Volume 7, Chapter 43 – The Beginning of Change

A long-forgotten dream.

A muddled, floating sensation—akin to drunkenness—left Anastasia in a momentary trance.

It truly had been a long time.

Gazing at the wilderness before her, rendered only in shades of black, white, and gray, Anastasia sighed softly from atop her horse. In reality, this dream wasn’t actually “long-forgotten.” She only phrased it that way in relation to her original world.

In that world eroded by chaos, she would dream of Fia being killed by the Unsinkable Moon almost every other day. Sometimes, the version of herself in the dream knew what was coming; other times, she had forgotten everything. Yet, regardless of the premise, the ending remained the same: she could only watch helplessly as Fia was struck down by the Unsinkable Moon, and then weep uncontrollably while cradling that soft, delicate body as blood gurgled out.

This current dream must be the type where I know what happens next but cannot interfere, right? Anastasia thought to herself. The world here was simply too wonderful. Not only was there no threat from the chaos, but Dofi was still alive—so much so that it made her forget her identity as a sinner.

It had taken this long after arriving here to have this dream; she had let her guard down too much. She had selfishly slipped into the role of “Anastasia,” pretending nothing had happened and integrating herself into this life. It had been less than half a month, yet she had already cast the nightmare that had plagued her for fourteen years to the back of her mind. She didn’t know if she should attribute it to excessive adaptability, or if this place was simply so beautiful that it made one forget to return.

However, even thinking of happy things could not stop the nightmare from proceeding. Anastasia’s heart darkened. She hadn’t thought of this nightmare in a while, so why did it have to come and slap her awake just when she had obtained everything she had ever dreamed of?

By now, the armies had deployed across the plain. The purple radiance of the Unsinkable Moon rose from the camp of the Holy Kingdom of Milcandis. Trapped inside the body of “Anastasia,” the real Anastasia clicked her tongue forcefully. Even though she didn’t want to witness the scene that followed, she couldn’t close her eyes. This punishment was akin to torture for her. However, just as bitterness welled up in her throat, she suddenly felt the world begin to twist and spin—even the purple throwing spear aimed at Fia skewed off course.

What happened?

The instant that thought appeared, the earth rumbled and collapsed. The army, Anastasia included, plummeted toward the bottomless depths of the earth, accompanied by flying sod and the terrified neighing of horses.

…

“Anastasia, Anastasia?”

Her body was being nudged. The shaking sensation gradually roused Anastasia. She slowly opened her eyes, and what entered her vision was Fia’s exquisite face, embellished with ruby-red eyes. Since she hadn’t combed her hair yet and was bending over, Fia’s jet-black hair hung all the way to the floor. Those unadorned, pure eyes made Anastasia stare blankly for a moment—except that the tilted standing posture was uncomfortable to look at.

“Uh…”

“Did you have a sweet dream? I couldn’t wake you up no matter how much I called.”

It wasn’t until Fia asked a second time that the groggy Anastasia came to her senses. It wasn’t that Fia was intentionally using a tilted angle to scare her; rather, Anastasia was still lying in bed, so she was naturally viewing Fia from a sideways perspective.

Her expression froze. Then, as if a bug had crawled onto her, she instantly sprang up from the bed.

“Your… Your Highness? What time is it? Why am I still in bed!”

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“It is currently 7.30. As for why you were still in bed, I’m even more curious than you are, Anastasia. Originally, I thought you were just sleeping in for once, and I wanted to listen to see if you talked in your sleep. But then you suddenly looked like you were in a lot of pain, so I woke you up. You don’t have ‘morning grumpiness,’ do you, Anastasia?”

Because she was the type who was grumpy in the morning, Fia was particularly concerned about this. When Anastasia woke up, Fia’s breathing even hitched for a beat, bracing herself to be scolded by Anastasia.

“Of course not! You should have woken your subordinate sooner!”

While answering, Anastasia hurriedly threw on her clothes with trembling hands. Because the chaos could attack at any time, Anastasia had been sleeping in Fia’s room recently. To be clear, they didn’t share a bed; at Liti’s suggestion, an extra bed had been added to Fia’s room.

As for why Anastasia was so panicked, it was because her schedule differed from Fia’s. Anastasia was an early riser like Milu. Her long experience as a servant had accustomed her to waking up at six, while Fia was the type to get up at seven-thirty.

This one-and-a-half-hour time difference allowed Anastasia to accomplish many things—washing up and preparing breakfast went without saying, but it also included supervising the maids’ cleaning, purchasing ingredients, doing laundry, pruning the plants, and summarizing the day’s tasks for her master beforehand. All these fell within her scope of work. Now that she had woken up at the same time as Fia, these tasks that she had to complete were naturally piled up. For a Head Maid, this was a dereliction of duty among derelictions of duty.

