The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 276

276. Passing By Brats

August 26, 2023

“You said I have no brains! Who else could you be talking about if not me?”

Melanie stated her deduction in a clear, firm voice.

Palto stared silently at Melanie’s head, which was now held high in indignation.

He knew Melanie wasn’t exactly known for her intellect.

So, it was understandable that she might misunderstand what he had just reported to Hector.

Understanding dawned on him, and he felt a pang of sympathy for Melanie.

Palto turned his gaze to Hector.

He seemed quite taken aback as well, but the sovereign’s eyes held a certain tenderness.

If anyone had caused such a commotion on Tanya Island, they would have been beheaded without a second thought.

Ironically, Hector’s face now looked as if he were watching an adorable child’s tantrum.

‘No, wait. Our Great King has never even looked at actual children with such loving eyes, has he?’

What in the world was going on?

Palto composed himself and addressed the fuming Melanie.

“Your Majesty, we would never speak ill of you……”

“Do you think I’m stupid?”

Melanie interrupted Palto with a rather determined expression.

‘I think she might be?’

Hector, still seated, looked up at her, thinking.

“There seems to be a misunderstanding. We weren’t referring to Your Majesty, but……”

Palto glanced at Hector and trailed off.

He couldn’t mention Galaco.

So, even if Melanie hadn’t interrupted, he would have had to stop himself this time.

‘Your Majesty, why are you just sitting there? Say something!’

Palto looked at Hector with pleading eyes, but he simply crossed his arms and calmly gazed at Melanie.

“You said I have no brains. No head! What could be more obviously about me?”

Melanie placed her hands on her slender waist and raised her chin.

Hector then apologized with a slightly amused expression.

“Yes, I’m sorry.”

“Y-Your Majesty?!”

Was he out of his mind?

Palto was flustered by Hector’s nonchalant lie.

Melanie’s sharp gaze turned to Palto, now that Hector had confessed.

“What made you realize I’m not very bright?”

“……Excuse me?”

“You said that to Hector, didn’t you? That I have no brains.”

Melanie mimicked Palto’s earlier gesture of tapping his fingertips against his temple.

“W-Well, I mean, that’s……”

Palto couldn’t find a suitable excuse and looked back at Hector with a troubled expression.

“Palto, apologize to Her Majesty properly.”

Hector ordered seriously.

He seemed to want to wrap things up by making it seem like they were insulting Melanie, since they couldn’t talk about Galaco.

Palto thought, ‘When he tells me to do something, I have to do it. What power do I have?’ and bowed deeply to Melanie, apologizing.

“I am sorry, Your Majesty Melanie. In trying to express Your Majesty’s usually cheerful demeanor more dramatically, I failed to be mindful of my words.”

Melanie’s expression softened slightly at Palto’s apology.

Hector, who had been watching, added a word.

“On Tanya Island, we use the phrase ‘no brains’ to describe someone cheerful and innocent. It has a negative connotation on the continent, but on Tanya Island, it can also mean pure, so I hope Your Majesty will understand with a generous heart.”

At Hector’s explanation, the tension in Melanie’s eyes gradually eased.

“Really?”

“Yes, really!”

“Alright. I accept your apology. It’s true that I’m cheerful, but it’s also true that I have no brains.”

Hector and Palto’s eyes widened at Melanie’s calm yet honest answer.

She didn’t have to admit that, but it was a moment that clearly revealed Melanie’s innocence.

“Palto, you may leave now.”

“……You want me to leave like this? Are you sure you’ll be alright?”

Palto glanced at Melanie and whispered to Hector.

“Report back this evening. Leave.”

Not about other matters, but about Galaco later?

Palto looked at Hector questioningly, but Melanie’s gaze was so intense that he couldn’t stay in the room any longer.

As Palto left, Hector said to Melanie.

“Sit.”

“Okay.”

“……What are you doing?”

“You told me to sit.”

“I told you to sit on a chair, not on my lap.”

His words were quite blunt, but he didn’t push Melanie away.

Melanie had thought that Hector might throw her to the ground.

It was an action she took, risking even that.

But, unlike his rough tone, Hector’s hand wasn’t pushing her back away, but gently holding her waist.

“You should also know how to be your master’s chair.”

