The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 291

291. Fireworks

“Hah, hah, hah-! I’m going to kill that bastard with my own hands! I need to find him first!”

Melanie shouted, rubbing her arms, which were numb from being tightly bound with rope and having their circulation cut off.

“Ah, Hector!”

She pulled the chair right next to Hector and stroked his face, which was still unconscious, saying,

“Hector, His Majesty is here. Wake up, please?”

“He’s still breathing, so why is he like this?”

Linelle approached and put his index finger to the tip of Hector’s nose, asking.

“I don’t know what those guys did, but he’s been unconscious since I got here.”

“A knight, you say. What kind of knight did this to him?”

“He was a knight of Emperor Adrian, a very ugly one.”

“…That’s it?”

“Ah, he’s the type with a mole the size of a thumbnail right in the middle of his forehead, perfect for sticking a sword or arrow into!”

Melanie pointed to the center of her forehead, describing the knight’s appearance and the situation.

“He said we’re all going to die tonight anyway, told us to wait a few hours, and then left.”

“Tonight?”

Linelle exchanged glances with the Master of the Magic Tower.

“Your Majesty, it seems they’ve changed their plans. It looks like the day to release Galaco is tonight.”

“It must be now, during the ship party. Damn it!”

The majority of the dignitaries were on the deck, eating dinner and sipping wine.

Zelda was among them.

And Emperor Adrian and Roxana, who orchestrated this, must be mixed in as well.

“Why was the plan changed? Did something change in Roxana’s mind?”

The details could only be known once Hector regained consciousness.

“Master of the Magic Tower, wake Hector up. Now that the locks are released, undoing the anesthesia shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

“It’s not as easy as playing around, Your Majesty.”

Velos retorted sarcastically, but as soon as the order was given, he raised both hands above Hector’s head and began purification.

“Your Majesty, will I still be able to get married?”

Melanie asked in a sad voice, watching the purification ritual.

“……If you don’t become Galaco’s food tonight.”

Linelle replied calmly.

Melanie swallowed hard and muttered quietly.

“I think it would have been safer to stay tied up here with Hector.”

“Then you’d become silverfish food in a few hours.”

“Emperor Adrian?”

“Yes. That guy goes crazy at the sight of blood.”

“Not crazy for beauties, but for blood?”

Melanie frowned and tilted her head.

While the two were exchanging a few words, Hector regained consciousness.

“Your Majesty……”

Hector, awakened from the anesthesia, covered his head with both hands and spoke with difficulty.

Then, his eyes met Melanie’s, who was looking down at him with a worried expression.

“Melanie?! Why are you here!”

Emperor Linelle was right next to him, but Hector was so surprised that he forgot to use honorifics with Melanie.

“I came down to find Ao-ssi, and some spotted knight bastard tied me up too. Fortunately, I survived thanks to Your Majesty and the Master of the Magic Tower. Actually, Ao-ssi is my savior.”

What was all this nonsense?

His head was already spinning and dizzy, and Melanie’s explanation, which lacked context, didn’t make any sense.

Moreover.

“That spotted knight bastard said he’d send us both to the afterlife? Do you happen to know which country that road is in?”

“……”

If Melanie had smiled at the end of her question, everyone would have thought she was joking.

But Melanie seemed genuinely curious.

Which country was the road to the afterlife in?

Hector, who had almost traveled that road with her, as well as Linelle and Velos, stared at her with dumbfounded expressions.

“Ugh.”

Hector tried to get up from the chair but staggered as if dizzy and sat back down.

“Your vision will be blurry and you’ll have a headache for a few minutes. Your head will gradually clear, so don’t move your body right away and stay seated for a while.”

Velos stopped Hector, who was trying to get up from the chair again.

“Do as the Master of the Magic Tower says. Sit down and tell me what happened. What on earth happened?”

“Your Majesty, what time is it now?”

Hector asked in a serious tone instead of answering the question.

“8 PM. Why?”

Linelle took out his pocket watch from his uniform pocket, checked the time, and said.

“Haa, there’s no time. We must evacuate the people to their cabins immediately!”

“The plan has indeed changed to tonight.”

“Yes.”

Hector was distressed that he had been summoned by Emperor Adrian while on his way to attend the secret meeting and had been unable to convey the changed plan.

