The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 216

216. You in My Memory

2023.01.28.

He rushes over.

I need to say I’m okay…

I had to tell him that I wasn’t dying.

But, no sound comes out.

I felt the heat that Hwanshin had drawn in advance swirling around the Hwanshin Sword.

“You crazy…!”

Prince Tesler glared at me, taking his hand off the hilt of the Hwanshin Sword.

I tried my best to smile.

My lips trembled, but Prince Tesler’s face, full of surprise and fear, was quite a sight to see.

I could clearly see Prince Tesler racking his brain, trying to figure out how to escape from here.

If he were caught like this and his mask was removed, revealing him as Prince Tesler, it would be difficult for him to save his life.

After all, he would be caught trying to assassinate me, the former empress and concubine of the Rafion Empire.

It would be a shock to Linelle, but it seemed like things would be resolved more easily.

“Zelda!”

At Linelle’s shout, Commander Marcrom, who had been waiting outside, rushed in.

The moment the flustered Prince Tesler tried to pull out the Hwanshin Sword stuck in my heart.

Thwack-!

Linelle rushed over and kicked Prince Tesler in the side, sending him flying.

“Ugh!”

Prince Tesler made a sound as if his breath had been cut off and flew away.

Linelle left the masked Prince Tesler, who had fallen to the floor, behind and ran to me, looking at me with trembling eyes.

He looked as if he was in pain, as if he had been stabbed by the sword.

In the meantime, Prince Tesler grabbed his stomach, got up, and hurriedly ran out the terrace door.

“Catch him! Don’t kill him, capture him alive!”

Linelle shouted, pointing at the fleeing Prince Tesler.

“I will end his life with my own hands…!”

His fiercely sharp eyes flashed in the dark room.

“I will hold him, Your Majesty.”

Commander Marcrom, who had been waiting outside, immediately chased after Prince Tesler.

“Zelda, I promise. N, nothing will happen.”

He whispered in a trembling voice and knelt down in front of me.

Then he turned around and shouted.

“Bring the Master of the Magic Tower right now! Immediately!”

“Yes, yes! Your Majesty!”

Stian also rushed out again as soon as he entered the bedroom.

“It’s okay. It’ll be okay, the Master of the Magic Tower will be here soon, so nothing will happen.”

He whispered, carefully touching my face with trembling hands.

My voice still wouldn’t come out.

If I didn’t even pant, I could have calmed him down a little, but the unfamiliar sensation was still swirling in my heart, so I couldn’t help but breathe roughly.

The sound was so similar to the sound of dying that his face, looking down at me, turned white and all his facial muscles stiffened.

I’m okay…

I could only convey it with my eyes.

I barely raised my hand.

Linelle took my hand and brought it to his cheek.

“Hmm… you know… Zelda… keep looking at me.”

A moan filled with anguish leaked out from between his parted lips.

He was already crying with his whole body.

Sharon, who came in late, saw me and collapsed on the spot.

“Y, Y, Your Majesty the Empress!!”

Before Prince Tesler appeared, I belatedly told Sharon the detailed plan.

As I guessed, Sharon strongly opposed it.

But she knew very well that she couldn’t stop me.

Even Sharon, who had heard in advance how the imprinting with the Hwanshin Sword would happen, was shedding tears like that….

I wondered how much worse it would be for this man who knew nothing.

Seeing his face, as if the world had ended, I felt more pain than the pain of the Hwanshin Sword piercing my heart right now.

I just hoped the imprinting would end quickly; there was nothing I could do.

The red gem on the hilt of the Hwanshin Sword was emitting light as it began imprinting the moment it was stabbed into my heart.

Linelle recognized the Hwanshin Sword, and his blank face became even more of a mess.

“Is the assassin… an aide to Roxana?”

Muttering to himself, he narrowed his eyes and clenched his teeth.

But what was important to him now was not the Hwanshin Sword, but my heart.

Looking at his face, suppressing his resentment, I wanted to lose consciousness for a while.

I couldn’t bear to face his despairing eyes.

