The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 273

273. Welcome If You Just Come In

After leaving Duke Joseph’s room, I went with Linell to see Bellos.

I was about to raise my hand to knock when I noticed a gaping hole in the middle of the door and paused.

Bellos’s door remained as Linell had punched it through.

“It seems he hasn’t replaced the door yet.”

“Looks like he’s fine with it as it is.”

He said casually, sticking his face through the hole he had made in the door and shouting,

“Master of the Magic Tower, I’m coming in!”

From inside the room, Bellos’s displeased voice asked, “What brings you here?”

“Stay there. You’re not feeling well, so there’s no need to come out.”

Linell then reached through the hole, directly unlocked the latch, and opened the door.

“No, if you just come in like this……!”

Bellos, who was walking out with obvious annoyance, stopped.

He spotted me secretly waving behind Linell and immediately changed his tone.

“……Welcome.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the somewhat strange phrase, ‘Welcome if you just come in.’

Seeing Bellos’s obvious change of tone upon seeing me, Linell, who had been holding his hands behind his back, clenched his fist.

I quickly covered his clenched hand with my own, patting the back of his hand to signal him to relax.

“The protection magic is quite good. It only seems to be a bit swollen.”

As he said, Bellos’s face was in better condition than I had expected.

“That’s a relief. I was worried.”

Bellos, who had been wearing a sullen expression, smiled and replied to my comforting words.

“It’s all thanks to Zelda applying plenty of ointment.”

“And partly because I didn’t hit him too hard,” Linell muttered quietly to himself.

I nudged his side, and he turned to the door and said,

“I will personally instruct the management department to replace the door as soon as possible.”

He took my hand and walked to the sofa, sitting down.

“Are you very uncomfortable?”

I asked Bellos as I sat on the sofa.

“I’m managing. Palace people come and go, greeting me through the hole… But what brings you here?”

Bellos also sat down opposite us, looking back and forth between Linell and me.

“Moya and Moni have caused a bit of an incident.”

“In the Canyon of Death?”

“No, they were playing with the wyverns and strayed from the group, apparently going all the way to the Aclato Duchy. There, they saw the Galacos [monstrous, multi-headed creatures] imprisoned in the spire prison on the duchy’s walls.”

“Ah… It seems Hector has brought Galacos to the duchy and is managing them. But what kind of trouble did those two cause…?”

A look of unease flashed across Bellos’s face.

“They left after doing some breeding.”

“What do you mean?”

“They seem to have turned all the two-headed male Galacos into one-headed ones.”

He finished speaking with a chuckle after seriously continuing the story.

I couldn’t help but laugh at their absurd actions, even after thinking about it again.

“Really?”

Bellos narrowed his brows, looking bewildered.

“Yes, it’s true.”

Linell added, taking my words.

“There was a female Galaco in the cage, and they said they did it for peace after seeing the two-headed male Galacos fighting each other.”

“…Ha, haha.”

Bellos also burst into laughter.

“It will soon reach Hector’s ears. Will it be alright?”

I asked with a slightly worried tone, and the smile disappeared from Bellos’s face.

“Only the wyverns can burn the heads of the fire Galacos, so they’ll know this was the work of wyverns right away. But they don’t know about Moya and Moni’s existence, so don’t worry too much.”

“I think so too. They might misunderstand that the Lapion Imperial Family moved using the Wyvern Lord, but there’s no definite evidence. So there’s not much they can do, other than being on alert.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. It’s not easy to attack the wyverns.”

Bellos paused for a moment, lost in thought, then continued, saying it was a good thing.

“If Roxana’s side ever releases the Galacos to attack, it will be easier to kill those male Galacos.”

“That’s right. You have to remove both heads to kill a Galaco, but thanks to Moya and Moni, we can kill them in one shot.”

I said, recalling the Galaco attack in the Elange Forest.

“Actually, the reason I came to see you, Magic Tower Lord, isn’t because of the Galaco heads, but because I have something to ask about Hector.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Do you know why Hector is helping Roxana? Unless he’s been caught with a major weakness, there seems to be no reason for him to be attached here as Roxana’s guard knight. My feeling is that he doesn’t deeply cherish Roxana.”

At Linell’s question, Bellos carefully opened his mouth.

“At first, I thought he was looking after Roxana because he admired her after she became empress…”

“But?”