“Adrian, you’re hastening your own demise……”

Linelle muttered with a murderous expression, gripping the hilt of his sword tightly.

“At 8 PM, Galaco will be flying in. No, they must have started attacking the people on the ship now!”

“Hector, what did you decide to do with your troops?”

“My soldiers are scheduled to board this ship in 30 minutes.”

“Until then, the knights on the ship and us will have to deal with Galaco.”

“Fortunately, only one head of Galaco remains, so it will be easier.”

Velos said, rotating his shoulders as if loosening up.

“Good. Then let’s start the hunt.”

Linelle’s aura, with his sword drawn, was savage.

“Ah, everyone, don’t touch the silverfish! I’ll catch them.”

He shouted as he ran towards the door.

***

“What are these things……”

The voices of the adorable creatures were vividly heard above the jet-black night sky.

“Master~ Let’s play together, Moiya~?”

Moiya’s excited voice made the pupils of the people around me shake wildly like a ship encountering rough waves.

“Shh, be quiet. People shouldn’t see us, Moni~?”

Moni was just as careless.

Where the needle goes, the thread must follow.

As voices were heard from the dark sky, people seemed to feel even greater fear than they felt for Galaco.

Even as the two creatures were talking, flames appeared and disappeared here and there, keeping pace with the screams of Galaco.

Apart from the terrible sounds, it resembled fireworks at first glance.

Flames were bursting simultaneously, no less than fireworks exploding.

The fact that there were so many flames meant that other wyverns had come as well.

“I told you not to be seen by people. Seriously, you don’t listen……”

“Kwaaaack-!”

“Kkieeeeck-!”

The tearing sounds of Galaco continued, along with the fire spewed by the wyverns from all directions.

I didn’t intend to reveal the fact that I was the Lord of the Wyverns in this way…….

There was no choice.

Saving people’s lives from Galaco was the priority.

I had no choice but to put down the sword I had received from the knight earlier and concentrate on gathering the power of fire.

Red light began to emerge from my heart.

I created a small ball of red light in my hand and began throwing it at Galaco along with the fire coming from my fingertips.

“Good heavens! Look at that!”

“Isn’t that Zelda-mama? What, what on earth is that?”

The congratulatory delegations, who had been in chaos, came out all at once and looked up at the red light soaring into the sky, unable to hide their astonishment.

“Wow, it’s a festival, Moiya~?”

Moiya, who had been watching the red light I was throwing at Galaco and clapping, suddenly huffed and continued speaking.

“Ah, right, Master. Moiya is very upset because those noisy things made me miss the gift I had caught.”

“I’ll definitely give you a shark as a gift later, Moni~!”

Moni’s determined words, following Moiya’s, embarrassed me.

……What were they trying to give me?

A shark?!

If another being had said this, I probably would have doubted my ears.

But if the other party was Moiya and Moni, there was no doubt that it was a sincere statement.

Kids, if there are Galaco in the sky, there are sharks in the sea.

To humans, they are both similar beings!

I felt like I should thank Galaco for interfering with the shark hunt.

“Instead, I prepared another gift, Moiya~?”

Moiya threw something at me.

It fell so accurately in front of me that I had no choice but to snatch what she claimed was a gift.

“T, this is!”

It was the red gem that Roxana had thrown into the sea.

As I held the red gem in my hand, light gathered around the gem, and the main body of the Avatar Sword appeared.

“Now it looks good.”

I raised the Avatar Sword and waited for Galaco, who was flying menacingly towards me.

Dinner on the ship was delicious, but the taste of fighting was going to be even better.

“Come on, you noisy snake heads!”

***

Something was wrong.

‘If there’s no red gem, I won’t be able to use the Avatar Sword?’

Roxana saw Zelda holding the Avatar Sword on the distant platform and doubted her eyes.

Was the one that Empress Elan stole from Zelda’s cabin fake?

But the red gem that Empress Elan had brought was the same shape and size as the one embedded in the hilt of the Avatar Sword.

And considering that I occasionally felt a hot energy inside the gem, it was definitely the gem that had been embedded in the hilt of the Avatar Sword.

‘I clearly dropped it into the sea earlier? How on earth did this happen?’

The blade of the Avatar Sword was shining red, as if it had been dipped in the sun and taken out.

I had witnessed the moment when the power of fire was manifested before my eyes, so I couldn’t help but believe it.

