The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 6

6. For a Dignified Night!

2021.01.23.

‘I know it too well, more than enough.’ How did he notice my quick glance? I cursed my careless gaze, squeezing my eyes shut and then opening them.

“By the way, Your Majesty, did you come to the clinic alone?”

I quickly changed the subject.

“No. Secretary Rafael suddenly had a stomachache, so I was guarding the spot alone.”

“In the corner, you mean?”

“Yes, crumpled in the corner like someone said yesterday. What about the Empress?”

“Pardon?”

“Why did you come to the ‘Dignified Night’ clinic yesterday? It looked like you were receiving something.”

“I, I was…….”

My heart sank at his question. I couldn’t tell the truth. What should I do? What excuse should I make?

“Empress……?”

He called out to me, urging me to answer.

“I went to buy an energy tonic!”

“What?”

“For a dignified today, for our first night!”

“……What?”

“I’m serious!”

I clenched both fists and shouted clearly with a sincere look in my eyes. Emperor Linelle stared blankly at me for a moment before slowly pulling the blanket up to his chin. His face was full of tension. Why is he like that?

“You suddenly look tired, Your Majesty?”

“Do I look like that? That’s a relief.”

Emperor Linelle replied, closing his eyes.

“?”

“The Empress must be tired too.”

He asked, slightly opening one eye.

“I’m…… not tired at all, thanks to the energy tonic!”

A yawn was coming, but I pinched my thigh to hold it back. I said I took an energy tonic to hide the fact that I went to buy a magical potion to remove burn scars, so I couldn’t say that I felt like I would fall asleep as soon as I closed my eyes. If I had known this would happen, I would have bought and drunk an energy tonic too.

“I know the Empress’s stamina is overflowing thanks to the energy tonic, but it would be better to sleep now.”

“Should I?”

That’s the most welcome sound I’ve heard.

“Yes. We’ll check the effectiveness of that energy tonic gradually in the future.”

Check what gradually? Emperor Linelle patted the spot next to him with his hand, gesturing for me to lie down.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

As I lay down obediently, he fluttered the blanket and covered me.

“But, there doesn’t seem to be a warming magic stone in this bedroom…….”

His voice, full of doubt, was heard in the darkness.

“I don’t think so. Why, Your Majesty? Are you cold?”

“No, I’m not saying that because of that, I’m just curious.”

“About what?”

“Empress, we’re a couple now, right?”

He didn’t answer my question and suddenly asked a random question.

“That’s…… right? We’re a couple now.”

I hesitated for a moment before answering.

“That’s right. We’re a couple.”

He nodded and grabbed my hand, which was neatly placed on my stomach.

“Yo, Your Majesty?”

I was surprised by his unexpected touch and wiggled my hand to pull it away from him. Then his grip tightened. He turned his head towards me and asked, as if he was demanding an answer.

“Is holding hands something I need to ask for the Empress’s permission for?”

“No…….”

“Then let me borrow it for a bit.”

Linelle carefully intertwined his fingers with mine.

“It’s warm, that’s why. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt sleepy like this even without a warming magic stone…….”

His voice gradually slowed down and became smaller. After a moment of silence, he suddenly blurted out a word.

“Nice.”

“…….”

Silence flowed again after that short word, but my heart didn’t remain silent and continued to beat. I was tense, keeping my eyes on the ceiling. Then, suddenly, I don’t know where I got the courage, but I slowly turned my head towards Emperor Linelle. Huh? Did he fall asleep already? Only then did I begin to relax at the sight of his face, which seemed to be sound asleep. I stared at his face, which shone even in the darkness, for a while before my eyelids gradually lost strength and drooped. *** How much time had passed? My eyes opened on their own. It was still dark around me.

‘I didn’t wake up because I was hot.’

I often woke up in the middle of the night due to the hot flashes I felt in my body every two or three days. At times like that, I always had to go out to the terrace, take off my clothes, and stand in the cold wind, or sit in a bathtub filled with cold water to lower my body temperature so I could sleep again. I woke up out of habit, but today was definitely different from other times. My head, which was always heavy, was also much lighter. It was still early dawn, but my physical condition was quite refreshed, enough to start the day now. I tried to raise my upper body out of curiosity, but failed.

“Ah.”

