The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 302

302. Unbelievable!

It took me a moment to understand what Princess Jasper was saying.

“What… what are you saying?”

Prince Norton’s voice was strained, and I could feel the tremor in it.

“His Highness collapsed suddenly this morning. And three hours ago… he passed away.”

Princess Jasper explained calmly, staring at the floor.

“Brother!!”

Prince Norton rushed into the bedroom.

With Princess Jasper’s permission, we cautiously entered Prince Calvin’s bedroom.

As Princess Jasper had said, Prince Calvin was already gone.

His face didn’t look sick or in pain at all. He just looked like he was in a deep sleep.

“H-How could this happen…!”

Prince Norton knelt in front of the bed, holding Prince Calvin’s hand with both hands, tears streaming down his face.

Rosie went to Prince Norton and comforted him, putting her arm around his shoulder.

It was truly unexpected news.

Linelle and I couldn’t hide our bewilderment.

The purpose of our visit to the Partsha Empire changed in an instant.

We came as a delegation of celebration, but our role changed to a delegation of condolence.

Prince Norton wept silently for a while. He seemed to be slowly accepting his 친형 [older brother]’s sudden death.

How long had it been? Prince Norton raised his head and looked at the palace physicians in the bedroom.

“What’s the cause of death?”

“His Highness suffered a sudden heart attack.”

“Heart attack? Didn’t he have any pre-existing conditions?”

“Yes, Your Highness. I regret to inform you that His Highness has been complaining of chest pains frequently recently.”

“And you didn’t take any action?”

Princess Jasper stepped in when Prince Norton rebuked the palace physicians.

“He did complain of chest pains, but his condition wasn’t serious.”

“He was about to become Emperor; he should have taken better care of his health!”

Prince Norton retorted to Princess Jasper’s words, but his gaze was fixed on the palace physicians.

“I understand your distraught feelings. But what can we do? Your Highness must pull yourself together.”

Princess Jasper spoke as if it were someone else’s husband who had died.

“You seem very composed, Sister-in-law?”

There was an edge to Prince Norton’s words.

A bitter smile flickered across her face for a brief moment.

But she regained her composure and replied calmly.

“You are the heir to the throne. Compose yourself today, and prepare for the state funeral starting tomorrow.”

“What exactly happened to my brother!”

Prince Norton had a questioning look in his eyes.

“Your Highness, if you wish to hold the coronation and then the wedding with Rosie safely after the funeral, you must hurry. If it drags on, there will definitely be trouble.”

Princess Jasper said, turning her gaze to Rosie.

***

Prince Norton and Rosie decided to stay at the main palace.

Linelle and I offered Prince Norton a few words of comfort before taking the carriage back to the east palace where the dignitaries were staying.

Raphael, Stian, and Sharon were waiting at the entrance of the east palace.

“Your Majesty, are you alright?”

Sharon asked with a worried look.

Looking at their expressions, they seemed to have already heard the news of Prince Calvin’s passing.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“What about Rosie, Your Majesty?”

“She’ll be staying with Prince Norton at the main palace.”

“Ah, yes….”

“I was so surprised. What is going on all of a sudden, Your Majesty?”

Raphael also looked very flustered.

“Hmm. Tell me about it.”

“Are you going to see him… in person?”

Raphael looked around and asked discreetly.

“Yes. He didn’t seem to have any serious illness; he just looked like he was asleep.”

Linelle replied with a heavy heart, and Raphael and Stian nodded silently.

“Princess Jasper must be very distraught. She was planning to hold the wedding together with the coronation.”

Raphael sighed repeatedly.

I suddenly remembered Princess Jasper’s face when she delivered the news of Prince Calvin’s passing.

It was too rational and elegant a demeanor for a woman who had lost her husband overnight.

Maybe she hasn’t accepted Prince Calvin’s death yet?

Because the shock is too great?

What would I be like if I were her?

I looked up at Linelle and imagined it for a moment.

Just thinking about him being sick and lying down made my eyes fill with tears.

If he suddenly collapsed and lost his life like Prince Calvin, I probably wouldn’t even be able to stand.

But Princess Jasper was too calm…….

I was also bothered by the way Princess Jasper looked at Rosie with a strange gaze.

As my thoughts grew longer and more tangled, we reached the floor we were guided to.

“It’s the largest and best floor in the east palace. Our dignitaries are also satisfied. All the rooms are spacious and very luxurious.”

Sharon said, giving her impressions of the guest rooms as she walked down the hallway.

“This is it.”

Raphael pointed to the room we would be staying in and opened the door.

The room was much more luxurious than the room I was staying in at the Lapion Imperial Palace.

It was comparable to the Empress’s bedroom.

“There’s about an hour left before dinner. Shall I bring up some tea?”

“No, Sharon. I think it’s better to just rest now.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Then please let me know if you need anything.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

After Sharon and Raphael left, I sat on the sofa with Linelle.

“Something completely unexpected happened.”

“I know. What is going on all of a sudden……. The owner of the imperial coronation has changed.”

Linelle put his arm around my shoulder and said.

“Then Rosie will become Empress?”

I asked, leaning my head on his shoulder.

Prince Calvin’s sudden death was unfortunate, but it was something to celebrate that Rosie would be ascending to the throne of the Partsha Empire.

“We have to hope so.”

“……What do you mean?”

“If Prince Norton becomes Emperor, the officials here won’t readily accept Rosie as Empress. The position of Grand Duchess and Empress are different.”

“Are you saying that the officials here might oppose Rosie?”

“Probably.”

I began to feel uneasy after hearing Linelle’s words.

