The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 196

196. Would he have come? He must have come.

November 19, 2022

“Where does this door lead?” Roxana asked, glancing down at the stairs Sharon had come up.

“It’s, it’s a staircase connected to the laundry room…”

“Then, how were you able to come up through this passage?”

“I… I currently work in the laundry room.”

‘Nancy must have sent her there.’ Roxana guessed that while she was sick with a fever, Nancy probably reassigned the servants who had attended the former Empress closely.

Because the work was hard and difficult, servants working in the laundry room were considered to be of lower status among the servants.

It was the same in most noble families, so the Imperial Palace must be similar.

“You must have this key because you were the former Empress’s closest aide, right?” Roxana snatched the triangular keychain with two keys from Sharon’s hand.

“You work in the laundry room, so what’s the reason for secretly entering the Empress’s dressing room at this hour?” Sharon felt a murderous intent in Roxana’s gaze that seemed to see right through her.

‘What excuse should I make? I absolutely can’t talk about the Avatar Sword!’ Sharon’s heartbeat echoed in her head.

“I, I deserve to die, Princess! I urgently needed money, money… so I unknowingly… Heuuk!” The sharp blade of the Avatar Sword pressed down on Sharon’s neck a little more, and blood flowed from her neck.

“You needed quick cash, so you came in to find something to steal?”

“Yes, yes! That’s right.”

“Why do you suddenly need money?”

“Th, that’s…”

“Perhaps, did your master say she was short on money?”

“N, no! Absolutely not!” Sharon’s face turned white when Roxana mentioned Zelda.

“Really? Then, did you come aiming for this Avatar Sword?” Roxana asked, taking the Avatar Sword away from Sharon’s neck.

Even while trembling violently, Sharon stared intently at the Avatar Sword. She immediately shook her head and said no, but Roxana saw Sharon’s pupils dilate when she mentioned ‘Avatar Sword’.

“You’re in contact with your master. Aren’t you?” Roxana’s tone was confident.

“Th, that can’t be! I saw Her Majesty the Empress a month ago on the morning she left for the monastery, and I really haven’t seen her even once since then!” Sharon clasped her hands together and gave Roxana a look that pleaded for her to believe her.

“Her Majesty the Empress? Who’s the Empress? It’s been a while since she was revealed as the proxy Empress and stripped of her position!” Roxana, whose expression had been almost expressionless all along, frowned.

But in fact, Zelda had not yet been formally removed from the position of Empress. Among the officials of the Rafion Empire and the Aclato Principality, she was already as good as removed from the position of Empress.

Moreover, the people of the Rafion Empire were also accepting Zelda’s removal as a proxy Empress as a foregone conclusion. Only the paperwork remained.

The Emperor had not yet signed the document to remove Zelda as Empress.

The Rafion Empire and the Aclato Principality had agreed to officially announce the remarriage at the same time as signing the document to remove the Empress, just before holding the remarriage ceremony.

However, as Roxana began to suffer from a fever, the formal procedure for Zelda’s removal as Empress was naturally postponed. Of course, the Emperor could have removed Zelda as Empress right away, regardless of the remarriage ceremony, but for some reason, he was not in a hurry to remove the Empress.

Roxana asked Sharon again in a subtle voice. “The former Empress… has returned, hasn’t she?”

“Ah, shouldn’t she still be recovering in the Tevelo Empire?” ‘I can’t fall apart here. That’s how I can prevent harm from coming to Her Majesty the Empress,’ Sharon thought. She strengthened her voice as she steeled her heart.

“And since the mistress of the Rafion Imperial Palace is now Princess Roxana, nothing will change even if the former Empress returns.”

“Do you really think so?” Roxana’s eyes softened a little.

“Of course! Everyone with eyes and ears in the Imperial Palace thinks so!”

“You served the former Empress by her side, and indeed, you have an extraordinary talent for flattering your superiors with your glib tongue,” Roxana praised, stroking Sharon’s jawline with her hand. However…

“It’s enough to almost be fooled. Huh?” Roxana’s gentle expression changed in an instant, and she grabbed Sharon’s chin roughly.

“Euheut, Princess… you’re mistaken. I really have no lingering feelings for the former Empress anymore… Heut!”

“That’s for me to judge. Get out of here. Now!” Roxana poked Sharon’s back with the tip of the Avatar Sword, towards the door of the dressing room.

