The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 234

234. Living While Loved

April 1, 2023

Five minutes before Linelle opened the waiting room door.

Rosie and Prince Norton were left in the waiting room, having witnessed their kiss right in front of them.

Because Linelle took Zelda and practically fled the waiting room, Prince Norton couldn’t even comment on the trial.

“You two are so romantic…….”

Rosie said, looking at the closed waiting room door with envious eyes.

“Excuse me? What’s romantic about secretly kissing in the waiting room before a trial?”

Prince Norton chuckled, looking puzzled.

But Rosie maintained her sentimental gaze and muttered again.

“Isn’t His Majesty’s passion, regardless of the place, so wonderful? Even if that place is the sacred Grand Temple.”

“Even before a serious trial?”

“Yes, that’s why it’s even more romantic.”

“……?”

“What would it feel like?”

“What? Are you talking about kissing?”

Prince Norton asked, recalling the passionate scene Linelle and Zelda had shared here a moment ago.

“Yes, kissing. Would it be sweet? Or would it be thrilling?”

Rosie’s expression, which had been sentimental, suddenly began to turn gloomy, and her tone of voice also dropped sharply.

“Hoo, I don’t think I’ll ever know what kissing feels like in my life. I’ve never even had a peck, so I can’t even imagine it,” Rosie said plaintively.

“……Madam.”

“Ah, but that doesn’t mean I want to be loved by His Majesty! I’m really happy living with Her Majesty the Empress in the Imperial Palace.”

Rosie waved her hands and tried to smile, seeing Prince Norton’s face as if he felt sorry for her.

“Are you really happy in that position? Aren’t you lonely?”

“Lonely? I have Ao-ssi, Melanie Madam, and even though they often turn my insides out [cause trouble], there’s Moire and Moni. Oh, and there are books too. So I’m fine,” Rosie said with a smile.

Because love between men and women isn’t the only thing that exists in this world.

But the end of Rosie’s smile was quite bitter.

“What’s the point of saying you’re fine when the most important thing in life is missing?”

“The most important…… thing?”

“A person. To love and be loved…… A man to kiss every day, to kiss every day.”

“Ah, I gave up on that from the start. My status isn’t free [she is a concubine and cannot freely marry]. Well, there’s no man who would love me anyway. And I think I know roughly what it feels like to kiss.”

“How?”

“I saw it in a book.”

How pitiful!

Prince Norton held back his laughter and asked Rosie.

“What does the book say it feels like to kiss?”

“It says your head rings and all your nerves tingle. One book even used the expression that your spine melts, but that sounds too scary.”

Rosie covered her mouth and giggled.

“What kind of book has such expressions?”

“A romance novel.”

In fact, it was a novel with a high level of intensity, rather than an ordinary romance novel.

“You read those too? I always thought you only read difficult books?”

“Romance novels are the most difficult books for me. Ugh, if I had known this would happen, I should have grabbed any young nobleman at a party and kissed him before becoming a concubine. I feel a bit wronged about that.”

Rosie regretted it even as she spoke.

But the words had already been spoken, and Prince Norton was smiling.

“Your Highness, let’s go now. The trial will begin.”

“Just a moment, Madam.”

Prince Norton blocked Rosie, who was walking towards the door.

The moment Rosie tilted her head and looked up at Prince Norton,

*Chu*—, Prince Norton kissed Rosie.

It was neither a short nor a long kiss.

“You won’t feel wronged now, right? At least you’ve had a kiss.”

“Your, Your Highness, what, what did you just do to me?”

“A kiss. I held back on the kissing…… to protect Rosie Madam’s spine.”

“Why, why, why did you kiss me……? Perhaps, do you feel sorry for me?”

“I’m not crazy enough to kiss a woman I don’t have feelings for just because I feel sorry for her.”

Even though he was a crazy guy who had fallen for a concubine from another country.

“We shouldn’t be doing this……Umm?!”

Prince Norton kissed her again.

Rosie’s cry was blocked by Prince Norton’s lips.

“I will tell His Majesty. His Majesty will probably understand our relationship……,”

It was the moment Prince Norton whispered as he took his lips away. ‘That Majesty’ burst open the waiting room door.

***

“What, what are you doing…… What did you just do……?!”

Princess Resilia pushed Linelle and me aside and entered the waiting room.

The finger she struggled to lift pointed towards Rosie.

The excited princess gasped for breath and looked precarious, as if she would fall backward.

“Did you forget to knock?”

Prince Norton, who had been standing there with a dazed expression for a moment, asked him as if he were questioning him.

