The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 140

140. Caught, You Die

2022.05.07.

The princes and princesses attending the hunting competition for the first time looked bewildered by Prince Kalbain’s seemingly random remark, so Raphael elaborated.

“There’s a tradition of playing a game after the first meal.”

Oh, there was such a thing?

“Why do we have to play a game?”

Princess Resilia asked, raising her hand. Prince Kalbain looked at the princess, who seemed clearly annoyed, and replied kindly.

“Think of it as a way to foster friendship. It’s still early in the hunting competition, so there’s a bit of an awkward atmosphere. If you’re already close, the competition will be more enjoyable.”

“Can those who don’t want to participate opt out?”

This time, Catherine asked primly, raising her hand.

“Yes, if you don’t wish to, you may step back. Unless you’re not interested in the Blue Diamond ore.”

“B, Blue Diamond?! Is there a prize for the game?”

Melanie half-rose from her seat and exclaimed.

“Yes, of course, there is. Just as the Pink Diamond of the Shatoan Kingdom is famous in the North Continent, everyone knows the Blue Diamond of our Partsha Empire is famous in the South Continent.”

Everyone knew that. Even a small Blue Diamond the size of a bean was rumored to be worth enough to buy a small house. In particular, Blue Diamonds were popular among noble ladies because of the rumor that they possessed a mysterious power to attract the opposite sex. At the mention of the Blue Diamond, the concubines’ gazes all focused on Prince Kalbain, who continued with a proud expression.

“At the Continental Hunting Competition, prizes are awarded to the person who catches the first prey and the person who wins the first game. Usually, the host country provides the prize.”

A wonderful tradition. The eyes of the concubines, who hadn’t known this, began to sparkle like diamonds. I guess my expression wasn’t much different either?

“The destination has been changed to the Velos Empire, but if Emperor Adrian permits it, I would like our Partsha Empire to give the prize.”

Prince Kalbain looked at Emperor Adrian, who wore a ‘saved money’ expression and readily agreed. Wait, I caught the first prey, didn’t I? I glanced at Commander Macrome. People around me, including Raphael, were envying and congratulating Commander Macrome on receiving the Blue Diamond. Commander Macrome noticed me looking at him and smiled brightly. What did that smile mean? Was he going to pocket it all for himself? I didn’t think he was that materialistic. I’d have to discuss how to split the Blue Diamond with Commander Macrome during the hunting competition. After Prince Kalbain mentioned the Blue Diamond, the guests’ expressions revealed a determined will to win the game.

“If I had known this, I would have worn my uniform.”

Princess Resilia said to Princess Jasper, who was next to her, in a whining tone. Princess Jasper patted her back, comforting her.

“Princess, don’t be too heartbroken if you don’t win the game.”

“Why?”

When Princess Resilia asked, Princess Jasper whispered something in her ear. Princess Resilia’s expression gradually brightened. I guessed Princess Jasper said something like, ‘If you have a state marriage with Prince Norton, I’ll give you a fist-sized Blue Diamond ore as a wedding gift.’

“I’ll try hard in the game too; you never know.”

Princess Resilia said ambitiously, renewing her fighting spirit. She’s so greedy. I imagined Princess Resilia wearing two diamond necklaces at the same time, her slender neck drooping under the weight. I hoped she’d walk around with her head bowed like a sinner.

“What kind of game are you going to play?”

Emperor Katria asked Prince Kalbain, turning her neck from side to side as if warming up. It seemed the country giving the prize would decide the game. Prince Kalbain whispered to his brother, Prince Norton, then turned to the Rapion concubines, as if he had decided.

“This year, many women have participated, so accordingly… let’s play Handkerchief Tag.”

I doubted my ears. Was he serious? I stared at Prince Kalbain again, but his eyes were very serious. Why Handkerchief Tag of all things? I felt let down.

“It was Handkerchief Tag three years ago too, wasn’t it?”

Linell said after gulping down water, his eyes also quite serious.

“That’s right. But in this competition, everyone should be careful.”

Prince Kalbain replied with a hearty laugh. What was the Handkerchief Tag game like three years ago? Was it allowed to beat the person who left the handkerchief behind you? I was thinking the game was too boring, but when I looked at the guests who had been attending the Continental Hunting Competition, no one seemed to think so. Rather, their eyes were shining brightly. And soon after, I experienced the most brutal Handkerchief Tag in the world.

***

You had to chase after the person who left the handkerchief behind you by any means and prevent them from sitting down. However, weapons were not allowed. Actually, I was a little disappointed about this, but it was a game for friendship, so it was natural. The song to sing while playing Handkerchief Tag would be sung by the guests from each country, taking turns singing famous songs from their country. Other than that, the rules were similar to those of a typical Handkerchief Tag. First, the knights showed a demonstration match. Those who were participating in the Continental Hunting Competition for the first time watched the demonstration match and opened their mouths in unison. The knights’ running speed was amazing. The tagger was like a thief stealing the family’s important documents, and the person chasing the tagger was like chasing the family’s mortal enemy. Thanks to the Blue Diamond, the game would be more exciting than expected? At this rate, I’d have to tighten my bootlaces too. First, the heads of each country came out and fairly played rock-paper-scissors to determine the tagger. Everyone was patting Prince Tessler’s shoulder and laughing, so it seemed he had lost.

“The first tagger is Prince Tessler of the Shatoan Kingdom. We will start the game with a song from the Rapion Empire.”

