A common misunderstanding among female protagonists who are possessed inside a novel as that they’re always of thinking that ‘I can change the content of this novel.’’

At one time, that was what she thought as well.

“You must avoid them immediately, Your Highness!”

She didn’t even know how huge a mistake that was.

“The rebels are coming in. Come on!”

“His Majesty the Emperor? Where is he now?”

“The Emperor… Has been killed.”

“…That’s ridiculous.”

Empress Anastasia shook her head with an astonished look.

“That can’t be. That’s impossible…”

“Your Highness, there’s no time to lose!”

“There’s the Empress! Get her!”

Anastasia accepted the situation and without a moment to escape, the rebels stormed inside the Empress’s Palace.

The rebels had already taken control of the palace, so it was not that difficult to capture the Empress inside.

Anastasia was caught helplessly and was sent straight into the dungeon.

There was a familiar face waiting for her.

“The Empress…”

It was Avelin. The original female protagonist of this novel.

Seeing Anastasia enter the dungeon, her face was distorted with dismay. Then she asked immediately.

“His Majesty the Emperor?!”

“…He’s dead.”

As she said those simple words into her mouth, it felt like her heart was being ripped into pieces.

Anastasia swallowed dry saliva and then added.

“They said that he died while fighting the rebels.”

“Nonsense! Do not lie to me!”

“It’s the truth, Avelin.”

“How, how did that happen…”

“…”

“Now we are all going to die. You’ll be decapitated at the guillotine. Will those who launch a new dynasty keep the people who worship the ruins alive?”

Avelin cried out in agony, and Anastasia was speechless in her misery.

But because of her agony she now realized the fact that she would die soon.

That her husband, the man she loves, is dead. It was because of that one reason.

‘…Wilhelm.’

She bit her lip so hard that it bled, and Anastasia tightly closed her eyes.

Even in the dark, only his figure was drawn clearly.

“I’ll get back to you safely, so don’t worry too much about me even at the moment that you’re no longer with me.”

“I’m sorry.”

She couldn’t shake the fact that all those tragedies were caused by her.

Anastasia also apologized to Avelin.

“…I’m sorry, young girl. It’s all because of me.”

At those words, Avelin stopped crying and looked at Anastasia.

“…I’m sorry, Avelin. It was all because of me.”

“…”

“I should have let it all go, as it should have been.”

“Are you only regretting that now?”

Avelin asked Anastasia in a very astonished voice.

“It’s all too late. There is no point in regretting it now.”

She knew it too.

It was already too late. Now this apology was nothing more than just a cowardly excuse for her past stupidity.

Even more now, she felt like her heart was being ripped into a thousand pieces.

“His Majesty the Emperor died because of your stupidity, and the venerable dynasty was destroyed. Sooner or later we will all be beheaded at the guillotine.”

“…Yes, it’s all my fault.”

“I resent you! Curse you! If only you had made a wise decision, if only I had…!”

“…”

“How are you going to pay for all these sins? What are you going to do with this situation?!”

“…I’m sorry.”

‘I couldn’t say anything other than that. Everything seemed to be my fault, all of it.’

“I’m sorry…”

Eventually, Anastasia began to cry. Only after seeing her crying did Avelin stop criticizing her.

However, her eyes were still fixed on Anastasia. Only the sound of suffocating weeping filled the gloomy prison.

‘I thought that I could change it.’

A common misunderstanding among female protagonists that is possessed by novels.

‘I thought I could change the content of this novel.’

At one time she thought so too. That the power of love can make everything possible.

The future was not set, so it was enough to just avoid any tragedy.

With such optimistic thoughts, Anastasia dared to covet the main character with the body of an extra.

She wanted him, and thankfully he also accepted her love for him, so there was no hesitation at that moment.

Even if she died tomorrow, she didn’t want to give up on that love. That’s why she faced this tragedy with such childish thoughts.

In the end, the man that she loved more than her life died, and then she herself will follow the tragedy of his death.

‘It was all a mistake…’

Her wrong judgment drove everything to ruin.

As Avelin said, she was definitely obtuse, and now it was too late for her to regret.

The terrible reality of this irreparability situation caused Anastasia to suffer endlessly.

Anastasia couldn’t even dare to cry out loud because of her guilt. That was why she kept her voice as low as possible and wept bitterly for a long time.

-ˏˋ ━━━━━━ ʚɞ ━━━━━━ ˊˎ-

“Tomorrow, there will be an execution ceremony for the remnants of the desolation.”

Anastasia heard those words after spending a few days in the unpleasantly gloomy dungeon.

She lifted her face, which showed she had barely eaten.

“Of course your neck will fall as well. So be prepared, because I’m not going to let you go unscathed.”

“…”

“The wicked bitch who brought the whole Empire into grief.”

A man with a scornful look spat on Anastasia.

Anastasia did not even dare to avoid the spit, and she was followed by a beating.

The man who was glaring at Anastasia with eyes that looked like he was seeing something dirty, finally left the dungeon.

“The wicked bitch who brought the whole Empire into grief…”

After she was left alone, Anastasia slowly recited the man’s last words.

‘I realized that, maybe it really is true.’

It was all because of her that the situation had reached such a catastrophe.

Because of her wickedness. Because of her greed.

Then, the death that she would face tomorrow was not an unfair thing for her.

“You deserve to die, Anastasia…”

After blaming herself continuously, she carefully pulled something out of her bosom with her bare hands.

It was a small black bottle.

Anastasia stared at it for a while. Wilhelm always had it in his arms after he went out to the battlefield.

‘If something like this happens someday, I’d rather just die than look dirty.’ That’s what she thought.

She also didn’t want to see the rebels defeat her and have her succumb to them and collapse helplessly.

‘If I die with such an appearance, I will have no face to see Wilhelm even after death.’

This was not about protecting her dignity.

As the wife of Emperor Wilhelm, it was so that her nobility would not be as tainted as it already has.

“…”

Anastasia opened the bottle cap with trembling hands.

It was a colorless and odorless poison. It was so poisonous that if anyone drank it, they would lose their breath within a few minutes.

‘A little later, I will be by your side again.’

Thinking about it that way, she felt a little comforted.

“Wilhelm.”

For the very last time, Anastasia called out the name of the person she devoted her life to.

“Even when I die, please don’t forgive me.”

As she closed her eyes, tears fell down from her rich long eyelashes.

Anastasia tilted the glass bottle onto her lips without hesitation.

The thick liquid slowly absorbed into her body through her throat.

Soon after, as the poison spread out, Anastasia’s body fell into the floor helplessly.

“Ugh…”

She could feel her breath running out.

“If I could go back to the beginning…”

Anastasia murmured sadly in tears.

“I would never, ever love you again.”

‘Loving you in this life was already enough of a punishment you received.’

‘In the next life, I will never love you and will completely conform to my destiny.’

Whispering the last words of regrets, Anastasia’s last breath dissipated.

-Tak!

At the same time, a sharp rupture was heard.

-ˏˋ ━━━━━━ ʚɞ ━━━━━━ ˊˎ-

She was possessed by a very common story.

As Anastasia, the protagonist of the oracles that will save the Empire from tragedy and disaster.

Anastasia received the oracle and became the Empress immediately after her coming-of-age ceremony, and was very proud of the fact that she was the woman from the oracle.

She knew very well that no matter what she did, she would not be punished, nor would she be deposed from the position of the Empress.

It was because of the oracle that the Empire could be peaceful only if she kept the position of the Empress.

Believing that, Anastasia committed all kinds of depravity and luxury. It was also a bonus to cause all sorts of filthy scandals.

The Emperor occasionally warned Anastasia, but she only listened roughly and let it go.

The pride of being chosen by the goddess was enough to make even the Emperor looked down upon.

Then one day.

“The blessing was wrong. The current Empress is not a woman of the oracle.”

‘The blessing was wrong.’

At those words, the Emperor deposed Anastasia as if he had waited for it all along, and made the real woman in the oracle the next Empress.

That was Avelin, the female protagonist in the original story.

