The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 38

38. He Was Loving Me

“Ah, haha. This rock is nice and flat.”

He said, preparing to lift me up. Responding with an awkward laugh, I heard Linelle echo me, equally awkward, “Ah, haha.”

“Let’s just go for now; we can sit here later.”

“Shall we? I should remember this spot… near the lavender field…”

Linelle murmured, glancing around the dimly lit area as if trying to memorize the rock’s location.

“Let’s go now.”

“…Am I going back to the main palace bedroom again?”

“Why do you ask something so obvious?”

He raised an eyebrow as he spoke. Had my visits to the main palace bedroom become so commonplace?

“I can’t just send back the first and last guest to come to my bedroom.”

*Am I the last guest in his bedroom?* Hearing those words, my heart began to race.

“I’ll make you come often.”

Linelle muttered, as if making a firm resolution.

“Is it a popular restaurant?”

“…Well, depending on how you look at it?”

He shrugged and smiled.

“You’ll become a regular, won’t you? Because tonight, we’re going to make a lot of good memories.”

“A lot…?”

“Aren’t you excited?”

“I’m nervous.”

“So innocent.”

The eyes of this very sly person who called me innocent seem to be trembling quite a bit right now. *Is he really that into this?*

“Anyway, it’s a relief. I would have been in trouble if the Empress’s stamina was too weak.”

He tucked my hair behind my ear, wearing a very excited expression. I didn’t know what my weak stamina had to do with him being in trouble, but I was happy because he was happy.

“Your Majesty! My neck is starting to ache!”

Just then, Raphael’s strained voice broke the mood. He was grumbling, massaging his neck with his hands. Given the Emperor’s command, they couldn’t simply turn around, and everyone was showing their discomfort by patting their shoulders and necks.

“Alright, let’s stop moon-gazing here. Everyone, lower your heads and turn around.”

As soon as Linelle gave the order, the attendants all grabbed the back of their necks and turned towards us.

“Oh my, what a surprise! Yo, Your Majesty? You don’t have blood on your lips, do you?”

Raphael tapped his left lip with his hand and asked.

“What?”

Linelle retorted, sounding annoyed. I quickly scrutinized his face. As soon as I saw the spot on his lip that Raphael was pointing at, my face flushed.

“Your Majesty, my lipstick is on your left lip…”

And it’s red. I grabbed his arm, turned him around, and said quietly.

“Ah, that’s right. Zelda, would you lend me your lonely, dangling left sleeve?”

“Why *this* sleeve that lost its partner because of Your Majesty?”

“I need to wipe it off, don’t I?”

He playfully tugged at my sleeve.

“Oh my, you can just wipe it with Your Majesty’s sleeve.”

I stifled a laugh and hid my hands behind my back as I retorted.

“Your dress is already ruined, isn’t it? My clothes are fine.”

“…So?”

“Make a sacrifice.”

Linelle added that since it’s a dress that’s going to be thrown away anyway, he’s going to use it frugally like a napkin, and stubbornly wiped the lipstick from his lip on my sleeve. From afar, Sharon’s surprised face was visible among the attendants. Sharon seemed saddened by the sight of the dress she had ambitiously chosen for tonight being marred. *I’m sorry, Sharon.*

***

“Our Empress personally went to the main palace, you say?”

Grand Duke Martins wore a thoughtful expression after receiving the report from his guard knight, Sir Rolf. Sir Rolf found it difficult to gauge Grand Duke Martins’ mood. He seemed to be slightly amused, beyond simply being surprised, and at the same time, he seemed somewhat displeased.

“Moreover, isn’t it quite strange that the two of them went to the concubine’s residence together?”

“Strange indeed.”

“Is it that His Majesty is strange? Or is it that Her Majesty the Empress is amazing?”

Sir Rolf, who had been tailing the Emperor and Empress’ movements, was quite shocked to see them entering the concubine’s residence together.

“Leaving the Emperor aside, what on earth is our Empress thinking…?”

Grand Duke Martins narrowed his eyes, tapped the table, and said.

“Duke, are you going to report today’s events to Prince Tesler as well?”

“Well, how should I phrase this?”

Grand Duke Martins pressed his temples and chuckled.

“That the Empress is more immersed in her assigned task than necessary? Or that the Prince completely misjudged Emperor Linelle’s tastes, causing things to go awry?”

“The situation is unfolding differently than expected.”

Sir Rolf nodded, agreeing with Grand Duke Martins’ words.

“There’s one more thing that’s unfolding unexpectedly.”

The Duke, who had been sitting with his legs crossed on the chair, suddenly stood up. He walked towards the bed and boldly lifted the mattress. Perhaps the mattress was heavier than he thought; the Duke struggled and called for Sir Rolf.

“Sir Rolf! Come here and hold this for a moment.”

“Yes, Duke. But why are you suddenly lifting the mattress?”

Sir Rolf wore a puzzled expression at Grand Duke Martins’ sudden actions. Unlike the struggling Duke, Sir Rolf lifted the mattress with ease.

“Okay, that’s enough.”

Grand Duke Martins took out a high-quality silk pouch that he had placed under the mattress. And from that pouch, he retrieved a sword hilt without a blade.

“Isn’t that Norton’s, the one I brought you?”

“Yes. It’s Norton’s, who I thought was just a mercenary knight of unclear origins.”

“But why did you hide it under the bed? Like a treasure.”

“Because it *is* a treasure. It’s a treasure indeed.”

Grand Duke Martins wore a meaningful smile and caressed the center of the sword hilt where the jewels were embedded. There was a seal engraved in the place where the jewels were set.

“Was it as valuable as expected? Did you find out which family that seal belongs to?”

