The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 27

27. Tell Me Not to Go

“I… I greet Your Majesty the Emperor.”

Archduke Martins, ahead of me, erased his flustered expression and paid his respects to Linelle. I couldn’t move, seeing Linelle radiating anger from his entire being. His indifferent eyes, seemingly freezing the audience chamber, darted between me and Archduke Martins as he asked,

“Is there something between the two of you that I shouldn’t know?”

I had to make up some excuse. His chillingly indifferent voice made my lips stiffen. I had no choice but to rely on Archduke Martins, who was more intelligent than me. I waited for the Archduke to come up with a plausible excuse, but he was also a dud when it came to quick wit.

“Empress.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Are you that close to the Archduke that you refer to him as ‘we’?”

“Close… not really.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, I’m certain.”

It was from this point that a smile began to appear on Linelle’s face.

“Then, would it be alright if I killed the Archduke?”

I, who had been keeping my gaze on the marble floor, was startled by his words and raised my head.

“What do you think?”

A very tempting offer, wasn’t it? I almost clapped. Instead of words, I sent Linelle a positive signal with my eyes. Though he probably wouldn’t notice my affirmative signal.

“It’s not a bad idea, but…”

After uttering these words, I glanced at Archduke Martins. The Archduke was watching me with a rather wounded expression.

“If you kill the Archduke, an even stranger noble might come from the Shatoanil Kingdom.”

“…Ah! I didn’t think of that. Ha, haha.”

Linelle tilted his head back and laughed. I didn’t say it for him to laugh; I was serious. He swept his glossy black hair back and spoke again.

“Yes, the Empress has a point. It would be more troublesome for me too, wouldn’t it?”

“Needless to say, Your Majesty.”

I replied with a smile. I made an effort to ignore Archduke Martins’ stinging gaze on my left cheek. The Archduke, the person in question, reluctantly started to laugh at the conversation between the Emperor and Empress, who were talking about his life with smiles. Of course, Archduke Martins’ eyes looked incredibly sad. I felt a little sorry for him, but the feeling of satisfaction was greater. Thanks to that, the grim atmosphere from a moment ago subsided slightly. It was a shame to miss the opportunity to easily get rid of the Archduke, but I didn’t hate him enough to kill him yet. Of course, I might regret today’s events later.

“Archduke, congratulations on surviving in the Empress’ Palace.”

Linelle clapped two or three times and said.

“…Pardon?”

“You should leave now. If my smile disappears, I don’t know what I’ll do then.”

Linelle said, stepping aside from the audience chamber door he had been blocking. When Archduke Martins hesitated, Linelle shot him a look that asked what he was doing not leaving. The Archduke turned his back to him and pretended to greet me, whispering in my ear.

“Tonight, you must return His Majesty to the concubine.”

“?”

“Only then can the Empress stay in this position without being attacked by the officials while she is here.”

The Archduke’s advice sent my mood back into darkness. I have to send him back to the concubine who came to see me?

“Archduke, do you still have something to say to the Empress?”

Linelle’s irritated voice was heard. He slowly walked towards where I and Archduke Martins were standing. The Archduke opened his mouth to make some excuse, but

“Why don’t you leave now?”

Linelle cut off the Archduke’s words. As a result, the Archduke just gaped like a goldfish, then bowed his head and quietly disappeared out of the audience chamber.

“Let’s go to the bedroom.”

As soon as Archduke Martins left, Linelle said, grabbing my hand.

***

He was silent while heading from the audience chamber to the bedroom. He opened the bedroom door and gently pushed my back inside. Somehow, I was more conscious of him than the husband who had performed the ceremony with the concubines in the afternoon, which was a very strange situation. I hadn’t done anything wrong, but I felt unnecessarily intimidated. Oh right, my existence itself is a sin.

“From now on, it’s forbidden.”

As soon as the bedroom door closed, Linelle turned me to face him and said.

“…What is?”

“That word.”

“What word?”

“The word ‘we’.”

“Ah, the talk with the Archduke? That’s a misunderstanding…”

“Whether it’s a misunderstanding or a hexa-understanding [a play on words, implying a deeper misunderstanding], it’s forbidden.”

“It’s not that…”

“Whether it’s a misunderstanding or an Oh Dal! [likely a nonsense phrase for emphasis] I said I don’t want to hear it. The ‘we’ that you use with other men.”

“…Yes.”

As I nodded and obediently answered, Linelle’s hardened expression gradually softened.

“Even if Archduke Martins is the only person from the Shatoanil Kingdom here, isn’t it a bit much to be alone together at this hour?”

“I’ll be careful from now on.”

I was about to say that Archduke Martins had come to see me without warning, but I stopped. I didn’t want to explain it in detail to him, who had welcomed four concubines today.

“The one who comes should be careful.”

Fortunately, Linelle thought that Archduke Martins had come to see me unilaterally.

“I let the Archduke live.”

He said, fiddling with the silk shawl I was wearing on my shoulders.

“What does that mean? Why is this shawl… Ah.”

Suddenly, he pulled the shawl down, causing my shoulders to flinch without me realizing it.

“If you weren’t wearing this shawl, I would have thrown one of the Archduke’s eyes out the window.”

