The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 239

239. Prince Tesla’s Scream

2023.04.19.

He glared with a truly barbaric look in his eyes.

‘He must be scared by now.’

Hector was certain.

Melanie, who had been momentarily stunned, widened her eyes and stared intently at Hector before suddenly giggling.

“?”

“You know… I’m actually a barbarian too.”

Melanie whispered.

What is she talking about now?

It wasn’t something a woman born and raised in a great noble family would say, so Hector couldn’t help but ask.

“What… do you mean?”

He felt pathetic for having to deal with her again, but he couldn’t suppress his curiosity.

Melanie’s expression was very solemn, like someone revealing a profound secret.

“My head.”

“Yes?”

“This brain of mine is a barbarian.”

Melanie tapped her temple with her index finger and said seriously.

“…Ha, hahaha!”

Hector burst into a hollow laugh.

“Don’t go spreading rumors about it. Got it? Got it!”

Melanie grabbed Hector’s arm and urged him.

Looking at her expression, she wasn’t joking.

‘Does she think people in the Imperial Family don’t already know what kind of person she is?’

Most people in the Lapion Imperial Family probably already knew what kind of person Melanie was; it seemed like he was the only one who hadn’t figured it out.

“Are you going to spread rumors? Why aren’t you answering?”

“I won’t…”

Everyone already knows your brain is a barbarian, so why would I bother spreading rumors?

Hector burst into another absurd laugh.

“I can’t help but treat you disrespectfully, as you are Empress Roxana’s guard knight. If you’re upset, you can always go back to Tanya Island and be the king of the barbarians. I heard you were also called the Pirate King.”

“I am currently a king.”

“Really? Then why are you under Roxana?”

“…”

Melanie’s question unintentionally touched a dormant nerve within Hector.

For Roxana’s happiness, probably…?.

Yes, that must have been it.

But when did he start feeling that way?

Sometime ago, a large hole appeared in Hector’s heart.

It felt like someone had suddenly shoved something into his heart.

A feeling that something was controlling his emotions like a marionette doll.

Ever since the day he accidentally kissed Melanie, he had begun to feel a strange antipathy towards Roxana.

“Did she catch you on something! Hey, King of the Barbarians, Pirate King! Can’t you hear me?”

Melanie waved her hand in front of Hector’s blank face and asked.

Hector lowered his gaze and stared at her blankly.

“Why do you look like that? Like Empress Roxana fed you some kind of drug.”

Did she feed him some kind of magic potion that makes him obey unconditionally?

Hector’s pupils shook violently at Melanie’s teasing words.

***

Zelda, after finishing her conversation with Pesilini in the examination room, headed to her office.

While walking down the hallway, she encountered Stian, who was carrying a small basket and climbing the stairs.

“What’s that?”

“Her Majesty suddenly wanted to eat them. She said she wanted to roast them in the fireplace. She’s never done this before; it’s strange.”

Stian smiled, holding up a raw sweet potato.

Looks like she’s craving roasted sweet potatoes today.

“Give it to me. I’ll take it in.”

I took the basket from Stian and went into the office.

Linell was sitting in front of the fireplace, looking at documents.

“I heard you haven’t eaten either.”

“Hmph, until this morning, there were many things I wanted to eat, but when lunchtime came, I felt sick to my stomach.”

“Then you suddenly craved sweet potatoes?”

“Yeah, while talking to Grand Duke Martins, I suddenly wanted to eat sweet potatoes. Grand Duke Martins’ face looks a bit like a sweet potato.”

“…Is that so?”

I sat down in front of him, recalling Grand Duke Martins’ face, which didn’t resemble a sweet potato at all.

Linell took the sweet potato basket from my lap and threw the sweet potatoes into the fireplace.

“I put a metal container in there too. We have to roast them in there. But I have to go to the Great Temple soon, so there’s not enough time. I’ll have to eat them when I get back.”

He said, smacking his lips.

“If you make the fire stronger, they’ll cook quickly.”

“Then should I put in some more firewood?”

Linell put a few pieces of firewood next to the fireplace into the fireplace.

I stared into the fireplace.

The calm flames instantly soared towards the fireplace passage.

Linell was startled by the rapidly rising flames and leaned back.

“Ah, you scared me. I almost dropped the baby.”

“The baby is in here, though?”

When I stroked my stomach with my hand, he also put his hand on his stomach and said.

“That’s right. But why do I feel like our baby is in my stomach?”

“While you’re at it with the morning sickness, you might as well give birth for me. But why are you so surprised by raising the flames a little?”

Knowing that his wife has the power of fire.

