The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 24

The First Time Was You

It was hard to breathe because the corset was so tight, but Catherine was quite satisfied when she saw her figure in the mirror. No man would be able to resist such a perfect appearance. However, even before Linelle became emperor, when the two were betrothed, he wasn’t very affectionate towards Catherine. He always maintained his manners and treated her formally. Catherine found even that aspect of his personality attractive. After all, a shining jewel is hard to obtain. But back then, Linelle wasn’t as cold as he was now. Linelle began to completely ignore Catherine when their engagement was broken off… that is, when her secret relationship with Count Ethan Bennett was exposed.

“Count Ethan was just a way to soothe my lonely body.”

Catherine’s inappropriate relationship with Count Ethan reached Linelle’s ears, but he didn’t get angry or question her; he simply quietly broke off the engagement. If Linelle had made the incident public at the time, Catherine, as well as her family, the Carios ducal family, would have become a laughingstock in aristocratic society. After being jilted by Linelle, Catherine ended her relationship with Count Ethan as well. Count Ethan was only good for nighttime activities, and it turned out he was a man without dreams or ambition.

“I must have been blind. I didn’t even realize he was a stupid noble who spends all day in the smithy making swords.”

Catherine bitterly regretted having an affair with Count Ethan while betrothed to Linelle, who would soon become emperor. But, she had been given another chance.

“Since Linelle has already taken an empress anyway, we’ll just call it even.”

Considering her past mistakes, she didn’t really feel unfairly treated by being a concubine.

“Hah? That measly empress position.”

It would be enough to give birth to a prince before the empress.

“Once I give birth to a prince, everyone will kneel before me.”

Catherine vowed to show Zelda that power, not position, is what earns respect.

“Empress, you’ll be the first to bow your head before me. Just you wait.”

***

Linelle stared blankly at the water I was drinking, then quickly took the emptied glass from my hand.

“I’ll go shower first.”

I glanced down at the towel on the floor and said to him.

“Sorry, but I need to wash first.”

He grabbed my hand as I turned towards the bathroom.

“You don’t need to get ready. Let’s have breakfast as you are.”

“But…”

I’m a mess right now.

“It doesn’t matter.”

He insisted that he needed to use the bathroom first and didn’t care at all about my disheveled state, telling me to stay as I was. I couldn’t continue to insist against his forceful command. It turned out he had a state council meeting scheduled early this morning and didn’t have much time.

“My schedule is a bit tight today to enjoy a leisurely breakfast.”

“Still…”

“If you really want to wash, we could wash together. That would save time.”

Linelle suddenly jumped out of bed without warning.

“Ah.”

His mischievous blue eyes stared at me. I focused on his face, trying not to let my gaze drop. His long arm reached for the marble floor. He quickly picked up the towel lying on the floor and wrapped it around his waist. I didn’t even have time to turn away from his provocative actions. Unless it was a flying sword or arrow, my reactions weren’t usually that fast. He seemed surprised that I was meeting his gaze, as if he expected me to turn away or close my eyes.

“…”

“…”

Fortunately, my gaze didn’t drop. His embarrassed blue eyes reflected my even more embarrassed expression.

“My wife has great patience. And she’s quite bold.”

Please leave out the bold part; I didn’t see anything. He praised my calm, frozen demeanor from a moment ago. *Smack.* He gave me a meaningless kiss on the cheek and then walked leisurely into the bathroom.

“Haa… breathe, breathe.”

*Clang.* Only after the bathroom door closed did I collapse onto the bed, clutching my heart. *** After showering, he dressed in his uniform, and servants entered the bedroom, pushing a tray. The servants opened the terrace doors wide and moved a table in front of them. Breakfast was set on the table in a simple manner. After completing all the preparations, the servants left the bedroom all at once, just as they had entered. The breakfast table, set in the blink of an eye, was prepared with appetizing dishes that weren’t excessive. We sat facing each other at the small table. Bright morning sunlight streamed through the open terrace doors, landing on his dazzling face. Compared to the perfect Linelle, I was without makeup, hair done, or even a dress. I felt like I was sitting in a slip and robe, having a meal with a god.