The game proceeded smoothly with Raphael’s hosting. On one side, Linell and Commander Macrome were seriously discussing something, probably what song to sing. After an agreement was reached, Commander Macrome, who had returned to his seat, began to sing. The concubines said, “Ah, that song?” and started singing along. As a native of the Shatoan Kingdom, I didn’t know the song of the Rapion Empire, so I just moved my lips. I never thought I would feel left out in a place like this. As the song began, I touched palms with the people sitting on both sides. As the Rapion Empire’s guests sang louder, everyone began to get excited, and Prince Tessler was wandering behind the guests, looking for the next tagger. Just as anyone could tell the song was reaching its climax, Prince Tessler’s pace quickened, and he slipped the handkerchief behind Prince Kalbain as he passed by. But an unexpected person stood up.

‘Huh? Why is Linell getting up?’

Prince Tessler had clearly aimed for Prince Kalbain and dropped the handkerchief behind him, but for some reason, Linell, who was sitting next to him, turned around, picked up the handkerchief, and sprinted towards Prince Tessler.

“Wow, he’s fast!”

“It looks like we can’t even see his feet!”

Exclamations erupted from here and there. Linell’s running figure was reminiscent of a cheetah. From his sleek body cutting through the wind, it was as if I could hear him shouting, “I’ll kill you if I catch you!” The result was, “Ah!” Prince Tessler was eliminated. It seemed like he could have just tapped him on the back, but Linell pushed Prince Tessler’s back with all his might, causing him to roll several times on the dirt floor in an unsightly manner. Linell, looking down at the scene with an indifferent gaze, slowly approached Prince Tessler and politely extended his hand.

“Are you okay? I’m sorry. I thought I was going to miss you, so I did it without realizing it.”

“I, I’m okay. Your Majesty.”

Prince Tessler looked down at his scraped palm with a dazed gaze, then grabbed Linell’s outstretched hand and stood up.

“I dropped the handkerchief behind Prince Kalbain, but why did Your Majesty…?”

Prince Tessler asked, dusting off his uniform. Of course, he was being polite, deliberately slurring the end of his words as if he wasn’t questioning him at all. The unspoken words he couldn’t bring himself to ask were probably, ‘Why are you meddling?’ Prince Tessler’s sullen expression looked exactly like that.

“Is that so? The handkerchief was behind me? Ah, the wind must have blown it towards me as it fell.”

Linell shrugged and patted Prince Tessler’s back, not so much dusting him off as roughly dusting off his spine. Besides, the front was the part dirtied by the fall, but he was so diligently hitting, no, dusting off the prince’s clean back.

“Prince Tessler has been eliminated first. Please step back.”

Raphael quickly isolated the eliminated player and continued the game. Since there were many people, the caught tagger was eliminated, and a new tagger was chosen by rock-paper-scissors. This time, the women played rock-paper-scissors among themselves, and lo and behold, Princess Resilia became the tagger. Was today the day when the Shatoan Kingdom siblings had bad luck together? I secretly hoped she would drop the handkerchief behind me, but unfortunately, the princess, who knew my true nature, wouldn’t do such a reckless thing. Before the song started, Princess Resilia seemed to be looking for an easy target. Her gaze stayed on Rosie and Melanie, who were stroking Ao [a pet or animal companion], and she slightly raised the corners of her lips. Ah, she’s thinking of dropping the handkerchief behind one of them. This time, a song from the Delphi Empire of the South Continent began. Emperor Katria and her consorts, Deon and Clark, sang in harmony. They had attended the previous hunting competition together, so they were perfectly in sync. Princess Resilia began to move her hand holding the handkerchief, circling around. It was quite a large circle, and after circling about half of it, the princess already looked tired. Still, she didn’t want to give up on the Blue Diamond, so she diligently returned towards her target. As she got closer to where Rosie and Melanie were sitting, Princess Resilia’s pace quickened. I was sitting close to the two of them, so I couldn’t keep looking at Princess Resilia coming closer. But after a while, I suddenly heard a ‘Kyaa!’ sound and glanced back. Princess Resilia was starting to run towards her seat. I wondered why she was screaming, but behind her, Rosie was lifting the hem of her dress up to her knees and chasing the princess at a terrifying speed. Wait, has Rosie always had such good athletic skills? Looking at Rosie’s sturdy ankles that were clearly visible under her dress, she seemed to have good stamina, but I wondered if she, a noble lady, had ever run like that before. The red light was flashing in those passionate eyes, full of the determination to grab Princess Resilia’s fluttering pink hair. Red light? Oh no, Moia had doppelganged [shapeshifted] into Rosie. Otherwise, she couldn’t have been running so crazy.

What should I do? Should I get up and stop her? Then I’ll look weird too? Unless it’s a relay race, there’s nothing I can do. While I was hesitating, Moia, transformed into Rosie, was closely following Princess Resilia. Just as Princess Resilia was about to reach her seat, one of Rosie’s legs stretched out forward. Princess Resilia didn’t see Rosie’s foot that suddenly came in front of her and fell forward. Unfortunately, she didn’t fall to the ground like her brother, but fell as if she was hugging Princess Jasper, who was in front of her. You’re so lucky.

“Ouch, ouch!”

Laughter erupted at Princess Resilia’s groans. Her face was burning like a bonfire.

“I almost missed you, Moia~.”

Rosie said, patting Princess Resilia’s back. So far, so good. Rosie, who was excited, shrugged her shoulders and approached Raphael to hand him the handkerchief. The guests widened their eyes and watched the sudden dance of the Rapion Empire’s concubine as if it was amazing. Whether they did or not, she, no… Moia was putting on a solo dance party. A few seconds later, giggling laughter was heard. Oh no, Moia! How long are you going to make us watch your shoulder dance…? Rosie’s arms are gradually widening to the side, and her movements are getting bigger. Please, don’t do that dance!