“J, just hold on a little longer. Don’t lose your mind… okay?”

He crumpled his collar as if squeezing his own heart and said desperately.

His sorrowful face was much more painful than having the Hwanshin Sword stuck in my heart.

Fortunately, the pain in my heart began to change, becoming something like pleasure.

‘Zelda, the imprinting is over,’ Hwanshin [a spirit or deity residing within the sword] inside me said in a happy voice.

Now it was time to pull out the Hwanshin Sword.

As soon as the imprinting was over, my voice began to come out.

“Your Majesty, could you… pull out the sword?”

Each word I uttered, hot breath escaped from my mouth.

“Zelda, wait a moment. If you pull out the sword carelessly, your condition may worsen. It’s better to pull out the sword when the Master of the Magic Tower comes.”

In the case of a normal sword, he would be right.

But what was stuck in my heart now was the Hwanshin Sword.

There was no need to keep the Hwanshin Sword, which had already completed the imprinting, stuck in me like a straw until the Master of the Magic Tower arrived.

“Your Majesty… Y, I’m okay. Nothing will happen.”

“Yes, you will definitely live. So Zelda, keep looking at me.”

He took my hand to his cheek and said in a choked voice.

It looked like he was about to lose his mind….

His face, deliberately holding back tears, looked unrealistically beautiful.

It felt like tears would fall with a touch of his cheek.

He was desperately holding back his tears because he thought it would be harder for me if he showed them.

‘Zelda, there’s no time to wait until the Master of the Magic Tower comes. You have to pull out the Hwanshin Sword and release the dead heat that was inside you.’

Hwanshin spoke to me seriously.

‘What should I do? Linelle is next to me?’

‘Just pull it out yourself.’

Then he’ll be surprised?

Hwanshin, reading my thoughts, added an explanation.

‘I’m telling you, you have to release the old heat that was there. If you block it with the Hwanshin Sword, it won’t be released and will spread back into your body.’

If that happened, I would have to continue to suffer from the fever that I had been suffering from from time to time.

Knowing too well the pain of being thrown into a fire pit, I grabbed the Hwanshin Sword with both hands as soon as I heard those words.

“Ze, Zelda…? What are you doing! If you touch it carelessly, it’s dangerous…!”

“Ugh, cough!”

I quickly pulled the Hwanshin Sword out of me before he could stop me.

As the Hwanshin Sword came out, blood gushed from my heart, and I felt the old heat that had been tormenting me leaving.

The area where I was stabbed by the sword felt as cool as if it was surrounded by mint.

Linelle urgently blocked the blood from my heart with both hands and raised his voice.

“Why… why… why are you doing this dangerous thing!”

“I’ll explain, please move your hand, just move your hand.”

I hit the back of his hand and opened my mouth.

“There’s a reason why I had to do this.”

I was about to calmly continue the explanation, but suddenly a crack appeared on his face.

His eyes shook 불안하게 [uneasily] as if someone had shaken them greatly.

“Li, Linelle…? What’s wrong? Are you uncomfortable somewhere?”

He looked down at the palms of his hands that were blocking my heart, and suddenly his face contorted, and he made a painful expression.

I wondered if he was angry at my actions, but that wasn’t it.

“Ah… my head again… ugh!”

Linelle pressed his temples with his palms and lowered his head.

“Does your head hurt again like last night?!”

He covered his head and was in pain like that last night too.

Could it be that memories of me are coming back to him again today?

***

The moment Linelle saw the sword stuck in Zelda’s heart, he felt like his heart stopped.

No, for a while, his heart might have really stopped.

The situation unfolding before his eyes felt unreal, and he couldn’t come to his senses at all.

“Zelda!!”

Only after shouting her name loudly did the dark object standing in front of her come into view.

The object he thought was darkness quickly turned its body in his direction and moved quickly.

The two eyes pierced through the black mask were visible.

Why is an assassin in her bedroom?

Why did he aim for her heart?

The assassin recognized that he was the emperor and was flustered.

