The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 309

309. Moya’s Extreme Rage

2023.12.20.

“The affection you inspire is scarier than anything. That saying is so true.”

I didn’t miss this moment. I pretended to wipe away tears while patting Rosie’s shoulder.

The party hall fell silent for a moment.

Seeing my chance, I nudged Catherine and Melanie, who were next to me.

Then, both of them quickly chimed in.

“You have no idea how devoted Rosie has been to taking care of Rams. We know because we’ve been watching from the sidelines.”

“Of course, we know. Rams has never been like this with anyone but Rosie… It’s the first time I’ve seen Rams cry so hysterically.”

“Oh, there was that one time when the Princess dropped Rams from under the valley bridge.”

That remark immediately caused a huge stir.

Even without a detailed explanation, it was a shocking story.

The noble ladies cautiously approached the concubines and inquired about the incident.

The concubines kindly informed the noble ladies about the incident in detail.

Rosie, sensing the mood, collapsed to the floor as if falling and sobbed.

The people in the party hall began to be more swayed by Rosie’s performance than by Princess Lesilia, the birth mother.

Princess Lesilia looked visibly flustered.

Seeing this, the three young ladies who had been considered potential concubines approached Princess Lesilia.

“Princess, this is a bit much,” Esther said with a disappointed look.

“What? What do you know to be butting in, young lady?” Princess Lesilia retorted in an unpleasant tone.

“We can tell just by how carelessly you treat Rams, can’t we?”

“That’s right! Please return Rams to Rosie immediately.”

Glen and Savannah also crossed their arms and raised their voices at Princess Lesilia.

“I knew something was off when she demanded sausages from the start…” As Lady Esther muttered to herself, the ladies who had been shoulder-dancing all nodded their heads vehemently.

Princess Lesilia naturally didn’t understand what that meant.

Moni hid behind my shoulder, covering her mouth and giggling.

I hadn’t heard the full story from Moni yet, so I couldn’t intervene.

Princess Lesilia looked around and shrank her shoulders. She must have noticed that even the young ladies who had approached her with goodwill had changed their gazes to disapproval.

Moreover, the situation was not good because Rams continued to cry.

“Can’t you stay still?” Princess Lesilia ended up glaring down at Rams and scolding him. She seemed to have exploded with anger as Rams kept trying to go to Rosie and fussed.

“I can’t tolerate any more disgraceful behavior.” At that moment, Prince Norton took Rams from Princess Lesilia’s arms and warned her.

Caught off guard and losing Rams, Princess Lesilia looked up at Prince Norton with resentful eyes.

“Norton… How can you do this to me? Did you call me here to humiliate me in front of everyone?”

“Think about who caused the humiliation.” Prince Norton spoke coldly, then approached Rosie and handed Rams over.

As Rosie hugged Rams tightly, Rams surprisingly stopped crying.

That sight seemed to have deeply moved the ministers and nobles.

Applause could be heard from somewhere.

“Let go, let go of him! I’m Rams’ birth mother, you know?” Princess Lesilia was dragged out of the party hall again by the knights under Prince Norton’s orders.

Everyone clicked their tongues at Princess Lesilia and gave Rosie, who was comforting Rams, affectionate glances.

“See? I told you, what’s hidden inside will be exposed outside,” Rinel said, coming next to me and wrapping his arms around my waist.

“But, Your Majesty, did you know the Princess would be exposed this much?” I wondered if that was why he had agreed to bring her here so quickly.

“No, I didn’t know she would be exposed this much. Those guys did a great job. But, where did Moya go?” Rinel stroked Moni, who had flown into his arms, and looked around.

“Moni, we need to catch Moya.”

“Yes, Master. Then, will you forgive me?” Moni asked in a coquettish voice. She seemed to know what she had done wrong.

“Throwing Rams was a dangerous thing to do. Do you usually throw Moya and Rams around for fun?”

“We also throw Ao around for fun. Ao cries a lot, you know? But Rams likes it. I’m really *yuan wang* [wronged/unjustly accused]… I’m only guilty of catching Rams that Moya threw, Moni~?”

Poor Ao.

I could imagine Ao bristling his white fur as he went back and forth between the two of them.

“Okay, I’ll forgive you if you find Moya and bring her back.” At my words, Moni’s ruby-colored eyes blinked, then,

“And I’ll give you a sausage.”

“Yay!” Moni’s eyes sparkled with motivation at Rinel’s added words.

***

When I returned to the VIP room, Moya and Moni were waiting for us on the bed, kneeling side by side.

The sight of them kneeling and looking around was quite cute, but I deliberately maintained a serious expression.

“Why are you doing that too?” Rinel asked Moni. He gestured for Moni to come to him, but Moni surprisingly chose to keep her loyalty and continue kneeling next to Moya.

If that’s the kind of loyalty she has, why did she catch Moya?

Ah, is it because of the promise of sausage?

Moya even raised both hands above her head and stood as punishment.

Moya raised both hands above her head on her own.

But Moni’s friendship only extended to her knees, not her hands.

