The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 320

January 27, 2024

“Suddenly… I don’t think so?”

He was a man with absolutely no talent for lying.

Still, he tried his best to force a friendly smile.

Because of his 7-year-old daughter.

“If not suddenly, then…?”

Bellos asked, startled.

“You mean, you’ve been trying to introduce someone to me since before?”

He looked even more horrified at that thought.

Bellos subtly removed his hand from Linelle’s arm, looking burdened.

“Of course! How much do I… uh? How much do I… care about you?”

Linelle squeezed out the words, barely managing to lift the corners of his lips.

His mouth was smiling, but his eyes were unsettling.

His eyes were cursing, but his tone was friendly—a very strange situation.

“It seems like it would be easier if you just told me your ideal type.”

Bellos, who was about to dismiss Linelle’s serious tone as a joke, also became serious.

Bellos’s expression looked like he was about to shout, ‘Don’t talk nonsense and get out of the way!’ But since the person talking nonsense was the Emperor of the Lapion Empire, he eventually opened his mouth calmly.

“My ideal type is… Raphael?”

Bellos sighed and answered, then glanced in our direction.

“…Your ideal type is Raphael?”

Linelle, who was watching the canaries flying around in the greenhouse, asked in shock.

“Your Majesty!”

This time, Bellos spotted me behind Raphael.

“What? This time it’s Zelda? Still, still can’t forget my wife?”

He suddenly grabbed Bellos’s collar with both hands.

Bellos’s body swayed back and forth like a willow branch.

Not knowing I was here, he seemed to misunderstand that Bellos had chosen me as his ideal type.

Suddenly, Bellos’s ideal type became me and Raphael.

“Why are you doing this, Your Majesty!”

Bellos, who was suddenly grabbed by the collar, shouted in an aggrieved voice.

“Your Majesty!”

As I called out to Linelle and approached, he finally noticed us.

“It just so happens that two of the Archmage’s ideal types have appeared.”

He really misunderstood.

“We’ve been here for a while. Bellos recognized us and greeted us.”

I said, slapping the back of his hand, which was gradually lifting Bellos.

“…Really? Then why did you call Raphael’s name?”

“Raphael was in the greenhouse, so I called him without realizing it! I saw Her Majesty the Empress behind him later!”

Bellos retorted irritably.

“No, Archmage. What’s so wrong with me that you’re making such a fuss? I’m a little…disappointed?”

Raphael said with a smirk, and Bellos rubbed his arm as if he had goosebumps.

“Since we’re on the topic, tell me your ideal type.”

I asked.

Bellos used to have feelings for me, but that’s because my charm is so outstanding, and he might have a different ideal type now.

“I like women with bright personalities. Someone who is positive and progressive, and has some stubbornness. It would be nice if she were more beautiful than me, but that’s not easy. Instead, I hope she can silently endure the gazes of people looking at me. Oh, and I hope she looks good when she eats.”

What would have happened if I hadn’t asked?

His ideal type poured out of Bellos’s mouth, who I thought would just say, ‘That’s enough.’

By the way, listening to him, isn’t that exactly our Lily?

Linelle seemed to have the same thought as me, and his face darkened.

“Should the appearance be youthful?”

Because you don’t age.

The atmosphere seemed to be getting strange, so I asked jokingly.

“That doesn’t matter. It’s more important that her heart doesn’t change than her appearance doesn’t change.”

“Her appearance will age; are you confident that your heart won’t change?”

Linelle asked.

“I’ve personally held funerals for several women.”

“!”

Ah, that’s right.

Having lived for nearly 300 years, even if he only dated one person every few decades, it would add up to several people.

What would it be like to see the woman you love grow old when your appearance always stays the same?

And what about the sadness of personally holding a funeral?

I can’t fully understand his feelings, but just imagining it makes my heart ache.

Linelle also paused for a moment and stared at Bellos’s face.

For a moment, a look of pity seemed to flash across his face, but still, a warning that he shouldn’t even dream of becoming his son-in-law was emanating from his eyes.

Of course, Bellos had no idea about Linelle’s feelings.

“Anyway. Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty.”

“You’re not saying you won’t accept an introduction?”

“Your Majesty’s concern for me has been conveyed.”

Bellos answered, placing one hand on his chest.

“I’ll also look for someone who would be a good match for the Archmage. Oh, how about my cousin who looks just like me?”

Raphael asked Bellos with a sincere face.

“Where is she opening again?”

Bellos chuckled and joked, looking down at Raphael’s zipper.

Then, mimicking the open fly of the Imperial Castle, Raphael raised both hands to his chest and pretended to open and close a window.

“That girl opens her chest.”

“What?!”

“Her heart is so warm.”

“…Ah, that’s what you meant. I almost misunderstood.”

***

As soon as I entered the main palace, Stian was in the lobby.

“The honored guests have arrived at 10-minute intervals. They are waiting for you both in the respective offices and reception rooms.”

Starting yesterday, congratulatory delegations began arriving at the Imperial Palace in time for Lily’s 7th birthday party tonight.

The honored guests Stian was talking about were the honored guests from the Partsha Empire, the Shattonil Kingdom, and the Aclato Kingdom.

