The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 95

95. Somehow New (95/347)

“Your Majesty, how am I supposed to figure it out with just this potion bottle?”

Raphael held up the empty potion bottle, examining it closely, a bewildered expression on his face.

“You are capable, aren’t you?”

“I’m a capable secretary, not a magician.”

“Then don’t be complacent. Put in the effort and figure it out.”

Raphael, who had been expecting to hear, ‘This will be tough, right?’, sighed at the Emperor’s unusually encouraging command. Then, Linelle took another potion bottle from the desk drawer and handed it to Raphael.

“Ah-ha! It looked familiar.”

Raphael looked back and forth between the potion bottle in his hand and the one Linelle had taken from the drawer, then smacked his forehead. The one he had just taken from the drawer was a magical potion he had been taking ever since he was cursed with hypothermia, to prevent his body temperature from dropping rapidly.

“Seeing as the bottles are the same, it must be a potion purchased from the ‘Confident Night’ clinic?”

“Yes, go and find out what was inside it.”

“How am I supposed to find out when there’s nothing inside and no smell at all?”

Raphael opened the cork and sniffed the mouth of the potion bottle, asking the impossible.

“There’s a date on the bottom of the bottle. You can find out by looking into the potions they sold that day.”

“Oh, that’s right. Wait, isn’t this the day before the national wedding? We went to the clinic that day too…!”

Raphael said, looking at the date written on the bottom of the potion bottle.

“Yes. That’s the day you had a stomachache, and I was stuck in the corner of the clinic waiting room and received the potion bottle instead.”

“That’s right. I remember you were very angry.”

“What?”

“Didn’t you say that day, while you were stuck there, some strange woman started a fight with you?”

That strange woman was Zelda.

“Ahem, she wasn’t *that* strange.”

Linelle mumbled, clearing his throat, and Raphael burst out laughing.

“No way. I vividly remember you saying you met the most unpleasant and strange woman you’d ever met in your life, and you kept cursing all the way back to the palace in the carriage. What are you talking about?”

“Raphael. Don’t ever say that in front of the Empress.”

“Huh? Why the Empress all of a sudden? Oh! Could it be this potion bottle?”

Linelle nodded.

“I brought it from the Empress’s bedroom.”

“Then maybe… the strange woman you argued with at the clinic that day…?!”

Raphael’s eyes widened, and he covered his mouth with his hand.

“Now that you know, watch your mouth in front of the Empress.”

He pretended to zip up his mouth.

“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind! But… did you bring the potion bottle without the Empress’s knowledge?”

Raphael asked, mimicking his hand gesture. He paused for a moment, lost in thought, then walked to the window and replied.

“Yes, I brought it secretly. It was next to the rose vase. But you know, the color of the roses I gave as a gift…”

“The color… why?”

Raphael asked, watching his expression as he stopped speaking.

“Never mind. Anyway, find out what kind of potion it is.”

He trailed off, looking down at the red rose garden visible from the office window.

***

“This is Sharon, the head maid, who also takes care of my clothes. This is Sollie, from a family of gardeners, who is in charge of my hairstyle. And Theresa, the painter, draws a picture on my face every morning.”

After leaving the banquet hall, I went to Bonise’s temporary bedroom in the main palace and chatted for a while, then moved back to the drawing room to introduce my attendants to Bonise. I hoped that Bonise, who would always be with me as my lady-in-waiting, would get along well with the three attendants. Bonise made eye contact with Sharon, Sollie, and Theresa one by one, introducing herself, and the attendants seemed to genuinely welcome Bonise.

“There’s a lot I don’t know yet, so please take care of me.”

“Not at all, Lady Bonise. We’ve heard that you’ve been with the Empress for a long time. We’ll learn a lot from you.”

“That’s right. We haven’t fully grasped the Empress’s tastes yet, so please let us know a lot, Lady Bonise.”

“We really welcome you! If you have any inconveniences, please tell us anytime!”

I quietly watched the four of them, then crossed my arms and casually threw out a word.