“I should have dressed properly before meeting you; I’m so embarrassed.”

“What’s there to be embarrassed about when we showered together?”

“Cough, cough, cough…”

I took a sip of soup and choked in a very unsophisticated way.

“Zelda, try this pie. It’s one of my favorites; it’s delicious.”

Linelle pushed the plate on his right towards me.

“It’s a pie made with a mix of apples, lemons, and blueberries.”

I listened to his explanation and cut a piece of pie, putting it in my mouth.

“Mmm!”

It was so delicious that I couldn’t tell if I was eating the pie or if the pie was eating me. He said that on days when he was particularly tired, taking a bite of this pie with coffee would make half the fatigue and stress of the day disappear. I had a feeling that I would start enjoying this pie from now on.

“If you had to describe the taste of that pie in one word?”

He asked me as he spread butter on bread. He looked curious about my thoughts on his favorite food.

“It’s a taste I don’t want to share with anyone.”

“Hahaha, I had the same thought the first time I put that pie in my mouth.”

It was a bit of an exaggeration, but it was so delicious that I wanted to keep it all to myself.

“It’s natural not to want to share even your favorite pie with others…”

Linelle lowered his voice, taking a sip of coffee, as if he wanted to say something else.

“Yes?”

“I’m curious about Zelda, or rather, the Empress.”

“About what?”

“Next week, there’s a ceremony to welcome the concubines. After the ceremony, I’ll have to formally share myself with them.”

It wasn’t a question he was really asking because he thought so; it felt like he was testing me.

“…Your Majesty isn’t a pie.”

The only thing I could say was such a formal answer.

“Right, not as tasty as a pie, either?”

Linelle smiled bitterly. As he said, he would soon be sharing himself with other concubines. The time he and I could spend together like this would also decrease because of them. As I thought that, the sweet pie I had just put in my mouth suddenly tasted bitter. A different taste from the first bite tormented my tongue. I moistened my mouth again with soup, but the taste of the soup was also subtly different. It was strange.

“You’ll be getting busier from now on, won’t you?”

I didn’t really want to touch any other food, so I just poked at the pie with my fork and asked.

“It’s not me who’s getting busier, is it? It’s the concubines.”

Come to think of it, that’s right. He would just have to choose one of the concubines and go to her chambers. Other than deciding which residence to spend the night in, there would be nothing for the emperor to be busy with because of the concubines. Of course, he might get busy late at night… In contrast to his position, the concubines’ circumstances were different. They would be quite busy with many things to worry about in order to please him. Perhaps the most idle person in this imperial palace would be me? Suddenly, I remembered my prayers every night in the carriage heading to the Lapion Imperial Palace. I prayed that I could stay quietly in the Empress’s Palace like a dead mouse until Princess Resilia arrived at the Lapion Imperial Palace. Surprisingly, my wish was about to come true because of the concubines, but I don’t know why I feel so uneasy. That damn god seemed to have granted my past wish without even knowing the current changed circumstances.

“Zelda, I have a meeting soon, so I have to get up first.”

The amicable breakfast turned into a funeral-like atmosphere from some point, and finally, he rose from his chair. Linelle looked down at the half-eaten pie that was left for me.

“Is the pie that the Empress was eating not tasty?”

“It’s not that.”

“It might taste a little different, so eat mine instead. I left it on purpose.”

He placed the plate with the pie he said he enjoyed in front of me again, pushing my plate aside. I quietly looked down at the pie he had left on purpose. I felt strange. I hadn’t even eaten the pie he gave me yet, but my mouth was already starting to water. I raised my head, looked up at him, and asked.

“You said you don’t like sharing your favorite pie with others?”