I realized belatedly that Emperor Linelle was holding me in his arms. Did Emperor Linelle, who was cursed with hypothermia, cool my hot flashes all night? Conversely, am I acting as a human heater for him? Perhaps he felt my movements in his sleep, as he wrapped my body with both legs as if to trap me.

“Ah.”

“Don’t move. Stay still…….”

Linelle’s breath, heavy with sleep, touched my neck. I didn’t dislike his firm embrace. I gave up trying to escape from his arms and closed my eyes again. I couldn’t fall asleep easily because of the sound of his heart, which made my body vibrate. *** Tap-tap-. I vaguely woke up from sleep at the sound of shoe heels stepping on the marble floor. It wasn’t the sound of one person’s footsteps, but the sound of several people making noise at the same time. How long have I slept? I rubbed my eyes and came to my senses. As soon as I opened my eyes, the splendid ceiling mural was the first thing that came into my view. Only then did I remember that this was the Empress’s bedroom in the Lapion Empire, and I became nervous again. Before I was fully awake, I touched my hair.

“Hmm?”

I clearly remember that when I last fell asleep, my hair was covering half of my right face, but when I woke up, all my hair was tucked behind my right ear. Did I do that in my sleep? Or was it Emperor Linelle? The spot next to me was already empty. The Emperor, who had fallen asleep before me last night, seemed to have woken up before me and already left the bedroom.

“Good morning, Your Majesty the Empress.”

“?”

As a clear female voice echoed in the bedroom, several people immediately repeated the same thing.

“Good morning, Your Majesty the Empress.”

What’s going on from morning? I frowned without realizing it, startled. And I turned my head towards the direction where I heard the clear voice just now. Four noble young ladies, dressed splendidly and standing side by side with their backs to the terrace, came into my view with the morning sunlight. They were watching me, who had just woken up from bed, with curious eyes. Is it okay to enter the bedroom so carelessly before the Empress wakes up? Especially the day after spending the first night with the Emperor? From the looks of it, they seemed to be noble young ladies chosen as the Empress’s maids. Is this also a tradition of the Lapion Imperial Family? Well, compared to the tradition of the priests watching the Emperor and Empress’s first night, this isn’t a big surprise. Facing the gazes of the noble young ladies, I also looked at them as if I was watching them. The four young ladies were all beautiful. The dresses they were wearing were also incredibly fancy and expensive. Their makeup, which clearly showed that they had paid special attention to it, and their hair all had hairpins with jewels embedded in them. They all looked like they would suit the Empress’s crown much better than me, no matter who you put it on. I calmed my flustered mind for the time being. At the same time, I expressed my unspoken displeasure with my eyes. Perhaps sensing my gaze, one of them opened her mouth.

“We are the maids of Her Majesty the Empress. From today, we will guide you through the Lapion Imperial Family. We also plan to provide various assistance for Her Majesty the Empress’s quick adaptation.”

She used honorifics, but her expression and tone were as if she was the Empress. Listening to her voice, she seemed to be the young lady who first greeted me when I woke up.

“What’s your name, young lady?”

My voice came out somewhat brusquely. I didn’t say anything like ‘Please take care of me’ or ‘Thank you for becoming my maid.’ After all, I’m just a proxy Empress, so what’s the point of trying to please them? All I had to do was act in a way that didn’t violate each other’s etiquette. But since this is the Lapion Imperial Family, I couldn’t tell whether the current situation was violating etiquette or not. If I were the real Empress, I would never allow anyone to enter my bedroom without my permission. What if Emperor Linelle had given them permission to enter my bedroom first? Hmm, if that’s the case, I should never act as a human heater for the Emperor again.

“Ah, I formally greet you. I am Melanie Hetzros from the Hetzros Duchy, Your Majesty the Empress.”

Starting with Melanie, the remaining three young ladies also took a step forward one by one and began to introduce themselves.

“I am Pesilini Asto from the Asto Marquisate.”

Like Melanie, who had just finished her greeting, Pesilini also stood tall and greeted me with a haughty attitude.

“Your Majesty the Empress, I’m Sophia Winston from the Winston Marquisate!”

The young lady who greeted me this time looked the youngest. Perhaps that’s why she smiled innocently with a bright voice. Finally, the young lady with orange curly hair, who was standing alone at the end, came forward hesitantly. Unlike the other young ladies who were confidently straightening their shoulders, she had a cautious attitude.