“…” Sharon reluctantly took a slow step. Her back was already soaked with cold sweat.

“Nancy, Nancy!” Roxana called her maid in the waiting room hallway leading from the dressing room to the bedroom.

Nancy, who was outside the bedroom waiting room, burst through the waiting room door in a flurry at the sound of Roxana’s voice for the first time in two weeks.

“Oh my, good heavens… Miss! You’ve woken up?!” Her joy was short-lived as Nancy was horrified to see Roxana pointing at someone with the Avatar Sword.

“Wh, what’s going on?” Nancy recognized Sharon, who had been a maid of Empress Zelda.

In response, Roxana told her the story of how Sharon had come up the stairs connected to the laundry room and secretly sneaked into the dressing room.

“Why would she do such a thing…?” Nancy trailed off, giving Sharon a slightly sympathetic look. Nancy already knew all the evil deeds Roxana had committed, but the fact that she had used Hector to kill Duke Heimich a month ago was quite shocking.

So, without knowing the details, her master would not let Sharon, who had served Empress Zelda, off easily.

“Nancy, there’s a space in the basement of the Empress’s Palace where servants stay when they’re confined, right?”

“Yes, I heard that when I was given a tour of the Empress’s Palace.”

“Take this child there.” Sharon’s face turned pale as she listened to the two women’s conversation.

***

Nancy had the guards from the Aclato Principality, who were guarding outside the bedroom, take Sharon to the basement. The basement space of the Empress’s Palace smelled musty because it had not been used for a long time, but the interior was relatively clean.

Sharon was sitting in the middle of the floor, kneeling. After a while, Roxana appeared. She dismissed all the guards, leaving only Nancy behind. Nancy lowered her gaze and was horrified to discover something in Roxana’s hand.

In her hand was the whip of the dead Duke Heimich.

“Sharon, I’ll give you a chance. Just tell me where your master is now.”

“I don’t know.”

Roxana clicked her tongue and struck the whip on the floor. The already terrible sound of the whip sounded even louder and more terrible because it was underground. Even Nancy, who was standing far behind Sharon, flinched.

“I’ll ask again. Is it true that the former Empress is now in the Imperial City?”

“Princess, please believe me! The last time I saw Her Majesty the Empress was really a month ago at the monastery… Ack!” Sharon pleaded with Roxana. But the direction of the second whip Roxana swung was eventually Sharon’s back.

“Eueueuk!” Sharon writhed in pain that pierced through the dress fabric and seeped into her bones. Nancy watched Sharon and predicted that she would soon reveal where Empress Zelda was.

But Sharon didn’t open her mouth until the morning sun rose.

“You stubborn bitch.” Roxana gnashed her teeth as she looked down at Sharon, who had fainted without opening her mouth in the end.

Nancy, who couldn’t bear to watch, cautiously said to Roxana. “Miss, I heard from the Empress’s Palace maids before that Sharon is close to Madam Rosie, the Second Concubine. Since they interact with each other, if the former Empress has really returned, wouldn’t Madam Rosie know something too?”

“That’s true. She was also close to Empress Zelda, so she must know something.” Roxana nodded, recalling Rosie, who had come to Belos’s room with Zelda when she had teleported to his room during the Continental Hunting Competition.

“Nancy, I have to go to Concubine Rosie’s residence right now. Go and let Sharon’s story slip.”

“In what… way?”

“Pretend to ask Rosie to stop me. Tell her what Sharon’s condition is now too.”

“Are you telling me to go and act?”

“Yes. Can you do it?”

“Of course, I’ll be right back, Miss!” Nancy glanced down at Sharon, who had fallen to the floor, and quickly hurried towards the West Palace.

***

“When will the Prince return to his home country?” Rosie asked, pouring tea directly for Prince Norton, who had visited her.

“Do you want me to disappear quickly?”

“It’s not that… It’s just that you don’t have any reason to stay here. Just like Emperor Adrian revealed, you’re not here because you want to attend the remarriage ceremony, are you?”

“That’s right. But my home country, the Partsha Empire, has my brother, so it doesn’t matter at all if I’m not there,” Prince Norton added casually with a smile. “And there’s someone who makes it hard for me to leave.”

The Prince did not specify who it was because of. Then, Rosie’s cheeks suddenly started to turn red.

