The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 301

301. The National Marriage Depends on You

November 22, 2023

“Hettor, listen carefully. Our baby must have a national marriage with the Lapion Empire.”

She’s not only smart in appearance but also has ambitious dreams.

Hettor stared at Melanie for a moment, thinking, then opened his mouth.

“Wouldn’t that be too much of a tilt towards our side?”

Besides, Tanya Island was gradually sinking.

The reason they tried to start a war with the Aclato Duchy was precisely for that reason.

Before moving to the continent, the Aclato Duchy had already fallen into Hettor’s hands, but even so, forming a marriage alliance with the Lapion Empire was definitely a lopsided affair compared to other countries on the continent.

“That’s only the case when there’s no connection. What *ordinary* connection do we have with the Lapion Imperial Family?”

Melanie said with a hopeful face.

“An ordinary connection would be better.”

It was too *special* of a connection to dream of a national marriage.

“One is a concubine of the Lapion Empire’s Emperor, and the other is that concubine’s bodyguard.”

Hettor let out a hollow laugh as he spoke.

Beyond a special connection, they were in such a unique relationship, so he didn’t bother adding that they should forget about the marriage alliance.

“Your Majesty is cool. That’s why he acknowledges our relationship.”

But Melanie didn’t care.

“Child matters will be different.”

Hettor said firmly.

“Hehe, we have this.”

However, Melanie was even more resolute.

She shook Hettor’s notebook.

“That’s… what.”

“Whether or not we become in-laws with the Lapion Empire depends on you, Hettor.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Write chapter 12 quickly. You said our future in-laws are waiting. And you have to keep writing until our baby is born, got it?”

“I’m writing a novel, not a diary.”

Hettor said with a frustrated expression, opening the notebook.

“Then just write it like you’re writing a diary. Keep writing until our child turns 18. Keep writing! Use the ending as an excuse to make the national marriage happen!”

Melanie clenched her fists.

“…….”

“There’s no time to space out! Start quickly!”

Melanie put a quill in Hettor’s hand and urged him on.

Because of Melanie, who was chanting ‘More stimulating! Go more extreme!’ next to him as if hypnotizing him, he couldn’t write properly.

***

Around 1 PM, the ship carrying the congratulatory delegation finally arrived at Enka, a port city of the Patsha Empire.

Enka was a center of trade with other countries, so the city had an exotic and unique atmosphere.

Being in the south, the weather was much warmer than the northern continent even in autumn, and the people were lively.

Moya and Moni fearlessly flew around in their true forms, completely undisguised.

The Patsha Empire’s Imperial Palace, unlike the Lapion Empire’s, was located very close to the port, just past a large forest.

Moya and Moni boldly moved from one carriage to another, playing around, and as they approached the Patsha Imperial Palace, they finally entered the carriage carrying Bellos.

Coincidentally, there was a crow that Bellos kept in the carriage, making it perfect for them to harass and play with.

“The baby wyverns seem to like the Magic Tower Lord.”

Logan, who was riding in the carriage with them, said to Bellos, looking at Moya and Moni.

Then Moni, as if saying that was nonsense, looked seriously at Logan and said.

“We only come to harass that crow, Moni~?”

Kami looked quite exhausted because of Moya and Moni.

“There are many other carriages, why did you have to come to our carriage?”

Bellos also asked the two baby wyverns with a tired face.

“The other carriages are too sickening to sit in.”

Moni said nonchalantly, picking a feather from Kami and sticking it in her nostril.

“What?”

“That’s right. But this place is desolate, gloomy, and looks even more depressing because of the crow, which is why we like it so much, Moya~?”

Moya pointed at Bellos and Logan with her finger and said seriously.

There was no hint of a smile, so it was genuine.

“You know what? You two are the only ones without partners.”

Bellos pretended not to hear Moni and looked out the carriage window.

Just then, the carriage carrying Linelle and Zelda was passing by.

The happy laughter of the two leaked out through the half-open carriage window and flowed into Bellos’s carriage.

As Bellos stared blankly at their carriage, Logan discreetly closed the window, blocking out the happy voices of the two.

“Ooh? Are our master and the cold body sharing love in the carriage?”

“Anyway, our Emperor is a great mating stud, Moni~!”

Moya and Moni, without any tact, giggled and threw stones at Bellos’s heart.

“Are you alright?”

Logan, unable to watch any longer, asked, examining Bellos’s displeased expression.

“I’m fine, of course.”

It would have been better if he had just pretended not to know, but when Logan asked as if he knew, the unhealed wound of unrequited love began to throb.

“Why? Do you still want to hit on our master?”

“Does your heart still flutter when you see our master now?”

Bellos opened the window again and said to the two baby wyverns.

“Get out.”

“Ooh? Look at his temper!”

“Our Emperor, who has a cold body but a warm heart, is much better than a guy who is warm but cold-hearted, Moni~!”

Moya and Moni’s voices echoed loudly in the carriage through the open window.

Bellos, conscious of Linelle and Zelda’s carriage still running alongside his, tried to close the window again, but just then, Linelle poked his head out of the carriage window and asked.

“What’s going on?”

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty! Make a partner for the Magic Tower Lord too. He seems lonely.”

Linelle, who was listening, and Bellos, the person in question, were surprised at the same time at Moni’s words.

“Magic Tower Lord, such worries should be shared with people.”

“…They’re just joking.”

Bellos answered, suppressing his annoyance.

“That’s a joke! Your eyes shake like a pendulum whenever our master is mentioned.”

It wasn’t just Bellos whose expression hardened at Moya’s subsequent testimony.

The smile also disappeared from Linelle’s face.

“Keep a close watch on him. If he seems to have even a little impure thought towards your master, don’t hesitate to breathe fire.”

Linelle ordered Moya, desperately stopping Zelda from trying to look out the window.

