The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 219

219. I Hope He Resembles You

2023.02.08.

“It’s been a while.”

Velloss, having teleported into the Magic Tower’s lab, spoke to Logan.

“I’ve been waiting for news. How long do you plan to stay in the Rafion Empire?”

They had only exchanged occasional news via crow post, so it had been a long time since Velloss had visited the Magic Tower in person.

Velloss couldn’t simply smile at Logan, who greeted him warmly.

His daughter, Bonis, was dead.

He would have to tell him how and why she died now.

But the thought of the pain Logan would feel made it hard to speak.

Not only the loss of his daughter but also the potential guilt he might feel.

Velloss first made an ointment to treat Zelda’s wounds caused by the stigma [a mark of disgrace or a supernatural sign] and then carefully broached the subject with Logan.

“Come and sit down. I have something to tell you.”

“Yes, please tell me.”

“Actually, Bonis was among the group heading to Thebello with Her Majesty the Empress.”

“Ah, I see. After all, Her Majesty and Bonis have been close since they were young.”

Logan smiled faintly.

That smile would soon disappear.

Velloss spoke with a heavy heart and a dark expression.

“During the journey… Bonis… died.”

“…What are you saying now?”

Logan didn’t understand his teacher’s words and still smiled.

Then, as Velloss’s gloomy expression persisted, Logan’s face gradually hardened.

“Who died? Bonis, my daughter? What are you talking about! What happened to her?!”

His voice conveyed disbelief.

“Yes. I’m truly sorry I couldn’t protect her.”

Velloss bowed his head to Logan in apology.

“Ah… No, that can’t be! There couldn’t have been a war on the way to the Thebello Empire, and all the other members of the group returned to the Rafion Empire alive and well!”

Logan’s lips trembled as he raised his voice.

“Why did only my daughter die?! What happened?!”

Logan, who had been filled with anticipation of meeting Bonis soon, couldn’t accept reality.

As the sorrow of losing his daughter gradually became a reality, Logan burst into tears.

He cried for an hour, then sat blankly staring out the window for another hour.

Velloss simply waited silently by his side for Logan to calm down.

After two hours had passed, Logan met Velloss’s eyes again.

“How… did it happen?”

Logan’s eyes were empty as he asked about his daughter’s death.

“You know that the Aclato Duchy and the pirates of Tanya Island joined forces to isolate the dignitaries from various countries who participated in the Continental Hunting Competition.”

“Yes, I know.”

Because of that, he had been threatened by Roxana regarding Bonis’s safety.

“The Empress and her party left the monastery just before the allied forces arrived. During that time, some of the allied forces discovered us and chased after us.”

“Don’t tell me those guys got Bonis!”

“Yes. A man named Markrom, the captain of the Empress’s guard, fell off his horse, and Bonis was helping him when she was hit by an arrow fired by the allied forces…”

At Velloss’s explanation, Logan’s gaze fell weakly.

“I was just waiting for the day I could see my daughter. She must have resented me a lot…”

Logan began to weep again.

“Bonis was also looking forward to seeing you.”

“Yes? What do you mean…? She wouldn’t have known if I was alive or dead, would she?”

“Roxana.”

“?!”

“It seems Roxana met your daughter and talked to her.”

“Damn it!”

He seemed to grasp the situation roughly.

Father and daughter were both manipulated by Roxana’s threats.

The reagent bottle Logan was fiddling with shattered in his hand.

“But Bonis didn’t hand the Empress the drink containing the memory-loss magic potion.”

It was the potion Logan had made, unable to resist Roxana’s threats.

Logan just listened blankly to Velloss’s added words.

Father and daughter had become Roxana’s puppets for each other’s safety.

But at the time, there was no way to refuse.

It was a matter of his daughter’s and his own life.

Both of them had no choice.

In the end, it resulted in the death of one of the father and daughter.

“I will definitely eliminate Roxana with my own hands!”

Logan said with determination.

First, he had to find a way to approach Roxana again.

***

“Where are you going?”

“Sleep more. It’s not dawn yet.”

As Linell got out of bed early in the morning, Zelda woke up too.

“Are you leaving this early?”

