The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 55

55. The Manliness Vanisher

2021.07.14.

I smiled brightly at the man who was frowning at me. He scoffed, clearly showing his discomfort.

“I’m speechless.”

“……Pardon?”

“Zelda, what was that you said earlier?”

“What do you mean?”

“What? ‘You have a very fine appearance? You could represent all the continents, hohoho?’”

He looked at me askance, mimicking what I had said to Prince Norton. An emotion that didn’t suit his deep voice was evident.

“Your Majesty, are you jealous right now? Hohoho.”

“!”

When I teased him, Rinell’s expression turned fierce. I quickly erased my smile and spoke primly, like an empress.

“I was just complimenting him out of courtesy. He is a distinguished guest.”

“That’s… something you only do for those pitiful-looking Southern Continent guys!”

He growled. He was also subtly admitting that Prince Norton’s appearance was handsome.

“Yes! Exactly.”

“What?”

“He looked so pitiful to me, so I complimented him on purpose, you know?”

His eyes flickered slightly at my lie.

“I thought I should be more polite because he pales in comparison to Your Majesty’s looks, you see?”

The frown on his face slowly began to ease.

“So… in your eyes, Prince Norton’s face is just so-so, like it’s half-baked?”

Rinell pointed to the audience hall door with his finger and asked. A half-baked face? He was evaluating Prince Norton’s appearance that way again. Ugh, what the heck. I decided to humor him a bit more.

“So-so? That’s a generous assessment, don’t you think?”

“……Huh?”

“Compared to Your Majesty, his manliness is completely gone, you know?”

Twitch, twitch. Yes! Rinell’s cheekbones twitched. No sound came out, but his face was already on the verge of a hearty laugh.

“Keuh, why do I like you?”

Rinell nudged my arm with his elbow and asked in a whisper.

“Because I keep getting prettier?”

“That’s the fifth reason. I’m talking about the first reason.”

……There are five reasons why he likes me?

“Well? I don’t know. What’s the first reason?”

“Because you’re honest.”

“!”

“Because you can’t lie.”

“……Ah.”

God! Please forgive me, who lives in lies every day as a proxy empress. God! Please watch over him, who is smiling so innocently, unaware that he is being deceived by lies.

“But… what are the other reasons you like me?”

I asked with an expectant voice.

“That, I’ll tell you one each month.”

“Why?”

“Because I haven’t found them all yet.”

What?

“……The earlier slots are empty, so why is ‘because I keep getting prettier’ the fifth reason?”

“I think there must be bigger advantages than just your face.”

He said with a confident look.

“Is that how it works? It sounds like you’re making things up all of a sudden, but that’s probably……”

“Yeah, it’s just your imagination.”

He was a man who spoke jokes like truths and truths like jokes, so I couldn’t tell how much truth was in what he was saying now.

“Wait. I’ll figure out the other reasons I like you soon.”

“Yes……”

I answered nonchalantly and laughed it off.

“You seem to have a very accurate eye.”

He said admiringly. He seemed to be saying that because of my assessment that Prince Norton’s face lacked manliness.

“I’ve been a bit blurry-eyed lately like Your Majesty, but I’m pretty accurate when it comes to seeing things.”

“Yes, you have very high standards, too.”

“……That’s right.”

I nodded contentedly, watching his cheekbones rise.

“So that’s why you’re so…… huh? Like that, is it?”

“What…… huh? So, yes?”

“This isn’t normal. Because of me.”

Rinell tapped his heart and chuckled, covering his mouth with his fist.

“Your heart was beating so hard this morning. I really wanted to buy a new heart, no matter how much it cost, and put it in you.”

“That sounds touching, but why does it feel so creepy?”

“I’m just a creepy guy to begin with.”

There it was again. His habit of making light of his hypothermia curse.

“That’s why I give you my warmth every night.”

I smiled, holding his cold hand.

“……Huh?”

“My body temperature, I mean.”

He smiled back at me.

“But it’s so strange. Your hands are always warm.”

He said, looking down at our clasped hands. I’m feeling cool thanks to you……. He and I were feeling opposite temperatures and were happy at the same time. So, we are becoming necessary to each other. No, we already have. How long will this happiness last? As soon as that thought occurred to me, my brightly smiling face slowly faded.

“Shall we sit and wait? While drinking the tea we were drinking earlier.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

We sat side by side and waited for Prince Norton. Rinell picked up a document on the table. While he was looking at the document, I wrapped my teacup with both hands and blew heat into it. The cooled black tea quickly became warm enough to drink. I quickly switched his teacup with mine.

“Drink, Your Majesty.”

I naturally put my black tea in his hand.

“Hmm? It seems the tea hasn’t cooled down yet?”

“Really? It feels about the same as before?”

I pretended not to know as I brought the black tea he was drinking to my lips.

“Maybe not……?”

He shrugged once and drank the black tea I had warmed with my hands without much suspicion.

“Still, something feels strange?”

He took his lips off the teacup and looked inside intently, then spoke again. Just then, the audience hall door opened.

“He’s here. The manliness vanisher.”

Rinell looked at Prince Norton walking in and whispered in my ear.

“Pfft!”

The moment I made eye contact with Prince Norton, I spewed the black tea I had in my mouth like a fountain.

Surprisingly, two men’s hands appeared in front of me at the same time. Prince Norton took out a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to me, and Rinell……

“Don’t worry. Luckily, it doesn’t seem to have splashed on your dress much.”

He put his large hand in front of my mouth. Oh my gosh! What a disgrace in front of a foreign prince. I’m supposed to be the empress of the Lapion Empire, yet I’m showing such a clumsy side. No, that’s secondary. How dare I spit black tea on the emperor’s hand! But this is because Rinell voluntarily put his hand over my mouth like a mask, so he won’t make an issue of it later, right?