“It can’t be measured in value. It’s more than just a family. What’s Norton up to these days?”

“He’s gradually recovering. He still doesn’t talk much, though.”

“Doesn’t he ask about Princess Resilia either?”

“Don’t even mention it. I subtly brought up the Princess a few times, and he glared at me every time. He even threw a punch once, can you believe it?”

“You must have shown off your special skill.”

“My special skill?”

“Being cheeky, I mean.”

“No! It’s a good thing I was quick and dodged it, but that ignorant Norton ended up smashing a table.”

“It’s not that you’re quick; it’s that Norton is still clumsy because he’s injured.”

“Did you… really have to point that out so precisely, Duke?”

Sir Rolf grumbled with a sulky expression.

“Hahaha, but what did you say to make him throw a punch?”

“I said that Princess Resilia will soon come here to remarry the Emperor of the Rafion Empire.”

“…And then what did he say?”

“He didn’t say anything. He just smashed an innocent table and looked down at a sleeping child.”

“That’s strange. He doesn’t have to hold back with his status.”

Grand Duke Martins murmured, examining the seal inside the sword hilt.

“Ah, that’s it!”

“What is it?”

“What you just said, Duke, Norton said it like that while caressing the child.”

“That he won’t stand still?”

“Yes, something similar. That he won’t let it go.”

“Hmph, things are going to get interesting. The third prince of the largest Partsha Empire in the Southern Continent can’t just stand still.”

“Heeh? A prince?!”

“Yes. The princess who even bore his child is abandoning him and remarrying the Emperor of the Northern Continent, so of course he can’t just stand still. He definitely can’t.”

Grand Duke Martins burst into laughter and put Norton’s sword hilt back into the pouch.

“Gasp, that mercenary of unknown origins is, what… from the Southern Continent?”

“The third prince of the Partsha Empire. Three years ago, the Emperor died without properly passing on the throne, so there was a rebellion of princes.”

“Yes, you told me before, Duke. That the second prince killed the first prince…”

“Yes, he poisoned him. But for some reason, the officials of the Partsha Empire are still delaying the succession to the throne.”

“Is it because he’s not of the direct line?”

“Well, maybe. But unless there’s a major upset, the second prince, Kalvain, will ascend to the throne of the Partsha Empire.”

Unlike the first prince, the second prince Kalvain and the third prince Norton are brothers. Now, if Norton returns to the Southern Continent, he will likely play an important role as a close aide to the second prince. Moreover, if the second prince Kalvain, who is unmarried and has no children, becomes the Emperor of the Partsha Empire, then the next heir to the throne would be the third prince Norton.

“When the second prince eliminated the first prince, the remaining princes who had no interest in power left the Partsha Empire.”

“Norton must have been one of them.”

“That’s right, but who would have known that the third prince of the Partsha Empire in the Southern Continent would sneak into the Shatoanil royal family of the Northern Continent as a mercenary?”

Grand Duke Martins continued speaking with an intrigued expression, and Sir Rolf chimed in.

“And he even eloped with Princess Resilia.”

“Yes, and they lived together and had a child.”

“What’s more? Princess Resilia betrayed him and returned to the royal family! And Norton and his son fell off a cliff because of the royal knights.”

“But they survived in the end.”

Grand Duke Martins, who had been exchanging words with Sir Rolf, took a sip of the wine on the table and wore a satisfied smile.

“If it weren’t for you, he would have already died.”

“Of course, it’s thanks to me.”

“The child would probably have become food for wild animals too; you are the benefactor of their lives!”

“And that of the third prince of the Partsha Empire in the Southern Continent? Hahaha!”

Grand Duke Martins’ laughter swirled within the wine glass he was drinking from.

“By the way, Duke, if Princess Resilia comes here, will Emperor Linelle’s heart waver?”

“If he doesn’t waver at the sight of Princess Resilia, he’s not a man.”

Sir Rolf automatically nodded when he recalled Princess Resilia’s face at Grand Duke Martins’ words.

“I feel a bit sorry for the Empress. She’ll be hurt. Of course, she came as a proxy Empress in the first place, though.”

“Don’t worry. If affection is replenished, the wound will heal quickly.”

“Who will replenish it?”

“Me.”

“Yes?! Why would the Duke give affection to the Empress…?”

Sir Rolf asked back with a surprised face, but Grand Duke Martins just smiled and ordered Sir Rolf to return.

***

From the moment I entered the main palace, I was completely dominated by Linelle. My rapidly beating pulse and breathless gasps were not enough to keep up with Linelle’s passion.

“…Your Majesty.”

“I said I wouldn’t stop…!”

My hands were pinned above my head, held firmly by Linelle’s hands against the pillow. The only things that weren’t moving were him and my captured hands. Looking up at his intensely passionate eyes, I could clearly see the emotions he was directing at me. There was no way I couldn’t know. A stream of sweat trickled down his overwhelmingly beautiful face. As if intending to conquer even my soul, I was lost in his overwhelming passion. Linelle would also pause everything for a moment when he couldn’t control his emotions and simply gaze down at my face. As if he had set a rule, he would always kiss my nape and cheeks in turn after smiling.

For a while, I felt like my soul would disappear forever and then return to reality. I was going back and forth to heaven with his every breath. I gazed up into Linelle’s eyes. He was speaking with his eyes. That he was cherishing me. That he was loving me. We shared everything, felt everything, and divided everything. The night was short, but our joy and delight were endlessly long. Linelle held me and embraced me for a long time. Even when he was away from me for a moment, he tried to keep some part of his body touching mine, as if he couldn’t breathe unless his fingertips were touching me.

“I felt like I was going to cry.”

It was around the time everything had quieted down. Linelle’s low, shy voice shook me awake from my sleep.