The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 277

277. It Was Close

“H-How did you know that?!”

Elan Empress asked, lowering her voice.

“Because we are great Wyverns.”

Moiya shrugged and opened the small bag she was wearing on her waist.

“Isn’t this cool? Sharon made it for Moiya~?”

Moiya showed off her sausage-keeping bag to Elan Empress and took out two sausages.

She measured the length of the two sausages with a serious look and handed the bigger one to Moni.

“Elan, does Master know?”

Moni asked while eating the sausage.

“Huh?”

“Does he know you’re in this state?”

“N-No.”

Elan Empress felt pain in her throat every time she tried to talk about Adrian Emperor.

Moni stared at Elan Empress’s frowning face and hid the sausage she was holding behind her back.

“Does Elan want to eat too? But I can’t give it to you. I’ll ask Sharon to bring some tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

Elan Empress forced a smile.

“But why did Silver Fish attack your neck? Why can’t you talk? Is something stuck in your throat?”

Moni asked.

“Elan wants to play Twenty Questions with us!”

Moiya clapped her hands, and Moni looked interested.

“Huh? Is that so? That sounds fun!”

“I’ll ask first.”

Moiya raised her hand and put the sausage she was eating back into the bag.

“Elan, if our question is right, just nod. It’s no fun if you talk. Got it?”

Elan Empress nodded at Moiya’s words.

She couldn’t speak anyway because she was under a Secret Prohibition Magic [a spell that prevents someone from revealing a secret], so she couldn’t tell even if they asked.

However, she felt choked up because she thought she could tell Zelda about this thanks to the two baby Wyverns.

“Adrian Emperor did this and told you to shut your mouth?”

Elan Empress nodded at Moiya’s question.

“It’s my turn. What did he do to your neck? Hmm, I know! A sword, right?”

Moni also raised her hand and shouted the answer along with the question.

Elan Empress nodded again this time.

“But why did that guy do that?”

“Just tell Zelda Mama what you guys just said. Then Mama will know everything.”

“Wow, our Master knows everything, right?”

“Moiya, let’s go quickly! Don’t you want to know why Silver Fish did that, Moni~?”

“I’m so curious too, Moiya~? Elan, keep your mouth shut. We’ll be back!”

“Okay, please.”

Elan Empress opened the terrace door, glanced at Adrian Emperor’s terrace, and gestured for Moiya and Moni to come out.

The two baby Wyverns flew through the heavy rain to Zelda’s residence.

***

“……She said Master would know if we just said that.”

Moiya told me the conversation she had with Elan Empress.

My heart sank.

“So what is Elan Empress doing now?”

This time, Moni explained Elan Empress’s condition in detail.

“Her face is pale. She has gauze on her neck.”

What happened?

She must have been caught spying on Adrian Emperor’s movements.

“How did she get caught……?”

I felt anxious.

I was worried that Elan Empress couldn’t speak properly.

Adrian Emperor, or rather, Phillipe, was also a wizard, so he probably put some kind of magic on her to prevent her from speaking.

What should I do?

I couldn’t go to Elan Empress at the detached palace right now.

I had been outwardly indifferent to Elan Empress, conscious of Adrian Emperor, but if it became known that I suddenly visited her, it would be strange.

“Sharon, prepare some inconspicuous black clothes. And a robe too.”

“Are you going to see Elan Empress?”

Sharon asked with a worried face.

“I’m going to ask Velos to send me to her room with teleportation.”

At this, Sharon also felt relieved and went into the dressing room to take out a black robe and uniform.

But Moiya scratched her head and muttered.

“Oong? The Magic Tower Lord wasn’t there?”

“What? When did you go to Velos’s room?”

“Before going to Elan’s place. Kami was the only one there, and the Magic Tower Lord wasn’t in the room.”

“Kami? Are you talking about the crow that Velos uses?”

“Yes, Kami said the Magic Tower Lord went to the Magic Tower.”

“……Ah.”

I thought Velos might have gone to the Magic Tower because of the Hector issue.

If so, I can’t help it.

“You’re not going to the detached palace yourself, are you?”

Sharon put her hands together and stomped her feet as she watched me pull the hood of the robe down.

“I’m going to sneak into Elan Empress’s room.”

“It’s too dangerous!”

“Don’t worry. It’s nothing to me.”

I patted Sharon on the shoulder to reassure her.

“I’m worried because Adrian Emperor’s room is right next to Elan Empress’s room.”

“Would he come out of the terrace when it’s raining so much?”

“Still…….”

“She got hurt because of me. If I hadn’t asked her to check on Adrian Emperor’s movements, she wouldn’t have suffered that.”

I was worried that Adrian Emperor might do something to Elan Empress tonight.

I didn’t think I could sleep unless I saw with my own eyes that Elan Empress was safe.

“Sharon, if I don’t come back within an hour, then go to His Majesty. You know what I mean, right?”

