The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 63

63. Where Have You Been?

I quickly moved my hand to strike, aiming for the other person’s vital point. But then…

“It’s me, Your Majesty.”

A familiar male voice. Who was it? I’d definitely heard it before, but I was too flustered to think clearly. If there had been any indication he meant harm, I would have attacked immediately. Instead, the man simply placed a black cloth over my face without any threatening moves. The cloth, which turned out to be the robe he was wearing, was slowly removed.

“Who…?”

“Shh, just a moment.”

I craned my neck to get a better look at the man’s face, but he grabbed my shoulder and made me crouch down. He spread his robe and covered my head again. Before I knew it, I was huddled low with him. Fortunately, the white kitten remained nestled quietly in my arms. Crouching so close, I could see the man’s face under the robe. Surprisingly, it was…

“Prince Norton?”

He nodded silently. I stared at him, wondering what on earth was going on. Prince Norton mouthed the words ‘just a moment.’ When I nodded, he pointed. I followed his gaze. In the distance, in the field, I saw a man and a woman dressed as a maid. What were they doing there? And why was I in this situation? And what about this kitten that had jumped into my arms? And now Prince Norton had suddenly appeared… Questions flooded my mind, but I decided to focus on the two people Prince Norton was pointing at first. They seemed to be talking, but the atmosphere didn’t suggest they were well-acquainted. Just as the maid was about to walk past the man after their conversation…

“Ugh!”

A short scream escaped the maid’s mouth, which was quickly covered by the man’s hand.

“Keuh… !”

The maid with braided pigtails slumped, her forehead dropping onto the man’s shoulder. After a moment, the man took a step back. The maid raised one hand towards him before collapsing weakly to the ground.

“Gasp.”

I was so startled by the sudden event that I flinched and fell backward. Prince Norton grabbed my arm and helped me up. The man who had just attacked the maid must have heard us, because he started walking slowly towards us. Prince Norton quickly placed his hand on the sword hilt at his waist. I mentally braced myself. I didn’t know who he was, but if he attacked, I couldn’t just stand there. Prince Norton and I held our breath, listening to the cautious sound of the man’s footsteps as he approached. But when there was no further sound from our direction, the man didn’t come any closer. Instead, he turned towards the Empress’s Palace garden and ran.

Prince Norton and I remained crouched down with the robe over our heads for several minutes. I thought it was time to get up, and as I looked at Prince Norton, he turned to me at the same time.

“Shall we get up?”

“Let’s.”

We stood up together.

“Are you alright, Your Majesty?”

“No, not at all. What on earth is going on?”

I gestured towards the maid lying in the middle of the field, who appeared to be dead already.

“I happened to witness that maid running away from the West Palace, past the Main Palace, and towards this place.”

“If it’s the West Palace, then she’s likely a maid from one of the concubines’ residences. But she was running away? From that man earlier?”

I couldn’t understand the situation. Prince Norton paused before speaking cautiously.

“Hmm, actually, it would be more accurate to say that I was chasing after Prince Tesler’s guard, who was chasing after that maid.”

“Ah, that man earlier… was the prince’s guard?!”

I asked, thinking of Sir Ken, Prince Tesler’s guard.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“But why would the prince’s guard be chasing a maid from the concubine’s residence?”

And why was Prince Norton visiting the West Palace, where the concubines’ residences were located, in the middle of the night? He looked like he knew something, but he seemed hesitant to tell me.

“Perhaps, did that maid witness something? So…”

I had a guess and cautiously voiced it to Prince Norton. He nodded readily. Did that maid witness Prince Tesler meeting with a spy he had planted in this Lapion Imperial Palace? And so Sir Ken chased after the maid and ended up committing murder? These crazy bastards…

“Then, did you see where in the West Palace that maid was?”

“It was about halfway between the concubines’ residences… Ah, it was the place with the large willow tree behind the palace.”

“Aha.”

I didn’t know exactly where the willow tree was, but if it was located in the middle of the four concubines’ residences…

Pesillini? Was she the spy?

“It seems to be the residence of Pesillini of the Astor Marquisate [a noble title, ranking below a duke but above an earl].”

“I see.”

Prince Norton wasn’t very surprised. Well, she wasn’t his concubine, so it wasn’t that surprising.

“Prince Tesler’s knight chased and even murdered that concubine’s maid. Isn’t that strange?”

He continued.

“He wouldn’t have murdered her just for being together. There must be another reason.”

I simply nodded. I couldn’t reveal to Prince Norton that Pesillini was a spy planted by Prince Tesler to monitor me, the ‘proxy empress.’ Even though he had saved me from danger a little while ago, it would be foolish to confide in him about my situation.