“What are you talking about? I knocked so hard.”

Linelle mimicked knocking in the air and retorted as if she felt wronged, and I quickly nodded my head vigorously next to her.

“As expected, this room is soundproof,” he whispered to me.

“Norton…… Your Highness!”

Rosie, who was next to Prince Norton, flinched as Princess Resilia shouted.

“Yes, Princess. What’s wrong?”

Prince Norton asked the princess in a reluctant voice.

“What did you do with the pumpkin……!”

Rosie’s head drooped at the word pumpkin.

Prince Norton glanced at her and then retorted to Princess Resilia in an angry voice.

“What do you mean all of a sudden?”

“How could Your Highness do this! To me, to this Resil…… How could you do this!”

“Have I committed a sin against you, Princess? I committed a sin against Rosie Madam.”

As for that sin, it seemed to refer to the kiss a moment ago.

After Prince Norton drew a line with Princess Resilia, he shifted his gaze to Linelle and continued.

“Your Majesty, Rosie Madam was caught off guard by me. So please punish me.”

“Ah, is that so? Then you can go straight to the prisoner’s seat as soon as Prince Tesler’s trial is over,” he said to Prince Norton in a solemn tone, and Rosie took a step forward and put her hands together.

“Your, Your Majesty! Please forgive Prince Norton! I asked the Prince to blow something that got into my eye!”

“Ha? I don’t even need to look. The pumpkin, no, Rosie Madam must have made the first move!”

Princess Resilia glared at Rosie as if she knew it would happen.

“Prince Norton, did you misunderstand the part Rosie asked you to blow on? You’re supposed to blow air into her eye, why are you blowing it into her mouth? And that too, into the mouth of a concubine from another country,” he raised his handsome eyebrows and asked sarcastically.

“I don’t know if Your Majesty remembers, but you clearly said to me before…… No, I’ll tell you about this later.”

Prince Norton, who was trying to confirm something with Linelle, closed his mouth again.

It was clearly something related to Rosie, but he seemed to be sparing his words because of Princess Resilia.

Rosie bit her lower lip with her front teeth as if trying to destroy the evidence, and was very nervous.

“I see. Anyway, it seems the Princess has something to say to you, so we’ll be leaving now,” he gently turned my shoulder towards the door and said.

“Rosie.”

As I turned around, I gestured to her to come out with me.

Then, Princess Resilia’s body turned to match Rosie’s movement.

“Yes? Ah, yes!”

Rosie warily walked quickly to my side, wary of Princess Resilia, who was glaring at her as if she would pounce on her at any moment.

Linelle closed the waiting room door, leaving only Prince Norton and Princess Resilia behind.

*Click*—.

As the waiting room door closed, Rosie asked him for forgiveness again.

“Your Majesty, please don’t punish Prince Norton, he made a mistake! He didn’t mean it!”

“……Did the Prince say that? That it was a mistake?”

He glanced back at the waiting room door and asked.

Rosie couldn’t find the words to answer and dragged out the time by listing ‘Uh, um, that…….’

“I’ll have to throw him in the room next to Prince Tesler.”

“Yieee?! Wh, why……!”

Rosie’s pupils shook tremendously.

“That means I won’t let it go if he accidentally kissed you.”

“Your Majesty……?”

Rosie looked up at him with a bewildered expression.

“I was going to talk about it after Prince Tesler’s trial and when the Imperial Palace had stabilized to some extent, but it seems like the two of you are making significant progress, so I’ll tell you in advance,” he said quietly to Rosie as he walked towards the hall where the trial was being held.

“The day Prince Norton leaves for his home country, the Partsha Empire, you will leave with him.”

“Your Majesty, what do you mean……!”

“If you don’t like it, you can spend the rest of your life here as Zelda’s companion. I’ve made my intentions clear, so the choice is yours, Rosie.”

“Ho, However, Your Majesty, shouldn’t you ask the Prince for his opinion as well……?”

Rosie blinked a few times and asked him cautiously.

But…… she’s not saying she doesn’t like it?

I looked at Rosie and smiled quietly.

“There’s no point in asking the opinion of someone who blew air into her mouth when she asked him to blow air into her eye. Isn’t that right?”

Linelle said in a nonchalant tone and asked me as if seeking my agreement.

“Of course, you’re absolutely right.”

I quickly nodded my head, agreeing with his words.

“I hope you live being loved as the consort of a prince who, although lacking in masculinity, gives love, rather than as a concubine of a handsome emperor who is only obsessed with one woman.”