“Please use this to wipe it off.”

Prince Norton politely offered his handkerchief to me once more.

“Thank you. I’ll use it well.”

As I was about to raise my hand to receive Prince Norton’s handkerchief, Rinell quickly snatched it away. Prince Norton and I looked at him with bewildered expressions.

“I blocked the black tea that came out of the Empress’s mouth with my hand, so shouldn’t I be the one who needs the handkerchief? Why, am I wrong?”

“……H-How could you be, Your Majesty. Please, use it as you wish. Hahaha!”

Prince Norton said, forcing a smile with a flustered expression.

“Thank you. I will cherish this.”

“Pardon?”

“Ah, I misspoke. I should wash it and return it.”

I laughed at his statement, waving the handkerchief and speaking like a shy girl. I almost snatched Prince Norton’s handkerchief from Rinell’s hand to wipe the black tea that was still flowing from my mouth and to hide my laughter.

“I’ll borrow it for a bit too. I spilled black tea.”

I unfolded Prince Norton’s handkerchief and dabbed it around my mouth.

“Your Majesty, the black tea is also on your neck……”

Prince Norton, who was sitting in front of me, pointed to his right neck with his finger and cautiously said to me. Come to think of it, I really felt a stream of black tea flowing down my neck to my collarbone.

“Ah, thank you.”

I picked up Prince Norton’s handkerchief that was on my lap again. But there was no need to use the handkerchief. Rinell wiped the black tea flowing down my neck with his sleeve. I made eye contact with Prince Norton, who was sitting in front of me. Prince Norton looked at Rinell’s actions with a curious expression and carefully opened his mouth.

“It’s a handkerchief that you’re going to wash and give back anyway, so why bother using Your Majesty’s sleeve……”

“There are parts that can be used, even if it’s a handkerchief.”

Rinell said solemnly, as if reciting a law.

“What do you mean by that……?”

Prince Norton asked back with a dumbfounded expression.

“What do I mean? It’s a very wise statement.”

“Pardon?”

“No, it’s because I’m going to wash my clothes anyway. Is that an answer?”

“Ah, yes…… Your Majesty.”

Leaving Prince Norton’s bewildered face behind, Rinell naturally changed the subject.

“The prince will naturally participate in the hunt, right?”

“That is correct.”

“Do you usually enjoy hunting?”

“I only catch prey that needs to be caught.”

I felt like there was a hidden barb in Prince Norton’s words.

“You’re the type to set a target and hunt.”

“That’s right.”

“That means you’re skilled enough, right?”

Rinell scanned him up and down and asked.

“You flatter me.”

Knock, knock-. The conversation was interrupted by another knock. This time it was the head attendant.

“Stian, what’s going on?”

“Your Majesty, the Shattonil Kingdom’s carriage has just entered the Imperial Palace.”

Where…… Shattonil Kingdom? Prince Tesler is here?!

“Ah, I forgot to tell the Empress. Prince Tesler sent word that he would visit briefly before the hunting competition.”

Rinell said to me with a gentle smile.

“I see……”

I couldn’t tell what kind of expression I was making right now. I had heard in advance from Grand Duke Martins that Prince Tesler would visit the Lapion Empire before the hunting competition, but I had no idea it was today. I pretended to be gentle on the outside, but my eyes were instinctively looking for something that could be used as a weapon. When I saw Prince Tesler, I wanted to point a knife at his vile neck right away. Even if I only had a fountain pen in my hand instead of a knife, I was confident that I could cut off Prince Tesler’s breath in an instant. There was something I wanted to ask the prince. Why did he do that to Bonis? Where is she now?

“Stian, pay special attention to the guests from the Empress’s home country, the Shattonil Kingdom.”

“Of course, Your Majesty. And according to the report from the gate, one more person accompanied Prince Tesler.”

“Really? Who is it?”

“It’s Princess Resilia.”

“!”

The princess is here too?!

“Prince Tesler’s younger sister?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Oh my, you startled me!”

Stian was startled by me suddenly getting up and took a step back. More precisely…… because of me and Prince Norton. I was surprised and got up because I heard that Princess Resilia was accompanying him, but why did the prince get up with such an excited face?

“The Empress seems very happy that guests from her home country have arrived.”

Rinell also got up from his chair. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to see my flustered expression.

“But Prince, why does your complexion look like that? You look surprised?”

He narrowed his eyes and asked Prince Norton. I was also curious about the reason.

“I, I…… I was just surprised that the princess of the Shattonil Kingdom came with him. I remember hearing rumors that she is a great beauty……”

As Prince Norton stammered, Rinell burst into laughter.

“Oh my, you have such an honest side. Hahaha.”

“That’s right. If you’re a man, it’s all, of course…… wouldn’t it be?”

Seeing Prince Norton, who had been looking so relaxed all along, even stuttering, I had a hunch. When he was staying in the Shattonil royal family as a mercenary knight, he must have fallen in love with Princess Resilia’s face in the royal family. Anyway, men. Suddenly, I felt uneasy. What if Rinell…… falls in love with Princess Resilia after seeing her? The beautiful face of the princess came to my mind clearly. Haa, I was amused by myself for worrying about something so obvious. If you’re a man, there’s no man who wouldn’t fall in love with Princess Resilia after seeing her. Thump, thump, thump-. My heart couldn’t overcome the anxiety and started beating violently. Rinell said to me and Prince Norton.

“Shall we all go out to meet the guests?”

And he held out his hand to me. I had to go with him to greet Princess Resilia.