The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 26

26. In Case It’s a Meaningless Night

“Grand Duke Martins requests an audience with Her Majesty the Empress.”

It wasn’t Linell. *Fool, you should know better than to get your hopes up.*

“The Grand Duke? Now?”

“Yes, he is currently waiting in the audience chamber.”

“What’s going on….”

I frowned, displeased by the unwelcome guest.

“I inquired about his business, but he only said he would speak directly with Her Majesty….”

Sharon spoke carefully, gauging my mood.

“That’s all he said?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

I pondered for a moment. Could the Grand Duke have received new information from the Shatou Neil royal family regarding Princess Resilia? No matter how I considered it, that was the only reason he would visit the Empress’s Palace at this late hour.

“If you prefer, I can tell him to return tomorrow?”

“No. He’s waiting in the audience chamber now?”

“Yes, he is.”

“It’s not quite bedtime yet, so I suppose it’s alright. Sharon, could you bring me a shawl to drape over my shoulders before we go?”

Perhaps because it was a cool night, my bare shoulders felt quite exposed. However, changing into another dress now seemed excessive, so I asked Sharon for a light shawl to wear.

“I’ll bring it right away!”

Sharon went directly to my private dressing room, which was connected to the bedroom. Soon after, she returned with a silk shawl and draped it over my shoulders.

“How is it?”

“It’s perfect. Let’s go.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Feeling the soft texture of the silk against my bare skin, I headed to the audience chamber to meet Grand Duke Martins.

***

Grand Duke Martins stood with his back to the darkly shadowed window. As I entered, he greeted me with his characteristic relaxed smile and gestures.

“You’ve arrived, Your Majesty. I hope I haven’t disturbed your rest.”

“Why wouldn’t you have?”

Grand Duke Martins flinched at my sarcastically gentle tone.

“I came because I was curious as to why you would visit the Empress’s Palace at this late hour, knowing you would be disturbing me.”

I forced a smile, trying not to reveal my complicated feelings. However, even to my own ears, my voice sounded somewhat sharp. Grand Duke Martins shrugged and began to speak.

“I thought Your Majesty might be feeling quite lonely tonight, so I came to offer some companionship.”

He came to see me at this hour for such a reason? If he truly wanted to comfort me, I wanted to tell him to go to the training grounds right now and be my sparring partner. Even though he always failed the knight tryouts, he would collapse helplessly after just a few swings of my sword.

“Are you still clenching your fists, Your Majesty?”

Grand Duke Martins asked, staring at my hands.

“Ah, it’s a habit. Don’t mind it.”

I said, subtly extending my clenched fist forward. In response, Grand Duke Martins leaned back, startled, even though he wasn’t close to me. *What’s wrong with him?* Readjusting his posture, he lowered his voice and said,

“I believe I saw you at the royal training grounds a few years ago.”

“……Me?”

My palms began to sweat.

“Yes, I happened to see Your Majesty engrossed in sword training alone.”

“What……did you see?”

I was so surprised by the Grand Duke’s words that I blurted out the question. There was no time to pretend it wasn’t me, to say that the Grand Duke was mistaking me for someone else.

“Yes, I saw you. I also saw you receiving instruction from Commander Canal.”

“……Ah. You witnessed a very… private scene, Grand Duke.”

Since he even mentioned Master Canal, there was no point in denying it, so I simply admitted it.

“Haha, actually, I didn’t see it myself.”

*Is this sword idiot playing with me right now?* I glared at Grand Duke Martins, who changed his words as soon as I admitted it.

“Then who was it that saw me at the training grounds?”

“My bodyguard saw it. What did he say……? He said that your swordsmanship under the moonlight was so beautiful it was mesmerizing.”

I was momentarily taken aback but quickly pretended to agree.

“You have……a truly… perceptive subordinate by your side, Grand Duke.”

At my words, Grand Duke Martins suddenly slapped his knee and burst into laughter. He was laughing so much that I was starting to feel annoyed. *It would be nice to punch him in the solar plexus [the soft spot below the sternum] and make him stop breathing for just five seconds.* My fists, which had been feeling increasingly restricted lately, were starting to tense up.

“My knight told me that Your Majesty’s skills are quite impressive. I’m curious.”

“If you’re curious, I’ll give you a chance to experience it.”

I subtly rotated my left wrist. *Since he’s a weakling who has only ever held a pen, I’ll be considerate and use my weaker left hand to spar with him.*

“Ahahaha, I’ll pass.”

Grand Duke Martins raised both hands in surrender, looking serious.

“But, is it a problem that I know how to use a sword?”

“No. It’s not something to hide that a woman wields a sword, especially in a continent where wars are frequent. I know that there are quite a few female knight commanders in the Southern Continent.”

“I’ve heard that story too. Although not as much as in the Southern Continent, sword lessons are mandatory for the young ladies of the Shatou Neil Kingdom.”

“However, there are probably no young ladies who consistently practice swordsmanship like Your Majesty. And even fewer who are skilled at it.”

“That’s……true.”

I was slightly nervous. It wasn’t wrong to learn swordsmanship, but if I had learned it secretly without the permission of the royal family and through formal procedures, that fact could be a problem. Grand Duke Martins smiled knowingly, as if he knew what I was worried about, and opened his mouth again.

“Your Majesty, that wasn’t something you should have hidden.”

*It meant, why did you hide it?*

“I didn’t hide it.”

I didn’t have anything to say in response.

