CH 39

Literally a bolt came out of the blue in the dry sky. It happened in a flash.

“The High Priest!”

All the priests quickly climbed up to the altar in astonishment, and at that moment a terrible downpour poured from the sky filled with dark clouds.

People were stunned by the unexpected situation, but soon came to their senses by the heavy rain that hit them in the face.

“Goddess is angry! The goddess is angry!”

The fear of those who just saw the high priest struck by lightning was maximized in an instant by the words someone shouted. Everyone started to panic.

“W, we need to get out of here right now!”

“S, save me! I don’t want to die yet!”

“Get out of my way, get out of my way! If I stay here, I’ll be struck by lightning!”

In an instant, the surroundings turned into chaos.

Those who felt their lives threatened, forgot about dignity and face as aristocrats and moved indiscriminately without order. 

Some pushed others to get out of the spot in a hurry, which led to a dangerous situation in which a child fell.

It was a time where people were hardly able to reason and move wildly amid the disorder and chaos caused by destructive lightning and heavy rain.

“Everyone, stop!”

A loud noise from somewhere frightened people to a halt.

With a sudden silence, everyone’s eyes turned toward the sound.

Looking at the countless eyes focused on hee, Anastasia said in a clear and determined tone.

“Everyone stay calm and listen to me!”

The repercussions of that one word were enormous.

The empress in front was the woman of the oracle. a woman chosen by the goddess to become an empress

People instinctively realize that they could live by listening to Anastasia. All ears were focused on her next words.

“Move in pairs, starting with the Marquis! Follow Mrs. Rochester to the First Chapel!”

The first chapel was the nearest building to the altar. And on the roof there was a pointed sculpture made after a holy relic.

It will act as a lightning rod and keep people safe.

Anastasia shouted in a desperate voice.

“Trust me! If you do this, none of you will get hurt!”

Anastasia’s confident tone quickly raised relief and expectations in everyone’s eyes.

People quickly began to line up in pairs according to Anastasia’s instructions.

“Don’t be in a hurry and be orderly and move one after another. That way we can all be safe!”

Anastasia, who repeatedly stressed the importance of maintaining order, finally turned to Mrs. Rochester and asked for a favor.

“Please lead the people, Mrs. Rochester. Your role is important if you don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

“Your majesty, what about you?”

“I have something to do right now. Mrs. Rochester, go now!”

“Your Majesty, but……!”

“We’re running out of time. Move!”

Anastasia roared, Mrs. Rochester had no choice but to obey her orders.

“Everyone, follow me this way!”

Mrs. Rochester moved to the First Chapel with people in pairs.

Only then did Anastasia turn to the altar.

All the priests were exerting divine power on the altar surrounding Riel, who was knocked unconscious by lightning.

We only have two minutes left at the most.

Once the heart stopped, four minutes at most was golden time. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation had to be performed. 

Anastasia grabbed the hem of her dress and quickly climbed onto the altar.

She also came close to Riel, beating out the panicking priests.

“Everyone, get out of the way. We’re running out of time!”

“Your Majesty, the High Priest, we will treat him with divine power……!”

“Go on! But I also have a way to save the high priest.”

At Anastasia’s urgent voice, everyone stepped down. Anastasia immediately laid Riel on the floor and took off his robe to reveal his chest.

The priests around them screamed in amazement at the embarrassing and blasphemous act.

“Your Majesty, what are you doing……!”

However, not only could the priests not touch Anastasia’s body carelessly, but Anastasia’s behavior was so fast that they could not stop her.

Anastasia touched Riel’s chest with no regard for the reactions around her.

“The lower half of the sternum…… the heel on it, the knuckles…”

Anastasia straightened her elbows and made her shoulders, elbows, and heels vertical and pressed them down as hard as possible.

“One, two, three, four!”

As hard as she can, as fast as she can.

She couldn’t even think about other guidelines.

Anyway, with Anastasia’s fragile body, she needs to press as fast and strong as possible to barely reach the standard.

There was no electric shock machine here, so she had to keep doing it until his heart beat again.

“……Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty!”

After the 30th press, Anastasia pulled back Riel’s head to secure the airway.

Then, she covered Riel’s nose and breathed in through his mouth.

Once, twice. Then, chest compressions were applied again.

In fact, she was already on the verge of collapsing from the time of artificial respiration, but Anastasia was obsessed with the idea of saving the person in front of her. She continued to move her hands, drawing out all her strength.