At first, the Emperor was wary that Avelin is an arrogant woman like Anastasia, but soon fell in love with her loveliness and kindness.

And the story was of how the Emperor and Avelin went through various hardships and ruled the whole Empire well.

When she first got possessed by the novel, the goal that she set was not to be rude like the original Anastasia.

Not being proud of the fact that she was the woman of the oracle, but quietly maintaining her position as the Empress of the Empire, and giving up her seat once the original heroine comes and leaves everything as it is.

In the original story, she was dismissed after being dethroned, but it was because the level of evilness that Anastasia had committed before was so serious that it was surprising that she had not been executed.

Since it was a minor problem that could change at any time, the intention was to prevent any possible problems in the future.

However, there was a minor problem.

No, it was actually a very big problem.

She possessed Anastasia, the villain of this story, who fell in love with the Male Protagonist and the current Emperor, Wilhelm.

In fact, it was quite natural.

She was in a situation where she had already been attracted to the Male Protagonist of this novel, who is the most handsome man in the Empire.

‘I couldn’t help but fall in love.’

At first, her main goal was to survive and get out of the situation safely, but Anastasia then fell in love and soon changed her plan.

‘I want to look good in front of him. I want to be loved by him.’

‘I want to change the content of the original story. I want to be the heroine myself.’

She dared to cross over the main character with the body of an extra.

Anastasia tried to change the future by adding what she had read in the book and her innermost sincerity. As a result, Wilhelm also fell in love with her.

In fact, she was a very lovely and warm- hearted person, so it was quite natural for Wilhelm to fall for her.

Under those circumstances, it finally happened.

“The blessing was invalid. The current Empress is not the woman in the oracle.”

Anastasia became nervous when she heard the same words that were written in the original story without missing a single phrase.

Perhaps Wilhelm would abandon her as well, just like what happened in the novel, and replace her with Avelin as the new Empress.

But Wilhelm, who fell in love, was adamant.

“I have no intention of dethroning the Empress.”

“But, Your Majesty, for the sake of a peaceful future of the Empire, you must change the Empress.”

“Even if Anastasia is not the woman of the oracle, she’s still my wife. I won’t let her go.”

In the end, with Wilhelm’s determination, Anastasia maintained her position as the Empress. The situation seemed to have settled for Avelin as well, who is the true woman of the oracle, became a saint of the temple.

Anastasia was happy that she had changed the content of the original story, and spent her days happily thinking that they would have their happy ending at long last.

However….

“Your Majesty, it is said that another massive earthquake has occurred in the north.”

“We have known as well that it has been raining non-stop in the south for a month now.”

“Even the drought in the East is serious, Your Majesty. Your immediate action was needed.”

Was this the price for ignoring the oracle’s blessing? A disaster that began at some point swept over the entire Kingdom.

Droughts, floods, earthquakes, and plagues raged across the Empire. The lives of the people were thrown into never ending chaos.

Wilhelm responded calmly to each situation, but a huge disaster that was difficult to prevent by manpower alone occurred one after another.

As if God was very angry.

As the national crisis became serious, people naturally needed something to complain about. The arrows of criticism were eventually directed at the Emperor and Empress who had ignored the blessing of the oracle.

As time passed and the situation did not improve, eventually impatient people started to commit treason all over the country….

“Ah……!”

The result, as we all know, is very tragic.

-Thud!

Anastasia, who opened her eyes with a short groan, heard a loud thud beside her.

She looked at the source of the sound with a surprised expression.

A young woman fell on the floor, while covering her other cheek, and shards of a broken teacup could be seen scattered around her.

‘…What’s happening?’

It was at that time when Anastasia’s face was shown with embarrassment. She was unable to understand the situation right in front of her.

“Bring Lady Duphort, outside.”

(TN/N: Young lady Duphort is one of the Lady-in-waiting of the Empress.)

Anastasia turned her head in surprise at the familiar voice.

“…Mrs. Rochester?”

A muffled voice came out of her mouth. The middle-aged woman, whose name was called, turned her expressionless face to look back at Anastasia.

“I’ll be right back with a new tea, Your Highness. I apologize.”

