The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 188

188. Aim for the Back

October 22, 2022

“……Oh. I work here.”

The man answered a beat late.

“Wow! It’s amazing. To meet again in a place like this? Ah, hahaha.”

I looked up at the man and laughed.

Actually, I want to cry.

If I cry here, I’ll look even weirder, so I have no choice but to laugh.

I want to disappear into a rat hole, but I can’t even retreat from this dog hole.

“I know. I never thought I’d see you in front of the Imperial Palace’s ‘dog hole.’”

The man stared at my butt stuck in the dog hole and emphasized the word.

“Can you help me?”

I raised my arms towards the man, asking for a helping hand.

This is better than being caught by the guards and risking my life.

It’s not easy for me to do this, but I have no choice if I want to live.

“Help you?”

His icy, prickly voice seemed to stab my butt stuck in the dog hole.

“Yes?”

“There has to be a price, right?”

Oh my, why are you being so heartless overnight?

“Why would I trust someone who has a history of running away without a word?”

“Running away? Saying it like that makes it sound like I stole something and ran away……”

My face crumpled as I made an unfair expression.

Something felt ominous, so I quickly smiled again and tried to diffuse the tense atmosphere.

“Hahaha, did I perhaps steal your heart last night? Ah, hahaha!”

“Can you still laugh even when your life is in danger?”

……Atmosphere change failed.

Wow, he’s really angry.

“I’m sorry. I forgot that my sick younger sibling was starving and fell asleep, and I was so surprised that I didn’t even have time to say goodbye.”

I changed my strategy, making a pitiful expression and lowering my voice.

Moiya, who suddenly became my sick younger sibling, wasn’t actually starving while waiting for sausages.

I heard from Empress Elan that Moiya had already eaten a hearty steak an hour before I returned.

“Lying won’t help right now?”

The man’s gaze landed coldly on me.

He’s not easy to fool.

I had no choice but to insist once more.

“It’s not a lie!”

“Ha, if you were worried about your sick sibling, you wouldn’t have been so reckless with me in the first place… Ahem, you wouldn’t have done that.”

He questioned me relentlessly, then paused for a moment, his face slightly flushed.

“I’m really sorry for leaving without a word. There’s no good in getting involved with me. That’s why I disappeared quietly……”

“What’s your name?”

The man ignored my sincere words and stubbornly asked for my name.

“It’s better not to know. There’s no good in knowing me.”

“Okay, then. Stay there until morning. Ah, but you’ll be discovered by the guards before that.”

“Eeeek? How can you just leave!”

I desperately called out to the man who was turning away.

“Like you said, there’s no good in getting involved.”

The man slowly turned around again and threw another cold word.

“I guess our next meeting will be in the Imperial Palace prison.”

“H-hey! You have a pretty face, but why is your heart so twisted? If you don’t want to pull me, at least push me from behind! Huh? Huh?”

“Name.”

This time, the man squatted down and asked for my name again.

“……Dazel. My name is Dazel. What’s yours?”

“Dazel? Is that your real name?”

As expected, he looked at me with suspicion.

“Yes, I swear! Every letter that just came out of my mouth is part of my name!”

It’s not a lie, is it?

I just changed the order of the names.

He seemed to believe me when I glared and affirmed.

“You have to tell me your name too.”

“……Nelly.”

“Pfft. It doesn’t suit you at all.”

I burst out laughing impolitely at the man’s name.

Fortunately, he didn’t seem to care at all, as if he had been teased like this his whole life.

I felt relieved and held out my hands to him again.

Please pull me out quickly!

I’m dying of anxiety because I don’t know when I’ll be caught, but the man is too relaxed and nonchalant, as if the Imperial Palace is his own home.

Wouldn’t he be in trouble too if we get caught by the guards like this?

Why is he stalling?

“Why are you trying so hard to get into the Imperial Palace?”

The man asked, grabbing and shaking my fingers with both hands as if we were playing patty-cake.

By ‘this hard,’ he must mean my butt being stuck in the dog hole right now?

What should I say…….

“It won’t be fun if you lie.”

He warned me as if he were reading my mind.

It feels like whatever I say in this situation will sound like a lie.

“I came to meet someone.”

I told the truth for now.

“The person you’re meeting is perhaps…… your ex-husband? Don’t tell me he works in the palace?”

He narrowed his eyes and asked slyly.

To me, my ex-husband is a ‘bastard,’ but why is he a ‘bastard’ to this man, Nelly?

Anyway, it seemed more plausible that I took this risk to meet my abandoned ex-husband than to sneak in through a dog hole to meet a friend, so I nodded.

