The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 126

126. Snap, It Broke

2022.03.19.

It felt like a viper had bitten my heart. Princess Resilia’s gleeful eyes felt like they were tightening around my neck.

“Oh, dear? His Majesty is subtly waiting for a prince, too…”

*So, that’s why you came after all.* To enjoy my collapse. To see me trembling in shock.

“Doesn’t it hit you? Or do you think I’m misunderstanding something?”

Princess Resilia, perhaps disappointed by my unexpectedly calm demeanor, offered another confirmation.

“Sadly, I didn’t believe it either, so I asked my brother several times.”

“I see.”

“‘I see’?! Don’t you understand what I’m saying? You can’t get pregnant!”

Princess Resilia, in stark contrast to her earlier sympathetic whisper, raised her voice with a hint of irritation.

“You can’t carry a child in that womb for the rest of your life! No matter how shocking it is, you need to listen properly.”

Bonis, who hadn’t heard Princess Resilia’s earlier whisper to me, looked as if she was about to faint on my behalf.

“Haa!”

A near scream escaped Bonis’s lips.

“The person involved is calm, why are you making such a fuss?”

Princess Resilia chided Bonis, who was glaring at her.

“What exactly did Prince Tesler say?”

I asked Princess Resilia to grasp the exact situation. I deliberately contorted my face as if belatedly shocked. Princess Resilia, pleased with my expression, opened her mouth with a renewed sympathetic gaze.

“He said that if you drink only two out of the four magic potions you received from the clinic, you will never be able to get pregnant.”

“It was… planned from the beginning.”

I quietly murmured, looking down at the marble floor. I didn’t know whether to curse with a smile or curse with tears.

“My brother put in a safety measure, just in case.”

“What? It’s not a contraceptive, but a drug that prevents pregnancy altogether if you exceed a certain amount. How is that a safety measure?”

I tried not to raise my voice, but it didn’t work out as I intended.

“If you had known your place and been compliant, my brother would have replaced it with a new magic potion a long time ago.”

Princess Resilia rolled her eyes and spoke with more vehemence than I did.

“What did I do? Prince Tesler was the one who provoked me first by using Bonis.”

“Then why did you make Emperor Linell interested in someone like you, why! Your sin starts there.”

“…Haa, are you really saying that now?”

The excuses were absurd. There was no point in talking. If I kept looking into Princess Resilia’s half-crazed eyes, I felt like my head would go crazy too.

“Zelda, you’re so lucky.”

*What kind of novel nonsense is this again?*

“What are you talking about?”

“I’ve lost interest in being the Empress of the Lapion Empire. So, you’ll be able to stay in that position.”

Princess Resilia said, scanning the bedroom. She looked as if she was bestowing a great favor on me.

“Well, you might get kicked out later as a foreign-born empress who can’t produce an heir, but His Majesty’s favor is great, so you’ll probably stick around for a while, right?”

Princess Resilia’s face barely concealed her desire to mock my situation.

“That’s life. If you gain something, you lose something.”

“Ha, hahaha.”

I couldn’t help but burst into laughter at Princess Resilia’s words. The princess immediately narrowed her eyes and frowned at my laughter. When my laughter stopped, Princess Resilia was about to speak again, as if she still had something to say, but Bonis pushed the princess’s shoulders with both hands and shouted.

“You’re so shameless! You lured her into the unwanted empress position with a magic potion, and then you tampered with it? Not a contraceptive, but a drug that prevents pregnancy altogether?! You’re devils, you’re devil spawn!”

“Ha? Did you go crazy after drinking the water of the Lapion Imperial Palace?”

Princess Resilia raised her hand and mercilessly slapped Bonis across the cheek. At that moment, I quickly pushed Bonis aside. The princess’s palm struck my cheek with a loud smack.

“Wh-what… Why you?”

Princess Resilia looked at me with surprised eyes, alternating between her hand and my face that had been slapped.

“A princess of the kingdom slapped the empress of the empire.”

I tilted my head, caressing the side of my face that Princess Resilia had slapped. While Princess Resilia was flustered, I turned my body towards Bonis, showed her my face, and asked.

“Is it red?”

“Yes… Your Majesty.”

I wondered what would happen if it was fine, but sensitive skin is helpful in times like these.

“It’ll probably be red like this for about an hour, what should I do? I have to stop by His Majesty’s office for a while.”

I muttered with a troubled expression.

“Th-that’s because you deliberately pushed Bonis away… No, why are you standing there? You should have dodged to the side!”

Princess Resilia spoke as if making excuses, then changed her mind and blamed me instead.

“Hmm, that makes sense.”

I nodded, taking off one of the shoes I was wearing, and stretched out my foot. My foot, stretched straight out, touched Princess Resilia’s abdomen.

“Aaaagh!!”

Even though I deliberately took out as much strength as possible, Princess Resilia’s body was pushed back to the pillar 1m away. She hit her back against the pillar and collapsed.

“You know, you don’t have the consideration to hit places that aren’t noticeable, like me.”

I said, putting my shoe back on and straightening my dress.

“Your Majesty, are you alright?”

Princess Resilia was the one who fell, but Bonis asked, examining my body.

“My foot is very, itchy.”

I replied, rotating my ankle.

“Ugh, my stomach… Are you crazy? I almost lost the baby!”

Princess Resilia screamed, clutching her stomach with both hands and groaning in pain.

“Why are you standing there? You should have dodged to the side too.”