“Yes, I don’t.”

“Then why… are you giving it to me?”

As if possessed, I couldn’t take my eyes off him and pointed at the pie with my finger.

“I’m the Emperor.”

“Yes, and you have a lot of money, too, right?”

Linelle smiled, raising one corner of his mouth at my retort. Then, he said gently and naturally.

“You are the Empress. We are not strangers.”

It felt like an invisible string was wrapping around him and me. He stroked my cheek with the back of his hand. And after mouthing the words ‘Eat it all,’ he turned around.

“Ah, right.”

He was about to open the bedroom doorknob carved in the shape of a wyvern [a mythical winged creature] and go out, but he turned back towards me.

“What is it?”

“Zelda, you’re the first.”

“What is?”

“The first person I’ve ever given that pie to.”

“…Ah.”

“So eat it all.”

*** Ten days later. Originally, the Lapion Imperial Family’s weddings are held in the banquet hall inside the main palace, and the ceremonies with concubines are held simply in the prayer room of the temple building. However, this concubine ceremony was held on a fairly large scale in the chapel of the temple. The officials actively pushed their opinions, but it was an unavoidable choice for Emperor Linelle because it was a matter agreed upon with the Lapion officials in advance of the national marriage with the Shattonil Kingdom. In fact, the reason why the officials were able to advance the timing of bringing in concubines so quickly was thanks to the active cooperation of Grand Duke Martins, who was staying in the imperial palace as the foreign minister of the Shattonil Kingdom. The Grand Duke mingled with the officials like a loyal subject of the Lapion Empire. And he even publicly announced in the conference hall that the Shattonil royal family had said that their opinions were reasonable. It was a matter that would have been very upsetting for the Empress, but the officials judged that Empress Zelda had tacitly agreed to Grand Duke Martins’ opinion. No one noticed that the Shattonil Kingdom had a plan to put forward a new empress in the future. *** Prior to the ceremony, the four concubines gathered in the bridal waiting room inside the temple building and focused on dressing up. Receiving the attention of the servants they had each brought, they all waited for the ceremony with excited expressions. Among the concubines, the woman who showed off the most glamorous figure was definitely Catherine Carios. As the first concubine, she differentiated herself from the second concubines in terms of wedding dresses. The other concubines were constantly conscious of Catherine. They glanced at Catherine, who had become the first concubine alone, with unkind eyes. Among them, Melanie Hetzros, who had entered as the Empress’s maid and was fired after only one day, had the most murderous expression.

“What’s so great about her that she’s the first concubine alone? Even though she’s a princess like me.”

Melanie muttered in a dissatisfied tone, glaring at Catherine, who was sitting in the widest and best seat in the bridal waiting room and being decorated by the servants, through the mirror.

“Shh, she’ll hear you.”

Pessilini, the other second concubine sitting next to Melanie, whispered softly.

“Catherine was also His Majesty’s lover. That’s why she became the first concubine.”

“Oh, Pessilini. Don’t you know that a broken gold coin is worth less than a whole silver coin? Even if you put it back together, it’s still broken!”

Melanie deliberately raised her voice and sneered.

“I told you to lower your voice.”

Pessilini frowned and stopped her.

“It’s not like I’m saying anything wrong. Ah, I should wear the other earrings, the ones with diamonds dangling like grape bunches.”

Melanie ignored Pessilini’s advice and gestured to her servant to open another jewelry box.

“Who here can raise their voice louder than me?”

At that moment, Catherine slowly rose from her chair and spoke. All eyes in the bridal waiting room were on Melanie and Catherine, who was walking towards her. Catherine’s aura was no less than that of the Empress. Melanie also stood up from her chair and consciously held her head high. Sparks flew in the sharp gazes of the two.

“Melanie?”

“Ugh! What, what are you doing!”

“You, do you know what?”

Catherine asked, grabbing Melanie’s chin tightly with fierce eyes.