The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 3

3. The Kiss Was Inevitable

January 13, 2021.

Sigh, this is just awful. My thoughts are getting complicated.

“By the way, Empress.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Hmm, strange.”

Emperor Linell started to say something but stopped. He left the word ‘strange’ hanging, seemingly waiting for me to ask, ‘What is it?’ Since I wasn’t curious at all, I remained silent. If he had something to say, he would say it without me asking.

“I thought my face was quite decent because other women do everything they can to catch my eye, you know?”

As I expected, the Emperor, tired of waiting, started talking on his own. To end with the word ‘decent,’ the Emperor’s face is at a level that even attaching all sorts of fancy words would not be enough. *Your* self-assessment is really harsh. I looked up at him.

“But now that I see it, it seems like other parts of me are quite decent too?”

I was confused about how to react to the playful look that flashed in his eyes amidst the seriousness.

“Even if you like my instep more than my face, I’m telling you to look at my face when I speak.”

“Ah, yes. Your Majesty.”

Only then did I realize that I had been staring at his instep. After answering, when my gaze went down to his instep again, he quickly lifted my chin.

“There are plenty of people who bow their heads in front of me for life. There’s no need to add the Empress to that list.”

It was a tone that was hard to tell whether it was an order or a request. As he wished, I stared intently into his eyes.

“Much better. I want the Empress’s eyes to stay on my face, although I know my instep is more likable than my face.”

“Oops…”

Without realizing it, an exclamation that seemed to criticize the Emperor’s humor popped out. He seemed to know that his humor was a bit much, as the corners of his lips slowly rose, and he had an embarrassed expression. Seeing his self-reflecting appearance, I naturally burst into laughter.

“Pfft!”

Have I finally lost my mind? Laughing out loud like this in front of the Emperor. He stared at me with an indifferent gaze, then raised a hand and wiped one of his cheeks. It seemed like my saliva had splashed on his face.

“I-I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”

I tapped my lips with my hand, asking for forgiveness. He let out a hollow laugh. In the midst of my confusion, his sculpted and smooth upper body suddenly came closer to me. As a result, my body, which had been sitting upright, was pushed back onto the bed. Just before I fell backward, I quickly supported myself with both hands on the bed.

“If I were to answer the Empress’s question, the priests do not observe the first night with a remarried Empress. Is your curiosity satisfied now?”

*Damn it.* Princess Resilia must be comfortable.

“Yes.”

I nodded sullenly. And as I openly admired the Emperor’s chest muscles, which were subtly twitching in front of me, our eyes met. The finely divided abs felt more sensual under the dim lighting. At first glance, his firm abs had many large and small scars. The scars of glory, gained on the battlefield, left traces on his stomach as if engraving memories. Perhaps feeling my hot gaze, Emperor Linell ran his hand over his stomach.

“They were weak opponents.”

He said, pointing to the largest scar just above his navel.

“Yes?”

“I’m talking about the one who made this scar.”

“Ah, but how did a weak opponent make the biggest scar?”

“This is a secret, but since it’s our first night as a couple, I’ll only tell the Empress.”

He suddenly lowered his voice. A secret? Only telling me? Whether in a good or bad way, I opened my eyes wide and listened intently to the words ‘especially’ and ‘secret.’

“You see, I…”

“Yes…”

“I strangely let my guard down against weak opponents.”

What is he saying?

“…That’s a really big secret?”

I said sarcastically, pretending to sympathize with his words as much as possible. I was worried that he might have noticed my intention, but fortunately, he nodded at my words and chimed in, “Right?”

The faces that had inadvertently gotten close quickly moved away again.

“You’ll be nervous, but there’s not much to worry about.”

“What do you mean?”

“Anyway, the priests are incompetent with fake divine power, so they won’t even know if we’re really consummating our first night. So, I’m planning to just act it out and end it.”

“Act…?”

“Yeah. I have no intention of letting the priests freely admire my abilities.”