“Looks like there’s one more person to badmouth me? Now we have a pair.”

The attendants were startled and stopped laughing, but Bonise, who knew me well, burst into giggles.

“What’s so fun?”

Just then, Linelle opened the drawing room door. As soon as he appeared, everyone stopped talking as if they had made a promise.

“Were you talking about me? Why did everyone stop laughing when I came in?”

He narrowed his eyes and asked with a sulky expression. His expression, without a smile, was enough to intimidate others, but he didn’t seem to know this. The expressions of the four people besides me froze at the same time.

“Everyone, go out now.”

I said with a smirk.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“We’ll step back now.”

“Sharon, guide Bonise to her bedroom.”

“Of course, Your Majesty.”

“See you tomorrow, Bonise.”

I hugged Bonise, patting her back.

“Have a good night, Your Majesties.”

Bonise bent her knees slightly to greet Linelle. He nodded lightly, leaned against the drawing room door right next to him, crossed his arms around his chest, and gestured for the four women to leave quickly. They lowered their heads and followed the Emperor’s command, quickly leaving the drawing room one by one. As soon as the drawing room door closed, he unfolded his arms and stretched them out to me. I scurried to him, creating a dramatic scene, and hugged Linelle as if I hadn’t seen him in years.

“But really, why are they like that?”

He gestured to the drawing room door and asked.

“What do you mean?”

“It seems like they were laughing and chatting, but their expressions turned sour when they saw me.”

“It’s because everyone finds Your Majesty intimidating.”

“So you think of me easily and keep smiling like this?”

Linelle pinched my cheek slightly and asked.

“Do you want to be an intimidating man to me too?”

“No. A sexy man.”

“You’ve already achieved that.”

“Did I?”

Why does this man keep asking questions that don’t need to be asked? His tone of voice, trying to confirm my words, was innocent, but his eyes, as always, became more sensual as the sun went down. I don’t know if it was his intention, but that’s how I felt.

“You always are. Everything, even the way you breathe, is sexy.”

“It would be nice if I could share that.”

“…That sounds like you’re saying ‘You’re not sexy’?”

“If you could get rid of some of your lack of awareness and fill it with sexiness, you’d be perfect… Ah.”

I slapped his arm, and he pretended to be in more pain as he continued.

“I almost forgot. Our Empress has a lot to get rid of. She needs to get rid of a lot of violence.”

He grabbed my wrist and lifted it up, laughing.

“I’ll try to work on that. But I can’t accept the opinion that I’m not sexy. Please reconsider.”

I tilted my chin haughtily and subtly pushed my chest towards him, whispering secretly.

“Allow it.”

Linelle grabbed my chin, looked at me intently, and said.

“What?”

“Laughing.”

“…”

“Hahaha!”

As soon as he asked me, he burst out laughing on his own.

“Don’t laugh.”

I raised both hands and covered his mouth.

“Sorry, I’ll try to hold it in.”

He took my hand off his mouth and apologized.

“But, is it okay to get excited? You’re not going to block that with your hand too, are you?”

Linelle shook my hand that he was holding and asked.

“Then, please allow me too.”

“What?”

“To touch you.”

“Where.”

“Anywhere?”

He slowly let go of my hand. Both hands were free, but they seemed to have lost their way and stopped in the air.

“Touch me as much as your heart desires.”

*But you can’t, can you? Right?* He looked down at me with just that kind of look. I began to caress his solid body with a gentle touch.

“Hngh….”

His surprised blue eyes darkened. A sound that seemed hard to bear leaked out from between his teeth. I liked this precarious breath of his, his rough breathing as his patience ran out. He should know by now. That he shouldn’t underestimate me.

“Did my touch move too much as my heart desired?”

I quietly asked, pressing my body against his. He struggled to speak with a flushed face that was stained with desire.

“It seems to have arrived properly? Haa, but a little slower… huh? Zelda, the night is long, so….”

