The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 253

253. Going to Train (2)

2023.06.07.

“It would be best to form the congratulatory delegation mainly with people who are physically fit. Exclude the weaklings.”

Linelle replied, giving me a gentle look.

Mélanie’s face darkened noticeably at his words.

“Your Majesty, I really want to go!”

Mélanie exclaimed in a spirited voice, beginning to plead.

“Why?”

He looked at Mélanie, raising an eyebrow as he asked.

“I may look weak, but I did very well during the Continental Hunting Competition! I had to return to the palace due to an unfortunate accident in the middle……”

Mélanie glanced at Roxana and trailed off.

The ‘unfortunate accident’ she was referring to was when the allied forces of the Aclato Duchy and Tanya Island suddenly appeared at the Continental Hunting Competition and isolated the dignitaries inside the monastery.

“Accident?”

Roxana glared at Mélanie, not hiding her displeasure, and asked.

“Ah, should I call it an incident?”

“……What?”

Mélanie asked Roxana, then looked at Rosie, who was sitting in front.

“What do you think, smart Rosie? The person who reads a lot of books, tell me.”

Mélanie had a habit of always causing trouble and then asking Rosie for her opinion, prefacing it with ‘smart Rosie’.

When I see her like that, it seems like Mélanie is deliberately trying to provoke the other person, right?

“Well……”

Rosie gave an awkward smile with a troubled expression.

“Wouldn’t it be okay to say incident and accident together?”

I said in an intellectual voice, subtly interjecting.

I could see Roxana pursing her lips, about to snap at me.

“As Mélanie said, if everything had gone according to plan, we would have finished the competition in the Tevelo Empire and moved on to the Partsha Empire to attend the Emperor’s coronation ceremony.”

Fortunately, Linelle came out at the right time and cut off the war of nerves between Roxana and me.

At this, Roxana swallowed her annoyance, withdrew her gaze from glaring at me and Mélanie, and gracefully lifted her teacup to drink her tea.

“For now, consider your individual conditions and situations and inform the secretary by tomorrow. If there are too many people, I will personally sort them out, so keep that in mind.”

“Your Majesty personally……?”

Roxana put down her teacup and asked him, surprised.

“Yes. Is there something wrong?”

“But aren’t matters related to the concubines under my jurisdiction as the Empress?”

Roxana seemed eager to wield the Empress’s privileges in front of the concubines on this occasion.

“Empress, this isn’t a matter of the concubines, but of selecting the imperial figures who will go as the congratulatory delegation. I plan to personally select not only the concubines but also the list of officials who will be leaving together.”

Linelle explained to Roxana in a calm yet dignified voice.

It was a statement that implied she should stay out of it.

He didn’t speak in an angry or annoyed tone, but he spoke in a tone that showed no room for compromise.

Roxana couldn’t argue any further and nodded silently.

I looked down at her hand, which was gripping the teacup tightly. The bones of her bent knuckles were protruding sharply, showing how much strength she was using.

“Um…… Your Majesty.”

Pessillini, who had been sitting quietly as if she were not there, listening only to the others’ conversations, timidly raised her hand.

“Yes, Pessillini. Do you have something to say to me?”

Linelle treated Pessillini in a much more affectionate tone than when he treated Roxana.

I could tell that he was deliberately being affectionate to Pessillini.

It seemed like an act to provoke Roxana on purpose.

As expected, Roxana’s expression immediately soured.

“Speak comfortably.”

Encouraged by Linelle’s words, Pessillini suddenly burst into tears and said pleadingly.

“Please, please take me with you. I beg you…… Huhu.”

The concubines were bewildered by Pessillini’s sudden tears.

Despite the other concubines’ reproachful gazes, she continued to speak firmly.

“I went to the Partsha Empire with my father when I was young. There was a friend I dated for a while back then, and I really want to see her again. If I don’t take this opportunity, I don’t think I’ll ever see her again. Besides, I heard that my friend is seriously ill, so I’m very, very upset!”

Pessillini was lying right now.

“But Pessillini, I know that your physical condition hasn’t been good lately?”

He seemed to have noticed her lie, but he didn’t show it and asked calmly.

“No. I will never cause trouble to those who go with me because my stamina is low. So, Your Majesty, please……!”

I felt like I knew why Pessillini was asking so desperately.

She must have thought it might be dangerous to stay alone in the imperial palace.

Roxana’s aides might harm her, or Prince Tesler might use his influence to have the Kingdom of Shattonil kidnap her, who is pregnant with the prince’s child.

Pessillini’s anxious heart was understandable.

Roxana also seemed to see through why Pessillini was saying that.

From the perspective of the concubines who didn’t know that Pessillini was pregnant, the sight of her shedding tears and asking him to take her to the Partsha Empire might have seemed unpleasant.

“No, it’s not like Zelda can’t appeal openly, so why is she stepping up and appealing so blatantly?”