“….What is this?”

Anastasia muttered in an incredible voice.

“Why are you here?”

“…What?”

“You’re already dead, I’m sure of it…”

‘While protecting me.’

The unfinished words lingered in her mouth.

Duchess Helena Rochester.

A woman who stood by her side until the very end and who lost her life on the edge of a sword from a rebel. The person that she trusted the most, Anastasia’s most loyal Court lady.

“You’re not yet dead?”

Anastasia stared blankly at her, but Mrs. Rochester replied in a dry voice.

“Do you have plans to kill?”

“What do you mean…”

“Before that, you’ll have to master the affairs of the palace first because without me, you can’t do anything.”

It was a very awkward conversation. No, the situation itself was strange.

While Anastasia was confused and unable to respond, someone removed the broken teacup, and also lifted up the woman who had fallen over.

“Then please wait a moment, Your Highness.”

Only after hearing that voice did Anastasia come to her senses.

“…Mrs. Rochester, wait a minute.”

As she hurriedly grabbed Mrs. Rochester when she was about to leave, she still looked at Anastasia with dull eyes.

“Yes, Your Highness. Please speak.”

“…….”

‘No way… Please, no way.’

But for now, that was the only plausible thing that can explain this strange situation.

Anastasia asked in a trembling voice.

“What’s the date today?”

“It’s the last day of the Youth Month.”

“… And the year.”

“That’s 567 year of the Imperial calendar.”

Anastasia’s body completely hardened at the blunt response.

Mrs. Rochester looked at her indifferently, and soon went outside.

“…Ha.”

Anastasia, who had been frozen, suddenly burst into laughter not long after.

‘I couldn’t believe it, but I really did reincarnate.’

567 years of the Imperial calendar.

It was the year Anastasia turned 22.

‘…It’s also been two years since I married Wilhelm.’

She doesn’t even have the original book in her possession, so that means she will be regressing into this novel… Which is just too much for her to handle.

‘Just please let me die, why the hell…’

Fate was too cruel to her. To return to the past with all of the memories of her previous life that ended in a terrible tragedy.

‘…But still.’

At least she still had one thing to be thankful for in this regression.

‘That Wilhelm’s still alive here, right?’

While thinking about the fact that Wilhelm is alive, Anastasia’s heart began to beat faster.

A sense of relief weighed heavily on her chest, making it difficult for her to breathe. Those eyes that had been dead now filled with life once more.

‘Maybe the goddess gave me another chance.’

An opportunity to prevent future tragedies.

It’s definitely possible that Avelin will still appear next year, when she will have her formal debut. That means Anastasia still has one year left.

‘So what am I supposed to do in the meantime?’

As Anastasia was about to start thinking seriously, she heard the same familiar voice.

“Your Highness, I have brought the new tea with me.”

It was Mrs. Rochester.

“…Come in.”

An awkward voice came out from her mouth. Even though she had repeated the same answer dozens of times before.

Soon Mrs. Rochester approached Anastasia and poured tea into a new teacup.

“…….”

Anastasia glanced at her.

‘She’s definitely different from the Mrs. Rochester that I knew.’

She treated Anastasia with the same equal respect as before.

But there was a clear difference between then and now.

Mrs. Rochester’s eyes held no warmth, no affection, and no loyalty to her.

Instead, only a strange coldness filled that spot.

“I will leave you alone now, Your Highness.”

Her voice was piercing cold without any warmth.

Since Anastasia couldn’t get a hold of her, she just let her go for now.

‘Is everything the same as the original plot?’

Anastasia Barantes.

Born as the only daughter of the Duke of Barantes, she was an arrogant woman while carrying her noble status on her back.

She was selfish in everything that she does, and had a very ruthless personality. So no one could imagine how much effort she had put towards changing the reputation of this character when she first possessed it.

Fortunately, the time of her possession from before, was two years before becoming the next Empress, so there was still enough time for her to change Anastasia’s image.

But now it was different. It’s already been two years since she got married.

‘Well it wouldn’t be strange to be under the guillotine, once I’ve been dethroned, in the coming year.’