“But one day, he came to me and asked about obedience potions.”

At Bellos’s words, Linell and I exchanged glances.

“Is there a possibility that Roxana fed Hector an obedience potion…?”

“It’s not impossible. Hmm, I’ll look into it.”

“How?”

“There is a way to test for obedience potion reactions, but there’s an easier way to confirm. I’ll visit the Magic Tower today…”

Bellos muttered with a knowing expression.

***

“Could I get some tea?”

Prince Norton visited Rosie’s residence.

“Of course, please come in.”

I could even offer myself.

Rosie greeted Prince Norton kindly, hiding her true intentions.

Sitting across the tea table, Rosie poured cherry tea and cautiously brought up the relationship between Melanie and Hector.

“Goodness. Does His Majesty… know about this?”

Prince Norton almost spilled the cherry tea he had taken a sip of back into the teacup.

“Probably. Didn’t Zelda Mama give His Majesty a slight hint? And His Majesty was the one who assigned Hector as Melanie Mama’s guard knight in the first place, so he wouldn’t be too surprised to hear about their relationship.”

“Why does Melanie Mama like that pirate king?”

Prince Norton asked with curiosity.

“He’s as manly in personality as he looks.”

There was a hint of envy in her tone.

“His kisses are so rough that Melanie Mama’s heart feels like it’s being pulled out of her mouth!”

Rosie said, raising her voice.

It was an expression of admiration, but Prince Norton seemed to think differently.

“Oh dear.”

Prince Norton clicked his tongue and made a pitiful expression, so Rosie quickly added as if frustrated.

“…Melanie Mama meant it in a good way.”

“Are you perhaps envious of Melanie Mama?”

Prince Norton rested his arms on the table and stared intently at Rosie’s face.

She should say no, but Rosie couldn’t lie.

“It’s not that I’m envious… I’m just, just curious.”

What a rough kiss is like.

“I will resolve that curiosity after the wedding.”

Prince Norton suppressed Rosie’s desires with a gentle smile.

‘I’m curious now!’

Rosie forced herself to hide her disappointment and changed the subject.

“Ah, are you good at swimming, Your Highness?”

“Why swimming all of a sudden?”

“Hector taught Melanie Mama how to swim too. He said it’s good to learn since they’re traveling by sea to the Partsha Empire [a powerful nation].”

“But they’re traveling by ship, not swimming, so why swimming…?”

Prince Norton muttered, looking puzzled.

“I don’t know? But well, it’s never bad to learn, right?”

“That’s true.”

“I’m worried because I can’t swim like Melanie Mama…”

Rosie said, subtly probing Prince Norton, and

“Me too.”

Prince Norton also made a worried expression.

“…Ah, yes.”

Rosie turned her head and drank her cherry tea, secretly frowning.

Prince Norton’s face looked like a delicate boy today.

***

Late in the afternoon, Hector arrived at the annex where the VIPs were staying to meet Emperor Adrian.

As if he had been informed in advance, Emperor Adrian greeted Hector warmly, as if he had been waiting.

“Welcome, it seems like we’re only having a conversation now after seeing you at the monastery during the Continental Hunting Competition. Sit down.”

“I heard from the Empress. You need Galacos. I wanted to know exactly what your plan is, so I asked to meet.”

Hector got straight to the point as soon as he sat down, without any formalities.

“Of course, you need to know. You’re the one managing the Galacos.”

Emperor Adrian said, showing favor to Hector.

“You’re a close aide to the Empress, so you probably already heard from her who the Wyvern Lord is, right?”

“Yes, I heard.”

“We’ve informed the countries in the Southern Continent that the Wyvern Lord is in the Lapion Empire, but it’s not yet certain whether they will side with me or not. If they know that the Wyvern Lord is Zelda Mama, who is favored by Emperor Linell, other countries may be cautious.”

“That’s probably true. Emperor Linell won’t stand still.”

There was a high possibility that it could escalate into another continental war.

“So, it’s necessary to shake them up once before arriving in the Partsha Empire.”

“Using the Galacos?”

“That’s right. If the hungry Galacos eliminate even half of the Lapion Empire’s congratulatory delegation, we can sufficiently isolate the delegation in the Partsha Empire.”

Adrian’s vile laughter leaked through his teeth in between words.

