The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 195

195. I am the Emperor!

2022.11.16.

‘Father?!’

Roxana saw Duke Heimeich in her dream.

Her father stood with his hands behind his back, looking at his daughter with a composed expression.

He looked exactly as he did a month ago when they had sailed together from the Duchy of Aclato and set foot on the land of the Lapion Empire.

‘Roxana, it’s time to wake up.’

Duke Heimeich gently urged his daughter.

‘H-How did you come back to life……?’

As Roxana spoke, her lips trembling, the duke’s benevolent face was momentarily covered with rage.

‘If you killed me like that, shouldn’t you finish what you set out to do?’

‘F-Father…….’

Roxana slowly took a step back.

Duke Heimeich looked at his terrified daughter, a wicked smile on his face as he picked up a whip, just as he used to, and approached her again, closing the distance between them.

‘You take after me. In the end, you’ll become just like your father.’

Roxana covered her ears with both hands.

It was the most horrifying sound in the world.

‘No! I’m different. I’m nothing like you!’

Tears welled up in her eyes.

The day Hector, who had been forced to drink the obedience potion, began to be loyal to her, the first thing Roxana did was show him her back.

Her intention in showing him the scars from the whippings she had endured from Duke Heimeich since childhood was to provoke Hector’s anger.

For that moment, she had even temporarily stopped using the treatment potion that she had to drink regularly to make the scars disappear.

Hector was more enraged than Roxana had expected when he saw Roxana’s back, which was a mess of scars.

As Roxana had anticipated, Hector shed blood in her place.

Hector himself did not directly kill Duke Heimeich, but he gave the order to throw the duke into a cage with hungry Galacos [flesh-eating beasts].

It happened only two days after the father and daughter arrived at the monastery.

Duke Heimeich’s screams echoed from the monastery’s underground prison, but Roxana ignored them.

Even in the agonizing moments of being trapped in the Galaco cage and dying, Duke Heimeich did not know why he was suffering such a terrible end.

He could only guess from the face of Hector, who was glaring at him fiercely.

Was he upset that Roxana had sat in the seat of honor opposite Emperor Linell at the negotiation table with dignitaries from various countries, instead of Hector, who had led the Allied Forces?

Even so, to have someone torn apart and eaten alive like that?

He could only assume that such an outrageous act was possible because Hector had barbarian blood flowing through his veins.

Thus, Duke Heimeich disappeared from this world without a trace, not even knowing why he was dying such a dog’s death.

He had clearly died like that…….

How does he know that I was behind it?

Roxana stared straight at her father, thinking.

It was only possible because it was a lucid dream.

‘Take good care of the whip your father left behind.’

Roxana shook her head violently at Duke Heimeich’s request.

‘I guess we’ll have to finish our unfinished business in hell. I’ll be waiting, daughter.’

She didn’t want to cry, but tears streamed down Roxana’s terrified eyes.

Duke Heimeich’s once pristine body began to tear apart hideously and disappear.

Roxana squeezed her eyes shut and covered her ears again at her father’s painful screams.

“It’s not my fault, you brought it all on yourself, you’re the one who made me this way…… Huk!!”

Roxana thrashed and opened her eyes.

It had been two weeks since she had fallen ill that her mind had fully returned.

“Huk, huff, ha…….”

Roxana sat up.

Even the air felt unfamiliar when she opened her eyes.

In the dark bedroom, only two small lamps placed on either side of the bed were lit.

Looking around the bedroom, she realized where she was.

“I made it through…….”

Roxana muttered, wiping the cold sweat that streamed down her face with her hand.

While delirious with fever, she had thought that she might die like this.

Because she was wandering between life and death, she had no time to explain her symptoms to the palace physician.

Even if she could have explained her symptoms, she would not have been able to reveal that she had taken the red potion to gain the power of fire and had fallen ill with a fever.

Roxana lowered her feet from the bed and stepped onto the marble floor.

As soon as she got up, her legs gave way and she collapsed to the side.

She gritted her teeth and grabbed the bedpost, pulling herself back up.

She fell again after a few steps, but after that, her legs trembled, but she didn’t fall.

The first thing Roxana did was check on the wyvern egg she had.

She opened the bottom drawer of the vanity where she had hidden the wyvern egg.

Perhaps because it hadn’t been long since she had drunk the red potion, or because the potion’s effect was weak, the wyvern egg was solid and hard, without even a tiny crack.

“Hoo. Still no change.”

She covered the wyvern egg in the basket with a cloth again and put it back in the drawer.