Mélanie whispered to Catherine next to her.

“I know.”

Catherine, who usually avoids dealing with Mélanie, inadvertently replied and stared intently at Pessillini.

In particular, the three concubines from Aclato glared at Pessillini openly.

“This time, we’re traveling by sea, so it’s not a very rough journey.”

He stroked his sharp jawline and pondered, positively accepting Pessillini’s plea.

At the same time, Roxana’s eyes were narrowing more and more.

Pessillini pretended not to see Roxana’s gaze and continued to send him desperate eyes.

“Hmm, seeing how desperate you are, she must have been a pretty good friend. But since that friend is seriously ill…… Okay. Pessillini will go for now.”

With his decision finally made, the other concubines’ faces cracked.

This meant that the number of people who could go as the congratulatory delegation had decreased.

The concubines’ eyes looking at Pessillini were filled with envy and reproach.

Linelle soon left the office for a meeting with the officials.

***

“It’s not like some of us don’t know how to shed tears, so we just stayed still?”

“A concubine’s life is all about dignity, but it didn’t look good.”

“His Majesty is surprisingly kind; if I had known this would happen, I would have made up a story too.”

The concubines from the Aclato Duchy each threw a word of resentment at Pessillini as they left the office.

“She’s getting more and more arrogant.”

Roxana, surrounded by them, whispered as she passed by Pessillini.

“Even Zelda, who is favored, doesn’t openly ask to be taken, but you dare to step up. Ha, you have great ambitions.”

Roxana looked down at Pessillini’s belly.

I wanted to ask why she was dragging me in when I was just standing still, but I pretended not to hear because I thought it would only make Pessillini uncomfortable if I stepped in.

Pessillini stood with her head bowed, covering her belly with both hands, with a face that wished Roxana would pass her by quickly.

“Let’s go, Empress.”

The concubines from the Aclato Duchy clung to Roxana on both sides and went down the central staircase with her first.

As soon as Roxana disappeared from sight, Pessillini let out a breath she had been holding in and leaned against the wall with her hand.

“Are you okay?”

I quickly supported her.

“Yes…… Zelda. Thank you.”

“You were anxious, weren’t you? About being left alone in the imperial palace.”

When I asked quietly so that the other concubines wouldn’t hear, Pessillini also answered, ‘Yes.’

I sent her a look of understanding and gave her a smile filled with comfort.

I took Pessillini’s arm and came down to the entrance of the main palace together.

Rosie and Mélanie followed behind.

I took her to the carriage in front of Pessillini’s residence, which was waiting in front of the main palace.

“Go on ahead.”

“Thank you so much, then I’ll go first.”

“Okay, get some rest.”

Pessillini bowed deeply to me and got into the carriage.

“What’s wrong with her? Why is she suddenly acting like that?”

Mélanie looked at Pessillini’s carriage heading to the West Palace and asked me.

“Actually, Pessillini is pregnant right now.”

I carefully told Mélanie and Rosie.

Either way, it was a story that couldn’t be hidden once Pessillini’s belly grew.

Roxana, who doesn’t know anything about the imperial palace situation when I was the Empress, didn’t have much doubt that Pessillini had Linelle’s child at that time, but the existing concubines are likely not to believe it.

So, I thought it would be better to tell them the situation in advance and get their stories straight.

Besides, it was an issue that would soon be announced in the imperial palace.

“Heoooook! Whose child is it?!”

Mélanie asked, leaning back as if she were about to fall over.

“Shh. Be quiet.”

“It’s not His Majesty! Right?”

Rosie said definitively.

“Yeah, it’s not.”

“Then whose child is she carrying?”

“Prince Tesler.”

“Oh my gosh……! Does Empress Roxana know?”

“Yeah, but Roxana thinks it’s His Majesty’s child.”

“I knew it, I knew it. I said Empress Roxana’s eyes looking at Pessillini were unusual.”

Behind Mélanie’s fussing, Rosie asked with a serious expression.

“What is His Majesty thinking?”

“He’s thinking of raising him as a prince of the Lapion imperial family.”

“You’re raising the enemy’s child as an emperor of the Lapion Empire?”

Rosie raised her voice without realizing it and then covered her mouth with her hand.

“That’s how he can completely suppress Prince Tesler. Besides, what sin does a child growing up in Prince Tesler’s hands have? I think he took even that into account and made the decision.”

“Puhahahaha!”

Mélanie suddenly burst into laughter.

“Why are you laughing, Your Majesty?”

Rosie looked at Mélanie with strange eyes and asked.

“It’s funny that His Majesty only loves Zelda, but all the concubines are falling in love with different men.”

“Ah, that’s true.”

Rosie also chuckled and agreed.