I returned the words the princess had just said to me verbatim. Princess Resilia’s eyes, filled with anger, widened to the point of popping out, and she gasped for breath.

“And, almost lost the baby? Anyone who hears that would think you’re pregnant?”

I approached her, lowered my waist slightly, and lowered my voice as much as possible.

“Or, had a baby… before.”

“Y-you?!”

Princess Resilia glanced down at her stomach without realizing it, then glared at me again.

“Your waist is usually very thin, right? But this time, it seems like you’ve gained weight around your waist. So, I was just wondering.”

Tension flashed across Princess Resilia’s face at my words, which I spat out as if passing by. The princess’s eyes were gauging whether I knew about Rams.

I burst into laughter and shook my head.

“But that’s impossible… Have you been neglecting your figure lately? Still, your waist is thinner than most women’s, though.”

I reached out my hand to her, who was sitting on the floor. Princess Resilia brushed my hand aside and stood up on her own.

“I’ll let it go this time because you received shocking news today, but if you touch my body again! I really won’t stand still then!”

Princess Resilia gritted her teeth.

“Stop talking nonsense and get out.”

“…Wh-what?”

“Don’t you dare lay a hand on me. Especially not on my people and in my space.”

“Haa? Your space? You said it well. Who do you think you’re enjoying all this thanks to, that you treat me like this?”

Princess Resilia shouted, looking around the bedroom.

“Your favor is, you eloped with Prince Norton and made me come here as the surrogate empress. That’s it, just that.”

I said, pushing Princess Resilia against the wall. The princess was frightened and cowering, but when I walked back to the bedroom door and opened it for her, she glared at me as if to kill me. Princess Resilia showed embarrassment at the fact that I knew about her relationship with Prince Norton.

“N-Norton is…”

“I’m not interested. Princess, it’s time for you to go to the Imperial Palace greenhouse and purify your body and mind.”

I cut off her words and spoke sarcastically.

“Yes! Your Majesty must be very shocked too, please rest well!”

Princess Resilia also reminded me again that I couldn’t have children and left the bedroom.

“Are you alright, Your Majesty…?”

As soon as Princess Resilia left, Sharon came straight into the bedroom with a pale face. She looked like she had heard everything Princess Resilia and I had said in the bedroom waiting room.

“Everyone, there’s nothing to worry about. Let’s go to Rosie’s quarters. I’ll talk there.”

I said calmly to Sharon and Bonis, who looked like they were about to cry.

“Before we go, Sharon, just a glass of ice water for me.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Since yesterday, the fire energy inside me has become noticeably stronger. I feel like the fire energy gets stronger when I feel anger. Just now, I felt like I could burn Princess Resilia to ashes if I just reached out my hand. *** As I left the bedroom and was about to go down the central staircase, I met Commander Marcrom on the landing.

“Your Majesty, where are you going?”

“I’m going to visit Rosie’s quarters. What’s going on?”

I had ordered Commander Marcrom yesterday to focus only on directing the Imperial Knights’ supplies and weapons instead of guarding me until he left for the Continental Hunting Competition.

“I came up for a moment to deliver a message.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, Count Ethan has completed the sword that Your Majesty will use. Only the finishing touches remain.”

“I thought I would only be able to touch it right before departure, but it seems like he paid attention to it. He must have been busy anyway…”

I said, recalling Count Ethan and Catherine collapsing onto the straw pile in the training ground warehouse last night.

“Yes? Was there something else going on with Count Ethan?”

“No, nothing. The Count must have been busy with various things because of the hunting competition, but it seems like he finished the work early.”

“Actually, there wasn’t enough time to make a new sword, so I heard that he refurbished and reinforced the lightest and best condition sword among those possessed by His Majesty.”

“Ah, that’s why.”

“Then, now that I’ve delivered the news, I’ll go back. There are quite a few things to instruct the knights remaining in the Imperial Palace in advance.”

“The Commander is going through a lot.”

Commander Marcrom’s face looked very tired.

“It’s because I’m competent even if I lose my sight.”

“That’s true. Go ahead.”

I said with a smile.

“Your Majesty, is there… something wrong?”

Commander Marcrom asked me, his gaze directed towards Bonis and Sharon next to me. It seemed that the Commander had sensed their depressed mood.

“No, nothing’s wrong.”

“Yes, then… I’ll go ahead.”

Commander Marcrom shrugged and hurried down the stairs. I was watching the Commander go down when Bonis called me in a cautious voice from behind.

“Um… Your Majesty.”

“Yes?”

“I think I have a stomachache. I need to go to the bathroom urgently…”

“Is it very bad?”

“Yes, I’ll go to the bathroom and follow you later.”

Bonis said, placing both hands on her lower abdomen and slightly bending her waist.

“No. Just go to your room and rest. Drink some tea that’s good for stomachaches.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Why are you saying that? Can you go to the bathroom alone?”

“Of course.”

“Okay, it looks urgent, so go quickly.”

“Yes, please be careful…”

Bonis hurried up the stairs. ***

Linell’s lips, which had been tightly shut for several minutes due to shock, barely parted again.

“Is that… true?”

But he asked the same question he had asked before he closed his mouth a few minutes ago. He couldn’t have misheard. It was just unbelievable. Anger was rising in his questioning blue eyes.

“Yes, Your Majesty. I heard it clearly from the side.”

Bonis replied, putting a lot of strength into her voice. The tip of the quill he was holding snapped with a snap. His reason had already broken.