We headed to the offices and reception rooms, respectively.

It’s Lily’s birthday, but I feel like I’m the one receiving gifts.

The former concubines have now become my friends.

We each had two children over the past 7 years.

Interestingly, I was the only one who had a daughter as the first child, and everyone else had sons.

And then, when I had a son as my second child, all three of them had daughters.

Ah, Melanie is the only one who had twins, a son and a daughter, as her first children, so she already has three children.

Why does the path to the reception room feel so long today?

My pace kept quickening.

Seeing me excited, Sharon and the other attendants secretly smiled and were happy too.

After catching my breath in front of the reception room, I opened the door and entered.

The familiar voices that were chatting suddenly stopped.

Everyone greeted me with ‘Your Majesty the Empress!’ and I quickly approached them and hugged them one by one.

“Is this the first time we’ve all gathered in 3 years?”

“That’s right. It’s the first time since the Continental Hunting Competition 3 years ago.”

The route of the hunting competition 3 years ago started in the Tebero Empire and ended in the Shattonil Kingdom.

The hunting competition should have been held last year as well, but it was canceled due to a major drought throughout the continent, so we couldn’t gather.

So, everyone gathered under the pretext of Lily’s birthday this time.

“I’m already starting to get wrinkles, but how can Your Majesty the Empress look even younger?”

Rosie grabbed my hand and asked with envious eyes.

“No, I have a lot of fine lines under my eyes too; what are you talking about?”

I pointed to the wrinkles that appear when I squint and burst into laughter.

After exchanging a word of blessing with each other, Catherine stared at Melanie and spoke.

“By the way, I almost didn’t recognize Queen Melanie.”

“Oh my, why? I’ve been using a good nourishing cream these days.”

Melanie shrugged her shoulders and replied, but looking at Catherine’s expression, it didn’t seem like she was trying to praise her.

“It’s not that; your fair face is so tanned.”

“Doesn’t it look healthy?”

“Um… I don’t know.”

As Catherine trailed off, Melanie raised her chin and said.

“I thought everyone had anemia. I look much more lively than people who haven’t seen the sun and are pale, right?”

Our Melanie has changed!

When she was a concubine, she used to wear a parasol even on cloudy days because her face would get tanned.

I smiled at the changed Melanie.

“But the bracelet is very flashy?”

Rosie asked with an expression that Melanie’s arm, which had been repeatedly raising and lowering her left hand above the table, was bothering her.

“This? I don’t wear it often because there are too many diamonds, so it’s too heavy, but I made a special effort to look good today. Oh, my arm hurts.”

“If your arm hurts, just take it off.”

Catherine said what I wanted to say.

However, Melanie stubbornly turned the hand wearing the bracelet this way and that, continuing to show it off.

“If you receive too much love from your husband, your body suffers like this day and night. Ohohohong!”

“But that bracelet, King Hector must have bought it with money, right?”

Rosie asked, looking at the bracelet as if observing it.

“What do you mean? Are you saying I stole it?”

Melanie flared up.

I heard that King Hector stopped piracy a while ago, but Rosie doesn’t seem to know that yet.

I quickly whispered the fact to Rosie.

“I just thought it was a very precious bracelet that you can’t buy even with money, so I asked with that meaning….”

Rosie immediately backed down.

“He bought it even if it was expensive! It’s been a while since our Great King stopped piracy. Now there’s only one thing he steals.”

“What does he steal?”

I couldn’t help but ask.

“My heart.”

Ugh, I shouldn’t have asked.

“Ah, there’s one more thing. My sleep too.”

Rosie and Catherine’s faces were filled with curiosity at Melanie’s triumphant answer.

“Could it be… are you still hot for each other?”

Catherine asked cautiously, hiding her envious expression.

“Don’t even mention it. Every night is like our first night.”

“Hey, it’s been 7 years since you got married; are you still that into each other?”

This time, Rosie asked with a suspicious tone.

“Don’t even ask. My only wish is to just sleep at night!”

Melanie grumbled that she doesn’t remember sleeping for more than 4 hours since she got married.

“Ah, now that I see it, everyone sleeps well every day, so your skin is so good?”

Melanie looked at the three of us alternately and smirked.

Everyone looked at Melanie with a hit face.

But Melanie, leave me out.

…I wanted to say that, but I quietly closed my mouth because I thought Emperor Norton and Count Ethan would suffer tonight if I joined in.

The atmosphere seemed to be getting too heavy, so I was about to open my mouth,

“Yes, yes. I know. Your Majesty the Empress.”

“We already know about your marital harmony. We don’t need to hear it.”

Catherine and Rosie blocked my words at the same time.

Why are you doing this? I wasn’t going to talk about Linelle?

Before I could make an excuse, Melanie’s boasting continued.

“Our Great King has so much energy, you know? When will he cool down?”

“Why are you asking us that?”

Rosie retorted bluntly.

“Heung [Hmph]. It’s starting to get too much.”

Catherine suddenly asked about Hector’s diet in a secretive voice, sensing Melanie’s concern that she couldn’t find anyone to relate to.

“What kind of food does King Hector usually enjoy?”

