The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 248

248. Melanie

May 20, 2023

The day after Prince Tesler’s trial.

Hector visited Roxana’s bedroom.

“Logan sent this.”

A magical potion to temporarily erase burn scars from the Duchy of Aclato arrived via raven.

“Really? Where is it?”

Roxana couldn’t hide her excitement.

Hector took a potion bottle from his inner pocket and handed it to her.

“Are you going to drink it right away?”

“Of course! That’s the only way to get rid of this cumbersome thing.”

Roxana threw the veil she was wearing to cover her burn scar onto the bed and immediately opened the cork of the magic potion.

But as she was about to drink it, she hesitated slightly.

“Is this really the potion to hide the burn scar?”

“If you’re even a little worried…”

Before Hector could finish his sentence, Roxana drank the magic potion in one gulp.

“Surely they wouldn’t play tricks on something the Empress of the Lapion Empire is drinking.”

“Right, that’s why they obediently made and sent the potion you asked for. There’s a letter here too.”

Hector handed Roxana Logan’s letter.

But she waved her hand as if it were a bother and asked Hector about the contents of the letter.

“But, he clearly said to come to the Lapion Empire, so why did he only send the magic potion?”

“It seems he couldn’t find someone to manage the Magic Tower.”

“Ha, what’s so important about a Magic Tower that even the owner, the Tower Master, has abandoned?”

Roxana scoffed and sneered.

“He said he’ll come as soon as a Magic Tower caretaker is found.”

“He will. That’s the only way he can avenge the person who killed Bonis.”

Roxana had recently sent someone directly to the Magic Tower to deliver a letter to Logan.

She requested a magic potion to hide her burn scar and offered a considerable sum of money. Half of the offered amount had already been handed over.

She also added a bait, saying that if he wanted to know how Bonis died, he should come to the Lapion Imperial Palace.

In fact, the reason Logan was trying to come to the Lapion Imperial Palace was for the truth and revenge regarding his daughter’s death, more than the money.

“Writing in the letter that Bonis’s death was the fault of the former Empress and the Tower Master doesn’t seem like a good idea. If the truth comes out…”

“Who cares.”

Roxana dismissed Hector’s opinion with a single wave.

“First, I need to get rid of this terrible scar on my face as soon as possible, and then I can start scheming again.”

She was trying to use the dead Bonis as bait to use Logan again.

Logan seemed to have fallen for her scheme without much difficulty this time as well.

“Hector, go to the Tower Master now and tell him that Logan will be coming to the Imperial Palace soon. Tell him I said to meet him together when Logan arrives.”

Roxana had tried several times to call the Tower Master to the Empress’s Palace through Hector or Nancy.

But each time, Belos refused to meet with Roxana.

He always made various excuses to postpone his private meeting with Roxana, but she knew very well that it was a deliberate act.

“But he’ll probably refuse this time too. He told you before that he wouldn’t interfere with Logan selling you drugs separately.”

“Still, tell him anyway. Haa… stupid Tower Master.”

Roxana poured out her dissatisfaction towards Belos.

“If he couldn’t even make Zelda his woman, he should just leave. What lingering feelings does he have that he’s still clinging on there?”

A guy with no pride.

He’s just wasting his age.

Even though he was already attached to Zelda, she couldn’t completely cut him off because Belos, the Tower Master, was the only one who could obtain information about the whereabouts of the Incarnation Sword or a cure to control the fever caused by taking the Red Potion.

“What are you doing? Why aren’t you going quickly?”

Roxana urged Hector, who was standing still and looking at her.

Hector’s gaze towards her had been somewhat strange lately, but she didn’t think much of it.

Since she had made Hector drink the obedience potion before leaving the Duchy of Aclato, he wouldn’t betray her.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Go quickly.”

As Roxana gestured with her hand, Hector turned around silently and headed to the main palace where the Tower Master resided.

***

We called the Tower Master to the office because we had unfinished business from last night regarding the Valley of Death.

We also had something to tell him about Emperor Adrian.

Now that Prince Tesler’s trial was over,

it was time to slowly tighten the noose around Emperor Adrian.

Linell and I told the Tower Master everything we had heard from Joseph.

“It seems that Philike is using black magic to impersonate Emperor Adrian…”

The Tower Master was certain.

Philike was also the Tower Master’s disciple.

Philike, Logan (Bonis’s father), Big (who made magic potions for Zelda), and Rosie’s mother were all Belos’s last disciples.

