The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 123

123. Can I Sleep Over?

2022.03.09.

Moya was lying on her side, propping her head up with one hand and waving with the other. When did she even strike that pose?

‘Caught red-handed. Not my problem!’

As always, the Divine Beast disappeared when things got awkward. This is driving me crazy. If Moya hadn’t been waving, I could have pretended she was a doll and quickly hidden her. But she was waving her hand and even tapping one leg in a conceited way, so there was nothing I could do. Linelle’s features were frozen. I was worried he wasn’t even breathing properly.

“Li, Linelle……”

I called him as I got out of bed. Moya also got up, flapping her wings and landing squarely on my shoulder, wrapping her arms around my neck as if hugging me.

“Zelda!”

Linelle, who had been frozen, quickly pulled out his dagger from behind his back and shouted.

“Get away from her!”

Linelle seemed to think the wyvern was holding me hostage. That cute little baby wyvern.

“U-uh…… Your Majesty, put the sword down. I’m okay.”

I tried to calm him down and introduce Moya, but Moya couldn’t wait and blurted out,

“I even waved kindly to say hello. Drawing a sword on the first meeting? You’re such a cold human. Right, Master?”

“S-speaks……? M-Master?!”

Linelle’s blue eyes widened. And he looked like he was about to faint when he heard the wyvern call me Master.

“Raphael, Raphael!”

He shouted without taking his eyes off Moya. Oh, it’s going to get noisy. Raphael, the loyal secretary who heard the Emperor’s urgent voice, burst into the bedroom with a sword in hand. And Sharon too. Sharon was holding a silver teapot and a glass. It seemed she had grabbed anything that could be used as a weapon, thinking an assassin had invaded the bedroom.

“What’s going on, Your Majesty! Huh! Wh-what is that…… Moya?!”

Raphael came into the bedroom, looked around, and found Moya, reacting the same way as Linelle.

“Ooh? How did you know my name is Moya? Ah, it’s Sharon!”

Moya remembered Sharon from Rosie’s chambers and waved happily to her, who was standing behind Raphael, ready to throw the silver teapot.

“Heop!”

Sharon looked at me with a pale face. Her eyes seemed to be asking, ‘Did you get caught?’

‘Yeah, that’s right. I’m screwed.’

I smiled bitterly at Sharon. Raphael raised his sword high and said to him in a tense voice.

“Y-Your Majesty. It’s a, a wyvern!”

“Yes, a wyvern…… is clinging to the Empress’s neck.”

“Why is a wyvern in the bedroom, no, why is it with Her Majesty the Empress…….”

“I don’t know either. Sharon, how does that wyvern know you?”

At Linelle’s question, Sharon made a troubled expression and lowered her head.

“Your Majesty, please calm down. I’ll tell you everything.”

I said, walking towards the table.

“Sharon was with me the day I found Moya. Come over here, Raphael and Sharon too.”

I pulled out a chair at the table and sat down first. Linelle and Raphael stared curiously at Moya, who was sitting on my right shoulder, and slowly walked over. Linelle didn’t let his guard down even as he pulled out a chair and sat down.

“Raphael, put the sword down. Your Majesty too. Moya is not dangerous.”

“That’s right! Moya is not dangerous, I am great!”

KWAH-!

“?”

Suddenly, fire burst out of Moya’s mouth. The fancy flowers in the vase on the table disappeared without a trace. Everyone opened their mouths and only moved their eyes to stare at the burnt flowers. I was also surprised because it was the first time I saw Moya breathe fire. But if I showed that I was surprised here, Linelle would throw the dagger he was holding at Moya right away, so I tried to act like nothing happened. But…… where is that burning smell coming from? No way.

“Sharon, is my hair okay?”

I was worried that my hair might have been completely burned by this damn baby wyvern.

“It’s…… okay. Your Majesty the Empress.”

Sharon trembled and pushed my hair back.

