others about Her Majesty the Empress. These past few days have been very different from what she used to be.” 

Of course, Sir Faulkner knew about it as well.

After entering the palace, the Empress, who lived only in luxury and pleasure, suddenly changed as if she had become a different person.

“There are speculations spreading throughout the palace. The reason why Her Majesty the Empress changed so much is because she has a terminal illness.”  

“A terminal illness?”

“Yes. There is an old saying that when there’s drastic changes on how a person acts, behaves or eats, it means that it’s a sign that they were preparing for their death.”

Madame Rochester continued in a voice filled with anxiety.

“At first, I was happy to see Her Majesty had changed for the better. But the more I looked at it, the more anxious I became. I ask myself, “What could be the main reason why a person suddenly changes like that?”

Then Madame Rochester belatedly realized that her words might be interpreted strangely, as she hurriedly added. 

“Oh no, what I mean to say is, of course Her Majesty’s sudden change is very welcomed. Still, it felt so unrealistic. As if she was a different person… Like her food preferences. She had never eaten a salad before, but now she is very concerned about her food diet.”

“Um, I understand your concerns.”

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Sir Faulkner brushed his beard and opened his mouth.

“You certainly do have to worry about it. If a person had suddenly changed 180 degrees, I would have thought the same thoughts as the Duchess.”

“Then I am not overreacting, right?”

“Of course not, but you don’t have to worry too much. Because when I checked Her Majesty earlier, I didn’t see any abnormalities.”

It was only after hearing these words that Madame Rochester was relieved.

“There are no apparent signs so far of anything. So even if we make the worst assumptions, it won’t be a serious condition.”

“What does that mean?”

“Among the peculiar diseases that are prevalent in academic societies these days, there are diseases that only reveal their true identity as it gets closer to their death..”

“I beg your pardon?!”

“It is a disease that is detected and manifests symptoms only when the patient’s body is completely destroyed by deceiving itself. It’s a disease that reveals itself within a few months of blood transfusion.”

“…….”

“But….”

Sir Faulkner, who was explaining about the current unknown disease, finally looked at Madame Rochester’s distraught face.

After all, he brought up those useless talks only after reading a thesis about that particular disease.

Sir Faulkner only recently began to explore it.

“Well…it’s a result of some researchers’ discoveries that such a disease exists these days. You can listen to them for fun.”

“…..It’s not fun at all.”

“….I’m sorry.”

Sir Faulkner apologized immediately.

“Anyway, I am telling you not to worry too much. What I just said is a very, very rare case. If you are worried about it, ask Her Majesty the Empress for regular check-ups.”

“….Okay, I’ll do that. Thank you so much Sir Faulkner.”

His last statement made Madame Rochester feel uncomfortable, but she was glad that there were no problems at all.

Madame Rochester was more at ease now.

-ˏˋ ━━━━━━ ʚɞ ━━━━━━ ˊˎ-

“I am very glad that there were no problems.”

Anastasia said to Madame Rochester who had just returned.

“Right? I was really worried too.”

It was because Anastasia has been eating mostly meat for the past 22 years.

Of course, meat isn’t bad but there would be a problem if a person continues to eat unbalanced meals.

In the original story, it wasn’t explained further about the health status of the extras. That’s why she wanted to have it checked at least once, and she was grateful that everything turned out fine.

“Thank you, Madame Rochester. Thanks to you, I feel relieved.”

From those words, Madame Rochester was convinced that Anastasia has no terminal disease. She didn’t look like a person who was trying to hide something. It was a genuine relief.

‘The rumors floating around in the Empress’ Palace should be stopped before they are leaked out.’

It was then that Madame Rochester was making a promise to herself.

“Your Majesty the Empress.”

A maid came and told Anastasia about a guest.

“Young Lady of Lutent requests to see you, Your Majesty.”

“Young Lady of Lutent?”

“Yes. She’s waiting in the receiving room right now… Would you like to see her?”

Anastasia nodded and stood up.

-ˏˋ ━━━━━━ ʚɞ ━━━━━━ ˊˎ-

“Here comes, Her Majesty the Empress,”

As Anastasia entered the receiving room, she saw a woman her age who was drinking her tea, suddenly jumped up from her seat.

Anastasia approached her with a smile on her face.

“Lady Lutent.”

“I greet you, Your Majesty the Empress, the noble moon of the empire.”

Anastasia looked at the woman politely who was greeting her.

Her fine red hair fell down her waist and fluttered, and her black eyes gleamed like obsidian. Her bright face gives off a pleasant atmosphere. 

Melina Lutent.

She was the only daughter of the Marquis of Lutent, and also known as Anastasia’s childhood friend from the original story.

The setting is that their fathers met at the alumni association, and they become close since they went to the same academy.   

Of course, in the original story, it was not highlighted since she was just an extra for the character Anastasia. So only one sentence appeared in the storyline.

After her first transmigration, she learned that their relationship was deep enough for her to put the violent Anastasia to rest. After all, she was her precious childhood friend.

She patiently stayed at the side of the bad-tempered Anastasia for a very long time, and continued to have a cheerful personality. That’s why after she possessed this body, she had became close to her according to the original settings.

“Come on, please sit down. Long time no see.”

“I know, right. I haven’t seen you in ages.”

Melina sat down and started talking.

“I was surprised to hear the news of Her Majesty recently. Is it really true? That you cut off all external activities and are currently focusing on internal palace work?”

The ‘outside activity’ that Melina refers to is not a grand public activity, but just inviting some people to play around. A tea party, a garden view party, or something similar like that.

“I wanted to change for the better.”

“That’s a very wise decision! Everyone is amazed to hear that Your Majesty has finally changed.”

“Really?”

What is interesting to her the most right now is her reputation. That’s why  Anastasia asked Melina more.

“What is everyone saying about me?”

“Just like what I had told you. Everyone was amazed to know that Her Majesty had changed for the better.”

Melina, who was answering cheerfully, suddenly changed her expression.

“Well…there were some bad reactions.”

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