The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 128

128. I’m a Little Sick

2022.03.26.

I arrived at the smithy and headed straight to Count Ethan’s personal workshop.

“Greetings, Your Majesty.”

Count Ethan, who was sweating as he worked on his tools, recognized me and hurriedly greeted me.

“How could you come to such a humble place in person?”

“I heard from Commander Marcrom that the sword is finished.”

“Yes. It may be a humble skill, but I did my best to make it. Only the final quenching remains. Would you like to see it?”

“I would.”

Count Ethan wiped the sword handle with a clean cloth on the workbench and handed it to me. The sword itself was light and sleek.

“It’s a good sword.”

I said, swinging the sword in the air. I only moved my wrist slightly to turn the sword, but Sharon clapped, making me embarrassed, so I quickly put the sword down. Count Ethan also looked very surprised that I could handle a sword.

“Yes, as Commander Marcrom told you, it is the lightest sword among those Your Majesty possesses.”

“Yes, it’s as light as a feather.”

That was the problem. I held up the sword and looked at the blade in the sunlight. The blade was quite sharp, but the sword itself was thin and slender, which felt a bit lacking. This sword would not be enough to catch large prey or deal with multiple opponents at once. Of course, I wouldn’t have the opportunity to engage in swordsmanship with anyone during the hunting season, but there might be cases where I would catch a large animal with a sword instead of a bow. As I swung the sword several times, Count Ethan said with a satisfied expression.

“The sword itself is light, but the blade is quite sharp, so it will cut most things cleanly.”

“It would be nice if people’s relationships could be cut as cleanly as a sword, right?”

“……Pardon?”

“I sometimes think that whenever I handle a sword. Count Ethan, haven’t you ever thought about that?”

Count Ethan’s face, which had been puzzled by my words, was swept with a bitter smile. There was no reply, but the Count seemed to agree with me.

“Loving someone is like the process of making a sword.”

I said, putting down the sword. This time, Count Ethan was startled.

“Like the process of making a sword, love needs a process of being as hot as a furnace, then cold, constantly refining, and enduring. If the continuation of a relationship is like the process of making a sword, then cutting off a relationship would be like the use of a sword.”

“That’s right.”

Count Ethan nodded and quietly agreed with me.

“When you have to cut off a relationship, you have to cut it off at once, like striking with a sword. There will be wounds and blood of sorrow will flow. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes… I think so too.”

Looking at Count Ethan’s expression, I could tell that he was thinking of Catherine. I wanted to advise him not to get too close to Catherine, but I couldn’t just say that out of the blue. Fortunately, Count Ethan seemed to be drawing a line with Catherine in the training ground warehouse, so it would be better to keep watching after returning from the hunting competition.

“I have a request.”

“Tell me, Your Majesty.”

“Do you have any spare swords with a wider blade and more weight than this one? Ah, it’s over there.”

I pointed to the swords lined up on the weapon display stand in one corner of the workshop and walked towards them. After looking through the swords, I picked up a sword of a similar size to the one I usually used.

“Can you fix this sword too? Is the time too short?”

“Ah, no. However, that sword might be a bit uncomfortable for Your Majesty to use?”

“It’s heavier than that pretty sword, but it can cut through much more at once.”

“That’s true, but….”

Count Ethan tilted his head and smiled awkwardly. It was as if he was asking why I would use a sword that knights would possess, even if it was a sword to take to the hunting competition.

“I don’t know if I’m bothering you when you’re busy.”

“That’s not true. It will take some time for the furnace to heat up, but as soon as it heats up, I will re-forge the sword you mentioned. The sword you ordered is also only waiting for the final quenching, so all the work will be finished by tomorrow afternoon.”

“Thank you, I’m already looking forward to it.”

Before leaving Count Ethan’s workshop, I looked at the furnace and raised the temperature. So that the Count’s work could be finished a little faster.

