The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 233

233. A Soundproof Room

“What brings you here? Ah, you must have heard the rumors too. Are you here to see Pesilini?”

Roxana glanced at Pesilini’s palace and pouted.

“No, Your Majesty. I was merely taking a stroll.”

“Indeed, you must be the most troubled of all.”

Roxana ignored my words and jumped to her own conclusions.

“Troubled? This is a joyous occasion for the Imperial Family.”

“Hmph, all show and no substance.”

Roxana clicked her tongue and muttered quietly.

“No matter how much His Majesty favors you now, how long do you think it will last?”

Roxana asked, sneering at me.

“Love fades with time, but power is different. Hmm… if a seed is sown where there is no path and a flower blooms, what should one do?”

She looked down at a wildflower blooming between us and asked.

“A new flower path will be created.”

I replied, also looking down at the wildflower.

Roxana shook her head in disbelief and laughed.

“No, that’s not right. If a flower blooms where there is no path, it must be trampled.”

“?”

“It only hinders progress.”

Roxana crushed the wildflower without hesitation.

It was a statement aimed at Pesilini.

“Then, I’ll see you at Prince Tesler’s trial.”

Roxana stomped on the wildflower once more and turned away.

“…Indeed.”

In that moment, I realized.

To Roxana, I was also like a wildflower blooming in the middle of the road, hindering her path.

***

The next day, in the afternoon.

The day before Prince Tesler’s trial was Rosie’s birthday.

Melanie and I were invited to Rosie’s palace for lunch.

“Thank you all for coming. I’m especially happy that Her Majesty the Empress has taken the time to be here.”

“What are you saying? Of course, I had to come.”

I took Rosie’s hand and smiled warmly.

“If it weren’t for the trial tomorrow, it would have been nice to have a more lavish birthday party.”

Melanie said with a hint of regret.

“I know. I’ll make sure to take care of it for your birthday next year.”

“Your Majesty, Rosie’s birthday is one thing, but my birthday hasn’t passed yet. Please make sure to take care of my birthday. Don’t forget that I’m going to be a witness at the trial, right?”

Melanie widened her eyes and gave me a cute threat.

Prince Tesler would surely claim at the trial that I possessed the Avatar Sword. With the prince’s words, my residence would be sealed off.

But the Avatar Sword was engraved within me, so they wouldn’t be able to find it.

Instead, they would find a sword similar to the Avatar Sword.

The people who could testify that the sword had been in my residence since before this incident were Melanie, who had obtained the ruby gemstone used in the sword’s hilt, and Count Ethan, the head of the smithy who had watched me and Melanie personally embed the rubies into the sword.

I had already given Melanie a heads-up, so she was already prepared.

I didn’t expect her to ask for a grand party on her birthday in exchange for testifying at the trial.

“Alright, I’ll ask His Majesty to throw a particularly grand party for you.”

I readily accepted Melanie’s request.

As the two of us laughed and chatted, a figure who Rosie would be delighted to see appeared in the dining room.

“Happy birthday, Rosie.”

It was Prince Norton.

Prince Norton appeared with his hands full of bundles of old books, as if he had picked them up from somewhere.

“Oh my, Rosie. Did you invite the prince to dinner too? You sly thing.”

Melanie winked and whispered teasingly.

“Oh, no. I never even mentioned my birthday…”

“Didn’t that darkie go and tell him?”

When Melanie said ‘darkie,’ she was referring to Moiya [a term sometimes used, though often considered offensive, to describe someone with dark skin].

I had introduced Moiya to Melanie on the day I received the ruby gemstone from her.

Moiya seemed to like Melanie.

Wanting to become friends with Melanie, he grabbed the ruby gemstone, held it next to his face, and looked at her, saying, ‘Moiya’s the same color as my eyes~?’ with a bit of aegyo [a Korean expression of cuteness intended to be endearing].

But Melanie, unfamiliar with the wyvern hatchling, screamed, ‘What is this dark thing?!’ and fainted in shock, causing Moiya to wipe away tears in hurt.

“Moiya isn’t the type to do something so thoughtful.”

Rosie retorted to Melanie.

“Unless our Ao-ssi can talk like Moiya.”

Rosie glanced at Ao-ssi, who was lying down by the sunny dining room window.

But Melanie’s guess was correct.

“Moiya told me. That today is the orange head’s, no, Rosie’s birthday.”

Prince Norton greeted me and Melanie first, then thrust the bundle of old books into Rosie’s arms as if he were giving her a bouquet of flowers.

Rosie scanned the old, worn-out books with a blissful expression, even sniffing them as if she were smelling the fragrance of flowers.

“This is the most wonderful gift I’ve ever received in my life!”

I doubted my ears at Rosie’s heartfelt voice, and Melanie even dug at her ear with her finger.

“I’m glad you like it.”

Prince Norton smiled very contentedly.