“Why are you meeting that kind of guy?”

“Didn’t I say at the tavern yesterday? I’m going to take his neck or vital parts when I get the chance.”

“You came for revenge?”

Nelly pulled my hand before even hearing my answer.

As he used his strength, my butt stuck in the dog hole popped out forward.

“Ouch, thank you. I almost died thanks to you.”

I dusted off my dirty dress and apron and greeted Nelly.

“Which department does he work in?”

“Huh?”

“Your ex-husband, I mean.”

“……”

Should I tell him…… or not?

***

Moiya transformed into a pigeon and flew into the Imperial Palace.

He headed towards the West Palace, where Rosie’s residence was located, and the Empress Palace came into view in the distance.

“Tsk, that’s originally our master’s house……”

I wonder what kind of human is living there now?

He had heard the group’s conversation, but Moiya wanted to see for himself who was occupying the Empress Palace now.

“I have to see their face, Moiya~.”

There aren’t many humans who rudely chase away pigeons loitering around the window.

Moiya turned and headed towards the Empress Palace.

Moiya landed on one of the many windows in the Empress’s room and pushed each window with his foot.

There’s no way a thief would break in at this height, but all the windows were locked.

It definitely seemed like someone was lying in bed, but it was too dark to see inside the room.

Moiya finally pushed the terrace door slightly with his body.

The windows of the Empress’s room were all locked, but the terrace door was open.

“Oh, why is this open?”

Moiya was about to enter the room when he heard a low growl from one side of the terrace.

“Ah, surprise!”

Moiya, in the form of a pigeon, flapped his wings and stepped back.

Calming his surprised heart, he flew towards the sound of the growl.

A bulldog with yellowish fur overall but white fur around its eyebrows and mouth was baring its teeth at Moiya.

“Friend who looks unfairly treated, is your name Moiya~?”

“Grrr. (Get lost.)”

“Tsk tsk, if you look like that, you should at least be kind.”

Moiya spoke as if lecturing the bulldog, who was sitting on a pink cushion, completely out of character with his wrinkled and fierce appearance.

“Woof, woof. (Leave before I bite you to death. I hate pigeons.)”

“Ooh? Then how about a cute baby wyvern [a dragon-like creature]? Do you hate wyverns too?”

“Grrrr. (You, you’re not a pigeon, are you? Reveal your true identity.)”

“I’m Moiya. A great wyvern. Still a baby, so cute though.”

The bulldog perked up at Moiya’s words.

“Woof? (You’re a wyvern?)”

“Yeah, but you seem to be a baby too, why do you have so many wrinkles on your face? Have you suffered a lot? Doesn’t your owner give you food? Ah, that can’t be it.”

Moiya looked enviously at the large dog bowl and various bones on one side of the terrace.

“Wrinkles. What kind of human is your owner? What kind of human is shamelessly sleeping like that on someone else’s bed?”

Moiya glanced at the dark room and asked the bulldog.

“Woof, woof, woof. (None of your business. Get out before our master wakes up.)”

The bulldog blocked the terrace door as if trying to protect Roxana, who was lying sick.

“Does His Majesty [the Emperor] come here often too? Does he only come during the day? Maybe he’s too ashamed to come at night, Moiya~.”

Moiya giggled.

“Woof? (What?)”

“Humans or animals, babies shouldn’t know these things. Sigh, what would a wrinkle who wags his tail at humans know.”

Moiya, who was wiggling his butt and teasing, advised seriously.

“No, you have to wag your tail more than other dogs. Your impression itself is gloomy and unfairly treated.”

“Grrrr……. (Let’s fight, you wyvern pup…….)”

The bulldog scratched the pink cushion wildly with its front paws, preparing to attack.

“Your hyung [older brother/mentor] is giving you a piece of advice. Eat a lot of delicious things while you’re here.”

Moiya said as if prophesying, not caring about the bulldog’s threat.

“Woof, woof! (Don’t talk nonsense and come at me.)”

“You’re the one talking nonsense. Wrinkles, I like your rough side. Your hyung will come to visit often in the future.”

Moiya flapped his wings and greeted the bulldog.

“Woof, woof, woof! (Who’s your hyung? Do you want to die?)”

The bulldog began to bark fiercely.

Then, the door opened in the distance, and Nancy, Roxana’s maid, hurriedly ran towards the terrace.

“Shh. Nana, can’t you be quiet? Why are you barking so much today? The young lady is sick, don’t bother her.”

Nancy flicked the bulldog’s nose with her hand, scolded her, and closed the terrace door.