There was one more thing she had to check.

“The Avatar Sword…….”

She walked to the dressing room connected to the Empress’s bedroom.

***

“He has…… a woman he’s going to remarry?”

I couldn’t quite grasp what Nellie had just told me.

“He has? A woman he’s going to remarry……?”

Even when I changed the order of the questions, his reaction was the same.

He nodded both times.

What the X!

Suddenly, my lips felt parched, and the curse didn’t come out of my mouth properly.

I jumped up.

I walked over to where he had placed the tray on the table, picked up the wine bottle, and gulped down the wine.

After drinking quite a bit of wine, I noticed my naked figure reflected in the mirror right in front of me.

I couldn’t bring myself to turn around.

I was so angry that I kicked myself out of bed, but I was at a loss as to how to get back.

‘I need to cover myself with the tray to where I took off my clothes.’

I reached for the tray in front of me.

“Here.”

At that moment, I heard his voice from behind.

When I glanced back, he had turned his head away and was holding out the maid’s dress and the rest of my clothes to me.

I glared at him and quickly grabbed my clothes and put them on.

After I was dressed, I put strength in my feet and strode to the center of the room.

He followed me.

“The divorce is done, and we both know that, so let’s skip that part.”

I tried my best to objectively sort out the situation.

“Are you going to call off the engagement soon, by any chance?”

Is that why you proposed to me?

If that was the case, there was no reason to be too angry.

“No.”

But I felt betrayed by Nellie’s answer.

“You’re going to marry your remarriage partner as planned?”

Then what am I?

What was I? What the hell am I?

“That’s very likely. But Dazel…… if you trust me, I will…….”

“You son of a……!”

Slap-!

I slapped him across the face with all my might.

His words were not worth listening to anymore.

You’re going to marry your remarriage partner as planned, but what do you want me to believe?

What are you waiting for?

“I know you’re angry. I know you don’t understand…….”

He said calmly.

Even though I slapped him across the face with all my might, I hated his calm demeanor even more.

One side of his cheek was starting to swell up quickly.

“But Dazel, you have to listen to me until the end.”

Even though he looked apologetic, his tone was quite firm, even forceful.

“Really? Before that, you need to get hit one more time!”

Slap-!

I slapped Nellie on the other cheek as well.

He didn’t touch his cheeks with both hands, but his head.

Then, without realizing it, he grabbed his head, saying, ‘My head is spinning.’

For a moment, I worried that I had hit the patient too hard.

But since my heart was already more wounded than his head, I ignored his pained expression.

‘I’m messing around with a taken man!’

Even if I didn’t know that fact, it was no different from committing a sin.

I lost my memories of my ex-husband, but he abandoned me and chose Princess Roxana, didn’t he?

Even if Princess Roxana, with her dazzling beauty, seduced my ex-husband, he should have kept his integrity, shouldn’t he?

Whenever I cursed my ex-husband’s change of heart, the Master of the Magic Tower subtly took his side, saying that he must have had a reason.

Unless divorcing me and deciding to remarry her was something he traded for his life.

However, it is rare for me, who can easily handle even a skilled swordsman, to be threatened with my life.

I guess it’s highly likely that it’s just a simple change of heart.

Anyway, the problem is that I feel as dirty as if I’ve become that Princess Roxana.

That’s why I couldn’t stand it anymore.

“You shameless bastard. You! You’re worse than my ex-husband!”

Nellie seemed very shocked by my words.

He kept gesturing with both hands in the air, telling me to calm down.

I didn’t want to calm down.

In case I might forgive him.

In case I might want to be with him, even though he has a woman he’s going to remarry.

So I’m never going to calm down.

To do that, I shouldn’t look at his face.

If I listened to his words until the end, standing there with such a pitiful expression like a rain-soaked puppy, my heart would definitely waver.

Already, my heart was swaying back and forth in Nellie’s sad blue eyes.

“Don’t follow me. If you follow me, I’ll really humiliate you!”

I warned him, coldly pushing away his hand that grabbed my arm before pulling the doorknob.

“If I had known you had a woman you were going to remarry, I would never have done this with you. No matter how attractive I am, you shouldn’t have done that.”

“Dazel, the truth is I…….”

“You shouldn’t have followed me to the inn. You know? And today too. What is this? A man who’s about to remarry?”

I wanted to beat him up a few more times because I was so upset, but I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him because he was hanging his head so low that the wound on his head was clearly visible.

“You bad guy. You’re worse than the Emperor!!”

