The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 201

201. Tonight’s Plan

2022.12.07.

The Emperor’s words left everyone in the assembly hall stunned.

The most stunned of all was, of course, me.

“I haven’t finished speaking. Everyone, please take your seats.”

The ministers sat back down to hear the Emperor’s full statement.

“There was only testimony that the former Empress attempted to embezzle imperial funds, but upon investigation, it was never carried out. Also, she allegedly tried to extort a large sum from Prince Tessler by threatening to reveal that she was a ‘proxy Empress’ [an Empress acting on behalf of someone else, perhaps due to political reasons or the Emperor’s absence], but that is merely Prince Tessler’s one-sided claim, with no concrete evidence.”

The ministers began to murmur at the Emperor’s words.

Even without evidence, their eyes suggested that merely harboring such impure thoughts warranted the death penalty.

“Furthermore, while it is true that she trespassed into the Empress’s Palace, she did so at the risk of her own life upon hearing that her attendant was suffering. In the process, she was whipped by Princess Roxana.”

At his subsequent words, the ministers collectively cleared their throats, pretending not to hear.

“As Prince Norton stated, even if Empress Zelda was a proxy Empress, she is still the official Empress on paper. If the fact that ‘a princess of the Aclato Duchy whipped the Empress of the Rafion Empire’ becomes known to other countries, wouldn’t that be more damaging to the dignity of the Rafion Imperial Family?”

The ministers’ gazes shifted from me to Princess Roxana.

I thought he was covering up Sharon’s crime and hiding the fact that Roxana wielded the whip…?

Roxana’s haughty expression was cracking.

She seemed to feel betrayed by the Emperor.

“That! It was a whip aimed at the attendant. Empress Zelda suddenly intervened and got whipped instead!”

Roxana defended herself, her face flushed.

I waited for Roxana to finish speaking and quietly removed the robe I had draped over my shoulders.

The surprised voices of the ministers and nobles came from behind me.

The key ministers in the front row tilted their heads, wondering what was happening.

I slowly turned around to show them my back as well.

Gasps of surprise escaped from the ministers here and there.

“Does the Princess also have such… traces of threats from the former Empress?”

At the High Priest’s question, Roxana stammered in embarrassment.

“W-Well, not exactly, but I felt my life was threatened, so I was greatly… mentally.”

The ministers’ murmuring grew louder and louder.

“This is what a threat to life looks like.”

I said, looking directly at Roxana.

It was the first time I had spoken since entering the assembly hall.

“It was a whip wielded in self-defense!”

Roxana shouted, her eyes wide.

“Does the Princess think those wounds could be caused by a single whip?”

Roxana couldn’t respond and closed her mouth at the Emperor’s cold tone.

Her eyes darted back and forth.

Roxana was afraid of the ministers’ agitation.

“Your Majesty, even though she is a princess about to remarry, isn’t she still the Empress of the Rafion Empire on paper? How could you whip such a person? She is the Empress of the most powerful empire in the Northern Continent. It is an act that the princess of the Aclato Duchy should not have committed.”

Then, Prince Norton rose from his seat and raised an objection.

“It is something that our Southern Continent’s imperial family would never tolerate.”

Some of the ministers were slightly agitated by Prince Norton’s words.

Because they were such proud continentals, many ministers subtly looked down on the island nation of the Aclato Duchy.

Some of the ministers nodded, gesturing their agreement with Prince Norton’s words.

“I think so too. Furthermore, unless we sever all exchange and trade with the Shatoanil Kingdom, rather than imposing the death penalty on the former Empress, my conclusion is that we should use this incident as a means to further pressure the Shatoanil Kingdom politically and economically.”

The Emperor gave the ministers some time to talk to each other.

Time passed, but none of the ministers objected to his words.

“Your Majesty, even so, this deviates from the agreed-upon negotiation from the start.”

Roxana, except for her.

“What do you mean?”

“Surely, in the monastery, you promised to depose the Empress, who was revealed to be a proxy Empress, in front of the continental dignitaries in exchange for guaranteeing their safety, and at the same time, you promised to remarry me!”

Roxana poured out her words to the Emperor as if appealing to him, then turned her head to glare at me.

“When did I say I would cancel the remarriage ceremony?”

He looked down at Roxana and said quietly, as if trying to soothe her.

“Yes? Then…”

Roxana’s tone softened again.

“The remarriage ceremony will proceed as planned.”

He declared to Roxana and the ministers.

So that’s what he meant.

A way to save me.

To depose me and demote me to a concubine.

Instead, to appease the ministers and the Aclato Duchy, the remarriage with Roxana will proceed as is.

I felt grateful, but one side of my chest ached.

I wasn’t angry, but somehow, heat was rising within me.