“Yes, please be careful.”

Sharon knew that she couldn’t stop me.

She sighed in resignation and took my hand and asked.

“Yeah, I thought I was going to get a fever anyway, but I think the cold rain will bring it down.”

I smiled and opened the terrace door and went out.

There were many eyes watching the front door of the residence, so it was easier to go down the terrace in many ways.

“See you later.”

“You must not overdo it for the sake of the baby.”

“Our baby likes me moving around rather than staying still.”

When I said with a smile, Sharon also showed a faint smile.

I left Sharon’s smile behind and jumped lightly to the first floor of the building.

Moiya and Moni were following me from above as if they were escorting me.

The rain, which I thought was just passing by, continued to pour until late at night.

Rather, I was grateful for the pouring rain.

Thanks to the black robe and black uniform, I didn’t run into any palace people while heading to the detached palace.

I arrived safely in front of the detached palace building.

I looked up at the second floor where the VIPs of the Tevelo Empire were staying.

Moiya and Moni flew to Elan Empress’s terrace door first to check the situation and then signaled me that it was okay to come up.

I stepped on the eagle statues protruding from various parts of the detached palace building and climbed over the terrace railing of Elan Empress’s room in one go.

As soon as I opened the terrace door and entered, Elan Empress grabbed my hand with tears in her eyes.

“Why did you come so dangerously!”

“I heard from Moiya and Moni. Haa, this happened while monitoring Adrian Emperor, right?”

I felt guilty when I saw the bandage for wounds attached to Elan Empress’s neck.

Elan Empress opened her mouth as if to say something, but immediately changed to a painful expression.

“Did that guy put some kind of magic on you? Like a Secret Prohibition Magic, something like that?”

Elan Empress only nodded.

As expected, my guess was correct.

I hugged her with a sorry heart.

“I’m sorry, because of me.”

“No. I was too naive. I secretly went over the terrace and listened to the conversation with a guy named Hector…… Ugh!”

Elan Empress touched her neck with her hand and frowned.

“Don’t talk. You might lose your voice if you talk about that!”

I calmed the surprised Elan Empress, took her hand, and continued to speak.

“I’ll take the opportunity to ask the Magic Tower Lord to break the Secret Prohibition Magic. I can hear the story then.”

“But…….”

“I know roughly what Adrian Emperor’s plan is. So it’s okay if you don’t tell me.”

“Hoo, do you really know?”

Elan Empress asked, taking a deep breath.

“Yes, so don’t worry. Don’t overdo it in the future, and do as Adrian Emperor tells you for the time being. Elan Empress’s safety comes first.”

“Zelda Mama…….”

Elan Empress shed tears.

“I came to tell you this.”

The moment I was wiping her tears with my hand.

Knock knock knock-.

With a nervous knock, Elan Empress’s door burst open.

Instinctively, I quickly went under her bed and hid myself.

There was no time to escape to the terrace door.

“Elan.”

Damn it.

It was Adrian Emperor’s voice.

“……Your Majesty. It’s raining a lot outside.”

Elan Empress’s voice, trying to pretend to be calm, sounded pathetic.

“It seems like you have a guest?”

“Y-Yes? What do you mean? Who would come to see me at this hour?”

“Foolish thing.”

Adrian Emperor’s sarcastic tone seemed to be directed at me.

“If you put a Secret Prohibition Magic on, a signal comes to me if you try to reveal the secret, enduring the pain.”

Ah, damn it!

I didn’t think that far.

It seems that Elan Empress trying to tell me the truth while enduring the pain has become the cause.

What should I do now?

“If you spoke while enduring the pain, you certainly wouldn’t be alone.”

Adrian Emperor’s vile voice was getting closer.

I carefully took out the dagger I was wearing on my ankle and held my breath.

Very slowly, Adrian Emperor’s shadow fell under the bed.

My heart was beating fast.

I calmed my mind.

“Your Majesty! What are you doing!”

Elan Empress seemed to be blocking Adrian Emperor.

“Why are you so surprised? I think there’s a rat under the bed, so I’m going to catch it.”

“A rat in the room where VIPs are staying? That’s absurd!”

“I’ll know if it’s there or not if I look. Get out of the way. This time, your head might really fall off.”

“Ah!”

Adrian Emperor strangled her neck with his left hand and threw her to the floor.

I couldn’t stand it anymore.

I moved my body to get out of the bed, clutching the dagger.

But Adrian Emperor was faster.

The bed skirt was lifted.

The first thing that caught my eye was Adrian Emperor’s silver hair touching the marble floor.

“Peek-a-boo?”

“!”

I was startled by Adrian Emperor’s first words, which didn’t fit the situation, when I was about to swing the dagger.

Maybe…….

“Oong? I found it first, Moiya~?”

Moiya had entered Adrian Emperor’s body.

“Ha, haaa……!”

The strength in my arm, which had been tense, was released.

I lay there for a while and then crawled out from under the bed and sat down.

Elan Empress was still sitting on the floor in a daze, but after a few seconds, she grasped the situation and crawled towards me.

“Zelda Mama!”

“I’m okay. Moiya went into Adrian Emperor’s body.”

“R-Really Moiya?”

Elan Empress stared at Adrian Emperor with suspicious eyes.

“Woong! It’s me, it’s me.”

Moiya’s cute tone didn’t suit the eerie appearance of Silver Fish at all.

I burst into laughter, but Elan Empress couldn’t laugh.

“If we were a little late, it would have been a disaster, Moni~!”

Moni was flying around the room, transformed into a butterfly.

According to Moni, they fought because they didn’t want to enter Silver Fish’s body, so they transformed at a precarious timing.

“When Moiya comes out of Adrian Emperor’s body, he will check under the bed again. It would be good to wipe off the moisture.”

I said, squeezing out the moisture from my soaked robe.

“Ah, yes. We should!”

Elan Empress brought a towel from the bathroom.

Together, we quickly wiped off the moisture under the bed.

“Moiya, do you remember what posture Adrian Emperor was in before entering his body? After I leave, take that posture and then come out of that body.”

“Yes! I remember. He was about to lift this up, Moiya~?”

Moiya said, fluttering the bed skirt.

‘Ah, that was really close…….’

A drop of cold sweat ran down my spine.

***

I returned to the residence safely, took off my wet clothes, and went straight to the bathroom.

I had to hurry because Linelle’s return time was approaching.

When I finished bathing and returned to the bedroom, he was sitting in a chair at the tea table with a serious expression.

Moiya and Moni were whispering something to him on the tea table, and when they met my eyes, they ran out the window.

Those guys, they told Linelle everything in the meantime.

Judging by the cool air around him, it seemed that he had heard that I had been to Elan Empress’s residence.

He already knew the reason why.

That’s why he had such an angry expression.

“Linelle…….”

“The troublemakers are Moiya, Moni, and you, the three of you.”

“…….”

I was proud that comparing the two of them and me on the same line was pride, but it seemed better to be quiet now.

“Zelda, you are the biggest accident among the three.”

“That’s a bit…… unfair.”

“It can’t be helped even if it’s unfair. That’s how it looks in my eyes. From tomorrow, go to the office with me.”

“Are you hiring me as the Emperor’s secretary?”

I asked like a joke, but

“I think I’ll feel relieved if I keep you by my side, even if it’s only until the baby is born.”

He didn’t seem to be joking.

“Then what about Raphael?”

“I’ll put Raphael here.”

Ah, I imagined Raphael playing the role of a concubine for a moment.

“It’s not a role-changing game, what is that.”

When I asked with a burst of laughter, he glared at me with an expression that said, ‘Are you laughing?’

“I’m sorry for making you worry. But I’m safe again.”

I quickly hugged his neck.

“I didn’t know you’d just let it go like this…….”

Chu-.

“……How did you know.”

As I kept kissing him while he was talking, he eventually changed his words, smoothing out his furrowed brow.

“I’ll let you off this time.”

“Thank you.”

Chu-.

“Ehem, if you do anything dangerous again in the future, I’ll really tie you up next to me, so know that.”

“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”

Chu chu-.

“I’ll keep that in mind again.”

Chu chu chu-.

Linelle’s cold eyes gradually melted at my successive kisses.

I was about to take my lips off at this point, but there was no way.

“Where are you going already.”

He continued to kiss me softly.

Now I was getting more and more excited with the continued kisses.

Just as we were about to start making love in earnest, he annoyingly sat me down on a chair, put some distance between us, and looked at me seriously.

“What’s wrong?”

“There’s something I need to say while my reason is still attached.”

He laughed, poking my dissatisfied cheek.

“What is it?”

“The schedule has been postponed for a day because of the rain.”

“……Ah, is that so?”

“Even if the rain stops tonight, it’s a bit too much to leave tomorrow.”

Linelle said, turning his head out the window.

“Well, the whole time until we get to the port will be a forest path, and if we leave right after the heavy rain, the road will be muddy, so we won’t be able to speed up and everyone will get tired quickly.”

“That’s right. I’m worried that the sun needs to shine a little tomorrow so that we don’t have a hard time leaving the day after tomorrow.”

He said, stroking my stomach affectionately.

“That’s right.”

I felt his cool touch and looked at the rain outside the window, and a forgotten memory suddenly came to mind.

“By the way, tomorrow is Melanie’s birthday, so that’s good.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, I heard it from Rosie a few days ago.”

“Then…… this will be a great gift for Melanie tomorrow too.”

Linelle took something out of his uniform pocket with a meaningful remark.

“Your best friend came to me with this when I was leaving the office earlier.”

He put a small potion bottle on the tea table.

“Velos? What is this……?”

“An antidote to give to Hector.”