The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 166

166. Worthless Lives

August 6, 2022

“Haa… Aaaagh!”

“My lady, my lady! Are you alright?”

After drinking the red elixir, Roxana gradually grimaced in pain. A few minutes later, she grabbed Nancy’s arm as if she would break it and collapsed to the floor.

“Lord Logan, why is our lady doing this?!”

“Didn’t I tell you? The red elixir has various side effects depending on the person, but one common reaction is pain.”

Logan stared down at Roxana, who was groaning with wide eyes, and spoke coldly.

“For reference, Empress Zelda had the red elixir applied directly to her face, so she suffered several times more pain than the Princess is experiencing now.”

Roxana clenched her teeth, consciously trying to endure the pain at Logan’s words.

“Besides, the Empress was young. And back then, it was the early stages of my development of the red elixir, so the side effects were even worse.”

“So what are you saying! Are you telling me to endure because the pain I’m experiencing now is nothing compared to the suffering the Empress went through!”

Roxana glared at Logan, sweating profusely.

She felt extremely disgusted at being compared to Empress Zelda.

“Of course not. I’m just saying.”

Logan said, gently placing his hands on his bandaged thighs.

“Still, there should be a drug to eliminate the pain, right?”

Roxana tilted her head and asked irritably.

“I am sorry, but the pain after drinking the red elixir is inevitable.”

“My back, my back hurts so much, what’s wrong with it?”

Roxana cried out, stretching her shoulders back as if her back was being squeezed.

“Ah… Does your back hurt, Princess?”

Logan asked, feigning concern, and then explained.

“There is a high probability of pain occurring in areas where there were injuries or problems on your body. Empress Zelda also said that after the red elixir was poured on her right face and burned her, she felt a surge of heat in that area. I’m sure she still does.”

“So, because I have whip scars on my back, the pain is so severe… Ugh!”

“Oh my, look at this sweat. Oh my, my lady!”

Nancy fidgeted and wiped the sweat flowing down Roxana’s face and neck with a handkerchief.

“Nancy, look at my back, look at my back. It feels like my back is burning right now. Hurry!”

Roxana bent down and supported herself on the floor with both palms.

At her command, Nancy looked at Logan, who knowingly turned his head away.

Only then did Nancy hurriedly lower the zipper of Roxana’s dress.

“Heup! Oh, what should I do…!”

Roxana’s back revealed the scars from the whippings she had suffered from her father.

Dozens of red scar marks were exposed like blood vessels.

“What’s wrong? Is my back really burning?”

Roxana glanced back at Nancy, startled by her gasp, and asked.

Judging by the pain alone, it felt like her back was sizzling in the fire.

“Ah. My lady… Scars from the whippings have appeared…”

Nancy couldn’t bring herself to say that the scars looked like a red spider web.

“What?! Logan! What’s going on? Why are scars appearing on my back! I’m taking treatment water, so the scars shouldn’t be visible!”

Roxana was extremely agitated.

She was terrified because she knew how terrible the scars on her back were.

“Hmm, it seems that the Princess’s side effects are manifesting on her back.”

“Then should I take more treatment water?”

“I am sorry to say this, but treatment water will not work from now on.”

“What? Then?”

“From now on, the Princess will have to take magic potions.”

“The same potion that Empress Zelda takes?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Isn’t there a cure?”

If there was a cure, she wouldn’t have to take magic potions periodically, and she wouldn’t have this pain.

Roxana asked Logan with a glimmer of hope.

‘There’s no way there isn’t.’

Logan thought to himself and opened his mouth.

But.

“Unfortunately, there isn’t one at the moment.”

“There’s no cure? Haa….”

Logan stared silently at Roxana’s despairing expression.

He felt as if the wound where Roxana had stabbed a dagger into his thigh was healing on its own.

***

“Everyone stay where you are!”

At my cry, everyone froze in place.

“If we step away from here, the people inside the star shape will sink further down.”

The people on the vertices [points of the star] looked down at the people inside the star shape with frightened expressions.

“We should stay in this state and call for help from here.”

Empress Elan, on my left, said.