The relief of having survived was fading.

As the tension eased, the pain in my back, which I hadn’t even noticed, began to come alive.

But even greater pain was his gloomy gaze towards me.

“You will attend the ceremony with the prospective concubines from the Aclato Duchy after the remarriage ceremony.”

What, he’s taking in more concubines?

I tilted my head and looked at him, but he got up from his seat and left the assembly hall.

As Roxana immediately followed him out, the assembly hall became chaotic again.

I blankly stared at the seat he had been sitting in.

“The order is to escort you back to the main palace.”

Then, Raphael, accompanied by the escort knights, carefully approached me from behind and said.

***

I was guided to the back gate of the temple by the secretary.

There, my companions, Prince Norton, and Grand Duke Martins were already waiting for me in front of the carriage.

“It’s been a while, Your Majesty the Empress. I am sorry that things have become so twisted.”

Grand Duke Martins bowed his head and said.

“I’ll talk to the Grand Duke separately later.”

“Yes, I will visit you soon.”

Following Grand Duke Martins, Raphael spoke to me.

“Please understand His Majesty. He has made the best choice for now.”

“I know. But, do I have to keep living in the main palace?”

“Yes, Your Majesty the Empress… no, Zelda.”

The title ‘Madam’ felt more awkward than I expected.

But it’s not like the title of Empress is more comfortable either.

“It seems you will have to until the remarriage ceremony.”

“Why?”

“That’s… please ask His Majesty directly. I am only following orders.”

“Alright, I will.”

I got into the carriage with my companions.

“I will visit you at the main palace soon.”

Prince Norton said to me before closing the carriage door.

“Okay. Thank you for your concern, Your Highness.”

The carriage headed back to the main palace.

***

I survived.

And I was back in the Imperial Palace.

It was a good opportunity to retrieve the Sword of Incarnation and avenge Bonis.

If I only thought about that, it was actually a good thing.

The Empress’s position was never mine in the first place anyway.

The problem was that Roxana was going to become the new Empress of the Rafion Empire.

Dealing with her after she gained power would not be easy.

As soon as I arrived at the main palace, the knights separated me and my companions, on whose orders I didn’t know.

I was guided to a separate room where I would stay until the Emperor’s remarriage ceremony.

Why am I coming up here again?

The knight who guided me stopped in front of the room where I had been taken for treatment earlier.

“You want me to stay here?”

“Yes.”

The knight answered me briefly and opened the door.

This place is on the same floor as the Emperor’s bedroom floor.

It was at the opposite end from his bedroom, but it wouldn’t be a pleasant thing for Roxana to know that I was staying on the same floor.

I was about to enter the room when I stopped for a moment and looked down the long corridor.

Fragmentary memories suddenly popped into my head like broken pieces of glass.

“Have I ever run here before?”

No way.

Unless I was crazy, would I have run down the main palace bedroom floor corridor?

Seeing that my memories were popping up sporadically, it seemed to be a memory with the Emperor.

I shook my head and turned back around.

The court physician was waiting inside the room.

“His Majesty has given orders.”

The court physician took care of my back instead of the Master of the Magic Tower.

According to the court physician, he had received the treatment medicine from the Master of the Magic Tower in advance.

After the treatment was over and the court physician left, I felt like all the tension was released at once.

I leaned against the door, feeling all the energy drain from my body with the relief of having survived.

I leaned against the door and collapsed to the floor.

I felt a cold draft coming from somewhere.

It wasn’t cold, but I curled up, raising my legs and hugging them with both arms.

My heart was in the middle of winter.

How long had I been like this in front of the door?

Knock knock knock-.

I heard a knock.

I had been waiting to hear this sound.

I knew he would come.

Even knowing, I was afraid he wouldn’t come.

I jumped up from my seat and opened the door.

He looked a little surprised, as if he didn’t expect the door to open so quickly.

“May I come in?”

I stepped aside, and he came inside.

“The treatment.”

“The court physician came a little while ago… sir.”

I unconsciously spoke informally to him and then belatedly added the ‘sir’ honorific.

He’s not Neli, get a grip.

“The Master of the Magic Tower said the wound is deep, but fortunately, it won’t leave a scar.”

“There’s no one to see even if I have a scar… sir, what.”

I muttered to myself and lowered my gaze to the marble floor.

“Why is there no one to see?”

He said, lifting my chin with his hand.

His eyes were deep.

I avoided his gaze and moved my chin to the side.

Then, he lowered his hand, which was still in the air, with a bitter expression.

“You must have a lot to say to me?”

He asked, going to the sofa and sitting down.

“It’s a relief that I avoided the death penalty. Thank you for saving me, Your Majesty.”

“…It’s awkward to hear honorifics from your mouth.”