If Prince Calvin had ascended to the throne as planned and the wedding had gone smoothly, Prince Norton would have been granted the title of Grand Duke from his position as Prince.

Accordingly, Rosie was also scheduled to become Grand Duchess.

As Linelle said, the positions of Grand Duchess and Empress are clearly different.

Although it is a state marriage, Rosie is from the Lapion Empire’s harem [a section of the palace reserved for women].

The fact that the wife of a royal family member who is out of the 1st power was a concubine from another country may be gossip in society, but it is not something that the officials will step in.

But if the Empress is from another country’s harem, the story is different.

Moreover, if it becomes known that Norton has Rams, and Rams’ biological mother is a princess of the Shattonil Kingdom…….

Troublesome things could happen.

Linelle seemed to be worried about that point as well.

I felt like my worries had increased before I could even relieve the fatigue of the long journey.

I was worried about whether Rosie would be able to overcome this.

***

Three days had passed since we arrived in the Partsha Empire.

The funeral procedures were carried out quickly, starting the day after Prince Calvin passed away.

The funeral of the prince, who died suddenly before the imperial coronation, was simpler and shorter than expected.

Even though it wasn’t a state funeral, I felt a little strange.

It wouldn’t be a big deal for a noble family, but it felt a bit early for the funeral of a prince who was about to be crowned Emperor to end in just one day.

Apparently, in the Partsha Empire, all funeral procedures for the imperial family, except for the Emperor, are entirely under the jurisdiction of the spouse.

So all of this was decided by Princess Jasper.

The atmosphere of the Partsha Empire’s imperial palace after the funeral was dignified and solemn, without great sadness.

I could see that there were quite a few officials who were not happy with Prince Calvin ascending to the throne.

The aftermath of Prince Calvin removing the 1st Prince by force and marrying his sister-in-law, Princess Jasper, was clearly revealed.

Fortunately, most of the officials who were hostile to Prince Calvin were favorable to Prince Norton.

However, that favor did not extend to Prince Norton’s partner, Rosie.

Some officials even openly showed hostility towards Rosie.

The day after the funeral, the right to inherit the throne was immediately passed down to Prince Norton.

The congratulatory delegations from each country had all agreed to attend the coronation of the Emperor, whose owner had changed due to an unexpected sudden death.

However, the coronation was scheduled to take place within a few days, taking into account the schedules of the congratulatory delegations.

Anyway, all the preparations necessary for the coronation must have already been completed, so only the main character will change.

“I heard there’s a party before the coronation; you should take this opportunity to have a dress made.”

“Yes, Melanie has already found the most famous dress shop in the Partsha Empire. Thanks to that, I’m going to choose comfortably with the other concubines.”

They felt like friends to me now, not concubines.

“Wear the prettiest one.”

“What if another concubine has already chosen it?”

“Take it. What are you going to do with your strength?”

“I don’t want to take it by force in a barbaric way. I have a good method, why bother?”

“What is it?”

“Just one word: ‘Don’t you want to form a marriage alliance?'”

“Yes, that’s a very educated and cultured method.”

Linelle said sarcastically and pinched my cheek lightly.

While Linelle and I were having tea time in the guest room, Raphael brought news from the main palace.

“Your Majesty, Prince Norton has requested to see you in the audience hall of the main palace, saying that he has something to discuss.”

“What for?”

“I don’t know the exact details, but Emperor Katria of the Deloy Empire and Grand Duke Martins have already arrived at the main palace.”

“Prince Norton is trying to get the representatives from each country who came as congratulatory delegations to attend the meeting, so it seems like something has happened that requires our strength?”

Linelle said, pressing his temples with my hand.

“Could it be about Rosie?”

“I think so.”

He kissed the back of my hand that he was holding and said.

“I hope it’s nothing serious.”

“I hope so, but… well, we’ll know when we go.”

He had a look on his face like he had something to say, but he kept his mouth shut.

We put down our teacups and got up to head to the main palace.

***

When we arrived at the audience hall of the main palace, Emperor Katria of the Deloy Empire was already there as expected.

I had met Emperor Katria the day after arriving at the imperial palace of this Partsha Empire.

It had been a few days since we met in the conference room of the east palace where the dignitaries were staying to discuss the Adrian Emperor and Roxana’s death-related incidents, as well as the wyvern issue.

As Linelle expected, Emperor Katria was wary of me, the Wyvern Lord, but she stated that she would pursue peace as long as we didn’t use the wyverns to start a war with the Southern Continent first.

I made it clear to Emperor Katria that I had no intention of using the wyverns for the country’s political situation or power.

In response, Emperor Katria, true to her generous personality, readily opened her heart again.

But her expression when I met her in the audience hall today was somewhat meaningful.

“It seems like Your Majesty Zelda doesn’t know yet?”

Emperor Katria, who was sitting next to me, asked me quietly.

“Know what?”

When I asked back, she had an expression that said she knew it.

At that time, Grand Duke Martins, who had arrived at the main palace before us, entered the audience hall with a troubled face.

“Your Majesty, there is a conflict of opinion between Prince Norton and the officials regarding Prince Norton’s marriage.”

Emperor Katria nodded her head greatly as she listened to Grand Duke Martins’ words.

Emperor Katria seemed to already know that fact.

“Here it comes.”

Linelle muttered, rubbing his eyebrows.

He also had an expression that he had expected this situation.

Then, Grand Duke Martins hesitated for a moment before continuing.

“It seems that the officials here are planning to make Princess Resilia…… the Empress.”

“W-What, what did you say?!”

Unbelievable!

I stood up from my chair without realizing it.