Until The Real One Shows Up

>Anastasia greeted her father with a smile.

“You don’t have to be too polite whenever you greet me.
It’s uncomfortable.”

“This is a given.”

Compared to the last time that they met after her regression, he looked quite calm now.

“I’m afraid that I will be criticized by others for being comfortable with Her Majesty even just for a little bit.
So we always have to be careful.”

The Duke of Barantes had always been like this so Anastasia eventually gave up trying to convince him and sat down.

“Please sit down, father.
Oh my, your teacup is almost empty.
Let me fill it up for you.”

“Ha? No.
How could Her Majesty do this…”

“I used to do this often in the old days.”

After casually speaking without thinking about what she had just said, Anastasia belatedly realized she made a mistake.

Technically speaking, that was her past memories.
That’s why Anastasia immediately corrected herself.

“No, what I mean is that I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time now.”

Fortunately, the Duke didn’t seem to think something was strange based on what she had said.

Anastasia filled the Duke’s teacup with a fresh tea.

“Please drink.
This tea has a good aroma.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.
I actually became thirsty while waiting.”

Duke Barantes picked up the teacup that Anastasia had filled in and drank.

After a moment, he removed the teacup from his lips and carefully opened his mouth.

“Actually, I had a lot of thoughts about what to say first before meeting Her Majesty.”

“Oh? What do you mean, father?”

“Because you’re making very surprising moves these days.”

Duke Barantes continued speaking with a smile on his lips.

“I was shocked to hear the news but of course praise comes first, right? You are doing very well, Your Majesty.”

“That’s good to hear, because I’d love to see you smiling more often.”

“If Your Majesty will continue to act like this, my face will always be this bright.”

Hearing those words, she realized how much Anastasia had caused Duke Barantes to suffer from her past actions.

“To be honest, I still couldn’t believe it.
Come to think of it, your tone of voice and attitude seems to be overflowing with dignity much more than before.”

“Well I’m paying more attention now to this and that.”

“May I ask why you suddenly changed your mind?”

“There’s not much to it.
It’s just that the last time we talked, I’ve thought about it a lot and I didn’t want my father to be bothered anymore.”

Anastasia skillfully laid out her prepared answers.

“What you had said last time, I wanted to do some reputation management now.”

“You’ve thought well.”

Duke Barantes did not spare any compliments with his ecstatic face.

“By the way, when did you start studying? Madame Rochester was very happy for the past few days.
Praising thanks to Her Majesty all the time.”

“Well, whenever I have an opportunity… It’s really nothing, father.”

“Madame Rochester is not a person who easily gives praise.
The recognition from the Duchess herself is already a sign that you’re doing a great job.” 

“Thank you, father.
I will definitely work harder, and do a lot of good things in the future.”

“I have no regrets even if I die tomorrow.” 

“Hey, don’t say things like that.
Not yet…”

Anastasia, who was about to say, ‘You haven’t even seen your grandchildren yet’ stopped in the midst of her sentence, and smiled casually as she changed her words quickly.

“…What I mean to say is that you’re still young.
You’re only a little over fifty.”

“And since I’m so happy and grateful right now, of course I will live a long life.”

Duke Barantes continued speaking in a very excited voice.

“Don’t worry, Your Majesty.
I would definitely live until you give birth to an Imperial Grandson and see him ascend the throne in the future.”

“……..”

“How’s your relationship with His Majesty the Emperor?”

The topic went to the wrong place.
Anastasia smiled awkwardly and for the first time today, a look of disappointment crossed Duke Barantes’ face.

“You don’t seem to have made much progress yet.”

“……..”

“You still don’t like His Majesty the Emperor?”

“No, well.
Rather than that….”

‘The problem is that I just love him too much.’

Anastasia mumbled the unspoken words in her mouth.

“Well, I will take care of that one later.”

“Okay.
Well, both of you are still young.
You still have a lot of time.”

Fortunately, Duke Barantes did not continue the discussion about them.

Anastasia sighed inwardly.

“Aren’t you short of your personal funds?”

“My funds?”

“Yes.
Didn’t I say last month that I would no longer support you with personal funds?”

“….Support?”

Anastasia could not comprehend the nature of this conversation.

‘What’s the connection between my father’s wealth and my private money?’

“You have to spend your money sparingly, Your Majesty.
The reason is that the Barantes family will no longer provide support to your finances.
It’s not simply because it’s a waste of money.
This is to instill to Her Majesty the correct viewpoint of economics up to now.”

‘Could it be that Anastasia used the Duke’s private wealth….?’

After a brief period of doubt, certainty came.

No matter how influential the Empress was, it would still be difficult to spend that much money without internal support.

‘Even if I have written it down, there must have been a limit.’

In the end, the only place that they can rely on is their own family’s wealth.

However, as Anastasia’s repeated excessive spendings, the Duke who couldn’t bear it anymore and cut off her internal support.

“So, please continue to practice the virtue of frugality, Your Majesty.”

‘Wait a minute.’ Anxiety suddenly struck her.

‘Then how much money do I have right now?’