***

I returned to the main palace from the smithy. I was going to stop by Rosie’s residence, but I was worried about Bonis, who had a stomachache. As soon as I returned to the main palace, I headed to Bonis’s room to check on her condition. Fortunately, the stomachache had stopped. But Bonis’s complexion looked worse than when she had a stomachache. It was as if she was anxious about when she would run to the bathroom again.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty….”

Bonis repeated the word “sorry” to me more than necessary.

“What are you sorry for again? Do you usually have nothing to be sorry for, so you’re saying sorry for having a stomachache?”

I said, laughing and joking, and Bonis laughed too. But her expression darkened again. She didn’t even have the strength to laugh. I made Bonis lie down on the bed again and told her to rest well before hurrying out of her room.

“Her stomachache must have been severe. She looked worse than before.”

Sharon said on the way back to the bedroom.

“You think so too?”

“Yes, when you have a stomachache, you usually feel a bit uneasy that day.”

“I should order the kitchen to serve Bonis food that won’t be a burden tomorrow morning.”

“I’ll tell the chef in advance.”

“Yes, please do.”

I entered the bedroom waiting room, talking to Sharon about this and that. Solie and Theresa were pacing in front of the bedroom door and rushed to me when they saw me.

“His Majesty has been waiting in the bedroom for an hour.”

Solie said in a low voice.

“Already?”

I asked, looking at the large grandfather clock in the bedroom waiting room. It wasn’t time for Linell to return yet.

“His Majesty seemed to be in a bit of a… bad mood.”

Delissa also whispered with a worried expression. I nodded to the attendants and looked at Sharon. Sharon also opened the bedroom door with a nervous face. Linell was looking down at the Imperial Palace garden from outside the terrace. I watched his back and approached him.

“Your Majesty, didn’t you say today would be the busiest day?”

Linell slowly turned to me. ***

At the same time. Princess Lesilia visited the floor where the Partsha Empire’s VIPs were staying in the same annex.

“Tell him I’m here.”

The princess, who had arrived in front of Prince Norton’s room, said to the attendant waiting in front of the door.

“His Highness has a cold and has gone to bed early.”

The attendant said politely, even though he was flustered by the visit of the Princess of the Shattonil Kingdom.

“Is His Highness sick somewhere?”

“He has had a cold since returning from the main palace banquet last night. So he went to bed early today as well.”

“It’s still early evening, already? Still, if you tell him that Princess Lesilia has come, he will meet me.”

Even though he said he was sick, Princess Lesilia didn’t care at all. The attendant looked embarrassed but had no choice but to carefully open the door to Prince Norton’s bedroom. After a while. In less than a minute, the attendant opened the bedroom door again and came out. The attendant conveyed Prince Norton’s words to Princess Lesilia, who was standing with a confident expression.

“I’m sorry, Princess Lesilia. His Highness told me to tell you to just go back today.”

“…He told me to just go back?”

“Yes, I’m sorry.”

“Hey, did you convey the message properly?”

Princess Lesilia’s voice became fierce. The gentle expression she had at first was nowhere to be found. Even the attendants around her flinched at the change and glanced at Princess Lesilia.

“Did you clearly say that Le, Sil, Li, Ah Princess has come?”

The princess said her name clearly in an incredulous tone and questioned the attendant. She was in a very bad mood because Zelda had hit her in the stomach earlier that day. In the midst of that, she was rejected by Prince Norton, which made her even more irritated.

“Yes, Princess. I told him exactly how many times.”

The attendant was also getting annoyed, but he bowed his head and answered obediently.

“Get out of the way, I need to see him in person and check his condition.”

Princess Lesilia pushed the attendant aside and tried to open the bedroom door recklessly.

“Princess! You can’t do this!”

“What can’t I do?”

Despite the attendant’s dissuasion, she slammed open the bedroom door and quickly went inside and locked the door.

“I’m here.”

Princess Lesilia said in a sulky voice and walked to the bed. But when Prince Norton didn’t respond, her voice subsided even more.

