The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 92

92. A Cherished Dress?

November 20, 2021

Duke Kent, seemingly accustomed to such scenes, quickly dodged the flying shoe, escaping unscathed. However, Commander Marcrom, standing staunchly behind him, bore the brunt of the attack. He caught the shoe with his hand as it fell, having struck just below his right eye. Duke Kent, witnessing this, gaped in astonishment. A small wound marked the spot beneath the Commander’s eye, the surrounding area already reddening. It was a clear sign of a bruise blossoming.

‘Good heavens, she injured the commander of the knights sent by the Emperor!’ Duke Kent thought, aghast.

Duke Kent shot a reproving glance at Princess Resilia, who herself was stunned by the unexpected turn of events.

“Wh-who is that?” Princess Resilia quietly asked Duke Kent.

“That is Commander Marcrom, here to deliver His Imperial Majesty’s orders,” Duke Kent replied.

Duke Kent subtly waved his hand in front of Commander Marcrom’s face, discreetly indicating to Princess Resilia that the Commander was blind. Resilia mouthed an ‘ah,’ staring intently at the Commander’s eyes, and then breathed a sigh of relief. She then turned to Bonis and exclaimed, “Heavens, how could you throw a shoe like that, Bonis!”

“……Huh.” Bonis, who had fallen to the floor moments before due to Princess Resilia’s shove, was rendered speechless by the absurd accusation.

“Bonis… Nim?” Commander Marcrom gently pushed past Duke Kent, who was standing in front of him, and entered the room.

“Yes, that’s Bonis!” Princess Resilia grabbed Bonis’s arm, forcibly pulling her up, and began her charade in front of the blind Commander Marcrom. “Bonis, how dare you injure the face of a knight sent by His Majesty? What are we going to do now? You’ve embarrassed me before His Majesty!”

Commander Marcrom listened quietly to Princess Resilia’s scolding of Bonis, his brow furrowing slightly.

‘Wasn’t she supposed to be Prince Tesler’s mistress? Even if she is a princess, why is she treating her own brother’s mistress so harshly?’ he wondered.

Commander Marcrom addressed Bonis in a respectful tone. “I have come to escort Bonis Nim.”

“Not me… Bonis?” Princess Resilia asked Commander Marcrom with a puzzled expression.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

She looked at Duke Kent with a ‘What on earth is going on?’ expression. Seeing the utterly bewildered look on Duke Kent’s face, she immediately sensed that something had gone wrong with her brother’s affairs at the main palace.

“Their Imperial Majesties, the Emperor and Empress, have invited Bonis Nim, Prince Tesler’s mistress, to a luncheon.”

“What are you talking about? Bonis is my brother’s…?!” Princess Resilia involuntarily raised her voice, but quickly clamped her mouth shut when Duke Kent put a finger to her lips, warning her to be quiet.

‘What on earth is going on?’ she thought, agitated.

Why has that lowly thing suddenly been transformed into my brother’s mistress? Resilia twirled her pink hair with her fingers, glaring at Bonis beside her. Bonis was just as bewildered. Since arriving at this Lapheon Imperial Palace, she had been constantly summoned by Princess Resilia and forced to endure her torment. Now, she felt like she was being covered in filth. Prince Tesler had cleverly used Zelda as bait, coercing Bonis to accompany him to the Lapheon Empire. Despite anticipating the Princess’s harassment, she had willingly come to the Lapheon Empire, hoping to see Zelda. However, as soon as she arrived at the Lapheon Imperial Palace, she was confined to the guest palace where dignitaries stayed. She couldn’t even move freely within the guest palace. She was only allowed to move around on the 4th floor, which had been allocated to the Shatoanil Kingdom, and even then, she was always under surveillance. She would have felt more at ease if she had been confined to her room. Serving Princess Resilia and enduring her constant tantrums and insults was pure torture. Moreover, she had to suppress her rising anger every time she saw Prince Tesler, who had taken her little finger. And now, what? His mistress? She had never felt a flutter of excitement for Prince Tesler, despite his handsome appearance, and now she was suddenly his mistress. Bonis was so dumbfounded that she almost laughed hysterically.

“Let us go, Bonis Nim. We must hurry if we are to arrive in time for the luncheon,” Commander Marcrom said politely.

“Um… I think there’s been a misunderstanding,” Bonis, who had been standing blankly, approached Commander Marcrom and cautiously opened her mouth.

“A misunderstanding? What do you mean? Are you not Bonis Nim?”

“No, I am. But I am not Prince Tesler’s… Ah.” As Bonis continued to speak, Princess Resilia poked her hard in the back with her hand. When Bonis turned around, Princess Resilia mouthed ‘Shut up’.

“Hoo-hoo-hoo, Bonis is very shy. Please understand, Commander. His Majesty is waiting, so let’s go quickly,” Princess Resilia said, pushing Bonis aside and stepping forward.

“There were no orders to bring anyone other than Bonis Nim,” Commander Marcrom stopped Princess Resilia with a firm expression, holding out one hand.

“Wh-what?”

“Your Highness may request an audience separately later.”

“You’re really only calling for Bonis?”

“Yes.”

“Haa, is that so? Is that what you’re saying…?”

“That is correct, Your Highness.”

Princess Resilia glared at Commander Marcrom and obediently stepped back.