He seemed to be restless for a moment, then tried to pull out the sword stuck in Zelda’s heart.

At that moment, Linelle moved his body, flew towards the assassin, and kicked his foot.

He wanted to twist the assassin’s neck and pull it out right away, but Zelda came first.

He could kill that assassin later as much as he wanted.

‘He won’t die comfortably.’

Linelle resolved inwardly.

The assassin, clutching his side where Linelle had kicked him, struggled to his feet, then threw open the terrace door and jumped.

Commander Marcrom and the knights pursued him.

With Commander Marcrom in pursuit, Linelle didn’t need to intervene directly.

He approached Zelda.

He was unsure what to say, whether to pull out the sword, or leave it be.

He had seen countless such cases on the battlefield, but he couldn’t bear to watch the woman he loved suffer.

“I’m fine. Nothing will happen to me.”

Zelda said that with a long sword stuck right in front of her eyes.

Was it wishful thinking? Or did he just want to believe it?

Despite panting for breath, her face was gradually regaining its color.

“I must be crazy.”

Linelle thought so as he rubbed his eyes hard several times with his hands.

At that moment, Zelda grabbed the sword with both hands and pulled it out.

It happened too quickly for him to stop her.

He tried not to tremble, but seeing the red blood gushing from her heart, he couldn’t close his mouth.

But Zelda spoke again.

“Don’t worry… I’ll feel much better soon.”

Her relaxed demeanor only amplified his anxiety.

“I’ve summoned the Archmage, so he’ll be here soon. So just, just hold on…”

Zelda smiled at Linelle’s earnest plea.

He must never show tears in front of her.

He clenched his teeth and endured.

Whenever tears welled up, he turned his head to quickly wipe them away.

If his voice trembled while speaking, he paused to suppress the overwhelming emotions.

He used both hands to stop the blood flowing from her heart.

But Zelda became serious.

“Your Majesty, the blood needs to flow out. Please remove your hands!”

He looked at her with a puzzled expression.

He wanted to ask what she meant, but he felt he shouldn’t make her talk right now.

He reluctantly began to slowly remove his hands from her heart.

“…Ah!”

Linelle’s face contorted.

His head throbbed as if it would break.

He had felt this headache yesterday as well, but this was beyond comparison.

He didn’t want to show his pain in front of someone with a sword in their heart, so he lowered his head.

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty? What’s wrong?”

Zelda’s worried voice reached him.

Who was worrying about whom right now?

His head felt like it was about to explode, so he couldn’t lift his head and simply raised a hand to indicate he was okay.

After a few seconds, Zelda’s face vaguely floated in Linelle’s mind.

‘I’m, I’m not the real empress.’

He saw her face confessing with tears streaming down.

Seeing her wearing a crown, it seemed to be her 모습 [Korean word meaning ‘appearance’ or ‘figure’] when she was the empress.

Lost memories were flooding back one after another along with the headache.

So, you confessed to me with such a sad face….

With a painful expression not much different from now, she revealed to him that she was a ‘surrogate empress.’

The scene changed.

‘Oh? I waved so kindly, and you’re holding a knife to me at first sight? You really are cold-blooded. Right, Master?’

A wyvern?

A baby wyvern was sitting on Zelda’s shoulder, glaring at him.

It was surprising enough that a wyvern was in the Lapion Imperial Palace, but it was calling Zelda ‘Master?’

In his memory, he was drawing his sword at the baby wyvern.

Then Zelda calmed him down.

The baby wyvern, called Moiya, approached him, twisting its body and shyly asking.

‘Your Majesty! Can I stay for the night, Moiya~ Can I sleep here tonight?’

Before the shock could wear off, his memory naturally jumped to another day.

The memory began with him holding Zelda in what appeared to be a wine cellar.

As he tried to head towards the large wooden door, a will-o’-the-wisp flew towards his face.

‘No! Haa, Aaaagh!’

As the will-o’-the-wisp was about to engulf his face, she blocked it with her hand.

And in the connected scene, she was groaning in bed.

She had been infected by the evil energy in his place.