Among them, Philike was said to be particularly greedy compared to the other disciples.

“I heard that he was expelled by you before.”

“Yes, after that, he went to the Southern Continent and became the court magician of the Tebello Imperial Family… And the last news was that he disappeared three years ago after losing an arm to His Majesty in the Valley of Death.”

“After that, he used black magic to enter Emperor Adrian’s body?”

I felt goosebumps for some reason and rubbed my arms as I asked the Tower Master.

“That must be it.”

The Tower Master said that he had already been wary of Emperor Adrian at the Continental Hunting Competition.

He definitely didn’t feel like a normal human, but he couldn’t figure out what was wrong.

“Now that I think about it, it seems that I couldn’t read the exact energy because of the black magic.”

The Tower Master scoffed at Philike’s bold and reckless choice.

“In fact, the decisive reason Philike was expelled from the Magic Tower was because he was caught secretly learning the language of the wyverns [dragon-like creatures], which had long been forbidden, due to his morbid obsession with wyverns.”

“In the end, he even dabbled in black magic because of the wyverns and entered Emperor Adrian’s body.”

Even giving up his own body.

A sigh escaped me.

“That’s right. But even if Philike speaks the language of the wyverns, you don’t have to worry too much.”

The Tower Master looked back and forth between him and me, reassuring us.

“Really?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. He doesn’t have the power of fire like Zelda, and most of all, he doesn’t have the Incarnation Sword, so he doesn’t have the ability to directly influence the wyverns.”

“If that’s the case, it’s a relief, but wouldn’t he be able to talk to the wyverns and cause confusion?”

“Of course, that’s possible. But just because you can communicate with the wyverns doesn’t mean you can control them. As long as Zelda is here.”

The Tower Master looked at me so reverently that I smiled shyly, feeling embarrassed.

“Tower Master, why are you saying such serious things as if you’re confessing your love?”

Linell was unnecessarily mean to my best friend.

“Your Majesty, that’s probably just because I’m a sweet person.”

The Tower Master was just as shameless.

“You’re over 200 years old, shouldn’t you be getting more mellow? It seems your cheesiness doesn’t change like your appearance?”

The person himself thought he was sweet, but to Linell, he was just a cheesy guy.

Would it be too greedy to hope that the two of them would get along?

At first glance, they seem to have some similarities.

Especially when evaluating their own appearance…

“But if Philike has been continuously absorbing blood and maintaining black magic for several years, we must now consider that Philike’s soul has been imprinted on Emperor Adrian’s body.”

The Tower Master’s expression turned serious again.

“Then the original Emperor Adrian… ?”

“Only his body is alive with black magic, his soul is already dead, Your Majesty.”

That meant Philike had become the perfect Emperor Adrian.

“Now we should just call him Emperor Adrian, not Philike,”

As he scoffed, the Tower Master nodded.

“How about Emperor Adrian accompanying us on the way to the Partsha Empire?”

The expressions of the two men became cautious at my suggestion.

“We’ll be crossing the Valley of Death by ship, so if we’re lucky, we might see a flock of wyverns, right?”

“Do you think Emperor Adrian will reveal his true colors if he sees the wyverns?”

Linell saw through my intentions.

“Yes, he will definitely try to talk if there is even one wyvern. Just like how he kept talking to Moiya even without knowing where she was, just by feeling the energy of the wyverns.”

“I think so too.”

The Tower Master agreed with my suggestion, but Linell didn’t seem pleased.

“Let’s think about this issue a little more.”

Linell postponed the decision.

He seemed to be worried about any possible dangers.

“But Your Majesty, even if you don’t allow him to accompany us, Emperor Adrian will have received an invitation.”

“That’s right. There’s nothing we can do if he says he’ll go with us.”

“So, Zelda, how about you put him in a state of unconsciousness again like last time? I’ll watch the magic, so Tower Master, why don’t you lure him with your beautiful neck?”

“…Yes? My neck?”

The Tower Master was startled.

“Yes. I see that Emperor Adrian mainly attacks the neck to draw blood.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at Linell’s joke.

Wait, he’s maintaining a serious expression, so was it not a joke?

“You’ve lived for over 200 years and don’t have a single wrinkle on your neck, so why don’t you sacrifice yourself this time? In a way, it’s all your fault for teaching your disciple wrong, right?”

At Linell’s suggestion, the Tower Master slowly got up from the sofa.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. I’m actually a bit anemic, so I think I need to go back to my room and lie down.”