Although she had been in this world for less than half a month, Anastasia had already adapted to all of this.

“Is that so? I think sleeping in occasionally isn’t bad. There’s nothing to do in the morning anyway.”

Wearing a pure white camisole nightgown, Fia shrugged. She habitually walked over to the floor-length mirror, and as if responding to her movement, a knock sounded on the door right on time.

“Your Highness, may we come in?”

“You may.”

“Understood.”

Accompanied by the crisp sound of the lock turning, the door was opened from the outside by a pair of twin maids. Fia remembered these two; they were subordinates of a core member of the Twilight Flower. They didn’t know the Eldest Princess was the leader of the Twilight Flower; they were simply following Loca’s orders to serve the Eldest Princess while monitoring the every move of the maids in the Twilight Palace, under the pretext of gathering intelligence.

That said, Fia occasionally felt that these two older sisters were more attentive than the other maids when dressing her. There was much less distance, especially when they helped her put on stockings; their fingertips always accidentally brushed against her inner thighs.

As the two entered, the maids naturally saw Anastasia clad in her sleepwear. The three exchanged glances and simultaneously froze. Anastasia feigned composure, while the twin maids were both shocked and frightened.

Anastasia had always been strict. Although they didn’t think Anastasia would have an ambiguous romantic affair with Fia, the sleepwear on both of them inevitably invited imagination. If it were true, and they had disturbed the Head Maid’s “good time,” they could already imagine the severe punishment or even being silenced.

“G-Good morning, Head Maid.”

“The weather today is really nice, hahaha…”

The inexplicable atmosphere made Fia raise an eyebrow. She hadn’t intentionally hidden the fact that Anastasia slept in the same room as her. Could it be that every maid in the mansion had a super-strong sense of confidentiality? Or was it that Anastasia usually got up so early that she happened to miss the maids who helped Fia dress, so neither side knew of the other’s existence?

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That would be too much of a coincidence.

“Ahem. Just keep it the same as usual today, but I’m going out this afternoon, so choose the black socks.”

“Yes. T-Then, Head Maid…”

“Your Highness, please explain to your subordinate: what are they here for?”

Anastasia stood firmly, surrounded by a solemn aura. However, due to her disheveled clothes and uncombed hair, the solemnity seemed somewhat comical.

“What are they here for…? To help me get dressed? You’re the Head Maid, Anastasia, didn’t you know?”

“Uh—?”

As if someone were strangling her, Anastasia couldn’t speak for a long moment. She was indeed the Head Maid, but she had only been back at the Twilight Palace for less than half a month. Excluding the time spent outside and the initial period where she was treated as a guest, she had effectively been back as Head Maid for less than a week. She had long forgotten that Fia needed maids to serve her while dressing.

I actually overlooked this…

But shouldn’t something like getting dressed be left to me?

A sense of displeasure toward the maids rose in Anastasia’s heart.

It would have been fine if they didn’t have a special relationship; whatever Dofi did was Dofi’s business, and she had no right to interfere. However, they were now lovers. Once she realized that her Highness— her possession —was being touched by other maids… from her soft bosom to her smooth back, from her slender waist to her porcelain-like, shapely calves… the thought of that smooth, fragrant skin being touched by others ignited a strong sense of resistance in Anastasia. Her expression grew cold as she bowed respectfully to Fia.

“In that case, it would be the same if your subordinate dressed you, correct?”

“I suppose, but it’s already quite a struggle with two people helping. Will you be okay on your own, Anastasia?”

The Eldest Princess’s gowns were designed with layer upon layer. Just tying the bows took a long time, let alone the complex inner linings. Fia used to dress herself, but that was purely because she didn’t know the function of most of the garments, considering them meaningless rags. She would just put on the simplest underwear and a dress, then head out.

Of course, there was nothing wrong with wearing them like that; everything that needed to be covered was covered. But if a noble who cared about attire saw it, she would be ridiculed. It was similar to how ordinary people would just pick up cutlery and eat, whereas in some regions, one had to perform certain rituals before feasting. It was a necessary procedure.

“Of course there is no problem. Who do you think dressed you when you were a child?”

“Hmm… Alright then. You two may leave; leave this to Anastasia.”

“Yes.”

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As if granted amnesty, the two maids left without looking back, though they didn’t forget to cast an apologetic smile at Anastasia as they closed the door.

“What’s wrong with you, Anastasia? You suddenly became as strict as a different person.”