“Freshly caught fish, freshly caught seafood. Things like that.”

Melanie also emphasized that freshness is the most important thing.

“Why? Is Count Ethan lacking energy?”

Catherine frowned at Melanie’s words.

“There are many days when he comes back from the smithy after exerting all his strength. It’s probably hard to have energy every day. Isn’t that right, Your Majesty the Empress?”

Catherine asked, hoping for my response, but

“Well, our Emperor is also like our first night every day, so I don’t know.”

I couldn’t help either.

That’s the truth.

And since boasting about my husband is the only thing I have to show off, I should do it a lot while I can.

Because the topic will soon change to boasting about children.

When boasting about children starts, I have to quietly shrink away.

As expected, after the boasting about husbands ended, the conversation naturally shifted to the children.

“Our Dibero is obsessed with swordsmanship these days. He’s 7 years old, but he already has calluses on his palms. The knight commanders are amazed at how much his skills are improving.”

I thought Rosie’s son would like books, but it was unexpected.

“He’ll show off his skills at the next Continental Hunting Competition? I’m looking forward to it.”

As I praised Rosie’s son Dibero, Melanie raised her voice.

“Our Theo lives with a book by his side! He reads so much; he says studying is the best thing in the world. Our Mao also likes books. They’re twins, so their tendencies are similar even though their genders are different.”

“Books?”

I asked back.

“Yes. Books. Especially Theo’s room is like former Empress Rosie’s room, with books scattered on the floor.”

Melanie’s son also likes books, but our Lily hasn’t even learned all the letters yet.

I feel complicated.

“You mean Queen’s son Theo, right?”

I checked again.

“Then whose son would he be?”

Melanie’s children should be far from books, so something is strange.

It seems like the tendencies of Rosie’s son Dibero and him have switched.

“Our Clark volunteers like that. He directly serves food at the free food kitchen in the slums or goes to the orphanage and distributes gifts. He’s too kind.”

Catherine’s son was also very unexpected.

He was very different from Catherine, who was prickly and selfish.

“By the way, how is Princess Lily?”

Melanie asked with an expectant face.

If you’re going to talk about our daughter…….

“She’s precocious for her age.”

I said, recalling the sight of her barging in last night saying she would marry Bellos.

“She always puts what she decides into practice.”

Although that decision is to throw dirt in her father’s eyes.

Is it because Linelle usually calls his lovely daughter ‘Oh, my puppy. My pretty puppy.’?

Lily has become a true dog daughter, just like his habit.

It would be nice if she chose a groom from Theo, Dibero, and Clark, who are the same age as Lily.

I really oppose a son-in-law who is nearly 300 years old.

***

Lily’s birthday party began in time for the evening banquet.

This 7th birthday party was held more grandly than last year.

This year, it’s a gathering of adults disguised as a child’s birthday.

Moya watched the children entering the party hall with a proud face.

Moni secretly wiped away tears.

Rosie’s son Dibero, Melanie’s twin children Theo and Mao, Catherine’s son Clark. Even Pesilini’s daughter Melody.

Moya and Moni secretly went to help with childcare whenever children were born in each country.

When a child cried, they held them in their arms and flew through the air. Sometimes they became living mobiles and circled above the cradle, often fainting because they were too dizzy.

They also fed them milk, sometimes danced on their shoulders to make them laugh, and taught them to speak.

Because of that, the children developed a habit of adding ‘Mommy Moya~? Do you need to poop, Moni~?’ to the end of every word as they began to speak.

“Everyone gather later.”

Moya flew to the children gathered together and ordered.

“Of course!”

The children answered promptly with loyal faces.

“Oh, my pretty babies. We’re going to receive filial piety all at once today, Moni~?”

Moni patted the children’s backs one by one with a satisfied face.

But Moya and Moni felt the most attached to and spent the most time with Lily.

Because they had a special bond with each other, there were no secrets.

It was also Moya and Moni that Lily first revealed who she wanted to marry.

“Lily, choose a marriage partner from among them. Master will never allow a son-in-law who is nearly 300 years old? He might get angry and throw flames, Moni~?”

Moni approached Lily and advised her seriously.

“They’re childish.”

Lily glanced at the three sunflowers [adoring children] looking at her—Rosie’s son Dibero, Melanie’s son Theo, Catherine’s son Clark—and said firmly.

“Oong [Affirmative]? If your cold-bodied father knows, it’ll be a disaster, right?”

Moya said, looking at Linelle, who was surrounded by honored guests in the distance.

“I told him last night. There’s no turning back now.”

“What? Already?!”

Moya was shocked.

Moreover, at Lily’s words that she had thrown dirt in Linelle’s eyes last night as she had advised, Moya and Moni whispered that it would be better to leave the Imperial Palace for a while.

At that time, a dazzling face entered the banquet hall where the party was being held.

“Oong [Affirmative]? The prospective son-in-law has arrived, Moya~?”

Moya pointed to the banquet hall door and chuckled.

It was Bellos.

Lily handed a sausage to her younger brother next to her and poked him in the side.

Then Matthias shouted at Bellos.

“Brother-in-law-!”

Everyone’s eyes were on Bellos.