The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 260

260. Eye Candy for the Concubines

“Y-Your Majesty? You don’t mean that, do you?”

Raphael leaped in front of Linelle, blocking his path.

“Why, if I do?”

“……Eii, you’re just saying that to make Raphael laugh, right? Huh?”

“I don’t like using my body for humor.”

Not that I have a funny body.

He was serious.

“That’s not what I’m talking about, is it?”

Raphael tapped his attire, looking frustrated.

“Ooh? Raphael’s jealous. Our master would love it, though?”

Moya pushed Raphael’s flat chest and chirped.

“You think Zelda would really like it?”

“Yeah, for sure! Our master would be like, ‘These concubines, this is my mating stud!’ and be super proud!”

Moya affirmed, staring at the chiseled muscles revealed through his shirt.

“But you wouldn’t want other females seeing His Majesty’s bare body, Moni~?”

Moni whined, sticking her head through the gap in his unbuttoned shirt.

“What’s wrong with you… Are you hot? Why are you burying your head in my ice-cold chest?”

Moya pecked at Moni’s back with her sparrow beak, and Moni flapped her wings, annoyed.

The two little sparrows bickered and flew out the window, and Linelle finally left the office.

Raphael followed him, continuing to advise.

“Please, you must maintain your dignity, Your Majesty.”

“What have I even done that you’re already nagging?”

“I’m just saying it in advance, in case you do something at the hot springs.”

Raphael knew he couldn’t stop the Emperor.

His only hope was that he would maintain a dignified appearance at the hot springs.

But what kind of person was Emperor Linelle?

Back when Zelda was Empress, he had appeared at the first meal with the Empress and the concubines, saying he was there for dessert, and devoured Zelda’s lips as if eating a sweet cake, even with the concubines glaring daggers at him!

Dignity had been thrown out the window back then, probably.

Raphael was already half resigned, but at least Zelda was the Empress back then, so it only ended with jealous looks from the concubines.

However, the current situation in the Imperial Palace was very different from then.

The only thing that hadn’t changed was Linelle, who still loved only Zelda, even after she was demoted to the Second Concubine.

Therefore, the more the Emperor’s affection was outwardly displayed, the higher the jealousy and envy of the new Empress and concubines would rise, and the more likely that anger would be directed at Zelda.

To Raphael, the secretary, Linelle’s sometimes reckless behavior seemed precarious.

“Raphael, I know what you’re worried about.”

He chuckled.

Your Majesty, do you really…… know?

Raphael’s eyes were full of disbelief.

“I’m not going to enjoy the hot springs right now.”

“Yes, I know. You’re going to protect Zelda under the guise of enjoying the hot springs, aren’t you?”

“That’s right, but I won’t stay at the hot springs for long. I’ll just pretend to stop by on the way to the training grounds.”

“Ah, really?”

Raphael’s face brightened.

“Yeah. I’m just going to check if my woman is feeling down.”

Who’s feeling down?

Zelda?

Before Raphael could retort, Linelle’s worries poured out.

“She’s such a delicate woman. It’s like leaving a child by the lake.”

“?”

“I need to see with my own eyes that she’s doing well at the hot springs to feel at ease.”

“Zelda doesn’t seem like the type to feel intimidated anywhere she goes……”

Raphael quietly retorted, following Linelle as he quickly descended the central staircase.

***

The hot springs in the cypress forest were not far from the training grounds, as Sharon had said.

When Rosie, Melanie, and I arrived at the hot springs, Roxana and the other concubines seemed to have just arrived as well.

The concubines all looked excited.

Whether Roxana or the other concubines had heard about it from Yulina in advance, they exchanged greetings calmly without showing any surprise at our appearance.

Only Pessillini and Catherine seemed to be uncomfortable, glancing at us apologetically.

The escort knights began setting up tents around the hot springs where we could change into our dresses.

Meanwhile, the concubines sat on rugs they had brought from their residences, waiting for the tents to be completed.

“Zelda, did you three really plan to come to the hot springs today?”

Yulina narrowed her eyes and asked me.

“Melanie mentioned it yesterday at Pessillini’s residence, right? That’s why we came, isn’t it?”

“Yes, I heard. But I was just wondering how it happened to coincide with our trip to the hot springs.”

There are many things to wonder about.

“Are you chirping like that because you think we followed you?”

I asked in a nature-friendly manner.

My lips were smiling, but my eyes weren’t.

“……Yes?”

Yulina’s eyes darted around, not knowing what to say, her face flustered.

“Actually, I was more surprised that everyone except the three of us was going to the hot springs?”

Melanie threw a pointed remark, and Yulina’s eyes subtly turned to Roxana.

I felt Roxana looking at me, but I pretended not to notice and looked up at Sharon.