“Could it be because of our orange-haired head [referring to Roxana]?” Moya, who had slept in Rosie’s residence last night, stretched and came out from under the bed, sauntering.

“Moya, it’s rude to ask so bluntly,” Rosie spoke as if scolding Moya, but her eyes were quite affectionate. She was also curious about Prince Norton’s answer, and Moya scratched her itch.

“It’s because of Rams.”

“?”

Prince Norton kindly replied to Moya.

“Rosie, did you hear that? It’s not because of you. Let out a cool curse!” Moya egged her on, pointing out Rosie’s misunderstanding.

“…What are you talking about to someone who doesn’t even know what curses exist in the world?” Rosie’s cheeks turned even redder than before, in a different sense.

“Miyaaong? (Rosie is lying without blinking an eye?)”

“I know, right. Puhahaha! It’s the funniest thing since I hatched from the egg, Moya~.” Aoshi and Moya hugged each other and burst into laughter.

Rosie glared at them with eyes full of curses. In response, Moya and Aoshi, who were intimidated, hugged each other and crawled back under the bed.

‘Yeah, it must be because of Rams, there’s no way he’s staying here because of me, right? Aah, how embarrassing.’ Rosie, who had arbitrarily misunderstood Prince Norton’s words, was mortified. She cooled her face by reciting the curses she knew one by one in her mind.

Prince Norton smiled and looked at her. Rosie’s face flushed again, and she quickly changed the subject.

“Rams has grown a lot, right? I heard that Secretary Raphael’s sister loves him more than her own child?”

“Yes, it’s really something to be grateful for.”

“I want to go see Rams too, but the atmosphere in the Imperial Palace is becoming a mess because of someone…” Rosie muttered in a frustrated tone, thinking of Roxana, who was occupying the Empress’s Palace.

Just then, with a knock, her maid Misha rushed in.

“Madam! Something terrible has happened!”

“What’s wrong?” Rosie and Prince Norton exchanged glances at Misha’s unusual voice and stood up from the table chairs at the same time.

***

Linelle, who had tossed and turned all night, packed not formal attire but casual clothes. Then, he left the bedroom and headed for the stairs that the servants mainly used. This was to go outside through the back gate of the main palace without being noticed by other courtiers as much as possible.

“Raphael.”

He asked Stian, who was following him.

“The secretary said he had urgent business and would be away from the Imperial Palace in the morning.”

“What business?”

“He didn’t reveal it, but he said it was important. He will be back before around 12 o’clock.”

Stian said, diligently chasing after him.

“That’s good.” It was much more comfortable to move without the nagging Raphael.

His morning today was also going to be very important and busy. The place he was heading to was the wall with the dog hole [a small, hidden opening]. No matter how much he thought about it, the best way to get out of the palace without being seen was the dog hole.

There was no time to delay if he wanted to go meet her by 9 a.m.

“Your Majesty, what business are you going out for?” Stian, who had arrived in front of the wall near the back gate, looked down at the dog hole with a complicated heart and asked the Emperor.

“It’s none of your business. Know that I won’t be able to attend to morning duties today either,” he said, pushing aside the thicket of branches blocking the dog hole.

“Yes, but you should at least take a few escort knights with you…”

“No one should know that I’m leaving the Imperial Palace.” This was because Roxana’s people might follow him.

Before bending down, he discovered a rolled-up red carpet in the grass in front of him. Dazel’s face came to mind, and he became impatient. Linelle bent down and crawled out of the dog hole.

Stian also lowered his body and stuck his face out of the dog hole and waved to the Emperor, who had already escaped outside the wall. “Your Majesty… Anyway, please be careful!”

“Okay, make sure to block the dog hole again so it can’t be seen,” he replied to Stian and started running towards the inn, which was the meeting place.

***

“Annex Building, 3rd floor, the very last room on the right.” Linelle, who had pulled the hood of his robe down low, approached the innkeeper as soon as he entered the inn and said secretly.

“Sir, that room doesn’t have a window. There are wider rooms with better views…”

“No. Give me the room I said, keep the change.”

“Oh my, thank you. Then have a good time!” The innkeeper handed him the room key politely and smiled brightly. Linelle, who was in a hurry, took the key and turned towards the annex building stairs, but bumped into someone.