“I greet Your Majesty the Empress. I am Rosie Adelheid from the Adelheid County. I am truly sorry for unintentionally waking you up, Your Majesty.”

Rosie, with her shy expression, seemed to be the only one who was properly judging the situation. I nodded lightly to her and opened my mouth to the other young ladies.

“You all probably know about me, so I’ll skip my introduction. From the morning, at our first meeting, there’s something I want to ask…….”

Unintentionally, my voice was flowing out quite dignifiedly, even to my own ears. The four young ladies had somewhat surprised expressions at my stiff tone. I looked at each of their faces in detail to familiarize myself with them. Three of them were looking down at me, who was still sitting in bed, and only Rosie, the orange-haired curly-haired girl who had introduced herself last, was bowing her head.

“Who dared…… let you into my bedroom without my permission?”

As I asked, giving strength to my voice as if I was interrogating them, the young ladies’ eyes widened and their pupils shook from side to side.

“Who is it?”

I asked again. Then the three young ladies glanced at one place at the same time. I turned my gaze to the person they were gesturing to. So it’s you.

“It’s me. Your Majesty the Empress.”

It was Melanie, the young lady who had greeted me first. She walked forward gracefully with a confident expression.

“Did you say Melanie?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Weren’t there any servants outside?”

“There were.”

“And then?”

As I asked back calmly and coldly, Melanie’s expression changed to a slightly embarrassed one.

“We, we have already been chosen as Her Majesty the Empress’s maids, so we naturally judged that we were qualified to enter Her Majesty the Empress’s bedroom…….”

Melanie finished her words quickly, keeping her eyes on me until the end. I also returned Melanie’s gaze and stared at her intently. Their eyes clashed for a while, and she avoided my eyes first.

“So you entered the Empress’s bedroom? Without permission, without knocking, on the morning after the first night?”

I fired back as if I was interrogating her, speaking gently and wrapping it up nicely. The moment Melanie opened her mouth to make some kind of excuse, I quickly added.

“The judgment of whether maids are qualified to enter the Empress’s bedroom is up to me, the Empress. Not yours, young lady.”

“……Please forgive me if you were offended.”

Melanie’s arrogant attitude was slightly broken by my firm tone.

“I will make sure this doesn’t happen again in the future.”

Of course, this will never happen again in the future. Because I’m going to replace you with other maids. I replied inwardly, staring intently at Melanie. But on the outside, I just nodded with a blank face.

“Then now…… we will do your makeup and choose your clothes. In the Lapion Empire style!”

As Melanie quickly put on a fake smile, the other young ladies started to chime in one by one, as if they had been waiting for it.

“The Emperor of the Lapion Empire is famous for having high standards. Unless you are beautiful to some extent, you cannot attract even a moment’s attention.”

“That’s right! So Her Majesty the Empress from the Shatoaniel Kingdom will need our insight even more.”

The young ladies were already looking down on me. While decorating me, they must be thinking that they are more suitable for the Empress of the Lapion Empire, right? I could fully see their inner thoughts in their eyes that looked down on me. Moreover, in the Lapion Empire, the Shatoaniel Kingdom is treated as a vassal state. So I expected that their attitude towards the Empress from there would not be friendly. However, if they don’t show me at least the minimum amount of respect, I don’t need to smile kindly at them either. After all, they are noble young ladies who will have nothing to do with me once I fulfill my role.

“Didn’t Her Majesty the Empress experience it last night as well?”

Melanie asked with a confident voice.

“Experience what?”

“That His Majesty is a cold and aloof person. He must have been like that in bed too.”

It was an impudent remark. I shrugged my shoulders and asked back.

“Why do you think so?”

“Because he has never had a woman by his side before. It is difficult to win His Majesty’s heart unless you have considerable beauty. So Her Majesty the Empress must receive our help…….”

She’s beating around the bush to say that my beauty is lacking. I interrupted Melanie, who was confidently reciting her words, and got out of bed.

“Wait a moment.”

Because I thought of an easier way than explaining last night’s events to the young ladies in detail.

“I don’t think I need that kind of help?”

The young ladies’ eyes, full of curiosity, began to move busily at my words.