“It’s okay, Sharon. Human hair grows back.”

Moya patted Sharon’s hand.

“?”

Looking at Sharon and Moya with an ominous feeling, Moya smiled brightly and said,

“I’m sorry, Master. Actually, a few strands were burned, I’ll pull them out.”

Moya grabbed a handful of my hair and pulled it. Are only a few strands burned? Ack!

“………Gently.”

At my words, Sharon took my hair from Moya’s hand and gently cut off the burnt parts.

“Zelda, wyverns are inherently violent and dangerous.”

Linelle frowned and raised his dagger again, nudging Raphael with his elbow, and Raphael also gripped his sword hilt tightly again. I persuaded the two to put down their swords and then sternly said to Moya.

“Moya, you mustn’t breathe fire recklessly.”

“I didn’t know the fire would go all the way to the vase. The fire is getting stronger and stronger, Moya is becoming greater~.”

“Still, don’t do that in the future. People get surprised.”

When I warned him again, Moya reluctantly nodded and started playing with my hair, wrapping it around his neck. Raphael pulled his chair back further than before and put more distance between himself and Moya. I deliberately stroked Moya’s head like a puppy to show that Moya was not threatening.

“Scratch my wings too!”

Moya flapped his wings, shaking his shoulders wildly, as if he felt good at my touch.

“Zelda, what on earth is going on…….”

Linelle asked, pressing his temples.

“I’ll tell you.”

I started explaining how I met Moya and why he called me ‘Master’. In the middle, I asked Sharon, ‘I didn’t leave anything out, did I?’ and told Linelle everything.

“Ooh? You left out the Aoshi story, Master!”

Moya, who had been quiet, raised his hand as if something terrible had happened.

“Is Aoshi also a wyvern?”

Linelle widened his eyes and asked in a serious voice.

“Wow, to think a wingless, insignificant cat is a great wyvern!”

Before I could answer no, Moya retorted sharply at him.

“Rosie…… raises cats too?”

“Yes, I heard she got permission from the administrative office a while ago. Right, Sharon?”

“Th-that’s right. Your Majesty the Empress.”

“Ooh? She hasn’t gotten permission yet? Aoshi is still illegally living in Rosie’s bedroom, Moya~?”

“……Shut up.”

I said to Moya in a ventriloquial voice.

“Rosie is a person of interest.”

Linelle sighed, stroking his chin.

“No way? The orange head is just an ugly person?”

Moya got angry and refuted his opinion. What is this, she’s not helping Rosie, but rather giving her a blow.

“Pfft.”

Raphael, who had been observing Moya with a tense expression, burst into laughter.

“Your Majesty, that’s a really funny wyvern.”

“Your face is funnier!”

Moya shouted, pointing at Raphael. I curled my lips inward to hold back my laughter.

“The wyvern has quite the eye. Anyway, Rosie is raising a wyvern and a cat in her chambers?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Ooh? Me and Aoshi are growing up on our own. Rosie is raising Rams, right?”

……Ah, you blabbermouth. How can you be so clueless? Well, what can I expect from a baby wyvern. I was going to talk about Rams after discussing it with Prince Noden, but she’s exposing it again.

“Is Rams also a cat?”

Linelle asked with a smirk.

“Human bastard.”

“What?”

“Rams is a human bastard.”

Moya said to him in a clear voice.

“!”

Linelle’s face hardened again. I sincerely wanted to shut Moya’s mouth. But that small mouth was chattering so fast that there was no time to stop it.

“Your Majesty also knows Noden or Button, right?”

“I know.”

“That man gave it to Rosie as a gift, Moya~.”

“What do you mean Noden or Button gave a child as a gift?”

Linelle looked at me and asked. Looking at his expression, it seemed like he was ready to be surprised this time.

“How did that happen, you ask…….”

Thus, Prince Noden’s past was also revealed. Linelle, who had heard everything from Moya to Prince Noden, was silent for a while.

