The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 25

25. Now a Beast

“What, what is this! Let go of me!”

Melanie shouted, swatting away Catherine’s hand that was gripping her chin.

“Listen carefully. Even broken gold coins can be melted down and used again. Gold is gold. It’s on a different level from silver.”

Catherine spoke in a chillingly arrogant voice.

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

Melanie’s shrill voice echoed in the bridal waiting room.

“The one next to you, Fesilini, seems to understand, but you don’t seem to get it at all?”

Fesilini, who had been cowering from the intense atmosphere between the two, flinched at Catherine’s sharp gaze. As Catherine said, Fesilini immediately understood her words. It meant that Catherine’s position was now different from Melanie’s.

“What’s with her?”

Melanie whispered, poking Fesilini’s side.

“W-Well….”

Fesilini trailed off, glancing at Catherine. Watching this, Catherine took another step towards Melanie, scanning her up and down.

“Melanie, I’ll make it easy for you to understand.”

“Huh?”

“I’m the First Concubine. You’re the Second Concubine. You understand that far, right?”

Melanie was annoyed, but it was an undeniable fact, so she couldn’t really argue. Melanie just gripped the hem of her wedding dress tightly with both hands, her hands trembling.

“Even if I had a falling out with His Majesty, I now have a chance to mend things. So someone like you is not even worth comparing to me.”

“What, what did you say?”

“Because you and I had different values from the start.”

As Catherine calmly unleashed her venom, the atmosphere in the bridal waiting room quickly turned cold.

“Catherine! Just because you became the First Concubine, do you think you’re the Empress or something?”

Melanie grabbed Catherine’s arm as she turned away and shouted irritably. At that moment, the door to the bridal waiting room opened.

“The ceremony will begin soon.”

It was the Emperor’s secretary, Raphael. After delivering the message to the concubines, Raphael sensed the unusual chill in the bridal waiting room.

“The Honorable Concubines, please prepare to enter.”

“Understood.”

Catherine replied to Raphael with a relaxed smile.

“Yes, then I shall take my leave….”

Raphael left the bridal waiting room, and a few minutes later, the sound of an organ began to play in the chapel.

“Melanie, why don’t you relax your face a bit? You look worse than the Empress when you’re frowning like that.”

Catherine mocked, flicking off Melanie’s hand that was still holding her arm as if dusting off dirt. Melanie’s eyes widened as if they would pop out, and her lips trembled. Catherine burst into laughter, as if pleased with Melanie’s anger.

“Shall we go out now?”

Catherine said to her attendant. She walked towards the door of the bridal waiting room first, then turned to look at the concubines.

“From this moment on, you’d better show respect to me, the First Concubine. Unless you want to know how spicy my hand can be [a threat of physical discipline].”

Catherine warned, looking at the three concubines in turn.

***

‘Haa, they’re all formidable. I’m worried about Her Majesty.’

Rosie Adellid had been quietly observing the chaotic situation from a corner of the bridal waiting room. She was the last concubine to be chosen, after Catherine, Melanie, and Fesilini. Moreover, like Melanie, she was one of the young ladies who had been chosen as a maid of the Empress. Rosie was a young lady who simply enjoyed reading books all day in her room at the Adellid estate and studying healing magic alone. However, after seeing the Empress’s face for the first time at the Emperor’s wedding, she decided to become the Empress’s maid. Rosie had been working in the dispensary of the ‘Dignified Night’ clinic, run by the healer Big, hiding her noble status. She made various magical potions in addition to the energy boosters sold at the clinic. On the night before the Emperor’s state wedding, she was working in the manufacturing room as usual. Magician Big’s office had a door leading to the dispensary, and there was a small window in that door. Rosie saw Empress Zelda’s face for the first time through the small window in the middle of the dispensary door. And the burn scar on her right side. Rosie was greatly surprised by the burn scar. She had once seen a picture similar to Zelda’s burn scar in a book about wyverns [dragon-like creatures] written in ancient Southern Continent language. She didn’t know what the picture, which looked like a mark, meant because she didn’t know the ancient Southern Continent language, but it was definitely related to wyverns. Moreover, the energy emanating from the Empress was definitely special. Although she wasn’t perfect yet, Rosie had acquired the ability to sense the energy of others while studying healing magic. The Empress possessed an aura that couldn’t be felt in ordinary people. Only one person Rosie had met in the Lapion Empire had exuded such a strong aura: Emperor Linell Gardion Edpha. Now there was one more person. And they had become husband and wife. Rosie was worried about how the two people with different powerful auras would get along, but on the other hand, she was very excited. Watching the Emperor and Empress dine together while standing in the servants’ hall, Rosie couldn’t take her eyes off them. The two people’s different auras met and mixed, creating a new energy, and the two opposite auras collided and permeated each other, swirling around them. The reason Rosie wanted to become a maid was not only because of her curiosity about the Empress’s burn scar. Throughout the state wedding, the Empress was dignified despite the arrogance of the Lapion officials and the disdain of the prickly noble ladies. Rosie felt a strange sense of satisfaction in that sight. Despite being surrounded by unfriendly people of the Lapion Empire, a situation in which she could have been easily intimidated, the Empress did not lose her elegance. Zelda’s bright pink eyes looked warm yet firm. Rosie wanted to become friends with Empress Zelda as a person. But it seemed like she had already ruined her first impression as a maid. She didn’t even catch Empress Zelda’s eye during tea time.

‘If I take my time and build trust, she might open her heart to me.’

Rosie comforted herself that way. Then, out of nowhere, she heard absurd news from her father, Count Adellid.

