The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 256

256. Cute Even When Rolling Around

2023.06.17.

Moiya shot towards Linell with alarming speed.

He seemed completely bewildered, simply staring blankly as Moiya charged, wielding a fork like a spear.

If Moiya actually stabs his… sensitive area with that fork, who would suffer the consequences?

…I would.

“Hurry and cover yourself!”

I quickly mimed shielding myself and shouted at him.

“What?”

“Don’t just stand there like an idiot! Either cover yourself or dodge!”

“Why should I?”

“Just dodge for now! I don’t want a husband with a broken… function!!”

Sharon was right next to me, but I shouted anyway, braving the embarrassment.

“Uh oh… what, what’s wrong? Moiya, don’t tell me?!”

Only then did Linell realize where Moiya was aiming.

Just before the fork reached its intended target, he managed to move his body.

The moment Linell turned to the side, the fork plunged into the bedroom door right behind where he had been standing—thwack!

Fortunately, the fork struck the bedroom door, not his… valuables.

Even as a hatchling, a wyvern is still a wyvern, and the force with which it drove the fork was considerable.

“Oong? Failed, Moiya~?”

Moiya, having missed its target, released the fork without a hint of remorse.

The fork was embedded so deeply that more than half of it was stuck in the bedroom door.

Moiya, that thing is completely insane!

I had my doubts, but Moiya really intended to stab his… you-know-what with the fork.

The force was so strong that even after Moiya let go, the fork remained stuck in the door, sticking out horizontally.

Linell alternated between looking at the fork in the door and his own… groin, then gaped.

He stared at Moiya with a horrified expression.

“Did you just aim for… this with that fork?”

Moiya silently pointed to his… nether region with its finger.

Moiya’s finger slowly began to move towards one particular spot.

“Uh oh, it’s going to stab.”

Linell flicked Moiya’s hand away and pulled the fork out of the bedroom door.

“Ugh, it doesn’t come out easily. Which part of me… were you trying to stab with this fork?”

“Is there any other place His Majesty is good at besides that one?”

Moiya lowered its eyes and huffed.

“…Did you mistake it for a sausage?”

“I did not!”

“Then why did you attempt assassination?”

He belatedly scolded Moiya, saying his heart was pounding.

“That’s why you should have answered quickly!”

“One says they’ll pull it out, and the other says they’ll tear it off. What kind of gruesome talk is this? It all seems to be about His Majesty’s… private parts.”

“I, I’ll be going now.”

Sharon said to me, clutching her knitting basket.

Just as I was about to nod to her,

“Sharon, freeze.”

Linell was quick.

“Take these guys in that basket. Wait for a bit, as I need to have a conversation.”

He gestured for Sharon to sit back in her chair.

“Yes? Y-yes… Your Majesty….”

“Sharon, just continue what you were doing.”

I quietly told her, noticing her unease.

Sharon, understanding the situation, sat back in her chair and began to concentrate on her knitting, as if she were not present in the room.

“Hmph, acting all high and mighty when you’re useless without our master.”

Linell flinched at Moiya’s muttering.

“How… do you know that?”

He asked, his eyes wide.

Moiya ‘heup!’ closed its mouth, and its gaze turned to me.

I shrugged, mouthing ‘I didn’t say anything!’ and waving both hands.

“Moiya. I asked how you know.”

Linell asked again in a stern voice, and Moiya mumbled in a barely audible voice.

“The great wyverns know everything. There’s nothing we don’t know… Don’t worry, cold body! I won’t spread rumors elsewhere!”

“And you’re acting like that knowing that?”

“Males can have their bodies and minds separate. If you do anything even slightly wrong, I’ll tear it off!”

“You speak so easily as if it’s yours. I’m a male whose body and mind move together, so that won’t happen.”

He said to Moiya, then glanced at me and winked.

“And do you think the only thing I’m good at is that one place?”

He ran his hand along his jawline and then tapped his broad, firm chest.

Moiya tilted its head, subtly noticing his boasting about his good points.

“Oong? Even so, His Majesty’s is the coolest!”

“Moiya, have you seen it?”

Moni, who had been sitting on my shoulder, flew next to Moiya and asked.

“Yeah, I peeked at it once a long time ago, Moiya~? It was really amazing!”

“Really, really? Our Majesty is really the best male, Moni~?”

Linell, who had been watching the two of them talking, burst into a hollow laugh.

I was conscious of Sharon and glanced at her. Fortunately, Sharon had been covering her ears for some time.

“Moiya, you almost took away your master’s happiness just now.”

“That won’t do… Then will you only look at our master? Even when your belly gets this big?”

Moiya made a large circle with both hands around its belly and asked.

“Of course. I’ve pledged my loyalty only to your master, even more than you guys are loyal.”

“Oong? Then I’ll let you keep it for now.”

“!”

Moiya said in a forgiving tone and patted his shoulder as if to encourage him.

“Ang! If your eyes turn to another female later, it’s not too late to tear it off then, Moni~.”

Moni also added a word and then snuggled into Linell’s arms as usual.

“But Moiya. Weren’t you trying to stab it earlier, not tear it off?”

“Can’t I stab it and then tear it off~?”

Moiya was good at saying terrible things with a cute face.

“I can understand you, but I’m a little disappointed in Moni. I thought you liked me.”

Linell poked Moni’s back, who was nestled in his arms, and asked.

“I do, but if you do anything wrong to Master, there’s no His Majesty or anything, Moni~.”

“…Hmm. If the misunderstanding is resolved, go out with Sharon now. Here, go visit the Magic Tower Lord with this.”