“Sharon, pour a glass of juice for the Empress and the concubines. It would be much easier if Misha and Heather helped, right?”

I pointed to the basket containing apricot juice bottles and glasses that I had prepared at the residence and ordered Sharon.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Misha, Rosie’s maid, and Heather, Melanie’s maid, helped Sharon discreetly.

The three of them took glasses out of the basket and distributed them to the concubines, then took out apricot juice bottles one by one and poured juice for them.

“Please, have some. I also heard from Melanie yesterday that the Empress was coming to the hot springs with the concubines ‘excluding us,’ so I prepared more juice. We couldn’t possibly drink juice ‘only us.’”

I spoke as politely as possible, trying not to offend Roxana.

It was inevitable that my voice would be emphasized in certain parts.

“Don’t misunderstand, it’s not like we didn’t invite you on purpose.”

Roxana said in an awkward tone, looking at me, Rosie, and Melanie after taking a sip of apricot juice.

“Really?”

Melanie asked Roxana instead of me.

Roxana hesitated for a moment, then said, ‘Ah,’ as if she had thought of an excuse.

“There are so many concubines, so I was going to come in shifts.”

Melanie lost her words to retort, pouted her lips, and replied briefly, ‘Yes.’

“Well, I had such deep intentions…… Why did you three try to come alone?”

Roxana’s sharp eyes flew to us in turn.

“We had the same thought as the Empress.”

I replied calmly this time as well.

“What?”

“We were going to come to the hot springs first to experience the condition of the hot spring water ourselves, and then bring the Empress and the other concubines. The precious bodies might be surprised if the hot spring water is too cold or too hot.”

Lies about the hot springs flowed out like hot spring water- gurgle gurgle gurgle-.

Roxana made a stifled sound, as if her throat was blocked, and sipped the apricot juice.

While the concubines were sharing juice amicably, the tent for changing dresses was completed.

Everyone went into their tents, changed into hot spring dresses, and came out.

Rosie and I were the first to change our dresses and put our feet in the hot spring water.

After a while, the other concubines also changed into hot spring dresses one by one and came out.

“I feel like my fatigue is relieved just by soaking my feet. Oh? Look over there, Pessillini is coming out.”

Rosie said, splashing her feet, then lowered her voice and gestured with her chin.

I stared intently at Pessillini coming out of the tent.

Fortunately, her belly wasn’t at the point where it was obvious that she was pregnant.

Roxana and her maid were walking behind Pessillini.

Roxana spoke to Pessillini and moved next to her. Then, whether Pessillini was nervous, she stumbled on the stone floor next to the hot springs, and her body swayed.

The moment Pessillini’s body was about to fall into the hot springs,

“Be careful! Your Majesty!”

Yulina, who had been wandering around alone for no reason since earlier, grabbed Pessillini’s arm as if she had been waiting for it.

“Oh my goodness. You almost got hurt, are you okay?”

Yulina asked quite kindly, and Pessillini nodded, stroking her chest.

“Thank you so much, I would have been very surprised if it weren’t for Yulina.”

Pessillini said, unknowingly covering her belly with both hands.

Yulina’s gaze glanced at her belly for a moment and smiled.

“I think Yulina knows……”

Rosie whispered to me in a ventriloquial voice.

“I think so too.”

I replied in a ventriloquial voice.

Melanie, who came out of the tent last, appeared wearing a large-brimmed hat.

The other concubines looked at her as if she were an eyesore.

“Melanie, who wears such a hat when coming to enjoy the hot springs? Take off the hat.”

Rosie quietly advised Melanie.

“Don’t say things you don’t know. How strong is the autumn sun? You might come to relax and end up with freckles.”

“……Yes. Do as you please.”

Considering that it wasn’t entirely wrong, Rosie didn’t say anything more.

One of the knights who knew a lot about the hot springs approached and said to the concubines as if urging them.

“The side with the big rock is deeper than an adult man’s height. So please soak only near this light blue area.”

Everyone looked at the big rock and nodded.

As the escort knight explained, the color of the hot spring water was different in the deep and shallow areas.

The deep area was a deep emerald color, while the area where we were going to soak was a cloudy, light blue color, and the depth came up to the waistline.

Roxana and the rest of the concubines took the hands of their maids and stepped into the hot springs one by one.

From here and there, sounds were heard that it was cool, that fatigue was relieved, and that the skin was already smooth.

Since I originally had a high body temperature, I didn’t feel much.

Instead, I had a desire to have smooth skin, so I kept pouring hot spring water on my neck and arms with both hands.

“Hettor! Hug me and put me in the water!”

Melanie fluttered her arms and whined at Hettor, who was standing far away with his back turned like the other escort knights.

