The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 146

146. Felt Another Man

May 28, 2022

Hmm, first of all.

“Prince Tesla of the Shatoan Kingdom.”

He’s the man my father is considering as a son-in-law, so I need to know what he looks like.

He might look more like a gentleman than Hector, but I still needed to check.

“You know the price, right?”

The witch was taking all payments in gold.

“I know. Four gold bars, right? I’ll have someone send them tomorrow.”

“Yes, yes. Then I will show you Prince Tesla’s situation from three hours ago.”

The witch cut off one of her long fingernails into a palm-sized pot, added a bit of Roxana’s hair, and burned them together.

Then, she took the pot to the fireplace, hung it on a wire, and poured melted gold into it to boil.

There were rumors that the witch melted gold like tea and drank it to maintain her spiritual power, but unlike the rumors, the gold was used for other purposes.

As bubbles formed in the gold, the inside of the crystal ball became foggy, then gradually cleared, revealing a person’s face.

‘That’s Prince Tesla.’

Prince Tesla’s face was clearly visible, as if he were right in front of me.

Prince Tesla was quite handsome.

It seemed he was in the forest because it was during the Continental Hunting Competition [a competition where nobles from different countries hunt for sport and prestige].

Since it was three hours ago, he was probably resting after lunch before setting off again.

Prince Tesla looked around and then got up and headed somewhere.

“There’s a familiar face.”

The witch pointed inside the crystal ball with her finger.

“……Bellos?!”

Prince Tesla was approaching Bellos, who was leaning against a rock and taking a nap.

Roxana widened her eyes and leaned closer to the crystal ball, carefully watching the two men talking.

The crystal ball only showed the image, not the sound.

Her eyes, which had been watching the two men, were now focused on the Avatar Sword next to Bellos.

In the blink of an eye, a minute passed.

The inside of the crystal ball gradually blurred, and the figures of the two men disappeared.

“I wondered why he crossed the continent with the Avatar Sword, but in the end……”

Roxana felt like she knew why Bellos had participated in the Continental Hunting Competition.

‘It must be because of that Empress Zelda who insists she’s his mate.’

What kind of woman is she?

What power does she have that the Master of the Magic Tower wants to make her his mate?

Roxana, who became more curious about Zelda’s face, grabbed the witch’s hand as she tried to remove the crystal ball.

“I want to see one more person.”

“Oh, that’s a bit difficult because it consumes a lot of magic power. Besides, I’d have to cut two fingernails for the second time, and as you can see, I won’t be able to receive other guests until my nails grow back.”

The witch wiped the crystal ball with a silk cloth and subtly added.

“I need to melt more gold too……”

Greedy old woman.

“Twenty gold bars. Will that do?”

“Oh my, if that’s the case……”

The witch quickly raised the corners of her mouth and rubbed her hands together.

“I need more of the Princess’s hair.”

Roxana gestured to Nancy, who cut off the ends of her hair with scissors and handed it to the witch.

The witch burned Roxana’s hair with her fingernails as before, then put the remains in the pot where she had boiled the gold earlier, and poured in more melted gold.

The spell seemed a little different from before.

The witch, who was concentrating on chanting the spell, began to sweat.

It was true that the second attempt consumed much more magic power.

As the gold in the pot began to bubble again, the witch put her hands on the crystal ball, rolled her eyes back, and said.

“Now, tell me who you want to see, Princess.”

“Empress Zelda of the Lapion Empire……”

Twenty gold bars to see Empress Zelda? I thought you’d want to see Prince Tesla or the Master of the Magic Tower more?

Nancy glanced at Roxana with a surprised look.

The witch chanted, occasionally inserting Empress Zelda’s name into the spell.

The inside of the crystal ball was once again enveloped in a hazy mist, then gradually cleared.

“What…… is she doing?”

Roxana frowned, startled by the scene in the crystal ball.

Empress Zelda was lying face down in a cave-like place, topless, and a man was pouring water on her back, carefully giving her a cold shower.

The man took off the shirt he was wearing and personally wiped Zelda’s body.

It was a series of shocking scenes.