Thinking about that situation, she could feel chills run down her spine.

It was good to save Wilhelm, but she had to live too. Anastasia’s mind became alert from panic.

Considering the evil-doings that Anastasia had committed after becoming the Empress, changing her reputation would have been incomparably more difficult than before her return.

So she had to think of a strategy for the situation that will occur next year.

‘Only in that way, even if Avelin appears in a year’s time, she will be able to escape safely.’

It was that moment when Anastasia was contemplating on what she needs to do first.

“Your Highness, you have a visitor.”

Anastasia flinched at the word ‘guest’. She hadn’t been able to properly adjust herself yet, for the reality that she had returned to. So how could she properly entertain a guest now?

However, at the end of the sentence, Anastasia jumped out of her seat.

“The Duke of Barantes is here..”

It was her father.

-ˏˋ ━━━━━━ ʚɞ ━━━━━━ ˊˎ-

The Duke of Barantes was the one who taught the possessed Anastasia what family affection was.

So Anastasia considered him like her real father and loved him.

‘He said that he was worried about me until the moment he died.….’

Duke Barantes was killed during a battle with the rebels. According to the officers under his command, he was worried about Anastasia and the Imperial family until his last breath.

‘Not long after, when my father died, the whole capital was completely captured.’

Recalling the memories of what will be the possible events in the future, Anastasia burst into tears as she walked all the way into the drawing room.

‘I knew it would look strange if I met my father like this, but I just couldn’t stop myself.’

“I greet you, Her Majesty the Empress.”

Anastasia lowered her head slightly, as she hid her moist eyes underneath her eyelashes, and stepped calmly into the drawing room.

“…Father.”

And the moment when she finally reunites with her long-lost father.

“You seem to know what you’ve done wrong because your voice is kind of hoarse.”

A cold voice was heard from him.

As her tears that were about to swell up suddenly stopped at his father’s cold voice.

‘Ah, father….?’

Anastasia raised her head with a puzzled look on her face.

What caught her eye was the expression of her father, Duke Barantes, who seemed to be very angry at her.

‘‘….Did my father ever look at me like that?’

Anastasia, who was puzzled, soon realizes her current standing at the moment.

‘Ah, the scene that’s happening right now is the same as the original story….’

“Tomorrow is the death anniversary of His Majesty, Emperor Seon. But you’re doing it again! How can you repeat such a frivolous act?”

“…….”

“Even if Lady Duphort made a few minor mistakes, it doesn’t mean that it’s right for you to slap her and then throw a teacup at such a poor girl?”

When she heard the name Lady Duphort, it reminded her of the young lady who fell on the floor. She had covered her cheek with a flushed face as fragments of teacups were scattered on the floor.

‘…I see, so that’s what happened.”

The moment she realized what happened, Anastasia’s expression became serious.

“I already expected myself to be in trouble and that I’ll be walking on eggshells with the people around me. But I didn’t realize that it would be this bad.”

(TN/N: ‘walking on eggshells’ means to be very careful not to offend or upset someone.)

And it seems that the sound that she heard right after her regression, was from the slap on the cheek.

Upon realizing that fact, she felt very sorry for the young lady. Even though it wasn’t her own doings.

Anastasia just bowed her head as if she had nothing more to say.

Originally, Duke Barantes would have felt sorry for his daughter and stopped his rant.

To that extent, he was weaker than anyone else in the world towards his only blood.

However, the evil act that his daughter had committed from the past is just way too much.

And he hoped that someday she would realize that the patience that he’s giving her, might reach its limit as well.

“Not only your court lady but as well as the other servants. If you don’t like them, you can just instruct them to get out. It’s not appropriate for the Empress to use abusive language or to physically abuse them. Now, only a handful of servants remained here at the Empress’s Palace, less what it was a year ago. Mrs. Rochester is also complaining that there’s a lot of work piling up due to lack of manpower.”

“…….”

