The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 185

185. Were We Drunk?

2022.10.12.

What is it?

The man stood up with such force, as if he would stride over any second, but he wasn’t moving.

Was my comment about being wilder in bed that shocking?

Actually, I… have no idea what I’m like in bed.

I have no memory of being intimate with anyone.

I guess that’s because my entire experience was with that husband of mine?

Since those memories of my husband are gone, naturally, the memories of intimacy are gone too.

Damn it.

But I didn’t want to show weakness, so I blurted out that I’m wild in bed.

Maybe it’s not a lie?

That’s something I could confirm with that man.

But why am I trying to confirm it with that man?

When I sat next to him at the tavern, I felt my energy calmly stabilizing.

Contrary to the stabilized energy, my heart was racing and showing a completely different reaction, though.

Ah, he’s coming.

He started to walk.

The man, who was walking towards the bed, stopped dead, only three steps away from me.

“How can you say such things so freely… Haa, never mind.”

The man muttered, looking at me with a baffled expression.

As I was about to open my mouth to make an excuse, the man added, ‘Let’s not talk about it,’ as if trying to stop me, and turned to look at the door.

“Don’t worry, I locked the door thoroughly.”

When I reassured him, he chuckled briefly and looked back at me.

“Why are you looking at the door? Did you change your mind?”

I asked outright, slightly worried.

He wore an expression as if he was pondering something deeply.

After a moment, his thick lips carefully parted.

Instantly feeling uneasy, I quickly spoke.

“It’s not like there’s anyone waiting for you even if you go back anyway. Both of us…”

I mean, his wife cheated and left home, and my husband disappeared to remarry another woman.

At my words, the man’s expression turned even more serious.

I thought there might be some connection between lonely people who have lost their partners, but I couldn’t grasp what that man was thinking at all.

Is he really regretting it?

Did I come on too strong?

I realized today that I’m the type of woman who’s aggressive with men.

Could it be that my husband got tired of this side of me and left?

“Don’t you regret it?”

The words I wanted to ask came out of the man’s mouth first.

I shook my head.

Ah, I should have moved my head after a few seconds of pause, but I shook it too quickly, as if I had been waiting for it.

“But, were we drunk?”

I suddenly wondered.

I couldn’t believe that I had come this far with a man I had just met.

It wouldn’t make sense unless it was the alcohol.

But I wasn’t drunk.

Even though I was walking sideways, that was just my body being drunk; it was a separate issue from my mind.

Well, others might see it as the same issue.

Anyway, if at least one of us was drunk, I was confident I could justify this situation.

Plus, if the man told me he was drunk, I was ready to close my eyes and boldly follow my instincts.

“I’m not drunk at all. I am, anyway.”

The man replied in a steady voice.

Shoot.

Slightly disappointed that he was sober, I thought I shouldn’t completely lose my mind either.

But suddenly, the bed shook violently.

In an instant, the man’s body was on top of me.

In the end, it wasn’t our minds that were shaking, but our bodies.

“What about you?”

He asked me back.

I just opened and closed my lips like an idiot.

Then, as if he were some kind of emperor, he laid down the law to me.

“No matter what you answer, you won’t be able to leave here now.”

“!”

What is he saying… this man?

That’s what I wanted too.

But I flinched my shoulders as if surprised.

“Then… why are you doing this if you’re not drunk?”

I asked a question that was so corny I wanted to cover my ears.

Looking up at the man’s face, which was full of restraint, all I could come up with was such a lame question!

“If I say I don’t know why… will you push me away?”

“No. I think it’s better to be honest than to lie and say I fell in love at first sight.”

I highly valued his honesty.

I, too, was having trouble explaining why I had come to this situation with this man.

It felt like the blood flowing through my body was drawing me to this man.

“My head is telling me to be careful of a woman who walks sideways, but my body won’t listen.”

The man’s body was getting closer and closer to mine.

“Am I the type to be appealing to the opposite sex?”

“…At least it seems so to me. Just don’t go around asking that elsewhere.”

The man chuckled and replied.

As I laughed along, his expression turned serious, and he stroked my right cheek.

His touch on my cheek was unbelievably cool, and I closed my eyes without realizing it.

I almost pulled him into a tight hug at that moment.

But I held back, fearing that the heat of my body would burn him to a crisp.

“I can’t understand…”

I opened my eyes again at the man’s low voice.

“What on earth are you, what’s your identity…”

Is he asking for my name?

But I couldn’t tell him my name.

Come to think of it, I don’t even know this man’s name yet.

Since I can’t tell him my name, it’s better if I don’t ask for his name either.

As I just stared at him with wide eyes, he didn’t ask me again, as if it wasn’t a question.

The man’s gaze lowered languidly and fell on my lips.

Instead of speaking, his soft touch attempted to communicate with my soul.

I gladly accepted his unreserved conversation.

The kiss that started peacefully crossed over into a world so chaotic it could destroy the world.

I felt a sudden sense of fear, but I didn’t want to push him away.

Judging by the way the man was holding me tight, it didn’t seem like he disliked me either.

Every time I closed and opened my eyes, the clothes between him and me were disappearing one by one.

My mind was becoming hazy, but my senses were awakening instead.

He’s a dangerous man.

The emotions that had been crouching inside me were bursting out all at once.

I’m crazy… I think I’m crazy…

It was clear that both of us had lost our minds at the same time.

There was no way we could be throwing ourselves at each other like this otherwise.

“I don’t understand why I’m doing this, but… let me tell you one thing.”

The man spoke to me with determination, just before pouring all his passion into me.

“Hoo… I won’t regret this choice. Because it’s not a mistake.”

“Then…”

“Right now, I want you so badly.”

I was surprised by the man’s exploding desire, but I didn’t resist.

