That day, the evening at the Queen’s Palace, which was always quiet, was unexpectedly busy.
“His Highness likes pink”
“Don’t you think sky blue looks better on him than pink? How cute…”
“But I think he’ll look good in any color. Because he’s cute!”
Some maids were busy choosing Louis’ pajamas.
“Your Highness, do you like macarons?”
“What? Macarons at this hour! Will you take responsibility for the decay of the Crown Prince’s teeth? Come on, try this walnut pie.”
“What do you mean walnut pie? Would His Highness like a light snack that adults eat? I didn’t even look at walnuts when I was young!”
Some maids were busy preparing Louis’ snacks.
“Your Highness, may I make you a liquid monster? Not too long ago, I learned how to make it from Her Majesty.”
“Not the dough, but I’ll make you a paper bird.”
“What? A paper bird at night? What he likes most is the liquid monster!”
Some maids were busy offering Louis toys.
‘…it’s crazy.’
It was originally somewhat like that, but today especially was like that.
“The Empress’ Palace looks especially bright today, right?”
Mrs. Rochester snuck up to Anastasia and asked with a smile.
“I guess it’s all thanks to the Prince. I’ve never seen them so excited, except when the Empress was made Empress.”
“That’s true.”
Anastasia grinned as she looked at Louis surrounded by the ladies.
“I didn’t know everyone would like it this much.”
“Do you think the prince likes it too?”
“……No. I think he’s a little distracted right now.”
But he didn’t seem to dislike it. The likes and dislikes of the child were obvious.
“Did he see the palace doctor?”
“Yes, fortunately, the fever has completely gone down.”
“Still watch him carefully for the time being.”
“Of course, the maids were assigned separately. No matter how much they all wanted to apply. The competition was very fierce.”
“Did everyone really want to be the maid of the Imperial Palace, not the maid of the Empress? That is a bit sad.”
“Don’t be sad. The Prince is cute.”
That too. Anastasia couldn’t deny it and laughed at Mrs. Rochester’s comments.
Well, it seems like I want to be Louis’ maid too.
“Why is the Prince so cute? He’s so cute that I want to bite his cheek every time I see him.”
“He looks just like His Majesty the deceased Emperor.”
Anastasia, who laughed silently at those words, stopped for a moment.
“You resemble the Empress’ aunt who was handsome, Your Majesty.”
“… I don’t think you can fool your bloodline either.”
Anastasia’s aunt, the older sister of the Duke of Barantes, was the birth mother of Emperor Alexander.
“If it wasn’t for the oracle, I wouldn’t have become the Empress.”
From the point of view of the Barantes family, where the mother of Alexander the Great was from, Wilhelm, the son of the former Emperor, was an undeniable enemy.
However, the power structure was completely shaken by the unexpected fall of the trust, and the Barantes family was in a strange situation.
Choose your daughter or nephew.
At that juncture, the Duke of Barantes had not yet taken any particular political stance.
It was unintentionally reduced to neutrality.
“There’s still a good chance that Wilhelm won’t fully trust my father and the Barantes.”
In fact, it was natural for the Emperor, and it should have been.
Nevertheless, Anastasia firmly believed that her father would stand by her and Wilhelm.
This wasn’t a conclusion simply because her father loved her very much.
“I was given the legitimacy of the Goddess through the oracle.”
There was no justification for her to be on Louis’ side.
‘But most of all, we have to divide power between the Fontaine family.’
Maybe it won’t just end with bipartisanship.
The Fontaine family was also a prestigious family, so if Louis became the next Emperor, he would never give power to the House of Barantes.
So for the current Barantes, there was no need to create such a tiring political dispute.
Aside from other problems, isn’t it possible to destroy them for treason?
‘Anyway, he’s a loyalist.’
Before the return, there was no way to confirm his honest feelings with Louis’ help, but anyway, he was blind while fighting for Wilhelm until the end.
“Maybe the goddess was after it.”
“What do you mean?”
“The harmony between the two forces that can’t be mixed?”*
*TN: the end of the fight between the fighting families
“…what.”
Anastasia laughed bitterly.
“I don’t think so.”
After all, the oracle was wrong. Considering that, it was just a meaningless inference.
“I was more surprised than that. I didn’t expect the prince to follow the Empress.”
“Right.”
Anastasia replied, recalling the moment of day.
“I was surprised, too.”
Was it just her? Olivia’s surprised expression was also a sight.
But what were the words?
“There’s something I want to check.”
She heard Louis speak in a very quiet voice before Olivia was dragged out.