“Norton? Are you feeling very unwell? The hunting competition is the day after tomorrow, what if you catch a cold….”

There was still no answer. Prince Norton was not moving, covered in blankets.

‘Is he feeling very unwell?’

Princess Lesilia felt a little embarrassed for being annoyed and hesitated in front of the bed for a while. If he had already taken cold medicine and fallen asleep, she felt sorry for waking him up. Tonight, she was planning to show Norton her sincere side by talking about ‘our son’. Besides, she especially missed Rams tonight.

‘He will be my stepping stone to success, my joy, and my happiness.’

She had no intention of asking Norton where Rams was. Today, she just came to subtly show Norton how much she missed her son and to show her maternal love. So her business was something she could talk about when she met him tomorrow.

‘Still, since I’ve come all the way to the bedroom, I should see his face before I leave.’

He was a man who said he felt better when he saw her smiling face. Princess Lesilia carefully sat on the bed and gently shook Norton’s body, who was lying with his back turned.

“Honey, I’m just going to see your face and leave. Huh?”

But Prince Norton seemed to be fast asleep, and again there was no answer. Princess Lesilia felt a little sad seeing Prince Norton, who was not moving, covered in blankets. Feeling sorry to just go back, she curled up and lay down next to Prince Norton. Then she hugged him from behind. She could feel Prince Norton flinching.

“Are you awake? Did I wake you up?”

Princess Lesilia asked in a secretive voice, raising her body. She grabbed the blanket that Prince Norton had pulled over his head and pulled it down. At that moment, Prince Norton coughed and turned his back even more to avoid having the blanket taken away.

“Cough, cough, I’m sorry, but please go back today….”

“Oh my gosh, Norton. Your voice is completely hoarse?”

Prince Norton seemed to have a bad cold.

“Cough, I feel so bad… Cough!”

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry for waking you up. We can talk tomorrow.”

Lesilia pressed the blanket down more firmly and hurriedly left the bedroom. Thud- After the sound of the bedroom door closing, Prince Norton threw off the blanket and sat up after a long time.

“Haa, I can’t breathe….”

The person in the blanket was Norton’s bodyguard, Chrisen.

“I thought I was going to get caught, my heart was pounding so hard.”

Sir Chrisen wiped the sweat from his forehead and muttered, looking at the terrace door that Prince Norton had secretly slipped out of 10 minutes before Princess Lesilia came.

“What is this I’ve been doing every night for the past few days? Where does His Highness keep going every night?”

***

“I’ve taken care of the urgent matters. I’m going to rest a little early today.”

Linell said, closing the terrace door and entering the bedroom. His expression looked somehow subtle. He was smiling, but the area around his eyes was reddish, as if he had been crying.

“That’s a relief. Are you… not feeling well somewhere?”

“Of course not. I’m too healthy. Except for my cold body.”

Linell chuckled, repeating what Moiya had said to him. His tone and expression were the same as usual, but his eyes looked a little different than usual.

“That’s why I always keep you warm.”

I raised my heels and hugged his neck with both arms.

“Yeah, it’s warm….”

He said, hugging me too.

“You’re the most important thing to me. I don’t need anything else.”

I felt strange at his voice, which seemed to be choked up.

“Your Majesty, are you really not feeling well somewhere?”

“Actually, the truth is….”

He hesitated for a few seconds even after saying the words, then muttered in a low voice with a sigh.

“I’m a little sick….”

“Really? Where does it hurt?”

I let go of his arms to see his face. But he was holding me so tightly that I couldn’t move my body enough to even lift my head. If it were ordinary women, they would have stayed still, pressed by his strength, but I was unnecessarily strong.

“Your… Majesty?”

I pushed his arms away with both hands and pulled myself out of his arms. This time, Linell was hanging his head. I was about to look at his face and tilt my head to the side when something fell onto the marble floor. I put my palm under his face, which was hanging down. Something very cold touched my palm. It was Linell’s tears.