“And what do you think the Empress’s job is? Did you think that the only thing that you have to do is just to have tea time everyday and not work at all? I understood that the first year would be difficult for you, since you suddenly received the oracle to become the next Empress. But until now, you haven’t made any effort to learn anything, you’ve just been playing around everyday… Did you have any idea how much Madame Rochester suffered because of you? It comes to a point where I really don’t want to see her, because everytime we meet I always feel sorry for her.”

Anastasia let out a deep sigh inwardly at his father’s non-stop criticisms.

…Although it was expected that violence and abusive language were basic to its subordinates, it seemed that they did not hesitate to abandon their duties.

“Before that, you’ll have to master the affairs of the palace first because without me, you can’t do anything.”

‘So that’s what you meant when you said that. Now I understand.’

“And how many new dresses do you wear every week? If you wear the dress you have now, you won’t be able to wear it even at least ten times in your life.”

For luxury.

“And also save your budget, Your Majesty. What have you been doing these days? Most importantly you’re not going to any gambling houses these days, are you? Because I’m now forbidding you to go to any gambling house,Your Majesty.”

Even gambling…?

‘There was no mention of such details in the original work.’

Anastasia was about to break down. That was like the end of the line for her.

‘Well, it seems like there will be no end to it, even if I list them all.’

After that, Duke Barantes’ complaints continued for a long time.

It seemed that there were a lot of things that were piled up because of Anastasia’s doing.

“These days, I often think that I might have raised my child wrong. I was so wrapped up in other things, since we lost your mother on the day that you were born. I should have given you love when you needed it the most…. Honestly, if it wasn’t for the oracle, Her Majesty wouldn’t have been able to get married at all. Everyone was talking about you, I should have listened to those rumors. Now all this happens, it was all because of me.”

“…….”

“Please be more cautious now and emulate yourself as the Empress of this country, Your Majesty. Even though you have been blessed by the temple, if you continue to take such reckless steps, your seat will always be at stake. The oracle cannot protect you from all of your evil-doings.”

“…I understand, father.”

Anastasia, who had been listening silently, quietly opened to speak.

Duke Barantes’ eyes widened, since he was surprised by her demure response.

“I think I’ve been too harsh.”

“…Are you serious?”

“Yes, I just realized that you would not treat me like this if I did not exceed my limits.”

Anastasia answered in a very solemn voice to her father’s question.

“I would never do something like that again, I will change for the better. I promise you that.”

“If you do that, then this father will have no regrets.”

Duke Barantes slowly held Anastasia’s hand, with a satisfied smile.

The warmth that she felt through their clasped hands, gives Anastasia a sense of stability for the first time after her regression.

That’s when she realized that she’s really back.

“Her Majesty, would have no idea how much I feel. As if I was walking on thin ice everyday. I’m alway nervous that I might hear bad news coming from the Empress’s palace.”

“I won’t ever let that happen again in the future. I promise.”

“Can I trust you?””

“Yes, of course.”

Anastasia smiled faintly and nodded, but Duke Barantes was not completely convinced.

She felt bitter, but she couldn’t help it. Since Anastasia has done a lot of evil things that she will need to overturn.

It was a natural reaction coming from him, since the Duke who had been promised before, had witnessed the original Anastasia not adhering to her promises.

“Then I’ll get going now.”

“You won’t even have a cup of tea.”

“I want to do that too, but I’ve been putting off urgent work…”

It didn’t seem to be a lie, but his face was full of regrets.

“When I heard the news about your court lady, I was shocked and immediately ran here. Haa… I feel so embarrassed to face Count Duphort now. How can I face him tomorrow?”

“…….”

“And I trust that you would definitely change for the better.”

“Yes I am. Then, I’ll see you at the memorial service tomorrow.”

“Ah.”

At that, Duke Barantes, who stood up from his seat, asked.

“Does that include your relationship with His Majesty the Emperor?”

“…….”

“You must get along with His Majesty, the Emperor. The Empress is, after all, the legal wife of the Emperor. All of the decisions within the Empire are within his hands. Apart from other things, aren’t both of you a couple?”

After that, the words of Duke Barantes continued for a long time, but Anastasia did not answer and just smiled.

-ˏˋ ━━━━━━ ʚɞ ━━━━━━ ˊˎ-

In the original story, Anastasia and Wilhelm’s relationship was not very good.