“……What?”

He flinched.

“You’re the only person I know, so the Emperor is the same as a stranger, so you’re worse. Much worse!”

“What are you talking about right now……?”

“I’m saying that we won’t be meeting again.”

I opened the door and gave him one last piece of advice.

“Live the rest of your life regretting the mistake you made. Think of it as atonement to the woman you’re going to remarry, cherish her more, love her more.”

Ah, what I just said was meddling.

My nose tingled.

Damn it, I can’t cry.

I clenched my teeth.

Nellie frowned and kept shaking his head, as if to say that wasn’t it.

He still hasn’t come to his senses…….

I wanted to punch him in the stomach, but I held back as a way of reflecting on myself for so easily giving my heart to him.

I couldn’t bring myself to say be happy.

“I’m going to take all the happiness you’re going to have in the future!”

I shouted that and left his room.

“Dazel, please. I haven’t even said the most important thing!”

He grabbed my arm tightly again.

“What could be more important than the fact that you’re remarrying? Do you think I’ll listen to you, understand you? Do you think I’ll accept you!”

“Actually, I’m not sure. But if you know who I am…… if you know my position…… I have a little hope that you might understand…… Ugh!”

I kicked him hard in the shin.

“This is such trash, isn’t it?”

“Ugh, Dazel……!”

“You deceived me, but your position? What’s so great about being in a high position? How high can you be? Are you even the Emperor?”

“!”

“The Emperor too. I heard that bastard is remarrying another woman, like master, like servant? The Imperial Family is doing just fine~!”

He was so surprised that I openly cursed the Emperor that he stopped rubbing his shins with both hands after bending down.

“Just try to follow me. I’ll make you a eunuch like my ex-husband!!”

I said fiercely, kicking towards his vital parts.

“Meet me at the inn where we met tomorrow at 9 a.m. 9 o’clock.”

He said solemnly.

I was panting and walking down the hallway when I cursed at his brazen words that flew at the back of my head.

“Crazy bastard. You’re putting on airs.”

“I’ll be waiting!”

“If you want to get slapped again, go ahead!”

“It doesn’t matter. It’s a story you have to hear, even if I get slapped.”

Seriously…….

Did I not put enough strength in my palm?

I clearly hit him with all my might, so why is he still spouting nonsense?

“I’ll wait in that room until you come! After you’ve heard my story, make me a eunuch, use me for your revenge, do whatever you want.”

What does it mean to use him for my revenge?

I wanted to ask him, but I went down the stairs as I was.

“I, I…… I am the Emperor!”

Nellie’s desperate voice was heard from afar.

Oh, really?

He’s so desperate that he’s risking his life to talk nonsense.

He must have hurt his head really badly.

Ah, you’re the Emperor?

Then are you my ex-husband?

Crazy bastard.

“Oh yeah, I was the Empress!”

Even though I was a surrogate Empress…….

I couldn’t raise my voice like Nellie.

Hmph, keep waiting at the inn all night.

Am I going to meet you again!

***

Sharon sent Moiya and Ao back to Rosie’s residence and brought Nana, who was being raised in the Empress’s Palace, into the palace.

Returning to the laundry room, she waited until the maids around her had disappeared one by one.

Late at night, there were very few maids going in and out of the laundry room.

Sharon took out the key that she had kept well in the laundry room, which would allow her to go straight up to the dressing room.

There were two keys in total.

One was the key needed to go up from the laundry room to the dressing room, and the other was the key to the door leading into the dressing room.

Sharon opened the first door with the key and climbed the narrow spiral staircase.

She wanted to turn on the lights attached to the wall from time to time, but she climbed the stairs in the dark, just in case.

Arriving in front of the door to the dressing room, she took out her pocket watch and checked the time.

At 11 p.m., Nancy, Princess Roxana’s maid, would also be resting.

Besides, Princess Roxana had been suffering from a high fever for two weeks and was unconscious, so there was no way she would come into the dressing room.

‘I will definitely find the Avatar Sword for Her Majesty the Empress. Don’t tremble, I can do it!’

Sharon steeled herself.

She tried to keep the noise to a minimum as she put the key into the door leading into the dressing room and turned it.

When she opened the door halfway, Sharon sensed that something was wrong with the light leaking from inside.

“Ugh!”

The door opened from the inside as well, and a sharp sword blade dug into Sharon’s neck.

“You were…… Empress Zelda’s maid, weren’t you?”

“!”

It was Princess Roxana.

She was holding the Avatar Sword in her hand.