“It can’t be harder for the listening ear than the speaking mouth.”

For some reason, my tone of voice in answering him was not very polite.

“Just call me Linell. Raphael told me that you called me by my name in unofficial settings…”

“Did I?”

“So he says.”

“Now that I’ve become a concubine, I’ll call you by your name only when we’re alone.”

Neli is easy, but it feels like there’s a wall when I try to call him Linell.

“Are you angry?”

His voice was low.

Me?

Why would I be angry when I’ve been spared my life?

“No? Linell?”

Unlike my words, my voice, which answered no, sounded somehow upset even to my own ears.

“That was the only way to save you. No matter how much I thought about it, the only way to save you and keep you by my side was to make you a concubine.”

“I know.”

That was true.

“I wish you would just treat me comfortably like before when we’re alone?”

“It’s not right to speak informally when I know you’re His Majesty the Emperor.”

“I didn’t mean to speak informally.”

“…The meaning of ‘comfortably’ to me is to speak informally. I’m sorry.”

This time, I bowed my head deeply and apologized politely, and he chuckled briefly.

In an instant, the words I had been thinking inside came out.

“Are you really going to have the remarriage ceremony?”

Ah, I didn’t want to ask this question…

So that’s it, the reason for my curt tone was his remarriage ceremony.

“It will happen. Otherwise, it will be difficult for you.”

I nodded obediently.

“So this is what it means to say that many things will change.”

“Only the position has changed. Nothing has changed.”

“Yes? What does that mean?”

“Come and find out if you’re curious. We still have a lot to say to each other. You know where my bedroom is, right?”

Linell got up from the sofa.

“It doesn’t matter where the place is, what time it is, or anything like that.”

He said, opening the door.

“Come and find me if you need me. Anytime.”

Actually, right now…

Right now, I need you!

I only shouted inwardly.

In the end, I couldn’t catch him.

***

After that day, I didn’t see Linell.

We didn’t look for each other.

The next time I saw him was three days later, at the remarriage ceremony.

What kind of remarriage ceremony is this fast!

If I had known that the remarriage ceremony would proceed so quickly, I might have gone to see him before that.

I was notified of the remarriage ceremony date the day before.

Not only the existing concubines but also me and the prospective concubines from the Aclato Duchy were obligated to attend the remarriage ceremony.

This was probably Roxana’s intention, not the Emperor’s.

Inside the Grand Temple where the remarriage ceremony was being held, I greeted the concubines whom I had met again after a month, except for Rosie.

The prospective concubines from the Aclato Duchy knew who I was, but they only glanced at me from afar and didn’t come to greet me separately.

Rosie and Melanie grumbled that the prospective concubines were rude, but I didn’t care at all.

The remarriage ceremony proceeded quickly, probably because all the preparations had already been made.

My nerves were all focused on Linell’s expression, so my eyes were sore.

He didn’t frown, but his blue eyes were darkly sunken.

His complexion was extremely dark at the moment of making the marriage vows in front of the High Priest.

On the other hand, Roxana’s face was sparkling.

Her flowing red hair and white wedding dress, which looked like blood was flowing, suited her better than I thought.

The only thing that didn’t suit Roxana was the man next to her, Linell.

I could feel from afar how high-spirited Roxana was now.

She hooked her arm around Linell’s and looked around as she walked out of the Grand Temple.

Then, when she made eye contact with me, she subtly raised one corner of her mouth.

She was looking for me.

She must have wanted to see my expression as I watched her and Linell’s remarriage ceremony.

I deliberately smiled brightly and clapped enthusiastically.

I was probably the most enthusiastic in applauding among the concubines.

Linell, who was leaving with Roxana, glanced at me.

His face, which had been maintaining a blank expression, was crumpling.

***

The two left the Grand Temple building where the remarriage ceremony was held and headed straight to the Empress’s Palace together in a carriage.

They will have dinner together, pour a glass of wine, and then spend their first night.

Ah, the first night…

Heat rose from within.

“Your Majesty the Empress, let’s go to my residence. I have tea that I would like to treat you to.”

Rosie said, still calling me Empress.

She was trying to comfort my complicated feelings.

“Yes, let’s hear about how you’ve been doing. And your future plans.”

Melanie put her arm around mine and spoke in a combative tone.

“Future plans?”

“You have to have a plan! Are you just going to sit back and watch this situation unfold?”

The situation that Melanie was talking about seemed to refer to the welcoming of the new Empress.

No…

My heart began to realize at Melanie’s words.

I remembered Linell’s words from a few days ago as I listened to the sound of the carriage fading away.

‘Come and find me if you need me. Anytime, anywhere.’

The remarriage ceremony could not be stopped, but the first night might be stopped.

“A plan, I have…”.

And that’s tonight.