The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 189

189. How Was Yesterday?

“Stay in the quarters for the palace staff.”

Nellie seemed hesitant to reveal too much about himself, pausing for a while before replying.

“Ah, right. The building where the palace staff stays is near the West Palace, isn’t it?”

“You know the layout of the Imperial Palace well?”

He stared at me, seemingly surprised.

Feeling a pang of guilt, I quickly replied,

“I’ve been to the Imperial Palace a few times. When I was on good terms with my ex-husband……”

“Ah… when you were on good terms.”

He repeated my words as if chewing them over, his brow furrowing.

Is he suspicious?

Before he could ask more about my ex-husband, I told him the real reason I came here.

“Actually, I didn’t come to see him.”

“Then?”

“I have a friend in the Imperial Palace. I came to see that friend.”

“At this hour, through a secret passage?”

“My husband can’t know that I’ve entered the Imperial Palace. As I said, he’s in a high position, so he can easily find out that I came to the palace.”

I added that’s why I had to use the secret passage.

It wasn’t a complete lie, so I didn’t feel too guilty.

“Your ex-husband is the one committing the crime, so why does it matter if he knows?”

“He thinks I’ve left the Imperial City. If it’s known that I’m here, several people will be in trouble.”

“Why?”

“Sorry, there’s a lot I can’t explain.”

I clasped my hands together, giving him a look that pleaded with him to stop questioning me.

“How complicated must your family affairs be for a noble lady to use a secret passage……”

Nellie looked back and forth between the secret passage and my face, muttering with a pitiful expression.

“I don’t need your sympathy. Just understand that I have complicated circumstances.”

“Alright, then who is this friend you came to see? You have to tell me that. Oh dear, isn’t it almost time for the guards to patrol?”

He took out a pocket watch from his pants pocket, checked the time, and raised one corner of his mouth.

It was a smile that said he would hand me over to the guards if I didn’t tell him.

“One of the imperial concubines.”

“……Which imperial concubine?”

“Lady Rosie.”

“Does that imperial concubine know you’re coming?”

“No, no. Not at all! I’m just visiting her……”

I shook my hands, denying his words, as I didn’t want Rosie to get into trouble because of this.

“I told you, I have something I need to tell her.”

“What could be so important that you’d risk this much to tell her?”

Ah, this persistent fellow.

“I just came to see her face one last time before leaving the Imperial City. I don’t know when we’ll meet again.”

“……Where are you planning to go?”

Nellie’s expression became quite serious.

“Anywhere but this damn Lapion Empire.”

I looked around the Imperial Palace, clenching my teeth as I spoke.

“Alright, go. Go around through the back garden path. The guards have already patrolled that area once, so there shouldn’t be any.”

“Thank you! Nellie, if fate allows, let’s meet again someday. I’ll buy you a drink then.”

I was touched by his consideration.

I wanted to hug him before parting, but I felt like I wouldn’t want to leave if I did, so I turned around quickly.

“Wait!”

He turned me back around.

As I looked up at him, he lowered his gaze and said as if giving an order,

“Meet me again later.”

“What?”

“I have… something to tell you too.”

“What is it?”

“Let’s talk about it later. Where should we meet? Near Lady Rosie’s residence? Or here?”

This man is serious.

I was curious about what he wanted to tell me, but my opinion that continuing this relationship would not be good for either of us remained unchanged.

I should just make a promise and then leave after visiting Rosie’s residence, right?

If I say let’s meet near Rosie’s residence or here, it’ll be hard to shake him off… What should I do?

“You know what happens if you run away again, right?”

He seemed to be able to read my mind.

“I’m thinking of giving some money to the guards I know near Lady Rosie’s residence and the secret passage to stand guard. So, don’t even think about leaving this place without meeting me.”

I’ve never seen such a meticulous guy.

Alright, fine. He saved me from the secret passage, so I shouldn’t be so cold-hearted.