“Rosie has Prince Norton, Pessillini has Prince Tesler, and Catherine seems to be continuing her secret meetings with Count Ethan, but Mélanie, you don’t have anyone. It’s not the time to laugh.”

When I jokingly said to Mélanie, she slowly opened her mouth.

“Actually…… I’ll have someone soon too.”

“Huh?”

“This is a secret, but I’ll only tell you two. I have someone I like.”

“Roxana’s dog?”

“Pirate King?”

Rosie and I shouted at the same time.

The words we used were different, but they all referred to ‘Hettor’.

“Heop, how did you know?!”

Wouldn’t you be a fool if you didn’t know?

Who was it that openly asked Linelle to give him to her as her bodyguard?

“Ah, and I’ve made up my mind!”

“About what?”

“I’m definitely going to the Partsha Empire.”

“Then you should start training your stamina from now on.”

I grabbed her slender arm and shook it, laughing teasingly.

“That’s why, let’s go to the training ground! The training ground in the cypress forest.”

Rosie and I stopped laughing and tensed up at Mélanie’s unnecessarily serious reaction.

“Now……?”

“Yeee!”

Mélanie shouted, walking ahead.

“But, I’m a little hungry, how about we have some refreshments before we go?”

“Shall we? Then go to my residence and have some cheesecake and refreshing orange juice……”

Rosie, delighted by my suggestion, was about to head towards the carriage, but

“No way!”

Mélanie raised her voice, lifting her heels up.

Ah, you scared me.

“……Why not?”

“Hettor is at the training ground.”

“What?”

“How does Mélanie know that?”

“Before coming to the main palace, Hettor said he would go to the training ground. So I told him he could stay until dinner, so he’s probably still there.”

“Ah~ so that was the purpose? Stamina training is just an excuse?”

Rosie asked with a dumbfounded expression.

“Yes.”

I let out a hollow laugh at Mélanie’s honest admission.

“You can see his face at your residence, so why bother going all the way to the training ground?”

I asked her, trying to hold back my laughter.

“I’m thinking of learning swordsmanship from Hettor!”

“Stop it, Mélanie. Don’t test people’s patience like that. He might cut your neck off while teaching you.”

I jokingly put my hand on Mélanie’s neck and gave her sincere advice.

She flinched for a moment and then asked me seriously.

“I heard that when you first learn swordsmanship, you hold hands and hug from behind?”

“Well…… you have to do that to get the posture right.”

“Then the worse the posture, the longer you’ll be together?”

“!”

Mélanie giggled and walked ahead to the training ground in the cypress forest first.

Why do I have a bad feeling……?

“Will she be okay? She looks like a crazy woman at times like that.”

Rosie looked at Mélanie’s back, running towards the cypress forest, with a troubled expression.

“Let’s pick a flower on the way and put it in her hair. If he has any sense, Hettor will avoid her on his own.”

“Yes…….”

***

Roxana suddenly had the carriage heading to the Empress’s Palace turn towards the West Palace.

“Your Majesty Empress! I am honored that you have come to my residence in person!”

The place where Roxana turned the carriage and arrived was the residence of Concubine Yulina, who was from the Aclato Duchy.

“But what’s going on……”

She was the Empress who didn’t say much to me in the main palace office earlier.

Yulina slowly raised her head, which had been lowered with a slightly nervous face, and looked up at Roxana.

“I came because I have something important to talk about.”

“I will have tea brought out first.”

“No, just come and sit down.”

“Yes, Your Majesty Empress…….”

“Yulina, you probably want to attend the Emperor’s coronation ceremony in the Partsha Empire too, right?”

Roxana asked Yulina tentatively with a smile.

“Of course! I heard it’s the largest empire in the Southern Continent. And I heard that they usually give various gifts to the congratulatory delegations…… Is that true?”

Roxana saw greed in Yulina’s eyes.

“You know it well. This congratulatory delegation has many particularly good points. There’s a rumor that they’re giving away blue diamond jewels, which can only be found in the Partsha Empire, as souvenirs.”

“I’ve heard of the blue diamonds of the Partsha Empire! I’ve also heard rumors that looking into those jewels can enchant people.”

“That’s right. Now that I think about it, that jewel would look great on you, Yulina. It would look so good that His Majesty would fall for you.”

“Oh my, thank you, Your Majesty Empress.”

Yulina couldn’t hide her smile at Roxana’s unexpected compliment.

“Of course. In fact, among the concubines from the Aclato Duchy, I cherish you the most.”

“Oh my goodness, it’s an honor to my family that you would say that!”

Yulina was dumbfounded by the continuous compliments.

“That’s why I’m thinking of using my power to get you on the congratulatory delegation list.”

Roxana’s voice sounded soft, but her eyes were sharper than ever.

“Are you serious, Your Majesty Empress? Thank you, thank you!”

Yulina’s buttocks wiggled on the sofa.

“Instead, there’s something I need you to do.”