The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 336

336. Extra Story 8: Melanie’s Jealousy (1)

Melanie enjoyed taking tea on her bedroom terrace in the late afternoon, gazing at the turquoise sea in the distance.

It had been seven years since she moved from Tanya Island to Aclato Island.

During that time, the duchy had become a kingdom, and Hetor and Melanie had been blessed with twin children and a third child.

Although it wasn’t on par with the continent, her life as queen was more than comfortable.

Above all, she cherished the abundant love she received from her husband.

Today, too, she was enjoying a peaceful day, so comfortable it was almost boring.

“Should I surprise him with a visit to his office?”

Even though they would meet in the bedroom that night, they always made time to see each other, hug, and kiss several times a day.

“Now that I think about it, I should go now.”

Melanie put down her teacup and prepared to go see Hetor.

Just then, a knock sounded, and a servant entered.

“Your Majesty, Countess Gloin has arrived.”

“Oh? Show her in quickly.”

Melanie said with a bright smile.

“It’s been a while, Your Majesty.”

“It’s only been a month. Welcome, Yulina.”

Countess Gloin was Yulina, who was originally from the Aclato Duchy and had been a concubine in the Lapion Empire.

After Zelda was reinstated as empress, the concubines from the Aclato Duchy returned to Aclato Island by order of Emperor Linell.

The three concubines had barely spoken to the emperor and were practically strangers, so they left the Lapion imperial family without any regrets.

Originally daughters of noble families from the Aclato Duchy, they all easily remarried and were now living happily as noblewomen.

Moreover, Hetor had been careful to maintain the status of the existing nobles of the duchy, allowing them to naturally integrate into the royal family.

Ironically, Melanie and Yulina, who had been rivals in the Lapion imperial family, became close friends after reuniting on Aclato Island.

Yulina had approached her first, greatly helping Melanie adjust to life where she knew no one.

Since many of the duchy’s nobles had risen to key positions in the royal court, Yulina helped Melanie establish her authority as queen among the nobles from Aclato Duchy.

Yulina’s husband, Count Gloin, was also a key minister in the Aclato royal court and was well-versed in the internal affairs of the royal family, which was why she had come to see Melanie today.

“Your Majesty, have you heard the news?”

“What news?”

“They say the palace staff who defended the Tanya Island royal family to the end are returning?”

“Yes, I heard they’re arriving today or tomorrow.”

“Have you heard that one of them will become Your Majesty’s lady-in-waiting?”

“What are you talking about? Who?”

“You haven’t heard yet, I see.”

It was as Yulina had expected.

Yulina hesitated for a moment, then spoke more firmly, mentioning a name.

“Esh… they say it’s a palace servant named Esh?”

“Ah, Esh is becoming my lady-in-waiting?”

“Is she someone you know?”

“Yes. I saw her a few times in the royal palace when I stayed on Tanya Island. She was the palace servant who oversaw all the household affairs there.”

“So, she was like the head lady-in-waiting?”

“Well, something like that.”

Esh used to take care of the things Melanie had to do as queen on Tanya Island.

After the major earthquake on Tanya Island, most people had moved to Aclato Island.

Contrary to the prediction that it would sink within three years, Tanya Island had shown no significant changes for quite some time after the earthquake.

For this reason, some palace staff voluntarily remained on Tanya Island, leading the cultivation and production of pomegranates and other major crops.

However, as earthquakes began to occur frequently this year, they were all relocated to Aclato Island by order of Hetor.

They were hailed as patriots and respected by the people of Tanya Island who had left earlier.

Rumors had been circulating for a month that Hetor would grant them key positions in the royal court.

It was only natural.

One of them was ‘Esh.’

“It will be much easier for me if Esh becomes my lady-in-waiting.”

“But, I heard that palace servant will be in charge of both the Great King and Your Majesty?”

“Both of us? Why? Wouldn’t that just make her work harder?”

Melanie asked, sounding puzzled.

“I don’t know. I also found it a bit strange, so I came to see you as soon as I heard about it.”

Yulina wanted to add that she should be wary of that palace servant.