“I keep forgetting that you’re a human fire.”

Linell smiled, gazing at me intently.

“Aren’t those roasted sweet potatoes going to turn into burnt sweet potatoes at this rate?”

He began to worry as he watched the increasingly large fire.

“I’ll control the fire and roast them for you, so don’t worry and finish the work you were doing. It’ll be done soon.”

“I’m already drooling.”

Linell started reading the documents again with a satisfied expression.

Three minutes later, I took my eyes off the fireplace.

“They should be done now.”

I said, gradually reducing the fire in the fireplace.

“Already? Wait a minute. I need to get some tongs to take them out… Zelda!!”

He got up from his chair with an expectant face but was horrified to see me putting my hand into the fireplace.

I grabbed one of the well-roasted sweet potatoes from the reduced flames.

“What are you doing! Are you crazy?”

He threw down the documents he was holding and examined my hand.

“I’m fine.”

“Are you really okay?”

He looked like he couldn’t believe it even after seeing it with his own eyes.

“Of course. This level of fire is nothing. Wow, it’s well-cooked without burning because it was roasted in the container.”

I peeled the skin of the sweet potato, which smelled sweet, and handed it to him.

“It does look delicious.”

He seemed to be tempted by the bright yellow, well-cooked sweet potato.

“Here, blow on it well before you eat. Don’t choke from eating too quickly.”

I wrapped the bottom of the sweet potato with a handkerchief so his hand wouldn’t get burned and handed it to him.

He must have been hungry, as he started eating the sweet potato eagerly.

He ate several sweet potatoes in the blink of an eye, repeatedly shouting, “Ah, it’s hot!” while blowing on them.

“Shall we go now? We need to get up now to arrive at the courtroom on time.”

He got up from his chair with a face full of happiness from the fullness.

I stretched one arm to the side and stopped him as he headed towards the office door.

“Why?”

“You have to pay me for my trouble.”

“Ah, I have to.”

Linell took me to the sofa, lay down first, and then carefully pulled me down.

Our bodies overlapped, and then our lips overlapped.

Today’s kiss was a cool, soft, and sweet kiss.

“Shouldn’t you also give me danger pay?”

I raised the hand I had put in the fireplace a little while ago and moved my fingers as if playing the piano.

“Of course, I have to give you danger pay…”

He welcomed my words and changed his position.

The hand that had been craving sweet potatoes was now wrapped around my ankle.

His kiss quickened, but his body landed heavily on me.

***

The trial, which reopened after the recess, continued in a solemn atmosphere.

The trial was focused on whether the sword found in my dressing room had been in my possession since before the incident.

Prince Tesla claimed that I had hidden the real Avatar Sword on the day of the incident and later obtained a similar sword.

That was expected.

Prince Tesla’s words were also true.

It was a stroke of luck that I had made a sword similar to the Avatar Sword in advance before the imprinting with the Avatar Sword.

Melanie and Count Ethan, who would prove my alibi, simultaneously took the witness stand and took the oath.

“First, I will ask Melanie. Is it true that you obtained the red gem embedded in that sword for Zelda?”

The High Priest pointed to the sword displayed on the evidence table and asked Melanie.

“Yes, that’s right. I got it for her as soon as she asked. As you know well, High Priest, it’s easy for our family to obtain such raw rubies.”

Melanie answered with her usual bright expression and voice, without any sign of nervousness.

“…I see. By any chance, did Zelda say why she needed the raw ruby?”

“She said she wanted to go to the smithy and make a sword, and she wanted to decorate the sword handle with a gem. Preferably a ruby.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I remember exactly because I even cursed to myself, ‘Why would she put a gem in a sword for no reason?'”

Melanie added unnecessary remarks, proving that there was not an inch of falsehood in her testimony.

Still, Melanie gave me an apologetic look, as if she was a little bothered by the statement that she had cursed me in her heart.

Melanie’s unnecessary opinions created a strange situation where her testimony felt more credible.

The High Priest seemed a little overwhelmed by dealing with Melanie, cleared his throat two or three times, and then shifted his gaze to Count Ethan next to her.

“Next, I will ask Count Ethan, the head of the Lapion Imperial Family’s smithy. Is it true that Zelda came to the Count’s workshop and made a sword?”

“She didn’t make the sword entirely, but after looking around the already made swords, she chose a sword of the size she wanted and then worked on embedding the raw ruby in the handle.”

“What reason did she give Count Ethan for putting the raw ruby in the sword handle?”

“She said she wanted to have a sword similar to the Avatar Sword.”

Count Ethan recalled and said exactly what I had said in his workshop.