“You’re more merciful than I thought. You spared one eye.”

“Me? No way. I was going to send the other one to the kingdom.”

Wow, the Archduke should have heard this conversation! What a shame.

“It’s okay during the day, but I don’t like other men seeing you late at night… no, I don’t like seeing the Empress’ sturdy bare shoulders.”

“What? Do my shoulders look sturdy? I’ve never heard that before?”

I frowned and looked down at my shoulders alternately, asking back.

“No, I misspoke. Not the shoulders… where was it? Ah, right. I meant I don’t like other men seeing your slender collarbone.”

Linelle’s words were flowing in an increasingly strange direction.

“But what kind of man is Archduke Martins?”

I asked him, touching my collarbone line with my hand.

“If he’s not a man, then what is he? Then bring the Archduke in a dress and bring him in front of me. Then I’ll acknowledge it.”

“…It’s horrifying just imagining it.”

“Ahem, anyway, that’s that.”

He cleared his throat and changed the subject.

“Seeing the Archduke come to the Empress’ Palace at this late hour, do the Shatoanil nobles usually take the royal etiquette lightly?”

“I heard that the Lapion Imperial Family doesn’t mind ministers or nobles requesting an audience unless it’s bedtime? Did I hear wrong?”

That’s what I knew. It was what I heard from Raphael, the Emperor’s personal secretary, so it must be correct.

“Well?”

“What do you mean, ‘well’?”

“Ah, well, you wouldn’t know since the country is different. But it’s impossible in my country.”

For some reason, he was lying right now. His eyes started to wander left and right, as if he was a little guilty himself. He’s a man who has no talent for lying.

“Is it… stipulated by law?”

I pretended not to know about his lie and asked.

“Law? Uh, yeah.”

“Ah, is it a law that was created a long time ago?”

“From tomorrow.”

“…Does that mean?”

“Yes, it’s a law that will be enforced from tomorrow, so the Archduke didn’t commit a crime. It’s a cause for celebration.”

“Archduke Martins almost became a criminal by a day.”

I laughed, parrying his absurd words. Then he twitched his cheeks and said that he was an emperor who always kept the law.

“By the way, what brings you here at this hour, Your Majesty? You’re supposed to go to the concubine’s bedroom today, aren’t you?”

“Yes, but I ended up coming to the Empress’ Palace.”

“Why…”

“You’re saying the same thing as me.”

Linelle chuckled briefly to himself.

“Yes?”

“That’s what I was thinking inside the whole time I was coming to the Empress’ Palace. ‘Why…’ This word.”

Linelle’s eyes looked somewhat shy.

“Um… but, do the priests also enter the bedroom and sing a song of blessing for the first night with the concubines?”

“Were you curious about that?”

“A little.”

I already knew from him that the priests did not attend the first night with the remarried Empress. But the first night with the concubine might be different, so I was a little curious. Linelle raised one lip crookedly.

“If possible… why don’t you tell me that you’ve been worried about that issue all day?”

“What changes if I say that?”

I asked him a somewhat provocative question.

“Everything.”

There was strength in Linelle’s voice. Everything would change? Is that really so… I was curious. Does that mean he might not spend the first night with the concubines? No way, that can’t be. What does it mean to bring in concubines? He wouldn’t have brought in four concubines just to eat together, take a walk, and sit hand in hand on the bed and have a conversation.

“Say you were worried.”

He said abruptly.

“……”

The fact that he would be sleeping with another woman tonight had been bothering me all day. That was an undeniable fact. But I remained silent.

“You’re not saying anything, making the Emperor feel awkward.”

He smiled faintly. I just looked up at him. If I said I was worried, if I really said that, it felt like many things would change, just like Linelle said. That’s why I was afraid. I suddenly became scared. I shouldn’t hold onto him… but I want to hold on. I wanted to hold on. These contradictory feelings were changing several times in a second. My heart keeps trying to go down a difficult path. What should I do? Linelle came closer to me. As if waiting for it, I took a step back. Then his brow furrowed and his lips opened.

“Tell me not to go.”

“…Your Majesty!”

This time, I moved first and stepped back to create distance between him. But despite the distance, he came to me again. The distance between us was repeatedly narrowed and widened. My body, which had been running away from him, collided with the bedpost. Now there was nowhere else to retreat. He slowly leaned his upper body towards me, as if a cat was cornering a mouse and enjoying it. I inhaled at his overwhelmingly perfect face and bent my back backwards. Seeing my waist bending flexibly like a bow, he seemed surprised.

“Why are you doing this…”

“Is it that difficult to say that you don’t like me spending the night with the concubine?”

He asked, as if he was blaming me.

“Linelle.”

“Tell me you don’t like it. Then I…!”

When I just called his name without saying anything else, he grabbed my shoulders and shook me. At that moment, my left shoe, which I was wearing, slipped on the marble floor, and I lost my balance. He pretended to support my waist, but then he took his hand away and just watched my body fall onto the bed. Instead of catching me, Linelle fell onto the bed with me.

As I tried to get up, he quickly took over me.

“Where are you going?”

Linelle grabbed both of my wrists, raised them above my head, and looked down at me.

“You haven’t answered yet.”

He looked like a beast starving for desire.