The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 333

333. Side Story 5: That Day Long Ago (5)

Zelda, now residing at the Count’s residence, writhed in agony as if her entire body was consumed by flames.

Only the location had changed; her situation remained dire. In fact, her condition was steadily deteriorating.

Kevin von Trova, Zelda’s father, the Count, clicked his tongue as he observed his daughter’s burned right face.

“She resembled her mother, with such a pretty face. I had hoped to marry her off as a concubine to a wealthy family later on…”

Even that prospect was now impossible.

It was a headache, as the family’s ‘impurity’ had become a useless burden.

“My dear, what should we do with such a flawed item in our family? How will we ever hold our heads high in society?”

The Countess also looked down at the feverish young Zelda with undisguised annoyance.

Though Zelda was the one injured, the Countess covered her face with both hands as if she herself had been burned, her brow furrowed in distaste.

“Such a disgrace. Well, His Majesty sent court physicians, instructing us to take good care of her, so we can’t simply abandon her.”

The Count, in his heart, longed to shut the door and ignore Zelda until she breathed her last.

“Even if she survives, she’ll be nothing but trouble.”

“Not just troublesome, a complete nuisance.”

“The court physicians will manage her condition. Let’s leave now.”

“Yes. Looking at that burned face makes my own skin crawl. I need a glass of cool wine. Let’s have white wine today, not red.”

The Count and Countess left the room without a second thought.

Before closing the door, the Count cast another glance at his daughter’s face.

Considering the King’s apology, it seemed Zelda wasn’t at fault for her misfortune.

The Count and Countess exchanged expectant glances, thinking they might leverage this incident to receive compensation or secure a prominent position in the royal court, so they should keep the child alive for the time being.

“They say there’s no cure, right?”

“Yes, thankfully. The slower the wound heals, the more remorseful His Majesty will feel.”

After the Count and Countess departed, her stepsiblings, who had been eavesdropping, crept into the room.

“Ew, disgusting.”

“How can she even show her face looking like that?”

“We should lock her up and prevent her from ever going outside.”

“Right. If Zelda appears in society with that face, we’ll be treated the same way.”

The stepsiblings were far more concerned about their own reputations than Zelda’s well-being.

“Wouldn’t it be better if she just died?”

“His Majesty sent court physicians. We can’t just touch her carelessly.”

“It’s not a pretty sight. Let’s stop looking and leave.”

“Yeah. Looking at that burned face is making my stomach churn.”

The stepsiblings giggled and scurried out of Zelda’s room.

One of them switched off all the lights, remarking that Zelda’s face was too hideous to bear.

***

In the darkness of the empty room, a solitary battle commenced.

Her body was ablaze, but her heart was chillingly cold and utterly alone.

‘It would have been better if I hadn’t heard anything…’

Even in her delirium, Zelda could occasionally discern her family’s voices.

No one cared about her condition.

It was expected, yet her heart still ached as if it were being scraped raw against a stone floor.

Being left alone in a place where no one cared or waited for her brought tears to her eyes.

Even the tears felt like pouring boiling water on her face, so she couldn’t even cry freely.

Zelda swallowed her resentment, breathing raggedly.

She wanted to live.

It felt like someone was repeatedly plunging her into a pool of molten lava.

But she still clung to the desire to live.

There were too many delicious foods in the world to die like this.

She had Bonnis, a friend she could laugh and talk with, even if it was just one person.

There was also a master who taught her swordsmanship, away from her father and stepbrothers’ watchful eyes, and Prince Tesler occasionally slipped her chocolates and candies, hidden from Princess Resilia, which were small joys.

The King also stroked her hair every time he saw her, saying she was growing up well.

Ah, and come to think of it, she was supposed to meet that page tonight.

She had promised to go.

She wanted to know his name.

‘He’ll be waiting for me…’

***

Raphael’s desperate cry echoed behind Linell as he raced towards their meeting spot.

“Your Highness, your clothes! Aren’t you going to change?”

“I’m revealing my identity today, so it’s fine!” Linell shouted back, not bothering to turn around.

“Are you really planning to take her to the Imperial Palace?!”

“Yeah!”

It was clear he wasn’t joking.

Raphael chased after Linell for several minutes but eventually couldn’t keep up and lost sight of him.

Linell passed the training grounds and entered the forest where he had parted ways with Zelda the night before. As the meeting place came into view, he finally slowed his pace.

It was easy to find: exit through the back door of the training grounds and walk along the long forest path until the woods ended and the row of plane trees began.

He arrived thirty minutes early. It was only natural that Zelda wasn’t there yet.

But as a crown prince not accustomed to waiting, time seemed to crawl.