I wanted him too.

Our hands, clasped together, sank deeper and deeper into the soft pillow.

Suddenly, the existence of my husband, whose face I couldn’t even remember, burst through my subconscious.

Why did that person, who had already become a stranger, come to mind at this timing?

A faceless being like a headless ghost.

Feeling inexplicably upset, I hugged the man even tighter.

Then, beads of sweat that had formed on the man’s forehead began to flow in streams.

***

Linell slept deeply for the first time in a long time.

He vaguely opened his eyes and, as usual, fumbled for the pocket watch he kept on the bedside table to check the time.

It wasn’t a long time, just two hours, but his body had never felt so refreshed.

He put the pocket watch back on the table, closed his eyes, and then opened them wide.

And checked beside him.

The woman he had fallen asleep with two hours ago was gone.

She disappeared again.

Knowing it was a foolish thing to do, Linell got up and checked under the bed.

Since she was a woman who walked sideways when drunk, she might have fallen under the bed while sleeping.

But there was nothing under the bed.

Was it a dream?

Linell had been suffering from insomnia for a month since returning from the Continental Hunting Competition.

So he even wondered if his mind had gone awry for a moment and the woman he had created in his imagination wasn’t real.

But fortunately, the woman’s blonde hair on the pillow proved that she was a real person.

He roughly washed his face with his dry hands.

Why did she disappear without a word?

Her husband cheated on her and left, so maybe she’s still living with him?

There was a high probability that she disappeared in a hurry because she had someone waiting at home.

Ah, because of that younger sibling who said their head hurt a bit?

“Damn it.”

His nerves were on edge.

He was angrier at himself for continuing to sleep, unaware of the woman who had disappeared without a word.

Come to think of it, he doesn’t even know the woman’s name.

He should have at least asked what area she lived in.

This situation, where all he knows is her appearance and drinking habits, was too absurd.

They were drawn to each other like magnets, exploring each other and falling asleep.

Linell, who woke up to find himself alone, felt the chill again.

He covered himself with the blanket and turned to face the spot where the woman had been lying.

When he closed his eyes, he remembered her warm gaze looking up at him.

He had been feeling like he was falling into an endless cliff. But when he held her in his arms, it felt like his feet had finally touched the ground.

So he couldn’t stop.

He didn’t want to push it, but he must have lost his mind at some point from the warm warmth spreading through his body.

“To leave without saying goodbye.”

Linell was at a loss as to how to deal with this dirty feeling of being abandoned.

He was bewildered because it was an emotion he had never felt before in his life.

He had to find her.

But what would he do if he found her?

‘If I see that woman one more time, I’ll find out why I want to do this…’

After asking and answering himself for a while.

He lowered the hand that had been on his forehead and came to a conclusion.

First, he would find that woman.

“Even if I have to search the entire Imperial City.”

***

After causing an accident with a strange man, I belatedly pulled myself together again.

The reason I left the room without a word was that there was no point in exchanging names.

It was foolish to bring others, especially men, into my life right now.

I couldn’t let myself be distracted by a man and ruin my grand plan.

So I forced myself to take the steps that wouldn’t fall.

It was obvious that a more awkward situation would be waiting if the man woke up.

So quietly disappearing was helping him too.

There’s no good in getting involved with a woman with complicated stories like me.

‘I’m actually the Empress of this country. People seem to think of me as the woman who defrauded the Lapion Imperial Family and ran away, but there are a lot of unfair parts to that.’

I couldn’t tell him these facts.

Judging by his appearance, he didn’t seem to be from a trivial family, so I hoped he would meet a good woman in the future, remarry, and live a new life.

“But, why am I still here?”

Immediately after crossing over to the main building where I was staying, I had been hiding next to the balcony, looking outside.

From this balcony, you can see people entering and exiting the inn.

About an hour passed? I saw the back of the man coming out of the entrance.

“Why does he look so lonely?”

The man’s broad, straight shoulders somehow looked drooped.

I felt like my heart would weaken if I kept watching, so I closed the curtains and turned around.

But as soon as I turned around, I lifted the curtains again and watched the man walk away.

“Should I have at least asked his name…”

I shook my head wildly to cover up the regret that was sprouting.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door.

“It’s me.”

It was the voice of the Magic Tower Master.

When I opened the door, the Magic Tower Master, Commander Macrome, and Empress Elan were standing there.

The faces of these three people changed from worry to relief when they saw me.

“Come in.”

As I stepped aside by the door, the three people entered the room and immediately grilled me.

“Where on earth have you been, Your Majesty!”

“I don’t know how many laps we went around the plaza.”

The Magic Tower Master and Commander Macrome said at the same time.

“Master, what about the sausages?”

Moya asked with expectant eyes, and

“Where have you been? Your Majesty, have you been drinking?”

Empress Elan came closer and sniffed.

“I had a drink… on the way back from a short walk.”

I added that I was sorry for worrying the three of them and replied.

“It seems like you’ve been out for too long to have just had one drink.”

The Magic Tower Master said suspiciously.

I just shrugged and remained silent.

“It seems like you didn’t buy sausages either.”

Moya imitated the Magic Tower Master’s tone and pressed me.

“Sorry, I’ll buy them tomorrow.”

“Yes… I guess I’ll have to wait if Master tells me to…”

Moya became sullen and flew to the bed, burying her face in the pillow and sobbing.

“Sniff, but I want to eat them now! I’ve been waiting for sausages all day, Moya~!”

Everyone was curious about my whereabouts, but I remained silent until the end.

It’s because I’m not drunk enough to confess that I met a man at the tavern and rested at the annex.

It’s better to change the subject quickly in times like these.

I looked at the three people alternately and put strength into my voice.

“Tomorrow night, I’ll have to go to the Imperial Palace.”