At Linelle’s earnest request, I slowly took my hand off his body and nodded. Then he let out the breath he had been holding in. He frantically washed his face with both hands, rubbing his beautiful features repeatedly.

“I didn’t mean to take it off completely.”

He complained, sounding disappointed after taking some time to calm down.

“Your Majesty, this is the drawing room.”

“Ah, somehow it felt new.”

He pretended to be surprised, looking around the drawing room.

“Let’s go to the bedroom.”

I grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the drawing room door.

“Shall we run like last time?”

“The attendants will be surprised.”

“Why be surprised? It’s not the first time. They’ll just think it’s normal the second time.”

“Let’s just walk. It’s not that far.”

“Then shall I carry you on my back?”

Linelle showed me his back slightly and asked.

“Why?”

“Just because. I’ve never carried you on my back before. I’ve put you over my shoulder, though.”

“I, I overate tonight.”

“It’s okay. I already know you’re heavy even if you don’t eat a lot.”

“!”

I lost my will to fight at his undeniable honesty.

“Aren’t you a little touched by my spirit of sacrifice, wanting to carry you on my back even though you’re heavy? Don’t focus on unnecessary things and glare at me like that.”

He used two fingers to tear my eyes to the sides, making them look like slits.

“What are you doing? It makes me look ugly!”

“It’s cute, why.”

He threw his head back and burst out laughing.

“Don’t worry, get on my back. I’ll treat you with respect today.”

He stood in front of me and knelt on one knee. Seeing his broad back, I changed my mind.

“Thank you. I’ll be rude.”

This time, I didn’t refuse and quickly got on his back.

“Ugh, I thought you were going to refuse.”

He couldn’t get up easily and groaned.

“…Stop joking and get up quickly.”

“You must have really overeaten tonight.”

Linelle put his hands on the marble floor and tried to lift himself up, then groaned again. In fact, the moment I got on his back, I secretly lifted the head of the statue on the display case. Seeing him struggling, I put the statue’s head back on the display case and burst out laughing.

“What, Zelda. Were you lifting the head of our grandfather, the late Emperor?”

“Ah, was that impressionist sculpture face your grandfather?!”

“Yes, he must be very surprised in the afterlife. His granddaughter-in-law arbitrarily lifted and put down his head.”

Linelle clicked his tongue and opened the drawing room door. I put my hands together and looked at the statue, apologizing.

“…I’m sorry. Please forgive me, Grandfather.”

“Yes, yes.”

Linelle imitated his grandfather’s voice and forgave me instead. *** All the way up the stairs, he joked as if he was going to drop me, and we arrived at the bedroom floor. The attendants who passed by all stood with their mouths open, then quickly lowered their heads with bewildered expressions. Unlike last time, I held my head up straight and waved to the attendants while still alive.

“H, have a good night!”

“Good night, everyone.”

Since the taciturn Linelle didn’t respond to the attendants’ greetings, I dealt with them one by one.

“I need to open the door, but I can’t possibly take my hand off your butt right now.”

“Why?”

“Why do you think?”

“Because you like it?”

“Ah, I was so tired that I didn’t even notice that part.”

Linelle readjusted me on his back and mumbled.

“Stian! Open the door.”

He shouted to the head attendant who was waiting in front of the bedroom door as it came into view in the distance. Stian unknowingly let out a series of ‘Oh my!’ and quickly opened the bedroom door.

“Your Majesty, are you not feeling well?”

Stian asked, looking at me smiling brightly on the Emperor’s back.

“I think I’m going to get sick from carrying the Empress.”

Linelle replied to Stian instead of me and entered the bedroom, closing the door with his heel. He’s making it obvious to other people that I’m heavy.

“It’s the weight of the dress!”

I protested, patting his shoulder.

“Really? Then I’ll have to exercise with the dress in both hands from tomorrow.”

“…”

I was intimidated by Linelle’s sharp remark.

“I’m sorry. Because I’m heavy….”

“It’s okay. I’m going to make you exercise tonight.”

He said, falling onto the bed with me on his back.