“My heart is racing because I ran,” Linell muttered, pacing in front of the plane tree.

Forgetting that it had only been ten minutes since he had stopped running, he placed a hand over his heart and exhaled dramatically.

While waiting for Zelda, his mind raced.

He mentally rehearsed what to say to persuade her to leave with him for the Lapion Empire.

“You know the Lapion Empire is stronger than the Shatoanill Kingdom, right? So come with me. Rejection is not an option.”

Was that the right approach?

Linell shook his head.

The words sounded too forceful.

“The Lapion Imperial Palace has more delicious things than here.”

This sounded childish.

It might work if she were six years old.

“Aren’t I cooler than Prince Tesler? I’ll treat you better.”

This didn’t seem right either. Ah, would she be more tempted if he said she was prettier than Princess Resilia?

He continued the process of saying the words and shaking his head.

“If I say that, it’ll seem like I like her. Which I don’t…”

Strangely, his heart kept racing since earlier, which was quite annoying.

“The Lapion Imperial training grounds are much bigger than here.”

Yes. Let’s say that!

Linell, having finally found words that a swordsmanship enthusiast would find tempting, was quite pleased.

If her family opposed their union, he planned to leverage his parents’ power.

If the King intervened, they could go to the Lapion Empire together without much difficulty.

Having found the perfect words to persuade her, Linell waited with a happy heart.

“Why isn’t she here yet?”

Fifteen minutes past the agreed time.

“How dare she be late?”

After thirty minutes, he started to get annoyed.

After an hour, anxiety began to creep in.

It wasn’t just because Zelda was late.

It was because she might not come at all, and he might have to leave without seeing her.

He could only wait, feeling a sense of futility he had never experienced before.

Futility was compounded by helplessness.

Only after three hours did Linell finally turn back.

“Even if she shows up now, I’ll ignore her.”

He was so angry that he unknowingly lingered around the training grounds on his way back to the palace.

As Zelda had mentioned the night before, the training grounds were crowded with knights until late.

There was no way a small girl could be among them.

“How dare she break her promise with me?”

He was now determined not to look back.

She was the worst kid he had ever met.

To think she had lied with such a bright smile.

“Does she think I’m really just a page and is ignoring me and not coming?”

Yes, that must be it…

It was the first time he had felt so hurt and betrayed.

Linell remained angry until he left the Shatoanill Palace the next morning, no, even after returning to the Lapion Imperial Palace.

His heart would prick with anger every time he thought about it.

After that, every year when the cherry blossoms fell in late spring, he would remember her pink eyes.

***

Three months later, Shatoanill Royal Palace.

“Zelda!! You’re safe. I thought you were going to die!”

Zelda, who was ascending the central staircase of the main palace, encountered Resilia.

“I’m so glad it’s only this much [referring to the burn scars].”

Resilia hugged her as soon as she saw her and deliberately touched her burn scars.

“Don’t touch me,” Zelda said.

When Zelda turned her head away, the princess squeezed out tears and apologized.

“I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault. I accidentally dropped the reagent bottle… I should have been the one who got burned…”

Resilia made insincere remarks, dabbing at her eyes with a pre-prepared handkerchief.

Zelda said nothing to the princess’s apology.

She couldn’t argue since it was deemed an accident, and she couldn’t vent her anger on the princess.

But since she had barely survived a near-death experience, she couldn’t bring herself to say it was okay.

If she could, if it were possible, she wanted Resilia to feel even half the pain she had endured.

The fever was gone, but occasionally she would still feel a burning sensation all over her body.

It would hurt just enough to keep her from fainting, and then it would subside.

Every time she felt the heat, she thought, ‘I guess my body is really being boiled today,’ but that never happened.

“Zelda, I was so worried about you. I prayed every night too.”

*That you would just die without pain.*

Resilia made a show of praying with both hands, wearing an affectionate expression.

At the same time, she had to bite her lip to avoid laughing as she looked at Zelda’s burned right cheek.

Zelda also stared blankly at Resilia’s face.

The princess’s cheeks were smooth and fair, like boiled eggs.

‘My right face has a grotesque burn scar…’

Everyone frowned when they saw her face, but she resolved to be confident.

There was said to be no cure for now. But she couldn’t live with her head bowed forever.

Instead, she looked in the mirror less and unconsciously avoided turning her head or going to crowded places.

She vowed that someday, if a way to remove this burn scar appeared, she would do whatever it took to get rid of it.

However, she never imagined that this burn scar would later become the reason she would go to the Lapion Empire as the ‘surrogate empress.’

“His Majesty called me, so I have to go,” Zelda said calmly.