“This is really something. Your Majesty! The Shatonil Kingdom is really despicable.”

Raphael gritted his teeth.

“Not only did they threaten Her Majesty the Empress with a magic potion to come to the Lapion Empire, but they also tried to remarry Princess Resilia, who had Prince Noden’s child, to Your Majesty!”

“But now they’ve turned their eyes to the Partsha Empire, right?”

I also told him about the proposal of Prince Kalvain and his wife that Grand Duke Martins had heard from Prince Tesler.

“Yes, I saw them getting close to Princess Jasper already in the drawing room today.”

“I guess so. But the person involved, Prince Noden, might not cooperate.”

Linelle said with a meaningful smile. He looked like he knew things would turn out that way. But he looked very surprised when he heard that there was a child between the two earlier.

“It’s even better this way. I don’t even need to push them on purpose. Prince Tesler threatened Rams before Prince Kalvain and his wife made the proposal.”

“But I can’t send Rams back to Princess Resilia again.”

“But they won’t think of harming him anymore. Because that child has become a precious link that will make their dreams come true.”

“Princess Resilia is not qualified to be a mother. And Prince Noden seems to be interested in Rosie…….”

Linelle nodded seriously at my words.

“Order Rosie to raise him.”

Moya clenched both fists and slammed them on the table, then looked at Linelle.

“But…… Moya. You mustn’t speak informally to His Majesty.”

I watched Linelle’s reaction and scolded Moya.

“Ooh? Then everyone shouldn’t speak informally to me either? Except for Master.”

“Why?”

“Even though I look cute like this now, I’m a great wyvern.”

……Never mind.

“Rather, speak informally to me, and be polite to His Majesty.”

But Moya retorted as if it was impossible.

“I only have one Master! Geez, I’m already being generous…….”

Moya glared at Linelle and sulked.

“Why are you being generous to me?”

Linelle, who had been quietly watching our conversation, scoffed and asked Moya.

“Because you’re my Master’s mating partner!”

Everyone was shocked at Moya’s words. But it wasn’t a wrong expression for a wyvern who wasn’t human, so it was ambiguous to say anything.

“……That’s true. Okay, you don’t need to use honorifics with me.”

“Ooh? You’re secretly nice, Moya~?”

Moya showed Linelle favor for the first time.

“Instead, like you said, my master and I are mating…… partners, so be careful not to interfere.”

He pointed at Moya with his finger and warned sternly.

“Hmph, showing off.”

Moya grumbled, but didn’t argue with those words.

“Your Majesty, what should we do now? If the fact that there is a wyvern in the Imperial Palace is revealed…… no, more than that, if it is revealed that the wyvern serves Her Majesty the Empress as ‘Master’…….”

“There might be a war.”

Linelle’s eyes darkened.

“Wow! That’ll be fun!”

In a serious atmosphere, Moya suddenly flew excitedly over the heads of the four people sitting around the table.

“Everyone, keep in mind. We must never get caught. Management is going to be…… a bit difficult, but.”

Linelle’s eyes followed Moya, who was spinning around in the air.

“I’ll be careful.”

I gestured for Moya to come down and reassured him. Thankfully, Moya obediently came back and sat on my shoulder at my command.

“Fortunately, he listens well. Your Majesty the Empress, does that baby wyvern bite?”

“He’s gentle.”

I smiled at Raphael and added one more word.

“To me.”

It meant that he should be careful. Raphael, who didn’t understand my meaning, stretched his hand out over the table and called Moya like he was calling a dog.

“Come here?”

“What’s that again?”

Moya jumped onto the table and kicked Raphael’s hand with his foot. Then he changed his expression, blinked his eyes innocently, and ran to Linelle.

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty!”

“What.”

“Moya wants to impose on you for a night~.”

“!”

“Can I sleep over tonight?”

Moya asked him, politely putting his hands together.