The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 194

194. My Shoulders are Dancing on Their Own

2022.11.12.

I felt like my body was being completely sucked into him.

I even thought I wouldn’t mind if that happened.

“J-Just a moment… just a moment!”

Nelly, who was still kissing me, gently pushed my forehead with his palm and shouted in a breathless voice.

“…Why?”

“We’re kissing right now, not forcibly extracting juice from a dried-up fruit.”

He said, as if trying to reason with me.

I wiped my lips, which felt like they were full of fruit juice, with the back of my hand and tilted my head.

“Yeah, that’s what I wanted to say.”

“What?”

“Don’t you think you could kiss a little softer?”

It wasn’t unpleasant, but I didn’t want to run out of energy yet.

Then, this time, he narrowed his eyes and looked at me with a questioning gaze.

“That’s what I’m saying. You’re kissing me like you’re trying to suck something out of my body, so I wanted to ask you that.”

What is he talking about?

Did I apply that much pressure?

“When did I do that? Nelly was doing this, that, this, that…”

I moved my lips back and forth, demonstrating how he had been applying pressure to my lips.

Then.

“Yeah, Dazel, that’s what you were doing.”

He said I did it.

“Huh? I thought I was just standing still?”

“Your body was. But your lips were going crazy.”

He tapped my lips with his finger and smiled.

“Was your anticipation as great as mine?”

Nelly asked, trying to hide his embarrassed expression by changing the subject.

“Anticipation? I came because you said you had something to do with me today.”

I was a little embarrassed that I had expressed too much passion on our first date, so I spoke curtly.

“…I didn’t say I had something to do?”

“Oh my, why are you suddenly changing your tune?”

I clearly remember that burning gaze of yours last night, thicker than the blood you shed!

“You clearly begged me while blood was pouring down your forehead!”

When I glared at him and demanded an explanation, he closed his eyes tightly, then opened them again with a smile.

Then, he lowered his head to my eye level and looked into my eyes, saying each word clearly.

“I asked you to meet me because I had something to say. Something to say.”

Ah…?

Was it ‘something to say’ instead of ‘something to do’?

How did my memory get distorted in such an active way?

“Broadly speaking, something to say also falls under something to do. Don’t you think?”

My face was burning, but I felt a little better after insisting on that.

“That’s right. Absolutely.”

He nodded his head vigorously in agreement, then narrowed his brow as if his head was ringing.

“Was your head badly injured?”

“If the blood hadn’t flowed out, he would have died.”

Nelly replied seriously, erasing the smile from his face.

“Oh my goodness, I almost ended up in a difficult position as a witness to the accident! Thank goodness.”

I breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.

“Are you saying it’s a relief that I didn’t die… because it’s a relief that you weren’t in trouble? Or are you saying it’s a relief that I’m safe?”

“…Both.”

Oops, that was supposed to be a thought, when did it come out?

I was just trying to say, ‘Oh my goodness, thank goodness!’ but my inner thoughts butted in and came out of my mouth.

Ignoring Nelly’s disappointed face, I quickly looked around the room and changed the subject.

“The room is much cleaner than I thought. Like it was deliberately prepared.”

“Cough, cough…”

I turned around at the sound of him choking and saw him holding a wine glass.

“But is it okay for the court physician to drink alcohol?”

When I asked with a worried tone, he said ‘Ah’ and put the wine glass back down.

After bringing it up, I suddenly had a question.

“Among the things the court physician told you to be careful about for the time being, is there anything like that…?”

“Like what?”

You should understand right away, do I have to say everything one by one?

“Like staying away from women…”

“Of course.”

Nelly answered, putting his hand to his head.

Ah, right.

His head was almost split in half, so he definitely needs to be careful.

Excessive skinship should be completely avoided.

Yes, that’s right.

Then why did I come here today…

Should I just go back?

The purpose, meaning, and excitement of coming here have all disappeared.

I didn’t really have anything to talk about with Nelly right now.

If I try to squeeze out something to say, I’m bound to make a mistake.

If the conversation gets too long, there’s a risk that my mouth might say something it shouldn’t.

That means the probability of my identity being exposed increases.

In comparison, body language doesn’t need words, right?

All the processes are very natural and follow instinct, so it’s much easier than conversation because you don’t have to think.

“The court physician said I should stay away from women, but girlfriends are okay.”

Nelly opened his mouth again with a very healthy look in his eyes, not like someone who was hurt.

I could tell what kind of change my gloomy expression was going through without even looking.

“…Really?”

When I asked in a voice as if I had heard that a dead person had come back to life, he nodded his head, holding back a laugh.

“They say that a girlfriend’s affection helps heal the wound?”

He said quite seriously.

It didn’t feel very credible, but I wanted to believe his words more, so,

“Yeah, I think I’ve heard that somewhere too.”

The lies came out so easily.

It’s not like it was said by a regular therapist, but by the imperial court physician, so it must be true.

Even if it wasn’t the court physician’s words but Nelly’s thoughts, I would believe it.