I gave up on running away and thought about where would be a good place to meet him.

Just then, the perfect place came to mind.

“There’s a place that’s good for avoiding people’s eyes! Let’s meet there.”

“Where is it?”

He asked with an expectant look.

I raised my heels, put my mouth to his ear, and whispered.

He looked bewildered after hearing my words.

“Why specifically… do you want to meet in a place like that…?”

***

Moiya, in the form of a pigeon, arrived at Rosie’s residence and pecked at the terrace door of her room, saying,

“Come here, you insignificant kitty.”

“Miyaong? (Moiya?)”

Aoshi, who had been listlessly lounging on Rosie’s bed, jumped from the bed to the terrace door in one leap at Moiya’s voice.

Rosie, who had been habitually sitting on the floor reading a book, quickly raised her head and ran to the terrace door.

Aoshi, who was in front of the terrace door before Rosie, jumped up and pulled the terrace door handle with her front paws.

“Oong? Aoshi, you’ve grown a lot in a month? And your paw movements have become quite strong?”

Moiya exclaimed as she entered the room.

“Miyaong! (Moiya! You’re alive!)”

Aoshi hugged Moiya, and Moiya returned to her original form and hugged her back.

“It’s not really living, Moiya~. I haven’t been able to eat sausages lately, so I have no energy at all.”

Moiya deliberately acted pitiful, sucking in her plump cheeks and belly.

“How is Her Majesty the Empress? Is she safe? Surely nothing happened that made her send you? Where is she now! Huh?”

Rosie grabbed Moiya and shook her, asking urgently.

“Don’t worry, she’s forgetting about buying my sausages, drinking alone, and doing well.”

Moiya pouted, still feeling upset with Zelda for returning empty-handed last night.

“Is she… in the Imperial City now?”

Rosie took a breath and asked in a lowered voice with a nervous expression.

“No. She’s in the Imperial Palace.”

The last time Moiya saw Zelda, she was sticking her head into a small secret passage under the fortress wall.

So, her master would be arriving here soon.

“Heeup! Really? Did she come to see me? Really?”

“Yeah, she asked me to tell Sharon too. Where’s Sharon?”

“Wait, I’ll have Misha bring Sharon.”

“She said you shouldn’t let anyone else know. Aoshi, you go. I can’t go because I haven’t eaten sausages and have no energy.”

Moiya flew to Rosie’s bed and flopped down.

Moiya, who closed her eyes, smiled brightly as she recalled Nana’s wrinkled face, whom she had met in the Empress’s Palace a little while ago.

“Okay, Aoshi. I’ll write a note, so go and come back. You know where Sharon is, right?”

“Miyaong. (Yeah, I went there yesterday without Rosie knowing.)”

Rosie tore a piece of paper from a book and quickly wrote a message to Sharon, telling her to come to her residence urgently.

“Tell Sharon to bring plenty of sausages when she comes. This is Her Majesty the Empress’s order!”

Moiya opened her eyes wide and shouted in a profound voice.

She gestured that she understood with a happy heart, and also wrote a message on the note telling her to bring sausages.

Even with just this, the quick-witted Sharon would realize that Moiya had come.

“Aoshi, hurry back.”

Rosie said, tying the note with a thin string next to the bell on Aoshi’s neck.

Aoshi nodded as if telling her not to worry, and jumped down from the terrace without hesitation.

***

I managed to arrive safely at Rosie’s residence after barely parting with Nellie.

The journey here was much easier than dealing with him.

After arriving at the West Palace garden, I encountered the patrolling guards a couple of times, but they just thought I was a maid and passed by.

As soon as I entered Rosie’s room through the terrace door, Rosie and Sharon, who had been waiting for me, burst into tears as soon as they saw me.

After crying to their heart’s content for a few minutes, they each examined my body, dividing it into left and right sides, and then lamented that I seemed to have lost a lot of weight.