She said, still drowsy, grabbing his hand.

“I don’t want to see Prince Tesler’s face from early in the morning either.”

He lowered his body again, placing Zelda’s head on his arm.

“What will happen to Prince Tesler?”

“I’d like to cut off his head right away, but international law prohibits the execution of direct royal family members in other countries.”

“You already beat him to death, is that okay?”

“The Shattonil Kingdom will protest. There’s never been a case in history of someone’s corn [slang for teeth] being turned in another country’s history. It will be recorded in history too.”

“It’s quite an achievement.”

“The evaluation is done by posterity. Don’t worry too much.”

“The person who turned the corn should be worried. I didn’t turn it.”

At my words, he chuckled and then changed his expression to ask seriously.

“Now that it’s going to be like that, should I have made him spill everything so he couldn’t testify?”

“Pfft, the Magic Tower Master said I shouldn’t laugh. You shouldn’t be funny.”

I shrugged my shoulders and laughed, then forcibly pulled down the corners of my mouth.

“Yes, the Empress listens well to the Magic Tower Master.”

He said sarcastically, pinching my cheek lightly.

“When your memory briefly returned yesterday.”

I was about to ask, but he brought it up first.

“Ah, right. What memory did you recall yesterday?”

“You were so insistent on having a child with me.”

At Linell’s words, heat rose from my neck.

“I… did that?”

“Yes, you did. You were so eager to get to me that there didn’t seem to be a night when I didn’t use my strength because of your passion.”

I couldn’t bring myself to retort, ‘Are you lying? There’s no way I would do that!’

It’s true that I like children, and there’s no way I would leave such a wonderful husband alone, and my actions were naturally depicted in the word ‘eager’.

It was quite a credible story.

But as he watched me nod without any doubt, he folded his eyes and smiled.

“Your Majesty has recalled memories of me twice, but why haven’t I had such an experience even once yet?”

His smile disappeared from his face at my question.

Is it because he feels sorry that only his memories have returned?

“…Well, I don’t really know any special points…”

“You’re not hiding the way to recall memories from me, are you?”

His eyes darted back and forth at my thoughtless joke.

Something’s strange.

Does he really know how to recall memories but isn’t telling me?

As I stared intently at his face, he smiled again and changed the subject.

“When will this wound heal, according to the Magic Tower Master who shares a deep friendship with you?”

Linell asked, looking down at my heart.

“Well? The heart was said to be normal as soon as the stigma was completed. Shouldn’t it be fine as long as the wound on the surface of the skin heals?”

“I told you not to laugh for the time being.”

“I’ll ask again today.”

I whispered in a meaningful voice.

“When can I share love with my husband again…”

“Share love… Shouldn’t you ask after? Yes, that won’t do. Right?”

He asked and answered himself, repeating in a low voice that scratched his throat.

Sparks flew as our eyes, filled with regret, met.

“Were there any other memories?”

I asked, sitting on his lap.

“Zelda, this is troublesome…”

He said that, but his hands were already supporting my waist to help me maintain a stable posture.

“You wanted to have a child, so you’re showing passion from today, wife?”

“If you know, don’t avoid it, and please cooperate actively in the future.”

Zelda said softly, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“I’ll cooperate 24 hours a day, so recover quickly. Actually, you don’t need to use your strength.”

His hand slowly approached his left chest.

“Excuse me, the injured area is the heart?”

I narrowed my eyes, knocking away his approaching hand.

“I can’t touch the injured area directly. So I’m wandering around it. Like the Magic Tower Master who shares a friendship with you.”

“…”

He’s a man with a very, very long memory.

I buried my face in his neck and chuckled softly.

His jealousy was as sweet as fruit.

I wanted to provoke him on purpose because I liked him being jealous, but if that happened, the Magic Tower Master might have his corn turned like Prince Tesler.

Oh, that won’t do.

I shook my head, imagining the Magic Tower Master’s face without front teeth.

Then I met his eyes, who seemed handsome even without front teeth.

As I looked at his face, I wondered what it would feel like to have children who resembled him wandering around me all day.

Just imagining it is so lovely.

“It would be so nice if a child resembling Your Majesty was born.”