He knows his own body best.

Anyway, how do I pour out affection?

“Like this?”

After hesitating for a moment, I gently hugged him, placing my hands around his waist.

I could feel him taking a deep breath.

I pulled out the shirt that was tucked into his pants and gently pressed my hot hands against his waist.

My palms were as hot as if they had been warming by a bonfire for hours.

But when I put my hands on his firm, muscular back, it felt like the season had changed from a hot summer to a cozy spring.

“Hhh… um.”

He tilted his head back and groaned.

“What’s wrong? Does your head hurt?”

“No, it’s not that, but my body is… strange.”

“You’re saying it’s strange when your girlfriend is giving you affection right now?”

“I didn’t mean it in a bad way.”

“Really? Then can I wander around a little more?”

“Why are you asking for permission… you’ve already started moving…”

He twisted his upper body slightly.

He seemed uncomfortable with my hands wandering freely around his broad back, but he didn’t tell me to take them off.

And he didn’t take his eyes off me.

“How is it? Does your head feel better?”

I really put a lot of affection into the touch that embraced him.

“My head feels better… but something else is acting up…”

He replied in an agonized voice.

“Where, where else does it hurt? Just tell me!”

“If I tell you?”

“I’ll touch it for you. Like this…”

I took out my hand that had been stirring inside his shirt and stroked the back of his head.

Very carefully and lovingly, as if caressing a baby’s cheek.

“Ha, haa… who are you trying to kill… whew.”

Nelly lowered his gaze.

As I continued to stroke the back of his head with affectionate touches, he rested his forehead on my shoulder, feeling good, and muttered softly, ‘What am I going to do, really.’

I suddenly felt an ominous feeling at his words.

“Did the court physician tell you not to?”

“Not to what.”

“Not to make love? He didn’t say that, did he?”

I asked as calmly as possible, as if asking about the weather.

“But Dazel, why do you keep looking at the door?”

He asked, turning my chin forward with his finger.

I must have been looking at the door without realizing it.

I wonder if this room is soundproof?

“If the court physician told you not to make love, would you just leave?”

“…! What do you take me for?!”

It wasn’t that I was planning to leave, but the fact that I had been looking forward to tonight made my voice unstable.

“Relax. There was no such thing.”

He said in a low voice.

I maintained a blank expression so that I wouldn’t look too obviously happy, but I couldn’t help but have the corners of my mouth turn up.

Even so.

“That’s a relief!”

I didn’t have to clap my hands…

This one word revealed everything about what I was expecting when I visited Nelly’s residence.

My cheeks flushed with embarrassment, but what are we?

We’re lovers.

So I decided to be confident in my feelings.

“Let’s go sit over there for now.”

Nelly took my hand and walked to the table next to the window.

“Can I hear what you have to say later? It’s not urgent, is it?”

I stopped walking, putting on the brakes.

“It’s not urgent, but it’s important.”

“If it’s an important story, should I hear it later…?”

I put strength into the hand I was holding with him and changed direction, and his body turned halfway around because of it.

“Are you trying to check first?”

His gaze stopped in front of the bed.

He looked at my face with a subtle gaze and asked.

“Yeah, I don’t really know my feelings for you yet.”

“But what should I do?”

“What?”

“I don’t know how to do it because my head is hurt…”

“…You don’t know? You forgot?”

“I think so.”

Is he joking?

I stared intently at his face with a dumbfounded expression.

The blue eyes, which couldn’t be distinguished as sincere or joking, were just pretty.

“It’s okay, Nelly is a high-ranking official.”

“…So?”

“That means you’re smart. So you’ll remember it soon. Or you’ll learn quickly.”

“…I guess so?”

Nelly continued, with an ambiguous expression that seemed to be smiling and frowning.

“Then… lead me today.”

His voice was already trying to lead me somewhere.

“Yeah, I have to. I can’t ask too much of an injured person.”

“Don’t worry. Only my head is injured. Isn’t this fortunate too?”

“That’s right! My ex-husband was impotent. I’m so glad Nelly isn’t.”

I nodded my head and breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.

Actually, I don’t remember whether my ex-husband was impotent or not.

However, I just blurted it out because I remembered what Prince Tesler had told me before coming to the Rafion Empire from the Chat O’Neil Kingdom.

Who cares, he’s not in my life anymore anyway.

“Oh dear. You must have been unhappy…”

Nelly looked at me with pitiful eyes and kissed me.

His light kiss, filled with comfort, gradually became persistent.

I naturally laid him down on the bed.

“Ouch, be careful of your head.”

As soon as he lay down, Nelly roughly pulled me in.

Because of that, my forehead almost hit his forehead head-on.

“Tell me… how did I act that night?”

At his words, I smiled slyly.

Get ready for the open shirt!

I first unbuttoned his shirt and brought my lips to his neck.

His chest swelled greatly and then fell.

The maid’s dress could be easily put on and taken off with just one zipper.

Nelly’s hands desperately searched for the dress zipper.