“If Prince Tesler and that concubine are having a secret affair, and the maid witnessed it, then he would have had no choice but to order her murder.”

Prince Norton concluded. As he said, we couldn’t rule out the possibility that Pesillini was a spy and having a secret affair with the prince at the same time.

“But, Your Highness, why did the maid run all the way to the Empress’s Palace garden?”

I asked, glancing at the place where the maid had fallen.

“Hmm…”

Prince Norton rubbed his chin with a troubled expression.

“Meow!”

The kitten, which had been quietly in my arms, suddenly cried out and hid its small head between my armpits.

“Quiet. You were quiet until just now, why are you doing this?”

I stroked the kitten and looked back at Prince Norton. He stared at the place where the maid had fallen for a moment before opening his mouth.

“She must have been running away from the West Palace and ended up coming all the way here. More than that, how did Prince Tesler and a concubine of the Lapion Empire know each other?”

“That’s what I’m saying…”

I was just about to wonder about that too.

“I, I think I know!”

At that moment, an unexpected person appeared from the corner of the Empress’s Palace building.

“…Rosie?”

“Greetings to Your Majesty!”

She greeted me and Prince Norton before running to me.

“Who is this?”

Prince Norton looked at Rosie and asked me.

“The Second Concubine, Concubine Rosie Adelheid.”

She introduced herself.

“How much did you hear?”

Prince Norton still scanned Rosie up and down with wary eyes.

“Everything… But don’t worry. I don’t go around telling people things. I’m a concubine who likes Her Majesty very much!”

“!”

“!”

Rosie answered Prince Norton, who was looking at her suspiciously, clearly, even though her voice was trembling.

“Rosie, what brings you here this late at night?”

I spoke gently to prevent her from getting scared.

“Because of that, that cat…”

Rosie quickly pointed to the white kitten in my arms.

“It’s a cat I’m raising, but it disappeared while I was away for a moment, so I was looking for it.”

“The concubine is alone?”

Prince Norton asked, as if he was interrogating her.

“Actually, I shouldn’t be, but it’s a cat I was secretly raising in my bedroom. I thought it would be a problem if I was seen by other palace people while accompanied by maids… I ended up coming all the way here while looking for the cat.”

Rosie glared at the kitten and retorted to the prince. To raise an animal in the Imperial Palace, you need separate permission from the Imperial Family, but according to Rosie, she seemed to be raising it secretly. Ironically, the kitten raised its two front paws and pawed at Rosie, just like it had done to Prince Norton a little while ago.

“That little…”

Rosie glanced at me and bit her lip while speaking to the kitten.

“It seems like the cat was stuffy from being only in the bedroom? Ah, could it be the baby that came out of that egg I saw in your bedroom back then?”

“Ye, y-yes?!”

“Meow?!”

My joke was so absurd that Rosie widened her eyes and blinked repeatedly with a shocked expression. The cat, which had been actively moving and acting cute in my arms, suddenly drooped. I regretted my joke that had even frozen the cat and quickly smoothed things over with a laugh.

“But Rosie, what was that story from earlier? You said you knew how Prince Tesler and Pesillini knew each other.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. The Astor Marquisate is a family that runs a large trading company. I know that they have traded not only with countries in the Northern Continent but also with countries in the Southern Continent before the war.”

“Ah, now that I think about it, that story came up briefly during the luncheon with the concubines in the Empress’s Palace… Right?”

“That’s right. Besides, Pesillini clearly said at that time that she had visited the Shattonil royal family several times since she was young.”

“If that’s true, then Prince Tesler and Concubine Pesillini must have been friends for a long time.”

Prince Norton muttered seriously.

“Please stay here for a moment. I’ll go check on that maid.”

Prince Norton cautiously surveyed his surroundings and quickly ran to where the maid had fallen. After a moment…

“Oh my, what is that prince doing?”

Rosie hid behind me and asked in a terrified voice. Prince Norton tore off a part of his robe’s hem. He used the robe’s hem to pull out the dagger that Sir Ken had stabbed into the maid’s abdomen, then walked back.

“My guess was correct. Prince Tesler’s guard deliberately used a dagger that Lapion Imperial knights carry to avoid suspicion.”

“It wasn’t even a planned murder, but he’s thorough.”

I said, looking down at the blood-stained blade. Prince Norton wrapped the dagger in the torn robe cloth and put it in his arms.

“Your Majesty, I’ll keep this for now.”

“Do as you wish.”

I replied quietly and looked around the Empress’s Palace garden.

“If we hadn’t witnessed today’s events, Your Majesty would have been misunderstood! Is that what they were aiming for?”

