The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 10

10. Came to Sleep

2021.02.06.

How did this happen?

“Y-Your Majesty… at this hour… how did you come?”

“By walking.”

“?”

“Hmph, you don’t need more water?”

“Ah, I’d like to drink a little more…”

I reached for the glass of water he was holding, still thirsty.

“This is warm water, is that alright?”

He asked, lifting the glass slightly as if to keep it out of my reach.

“I thought you just drank cold water… or am I mistaken?”

“You’re not mistaken. I thought you desperately wanted cold water, so I held this water in my mouth before giving it to you.”

“…Excuse me?!”

Emperor Linelle seemed amused by my bewildered expression.

“The temperature of things I touch decreases, so it’s possible [He has a unique ability to lower the temperature of objects].”

“Ah, so that’s why the water got cold?”

“Yes, it got colder because it was in my mouth.”

I was speechless at his explanation.

“Do you need more water?”

“Yes, I do, but…”

“That means you need me.”

Muttering to himself and nodding, he met my eyes and chuckled.

“Wait.”

As I swallowed hard, he brought the glass to his lips. Then, without a moment’s hesitation, he drank the water and approached my face. My lips parted as if waiting for him.

I absorbed the water he slowly transferred from his mouth. Surprisingly, the water from his mouth was as cold as ice water. The heat in my mouth, which felt like it was boiling, gradually subsided with the cool sensation and his soft touch.

“Still… looks like you’re very thirsty?”

He whispered, gently holding my chin after parting his lips.

“I’m alright now…!”

As if he didn’t hear me, Emperor Linelle drank all the remaining water in the glass and gave me water through his mouth again.

“Haa.”

The fire that had been rising from my throat now felt completely extinguished. It was like finding an oasis in the middle of a scorching desert and plunging into it. Even after giving me the last drop of water, he still had his lips on mine. I gently pushed his shoulder.

“I-I’m really okay now.”

I said, wiping my lips, which were moistened by Emperor Linelle, with the back of my hand.

“I’m the one who gave you the cool water, but it’s strange. Why is my body warming up…?”

He fiddled with the glass he was still holding.

“Must be my imagination?”

He murmured, then looked up at me again.

“Empress, are you perhaps not feeling well? Like a cold.”

He placed his hand on my forehead and tilted his head.

“You don’t have a fever.”

It seemed he couldn’t feel the heat inside me either.

“I’m not sick. I was just thirsty in my sleep. But Your Majesty, what brings you here at this hour…?”

“I said I would come to the Empress’s Palace tonight, didn’t I, during lunch?”

“Ah, yes, but there was no message until evening, so I thought you weren’t coming.”

“I thought it would be too late… and I didn’t want the Empress to lose sleep waiting, so I told them not to tell you.”

“Yes…”

“I just stopped by to see your face before leaving, but I ended up waking you.”

“With Your Majesty’s lips, right?”

I countered with a smile, but he still looked at me with a worried expression.

“You seemed to be having a nightmare earlier?”

“Ah, it happens sometimes.”

I brushed it off lightly, and he didn’t ask further, though he looked somewhat unconvinced.

“I see.”

We exchanged glances in silence for a moment. Unable to bear the awkward atmosphere, I first raised the corners of my lips, and he followed suit, as if he was also awkward. Then, after clearing his throat a few times, he got up from the bed where he had been sitting.

“Ahem, well, now that you’re better, I’ll be on my way.”

“Yes…”

“?”

At his words of leaving, I also got up from the bed to see him off.

“Are you going back to your palace?”

“…Yes. Where else would I go?”

Emperor Linelle’s voice was somewhat cold. He spoke as if he would turn around immediately, but for some reason, he remained in place. What should I say to the Emperor who was standing there blankly looking at me? Should I politely stop him? Or should I tell him again to have a safe trip back? The reason for this hesitation stemmed from one thing. If I were his real wife, I would have definitely grabbed his arm. But I am not.

“Then, please have a safe trip back…”

I am not Emperor Linelle’s real wife. In the end, I lowered my head and greeted him again.

“Just stay here. You don’t need to come out.”

Emperor Linelle turned around and ordered me as I was about to follow him to the bedroom door.

“Ah, yes.”

Watching his back as he walked to the bedroom door, I felt a little disappointed. I had a fleeting thought that if he turned around just one more time, I might gather the courage to approach him. Clang-. He eventually left the bedroom as he was. A sense of emptiness seemed to seep in through the crack in the bedroom door. I stood there staring at the bedroom door until his receding footsteps disappeared. Silence returned. I turned off the small lamp he had left on and lay back down on the bed. In the darkness, I opened my eyes and recalled the moment when I had vaguely woken up from my sleep. I traced my memory back to the point when the water he had given me permeated through my lips. And I put my hand over my slightly beating heart and tried to feel that sensation again. Cool water, the soft touch of his lips, the soft movement of his lips as he gave me the water… Everything seemed sweet. No, it was sweet. And it was also thrilling. I brought the hand I had placed on my heart to my lips. And very naturally, my hand caressed the scar on the right side of my face. Would he have left if I had grabbed him?

“Get a grip. What are you expecting?”

I have nothing in the Lapion Imperial Palace. Once again, I hypnotized myself and reminded myself of the role I had been given. I cannot be his woman. He will never love me. So get a grip! …But what if he does love me?

“No.”

I shook my head wildly from side to side to shake off the thoughts that kept fueling hope.

“That can’t be!”

The moment I burst out laughing and pulled the blanket over my head again. Clang-. The bedroom door opened without a knock. I was startled and jolted upright. A dark shadow was cast long in the bedroom.

“W-Who is it?!”

