The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 313

313. Not Needed on the First Night

2024.01.03.

After the coronation and wedding ceremony at the Imperial Palace chapel, Duke Velos and Duke Martins proceeded to the Empress Palace at Emperor Norton’s request, where Princess Resilia was residing.

Guards stood watch at the entrance to the floor where Princess Resilia was staying.

The deputy commander of the guard, who had been informed by Emperor Norton in advance, immediately recognized the two dukes.

“Follow me.”

The deputy commander personally escorted them to the door of Princess Resilia’s room.

Duke Martins thanked the deputy commander, knocked, and entered.

“Duke?!”

Princess Resilia, who had been sitting listlessly and mistook him for a servant, saw Duke Martins and frantically reached for the wide-brimmed hat beside her, dropping it on the floor in her haste.

“…Princess?”

Duke Martins, observing Princess Resilia’s disheveled hair, simply stared.

The princess’s hair resembled a pink bowl perched on her head.

“…Did you… did you see it?”

*What, did the Master of Magic Tower [referring to Velos] have to come too? Ugh, how annoying!*

Princess Resilia’s eyes met Velos’s behind Duke Martins, and she felt an overwhelming urge to hide under the bed.

Despite her appearance already being exposed, she picked up the hat and placed it on her head.

“What happened to your hair…?”

“It’s those damn wyverns’ doing.”

Upon hearing the word “wyvern,” Velos, who had been standing behind Duke Martins, stepped forward.

“Are you talking about Moiya and Moni?”

“What do I know about their names?”

Princess Resilia muttered, clearly irritated.

“There must be a reason. They wouldn’t have made your hair look so… unique for no reason…”

Princess Resilia’s face crumpled at Duke Martins’ question.

“Is it really that bad?”

She was well aware of the current state of her hair.

But she was curious about how it appeared in the eyes of others, especially men.

The servants claimed it wasn’t that strange, but she had caught them pinching each other and stifling laughter behind her back.

If it looked comical to those commoners, it would likely appear the same to the nobles.

Still, she held a sliver of hope that men, who had always admired her beauty, might perceive it differently.

“Well, hair grows back.”

Duke Martins’ consolation offered little comfort.

“What does the Master of Magic Tower think?”

Princess Resilia directed her question to Velos.

“In my opinion, rather than hideous… it’s amusing.”

He answered honestly, as he was asked, but Velos bit his tongue to suppress an outright laugh.

Nevertheless, Princess Resilia was frustrated by the response itself.

Hair would indeed grow back, as Duke Martins said, but the self-esteem that had been singed along with it would not recover so easily.

She blamed Rosie for this entire debacle, as well as the two baby wyverns who had directly assaulted her hair.

*Even if I can’t become the Empress, I must prevent that ugly Rosie from becoming the Empress!*

Princess Resilia gritted her teeth and vowed.

“Oh, isn’t today the coronation day? Did it go well?”

“Yes, Prince Norton is now the Emperor of the Partsha Empire.”

Duke Martins nodded in reply.

*I should have stayed by Norton’s side from the beginning. I shouldn’t have abandoned Ramses.*

Princess Resilia felt a wave of nausea at the thought of Norton becoming Emperor.

“When… when will the wedding be held?”

She hoped that there would be enough time for her hair to grow at least to her ears before the wedding.

That way, she would have a chance to meet Norton one last time and persuade him again.

Until the wedding, anything could happen.

Princess Resilia’s confidence in Norton had not waned.

*Norton might waver. If he keeps seeing that ugly face, maybe when he sees me again…*

“It was held right after the coronation.”

Princess Resilia, lost in her thoughts, was startled by Duke Martins’ words.

“What… was held?”

The princess asked, her expression one of disbelief.

“The wedding, I mean.”

Duke Martins saw Princess Resilia’s surprised reaction and realized that she was completely unaware.

A few days prior, an imperial order had been issued to the servants attending to Princess Resilia, instructing them not to reveal this fact.

It was a precaution against a possible outburst.

“Oh, the wedding was… held today?!”

“Yes.”

The princess’s temper flared.

She snatched off the wide-brimmed hat, threw it to the floor, and screamed.

“Aaaargh! How could you do this? You made me look like this, and what? Held a wedding? Became husband and wife?”

Princess Resilia rushed towards the door, intending to storm the main palace.

Velos, who was standing near the door, blocked her path.

“It’s all over now. So give up.”