“I heard someone suggested it during the state affairs meeting. And the Great King has already approved it.”

“Ah, so that’s what happened.”

Melanie smiled brightly, without a care in the world.

“She’s not a noble, so is it okay to entrust her with being a lady-in-waiting? I’m a little worried about that. She’s not from a slave background, is she?”

Frustrated, Yulina asked, probing slightly.

“No, it’s not that. Originally, she was a bath attendant. I heard that Esh is so good at her job and so smart that her status was elevated to a palace servant who handles royal affairs.”

“Well, this isn’t certain, but the reason her status was elevated from attendant is because…”

Yulina lowered her voice and continued speaking, but the bedroom door opened.

“Oh? I thought you wouldn’t have time all afternoon, what’s going on?”

It was Hetor.

“Greetings to the Great King.”

Yulina hurriedly stood up from her chair.

“Your Majesty, I’ll visit again in a few days.”

“Are you leaving already?”

“I only stopped by for a moment, so I have to go.”

“Alright, come again soon.”

“Yes, I’ll visit again then.”

Yulina bowed to the two of them and quickly left the bedroom.

“What were you talking about with the Countess?”

Hetor asked, glancing at the bedroom door.

“Esh. They say she’s become our couple’s lady-in-waiting?”

“Ah, right. I forgot to tell you.”

“But wouldn’t it be a bit much for her to take care of both of us at the same time?”

Melanie asked him, worried about Esh.

“She says she wants to do it. Anyway, I told her not to overdo it.”

“She’s loyal. She stayed in the royal palace on Tanya Island until just before it sank, and now she’s trying to work for the royal family here right away.”

“That’s why I told her to live comfortably in Aclato. But she insisted on coming to live in the royal palace.”

“She must like you a lot?”

Melanie smiled and playfully brushed Hetor’s hair up.

“Esh is just a workaholic.”

“Well, I’m grateful. But, are you writing well these days?”

“I came up with a new topic, so I’m going to ask for Emperor Linell’s opinion. I’m thinking of sending a letter when Moiya and Moni come.”

“Tell me too. What’s it about roughly?”

“A story about falling in love with the maid of the house behind the wife’s back.”

“That’s not love, that’s an affair.”

Melanie wrinkled her nose.

“That’s just an example. It’s a story about a betrayed heroine taking revenge, but I haven’t thought beyond that yet.”

“Do you think Emperor Linell will find it interesting? You have to write it to match His Majesty’s taste.”

Melanie, who still hadn’t given up on her dream of forming a relationship with the Lapion imperial family, patted Hetor’s shoulder and urged him.

“Actually, he doesn’t really have a taste. He likes anything explicit.”

“Easy then. Write boldly. Got it?”

“I need some experience to do that…”

Hetor pulled her hand and sat her on his lap.

“I wonder if His Majesty knows that the explicit scenes in the novel come from our experiences.”

Melanie burst into laughter at Hetor’s words.

“He probably does. I bragged about it so much to Her Majesty the Empress that I probably told him too.”

“How did you tell her?”

Hetor asked as he picked her up and walked towards the bed.

“That you’re rough and blunt before touching, but you become soft and affectionate when you get this close.”

“Do they believe it?”

Hetor asked as he gently kissed her neck, fulfilling the assessment Melanie had made about him.

“I don’t know. Ah, that’s too ticklish!”

Melanie wriggled her slender shoulders and rustled in Hetor’s arms.

Hetor’s movements quickened as if he was going crazy with how cute Melanie was.

“Turn off the lights, it’s embarrassing.”

“Don’t worry. I can’t see anything. My reason has already been turned off.”

“But I still have reason, so I’m embarrassed.”

“Even like this? Huh? Even like this?”

As Hetor tickled Melanie’s weak spots, Melanie twisted her whole body and giggled as if she was about to suffocate.

***

“You’ll have to come back later, Lady Esh…”

The servant from Tanya Island, who was waiting outside the bedroom, said to her with an embarrassed face.

“I suppose so? It was my mistake to come without requesting an audience in advance, wanting to see them quickly.”