My voice came out excessively high in my panic. Despite my question, the dark shadow slowly approached me without any answer. The pitch-black darkness unnecessarily heightened people’s fear to the extreme.

“I asked who it is! Daring to come in at this hour without knocking! Can’t you hear me? You have no fear! Who are you?!”

“Your fearless husband.”

“…Y-Your Majesty?”

I quickly turned on the lamp. His blue eyes were clearly visible even in the dim light.

“Why, did you come back?”

“I thought about it on the way back, and I felt wronged.”

“Yes? What do you mean?”

“Couldn’t you have at least offered me a cup of tea, even if it was just a formality?”

Emperor Linelle asked, sounding dissatisfied.

I glanced at the table clock.

“…Tea at this hour?”

“Well, it’s not really the time for tea.”

He also checked the time following my gaze, then slightly relaxed the frown he had been wearing until just now and changed his words.

“What about telling me to stay the night? That, you wouldn’t say even if you died?”

“T-That’s… I thought Your Majesty wouldn’t want that.”

“How does the Empress know that?”

Emperor Linelle’s sharp gaze was fixed on my face. His eyes stared at me as if persistently questioning me.

“I know that Your Majesty is merciful and cares about me, but I was worried that you might be coming to the Empress’s Palace against your will…”

“Empress, I’m sorry to interrupt, but. I don’t know what you’re talking about. Besides…”

He raised one hand and stopped me from speaking, then poured out his words.

“Do you think I’m merciful? Even today, more than ten people have lost their heads by my command?”

“…M-Merciful, I’ll take that back.”

“Yes. Anyway, you’re saying you didn’t hold me back because you were thinking of me?”

“Y-Yes.”

“You don’t know that your consideration makes me angry?”

“I-I’m sorry, Your Majesty!”

“That means I don’t need that kind of consideration.”

He came closer to the bed.

“Instead, I will gladly accept the consideration of giving me the seat next to the Empress.”

“Yes? Are you saying you’ll sleep here?”

I looked back and forth between Emperor Linelle and the bed with wide eyes.

“Then, do you think I came back just to complain about why you didn’t hold me back?”

“T-Then…?”

“I came to sleep!”

Emperor Linelle spat out the words in a sulky tone and carelessly threw the robe he had been wearing over his shoulders onto the floor.

As I stood there blankly watching with a stiff face, he lightly patted my shoulder and flopped down on the bed.

“Are you going to stand there and dare to stare down at me, the Emperor? Well, that’s refreshing too, but.”

“A-No.”

I immediately lowered my gaze.

“The Empress should lie down too. I’d like to have a conversation from the same perspective.”

He pulled my hand with a slightly tired voice.

“I’m tired of seeing only eyes looking up at me every day. I want the Empress to look me in the eye up close.”

I carefully lay down in the space he had given me and looked up at the ceiling.

“Turn to me.”

He commanded. I quickly turned my face towards the Emperor.

“You’re being harsh. Turn your whole body to me.”

His deep voice contained tenderness. As if I were under a spell, I unknowingly turned my body towards Emperor Linelle in an instant. He had already turned his body towards me. He was waiting for my gaze, supporting his handsome face with one hand. As I faced his beautiful features up close, my breathing seemed to tangle. I swallowed hard and awkwardly parted my lips. He stared into my eyes without saying a word, then covered my eyes with his large hand and whispered.

“I know I have a desirable face.”

It was a command not to look anymore. When I chuckled at those words, he spoke in a voice without any hint of joking this time.

“I think I’ve disturbed the Empress’s sleep for no reason. Are you uncomfortable?”

“No, Your Majesty.”

I whispered, shaking my head.

“You understand. That’s what my existence is like. I’m not someone who can make anyone comfortable.”

“I… I am comfortable with Your Majesty.”

“What?”

As if something was wrong with my answer, Emperor Linelle’s neat eyebrows shot up. He slowly raised his upper body and looked down at me with a serious expression and asked.

“Saying that your husband is comfortable in bed… is insulting, isn’t it?”

He misunderstood my words in a strange way. He sounded truly displeased.

“No! T-That is, comfortable doesn’t mean that I don’t feel you as a man! It’s just that when we kissed, my heart was beating so fast that I wanted to tear it out, no, I didn’t mean I wanted to tear out your lips, I meant I wanted to tear out my heart…!”

“…”

What am I even babbling about right now? In my panic, I blurted out words that made no sense at all, then stopped, gasping for breath.

“Keep talking.”

“I-I’m sorry, Your Majesty. I forgot that I was in front of Your Majesty because I was half-asleep and just blurted out whatever came to mind.”

“Keep going. I’ll finish it, so the Empress can babble or spread as she pleases.”

“…Yes?”

“I originally have a talent for finishing things. Wars, people, anything. I always see things through to the end.”

For some reason, those words sent a chill down my spine.

“So, what I mean is, what I want to say is…”

“You want to keep your lips together?”

“Yes! I want to put them together again… Yeeeek?!”

“If that’s what you want, I’m happy to.”

Emperor Linelle’s hands cupped my face.

“I permit it.”

He immediately began to torment my lips.

“Attach them. As much as you want.”

His sweet voice echoed within me. I closed my eyes tightly and held my breath. My shoulders tensed up at the same time as my body stiffened.

“Empress, is it because I don’t have water in my mouth now that you’re not opening your lips?”

Emperor Linelle asked, tilting his head and touching his lips to mine. Hearing his words, I finally realized that I was clenching my lips tightly.

“Ah, sorry… Mmph!”

As I exhaled the breath I had been holding, my lips parted. Emperor Linelle seized that tiny gap and dug in.