Rosie carefully brought up the topic.

“That’s probably not it.”

Prince Norton replied to her instead of me.

“As I said to Her Majesty earlier, that maid seemed to be running away from the knight in a hurry. It’s not easy to figure out the escape route in advance.”

Rosie and I nodded at Prince Norton’s words, but the kitten in my arms chuckled. As if mocking his words. Do cats even make laughing sounds? Curious, I grabbed the kitten’s nape and lifted it up to look at its face. When the cat met my eyes, it covered its mouth with its front paws and blinked its red eyes.

“G, give it to me, Your Majesty. I’m worried that it might scratch Your Majesty because it has no manners.”

Rosie quickly stretched out her hands and said.

“You have to go to your owner now.”

I handed the cute kitten to Rosie. Then the cat made a pitiful sound and struggled in Rosie’s arms, flailing its front and back paws.

“Shh, be good? I’ll go to Rosie’s residence to see you. So please go home quietly today.”

I stroked the kitten’s head and soothed it, and this time, as if it understood my words, it stopped its frantic struggles and became quiet.

“Your Majesty, please go back to your bedroom now.”

At Prince Norton’s words, I looked up at the terrace.

“Ah, I should.”

“The body will be discovered as early as tomorrow, or within a few days at the latest, so unless we clean up the body now, it’s best to leave quickly. And if His Majesty wakes up, you might be misunderstood.”

“Still, I wonder if it’s okay to just leave like this…”

I was concerned about the murdered maid and turned my head to where she had fallen. The two of them also stared at the same place with pitiful expressions.

“Currently, there’s nothing we can do for that maid. It’s best to wait until the guards discover her tomorrow or the day after, and then observe the situation again.”

“Yes, you’re right. Then, let’s talk about today’s events again.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“And Your Highness, I’m sorry, but could I ask you to escort Rosie?”

I noticed that Rosie was constantly glancing at the fallen maid and slightly trembling her shoulders.

“Of course. Your Majesty.”

Prince Norton replied as if it was natural.

“Thank you.”

I touched the closest of the stone carvings that occasionally protruded from the Empress’s Palace wall to confirm it and spoke to Prince Norton. Even as I spoke, I was calculating in my head how many stone carvings I would have to step on to climb up to the terrace.

“I, I’m okay!”

Rosie jumped up and rejected Prince Norton’s kindness.

“No, Lady Rosie. I’ll accompany you to your residence in case it’s dangerous. By the way, Your Majesty?”

Prince Norton, who was talking to Rosie, called me.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“What are you… doing right now?”

“I’m going to go up now.”

I only need to step on about three statues to get to the terrace.

“You’re not planning to climb the wall, are you?”

“Of course, I’m going to climb the wall… Ah.”

I stopped speaking and turned to look at them. Rosie’s surprised gaze and Prince Norton’s dumbfounded gaze were both directed at me.

“I really respect Your Majesty! You were amazing when you slapped Catherine, but I never knew you could climb walls!”

Rosie, as if moved, quickly clapped her hands while placing the kitten on her shoulder.

“…It’s nothing much.”

It was too late to make excuses, so I mumbled with an embarrassed expression.

“I know that Her Majesty is an extraordinary person, but I don’t think that’s a good choice.”

“Really?”

“Yes, what if His Majesty is awake?”

Ah, just imagining it is terrible.

“Then…”

“Let’s go in through the door safely. Even if you get caught, it’s better to pretend you just went outside for a moment, isn’t it?”

Prince Norton pointed to the door connected to the laundry room.

“That would be better. Since it connects to the door connected to the dressing room anyway, I can say I went there even if I get caught.”

“That’s wise.”

He gave me a thumbs up.

“I’ll go in first. Please take care of Rosie.”

I opened the laundry room door and asked Prince Norton once again.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“Meow.”

When Rosie thanked me, the kitten also cried as if it was greeting me. I stared at the kitten’s red eyes for a moment before closing the laundry room door. I entered the laundry room and quickly ran up the spiral staircase leading to the dressing room. The heat that had risen to my face had already disappeared. I arrived at the dressing room, brushed my hair neatly again while looking in the mirror, and headed for the bedroom door. I pulled the bedroom door handle to open the door just enough for my body to enter, trying to make as little noise as possible, and then carefully closed the door again. I walked to the bed as if sneaking like a stray cat. Fortunately, Linell was sleeping in the same position as before I left.

“Hoo.”

Only then did I let out a sigh of relief. I tried my best not to bounce the mattress and lay down on the bed.

“Where have you been?”

“!”

My body froze at his voice.

“I was cold…”

Linell pulled me into his arms and whispered pitifully.