Anastasia took pride in being the woman that was chosen by the oracle. For her, no one can match her greatness that she even looked down on the Emperor, himself. Even to her husband she had no affection for at all.

Because she loved herself more than anyone else, it may have been impossible for her to love another.

Who would marry her? Seeing her arrogant appearance, no one would dare to love her.

After hearing numerous rumors about her, who’s been famous even during her days as a Princess, Wilhelm did not expect anything from Anastasia from the very beginning.

Even more so after they got married and he found out that rumors wasn’t exaggeration at all

As Anastasia’s journey to become the Empress reached its climax, the Emperor’s criticism increased as well. She felt very annoyed and unlucky too since he always admonished her every time they met.

Naturally, the couple’s relationship was very cold. Although she was an unloved Empress, Anastasia didn’t mind at all.

Since the Emperor didn’t care much about succession, he thought of adopting a member of the Royal Family as an adopted child.

‘And in the original story, Anastasia is considered an insignificant character.’

No matter how much she thought about it, it’s still kind of strange. Why didn’t she go to the guillotine even after the abduction? Even if she had the privilege of the Barantes family.

‘After all, I need to behave well from now on.’

She would be reborn from the evil Empress into the Empress of the oracle.

For her to fulfill her duty as an Empress, she needs to be merciful towards her subordinates, as well as reducing her luxurious things and becoming more frugal.

The action itself wasn’t that hard or difficult because her original personality was the opposite of Anastasia from the original story.

Even if there was no fear of death, she would have acted that way.

But there’s just one thing.

‘I’m sorry, Dad.’

Because she wouldn’t allow herself to get along with Wilhelm

‘It would be better for all of us, to leave our relationship as it is.’

‘If only I could, I would have abandoned my position as an Empress and left this place right away.’

Even in this familiar room she is in right now, it still haunted her by reminding her of her last memories before her regression.

However, she couldn’t leave the Imperial Palace until a new oracle was issued.

In that case, it was right to avoid contact with Wilhelm as much as possible until she left the palace.

Even if she would have a good relationship with him, she would only make him hesitate the moment she had to dethrone herself.

He was a good man, so even if he doesn’t love him, she will take care of him.

‘I cannot reproduce the tragedy before my reincarnation. I will never do that again.’

Anastasia’s hand gripped the hem of her dress, and was full of strength.

Before returning back, she felt like she had a weight around her neck, vividly recalling the news that Wilhelm had been killed.

‘And it’s good for me as well.’

When I see you, I want to talk to you,

When I talk to you, I want to be with you.

When we’re together, I dream of the future.

But that wouldn’t be the case in the end.

It’s a feeling that she can’t stand even if she wanted to, and it’s a motion that she couldn’t stop even if she tried.

If the end is already set, it is only right not to even start.

Above all else, she had no intention of repeating another stupid mistake again.

One terrible tragedy was enough.

“……”

Anastasia’s eyes, who had been thinking about Wilhelm for a long time, suddenly become flustered.

After wiping her nose and eyes, Anastasia said.

“I don’t have to set myself up too much.”

After all, we’ve been living together like a poor couple for two years now so it won’t be strange or difficult to behave like that for another year.

Anastasia, who had been sitting in the empty drawing room, got up and went outside.

Mrs. Rochester, who was waiting at the door, opened her mouth and said.

“The dress designer you called for has finally arrived, Your Majesty. Would you like to go and see them?”

“I’m sorry, but please send them back.”

“…Pardon?”

“I mean to send back the tailor because I won’t be fitting any dress today.”

(Mrs. Rochester’s POV)

The Duchess of Rochester looked at Anastasia with a puzzled look on her face, as if she had forgotten that it was rude.

‘What? Didn’t she request them herself? But why did she want me to send them back?’

‘And she’s not gonna order a new dress as well?’

‘What the hell is happening here? I wonder if the Empress is making fun of me.’

She felt a bit complicated, like a tangled thread in an unprecedented event.

The words that came soon made the Duchess of Rochester even more confused.