Rosie hadn’t been this happy even when I gave her the latest trendy dress. It was the same when she received the sapphire jewelry set that Melanie had gifted her.

Rosie’s face looked incredibly radiant as she received the old books.

“Although I wasn’t formally invited, may I sit down?”

Prince Norton asked Rosie, who hesitated while looking at me.

“Of course, please sit down.”

I quickly offered Prince Norton a seat.

“Of course. The prince must be tired from carrying firewood, so he should have a meal before he leaves.”

Melanie said mockingly.

Rosie glared at Melanie and whispered.

“Firewood! These are precious books that are at least two hundred years old.”

“If they weren’t so boring, would they still be around after two hundred years?”

Melanie scoffed and sneered.

Rosie was embarrassed by her words and apologized to Prince Norton.

“Oh, by the way, Melanie. Have you met Hector since the day we had dinner at the Empress’s Palace?”

This time, Rosie asked Melanie teasingly with a triumphant smile.

“…No.”

Melanie, who had been twirling and smiling as she cut her steak, suddenly lowered her tone when she heard Hector’s name.

“Hector… Roxana’s loyal dog? Does he have some kind of connection with Melanie?”

Prince Norton asked Rosie with a curious voice.

“There was a big accident between the two of them.”

At Rosie’s words, Melanie pursed her lips and became quiet.

***

The day of Prince Tesler’s first trial dawned.

The weather was very clear.

Linell, along with the key officials, headed to the conference room in the Great Temple, where the trial was to be held, for a meeting related to the trial.

Two hours later, I also took a carriage to the Great Temple with Sharon.

“The nobles are certainly very interested in this trial.”

Sharon leaned out of the carriage window and looked around at the carriages of each family lined up in front of the Great Temple.

Even though we arrived at the Great Temple on time, the front of the building was already occupied by carriages that had arrived early.

Inevitably, my carriage was parked behind the Great Temple building.

“Oh? Your Majesty, look under that willow tree. Isn’t that Melanie?”

As I got out of the carriage and was about to return to the main gate of the Great Temple, Sharon covered her mouth with her hand and asked.

I turned my head, following Sharon’s gaze.

“…What is she doing there with Roxana’s watchdog?”

As Sharon said, Melanie and Hector were standing together under the willow tree.

For some reason, Melanie was kicking up dust with her toes and swaying her body.

“A human willow tree.”

Sharon and I muffled our footsteps and moved closer to where the two were standing, hiding behind what appeared to be Catherine’s carriage.

“I heard you’ve been living on Tanya Island and pirating all along?”

Melanie asked Hector in a provocative tone.

“That’s right. But what does that have to do with you?”

Hector’s voice didn’t contain any emotion, but Melanie’s provocation continued.

“You’re speaking so confidently in front of the Great Temple? Coveting what belongs to others is a sin. You’ll fall into hell later.”

“Is that why you had your servant summon me here?”

Again, Hector replied bluntly.

“Did Melanie summon him?”

Sharon whispered to me with a puzzled tone.

“I guess…?”

I was surprised by that point as well.

“Is she trying to argue about the accident that day?”

Sharon tapped her lips with her finger and asked.

Yes, that unfortunate accident where those two people’s lips collided.

I nodded.

Aside from that accident, I couldn’t think of any reason why Melanie would call Hector out separately.

“Here, this.”

Melanie suddenly held out her hand, which had been behind her back, to Hector.

“What… is this?”

“Pomegranate. You don’t have these on Tanya Island, do you?”

Hector stared intently at Melanie and narrowed his eyes.

“I heard it’s especially good for men.”

Melanie said with a smug expression.

“?”

Hector suddenly coughed.

It almost sounded like laughter mixed in with the cough.

‘Ugh, Melanie. I don’t know why you’re doing this, but please shut your mouth!’

Since when has pomegranate, which is good for women, been especially good for men?

Pomegranate may be a good fruit for men too, but I wanted to gag her and drag her away right now.

“…So?”

Hector asked Melanie, covering his mouth with his clenched fist.

“It’s a precious fruit even for the nobles of the continent. Well, what would a rustic from a trashy place full of barbarians know?”

I was on pins and needles, worried that Hector would grab Melanie’s seductive mouth and twist it.

“What… exactly… are you trying… to say?”

Hector, having reached the limit of his patience, asked, cutting off his words.

“Take it.”

“…Excuse me?”

“I’m throwing it away. I have so many pomegranates in my residence that I was going to throw them away, but I happened to see a trash can.”

Melanie openly treated Hector like a trash can.

“It doesn’t seem rotten yet, so eat it if you want.”

After speaking, Melanie haughtily raised her chin, nudged Hector’s arm, and walked past him.

Hector, who had inadvertently received the red pomegranate, could only stare at Melanie’s back.

“He seems very angry. What if he throws the pomegranate at Melanie’s head?”

Sharon said with a worried voice.