“It’s not over yet. Give up what? Why should I!”

Princess Resilia struggled, pushing against Velos’s shoulder.

“The two of them are already officially married. What can the princess do against the Empress of the Partsha Empire? Besides, the princess is already considered a criminal.”

“What?”

“Emperor Norton has shown his last act of kindness to the princess.”

Velos said, glancing at the wall clock in the room.

Princess Resilia listened to Velos’s words with a glimmer of hope.

“He has decided not to hold you accountable for the disgrace you caused in this imperial palace. So, you can return to the Tower prison with me.”

His expression conveyed that he couldn’t delay any longer.

“Go back to that underground prison like this? No way! I won’t go, I can’t go! My son Ramses is here, why would I go to another country? A prison at that!”

Ramses was now the son of the Emperor of the Partsha Empire.

*He will succeed Norton and ascend to the throne!*

She was about to have all the glory stolen by Rosie without any effort on her part.

It was just like the saying, ‘The bear does the trick, and the fox enjoys the fun’ [an idiom meaning one person does the work while another benefits].

*No, a hyena. There’s no other hyena like her!*

Princess Resilia bitterly regretted not having dealt with Rosie sooner.

She was deeply ashamed that she had lost everything to someone she considered so insignificant.

If she had known this would happen, it would have been better to remain in prison.

Then she wouldn’t have lost her hair to the baby wyverns.

All that remained for her was resentment and a sense of injustice.

“That ugly thing… finally wore the crown. She stole my man, my child, my place!”

“Master of Magic Tower, I ask for your help.”

Duke Martins gestured towards Princess Resilia, who had lost her composure and was smashing items on the dressing table.

“Yes, Duke.”

Velos, with a slightly annoyed expression, drew a magic circle behind Princess Resilia.

As soon as the two disappeared from the room, Duke Martins sat on the sofa and waited for Velos to return shortly.

The image of Princess Resilia’s bowl-cut hairstyle lingered in Duke Martins’ mind.

“But Moiya, Moni… what were they so angry about?”

He wondered what could have provoked them to make Princess Resilia’s hair look so ridiculous.

“Did the princess steal their sausage or something?”

Duke Martins murmured with his eyes closed.

***

After the wedding, a splendid reception followed.

Regardless of their true feelings, after Princess Resilia’s outburst at the party, no ministers or nobles openly displayed animosity towards Rosie.

The drastically changed attitude was palpable at the reception.

The gazes directed at Rosie softened.

Everyone treated Rosie, now the Empress, with utmost courtesy.

Seeing this, I felt a great sense of relief.

Emperor Norton and Empress Rosie.

Although not as deeply connected as Linelle and I, the two made a good match.

In particular, Rosie looked dignified and beautiful wearing the Empress’s crown.

It was a perfect day.

However, the most important event for Rosie was yet to come tonight.

For that, I and the concubines accompanied Rosie to the main palace.

***

Traditionally, the first night was to be spent in the Empress’s Palace.

However, Rosie decided to stay in the main palace not only for the first night but also for the foreseeable future.

This wasn’t because of Princess Resilia, who was still residing in the Empress’s Palace.

In any case, Velos would be teleporting the princess back to the tower of the Lapion Imperial Palace later that day.

The reason Rosie chose to live in the main palace for the time being was to accommodate Princess Consort Jasper, who was currently living in the Empress’s Palace.

The Emperor’s coronation and the wedding had occurred suddenly. Without Princess Consort Jasper’s cooperation and assistance, the transition would have been much more difficult.

Rosie, deeply grateful, wanted to allow Princess Consort Jasper ample time to prepare to leave the Empress’s Palace.

Rosie granted her a month, but judging from Princess Consort Jasper’s personality, which she had observed during that time, wouldn’t she vacate the Empress’s Palace much sooner than that?

Anyway, for that reason, the two’s first night would be spent in the main palace today.

We arrived at the main palace and went straight to the room where Rosie would be staying.

I instructed Rosie’s servants to prepare a bath, and Melanie asked another servant to bring high-proof wine.

Catherine and Pesillini carefully examined the scented oil to be used in the bathwater.

“Thank you all so much. If I had been here alone, I really wouldn’t have been able to manage anything properly and would have been completely lost.”

Rosie, who had changed out of her wedding dress and into a gown, expressed her gratitude before entering the bathroom.

Rosie’s eyes welled up with tears again.