I wanted to ask what kind of abilities he was talking about, but my heart had already understood the meaning and started beating fast. *Heart, calm down.* I don’t think this is something you should be looking forward to, is it?

“I have no intention of enjoying it in this state either.”

Emperor Linell muttered in a serious tone. I listed those words in my head and analyzed their meaning. Was ‘this state’ referring to me? Or was it referring to this situation where the priests were observing? And what was he talking about acting? I couldn’t get any clues from his chillingly indifferent expression.

“Shall we start now?”

“…Yes?”

Emperor Linell chuckled at my flustered face and immediately shouted towards the bedroom door in a very businesslike tone.

“Come in!”

***

Before the priests entered, the servants came into the bedroom first. The servants quickly lowered the black see-through curtains that were tied to the bedposts on all three sides. Only then did I realize that Emperor Linell’s words about not worrying and ending it with acting were feasible. As the Emperor and I sat side by side on the bed, the servants went out of the bedroom, and soon the priests entered silently like ghosts. The priests, visible through the black see-through curtains, looked solemn. Each of them held a bible in their hands. I wanted to ask why they brought bibles to the Emperor and Empress’s first night. The priests stood at a distance from the bed, surrounding it, and began to recite the prayer that was recited before the main ceremony. Emperor Linell subtly nudged my arm. I was blankly looking at the priests, who were only silhouettes through the see-through curtains, and when I looked at him, he whispered softly in my ear.

“As you can see, the priests can only see our figures. They can’t see anything in detail. Besides, they’ll be singing a song of blessing and leaving the bedroom, so just bear with it.”

“Yes? Then that means…”

That the priests aren’t directly observing the first night?

“You should know you’re lucky, Empress.”

“Me?”

I’m lucky? I widened my eyes and asked back at his words that didn’t resonate with me at all. He nodded.

“The previous Emperors’ first nights were directly observed by the priests in the bedroom, but it’s different now.”

Really?

“…Since when?”

“Since me.”

He said that he had eliminated that tradition this time.

“Instead, I made a compromise and agreed.”

The agreement was this: the priests would come into the bedroom before the first night and offer a prayer, and when the Emperor and Empress shared a kiss, they would go outside and wait. Then, when the first night was over, they would come back into the bedroom and sing a song of blessing, completing their role.

“Why the expression? Should I have changed it from my successor’s generation?”

“Ah, no. You have done a truly wonderful thing, Your Majesty.”

He should have told me that from the beginning… I was so nervous!

“But, we need to deceive the priests a bit.”

“How? What should I do?”

Just tell me. I’m already deceiving you, the Emperor, so what’s the big deal about deceiving the priests?

“Seeing you say that so actively, acting won’t be a problem. About the kiss…”

Kiss?

“I’ll pretend to move, so please cooperate, Empress.”

“What kind of cooperation…?”

“Just stay still. That’s all you need to do.”

In other words, the kiss is the signal flare to announce the first night. Still, it was really fortunate that the tradition had changed and the priests would retreat at that point. It’s a situation where we have to match our lips, not our hands and feet, for the sake of acting.

“Really… do I just have to stay still?”

“Why, do you want to lead? Then do so.”

“Ah, no, Your Majesty. I will follow your orders!”

I quickly whispered.

“Good.”

Emperor Linell let out a long sigh. Looking at him now, he also seemed nervous.

“Other things don’t need to be shown to the priests, but the kiss, there’s no choice.”

His voice, as if asking for my understanding, sounded somehow sad. *May a bit of sweetness accompany this poor Emperor.* What sin have I committed again? But my heart, forgetting my situation, pounded heavily at the sight of Emperor Linell’s lips. Anyway, I have to endure until Princess Resilia arrives at the Lapheon Imperial Palace. It won’t be easy, but my survival game has already begun. I must not get caught. Not for Princess Resilia, not for Prince Tesler, but only for myself. To get the magic potion that will remove the burn scars and live as my complete self.

