Anastasia waited.
She didn't speak again. She didn't push. She simply sat there behind her desk, the creepy smile still playing on her lips, her bruised eye making her look both fragile and menacing at the same time. Her hands were folded neatly in her lap, but her gaze was locked on Rem like a predator watching its prey decide whether to run or fight.
The silence stretched. Seconds felt like minutes.
Rem stood motionless, her fingers still clenched around the edge of her apron. Her cold blue eyes flicked between the floor and Anastasia's face. The conflict inside her was visible — the exhaustion, the anger, the fear, the desperate need to protect the life she had built with Subaru.
Anastasia didn't blink. She waited patiently, letting the pressure build, letting Rem feel the full weight of the choice she had just been given.
Finally, Rem drew in a shaky breath. Her voice came out quiet, but clear and unwavering.
"I don't want you as my enemy, Lady Anastasia. and I don't want to replace you. I don't want any of this. I just want to do my job, support my husband, and live my life. That's all."
She swallowed hard.
"If that makes me your enemy... then I guess I am. But I won't pretend. I won't smile and act like I'm happy to be pushed into Sir Julius's arms. I won't let you turn me into something I'm not."
Rem's voice cracked on the last words, but she stood tall, refusing to look away.
Anastasia's smile didn't fade. If anything, it deepened, becoming almost affectionate in its eeriness.
She leaned back in her chair, tilting her head as she studied Rem with open fascination.
"Oh, Rem..." she murmured softly. "You really are perfect."
Anastasia's creepy smile lingered as she studied Rem's face, her good eye gleaming with something almost affectionate.
She leaned forward slightly, voice soft and gentle, as if confiding in a beloved sister.
"Rem... I never forced you and Julius together. Not really. I only created opportunities. I know what strong love looks like — it grows through time, through closeness, through shared moments. And you know it too."
She paused, letting her words settle, then continued with quiet intensity.
"The truth is... I don't want you to be my friend anymore, Rem. I want you to be me."
Rem's eyes widened, but Anastasia didn't stop.
"As much as it hurts me that Julius has started developing real feelings for you... I know you've started feeling something for him too. I can see it. I can feel it."
Anastasia's smile softened, almost wistful.
"I wish you would become as devoted to Julius as you are to Subaru. One simple change of person... and everything would be perfect. I never intended to push you two together in a way that would make Julius fall in love with you, or make you develop real romantic feelings for him. I only hoped you would satisfy each other's physical needs — nothing more. But things changed. They changed far more than I ever planned."
She looked directly at Rem, her expression turning almost tender.
"I'm not angry about it. I'm... grateful. You're everything I can't be anymore."
Anastasia leaned back in her chair, still smiling that unsettling smile.
"Now tell me... how did your conversation with Subaru go last night? do you mention what happen on mountain?"
"I... I don't know what you want me to say, Lady Anastasia. I'm not going to become you. I'm not going to replace you. I love Subaru. I chose him. I'm not going to betray him just because you think it would be 'perfect' for Julius. I'm not a pawn. I'm not a replacement. I'm a person."
She swallowed hard, eyes glistening but refusing to cry.
"I know I've... crossed some lines. that night was confusing and wrong. But that doesn't mean I'm going to throw away my marriage. I won't."
Anastasia's creepy smile never wavered. She tilted her head, studying Rem like a fascinating specimen, then spoke in a soft, almost pitying tone.
"Is there really a point to this conversation, Rem?"
She leaned forward, her voice dropping to an intimate whisper.
"You can reject the idea with all your might... but deep down, you know you've already crossed the line. Of course I won't tell Julius any of this. Right now he's fighting his own personal battle about what he wants. But I know him. He will lose. He will go for you. Because his heart already loves you — even if he knows it's bad, even if he knows he shouldn't. His stupid heart started beating for you the moment you let him get close."
Anastasia's smile turned sharper.
"And I have suspicions that you're trying to hide your own feelings. But from what I heard from Yae... you forced Subaru to say sorry to Julius at the party. That was really naughty of you, Rem. Forcing your own husband to apologize to the man he accused of having an affair with his wife."
Anastasia didn't mention the kiss directly, but her eyes sparkled with knowing amusement.
"I hope that on your little festival 'date' with Julius, nothing naughty happened. Because if something did happen... well, you forced your Subaru to say sorry to the guy you cheated with."
Rem's face flushed a deep, burning red — exactly like a child caught stealing. She looked away, unable to meet Anastasia's gaze, her hands shaking.
Anastasia laughed softly, a light, almost delighted sound that filled the office.
"Nothing really happened, right?"
Rem didn't answer. She simply stood there, cheeks crimson, eyes fixed on the floor, the weight of Anastasia's words pressing down on her like a physical force.
"So... how did Rem react when Subaru asked her to be Julius's date on the next festival?" she asked, voice light and almost playful. "I hope he presented it well. After all, it was his personal punishment for not believing in you."
She let out a soft, amused laugh. "It's pretty sad, really. Subaru may have had a little right in his suspicions... but it looks like he actually decided to believe in you and ask you himself. So tell me, Rem — how did the conversation go?"