He handed the fork back to Moiya and said.

Moiya and Moni obediently entered the knitting basket that Sharon was holding at his command.

“Then… I’ll be going now.”

Sharon quickly left the bedroom after covering the heads of the two with a cloth.

Only then did I approach him and offer words of comfort.

“Your Majesty, were you very surprised?”

“…What just happened? I think my legs have given out.”

He finally seemed to relax, running his hand over his heart and leaning against the wall.

I stroked his hair that had fallen below his forehead and offered comfort.

“Are you okay?”

“Hoo, I think I need to check.”

“Yes? What?”

Linell let out a sigh of relief and then placed his hand on the buckle of his belt.

“I think *he* was very surprised.”

***

After the commotion, Linell decided he needed to calm his startled heart and filled the tub with water.

“Aren’t you coming in?”

“I already took a bath earlier.”

Zelda sat on the edge of the tub, put one of her hands in the water, and maintained the temperature so that the water would not cool down.

“You can just come in here.”

He grabbed her hand in the water, intertwined his fingers with hers, and sent her a pleading look.

Her hips were about to move at his water-soaked face, but Zelda shook her head and refused.

“Don’t worry. The water will stay warm even if I don’t go in.”

Her expression as she spoke with a smile seemed somehow listless.

‘Come to think of it, she keeps avoiding my gaze too, doesn’t she?’

Linell carefully looked at her face, then raised his hand and gently grabbed her chin.

“Look at me.”

“…Why?”

“That’s what I want to ask. What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“Nothing.”

“Then why have you been in a bad mood since earlier?”

“Does it show?”

“Yes. And I think I’m the cause… Am I wrong?”

Zelda pressed her lips tightly together at Linell’s questioning.

She chose silence, not knowing how to control this feeling of wanting to be petulant for no reason.

“Tell me. That way, I can fix it if I’ve done something wrong.”

Zelda felt a pang of guilt at his affectionate voice.

“What kind of torture is this for someone whose joy is seeing you smile all day?”

She didn’t feel good either, seeing his face anxious as he checked on her mood.

“I suddenly feel strange. I also have bad thoughts….”

She finally began to honestly reveal her state of mind.

“…What bad thoughts?”

Linell was also becoming serious due to her unusual change in attitude.

She closed her mouth again.

He gave her some time, but she seemed reluctant to speak.

“Is it related to what Moiya and Moni said earlier?”

Linell asked, unable to bear it any longer.

“……”

She wanted to say no, but she couldn’t.

“Are you worried that I’ll turn my eyes to another woman? Seriously, are you worried about that now?”

He looked into Zelda’s eyes as if to see through them.

Seeing her pink eyes shaking, it seemed his guess was correct.

“They say husbands’ hearts change when their wives’ bodies change.”

“Who says that?”

“Most men are like that, they say. My body will change soon too.”

So?

She wanted to retort, but she didn’t.

‘She’s so cute I could die.’

He felt a heart-wrenching love for her, who was suddenly jealous.

So he wanted to nurture that intangible jealousy a little more.

“Aha. When your belly gets this big, will you waddle?”

“It really… might happen.”

He pinched his thigh to keep from laughing at her cute appearance as she puffed out her cheeks.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to stand it if that happens….”

He raised his eyebrows and said seriously.

“What did you say just now?”

Zelda glared at him, filled with resentment.

“I said I don’t think I’ll be able to stand it.”

“!”

“Because it’ll be too cute.”

“Huh?”

“It’ll be too cute, so I don’t think I’ll be able to watch with my eyes open.”

“…Don’t tease me! I’m upset.”

“What’s the reason to be upset? I’ll love you even if you’re rolling around.”

“Liar.”

“If you don’t believe me, you’ll know if you gain weight and do that. Zelda, I’m dying to hug you right now, but I have to hold back, right?”

Linell spread his arms wide, then lowered them again as he saw the water dripping from his body.

“All the worries you have during pregnancy are useless. Trust me.”

Or cut off my head and you become the emperor.

Smiles slowly returned to Zelda’s face at Linell’s words, which were devoid of any joking.

I was really grateful even for the words.

“I’m sorry for making you worry. I think my hormones are starting to act up….”

“I like it. I get to receive jealousy thanks to that.”

Anything is fine.

Zelda gently pushed his chest back and narrowed her brows.

“I’m not kidding. Feelings that I didn’t have at all until yesterday are suddenly popping up.”

“What’s the worry when it’s an object that only reacts to you anyway? Still, be jealous sometimes.”

Because the feeling of soft bubbles like soap foam enveloping my whole body is good.

He kissed the back of Zelda’s hand and murmured softly.

“What if I get even more annoyed and jealous over things that don’t make sense in the future?”

“I don’t care about those things. You can hit me. I’ll take it all. But it’s difficult if you come at me with a fork like Moiya.”

“I wouldn’t do that. What benefit would I get from that….”

She finally burst into laughter.

“You’re worrying about all sorts of things anyway.”

Even though I know so well that I’m crazy about her like this.

Linell also laughed and stroked her belly.

“When will this guy get bigger and come out?”

“Why? Are you looking forward to it?”

“Of course, we can properly make love when he comes out quickly.”

Zelda smiled slightly, saying, ‘Unstoppable,’ and suddenly put both feet in the tub and asked him.

“Shall I go inside too?”

He joked that she was already half in, then deliberately wrapped his arms around himself and shivered.

“Yeah, it’s cold. You need to hug me a little.”

“Are you very cold? My husband shouldn’t catch a cold….”

Zelda carefully sat down on his lap.