I thought the same. So, I kept a close eye on Hector’s hand, but fortunately, that didn’t happen.

Only after Melanie had completely disappeared was I able to laugh.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Because of Melanie. 90% of the pomegranates eaten on the continent are imported from Tanya Island. And that’s all owned by Hector, that man.”

If you’re a noble, you should know this fact, but is Melanie the only one who hasn’t heard of it?

No, even if she had heard it, she would have forgotten.

“Ah… Did she boast about pomegranates to him without knowing that? Ugh, I feel like my hands and feet are disappearing because of Melanie!”

“Anyway, Hector didn’t strangle Melanie, so let’s go in now.”

“Was Melanie really angry at him earlier… right?”

“Well… that’s how her tone was, but didn’t it seem a bit ambiguous?”

In the meantime, Hector split the pomegranate in half and fed it to the horse of the carriage that Melanie had ridden in.

“Look, pomegranates are so common on Tanya Island that they feed them to horses like that.”

“Oh my, is that really true? To feed such a precious thing to a horse without hesitation! Shouldn’t we tell Melanie?”

“No, she said she was throwing it away to him herself.”

I replied, stealing glances at Hector’s profile as he fed the pomegranate to the horse and laughed silently.

But why is he laughing like that? It doesn’t suit him.

***

As I entered the Great Temple and walked towards the hall where the trial was being held, I met Stian.

He seemed to be waiting for me on one side of the lobby.

“His Majesty wishes to see you for a moment. I will escort you to the waiting room.”

I followed Stian’s guidance and entered the waiting room where he was.

“You were looking for me.”

Linell was standing by the window, looking out, and turned to look at me.

His gaze, as if examining my mood, seemed to calm my slightly nervous heart.

Even though I had seen him in the bedroom just a few hours ago, I was as happy as if I hadn’t seen him in days.

“I thought I should see you before the trial.”

He strode towards me and embraced my anxiety with both arms.

It felt like everything inside me was calming down, and even the heat that was rising in my body was disappearing.

“You’re nervous. I knew it.”

Linell said, gazing intently into my eyes.

“Does it show?”

“It might be better to be nervous than to have a fever, but it’s better to prevent it in advance, just in case.”

At his words, I smiled, raised my head, and closed my eyes.

I felt like I knew what kind of expression he had without even looking at it.

Linell’s lips, which gently touched mine, were becoming deeper and more intense.

As my back touched the wall, his body began to press against me.

He was driving me against the wall as if he were going to knock it down, but then he remembered the baby in my belly and pulled back a little, taking the strength out of his lower body.

But our lips were still pressed together without any gaps, as if they would never part.

Because kissing was the only way he could pour out his love to his heart’s content in this place….

“Your Majesty, the trial is about to…!”

Linell and I opened our eyes at the same time at someone’s voice.

He stared at the door and opened his mouth in embarrassment.

“Prince Norton?”

What? Not Stian or Raphael, but Prince Norton?

Surprised, I turned around and saw that it wasn’t just Prince Norton at the door.

“Rosie? How did you….”

As I asked with an awkward smile, Prince Norton answered instead of Rosie, whose face had turned red.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I met Rosie in the lobby. Stian was going to escort you both, so I thought I’d meet you before the trial… so we came to escort you to the waiting room instead.”

“You should have knocked.”

He spat out the words as if he were blaming them.

“I beg your pardon, but I knocked twice, Your Majesty.”

He had knocked twice, but he and I were so engrossed in kissing that we didn’t hear it.

“…Is that so? I heard that this waiting room was a torture chamber a hundred years ago, so the soundproofing must be good, and you can’t even hear the knocking. Let’s go now.”

He took my hand and left the waiting room first.

“Was this really a torture chamber?”

I whispered softly.

“Would the sin be greater if I lied inside the Great Temple?”

He raised one corner of his mouth and winked.

I clasped my hands together and briefly asked God for forgiveness on his behalf.

“It’s been a while.”

As soon as I came out of the waiting room, I ran into Princess Lesilia, who was walking towards us.

“You must have been released from the Empress’s Palace to coincide with Prince Tesler’s trial.”

Linell asked Princess Lesilia, who was greeting him, in a nonchalant manner.

“…Yes, Your Majesty. Have you seen Prince Norton? I asked the chief of staff in front of the courtroom, and he said he went to this waiting room….”

Princess Lesilia looked noticeably thinner than before she was dragged to the Empress’s Palace.

“He’s inside.”

I turned slightly and gestured to the waiting room door.

Then, Princess Lesilia slowly approached the door.

Knock knock knock-.

Linell knocked on her behalf and even opened the door himself.

The moment he and I turned our gazes through the open waiting room door, we froze on the spot.

The two people in the waiting room, well… it was the moment when Rosie and Prince Norton’s lips were just parting.

What on earth is going on?

“…No, No, Norton?!”

Princess Lesilia’s scream, like a shriek, echoed through the waiting room.