I shifted my gaze from Moni to Moya.

“Moya, you know what you did wrong, right?”

“It’s because Rams’ mother’s body isn’t flexible.”

“……What?”

“Her body is so stiff that she couldn’t get the form right, Moya~?” Moya grumbled that she could have danced better, but the Princess had cursed joints, so she couldn’t help it… Compared to that, Rosie was a soft-bodied animal.

So, Moya thinks that the reason I’m scolding her now is because I’m rebuking her for not dancing the shoulder dance deliciously?

It was unbelievable, but it was true.

“Oh, my head…….” I thumped my forehead with my fist.

“That’s not what you did wrong,” Rinel said to Moya instead of me.

“Oong~? Then Moya~?”

“You threw Rams to Moni. That was a very dangerous thing to do.”

At Rinel’s solemn voice, Moya immediately made a *yuan wang* [wronged/unjustly accused] expression.

“That’s because I was trying to make Rams happy?”

“That’s right. Going back and forth like a ball is Rams’ favorite game, Moni~?”

A burst of hollow laughter erupted.

“What if Rams had a seizure or something……?” I said that to them, but I saw Rams’ expression at that moment when he was being transferred to Moni.

Rams’ face, which was laughing and enjoying himself, clearly came to mind, and I unknowingly trailed off.

“Rams is the human *zzae-ggi* [brat/child] who liked it even when he fell down the valley before, Moya~?”

“That’s right! Rams seemed a little bored earlier, Moni~?”

Rinel and I were speechless.

It was obvious that no matter how much I scolded them, they wouldn’t understand what they did wrong at all.

Still, they had a good sense and offered words to reassure me.

“Master, Rams will never get hurt.”

“Yay, even if we close our eyes and pass Rams back and forth, we’ve never dropped him once!”

Good heavens.

They’ve even thrown him with their eyes closed?

I lost my balance and staggered.

Rinel supported me.

He reminded me that the two of them were not ordinary humans, but great wyverns. So there was no way they could make a mistake like dropping Rams.

I calmed down again and regained my composure at those words.

“Okay, that’s that, but why did you go into Princess Lesilia’s body in the first place? And why did you dance the shoulder dance with the young ladies?”

I could hear Moya’s head spinning at my words. She seemed to be gauging whether that was something to be scolded for or not.

“Is it related to the sausage?” I remembered what I had heard from Moni and asked again.

“That’s…… The young ladies were curious about how Rosie stole Norton’s heart.”

“……So?”

“I received it in exchange for telling them the secret. I obtained it very legitimately, Moya~?” Moya said clearly and made a very confident expression.

“That’s not wrong.” He nodded and smiled.

I nudged his side with my elbow and retorted, “It’s not like Rosie stole Prince Norton’s heart with the shoulder dance in the first place. How can you say it’s not wrong?”

I was so dumbfounded that I burst out laughing.

“……It’s not? I heard it directly?”

“Yay?”

“I heard it directly from Norton’s mouth someday.”

“!”

“He said that the shoulder dance that Rosie danced while staring intently at him at the party never left his head. Was it during the handkerchief game at the hunting competition? Rosie danced that dance again then. He thought it was lovely then. Of course, Moya was in Rosie’s body both times when she danced it.”

“I’m right, Master?” At his testimony, Moya slyly lowered her arms and made a heart shape over her head with a sly smile.

So, is it really true that the secret to Rosie stealing Prince Norton’s heart is the shoulder dance?

Knock knock-.

At the same time as I was about to burst out laughing, a knock was heard.

Rinel walked to the door and opened it himself.

“I came to thank Moya.” It was Prince Norton’s visit. Rosie was with him.

“Moya has guests?” Rinel smirked and looked back at Moya.

Moya wasn’t exactly trying to help Rosie, but as a result, the perception of Rosie had definitely changed for the better.

The two of them widened their eyes when they found Moya and Moni kneeling on the bed.

“She’s like a benefactor to me, but she’s being punished here,” Prince Norton said with an awkward smile.

“Thanks to Moya, the public opinion of the ministers and nobles is changing. Ah, thank you to Moni too for safely catching Rams.” Prince Norton winked at Moni as he added, and Moni smiled brightly.

“Oong? Why is the person who’s thanking me empty-handed?” Moya wiggled her cheeks in dissatisfaction.

“Is sausage okay?” Prince Norton asked gently, raising one corner of his mouth.

“I’ve already earned a lot of sausage?”

“Where’s the sausage you’ve earned?” I looked around the room just in case, but I couldn’t see any sausage in our room.

“Ah, right! It’s in Princess Lesilia’s room. What if that crazy head eats it all by herself? We have to hurry, Moni~!” Moni made a fuss and hit Moya’s wings.

“Norton is the owner here, so will you allow it? It’s okay to go.” Moya jumped up from the bed and quickly asked Prince Norton for permission before I could say anything.

“Yes, you have the right to do so because you legitimately obtained it from the young ladies through your efforts.” Since Prince Norton had allowed it, there was no reason to stop her.