Unknowingly, my gaze reached Roxana’s face.

Were Roxana’s nostrils always that big? Her nostrils were getting bigger and bigger, trying to catch up with the size of her eyes.

Everyone’s attention was focused on Hettor at the sound of Melanie taking off her shoes.

Hettor, who had been standing far away with his back turned like the other escort knights, looked at Melanie with a troubled expression and cleared his throat.

“Catch her.”

At that time, Roxana ordered Hettor with a relaxed smile.

Hettor moved at her command.

Melanie looked back and forth between the two with a strange look in her eyes.

But I witnessed Hettor’s foot twitching before Roxana’s command was even given.

Even if Roxana hadn’t said anything, he would have come to Melanie and taken her hand.

However, from Roxana’s position, Hettor was not clearly visible, so she might have thought that he moved at her command.

“Your Majesty, isn’t he originally Your Majesty’s escort knight? Why to Melanie……”

Yulina, who knew well that Hettor was the king of Tanya Island, asked with the honorific ‘nim’ [a Korean honorific suffix].

“I lent him to Melanie to escort her for a while.”

“Your Majesty is so generous.”

Yulina flattered Roxana with an admiring expression.

Hettor, who had approached Melanie, lightly lifted Melanie as if grabbing a scabbard and carefully put her into the hot springs.

“Thank you.”

Hettor nodded lightly as Melanie waved her hand and smiled, then neatly placed the shoes she had taken off and walked back to where he had been standing.

It was a voluntary action.

Roxana’s fierce eyes followed Hettor’s back from the shoes Melanie had taken off.

It was like the eyes of a wife who had witnessed her husband having an affair in front of her eyes.

Was she feeling sick to her stomach at the sight of her escort knight serving and taking care of someone else as his master?

“Zelda, why are you only soaking your feet?”

Catherine asked me for no reason.

“I’ll go in soon.”

I was a little hesitant to soak in the hot springs.

It would be okay if I didn’t stay for long, but I wanted to go in as late as possible.

If I had known this would happen, I would have received Linelle’s cold energy in the morning……. If I had, I would have soaked in the hot spring water without hesitation.

Huh? Am I seeing things?

The moment I thought of Linelle, he appeared before my eyes.

I quickly rubbed my eyes with my hands.

“Your Majesty?!”

Judging from the surprised voices of the concubines here and there, I wasn’t seeing things.

But why did that man come here?

“Your Majesty, what brings you here?”

Roxana, like a virtuous empress, shot a look at the concubines to shut up and asked him.

“I heard that you were at the hot springs on the way to the training grounds, so I stopped by for a moment.”

“I see, I’m sorry that everyone is dressed like this.”

“My eyes are more sorry, are you all doing well?”

Linelle slowly walked towards us.

As he got closer, the concubines all looked up at him as if possessed, with shy expressions on their faces.

The area around the hot springs was foggy, so he seemed more mysterious.

They’re not even naked, so why are their faces so red?

The concubines, whose bodies were already flushed from the hot spring water, had their faces turn even redder at his appearance.

“Am I disturbing you?”

Linelle felt the chaotic atmosphere and looked apologetic, putting his hands in his pants pockets.

The concubines, including Roxana, repeatedly opened their mouths, closed them, widened their eyes, and narrowed them at every gesture he made.

Well, even I, who sleeps and wakes up with him every day, always find his face new.

“Not at all! Please come in, Your Majesty!”

The concubines from the Principality of Aclato sang in unison and laughed sweetly.

“No. That’s not why I came.”

He refused firmly.

He made eye contact with me before turning around and smiled.

I could feel that he came because he was worried about me.

“Then I’ll be on my way…….”

He looked around at the concubines and raised his hand as if to say he was going back to where he was going.

Linelle turned around neatly, leaving behind the concubines who were making regretful noises.

As expected, my man is cool.

I was admiring his beautiful back with a satisfied smile.

But he, who was walking with Raphael, disappeared with a splash-.

“Your Majesty!!”

I was so surprised that I jumped into the hot spring water.

Raphael, who was walking with him, seemed to have tripped over a stone and collided with his body.

Because of that, he, who was walking right next to the hot springs, lost his balance and fell into the hot springs.

“Puhuuup!”

Linelle threw his head back and jumped out of the hot spring water.

His wet shirt came into view through his open uniform.

His well-defined chest muscles, which only I had admired until now, were clearly revealed.

Suddenly, the concubines’ eye candy began.

Damn it!

Raphael hurriedly knelt down and bowed his head deeply, begging for forgiveness before his head popped out of the hot spring water.

“Oh, Your Majesty! Please forgive me, I have committed a crime worthy of death, Moya~!”

“?!”

……You, are you Moya, not Raphael?