“Zelda, is Count Ethan’s testimony correct?”

The High Priest asked me immediately.

“Yes, it’s correct.”

“If it’s correct, why did you say that?”

“After seeing the Avatar Sword held by the Master of the Magic Tower at the Continental Hunting Competition, I had always wanted to have a sword similar to the Avatar Sword. I happened to find a sword similar in size to the Avatar Sword on the display stand in Count Ethan’s workshop.”

“Is Zelda’s statement true, Count Ethan?”

“Yes, it’s true.”

“The last question is for both Melanie and Count Ethan at the same time. Is it certain that the day Zelda asked you to get the raw ruby and the day you worked on embedding the raw ruby in the sword handle at the smithy were before the day of the incident?”

“Yes, it’s certain.”

“That’s right.”

The two answered simultaneously.

“Ah, my father personally connected me with a jeweler, so the date I obtained the raw ruby must be written in the ledger, so if you’re suspicious, call my father to the witness stand!”

Laughter leaked out from here and there at Melanie’s words.

Then the murmuring voices of the nobles who were attending were becoming clearer and clearer.

“What then, did the prince of the Shattonil Kingdom misunderstand that Zelda had stolen the Avatar Sword and just stabbed her with a regular sword?”

“Honestly, even if Zelda had stolen the Avatar Sword from the Empress’ Palace, what right does Prince Tesla have to stab our Empire’s concubine?”

“Could it be that Prince Tesla has a special relationship with the new Empress? That’s why he infiltrated Zelda’s residence wearing a mask?”

“Oh my, that makes sense too?”

People’s imaginations were creating stories that I hadn’t even thought of.

“If he doesn’t have a relationship with the new Empress, then he must have been blinded by the Avatar Sword and committed such an act on his own.”

“Either way, he’s definitely crazy.”

“We should just execute him right away, but since it only ended in attempted murder, we can’t do that, right?”

“That’s right. Besides, according to continental law, we don’t have the right to summarily judge royalty from other countries.”

“But… what opinion will His Majesty give before the High Priest makes a ruling?”

The final verdict is made by the High Priest after consulting with the Vice Priests, but before that, the Emperor has the right to express his opinion before the verdict.

Opinions that are irrelevant to the trial or request sentences that are unreasonably heavy compared to the crime cannot be adopted by the court, but if the Emperor’s opinion is deemed reasonable, it is often reflected in the verdict.

I still didn’t know what opinion Linell would give to the High Priest.

Will he block trade routes between the Shattonil Kingdom and other countries to create economic isolation, or will he imprison Prince Tesla in the Lapion Imperial Palace for several years?

But Prince Tesla had already received a great punishment from Linell.

To be exact, it was a punishment given by Commander Macron.

Not only would he no longer be able to perform as a man, but the lineage of the Shattonil Kingdom was cut off.

Although Prince Tesla’s bloodline is growing in Pesilini’s womb, I trust Pesilini’s wise choice.

Prince Tesla’s expression was heading beyond anxiety to frustration.

“Lastly, I will ask Empress Roxana. Although you are listed on the witness list, this was to confirm whether the sword submitted as evidence is the Avatar Sword or not.”

“Yes.”

“But aside from what the Master of the Magic Tower has already confirmed, the testimony of Melanie and Count Ethan has sufficiently revealed that the sword submitted as evidence is not the Avatar Sword. Nevertheless, if Your Majesty still wishes to stand on the witness stand, I will respect your wishes.”

“I don’t think there’s any need…”

Roxana opened her mouth with a resigned expression.

It was as if she was blankly watching someone strongly push Roxana’s back and run away.

An expression that was bewildered but gradually felt the area that was hurt.

Before giving the final statement to me and Prince Tesla according to the procedures of the Lapion Imperial Law, the High Priest first asked Linell for his opinion.

“Your Majesty, please give your final opinion on this trial first.”

The High Priest asked him.

The somewhat chaotic courtroom atmosphere instantly became quiet.

Linell looked at Prince Tesla and said in a very firm voice that no one could dare to refute.

“I request the deprivation of Prince Tesla of Shattonil’s royal status.”

“…I, it can’t be!”

Prince Tesla moved as if he was about to jump onto the platform where Linell was sitting.

Then the knights standing behind Prince Tesla simultaneously grabbed Prince Tesla and pressed him to the floor as if stamping out a waffle.

“This is a, a slander! Your Majesty, please withdraw your opinion…!!”

Prince Tesla screamed.

Linell glanced at the High Priest, slightly raising one hand, as if he still had something to say.