I found his lips.

And we slowly melted into each other.

“Did I… act this hastily that night…?”

Nelly asked me, twisting the sheets as if wringing them out with both hands.

“No, I’ve improved it even more.”

People have to evolve. Don’t you think?

“Dazel, please… if you do this, I can’t hold back…!”

“Don’t hold back.”

At my one word, his eyes changed.

The night was getting deeper, but his and my senses were getting brighter and brighter.

“How is it, do you think you know your feelings now?”

“A little?”

“Just… a little?”

Nelly frowned, then glared at me, saying he’d see about that later.

It felt like a storm had passed.

The body, swept away by passion, was languidly stretched out.

I felt like I was going to fall asleep like this.

But I couldn’t fall asleep in the imperial palace.

“I know it’s too early to say this, but I don’t have much time…”

He, who was holding me in his arms, carefully trailed off.

I was half-asleep, but I came to my senses again.

A flash of ominousness crossed my mind at his prolonged silence.

“What are you trying to say that you’re being so hesitant? By any chance, is it about money?”

“…W-What?”

“I may look rich on the outside, but I’m actually broke right now.”

“So?”

What do you mean so?

“So, if you’re trying to create this kind of atmosphere to borrow money from me, don’t even bring it up.”

I said firmly.

Was the reason he asked me to meet him today just for a date?

I was wondering what a handsome, high-ranking official in the imperial palace would be lacking that he would become lovers with me, who doesn’t even know his identity, but maybe…

Did he have some kind of sinister purpose?

Like approaching me with the intention of getting money?

If so, I’m not going to leave here quietly either.

I’ll make that half-broken head of yours completely…

I was unknowingly imitating breaking something with both hands, and he asked with an unpleasant look.

“…Do you see me as such a pathetic guy?”

He had a hurt pride expression.

“It’s not that you look like that, but you do look like someone I’d want to lend money to if I had it.”

“…Are you saying I look poor?”

As he sat up on the bed, I also sat up.

“No. I mean your face is like a guarantee.”

I shook my head and told him honestly.

He was so happy.

It must be one of the most common things he’s heard in his life, but why is he so happy?

“Anyway, you can do anything but ask me for money. It’s okay.”

It couldn’t be that he has a woman he’s going to marry, so everything else was really okay.

I spread my arms wide and smiled brightly, meaning that I’m an open-minded person.

Then, the blanket slid down, and his gaze followed it, and his face turned red.

I lowered my arms again and pulled up the blanket.

“I know it’s too early to say this…”

His introduction was quite long as to what he was about to say.

“Anyone would think you’re going to propose.”

As I chuckled and blurted out the words without much thought,

“!”

Nelly’s eyes widened.

He was so dumbfounded by my words that he froze with his mouth open.

The atmosphere became very awkward.

I didn’t mean to induce this, was it burdensome?

I laughed, feeling unnecessarily embarrassed, sniffing my nose.

“Haha, just kidding, just kidding.”

“How did you know?”

“Well, your expression is just… what?!”

I pushed his arm aside and laughed, but my head suddenly went blank.

It felt like that iron bar that had struck the top of his head had fallen on my head too.

“Don’t tell me you’re…”

“That’s right. I’m proposing.”

“What kind of proposal is this on the first date? No, more than that, what kind of proposal is this while being half-naked?”

At my words, Nelly hurriedly put on his clothes and stood in front of the bed.

His determined expression was similar to the knighting ceremony of knights.

I couldn’t get dressed because I was watching his actions.

Clothes aren’t important right now.

I kept pulling the blanket up to my chin and looked up at him, who was endlessly serious.

“Nelly, anyone would think you’re about to kneel down…?!”

Why is he doing this? He really knelt down.

“Dazel, be by my side. I know I should get to know each other better and build more trust before proposing, but I felt like I wouldn’t have another chance if I didn’t say it now.”

His voice was as sincere as could be.

I tried to make a serious expression to match him.

Ah, something unbelievable was happening.

A proposal right on the first date…!

The speed was different from the first meeting, but isn’t it too fast?

Marriage isn’t temporary like dating, it’s for a lifetime, right?

Of course, both of us have a history of divorce.

First of all, I didn’t feel bad.

In fact… I almost did the shoulder dance that Moiya dances.

I actually twitched my shoulders, but fortunately, I didn’t get on that strange rhythm that Moiya rides.

The fact that I wanted to dance didn’t mean I was agreeing.

But my heart was beating so fast.

I couldn’t make a rational decision because of it.

If I could take out my heart, I wanted to take it out and put it on the table until my excited heart calmed down.

What do women usually do when they get proposed to?

What should I say in this case?

I had to keep putting strength into my lips because the corners of my mouth were going up on their own.

However, my eyes were already half-moon shaped, so my smiling face remained unchanged.

I forgot about my terrible reality for a moment and soaked in the happiness.

“Dazel, actually… I should have said this before the proposal…”

His following words dried up the happiness I had been soaking in.

And I was thrown into confusion.