‘Even though he can’t see, he’s being so picky. If his eyesight were perfect, he wouldn’t be so stiff with me after seeing my face!’ Resilia pouted and shoved Bonis towards Commander Marcrom. “I can’t help it. Go ahead.”

“Let’s go, Bonis Nim.”

“Yes….” Bonis quickly followed Commander Marcrom. Thinking about it, this might be an opportunity to escape this hell. Her heart began to race at the thought of seeing Zelda.

‘Finally, I get to see Zelda Unnie [older sister/term of endearment]. No, I should call her Empress now, right?’ Bonis, following Commander Marcrom, looked up at the sky outside the guest palace entrance. The weather on the first day she had left the guest palace since arriving at the Lapheon Imperial Palace was particularly clear and refreshing.

“Let’s move by carriage, as we are short on time,” Commander Marcrom said, personally opening the door of the waiting carriage.

“Thank you… But am I riding alone?” Bonis looked intently at Commander Marcrom’s face before getting into the carriage. Hearing those words, Commander Marcrom turned his head towards where his subordinate was.

“Anthony, you will ride my horse. I will travel by carriage with Bonis Nim.”

“Yes, Commander.” Commander Marcrom entrusted his horse to Anthony and boarded the carriage with her. He felt he needed to have a conversation with her.

***

“Shall we slowly move to the banquet hall? Commander Marcrom will be guiding Lady Bonis to the banquet hall anyway,” Linell said, taking out his pocket watch to check the time.

“Yes… Your Majesty,” Prince Tesler, who had been looking anxious from earlier, reluctantly nodded in response.

“The tea is still warm; let’s finish this before we get up,” Linell said, holding up his teacup, offering tea. It was a new cup that he had instructed the chamberlain to bring a little while ago. Prince Tesler, unable to resist his suggestion, pretended to take a sip of the still-hot tea, blowing on it.

I was about to take a sip of my tea when,

“Ah.” Linell spilled his teacup on my dress.

“Oh dear! I’m sorry, Empress. Are you burned?” He quickly put down the teacup and said in a flustered manner.

“Yes…? Ah….” As I stammered and looked at him,

“Stian!” He jumped up from his chair and called for the chamberlain, intentionally standing in front of me to block Prince Tesler’s view. The chamberlain immediately opened the office door and entered.

“What is the matter, Your Majesty?”

“I spilled hot tea on the Empress’s dress. The Empress may have been burned, so immediately summon the palace physician and send Sharon in,” Linell ordered swiftly.

Before I could even grasp the situation, his swift orders poured out.

“Yes, I understand!” Stian quickly left, and soon after, Sharon quickly entered the office with a wet towel and ice. To cut to the chase, I was not burned by the tea, and his tea was not even hot. Of course, the tea in front of me and the tea that Prince Tesler was drinking were steaming, but Linell’s was cold. Come to think of it, he had been holding the teacup with both hands ever since the servant brought the tea. The temperature of food or water drops significantly when it touches his hands. And he himself was most aware of this fact. Yet, he made a fuss and called the palace physician? It was a deliberate act. He leaned down slightly and brought my hand to his lips, blowing on it.

“Prince Tesler, I’m sorry, but I must excuse myself first. As you can see, I need to check if the Empress has been burned anywhere,” Linell said, turning to Prince Tesler and asking for his understanding. I could feel the Prince hesitating, as if he wanted to check on my condition.

“Ah, yes….”

“Your Majesty! Your hand seems to be getting a little red!” At that moment, Sharon put ice in a towel and placed it on the back of my hand. Before that, Sharon had touched the area of the dress where the tea had spilled. Seeing her say such a thing even though she already knew the tea wasn’t hot, it seemed like Sharon had also noticed Linell’s intentions. Only then did Prince Tesler get up from his chair.

“Then I will wait outside.”

“I will be out soon too,” Linell said, turning completely towards the Prince.

“Your Majesty? Did you do that on purpose?” I asked him as soon as Prince Tesler left the office. But he smiled and said something else to me. “Since I spilled tea, you should go up to the bedroom and change your dress. Commander Marcrom should be returning with Lady Bonis soon.”

“Does that mean….”

“I will tell Stian in advance, so meet Lady Bonis first. But there won’t be much time for a long conversation.”

“!” I was touched by his consideration. Linell gently stroked my face and turned to Sharon. “And Sharon.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

“I’ve been feeling sorry since last time.”

“Wh-what do you mean?” Sharon asked with wide eyes and then lowered her head again.

“You must have put a lot of thought into choosing this dress for the Empress, but I ruined it again.”

“Ah, no. Your Majesty!”

“At least I didn’t tear off the sleeves this time,” Linell said, seemingly referring to the time when he tore off the sleeves of my dress on the day I went to Melanie’s residence with him after hearing the news that she had fallen down the stairs. Sharon bit her lower lip at Linell’s words. She seemed to be holding back a laugh. He apologized to her briefly and then asked me this time, “Zelda. Is this dress a cherished one?”

I glanced at Sharon and deliberately made a sad face. “Yes, because Sharon put a lot of thought into choosing it.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll buy you an even better dress than this one,” Linell said, patting my shoulder and leaving the office. A few minutes later, Raphael came in and told me that he had gone down to the banquet hall with Prince Tesler. Thanks to Linell, I would be able to meet Bonis first without Prince Tesler’s interference. My heart began to race as if it were going out to meet Bonis. I hurried to the bedroom floor with Sharon.