‘Ah, that man must be Emperor Linell.’

His refined and charismatic face exuded an imperial aura.

Roxana was quite surprised to see the two of them.

The emperor of the empire personally giving his wife a cold shower?

Is that common on the continent?

That wasn’t the only thing that was confusing.

It was also surprising to see him take off his shirt and carefully wipe her body.

In particular, when Linell kissed Zelda’s back while wiping it, Roxana’s back tingled.

For me, the back was always the part where my father’s whip came down.

But for Empress Zelda, her back seemed to be a place where only loving touches reached, making her giggle with ticklishness.

Roxana felt something unknown twisting inside her.

She felt disgusted.

Princess Roxana did not know that it was a feeling of envy.

The voices of the two were not heard, but judging from Emperor Linell’s expression, he seemed to be saying sweet words to Empress Zelda.

It was so different from Hector’s blunt attitude, who naturally told me to wash his feet myself.

What is so special about that woman that the Master of the Magic Tower and Emperor Linell are so devoted to her?

Roxana had been focusing on Linell’s face ever since she saw it in the crystal ball.

He wasn’t just a handsome man.

He wasn’t just a man with great upper body muscles.

He was a man who knew how to care for and cherish his woman.

The scene in the crystal ball ended just as Emperor Linell was about to kiss Empress Zelda.

Roxana, empathizing with Emperor Linell, said,

“Ah, why now!”

She was unknowingly angry when the inside of the crystal ball turned cloudy.

Her face flushed as Nancy and the witch looked at her.

“The Emperor and Empress of the Lapion Empire must be very close. Emperor Linell seems so wonderful.”

Nancy, who had been looking into the crystal ball with her, said with an envious tone.

At Nancy’s words, Roxana realized why she had been angry a moment ago.

‘I…… want to marry such a sweet man too. Not a crude and uneducated man.’

Was it because she saw how Emperor Linell treated his wife?

Roxana was more drawn to Emperor Linell than Prince Tesla.

‘Should I tell my father?’

But that was completely off the plan.

Roxana’s father, Duke Heimitz, had meticulously planned it.

Using Hector to invade the continent, isolate the dignitaries who participated in the Continental Hunting Competition, and negotiate with them.

Before the full-scale negotiations, Hector would probably be eliminated. And she would marry Prince Tesla of the Shatoan Kingdom, the weakest country on the continent.

Thus, a large number of people from the Duchy of Aclato would be relocated to the Shatoan Kingdom, gradually taking root in the kingdom.

Duke Heimitz’s plan was to make Roxana’s child the king and eventually turn the entire Shatoan Kingdom into the Duchy of Aclato.

This plan was based on the judgment that the Shatoan Kingdom was the weakest country on the continent, and other countries would agree to the kingdom’s sacrifice.

Moreover, since Prince Tesla was unmarried, the royal marriage with the Duchy of Aclato would be a reasonable deal.

‘Compared to the Shatoan Kingdom, the Lapion Empire is the strongest country in the Northern Continent. And Emperor Linell is already married.’

So, unfortunately, it couldn’t be helped.

‘What would it feel like to meet him in person?’

Even though Roxana’s reason made clear judgments, her emotions were running wild.

“Kaline, didn’t you say you can also do teleportation?”

Roxana blurted out impulsively.

“Yes, of course. But the Princess would be reluctant to use teleportation.”

“Why would I?”

“Teleportation can move you to the place or person you want, but you might be immediately noticed by that person, or you might meet them after a few minutes.”

“Are you saying how we meet is up to luck?”

The witch nodded.

“Then how do I get back here?”

Roxana seemed to have already decided to teleport.

“Grasp this amethyst three times.”

The witch took out an amethyst necklace from an old drawer and showed it to Roxana.

Roxana snatched the amethyst necklace from the witch’s hand and put it around her neck.

“Miss, are you sure you’re okay? It seems dangerous……”

Nancy stopped Roxana with a worried face.

But the witch muttered as if it didn’t matter.

“Well, it’s not really that dangerous. If the situation isn’t good, you can just grab the amethyst and press it three times to disappear like a ghost.”