The Tower Master put his hand on his forehead, staggered as if dizzy, and hurriedly opened the door to the office.

“That bastard…”

Linell watched the Tower Master’s retreating figure and silently extended his middle finger forcefully.

***

Belos, who had returned to his room, opened the door and grumbled.

“I can watch the magic too! How heartless is the Emperor? If he’s so worried, why doesn’t he offer his own neck?”

Belos became angrier the more he thought about it.

“No, it’s bad enough that I was rejected! Why do I have to offer my blood… huh?”

What, what’s that guy doing again?

Belos felt a strange sensation and quickly turned his head towards the window.

A large figure was standing in front of the window, blocking the sunlight.

“Hector, what’s the matter this time? I clearly said that I wouldn’t visit the Empress’s Palace for the time being, right?”

“Logan brought a magic potion to the Empress’s Palace via raven.”

Belos nodded nonchalantly.

“If that’s the case, you don’t need to tell me. I said I wouldn’t interfere with Empress Roxana buying potions from Logan for money, didn’t I?”

“The Empress told me to tell you that when Logan arrives here soon, she wants us all to have dinner together.”

“Well, when Logan comes, we’ll do that. If you’re done, leave.”

As Belos nodded casually, Hector hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“Tower Master. There’s something I want to ask…”

“You want to ask me?”

Belos looked up and down at Hector with a puzzled expression.

“Is there a potion that makes people obedient?”

“Of course. But it’s not an easy field to create. Especially since its effects only appear on people who have had a relationship between men and women.”

“…Really? Then is it possible for the effects to wear off?”

“Of course. There are exceptions to almost all magic potions.”

“Then when does the potion’s effect wear off?”

“For example, if there has been contact with another person of the opposite sex, or if feelings arise as a result, the effect wears off… But why are you asking that?”

Belos stopped talking and looked at Hector’s complicated face, examining him.

***

After the Tower Master left the office, it was time for tea time with the concubines, so I slowly got up.

“Take me too.”

He stopped me as I was about to go to my chambers.

“Maintain your dignity.”

“That’s been gone for a long time. There are two things I can’t keep from you. One is my desire for you, and the other is dignity.”

He said like a prayer, clasping his hands together.

“…So what do you want me to do?”

“I’m asking you to save me.”

“What are you going to do, joining the women’s chatter?”

“I’m going to pour tea so you don’t get thirsty while chatting, why.”

“Pfft.”

I can’t live.

I finally burst into laughter and held out my hand to him.

He grabbed my hand quickly with a face suppressing joy and strode out of the office door.

***

When we arrived inside Rosie’s bedroom, Melanie was already there.

“Oh my, why did Your Majesty come?”

Melanie asked sullenly.

In the old days, she would have folded her eyes sweetly and greeted him, but for some reason, her reaction was cold.

“Can’t I join you?”

Linell asked with a slightly disappointed expression, and Melanie reluctantly offered him a seat.

“Since you’ve come, please sit down.”

He sat on a chair in the corner, sensing the mood, and looked at Rams, who was nestled in Rosie’s arms.

“You’re the only one who welcomes me.”

As Rams smiled brightly at him, he stretched out his long arm, gently touched Rams’s chubby cheek, and smiled.

“Ah, that’s right, Your Majesty. You told me at the Empress’s Palace banquet to think about what I wanted and tell you, do you remember?”

Melanie suddenly pushed a plate filled with snacks towards Linell and asked.

I glanced at his face.

He didn’t seem to remember at all.

So I chimed in.

“The day Your Majesty briefly visited the concubines’ meal. You promised Melanie then.”

That day, Melanie mentioned an anecdote from when I was Empress in a place where Roxana was also present.

‘At that time, Your Majesty tasted Zelda’s lips more sweetly than eating cake, didn’t you all remember?’

She said it was a banquet with the concubines, and he came to eat dessert and ate my lips like cake in front of the concubines… it was such a cringe-worthy story.

Linell told Melanie that day that he would reward her for reminding him of a memory he had forgotten.

He told her to think carefully about what she wanted and tell him.

“Ah, I think I remember.”

Linell said, slapping his knee.

“Yes, have you thought about what you want?”

He asked Melanie.

“Melanie~ wants a person, not an object~.”

Suddenly, Melanie folded her shoulders in half and swayed her body.

“!”

…Why is she doing that?