“I think so too.”

I nodded and agreed with her opinion, and Melanie and Rosie shouted towards the door at the same time.

“Help us!”

“There are people here!”

Then, at that moment, the door to the passage connected to the kitchen where we had entered slammed shut in the distance.

“What, we asked for help, but what idiot is closing the door?”

Melanie jumped up and down and said.

“Haa, could it be that they designed it to automatically close the door when you shout here? Using resonance….”

I think I’m right.

The louder you shout, the faster the door seemed to close.

To make matters worse, even the wine cellar door was slowly moving sideways.

“If that door closes too, won’t we be trapped like this?”

Rosie asked, covering her mouth.

Sadly, it seemed likely at the moment.

But if we get out of here, there was a way to survive even if we couldn’t reopen the kitchen door.

There was another door leading out of the monastery directly opposite the way we came in.

The key was to get out before the wine cellar door closed completely.

‘Let’s find a way.’

I carefully looked around the storage.

There might be a hint to escape in this storage.

“Your Majesty. I am very hesitant to say this, but it seems that there is not much time left to choose.”

Empress Elan hesitated and said to me.

“Time to choose?”

I knew what Empress Elan meant by that, but I asked anyway.

“If we stay in place, that door will close. After that, the situation… You know it well even if I don’t have to say it.”

Empress Elan was right.

If that happens, we may be completely isolated here.

“But if the six people standing on the vertices step away and leave, everyone inside the star shape will die.”

At my answer, Pessilini and the servants inside the star shape looked up at the people standing on the vertices with desperate eyes, begging them not to abandon them.

“We have to get out, at least!”

Princess Resilia shouted firmly.

The princess was in a position to escape the storage by taking only five steps back.

“Then are you saying we should let the people inside the star shape die?”

Rosie glared at Princess Resilia, bristling.

“We are all nobles. We are different from them.”

Princess Resilia glanced down at the people inside the star shape and retorted to Rosie.

Everyone below, except for Pessilini, were servants, so they immediately understood the intention behind the princess’s words.

Pessilini looked up at Princess Resilia and was furious.

“Princess! How can you say such a thing? Do I look like a servant to you in the Princess’s eyes?”

I didn’t like either of them.

Does having a low status mean that the value of life is low?

No. That’s not true.

Even if there is a difference in status, the value of life is irrelevant to class.

Princess Resilia pretended not to hear Pessilini’s protest and ignored her.

She looked like she was about to run out of the door behind her right away.

“I’ll say it again, if even one person acts selfishly, Pessilini, Sharon, Misha, and Hedon may be in danger. So, I hope you will stay in your positions.”

I said, sending a particularly appealing look to Princess Resilia.

“Then are we all going to die together?”

This time, Catherine asked me with a dissatisfied expression.

“There will be… a way.”

I had no choice but to say that because I didn’t have any brilliant ideas right now.

Even while we were talking, the entrance door to the wine cellar was slowly closing.

Princess Resilia turned around and said urgently.

“It’s already half closed! Think about it, someone come up with a solution! I don’t want to die here!”

Yes, when a crisis comes, the true nature of that person is revealed.

I thought, looking at Princess Resilia.

“Do you think anyone wants to stay still and die?”

Melanie said what I wanted to say instead.

Princess Resilia immediately retorted to her words.

“I’m saying that because you’re wasting time unnecessarily!”

“Huh? Why are you suddenly dropping the honorifics and acting up? I’m already upset!”

Melanie was about to rush at Princess Resilia right away.

“Both of you be quiet.”

I said, suppressing the urge to shout while looking around the walls of the storage in place.

“So, find a way!”

Melanie did not give in to Princess Resilia’s sharp tone.

“The Empress told you to shut up, shut up, shut up!”

“You shut up! What right does a concubine have to tell a princess what to do!”

I turned away from the two people’s argument and calmly looked around the storage again and focused on thinking.

Put your feet on the vertices, and if you take them off, the star shape will sink.

No matter how brilliant the head of the monastery was and made traps, he would not have been able to create a device that could distinguish whether the weight pressing on the vertices was a person or an object.