“Galaco are coming! We should take shelter for a while. Empress, Empress?”

Roxana’s mind returned to her senses at Nancy’s urgent voice.

“Are you alright?”

As always, her maid, who had been with her since childhood, was worried about her.

“Nancy.”

“Yes.”

“Follow me.”

Roxana took Nancy’s hand and headed for the stairs leading down to the cabin.

Thanks to the urgent and chaotic atmosphere, no one had yet blocked their path.

Roxana pushed through the crowd and safely descended to her cabin, then took off her crown and placed it on Nancy’s head.

“?!”

Nancy’s body froze as the crown was placed on her head.

Before she could calm her surprised heart, Roxana ordered.

“Take it off.”

“What do you mean all of a sudden……?”

“The dress, take it off.”

Roxana turned her back to Nancy and urged her.

“Ah, yes!”

Nancy was bewildered but began to take off her dress as instructed.

Roxana took off the dress she was wearing and quickly lowered the zipper of the dress Nancy was wearing.

The dresses worn by maids were much easier to put on and take off than the dresses worn by nobles.

“Y, Your Majesty!”

Nancy’s body shrank as the zipper of her dress was lowered in an instant.

She had no idea what was going on.

“You wear this.”

“!”

Roxana threw the dress she was wearing.

Nancy began to understand the situation.

The Empress’s crown on her head felt like it was pressing down on her neck.

“Nothing will happen. But just in case…….”

Roxana, who had changed into Nancy’s dress first, hesitated as she put the dress she had been wearing on Nancy.

It wasn’t that she didn’t feel sorry.

But she wanted to survive somehow.

She was even pregnant.

It was a baby that would become her power.

Even if things went wrong tonight, everything would be resolved if Emperor Linelle was eliminated.

“Just hold on a little longer.”

First, she had to find Falto, Hector’s adjutant, and talk to him.

Since she didn’t know how the situation would turn out, it was important to receive protection first.

She was going to say that Emperor Adrian had killed Hector.

And that she was pregnant with the child of your lord.

That we must join forces to make Hector’s child the master of the Lapion Empire.

She was going to persuade him that if he helped her, he would not only gain wealth and fame but also become the highest-ranking noble in the future.

She was willing to give him her seat next to her if he wanted…….

“Only until I find Falto.”

So she added that he should either cover himself with a blanket on the bed, sit in a chair with his back to the cabin door, or go into the bathroom altogether.

“You must come back quickly…….”

Nancy sobbed as if pleading.

“Of course.”

Roxana said, hugging her tightly once.

She said that, but she put strength into her arms, thinking that it might be the last hug.

“Please take care of yourself.”

Nancy said in a trembling voice as Roxana was about to leave the cabin door.

“I will…….”

She was like a friend before she was a maid, pouring healing water and taking care of her while crying after being whipped by her father, Duke Heimich, since she was a child.

Sometimes, she would wrap herself around Roxana’s body, who was being whipped, and get whipped instead.

“I!”

Nancy blurted out urgently, and Roxana, who was about to open the cabin door, paused.

“I…… I was always on Your Majesty’s side…….”

It was in the past tense.

‘You know too, Nancy.’

That this might be your last.

That I might not come back.

Roxana couldn’t bring herself to look back.

“Thank you. Thank you so much…….”

Thank you, Nancy…….

She wondered what Nancy would think and what kind of expression she would have as she watched her back as she opened the cabin door and left.

She was sorry, but there was no choice.

Roxana headed towards the stairs, mingling with the crowd to find Falto.

Thanks to not only wearing a maid’s uniform but also wearing a hood used by the kitchen maids on her head, her red hair was not easily visible. Because of that, no one recognized her.

In the urgent situation where their lives were already in danger, no one paid attention to Roxana, who was wearing a maid’s uniform.

The moment she climbed the stairs, the side profile of a person who passed by her caught her eye.

He was wearing a dark brown robe and had the hood of the robe pulled down low, but Roxana recognized who he was at once.

‘Logan……?’

Logan was heading in the direction of his cabin.

How did that guy get here?

It seemed that he had followed Hector’s army from the Principality of Aclato.

‘Is he going to meet me?’

Logan was also a wizard, so he would definitely be helpful in protecting her.

Roxana turned back, changing her course from going up to the deck to find Falto.