“Okay, if I come back safely, I’ll fill that with gold bars.”

Roxana pointed inside the fireplace.

The witch gasped and choked, coughing for several minutes.

“Are you serious, Princess?!”

The witch was startled and her bent back straightened automatically.

“Yes.”

“Well, there’s one thing that’s bothering me.”

“What is it now?”

“You can’t take the clothes and accessories you’re wearing with you.”

“What, what?”

Roxana’s eyes widened.

“But if you’re okay with it, I’ll send you.”

“Is this witch mocking our Princess? Are you telling our Princess to teleport there naked? What if people see her!”

Nancy shouted at the witch in an excited voice.

“But since you’ll be teleporting to the person you want to see, there’s a high probability that he’ll be the one to see you.”

Roxana’s mind filled with thoughts of what Emperor Linell would look like if he saw her.

Her body flushed.

“If you’re even luckier, you might end up in a place where you’re in the same space but not visible to him. As I said, it’s your choice, Princess.”

To teleport naked.

It wasn’t an easy choice.

But what if only Emperor Linell saw her naked?

Wouldn’t that be okay?

And as the witch said, there was a possibility that she could hide without anyone knowing.

Since she could bring back whatever was there when she returned, she might be able to find clothes to wear right away if she was lucky.

Moreover, Roxana decided, using the faint hope that what she could bring back might be the ‘Avatar Sword’ as an excuse.

“I’ll go.”

“Now, who do you want to teleport to?”

The witch asked, raising the corners of her mouth with an expression that said she knew it.

“Send me to where Emperor Linell is.”

“Ah, Miss……!”

Nancy looked like she wanted to stop her, but her master had already made up her mind.

“Then take off your clothes.”

At the witch’s request, Roxana took off her dress without hesitation.

The witch brought the pot where she had boiled the gold and dipped an old wooden stick with intricate patterns into it.

“Spread your arms and close your eyes. It will be a little hot. Open your eyes when you feel the heat up to your ankles.”

With Roxana in the center, she began to draw a magic circle with the gold-soaked wooden stick.

***

Roxana, who had been closing her eyes, opened them as soon as she felt the heat up to her ankles.

She was already in an unfamiliar space.

She quickly looked around to figure out where she had landed.

It was a clean and cool room.

‘I teleported close to Emperor Linell, so it must be their room.’

It sounded like someone was in the bathroom, hearing the sound of water.

She didn’t know if it was Emperor Linell or Empress Zelda.

Roxana, looking for something to wear, found two dresses and a towel on the bed.

‘It’s Empress Zelda’s dress.’

Roxana hurriedly picked up one of the two dresses.

Fortunately, it was a simple homewear dress, so it was easy to put on by herself.

After putting on the dress, she thought that if she left this room, she might meet Bellos, who had the Avatar Sword.

‘There’s no place to hide in here, so it’s better to leave this room first and then look for another opportunity.’

Roxana put her ear to the door to find out the situation outside.

Just then, she heard men’s voices.

Judging from someone saying ‘Yes, Your Majesty’ at the end, it seemed like Emperor Linell was coming this way.

‘What should I do?’

She had to hide quickly.

Roxana first turned off all the lights in the room.

Then, she turned on only one small lamp on the bedside table next to the bed.

The empress I saw in the crystal ball had blonde hair?

Even if she turned her back, she would be caught because her hair color was different.

Roxana quickly rolled up her red hair and placed the towel that was on the bed with the dress on top of her head.

‘I have to get out of this room safely without showing Emperor Linell my face.’

Even then, if Empress Zelda came out of the bathroom, she would be caught without a doubt.

Roxana tightly gripped the amethyst she was wearing around her neck, ready to return if necessary.

Click-.

The door opened and she felt a chill.

Roxana squeezed her eyes shut at the sound of shoes approaching the bed.

“Why are the lights off?”

Roxana’s heart began to beat rapidly at Emperor Linell’s low, sweet voice.

“Did you wash well? Can I check?”

He wrapped his arms around Roxana from behind and whispered.