“If they are attacked at sea, they may turn the ship back.”

“So, we need to release the Galacos in a location close to the Partsha Empire.”

Emperor Adrian whispered secretly, flashing a sly look.

“It’s an opportunity to eliminate not only the Wyvern Lord but also key figures of the Lapion Empire all at once. If those thorns in our side disappear, the Empress’s position will become more solid. Then your status will also rise.”

Emperor Adrian spoke as if he would gain great benefits if he sided with him.

‘But what does that mean to me?’

Hector asked himself.

Clearly, until recently, helping Roxana was everything in his life.

He believed so.

But from some point on, he began to understand less and less why he was devoted to her.

He felt like he was caught in an inescapable trap, but he couldn’t clearly understand what it was.

His heart began to turn elsewhere, but when he still saw Roxana, his body moved on its own according to her orders.

It was as if a puppet doll had gained a self.

Hector didn’t remember well the feelings he had for Roxana before leaving the Aclato Duchy.

It was as if part of his brain had been deleted and manipulated by something from some point on.

When he first heard this plan from Roxana, he naturally found himself following her orders.

If the Galacos are released, many people on the ship will surely become food for the Galacos.

His head throbbed whenever he thought that Melanie might be one of the victims.

It was as if two selves were fighting within his body.

“I heard from the Empress that the Galacos that were released and recaptured during the Continental Hunting Competition are being managed in the Aclato Duchy, right?”

“Yes, it’s much closer to the continent, so it’s easier to manage than Tanya Island.”

“That’s good, it’s perfect. Hector, if this goes well… who knows? You might become the emperor of the Lapion Empire.”

Emperor Adrian seemed to be thinking of eliminating not only Zelda, the Wyvern Lord, but also Linell if possible.

“Prepare the Galacos in advance. Keep them as hungry as possible.”

Emperor Adrian said again, as if urging him.

Then, he suddenly put one finger to his mouth and gestured to the open terrace door.

At Emperor Adrian’s gesture, Hector turned his gaze to the terrace door.

A shadow was slightly visible beyond the terrace door.

Someone was eavesdropping on the conversation.

Emperor Adrian mouthed ‘Go out and see’ and carefully stood up, deliberately asking various questions about the Galacos.

Hector matched his tone and answered a few words, then bowed and quietly left the room.

Emperor Adrian quickly turned around and ran out through the open terrace door.

“I wondered what rat was eavesdropping, but it was the dog I was raising.”

“I, I just… thought someone had come…”

Empress Elan, who was staying in the room next to Emperor Adrian, stood frozen outside the terrace door.

“Elan, since when were we crossing rooms through the terrace?”

“Cough! Your… Your Majesty!”

Emperor Adrian grabbed Empress Elan’s neck in surprise and dragged her into the room.

***

After leaving Bellos’s room and seeing Zelda off, Linell returned to his office and summoned Stian.

“You called, Your Majesty.”

“Have the Magic Tower Lord’s door replaced immediately today.”

“Yesterday, you clearly… told me to leave it as it is for a few days, didn’t you?”

Rafael, who was standing next to him, was shocked at Stian’s words.

“Your Majesty, did you really order that?!”

“…I did, why? For surveillance purposes.”

Linell made an embarrassed expression for a moment, then said in a sullen tone.

“But… why did your mind change again?”

Rafael asked with a face that genuinely wondered.

“It would be a problem if the Magic Tower Lord caught a cold.”

“Pardon?”

“The night breeze is cold.”

“Y-yes?”

“It’s autumn.”

“…No, yesterday you were planning to grind the Magic Tower Lord’s face into powder, but suddenly you’re worried about him catching a cold?”

Rafael said sarcastically, maintaining the most polite posture possible.

“The Magic Tower Lord checks on Zelda’s condition every day, and if he catches a cold, he could pass it on to Zelda. Then it wouldn’t be good for our child either.”

“Ah, such deep meaning?”

Rafael and Stian nodded their heads at the same time.

“So either block the hole or replace the door completely. Take action by the end of today.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I will implement it right away!”

Knock knock knock-.

Stian, who had quickly left the office door, came back in a few seconds later.

“Um… Your Majesty.”

“What, again.”

“Melanie Mama’s guard knight has requested an audience.”

At Stian’s words, Linell, who was looking through documents, raised his head.

“Who… Hector?”