Moiya, who was on the terrace railing, asked the bulldog in a surprised voice.

“Your name is Nana? Wrinkles, don’t tell me you’re…… a female?!”

Ssshhh-.

Nana pretended not to hear Moiya’s words and went to the corner of the terrace to pee.

Looking at her peeing posture, she was definitely female.

Moiya was greatly shocked by her confident and indifferent appearance.

“Wrinkles…… I think I’ve fallen for you.”

For the first time since hatching from the egg, Moiya’s heart fluttered.

It was a different kind of excitement than when he fluttered for his owner, Zelda.

Because of Nana, Moiya couldn’t take his mind off going to Rosie’s residence.

***

“I can’t tell you which department my ex-husband is in, but he’s an indispensable existence in the Imperial Palace.”

For the sake of Nelly and my safety, I could never reveal that my ex-husband is the Emperor.

“It’s probably nothing much.”

Nelly didn’t know my deep intentions and muttered, snorting.

He handed me a handkerchief with an expression that seemed to say that he couldn’t be higher than him.

“I don’t know, but he’s probably in a higher position than you.”

I wiped my dirty hands with the handkerchief he gave me, which was covered in dirt, and retorted.

“Hmph, no way.”

Nelly was being arrogant.

I want to say, ‘My ex-husband is the owner here,’ and see his arrogant face turn pale, but I’ll hold back.

“Did you really come to kill your ex-husband?”

Nelly seemed to be in a good mood as he asked the brutal question.

“I want to, but it’s not easy to approach him because he’s in a key position.”

He’s the Emperor, so there must be quite a few knights guarding him, right?

“In that case, aim for the back.”

Nelly whispered in a sincere voice.

“……Thanks for the advice. I’ll keep it in mind.”

I looked around to see if there were any guards patrolling and lowered myself behind the trees and bushes.

He was standing there blankly, looking down at me, so I tugged on his robe sleeve to get him to come down.

“Sit down. You’re going to get us caught.”

Then he reluctantly squatted down next to me.

“You don’t have to risk your life to take revenge. If you tell me which department he’s in, I’ll take care of it for you.”

“What? How are you going to take care of it?”

I asked, holding back a laugh because his suggestion was a little funny.

“I can send him to the frontier, significantly lower his rank, or, if you want to kill him, I can really kill him without anyone knowing.”

“Nelly…… you’re a much higher person than I thought?”

His cheeks twitched as I asked, pretending to be impressed.

Seeing that he can make such a bold suggestion, he must be close to the Emperor?

But he’s a person who doesn’t exist in my memory.

That’s right, there’s no way I would have missed his outstanding appearance even if he was frowning like that.

He was probably a newly hired talent.

“Are you perhaps a close aide to His Majesty?”

I clearly asked in a soft and small voice, but Nelly’s blue eyes widened as he looked at me as if I had screamed the question.

“Is that right?”

When I reaffirmed with a confident tone, Nelly’s thick Adam’s apple moved up and down greatly as he swallowed.

“N-no, I’m not His Majesty’s closest aide, I’m under the secretary.”

Is he talking about the Emperor’s direct secretary?

“Really? By any chance, is the secretary Raphael……?”

“How do you know Raphael……?”

Nelly blinked his eyes several times with a stiff face and asked.

“I told you, my ex-husband is also in a key position. My ex-husband is a heartless person, so you might get fired if you get on his bad side. So don’t get on his bad side and work hard.”

I patted his shoulder and encouraged him.

Then he smirked as if he had heard a joke.

“My position is fixed. That will never, ever happen.”

He was serious and arrogant again.

“Nelly, listen carefully. I’m giving you a hint because you helped me today.”

I gestured for him to come closer and leaked important information.

“Be careful of Raphael.”

“What do you mean?”

“It can’t be helped when you’re working, but it’s better not to associate with him privately.”

“……Why?”

“He’s capable, but his private life seems a little… colorful. There’s a rumor that he’s the ‘open pants’ [a womanizer] of the Imperial City.”

“Where…… did you hear that?”

Nelly tilted his head and asked.

“What, did you know?”

As expected, Raphael’s aides all know his nickname.

“Anyway, don’t associate with him except when you’re working.”

“…….”

“You’ll get tainted.”

I patted his shoulder and told him firmly.

It was time to go to the West Palace.

“But Nelly, why are you wandering around at this hour without going home?”

Only then did I notice his clothes, which were casual and only had a robe on.

“I’m…… actually…….”

He turned his head and stared at something as he opened his mouth.

My gaze followed his.