Melanie, excited, swung her legs in the air as if she were splashing water.

“If the people of Tanya Island saw this, they would grab you, hang you from a tree, and spank your bottom mercilessly.”

“For what crime?”

“For daring to sit on the Great King’s thigh. I’ve never allowed anything on my thighs except swords or arrows. Understand?”

“No.”

Her answer was clear.

Melanie moved her legs a few more times before dropping them down and saying with a dissatisfied tone.

“I’ll go sit on the chair.”

Feeling a sense of loss as she left his lap, Hector asked casually.

“Why?”

“My butt hurts. Did you put rocks in your pants? How can it be so hard? My butt is getting sore.”

Melanie plopped down on the chair opposite him and retorted.

Hector thought about putting the cushion from the chair next to him on his lap and telling her to come back and sit, but then decided against it.

It seemed better to be able to face Melanie now, so he put the cushion back down.

“What brings you here today?”

“Ah, I almost forgot. I got a message from the main palace. I’ve been chosen as part of the congratulatory delegation!”

Melanie said with a grin.

“If His Majesty had left me out, I was going to grab a sword and come find you today.”

“Leave me out of it. I don’t want to make enemies with someone as creepy as Emperor Linelle.”

Hector said, raising both hands in a gesture of refusal.

“I’m not going to threaten him, am I?”

“Then?”

“I’m going to show off the swordsmanship I’ve been practicing. The only reason they’d leave me out is because they think I’m weak.”

“Well, anyway, since you’re part of the congratulatory delegation, there won’t be any need to show off your swordsmanship.”

“There will be a chance later. I’m going to show them that I’m good at something too. I have to see the court ladies be surprised and envious of my skills.”

“…….”

‘Not exactly good. You’ve barely gotten to the point where you can hold a sword.’

Hector boosted Melanie’s spirits by keeping the truth to himself.

Suddenly, it started to rain. The two looked out the window at the same time.

“It’s probably just a passing shower, right?”

“I hope so. So we can leave tomorrow.”

But the rain was pouring down fiercely.

“By the way, what do you do on birthdays on Tanya Island?”

Melanie, who had been watching outside for a moment, asked.

“We throw the birthday person into the sea.”

“Oh my, why?”

“It’s just the tradition.”

“If you can’t swim, don’t you just die?”

“No one on Tanya Island can’t swim. Why are you asking all of a sudden?”

“It’s my birthday tomorrow.”

“What?”

“It’s my birthday. It wouldn’t be bad to have a birthday party in the forest. But if it rains like this tomorrow, it’ll be a bit difficult to have a party……”

Melanie looked at the falling rain again, worried.

***

Logan asked Bellos with a dumbfounded expression at Bellos’s words that Hector had begun to awaken from the obedience potion.

“No, how?”

All magic potions have exceptions, but it was extremely rare for awakening to begin without an antidote.

In the case of obedience potions used between men and women, the effects only manifest in those who have a relationship.

Awakening occurs when one cherishes someone other than the person they are bound to obey, and this usually happens through unexpected contact.

Hector and Melanie’s case was one such instance.

After the two bickered and their lips touched in the carriage, feelings arose, and Melanie’s proactive actions awakened Hector’s emotions, which had been suppressed by the obedience potion.

“Could Hector have taken some kind of antidote somewhere?”

Logan questioned, and Bellos shook his head.

“No. He has come to love someone else. It may have been an accident at first.”

“Oh…… That’s a rare case. If the existence of the obedience potion becomes known, the Tower Master will also…….”

“Be in trouble.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’ve already committed too many sins. I’m going to tell the truth honestly.”

Bellos smiled bitterly.

Logan hesitated for a moment before cautiously opening his mouth.

“I have a request, Tower Master.”

“What is it?”

“Please let it be known that I created that obedience potion.”

“What?”

“Please do that.”

“What…… are you saying?”

Logan’s request was unexpected.

“I created it because I couldn’t resist Roxana’s threats. If this fact becomes known, Hector’s anger will be focused on Roxana.”

“Is that what you’re aiming for? But…….”

“Didn’t I actually manufacture the obedience potion that day?”

Logan’s words were true.