The purpose of today’s visit to the royal palace was not as the princess’s playmate but because of the King’s lunch invitation.

“Ah, that’s right. You should go.”

Resilia also didn’t want to look at Zelda’s burned face for long.

She felt uncomfortable, as if the mistake she had made remained as a scar, constantly reminding her of her guilt.

“Zelda, you forgive me, right?”

Resilia had overheard that her father had invited Zelda to lunch and waited for her on the landing beforehand.

She felt she had to apologize properly before Zelda met the King.

To prevent her from pouring out her resentment about her to her father.

‘She’s a soft-hearted child, so if I pretend to apologize and shed some tears, she won’t say bad things to Father.’

Zelda’s expression wasn’t as relieved as the princess wanted, but fortunately, it seemed much better than the look she had when they first met.

“…I’ll be going.”

Without saying she forgave her, Zelda bowed to the princess and headed to the King’s office.

‘That arrogant girl! But she won’t say anything foolish to Father, asking him to punish me, right?’

Resilia glared at Zelda’s back as she climbed the stairs and began to bite her nails.

Only after reaching the floor where the office was located did Zelda exhale deeply.

‘The princess may not have meant it, but I’m still angry.’

Zelda fiddled with her right cheek with her hand and complained silently.

Turning away without offering forgiveness to the princess who was asking for it was the greatest revenge she could muster.

“Zelda! You’ve really recovered enough to walk around now? I was so worried,” Tesler said.

At that moment, Tesler came out of the office and ran into Zelda, who had just arrived in front of it.

“Yes, Your Highness. It’s been a while.”

“Yeah…”

Prince Tesler looked closely at Zelda’s face, frowned slightly, and then smiled again.

“It must be upsetting… but I’m so glad it’s only this much.”

The prince’s voice felt more sincere than Princess Resilia’s.

“Let’s talk later. His Majesty is waiting, so go in.”

“Yes. Um… Your Highness.”

Zelda called out to Tesler, who was turning away.

“Why? What is it?”

“Do you have a pretty, no, handsome… um, so, someone who is about the same height as Your Highness or taller, with sapphire blue eyes, and hair that is… black or dark brown among your pages?”

“…What?”

Tesler, who had been listening intently, stared blankly at Zelda with a bewildered expression.

‘I should have added that he has a haughty personality but isn’t a bad kid, and that he has an aristocratic air for a page?’

As Zelda was pondering how to better describe him, Tesler said firmly, “There is no such page.”

“Really…?”

Was he really not the prince’s page, as that page had claimed?

She hadn’t been able to go to the meeting place that day, but she thought she could easily meet him again since he was supposedly the prince’s page.

But to hear that there was no such page was disconcerting.

“First of all, the pages of my age are all shorter than me. And there are no dark-haired, blue-eyed ones either. Unless it’s the Crown Prince.”

Tesler answered Zelda’s question diligently, inadvertently mentioning Linell.

Zelda’s eyes widened, and she asked again, “The Crown Prince… the Crown Prince of the Lapion Empire?”

Zelda’s heart was pounding. Come to think of it, that was also when the Crown Prince was staying at the Shatoanill Royal Palace.

‘If he’s not the prince’s page, could the person I met be…’

Besides, the page she had met had an unusual way of speaking and an attitude not befitting his supposed status.

Meanwhile, Tesler was displeased that Zelda was asking about another boy with such obvious interest.

There really wasn’t anyone like that among the pages, and only Linell’s appearance matched the description.

“Does he have a light in his eyes? Is he prettier than the ladies?”

Zelda asked again, as if urging him to confirm her suspicions.

“No,” Tesler lied, remembering Linell’s gaze that had completely ignored him.

Seeing Zelda’s disappointment, the prince calmly continued, “It’s true that the Crown Prince has blue eyes, but his eyes are dull, and his hair is terribly curly. He’s also much shorter than me, and he’s so fat that his clothes are about to burst, and he waddles when he walks.”

“Ah… is that so?”

If so, the page she had met that day couldn’t have been the Crown Prince.

Moreover, he was wearing a page’s uniform, so it made even less sense.

Zelda nodded as if she understood, with a disappointed expression.

Prince Tesler smiled contentedly then.

“Who knows? His face might get a little better as he gets older. But why are you looking for someone like that?”

“It’s nothing. I just remembered seeing a page like that in the royal palace before.”

Zelda didn’t mention the incident with Linell that day, brushed it off, and greeted the prince.

‘If we’re meant to be, we’ll meet again someday, right?’

Thus, the boy she met at the training grounds gradually faded from Zelda’s memory, leaving behind a lingering sense of regret.