“No, I hope he resembles you.”

He was briefly taken aback by my sudden words, then answered seriously.

“Really?”

“Yes, if the appearance is too outstanding, it’s also troublesome.”

“Well, I guess that’s true…”

Wait, there was something in his words that bothered me.

“Does that mean, ‘It won’t be troublesome if he resembles your face’? No, that’s what it meant. Right?”

“Does it sound like that? Hahaha. I hope the son resembles you, and the daughter resembles me.”

Those words also felt strangely unpleasant.

Does saying he wants the daughter to resemble him mean he’s prettier than me?

I glared at him.

“Why do you want the son to resemble me?”

“A boy just needs to be strong. It’s only troublesome to have a good-looking face. Like me.”

“…Does that mean it doesn’t matter if the daughter has a bad personality?”

“Does that mean… that I have a bad personality if I resemble you? No, that’s what it meant, right?”

I just showed a positive smile at his questioning voice.

“You said it yourself, just because you have a good-looking face doesn’t mean you have a good personality.”

“…”

“If you have this kind of face and a good personality, people will hate you.”

He said, raising his voice.

“Anyway, we’ve come to a conclusion. I want our children to have their father’s looks and their mother’s personality.”

“But what if it’s the other way around?”

I asked worriedly, tilting my head.

“Then we’ll have to keep having them. If your stamina allows it.”

His hand holding my waist began to exert strength.

“Don’t worry about my stamina, it’s only a problem if my husband’s passion cools down.”

“Don’t you know by looking? I’m always this kind of person.”

Linell grabbed my hand and headed somewhere.

My face flushed at his health.

My face is probably redder than the rising sun.

His face turned red as well.

“You have to keep shining on me like an unquenchable fire. Got it?”

“Hmph, you did the stigma, so why are you telling me to light the fire.”

My lips were reflected in his blue eyes.

Like a ship drifting on the blue sea, I slowly brought my lips to his and kissed him.

The sound of waves crashing between our lips could be heard.

***

Linell left Zelda’s chambers and headed to the spire where Prince Tesler was imprisoned.

By the time he arrived at the spire, it was completely bright.

As he entered the spire, it was all darkness inside.

“Prince Tesler has been sent to the prison in the basement.”

Markrom, who had spent the night in the spire, said to him.

“Well done. He’s a guy who doesn’t deserve even the sunlight coming through the small window.”

“And now the court physician is examining Prince Tesler’s condition.”

“Court physician?”

Linell had never ordered the court physician to examine Prince Tesler’s condition.

“The secretary said that we should at least make him look like a human before the trial…”

Yes, I knew it would be Raphael’s idea.

“I agree with the secretary. The Shattonil Kingdom may try to subtly escape by protesting about the prince’s condition.”

That made sense.

“So, what’s the trash’s condition like?”

“First of all, ten teeth are gone, all the cut limbs have been sewn up, and his cheekbones are sunken, causing his face to be severely swollen.”

“That’s good.”

“But that’s not the problem, Your Majesty.”

“Why, what’s the problem again?”

“Please check it yourself.”

Markrom led him to the underground prison.

“This is the room. Would you like to go in?”

Markrom asked in front of the iron door in the far corner of the basement, and Linell replied briefly.

“Open it.”

The guard standing watch right next to the iron door quickly opened the iron door.

The sound of the iron door opening echoed gloomily underground.

The court physician, who had just finished examining Prince Tesler’s body, bowed at the emperor’s appearance.

Linell pulled up a chair and sat down.

“Report.”

Markrom said to the court physician.

Prince Tesler, who had been curled up in bed with swollen eyes, turned around and confirmed Linell’s face before jumping up.

“Your Majesty! What are you going to do if you cut off the line of the Shattonil Kingdom!”

Prince Tesler sobbed with his front teeth missing.

“What are you talking about when I haven’t even cut off your head yet.”

He asked, casting a contemptuous gaze at Prince Tesler.

Then the court physician stammered and conveyed the message to him.

“Prince Tesler will not be able to have children in the future.”

“…What does that mean?”

“His, his testicles have burst!”

The court physician lowered his head deeply.