“What’s with you guys? I’ve gained more weight.”

But Rosie and Sharon ignored the truth that the person herself was saying.

So, I told them the story of how my butt got stuck in the secret passage and I almost got caught by the guards.

Even then, the two of them continued to fuss, saying that my face had become half its size and that my waist was a handful, and they burst into tears again.

Only after finally appeasing Rosie and Sharon was I able to hear about the current atmosphere of the Imperial Palace and the story of Roxana, the princess who was the Emperor’s remarriage partner.

***

Linell headed to the place she had suggested meeting as soon as he parted ways with her at the secret passage.

He was filled with questions as he walked along the cypress tree-lined forest path.

He couldn’t sleep again today, so he was taking a walk in the quiet back garden.

As he walked, the cool breeze suddenly felt like a spring breeze.

His feet moved involuntarily in the direction the spring breeze was blowing.

He felt his body gradually warming up, and then he heard a rustling sound under the fortress wall.

At first, he thought it was an animal living in the forest.

When he pushed through the bushes, he was surprised to see her, the woman he had met last night.

He doubted his eyes.

It was surprising that he had met her again, but her condition with her butt stuck in the secret passage was even more surprising.

He wondered if she had been drinking again tonight and had crawled all the way here in a crab-like manner.

“She’s really an unpredictable woman.”

Linell’s curiosity about her grew more and more as he actually arrived at the meeting place.

There are several training grounds inside the Imperial Palace.

In particular, the training ground inside this cypress forest was a place where the entry of ordinary knights was restricted.

Few people could come and go freely except for high-ranking knights or the Emperor himself.

She clearly seemed to already know that this place was good for avoiding people’s eyes.

“Just what is that ex-husband’s position that she knows even this place?”

Moreover, seeing that she even knew Raphael’s nickname, it seemed that he was indeed in a high position.

How long had he waited?

He saw her in the distance.

Her face shone even in the darkness.

She kept looking back and being wary of her surroundings, but she smiled brightly at him.

Linell wanted to ask if she was smiling because she was happy that she had safely arrived at this place without being seen by others, or if she was happy to meet him again.

He was waving his hand at her without realizing it.

He realized before he lowered his hand.

He had been very worried that that woman wouldn’t show up, that she would disappear again without a word.

As she stood in front of him, he deliberately asked curtly to hide his feelings.

“Why did you want to meet here?”

***

Was he scared because I said let’s meet here?

I reassured him, who was cowering in front of the training ground, and led him inside.

“Don’t be nervous. It’s okay.”

He looked dazed, but he willingly stepped into the training ground.

“It’s better not to turn on the lights.”

I said, grabbing his arm as he tried to go towards the oil lamp on the wall.

“Why?”

“There are hardly any people looking for the training ground at this hour, but you never know.”

“But isn’t it too dark? And anyway, if we talk here without turning on the lights, the sound will echo, so everyone will know there’s someone here from the entrance, right?”

“Ah, that’s right. That’s true. Then it’s better to go to a place where no one really comes. Let’s go.”

I grabbed the hem of his robe and took a step.

“Where are you going again?”

“Just follow me and you’ll see.”

I headed to the warehouse, recalling the day a month ago when Catherine had secretly met Count Ethan, who was in charge of the smithy, in the training ground warehouse before leaving for the Continental Hunting Competition.

“This is… a weapon warehouse, isn’t it?”

He asked, letting out a hollow laugh in front of the warehouse door.

His eyes seemed to say, how do you know a place like this?

“An imperial concubine I know told me. She said there are palace people who often enjoy secret meetings here.”

I couldn’t say that I had witnessed it with my own eyes when I was the Empress, so I said it indirectly.

“Did Lady Rosie tell you?”

“……No, another imperial concubine.”

For a moment, I almost blurted out Melanie’s name, who had witnessed Catherine and Count Ethan’s secret meeting together.