‘Rosie, you will now become the Emperor’s concubine. Such glory has come to our family! Hahaha, I’m embarrassed for grumbling about you being a useless daughter.’

The Emperor’s concubine? Rosie was devastated. She thought that becoming friends with the Empress was now completely out of the question. No matter how benevolent an Empress was, there would be no Empress throughout the entire continent who would open her heart to a concubine the Emperor had brought in. However, she couldn’t refuse her father, Count Adellid’s, orders. There was a threat that he would burn all the books her mother, who was a magician, had left her as inheritance. There were still many magic books she hadn’t even taken out yet. And the treasure her mother had asked her to protect before she died was also in the secret chamber. They were the most precious things in her life, more important than jewels. Rosie accepted reality and decided to find a way to approach the Empress. It would be easier to approach the Empress if she became a concubine. Whether she would like her was uncertain. For these reasons, Rosie was thinking about other things alone, even in the situation where Catherine and Melanie were checking each other and raising their voices.

‘What is Her Majesty doing right now? She must be in a bad mood, right?’

Rosie took out the fancy pin that her attendant had just put in her hair.

“I don’t want to look pretty.”

***

The ceremony held in the chapel was splendid but the procedure was simple. The four concubines entered together during the bride’s entrance. Emperor Linell, who was waiting in front of the high priest to greet the concubines, greeted them by kissing their hands in turn. Linell and the four concubines all knelt before the high priest, placed their hands on the sanctuary, recited the words of God’s blessing, and stood up. The majestic sound of the organ echoed again in the chapel. The main officials who attended the ceremony and the attendees from various noble families applauded. Linell felt much more uncomfortable with the ceremony with the concubines than with the state wedding with the Empress, whom he had met without even knowing her face. Both weddings were conducted for political reasons, but the state wedding with the Shattonil Kingdom was entirely Linell’s will, so he didn’t feel this awkward. He kissed the four concubines on the cheek in turn, but he only thought of one person.

‘Zelda, what is she doing right now?’

***

All the tedious ceremony procedures were over. Linell took a break in the waiting room of the temple chapel before returning to the main palace. As soon as he entered the waiting room, he took off his ceremonial jacket. He loosened the buttons of his ceremonial shirt and lay down on the sofa. Then, he put one arm over his forehead and closed his eyes. When he closed his eyes, Zelda’s face naturally appeared. Her, tasting the pie he had given her ten days ago, opening her eyes wide like a rabbit and raising her thumb. It was cute. No, it was lovely.

Without realizing it, the frown on his face relaxed and the corners of his lips turned up.

“You seem to be in a good mood? I feel relieved now that the ceremony is over.”

Linell opened his eyes at the familiar yet uncomfortable voice. Catherine was standing in front of the waiting room door, smiling brightly.

“What’s going on?”

Linell frowned again and asked as if he was annoyed. It was a very blunt voice to use when addressing his concubine, with whom he had just had a ceremony.

“I was wondering if you knew that, according to the concubine rankings, you should visit my bedroom first tonight.”

Catherine was proud, but she didn’t show it.

“Raphael told me before the ceremony.”

“You know. Hmm, I don’t know if Your Majesty remembers, but the place where we first met when we were 10 years old was in the bedroom.”

“Was it?”

“Yes, at that time, Your Majesty came to the hunting grounds near our duchy with the late Emperor and stayed overnight at the Duke’s castle.”

“Ah, I think I remember.”

Linell replied casually.

“You were a young boy when you came to my room then, but Your Majesty, whom I will meet in the bedroom tonight, is now….”

His eyes, which had become an adult, looked sexy and dangerous, like a hungry beast. Catherine blatantly looked at his well-built upper body muscles through the unbuttoned shirt and gave a seductive smile. Linell glanced down at his body that Catherine was staring at, then looked back at her. His eyes were like, ‘What are you daring to stare at?’ Catherine shyly turned her gaze aside.

“If you’ve had a good look, get out now.”

“You’ve changed a lot. When we were betrothed, your body wasn’t so beast-like….”

“The problem is that my patience has also disappeared like a beast.”

He growled and approached Catherine. Seeing him approaching, Catherine slowly began to lower the shoulder line of her wedding dress. As Linell came closer to her, she felt like her body would melt away. Although the place was a waiting room, she wouldn’t be able to refuse even if he desired her now.

“Show me here. Your impatient, beast-like… side.”

“I left my sword behind [referring to his virility].”

Linell snorted, picked up the ceremonial jacket he had thrown on the floor, and said.

“……Yes? No, that’s not what I meant….”

“Get out. It’s not fun.”

He raised the lowered shoulder area of Catherine’s wedding dress and turned her around.

***

“He must have gone to the concubine’s residence by now, right?”

I checked the time and went out to the terrace, standing there and feeling the cool night breeze. Fortunately, there was no order for the Empress to attend today’s ceremony. I don’t know how I spent the afternoon. I barely ate dinner and went to bed early, moving to the bathroom and letting time flow by with the water. But still, time went by slowly. I kept walking back and forth between the terrace and the bedroom, but it wasn’t time to go to sleep yet. At that time, Sharon’s voice leaked in from outside the bedroom door.

-“Now, you say? Ah, yes. It’s not time to sleep yet. Please wait a moment. I will inform Her Majesty the Empress.”

Who could be visiting at this hour? Perhaps……. A strange anticipation rose. The voices stopped and there was a knock on the door right away. When I ordered her to come in, Sharon opened the bedroom door.

“Your Majesty, the Empress….”

“Who…… is it?”