“You have already allowed your subordinate to stay by your side, so these tedious and intimate matters should naturally be left to me. This is… this is the job of the Second Consort. That’s right. If His Majesty hadn’t been so devoted to Veronica in the past, helping with changing clothes would actually have been the job of Consorts like Yulisha, not the male servants in the palace.”

As she spoke, Anastasia lifted Fia’s jet-black hair and began arranging it.

“I see…”

Although her tone was flat, it was just an expression Fia was forcing. Inside, she was just as embarrassed as the Anastasia she saw in the mirror.

Ever since she had inexplicably agreed to Anastasia’s request the night before last, Anastasia had been taking extra care of her. It had reached the point where their companions could easily spot the clues—such as the extra patterns in her food, Anastasia specifically pulling out her chair for her, and even intimately wiping away non-existent sweat, causing Claire to cover her mouth and snicker on the side.

“So should I ask Claire to help me get dressed from now on?”

Fia said playfully.

“Lady Claire is the Empress. The Empress has specialized maids to help her dress. This kind of thing is naturally left to the Consorts—which is to say, the Fire Cat Holy Son and the original Anastasia you mentioned.”

Answering calmly, Anastasia looked down to grab the wooden comb on the dressing table. However, before she even touched the comb, her hand made a grasping motion, naturally grabbing nothing but air.

“Hmm?”

Anastasia raised an eyebrow. She made the grasping motion at the comb again, and this time, she easily held it in her palm.

How strange…

For an ordinary person in a poor mental state, missing a grab wouldn’t be rare. But for a Fifth-Order warrior like herself, failing to gauge basic distance was simply inconceivable.

Was there something wrong with her vision?

“What’s wrong?”

Seeing Anastasia unresponsive for a while, Fia turned around from the mirror, looking curious.

Anastasia shook her head and smiled.

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“Nothing, I just zoned out for a bit. Your Highness, take off your pajamas first. As for your underwear, shall your subordinate help you put it on?”

“No, I’ll do that myself.”

Although maids usually helped her change, having Anastasia do it felt strange—like it was too intimate. Fia feigned sternness in her refusal, then asked Anastasia to turn around while she faced the mirror and put on her light yellow underwear with ruffled lace.

◇

“So, My Sister still hasn’t mastered that thing called Faith Magic?”

Arriving at the dining room, Fia bumped into Claire, Liti, and Milu, who were currently eating. Liti was originally a later riser than Fia, but earlier, Fia had heard from a maid in the hallway that Liti had been dragged out of bed by her ear by her mother, the Second Consort. She had demanded Liti return to the family to pay respects to their ancestors. If Colita hadn’t stepped in to block the Second Consort, Liti would have already been unwillingly dragged away.

As for the aftermath, Fia had already arranged for Colita to pass a message to the Second Consort. Aside from “Liti can decide her own life and should choose her own future,” she also included a large bag of high-purity, high-grade magic crystals. Even if not processed into jewelry, selling the raw materials alone would be worth several times their weight in gold coins.

These magic crystals were all the result of yesterday’s efforts. Familiar with the battle process, Anastasia had exterminated two Skeleton Whales in one day. Fia, upon leaving, had used Orbital Bombardment to blast open the plain frozen by Spatial Confinement. Based on the quantity of magic crystals produced, it was speculated that the Spatial Confinement was indeed compressed into magic crystals by the Orbital Bombardment. This guaranteed future mass production of magic crystals.

As for the act of paying money to “rent” Liti, it seemed like something the Second Consort wouldn’t agree to, but Fia had long seen through her. Now that she was fooling around with wild men outside, she no longer cared about Liti as she used to. As long as the money was sufficient, she would agree to anything.

—After all, what responsible mother would bring her affair partner home before even getting a divorce, risking her daughter seeing such unethical behavior? Fia planned to find Yelido eventually and have him use the King’s name to issue an order. Citing that “Liti has stayed with Dofi for so long without incident and has improved her strength,” he could order Fia to take care of Liti. The mother visiting once in a while would be considered fulfilling her obligation.

“I haven’t been able to master Faith Magic. That stuff is too profound; I’ll probably need some more time. If I’m in good form, five to six days should be enough.”

Fia arrived at the table and sat in a pure white chair. She puffed out her chest slightly, explaining with confidence.

“Although I’m slow at learning Faith Magic, I’ve learned a lot of Earth-attribute elemental magic. Thanks to Anastasia’s reminder, I thought of a way to deal with the chaos. Since it’s hard to clear out a territory by destroying the chaos, I’ll do the opposite. I’ll use Earth magic to create an island. That way, we can have a foothold on the native continent which is full of chaos. That magic called [Blessing of the Mother Goddess] looks pretty good.”

Translator Note

Liti’s mother is the fifth consort no? why is it second…