Esh frowned slightly at the sound of Melanie’s flirtatious laughter leaking from the bedroom.

What on earth is His Majesty doing to make her laugh like that?

Curiosity and jealousy mixed together, making her heart ache.

The reason she had stayed on Tanya Island in the first place was because she hadn’t sorted out her feelings for Hetor.

If that wasn’t the case, there was no reason to stay on the sinking island.

Hoping that her feelings for Hetor wouldn’t sink like Tanya Island, she stubbornly remained on the island, but even after seven years, Esh’s heart hadn’t sunk.

Only after half of Tanya Island was submerged did she set foot on Aclato Island, where she had newly established a base.

It was a situation where she had returned with only more longing.

As soon as she arrived at the royal palace, she went to find Hetor, but he said he had gone to the Queen’s residence.

It didn’t seem like a bad idea to greet them in a place where the two of them were together, so she came, but it was a setback from the first day.

Esh turned and looked around the royal palace.

Fortunately, most of the palace staff who had been close to her in the royal palace of Tanya Island were still working.

Everyone greeted Esh and welcomed her.

Esh walked around the royal palace and noted the things to improve in her notebook.

“The royal palace needs me after all.”

She didn’t like anything from start to finish.

She went to the kitchen to inspect the tableware and ordered that it all be changed to the style used in the existing royal palace [referring to the style from Tanya Island].

She also immediately changed the menu that would be served for dinner that night to the ones Hetor used to like.

Esh’s influence was immense in every department.

The servants in the royal palace of Tanya Island treated Esh as if she were the mistress of the house and willingly followed her orders.

***

Before dinner, Melanie headed to the bathroom.

She needed to take a light bath because of the marks of affection that Hetor had left all over her body.

As she was about to step into the bathtub, a servant entered the bathroom.

“Your Majesty, Lady Esh from Tanya Island requests to see you. What shall we do?”

“Ah, Esh has arrived in the kingdom? She’s here now?”

“Yes. She arrived a few hours ago.”

“Let her into the bedroom.”

Melanie put on her gown again and came out to the bedroom.

“Greetings to Your Majesty. How have you been?”

“Welcome. Is it our first time in seven years?”

Melanie smiled as she gave Esh a light hug.

“That’s right. The Great King visited Tanya Island once a year, so I saw him, but it’s the first time I’ve seen Your Majesty since we last met on Tanya Island seven years ago.”

“I always heard news of you. He always praised you when he came back from Tanya Island.”

In fact, she hadn’t always heard praise for Esh from Hetor.

Had she heard it once or twice in seven years? And that was along with praise for other palace staff.

However, Melanie wanted to make a good impression on Esh, whom she was meeting after a long time, so she added a slight exaggeration.

“You flatter me. It seems you were about to take a bath.”

Esh, who had been smiling, asked, looking at Melanie’s attire.

“Yes. I was just about to take a quick one. I miss the hot springs of Tanya Island. After taking a bath, my skin would become soft and supple, and my fatigue would be relieved.”

“Yes, the Great King also enjoyed the hot springs very much.”

“Come to think of it, Esh has become more beautiful than she was seven years ago. Is it because you always take hot spring baths?”

This time, what she said was true.

Esh’s face was firm and radiant, and even her skin was tanned, making her look even more attractive.

In a word, she was full of health. Her voluptuous figure also looked more prominent.

“Shall I assist you?”

“Assist me with my bath?”

Melanie asked, sounding surprised.

“Yes. I believe my skills are much better than the attendants’. You know that I was originally a bath attendant, right?”

“Ah, I heard that before. But now Esh is a lady-in-waiting.”

“Don’t worry about it. The Great King has also acknowledged my skills. Your Majesty will also be satisfied with my touch.”

Esh subtly emphasized a word in a soft voice.

“What did the Great King acknowledge?”

Melanie asked, tilting her head.

“Didn’t you know? Until the Great King left on an expedition to take over the Aclato Duchy, I always assisted him with his bath.”

“…You assisted him with his bath directly?!”

“Ah, my. You didn’t know.”

Esh blushed and lowered her gaze.