“I guess your husband’s in a major position after all. Seeing that you know several imperial concubines.”

“Well… they’re all around the same age, and I’ve known them all since we were young ladies.”

He nodded in agreement, seemingly convinced by the excuse.

“Nellie hasn’t been to a place like this, has he?”

I asked as I opened the warehouse door.

The warehouse wasn’t as dark as I thought because the bright moonlight was shining through the window.

“There’s no way I’ve been to a place like this.”

He muttered, looking around the warehouse, and kept moving his head back and forth.

“But it’s strange….”

“What’s strange?”

“This place. I’m sure it’s my first time here, but I feel a sense of déjà vu [a feeling of having already experienced the present situation].”

“Think hard. Maybe you got drunk one day and secretly came into the warehouse with a woman?”

“Absolutely not. There’s no way I would have brought a woman to a shabby place like this. Even if I was desperate, I don’t think so.”

He said firmly.

“Well, yeah. The woman who would follow you into a place like this isn’t in her right mind either.”

Come to think of it, now that I’ve said it, this warehouse doesn’t feel unfamiliar to me either.

What is it? That’s weird.

I looked around the warehouse carefully, but I had no memory of ever coming here.

All I remembered was secretly peeking through the warehouse window at Catherine and Count Ethan meeting here.

“Hey. Dazel, Dazel?”

I was lost in thought, staring blankly at the pile of straw stacked to the height of a bed in front of the window, when I heard his voice.

“Huh?”

“What are you thinking so hard about? I called you several times.”

“Did you? Sorry. Oh, you said you had something to tell me, right? Tell me.”

I asked, sitting on the pile of straw.

His gaze wandered for a moment, then he came over to me and sat down with a thud.

I turned my head to look at him, and he looked at me too.

Ah, our faces are too close.

His face, illuminated by the full moon, was also very beautiful.

My gaze froze on his blue eyes, and I couldn’t turn my head away.

He, who had said he had something to tell me, hesitated for several seconds before asking me in a serious tone.

“How was yesterday?”

“……That’s all you have to say?”

“All… you say?”

Nellie’s eyes darkened.

“It’s a very important issue to me.”

“Hmm….”

As my silence grew longer, his face gradually turned hurt.

Somehow, one side of my chest felt uncomfortable, so I turned my head.

“Don’t avoid it and answer me.”

Then his cold hand turned my face back and asked seriously.

“Actually, I….”

At that moment, the warehouse door suddenly began to open slowly.

We stared blankly at the warehouse door, and then, without either of us saying anything, we hugged each other and threw ourselves under the narrow space behind the pile of straw.

“It’s difficult if you keep calling me to this place.”

“It’s only been a week.”

After the warehouse door closed, the voices of a man and a woman were heard.

Wait, those voices sound familiar?

“Catherine, what did you call me for today?”

“Does there have to be a reason? I just wanted to sit here and talk. That’s really all.”

Oh my god.

The man and woman who entered the warehouse were Catherine and Count Ethan.

I was too busy during the Continental Hunting Competition to keep an eye on them, so they’ve been in contact ever since?

I was secretly curious about what the Emperor, my ex-husband, would do if he knew this fact.

Hmm? Something feels strange?

I felt my body squirming and lowered my gaze.

Nellie’s face filled my vision.

“!”

“!”

He was lying under me.

Our bodies were pressed together without any gaps, as if someone had pressed us down from above.

I moved to get off his body.

Then he grabbed my shoulders and waist tightly with both arms, and I couldn’t move at all.

‘Let go of this.’

As I said with my mouth, he put his index finger to my lips and gestured towards Catherine and Count Ethan.

‘Shh.’

I nodded briefly to indicate that I understood.

At that moment, his hand was placed on the back of my head…….

‘Hmm?!’

Our lips met.

This man is crazy! What if we get caught?!

A cool, soft sensation was felt between my lips, which were parted in surprise.