“Okay, but don’t cause any more trouble. Don’t fight with anyone either. Just bring the sausage and come back quickly. Got it?” Moya and Moni shouted ‘Yes!’ at the same time and disappeared out the window in the blink of an eye.

“Will they be okay?” Rosie asked with a worried face.

“Yeah, as long as they can get the sausage out safely,” I said, watching the two of them flapping their wings vigorously as they flew hand in hand to the Empress Palace.

***

After being kicked out of the party hall, Princess Lesilia was immediately sent to the Empress Palace by the knights.

At Prince Norton’s request, Jasper’s consort had arrived at the Empress Palace first and was waiting for the Princess.

As expected, Princess Lesilia was screaming from the lobby of the Empress Palace and trying to go back to the party hall.

“Princess, keep your dignity,” Jasper’s consort rebuked her in a dignified voice.

It was a word that had already been shattered and disappeared by Moya, but it was the word she chose because she couldn’t think of a word to calm Princess Lesilia down right now.

“Am I in a position to care about dignity right now? You saw that concubine taking Rams away right in front of my eyes! I don’t understand why you invited someone to a party and then suddenly ordered the knights to drag me out.”

Princess Lesilia complained with a face that had hurt her pride.

“Really…… Don’t you remember? Were you perhaps drunk?” Jasper’s consort had seen Princess Lesilia chatting with the young ladies and drinking several glasses of wine and champagne.

But she didn’t seem drunk enough to commit those terrible things in a row.

“Of course, I remember being with the young ladies,” Princess Lesilia frowned and retorted.

Jasper’s consort took that to mean that she remembered dancing the ridiculous dance with the young ladies.

Well, if she had been in her right mind, she wouldn’t have shaken her son, Rams, so ignorantly.

“Please call Prince Norton, him. Please!” Princess Lesilia grabbed Jasper’s consort’s arm and clung to her.

“Go back to your room for now. I’ll have Prince Norton come,” Jasper’s consort calmed her down for now and sent her up to the guest room where she was staying.

***

“Something’s wrong. My head is all messed up…….” Princess Lesilia returned to her room and pondered, touching her long pink hair.

Her whole body ached as if she had a body ache.

“Why is my shoulder so sore that I can’t even turn it?” Princess Lesilia looked into the mirror, turning her stiff shoulders, and then turned around abruptly.

“……What, what is all that?!” There were things piled up in front of the bed that were definitely not there before she headed to the party hall.

When she got closer, she saw all kinds of sausages.

“Why are there so many sausages…….” Was someone mocking her?

Princess Lesilia’s temper flared up at the sight of the unexpected pile of sausages.

“I’m so angry, how dare you make fun of me like this?!” It must be the work of the young ladies who approached her as if they were on her side and then changed their faces to side with Rosie.

‘Princess, we have sent our ‘gifts’ to the room where you are staying.’ The words that one of the young ladies had said while chatting at the party suddenly flashed through her mind.

“You impudent things!” I was expecting something because they were talking about gifts out of the blue,

“What? Sausage? Ha, hahaha!” Princess Lesilia, who burst into laughter, kicked the baskets and boxes containing the sausages.

The sausages came in a variety of types and colors.

That made the Princess even more upset.

“This should have all been jewelry! How dare you mock me, Rams’ birth mother, like this?” The anger that had been boiling over after losing Rams to Rosie exploded when she saw the sausages.

Princess Lesilia began to trample all over the sausages with her boots.

“Aaaah! That pink head is killing my sausages!” Moya was shocked by Princess Lesilia’s actions from outside the window and quickly flew into the room.

Princess Lesilia jumped and was surprised by Moya and Moni’s visit.

“Huh? I heard they fly around openly, and it’s true. The world has gotten better. Zelda is a wyvern lord.” Princess Lesilia had heard from Jasper’s consort that two baby wyverns were roaming freely around the Imperial Palace.

It was amazing to see them up close, but the wyverns were not the problem right now.

“You sausage killer!” Moya flew in front of Princess Lesilia’s face and trembled, clenching her fists.

“You, what……are you?!”

“Yes, I am Moya! Do you even know what’s under your feet?”

“……What, sausage?”

“That’s not sausage. That was the price of my effort!”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

“What gives you the right to crush my efforts! Yeah, you get crushed today too!” As soon as Moya finished speaking, she grabbed Princess Lesilia’s hair with both hands.

Princess Lesilia also grabbed the two horns on Moya’s head and shook them wildly.

“Aaaah! This wyvern *zzae-ggi* [brat/child] is crazy! Hey, let go of this?”

“Pay for my efforts. Pay me back!” A melee broke out.

“Yay? Master told us not to fight, Moni~?” Moni recalled Zelda’s earnest request and rolled her feet in the air. She had to stop the fight quickly.

Moni breathed fire at Princess Lesilia’s hair.

“……Aah! My hair!!”

“Kwaaaaak-!” Moni didn’t know a faster way to stop the fight.