Then, after placing an object with weight on the vertices, wouldn’t it be possible to pull up the people inside the star shape one by one and get out of here?

To do that, someone would have to take their feet off the vertices.

Instead, I would have to quickly find a heavy object and put it up.

That way, I could slow down the speed at which the star shape sinks underground.

I quickly looked around to see if there was anything to put down on the vertices.

The large oak barrels were too far away from where we were.

Ah, there!

I saw a relatively small oak barrel right next to where Princess Resilia was standing.

The princess should be able to move that size, right?

First, move that oak barrel to her place, then switch places with me, and then I should move as quickly as possible to move the oak barrels one by one to the remaining five vertices.

At that moment, Princess Resilia said as if declaring.

“I can’t wait any longer.”

“Are you saying you’re going to abandon your loyalty and leave now?”

Rosie put her hands on her hips and scoffed.

“I don’t want to die here! Why should I be sacrificed for worthless lives?”

Princess Resilia defined the people in the star shape as worthless lives.

“Who is a worthless life in here!”

I raised my voice to Princess Resilia without realizing it.

“Why is the Empress pretending to be righteous? Why do we have to die together when we can live?”

Princess Resilia screamed.

“Huh, you’re saying that because you don’t have your servants here.”

Melanie sneered at Princess Resilia.

“No? I would have said the same thing even if my servants were there. No matter how long you spend with your servants, worthless is worthless. Don’t be pretentious, everyone!”

Princess Resilia said with a confident tone.

I, who knew the princess’s true nature, was not shocked by her words, but the other concubines, Empress Elan, and the servants were somewhat surprised by her cold words.

“Don’t get excited and listen to me.”

I suppressed my anger and began to persuade Princess Resilia.

“There is a way. Princess, look to your right, behind you. Do you see the small oak barrel? Put that on top of your vertex and then switch places with me.”

“Are you telling me to step away from here and switch places with Your Majesty?”

Princess Resilia asked as if she was dumbfounded.

“We have to move the barrels one by one under the feet of the remaining five people. I think we can all live if we put something under our feet that can register the weight!”

“What do I have to believe in? You can say that and leave alone?”

Princess Resilia doubted me even though she knew I wouldn’t do that.

“There is absolutely no such thing!”

I said firmly, but she didn’t seem to believe me.

No, it seemed like she was reluctant to believe it even if she did.

“Then will Princess Resilia move it? Can you quickly move five oak barrels? Before that door closes?”

Rosie asked Princess Resilia as if she was questioning her, but the princess could not answer.

She knew very well that she did not have the strength to move several barrels.

“Please… For now, that’s the only way.”

There was no time.

The door was now about half closed.

Everyone looked at Princess Resilia with desperate eyes.

Princess Resilia made a troubled expression, but soon nodded as if she had made up her mind and turned towards the small oak barrel.

“Okay.”

As the princess stepped away from the vertex, the star shape inside the cube slowly began to rotate.

Once the circle has made a full turn, the star shape will sink down once more.

I had to move the oak barrel before the circle made a full turn.

“Hurry!”

I shouted at Princess Resilia, who was struggling to hug the barrel with both arms.

“It’s wrong. It doesn’t move, it doesn’t budge!”

“Then switch places with me, hurry!”

“……I’m sorry, but I can’t do that.”

Resilia said, slowly backing away.

Everyone stared at the princess with shocked and doubtful expressions.

“Wh, what are you doing now? Are you trying to run away alone?!”

Melanie was so angry that her eyes popped out, and Catherine also exploded.

“Don’t do stupid things! If you can’t move the barrel, switch places with Her Majesty! Or come back to your place first!”

“Look at this, Princess! The circle is turning now! Are you crazy?”

Even Empress Elan, who had been calm, could not hide her embarrassment.

Everyone said a word to Princess Resilia.

They appealed to emotions, threatened, and begged, but I knew that she would leave the wine cellar alone like this.

You bad X……!

“I’m being smart! If you don’t want to die, you better follow me.”

Princess Resilia slipped through the door that was more than half closed in an instant.