“Huh? Huh?!” It was Raphael. The two men, who had met in an unexpected place, stared at each other strangely. Raphael couldn’t believe that he had met the Emperor at the inn, so he rubbed his eyes with both hands. Moreover, wasn’t this the place where Empress Zelda and her party were staying!

“Your Majesty… Ah, no, what are you doing here?” When Linelle gestured towards the innkeeper, Raphael changed his words and asked.

“You said you had important business in the morning, was it business at the inn?”

“…You know my nickname, don’t you? The Imperial City’s open pants [a flirtatious person]! Ah, hahaha.” Raphael laughed heartily, but his complexion was dark for someone who had come to live up to his nickname.

“Which room would you like, sir?”

“Ah, I’m just here to find someone who’s already staying in this main building, so don’t worry about it.” Raphael waved his hand at the innkeeper and followed Linelle, who was climbing the annex building stairs alone.

“Why are you following me? You said the person you’re meeting is staying in the main building.”

“Still, I need to know which room Your Majesty is in.”

“Okay, just don’t say we should return to the palace together later.” Linelle glanced back at Raphael, who was following him, and frowned.

“Will it take long?”

“…Whatever it is, probably longer than you?”

“You’re here to meet the woman you met at that tavern, aren’t you? Right?”

“…”

“You ordered the 4th floor end room of the courtier’s quarters to be cleaned up, that’s all because you were going to meet that woman!”

“!” Linelle, who had arrived in front of the room he had promised her, stared intently at Raphael, whose expression was somewhat agitated.

“Let’s say it was possible to guess because we met at the inn today, how did you know about yesterday’s events?” Linelle admitted it readily and asked.

“I heard it from the servant who laid the red carpet in front of the dog hole.”

“That bastard is no good, I trusted him and left it to him because he was Stian’s direct junior.”

“So that bastard must have told Stian the truth.”

“Anyway, you take care of your business. I’ll take care of my business and go back.”

“Uh…” Linelle tapped Raphael’s lower abdomen with his hand and opened the door with the key he had received from the innkeeper.

“Then I’ll come to pick you up later.”

“Just try it. I’ll make you live as the Imperial City’s closed pants [celibate] for the rest of your life.”

“Oh, how can you say such terrible things!”

“So go back to the palace first. If you really want to go in together, wait in front of the dog hole.” Linelle gave a stern warning and closed the door.

Raphael scratched the back of his head and made a troubled expression before turning back to the main building to meet Commander Markrom.

***

I had been lying awake since 6 a.m. I had no appetite, so I skipped breakfast.

“Would he have come? He must have come.” The time was already past 8:30 a.m. At some point, I started pacing around the room.

“There might already be someone else in that room? Wait, then what happens? Should I wait in the next room?” No, that’s not it. Nellie has a lot of money, so she’ll give the innkeeper extra money and ask him to empty that room. The owner is also good at calculating, so if you give him a few more coins, he’ll easily change the room.

“…Geez, I’m not even going to meet him, so why am I worrying about that?” I felt really bad and sat down in front of the dressing table.

“I cried a bit last night, so my face is a mess.” I combed my hair and started putting on makeup. It’s definitely not because I have plans to go out today. Even though I’m hiding my identity now, I was still the Empress of this country, so I have to keep my appearance neat. Isn’t that right?

“Come to think of it, my clothes seem a bit shabby too…” After finishing my makeup simply, I opened the closet and took out the most colorful dress. Even so, it’s a simple and plain outfit that doesn’t stand out to others.

“It’s a little better now.” It wasn’t exactly the look I liked, but it was quite neat and looked like a human being compared to before.

“Ah, why do I suddenly feel so stuffy? I wish I could go out and walk a bit…” I started wandering around the not-so-wide room again, mindlessly. Then, the moment my gaze reached one place, I stopped in my tracks. I had been consciously trying not to look at the wall clock since earlier.

“…9:30 a.m.?!” Already? When did the time pass like this? In the end, I opened the door to go meet him.

Let’s go and slap him one more time. Yeah, that’s why I’m going!

As I muttered to myself, an uneasy feeling suddenly struck. …It’s only been 30 minutes, he wouldn’t have already left, would he?

“He said he’d wait all night, so he’ll be there, I guess.” I said it casually, but my footsteps down the hallway were getting faster and faster.