I also felt a strange mix of emotions, and my eyes grew hot.

The other concubines felt the same.

If any one of us started crying, we would all embrace each other and dissolve into a flood of tears.

In that precarious moment, Melanie shifted the atmosphere.

“If you’re so grateful, give us each a blue diamond, a specialty of the Partsha Empire, as a gift. Now that you’re the Empress, you can certainly afford that, right?”

Everyone burst into laughter instead of tears at Melanie’s joke, which was full of sincerity.

Rosie also laughed, but tears streamed down her face at the same time.

“Don’t cry. What if His Majesty Norton misunderstands?”

Catherine said, rolling her eyes, and Pesillini laughed and added,

“That’s right. He might think we made you cry out of jealousy.”

“Okay, Rosie. Take a bath first and come out. His Majesty will be arriving at the main palace soon.”

At Rosie’s request, I and the concubines reassured her and nodded.

We smiled silently, watching Rosie’s nervous back.

At this moment, everyone felt like close sisters.

While waiting for Rosie, Moiya and Moni flew in through the window of her room.

Both held a sausage in one hand and… wait.

“Is that alcohol?”

I asked, pointing to the champagne glasses they were holding in their right hands.

The glasses were champagne glasses, but the liquid inside was dark red.

“It must be juice. Grape juice.”

Catherine’s tone implied that there was no way it could be wine.

Of course, they might have brought grape juice in a champagne glass, but their eyes were too glazed over for that.

“Hic- Hic, right Moiya~?”

Moiya staggered in the air, hiccuping.

“I feel so~ good, I had a drink Moni~!”

“…You guys, did you drink alcohol? That’s wine, right?”

“Oong? How can this be? The owner looks like multiple people!”

Moiya, drunk, blinked her ruby eyes repeatedly and looked at me.

“Moiya’s eyes are gone Moni~?”

Moni’s eyes, who said that, were already not normal either.

“Ang? Master, have you seen Ao Cee? We came to play with Ao Cee, but this insignificant cat is bothering us Moni~?”

Moni looked around Rosie’s room and asked.

“Ao Cee is here?”

Melanie said, hugging Ao Cee, who crawled out from under the bed and hid behind her.

“Miyaaong-!”

Ao Cee protested against Melanie, who had revealed her hiding spot, and waved her솜방망이질 [솜방망이질 is a Korean word that describes the action of gently hitting or patting something with a soft object].

Melanie didn’t put Ao Cee down and continued to comfort her, as if she was sorry.

“Tsk, are you two flying around drunk? You’ll have an accident.”

I asked Moiya and Moni in a scolding voice.

I was about to ask whose idea it was to appear as flower girls at the wedding, but Moni said something strange.

“Even on the way here, Moiya collided with Cami.”

“Cami? Are you talking about the crow that Velos uses?”

“Yes. There was a hit-and-run accident, and Moiya just ran away.”

“Then what happened to Cami?”

I asked, glaring at Moiya.

“I don’t know. Cack- something fell, but if he’s alive by tomorrow, we can settle with sausage Moiya~?”

“……”

Their appearance was that of babies, but strictly speaking, they weren’t babies, so it was a bit ambiguous to scold them for drinking alcohol.

But drunk driving is absolutely unacceptable!

On top of that, they hit another bird and ran away.

“Moiya, go out right now and check if Cami is safe.”

“Yes, Master… but I’m too dizzy, so I’ll lie down for a while before I go. Egu, egu.”

Moiya staggered and flew, gave me the wine glass, and lay down on Rosie’s bed.

“Oong? What is this slippery thing Moiya~?”

Moiya lay down on Rosie’s 야시시한 [a Korean word that describes something slightly erotic or suggestive] silk pajamas.

“Oh, oh! Get out of the way. Don’t lie down on that!”

Melanie rushed to the bed and pulled out the pajamas that Moiya was lying on.

At that moment.

“Ah, no!”

With Melanie’s scream, Rosie’s first night pajamas were torn 시원하게- [a Korean word that describes something being done in a cool, refreshing, or satisfying way].

“Oong? The pajamas are split in half Moiya~?”

Of all things, the chest area of the pajamas got caught on Moiya’s head뿔 [뿔 refers to horn in Korean].

“Oh, what should we do, 사돈 [사돈 refers to in-laws in Korean]?!”

Melanie asked me with a tearful face.

“…Well, you don’t necessarily need pajamas on the first night.”