“So, Your Majesty, you weren’t trying to hide that you knew how to use a sword, but perhaps you wanted to hide the fact that you were a skilled swordsman?”

“I told you that’s not the case.”

When I became serious, Grand Duke Martins nodded perfunctorily.

“I was just saying that because you were clenching your fists, and it reminded me of what my knight told me. I have no other intentions.”

Grand Duke Martins gave me a look that said he would just let it go. The Grand Duke often gave me that look, as if he was overlooking something for me. Every time he did, I thought it would suit him quite well if there were bruises around his gray eyes. Without realizing it, my left fist was rising, so I barely managed to grab my left wrist with my right hand.

“So, Your Majesty, don’t be nervous.”

Was I showing a nervous expression? To be honest, I was at a loss as to how to react to Grand Duke Martins’s words. Smiling would seem like I was nervous, and getting angry would seem like I was overreacting.

“You don’t seem to get much sleep, Grand Duke?”

I subtly changed the subject.

“No, but since coming to this Lapheon Empire, the nights have been a bit difficult.”

“Why is that?”

For me, it was the opposite. Since coming to the Lapheon Empire, which had a lower temperature than the Shatou Neil Kingdom, I had been waking up less often in the early morning.

“Wouldn’t that be natural for someone from the warmer Shatou Neil Kingdom?”

Grand Duke Martins asked me, as if he found it strange.

“Well, it varies from person to person.”

“The nights in Lapheon seem quite chilly even in early summer. I had only heard rumors, but experiencing it myself, I sometimes feel a chill in my body at night.”

Grand Duke Martins said, rubbing his arms with both hands.

“I will order the servants to bring thick blankets and larger warming magic stones to the room where you are staying, Grand Duke.”

Grand Duke Martins looked at me with a slightly surprised expression.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

When I tilted my head, he made an interesting expression.

“Now you really seem like the Empress of the Lapheon Empire. It was only a short time ago that you were a bath maid of the kingdom.”

“Now I really *am* the Empress of the Lapheon Empire. Still.”

I felt a strange sense of self-deprecation as I added the last word. And I didn’t like the way Grand Duke Martins seemed to look down on me. If he wanted to play his role faithfully, he should refrain from such remarks. However, it was difficult for me to argue with Grand Duke Martins one by one. *I am just a surrogate empress.* So, there was nothing good for me in antagonizing Grand Duke Martins in the future. But there was nothing particularly beneficial in being friendly with him either.

“Oh dear, I seem to have committed another discourtesy. I always have to be careful with my words in front of someone who wields a sword.”

He apologized, looking embarrassed, as if he had read my displeased expression.

“I would like to compete with you in swordsmanship someday, Grand Duke, but of course, there will be no opportunity while I am in the position of Empress, right?”

Without realizing it, I cracked my knuckles like a habit. Grand Duke Martins frowned as if he really didn’t like the sound. *Well, I didn’t intend to threaten him. I just had itchy knuckles.*

“I actually think it’s not bad for Your Majesty to stay in that position for a long time. Ha, ha, ha.”

Grand Duke Martins laughed awkwardly. I was about to laugh at the Grand Duke’s nervous appearance, but I straightened my face again and tilted my head from side to side. The sound of my neck bones echoed cheerfully in the quiet audience chamber.

“I would like you to leave now that you’ve kept me company.”

“I heard that His Majesty the Emperor is spending the night in the bedroom of one of the concubines tonight.”

Despite my warning, Grand Duke Martins coughed a few times and began to probe me.

“……Yes, it’s a natural procedure.”

It was a natural procedure, but the problem was that my feelings were not natural.

“You don’t look very happy?”

*You annoying human.* I glared at the perceptive Grand Duke Martins. He kept talking while subtly avoiding my eyes.

“By now, it’s probably time for him to have a glass of wine and a conversation with the concubine in the bedroom, right?”

“…….”

“Ah, has the time for conversation already passed?”

“What do you want to say, Grand Duke?”

I pulled the silk shawl I was wearing further forward and deliberately asked with a sleepy expression.

“It’s the same as I said at the beginning. Even though you are a surrogate empress, I’m just trying to be a companion because I thought you might not be feeling well tonight.”

“You seem more like a spectator disguised as a companion?”

“Haha, of course not.”

“If you’ve finished watching my reaction, please go back and sleep.”

When I got up from the sofa, Grand Duke Martins also stood up, looking like he couldn’t help it. Knock, knock-! At that moment, Sharon hurriedly opened the audience chamber door with a frantic knock.

“Your Majesty! H, His Majesty the Emperor is in the bedroom right now!”

“The bedroom……my bedroom?!”

“Yes!”

What on earth was going on that he came to the Empress’s Palace on the day he performed the ceremony with the concubines? The only thought that came to my mind at that moment was.

*‘Could it be that he found out about my identity……? Have I really been caught this time?’*

It seemed like I wasn’t the only one thinking that. When I turned my gaze to Grand Duke Martins, he was also looking at me with a quite surprised face.

“Grand Duke, could it be that His Majesty has learned about our affair…….”

“Our affair?”

“!”

Linell’s cold voice pierced the back of my head.

“Oh my! Your Majesty, w, when did you come to the audience chamber……!”

Sharon’s startled voice overlapped with Linell’s voice at the same time. It seemed that my voice had leaked out through the open audience chamber door. Flustered, Grand Duke Martins and I continued to stare at each other. Linell frowned, looking back and forth between me and the Grand Duke, as if that sight looked even more suspicious. His handsome and beautiful features were being distorted.