“Yes, we already have four eyes watching, Moni~?”

Moni looked at Linelle and waved her hand at Moya’s words.

“Okay, you deserve to taste the sausages there as soon as we arrive at the Patsha Imperial Palace.”

Linelle, with a relieved expression, closed the carriage window again.

Moya also closed the window herself, stared at Bellos, and opened her mouth.

“Magic Tower Lord, I won’t tell Your Majesty, so tell me honestly.”

“What.”

“Have you really given up on our master?”

“Why are you curious about that?”

He could have just said yes and moved on, but Bellos flared up and asked back.

“A great wyvern asks, so answer.”

“I don’t think there’s any reason to answer.”

“You haven’t forgotten, you haven’t forgotten.”

Moni crossed her arms and shook her head.

“Then you can love our master’s baby when it’s born, Moni~?”

“What?”

I’m going to hear all sorts of strange things.

It was such nonsense that Bellos didn’t feel it was worth responding to.

“What if a daughter who looks exactly like our master is born and confesses to you later?”

“That can’t happen. A question has to be like a question to be worth answering.”

Bellos closed his eyes, feeling a wave of fatigue.

“Why is it impossible? You’re not going to get old anyway, Moni~?”

“And your mental state will stay the same.”

Moya also diligently added a word.

“Don’t do this here, go play in the forest if you’re bored.”

Logan, unable to watch any longer, opened the carriage window again and tried to let the baby wyverns out.

“We’re talking, you, Moni~?”

“A kid who’s not even 100 years old, get out!”

Logan flinched at Moni’s remark.

The combined age of the two baby wyverns and Bellos was nearly 900 years.

Logan, who was in his early 50s, unconsciously put his hands together neatly and quietly shut his mouth.

“If she looks exactly like our master? Would it still be impossible?”

Moya forced Bellos’s eyes open with two fingers and asked.

“Unless the princess is crazy, why would she do that to me?”

Bellos scoffed and retorted. Even so, he felt pathetic and miserable for answering the two kids’ ridiculous questions one by one.

“She could be crazy about the Magic Tower Lord just by looking at his face, Moni~?”

“That’s right. He’s the second most handsome after the cold body, so it might be possible, Moya~?”

Bellos just laughed it off as if it were absurd.

Even a wizard who had lived for nearly 300 years could not predict his future at all.

***

As the carriage entered the Patsha Empire’s Imperial Palace, Linelle took my hand.

He didn’t show it outwardly like me, but he seemed to be inwardly worried that there might be a threat from the Patsha Imperial Family’s guards.

Fortunately, the feared event did not occur.

As we reached the garden path branching off from the Imperial Palace, the carriage carrying the congratulatory delegation was guided to the palace where the honored guests would stay by the Imperial Guard who were waiting in advance.

The carriage carrying Linelle and me and the carriage carrying Prince Norton and Rosie headed straight to the main palace separately.

After a while, the carriage stopped in front of the Patsha Empire’s main palace.

Prince Norton and Rosie, who had arrived before us and were waiting at the entrance of the main palace, turned around to look at Linelle and me, who were entering the lobby, with troubled faces.

“Greetings to His Majesty the Emperor of Lapion and Lady Zelda!”

I naturally thought that Prince Calvin and his wife would come out to greet us, but unexpectedly, the Foreign Minister greeted us.

“Why are you here?”

Prince Norton asked the Foreign Minister with a displeased expression.

“I am sorry, Your Highness. I have been ordered to escort His Majesty Emperor Linelle and Lady Zelda directly to the bedroom.”

“Not the reception room, but the bedroom?”

“Yes, Her Highness the Princess Consort said she would meet you in person and tell you the details.”

“The Princess Consort? Where is my brother?”

Prince Norton asked, pressing. But the Foreign Minister could not continue this time.

The Foreign Minister’s expression was unusual.

Linelle and I instinctively realized that something had happened in the Patsha Imperial Family.

Could it be that they are expressing hostility towards me, the Wyvern Lord [a title indicating Zelda’s connection to dragons]?

I braced myself against the ominous premonition.

“We’ll know when we get there.”

At Linelle’s words, Prince Norton once again apologized to us, and we followed the chief of staff here and climbed the stairs of the main palace.

The interior of the Patsha Empire’s Imperial Palace was much more colorful and splendid compared to the Lapion Imperial Palace. Perhaps because of the warm climate, there were also many more windows in the building.

The atmosphere of the main palace was quite depressed, which did not match the splendid interior at all.

Unlike an imperial family about to hold an enthronement ceremony, the expressions of the palace people who came and went and greeted us were also dark.

It shouldn’t be this kind of atmosphere originally?

Something felt uneasy.

The floor of Prince Calvin’s bedroom was empty except for the knights guarding the bedroom door.

It seemed that the palace people’s access was deliberately blocked.

“Announce.”

Prince Norton said to the Foreign Minister.

The Foreign Minister left a word to wait a moment, knocked, and entered the bedroom.

“Your Majesty, something is wrong. My brother would never treat honored guests like this.”

Prince Norton whispered to him with a serious expression.

Linelle just nodded briefly and saved his words.

He also felt something strange while coming up to the bedroom floor, and his expression was worse than in the lobby.

After a few minutes, the bedroom door opened.

Princess Consort Jasper came out wearing a black dress.

She greeted Linelle and me with courtesy, and then briefly greeted Rosie as well.

“What is my brother doing that only my sister-in-law has come out…?”

When Prince Norton asked with a slightly angry voice, Princess Consort Jasper’s eyes turned red.

“Sister-in-law?”

Prince Norton, flustered, called out to Princess Consort Jasper.

Then she uttered tremendous words in a calm tone.

“His Highness… has just closed his eyes [euphemism for passed away].”