He stopped walking and said to Rosie before entering the courtroom.

He seemed to genuinely want her happiness. That was the same for me as well.

I would be very lonely and sad if Rosie wasn’t by my side, but if it was for her happiness, I could happily send her away.

“I don’t know what to do…… I don’t know what’s going on……,”

Rosie whispered to me, her face flushed.

“You just need to know your own feelings for Prince Norton, Rosie,” I said, holding her hand tightly and then letting go.

The courtroom door opened.

As he and I entered, the buzzing noise subsided.

Prince Tesler, standing in the prisoner’s seat in the distance, was the first thing that caught my eye.

Prince Tesler looked at me, then raised one corner of his mouth and gave me a sneering smile.

“Are you ready?”

Linelle looked straight ahead and asked me.

“Yes, of course.”

I answered firmly.

Although there was some tension, I was confident that I wouldn’t be fooled by the sly Prince Tesler’s tricks.

Before the main trial, the priest began to recite the outline of the case to all the nobles attending the trial.

My heart, engraved on the Avatar Sword, beat rapidly.

After a while, the full-scale interrogation took place.

“Prince Tesler Hale of the Shattonil Kingdom, do you admit to sneaking into Zelda Madam’s residence?”

“Yesss.”

Prince Tesler answered obediently to the High Priest’s question.

“You stated that the reason you sneaked into the residence of Zelda Madam, the concubine of Emperor Lapion, wearing a mask, was because of the Avatar Sword, is that correct?”

“That’s right. I was only trying to retrieve the Avatar Sword that Her Majesty the Empress had stolen. It was just an act of loyalty on my part.”

Prince Tesler’s claim, whose pronunciation was leaking out because all of his upper and lower front teeth were missing, did not feel very credible.

Because his pronunciation kept leaking, the High Priest, who was old and hard of hearing, repeatedly shouted, ‘Please say it again!’

Each time, Prince Tesler made a tearful effort to pronounce accurately by blocking his front teeth with his fingers, but it only served to stimulate people’s laughter even more.

“Where did you hear that the Avatar Sword was in Zelda Madam’s residence?”

“……Th, that’s because I heard rumors secretly circulating within the Imperial Family.”

“Are you saying you did such a thing just by hearing rumors?”

Prince Tesler’s pupils shook at the High Priest’s angry question.

“It’s not because of rumors. I had a reasonable suspicion!”

Prince Tesler looked at me, wriggling one cheek unpleasantly, and answered the High Priest.

Could that human be about to mention the Avatar?

Did he hear something from Roxana?

If that fact were revealed, the empire inside and outside could become noisy.

“What is that matter?”

“High Priest. Before I speak, first, seal off Zelda Madam’s residence and have the knights find the Avatar Sword immediately! Then I will reveal what my reasonable suspicion is.”

The High Priest spoke again after briefly talking with the other priests about Prince Tesler’s remarks.

“I accept. And before the trial, Her Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress had already issued an order, so Zelda Madam’s residence has been under surveillance since the incident. The Imperial Guards of the Main Palace and the Empress Palace are already searching Zelda Madam’s residence for evidence, so we will know the results at tomorrow’s trial.”

“Ah, then that’s a relief.”

Prince Tesler’s excited momentum subsided at the High Priest’s words.

I looked for Roxana with my eyes.

Roxana’s gaze was already fixed on me.

It was as if she was watching me fall.

‘Go ahead, laugh and enjoy it as much as you want. Your absurd desires are over today too.’

“The Avatar Sword will be dealt with in tomorrow’s trial, and we will continue the interrogation. Do you admit to stabbing Zelda Madam in the heart with a sword?”

“I held the sword, but I didn’t stab her.”

Prince Tesler shook his head and refuted this time the High Priest asked.

The more Prince Tesler put strength into his voice, the more severely his pronunciation leaked.

Some nobles who were seriously watching the trial muffled their laughter each time Prince Tesler, who was missing his front teeth, spoke.

“Prince Tesler, there is someone who witnessed you stabbing Zelda Madam. Are you denying the witness’s statement?”

The witness the High Priest was talking about was Linelle, the emperor of this country.

Prince Tesler flinched at his fiercely shining gaze, but he did not back down from his claim.

“Depending on the viewing angle, it may have looked like I stabbed her. But clearly, Zelda Madam grabbed the blade with both hands and stabbed herself in the heart.”

The courtroom began to become noisy at Prince Tesler’s remarks.

The High Priest asked me.

“I will give Zelda Madam a chance to rebut. Is Prince Tesler’s claim just now true?”