She shifted uncomfortably, fingers twisting the hem of her apron so tightly the fabric bunched.
Rem took a shaky breath, clearly humiliated, but she answered.
"Subaru... he came home last night looking like he had been through hell," she said quietly, voice tight. "He was more dignified than usual. He knelt down in front of me and apologized. He said he was an asshole for making a scene at the festival, for accusing me of cheating, for not trusting me. He said he treated me badly and that he was truly sorry."
She swallowed hard, still blushing furiously.
"Then he told me about the couple festival you want him to organize... and that part of his punishment was to ask me to participate with Sir Julius as his partner. He said it was his way of making up for humiliating me and Julius in public. He said he believes I love him and would never cheat on him, so he knows it's just going to be a show for people who think I'm pretending to be you — Anastasia, Julius's wife. He said he trusts me completely and that this is his way of proving it."
Rem's voice cracked slightly on the last words. She looked down at the floor, cheeks still flaming red.
"I... I didn't know what to say. I told him it was humiliating. That I didn't want to do it. But he begged me. He said it was the only way he could keep the job and that he was doing it for us. So... I agreed. I told him I would do it, but only because he asked me to and because I love him."
Rem finally looked up at Anastasia, her eyes filled with a mix of embarrassment, anger, and deep discomfort.
A faint shimmer gathered in her eyes. Her lips trembled as she tried to steady her breathing, but the effort failed. The first tear slipped free, tracing a slow line down her flushed cheek, followed by another. She quickly turned her face away, as if hiding it might stop the rest, but her shoulders gave a small, helpless shake as the quiet crying began.
"That's what happened."
Anastasia's smile widened, slow and satisfied, her eyes gleaming with quiet amusement. She let out a soft, almost dismissive hum, clearly pleased with what she was seeing.
That was enough. Rem's breath faltered, her chest tightening as humiliation surged through her. Her eyes burned, and despite her effort to hold it back, tears spilled down her cheeks.
"See? Subaru is learning," she said softly. "And you're doing so well, Rem. I'm proud of you."
Rem said nothing. She simply stood there.
Anastasia's creepy smile remained fixed on her face as she watched Rem struggle to maintain her composure. Instead of silence, the room filled with the quiet, uneven sound of Rem's sobbing. After a few moments, Anastasia spoke again, her voice soft and almost affectionate.
"Is there something else you want to discuss, Rem?"
Rem's lips pressed into a thin line. She shook her head once, sharply, clearly unwilling to prolong the conversation.
Anastasia tilted her head, her smile never wavering. "Actually... there is something I wanted to talk to you about."
She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the desk, her expression turning businesslike yet warm.
"I'm planning a trip to Lugnica — to the hot springs. It's for important negotiations with some old business contacts. I won't be able to attend myself because of my health, so I would like you to assist Julius for these two weeks. You and Julius will go alone."
Anastasia continued smoothly, as if she were offering Rem a wonderful opportunity.
"You don't have to tell Subaru anything. Just say it's work. A business trip. Nothing more."
She paused, letting the implications sink in, then added with a gentle, knowing smile:
"You will have the perfect opportunity to discuss... your other feelings. To talk about what you really want. What Julius really wants. No Subaru. No distractions. Just the two of you, in a beautiful, relaxing place."
Rem's face flushed a deep red, but it wasn't just embarrassment — it was a mix of shock, anger, and something dangerously close to panic.
Anastasia leaned back, still smiling that same unsettling smile.
"Think about it, Rem. This could be good for everyone. For Julius. For you. For your future."
She waited, eyes bright with anticipation, watching Rem's reaction like a cat watching a mouse.
Anastasia leaned back in her chair, the creepy smile still lingering on her lips as she watched Rem's face — the flush, the tension, the barely contained panic.
She let the silence stretch just long enough to make Rem uncomfortable, then spoke in a light, almost casual tone.
"You can go back to work now, Rem."
Anastasia waved a hand dismissively, her voice soft but final.
"That's all for today. You have duties to attend to, don't you? The mansion doesn't run itself."
Rem stood there for a second longer, her fingers still twisted in her apron. Then she bowed stiffly, her voice quiet and strained.
"...Yes, Lady Anastasia."
She turned and walked toward the door, her steps hurried but controlled, as if she couldn't get out of the room fast enough. The door clicked shut behind her with a soft, final sound.
Anastasia remained seated, staring at the closed door for a long moment. The smile on her face slowly faded into something colder, more calculating.
Good girl, she thought. Run along and do your duties. Pretend everything is normal.
She leaned back, fingers drumming lightly on the desk as her mind raced ahead.
Rem was rattled. The hot springs trip had been planted. The seed of doubt and temptation had been watered. And Subaru... that pathetic cuck had already started digging his own grave by agreeing to the couple festival.
Everything was moving exactly as she wanted.
Anastasia touched the bruise around her eye gently, the pain a sharp reminder of yesterday's chaos. But the pain no longer mattered.
She had control again.
And soon — very soon — Rem would be exactly where she belonged.
In Julius's arms.
Carrying his child.
While Subaru watched from the sidelines, powerless and broken.
Anastasia's lips curved into a small, satisfied smile once more.