As the fragmented scenes unfolded, Linelle could naturally understand the situation even without detailed explanations.

Why did she do such a reckless thing!

His heart welled up, and this time, another Zelda from a different day appeared, shyly grabbing his sleeve.

‘You know, Linelle….’

‘Yeah?’

‘If we meet again in the Tevelo Empire, then, then…,’

Before she could finish, her words popped into his head.

Let’s have a child….

‘Let’s have a baby.’

As expected, she said so in his memory.

Her face, smiling beautifully and clinging to his arm.

Her expectant face was so lovely.

He blinked, and he saw his own face shedding tears.

It was the day he sent Zelda off to the Tevelo Empire; he was crying as he watched her leave on horseback.

Why did he lose his memories of her after that?

Was it because the separation was too heartbreaking and shocking?

No, that didn’t make sense.

His head buzzed, and the memory cut off.

He raised his head and looked at her.

You were always beautiful in my memories.

There wasn’t a day in my memories when I didn’t love you.

It felt like quite a bit of time had passed.

“How… how long have I been like this?”

“Hmm, I don’t think it’s been even a minute.”

“Ah, really?”

All those memories had flashed through his mind in less than a minute.

Linelle wore a bewildered expression.

The door burst open, and the Archmage entered.

“Your Majesty!”

“She was stabbed in the heart by the Avatar Sword.”

Linelle said to Velos as he rose from the floor.

“Archmage, I’m fine.”

“Can you save her? You’re not just any mage, you’re the Archmage.”

Linelle spoke as if he was certain that Velos would save her.

Before meeting Stian in the middle, Velos had already heard about the situation from Moiya.

‘Master has made a pact with the Avatar Sword, Moiya~.’

He was rushing to Zelda’s chambers.

Even Velos, who had possessed the Avatar Sword for so long, didn’t know how a pact with the Avatar Sword was made.

‘The Avatar must have told Zelda.’

Relief and emptiness tormented Velos’s heart all the way to her palace.

Harnessing the Avatar Sword was the privilege of the chosen one.

Not knowing that, he had been pathetic to try to make Zelda his partner in order to reclaim the Avatar and the Avatar Sword.

‘I thought both the Avatar and the Avatar Sword were originally mine….’

It was all just a futile delusion.

The Archmage turned his gaze from Zelda to Linelle.

The emperor’s cold face, which seemed like it wouldn’t bleed a drop even if stabbed, was now filled with fear and anxiety.

“Her life is not in danger. She is in a state of… pact with the Avatar Sword.”

“…What? A pact?”

Linelle looked at Zelda and then turned his gaze to Velos.

“Your Majesty may not know because you have lost your memories, but Her Majesty possesses the power of fire. When the Avatar Sword meets the power of fire….”

“Wait, explain later. If it’s a pact with the Avatar Sword, then her life isn’t in danger?”

Linelle interrupted Velos and grabbed his arm tightly.

“Yes, there is no danger to her life at all, and rather, her stamina will become stronger, so you don’t have to worry.”

In Linelle’s memory, the image of the baby wyvern calling her Master flashed through his mind.

He thought that the wyvern, the Avatar Sword, and her fire power were all related.

He had known for a long time that both the wyvern and the Avatar Sword were moved by the power of fire.

He felt like he finally understood why he felt so warm when he was with Zelda.

Not only himself, who was cursed with hypothermia, but also Joseph had the same reaction.

Moreover, Joseph, who was trapped in cursed ice, had said that the cursed ice began to break after Zelda visited.

“Zelda, I’ll be back in a moment. Don’t lose consciousness until I return. That’s an order from the Emperor.”

Linelle bent down and whispered, stroking Zelda’s forehead.

It was too gentle a voice for an order.

She smiled and nodded.

“Stay by her side until I return. I’m asking you.”

“Yes, Your Majesty….”

Zelda’s rough breathing had also calmed down, so he could entrust her to the Archmage.

Linelle gazed at her face for a moment and then dashed out the terrace door and jumped.

Now, it’s time to deal with that assassin.