“Begin the ceremony.”

Emperor Linell’s voice towards the priests, like someone attending a boring meeting, was dry. At the same time as the Emperor’s words, the priests stopped the prayer and began to recite something new. Words like an incomprehensible spell flowed from the priests’ mouths with a mysterious rhythm. Is it like background music played before consummating the first night? I can’t hear it in detail, but the voices repeatedly rose and fell, constantly searching for ‘God.’ In a little while, I might even be able to sing along. I was at a loss as to what to do. Well, Emperor Linell, who seems experienced, will take care of leading, right? As I continued to listen to the priests’ singing, I felt a bit dazed as if hypnotized. Linell glanced at me and whispered quietly.

“Is it reacting to the priests’ incantation?”

What. Is there really some kind of divine power in the spell that the priests are chanting that makes me feel strange? Come to think of it, my body was already tingling even though our lips hadn’t touched yet. Moreover, unfortunately, a heat was rising inside my body. Since I was seven years old when I got burned, this reaction appeared several times a month. This heat was a symptom that only I felt. Even if others looked at me or touched my skin directly, they would not be able to tell that my body was hot at all. When I felt the pain of the burn scar on my face sizzling and felt like I was trapped in a fire, I had to take a cold bath for a while. Things were a bit better in winter, but in other seasons, the only way was to cool my body in cold water. But even cold water becomes lukewarm after a few minutes. When the heat rose severely, hot steam would rise from the water even after just 10 minutes. Why did that heat symptom have to appear now? I wanted to throw myself into cold water right away. Although my burn scars were not visible because I had drunk the magic potion, the burning pain in that place was still there. It was even added to the feeling that someone was holding a fire close to my eyeballs and searing them. I couldn’t even see Emperor Linell’s face properly.

“Don’t frown.”

He whispered, covering my hot cheeks with his cold hands. He seemed to think I was annoyed.

“My body is getting too hot… it feels like it’s burning… that’s why.”

I barely opened my lips and replied. Emperor Linell raised his eyebrows. His cold blue eyes turned dark, and a look of embarrassment flashed across his face. Ah, I think my words caused a misunderstanding for him?

“Excellent. The acting.”

Emperor Linell muttered softly, placing his lips lightly on mine.

“That’s not it, ah…!”

Emperor Linell’s great and noble lips suddenly overlapped between my parted lips.

*Oh my god.* And with his soft and skillful kiss that followed, my eyes slowly closed. In comparison, my stiff lips were being swept around like a fool. Unexpectedly, the kiss with Emperor Linell was like an oasis to me. My parched mouth quickly became refreshing, as if I had chewed a handful of mint leaves. The burning pain also subsided a lot. How could this be… I put my hands on his dignified face and actively accepted his movements. *Let’s live first.* After quenching my thirst for a while, the heat definitely decreased. When I slowly opened my eyes, Emperor Linell had a look as if something had been stolen. His eyes, wandering because of me, asked me:

‘I told you that you didn’t have to be so active, did I?’

I hurriedly took my lips off.

“Haa…”

Emperor Linell let out a long breath and glanced at me. When I looked at the black see-through curtains, the priests who had been standing like ghosts were nowhere to be seen.

“W-When did they all leave? They left without saying goodbye?”

“They left a long time ago. While we were kissing passionately.”

He said, wiping his glistening lips with the back of his hand.

“…I’m sorry.”

For kissing so passionately without permission. Emperor Linell, who had been looking at me silently, began to change into a face that was lost in thought.

“That can’t be… what is it?”

He muttered to himself, then put his hands on both of my shoulders and pushed me down as if to push me away.

“Y-Your Majesty, the priests have already left?”

I said urgently to him, lying sprawled on the bed.

“I know.”

“But why…”

“Wait a moment, stay still. There’s something I need to check.”

The distance between him and me was gradually narrowing.