How much time has passed in the heavy rain.

“The breathing is back! The high priest is breathing again!”

When someone shouted, Anastasia finally took her hand off at Riel’s chest in relief.

“What a relief….”

At the same time, her consciousness was fading. Anastasia fell to her side with a deep sense of dizziness.

-Thud

But before her body touched the floor, someone hugged her urgently.

The priests around looked at Wilhelm with surprised eyes.

“What are you looking at?”

Wilhelm, who opened his mouth with a slightly trembling voice, shouted.

“Go ahead and call a doctor . Now!”

***

How long has it been since then?

“Oh, your majesty, what am I going to do…….”

“That’s strange. I’m sure the doctor said she’ll wake up today.”

“Isn’t he a straight quack?”

“Shh, watch your language, Lady Andrey.”

Anastasia naturally opened her eyes when she heard a familiar voice.

Then the three pairs of eyes staring at Anastasia were surprised and shouted at the same time.

“Your Majesty!”

“She’s up!”

“You opened your eyes!”

Oh, it’s ringing.

Anastasia smiled awkwardly and greeted the three ladies.

“Hello, everyone.”

“Your Majesty… Can you recognize me?”

“Well, Julia. The wound on your cheek seems to have healed. It’s clean.”

“Of course! It’s already been…… It’s been three days.”

Julia finally burst into tears, and the other maids began to cry together.

“What’s all this fuss about in Her Majesty’s Bedroom!”

When Mrs. Rochester heard it, she came inside and was surprised to find Anastasia, who opened her eyes.

“Your Majesty!”

“Long time no see, Mrs. Rochester.”

“Your Majesty…”

Mrs. Rochester, who came in with dignity, was unable to move on the spot for a while like a broken doll when she saw Anastasia awake.

She approached Anastasia with a face that was about to cry and asked.

“Are you okay? Do you have any discomfort anywhere?”

“Um…… Yes, I’m fine.”

She seemed to have been well cared for, even if she woke up after three days, there was no discomfort at all.

“I don’t remember…”

Anastasia narrowed her brow slightly and asked.

“Did I fall down at the goddess’s memorial service?”

“Yes, the Emperor himself brought you to the palace.”

The following answer was so out of the blue that Anastasia was confused for a moment and couldn’t say anything. After a while, she stammered and asked.

“W, who brought me here?”

“His Majesty the Emperor. When Her Majesty the Empress fell, he arrived at the altar….. The timing was amazing.”

“…….”

“I’m glad you woke up safe, Your Majesty. I’ll call a royal physician right now, so please take a rest.”

When Anastasia heard the unexpected news, Mrs. Rochester took the maids outside while she was stuck there. Only then did Anastasia’s surroundings become perfectly quiet.

“Sigh….”

Anastasia, left alone, sighed deeply.

She was fine until she woke up, but she suddenly had a headache.

……there’s nothing special to think about. He’s a nice guy originally.

No matter how much he disliked her, Wilhelm was not the kind of person to turn a cold shoulder to the person who fell before his eyes.

They are on the same side right now, so she won’t have to worry about it for nothing.

More than that, I don’t know if the high priest is safe. I took my hand off when I heard his breathing was back……. No aristocrats were hurt that day, right?

Anastasia was recalling the last things that happened before she collapsed.

“Your Majesty the Empress.”

Someone approached Anastasia. Anastasia, who saw the familiar face, smiled.

“Oh, Selene.”

“I’m glad you woke up safely. I’m so… I’m so happy.”

She was trying not to cry while saying it, Anastasia hurriedly soothed her.

“I’m fine, Selene. You worried a lot, didn’t you.” 

“Yes, they said you’d wake up soon, but you’ve been lying down for three days…… I was worried if something went wrong.”

But eventually Selene sobbed out the tears, and Anastasia said, holding her hand tightly.

“Thank you. Thanks to everyone’s concern, I guess I woke up safely.”

“Of course. How much I prayed in the prayer room every night…… Oh, by the way, look at me. I came here to tell you something.”

The words that followed were enough to freeze Anastasia on the spot.

“The Emperor is outside now.”

T/N: It’s been a long time since I last read this novel. I forgot most of the characters. Like who’s Selene again? Anyways, I’ll try to translate a few more chapters if I’m not busy. (: