The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 282

282. An Unexpected Gain

2023.09.16.

I was about to enjoy some private time with Linelle in the cabin bed.

Then I heard something fall into the sea.

That made me pull away from his lips, which had just met mine.

“Did you hear something just now?”

“I could only hear my own heartbeat.”

At that time, we both thought we had misheard something.

So, just as our faces were about to get close again.

Splash—the same sound as before. It was clearly a loud splashing sound caused by something falling into the sea.

“You heard it this time, right?”

“I did. What’s going on?”

He quickly grabbed his uniform jacket and put it on.

I got out of bed to follow him, as he said he needed to go out on deck.

As soon as I opened the cabin door, I heard someone’s urgent shout.

“Someone fell overboard! Someone!”

At that sound, we quickly went up to the deck.

People were already gathered on the deck.

“Your Majesty.”

Prince Norton, who was already out, approached us.

“What’s going on? Who fell into the sea? Have they been rescued?”

“Yes, fortunately, there was a witness the moment the person fell, so they immediately requested a rescue. The sailors and knights nearby are throwing rescue tubes and ropes to rescue them.”

A sigh of relief escaped at Prince Norton’s words.

Linelle also let out a short sigh and walked towards the spot where the accident seemed to have occurred.

“Count Ethan was the first to request a rescue.”

Linelle stopped walking at Prince Norton’s explanation of the situation.

“What? Count Ethan?”

“Yes, it seems he was close to the accident site. Thanks to him, the knights were able to rescue the person who fell into the water right away.”

“What were they doing when the accident happened?”

“I don’t know the cause, but… the location where they fell into the sea seems to be the platform where the sailors go up to look ahead with binoculars during the day.”

Prince Norton pointed to the platform as he answered.

The railing on the platform only came up to an adult’s thigh.

“Hmm, it would be easy to fall if you miss your footing. Let’s go find out who fell first.”

As Linelle was about to approach the accident site,

“P-Pesilini!”

A trembling voice was heard from behind.

Linelle, me, and Prince Norton turned towards the voice at the same time.

Catherine was standing there with a very uneasy expression.

Moreover, she covered her mouth with her hand as if she had just made a slip of the tongue.

“Catherine. How do you know?”

Linelle took a step towards her and asked.

“…Just.”

“Just?”

“I, I happened to see it.”

Linelle tilted his head and asked again at Catherine’s suspicious answer.

“You came up to the deck alone at this hour?”

“I came up to get some air because I was feeling stuffy….”

“Surely, Catherine, you didn’t push her, did you?”

Melanie, who belatedly came up to the deck, suddenly interjected.

“Melanie, what nonsense are you talking about?!”

Catherine glared at Melanie with a dumbfounded look, then spoke clearly to Linelle again.

“It’s Yulina. I saw Yulina pushing Pesilini.”

“What? Yulina?”

Linelle looked at me with a look that said, ‘Who is that again?’

When I quietly told him, ‘A concubine from the Principality of Akrato,’ he seemed to realize who Yulina was.

“Just as Her Majesty the Empress came out onto the deck with the knights, I told her the situation, and she slapped Yulina in the face and dragged her away. Now, knights are standing guard in front of her cabin. I followed to confirm that and am on my way back.”

“I see….”

Linelle muttered with a thoughtful face and stared at Catherine again.

“But that’s a bit strange. Prince Norton said that Count Ethan was the first to request a rescue? Were you together?”

Catherine hesitated to answer his question and mumbled that she didn’t know.

Something smells fishy?

I looked around to find Count Ethan.

But then, at the vice-captain’s call, the knights pulled the rescue rope and pulled Pesilini up.

“Pesilini!”

Even from a distance, she seemed to be conscious and looked better than I thought.

“Your Majesty! There’s one more person who fell into the sea.”

Prince Norton grabbed a passing knight and asked something, then shouted with a surprised face.

“Who is it?”

“It’s Grand Duke Martins.”

“…Why the Grand Duke?!”

I raised my voice without realizing it because it was such an unexpected person.

“He must have accidentally fallen while trying to save Pesilini.”

He was saying that he threw himself in to save Pesilini.

Grand Duke Martins, who has no athletic ability at all?

I didn’t know Grand Duke Martins had such recklessness.

I thought he was just bad at swordsmanship, but he had no plan.

The sight of the two people soaked in water on the deck floor came into view.

Pesilini, who had fallen into the water first, was relatively calm, but Grand Duke Martins was lying on the floor, gasping for breath.

Even though it was early autumn, the seawater was quite cold, so both of them were shivering all over.

“If you are not too uncomfortable, Pesilini and the Grand Duke should change their clothes and come to the Archmage’s room right away.”

Linelle ordered the two.

***

As he ordered, the two changed their clothes and gathered in Velos’s room.

Velos first checked Pesilini’s condition.

He concentrated and checked her pulse, then nodded once and opened his mouth.

“Fortunately. Both the mistress and the baby are fine.”

“Haa… Thank you, Archmage.”

Pesilini’s eyes welled up with tears.

Only then did my, Linelle’s, and Grand Duke Martins’ faces, which had been tense, relax.

“It’ll be warm if you hold it.”

I wrapped a stone that I had heated up in a blanket and handed it to Pesilini, who was still shivering.

“Thank you, Zelda….”

Pesilini took the blanket and placed it on her stomach.

I found a towel in Velos’s room and wrapped it around her still wet hair to dry it.

“I, I’ll do it.”

Pesilini flinched and said to me.

“It’s okay. Here’s ginger honey tea; drink it quickly before it gets cold.”

I gestured to the teapot that the kitchen maid had just left.

“Yes, Your Majesty… Thank you for your concern.”

Pesilini gently grabbed my hand and said.

Linelle waited until she had finished a cup of ginger honey tea, then pulled a chair and sat down in front of the two.

“What on earth happened? Why did Yulina try to harm you?”

“I don’t know either, Your Majesty.”

“Why did you go up to the platform on the deck?”

“Yulina went up to the platform first and said she felt like she was feeling the sea with her whole body, and then she grabbed me and pulled me up.”

“Did Yulina say anything before pushing you?”

This time I asked carefully.

But unfortunately, Pesilini didn’t know anything.

“Yes, Your Majesty. It happened so quickly….”

“That’s strange. I thought you two were on good terms? Didn’t you even ride in the same carriage to Polt?”

Pesilini’s face darkened at Linelle’s question.

“I thought we had become close too. But why suddenly me…!”

Her voice was filled with betrayal.

“Are you sure that Yulina deliberately pushed you, not that you slipped or made a mistake?”

Linelle asked carefully once again.

“Yes, Your Majesty. I barely grabbed the railing with one hand as I fell out of the ship… Ah, even then, Catherine appeared from somewhere and called my name, ‘Pesilini!’… Yulina forcibly took my hand off the railing…!”

Pesilini swallowed her resentment as she looked down at her hand.

I quickly wrapped my arm around her shoulder and calmed her down.

“Why did you jump into the sea during the rescue?”

When Linelle asked Grand Duke Martins, the Grand Duke hesitated to answer and smacked his lips.

“I heard from Commander Markrom that the Grand Duke fell into the sea, which delayed the rescue time for Pesilini, is that correct?”

Velos asked Grand Duke Martins with a genuinely curious face.

The Grand Duke glared at Velos but couldn’t refute it.

“I know you’re not a righteous person. So it’s more likely that someone pushed you from behind, rather than you falling into the sea to save Pesilini, right?”

Linelle said as if affirming.

“I think so too.”

Velos added strength to his words.

For once, Linelle and Velos’s rhythm matched well.

Grand Duke Martins kept silent, occasionally clearing his throat at the two’s teasing.

“Your Majesty, the Grand Duke really tried to save me.”

Pesilini quietly raised her hand and defended Grand Duke Martins.

“Is Pesilini right?”

I asked the Grand Duke with surprised eyes.

My voice was almost asking, ‘Pesilini is misunderstanding something, right?’

“My heart was ahead of me, so I used my body without realizing it. Don’t make fun of me too much.”

“That’s not using your body. You just recklessly threw your body.”

At my accurate point, the face of Grand Duke Martins, who was mistaking himself for a human tube, turned red.

Everyone burst into laughter.

I calmly told Linelle my thoughts when the laughter subsided.

“Should we announce that Pesilini is pregnant at this point? That way, everyone won’t be able to do whatever they want. And those around her will pay more attention.”

“Hmm… I was thinking of announcing it when we returned to the Rafion Empire, but it would be better to bring it forward as you said.”

He agreed with my thoughts.

“No, Your Majesty. Please don’t announce it!”

But Pesilini strongly opposed it.

It was a bit unexpected.

“The reason.”

He asked.

“Actually, I was going to tell you after finishing the schedule in the Partsha Empire and returning to my home country, but I will tell you now.”

What is she going to say that she’s making such a solemn expression?

Pesilini stood up from her chair, clutching the hem of her dress tightly with both hands.

“Your Majesty has been considerate enough to allow me to raise this child as a prince of the Rafion Empire, but I want to go to the Shattonil Kingdom.”

“…Are you serious?”

Linelle asked with a flustered face.

“Yes, I want to. Please allow me, Your Majesty.”

“But even if I allow it, the Grand Duke who will lead the Shattonil Kingdom in the future….”

Linelle stopped talking, glancing at Grand Duke Martins.

“I’ve already talked to His Highness the Grand Duke.”

Everyone’s eyes turned to Grand Duke Martins at Pesilini’s answer.

“That’s right. Instead, the child to be born will not be treated as royalty.”

Grand Duke Martins said indifferently.

“Hmm, if that’s more comfortable, then do so. It will cause confusion to those who already know that Pesilini is pregnant, though.”

Linelle chuckled.

He seemed to be referring to Roxana.

“Thank you so much, Your Majesty.”

Pesilini said to him with sincerity, and he patted Grand Duke Martins on the shoulder and gestured towards the cabin door.

“You and I will talk separately.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Linelle took Grand Duke Martins and went out first.

I thought this was the time and quietly whispered to Velos.

“I have a favor to ask, my friend.”

“Just tell me anything. What are friends for?”

Velos said with a friendly smile.

“I need teleportation. Not now, but a little later.”

“That’s difficult. If His Majesty finds out, I might really lose this beauty this time.”

Velos refused my request, supporting his beautiful face with his hands.

Oh, look at this friend?

“My fist is as good as His Majesty’s, you know?”

I quickly extended my fist to Velos’s eyes at the speed of light and lowered it.

“…Where are you going this time?”

Velos asked, shrinking his neck with a frightened face.

As expected, the fist is faster than a request.

***

Things went wrong.

After the incident, Roxana returned to her cabin and felt extremely uneasy.

Her insides were burning, so she had Nancy make her a cool lemonade.

Nancy quickly found the kitchen inside the cabin.

The kitchen was quite busy.

Soup to soothe the stomachs and ginger honey tea to raise the body temperature were being made for Pesilini and Grand Duke Martins, who had fallen into the sea.

Nancy mixed in with the kitchen maids and was about to make lemonade and go out when she saw a maid carrying a teapot, two teacups, and simple refreshments on a tray and followed her out.

‘It looks like she’s taking it to the Archmage’s cabin?’

She heard other maids say that Pesilini was being treated in Velos’s cabin.

As expected, the kitchen maid was heading to Velos’s cabin.

Nancy quickly moved to the side and spoke kindly.

“The teapot looks a bit precarious. Put it here. I’ll take it since I’m going that way anyway.”

“Oh, thank you. It’s uncomfortable because there’s no big tray in the ship.”

The kitchen maid, who recognized Nancy, the empress’s exclusive maid, accepted her kindness without suspicion.

After a while, she arrived in front of Velos’s cabin.

Nancy put the teapot she was holding back on the kitchen maid’s tray.

“Go in.”

“Thank you for your help.”

“It’s nothing.”

Nancy opened the cabin door, keeping her head down so that her face would not be seen from the inside, and quickly went into the passage right next to the cabin door and hid.

After a while, the kitchen maid came out of the cabin with an empty tray and returned to the kitchen. Nancy, who was watching the scene, muffled her footsteps and put her ear to Velos’s cabin door.

She didn’t need to eavesdrop for long.

As soon as she put her ear to the cabin door, she heard a huge sound.

‘…Oh my god, no way!’

It was an unexpected gain.

Nancy covered her mouth and hurried back to Roxana’s cabin.

***

Roxana was nervous when she saw Nancy running in with a pale face.

She was worried that Yulina had already revealed the mastermind behind this incident.

She had told her in advance how to respond in case things went wrong, but she was still worried.

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“Yes, it’s seriously wrong!”

Roxana frowned at Nancy’s unusual words and expression.

“Surely, Yulina has already told His Majesty about me…?”

“No, Your Majesty. That’s not it.”

“Then what is it?!”

At Roxana’s nervous voice, Nancy quickly spat out the words.

“The baby in Pesilini’s belly.”

“…Is something wrong with the baby?”

Roxana asked with a face mixed with surprise and anticipation.

Nancy glanced at the cabin door out of concern and approached her.

There were only two people in the cabin, but Nancy covered her mouth with one hand and whispered to Roxana.

“It’s not His Majesty’s child!”

“!”