During the Continental Hunting Competition, the Tower Master came to the tower using teleportation magic to create a cure for Zelda, who was infected with demonic energy.

At that time, Roxana also came to the tower to meet Logan and met Bellos.

That day, Roxana proposed a deal to Bellos.

After feeding Linelle a magic potion that induces memory loss, Roxana planned to reveal that Zelda was the surrogate empress through Prince Tessler’s confession, thereby becoming the empress of the Lapion Empire. And Bellos would release Zelda so that he could take her as his partner.

In addition, Roxana also requested and received a separate obedience potion to feed Hector that day, in addition to the magic potion to be used on Linelle.

“It was I who allowed the obedience potion to be manufactured.”

“Yes, but even if the Tower Master hadn’t appeared that day, Roxana would have threatened me with Bonis’s life as collateral. In the end, I would have created those two potions and given them to Roxana.”

“Even so, this is not right.”

Bellos muttered, pressing his temples.

“If you don’t, you’ll have to reveal that the Tower Master joined hands with Roxana.”

“I intend to tell the truth. I will accept my punishment.”

“No, it’s not the time yet. You can reveal that after you’ve dealt with Roxana.”

“Logan……”

“Please, until we bring down Roxana, please do as I say.”

Logan grabbed Bellos’s hand and pleaded.

***

Empress Elan was confined to the detached palace and couldn’t move.

She couldn’t even leave the room she was staying in, let alone the detached palace.

Under Emperor Adrian’s surveillance, even meals had to be taken in the room.

‘I need to let them know that Emperor Adrian has begun to suspect me…… What should I do?’

Guards were stationed not only outside the door but also throughout the floor where the guests of the Tebello Empire were staying.

She peeked open her door, and her eyes met those of a guard standing watch in front of the door.

“Please go inside.”

The person who was guarding her under Emperor Adrian’s orders warned coldly.

“I heard a noise outside and opened it for a moment.”

“There’s nothing going on, so please rest assured.”

As the guard said, the hallway was as quiet as a mouse.

“Really? I must have misheard.”

Empress Elan smiled awkwardly and closed the door.

The moment she turned around, Empress Elan flinched at the sight of the terrace door opening on its own.

She was tense, thinking it was Emperor Adrian, but only the terrace door opened, and his eerie figure was nowhere to be seen.

“Did it open on its own because of the wind and rain?”

Her shoulders, which had been tense, relaxed with a sigh of relief.

She walked to the terrace door and was about to close it again when she felt something under her feet and looked down.

“Y-You guys……!”

“We’re just some brats passing by~.”

“We just stopped by to avoid the rain, Moiya~.”

Moiya and Moni, soaked in the rain, stuck their little heads through the terrace door and looked up at Empress Elan.

“It’s cold, can you give us a towel~?”

Moni flapped her wet wings and shook off the raindrops.

“Oh? Oh, wait a moment.”

Empress Elan ran to the bathroom and came out with two towels.

“Can you spread the towels on the floor?”

Empress Elan, who was about to wipe the wet baby wyverns herself, spread two towels on the floor as Moiya requested.

Then, the two rolled around on the towels, wiping off the raindrops.

“Is it okay for you to wander around like this?”

Empress Elan asked worriedly.

“Uh-huh, when it rains a lot, humans just think we’re crows even if they see us.”

“It’s hard to see because of the rain, Moni~.”

Moiya and Moni, who had roughly wiped off the raindrops, stared intently at Empress Elan at the same time.

“Elan’s face has lost its color while we weren’t looking, Moiya~?”

“Yeah! What’s wrong with your neck? Did you fight with someone?”

Empress Elan thought that Moiya and Moni were quite sharp and smiled weakly.

“Yeah, I got hurt…….”

Empress Elan wanted to tell the truth, but she couldn’t speak properly because of the secret disclosure prohibition magic.

She wanted to write it down and let Moiya and Moni inform Zelda of this fact, but she couldn’t write either.

Moiya approached Empress Elan and then,

“Ooh? Did Silver Hair do this?”

She said abruptly, sniffing.

Empress Elan stared at Moiya with wide eyes.

“I smell Silver Hair, Moiya~? Here.”

Moiya pointed exactly to the wound on Empress Elan’s neck.