The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 4

4. The First Night

“Why is he really doing this? It’s strange…”

After kissing me a few times, Emperor Linelle tilted his head and muttered. *Why* are *you* doing this? No, what’s so strange?

“……?!”

I was surprised by Emperor Linelle’s approaching face, so beautiful it was almost unreal, and my lips parted without me realizing it. Hey, I didn’t open them for a kiss, you know? My lips were instantly engulfed between his. Right now, even though this handsome man is shattering my reason, I couldn’t react at all. With the ecstatic sensation, my soul began to drift helplessly towards him. It felt like I was dancing to sweet music. It was as dizzying a moment as any I’ve experienced in my life. All my senses were becoming more acute, as if every single nerve cell was awakening. Anyway, what is he trying to confirm from me, being so busy between my lips like this? I don’t know what Emperor Linelle’s circumstances are, but my circumstances had no choice but to be proactive. Because, miraculously, the pain that felt like my whole body was burning was disappearing. Without realizing it, I hugged him with both arms. It was just an act to survive. The touching lips moved more passionately at the same time. Ironically, even though the priests had left the bedroom, the kiss became more intense.

“Hmm…”

Emperor Linelle was the first to break the kiss. The Emperor looked quite surprised to see me clinging to him desperately. I was also surprised by my own unexpected bold behavior. But I couldn’t stop. A coolness permeated my skin where his body touched, and I felt a refreshing sensation that I couldn’t express in words. Contrary to his increasingly hot breath, my breath was becoming fresher and fresher. If I wasn’t mistaken, Emperor Linelle’s face was also regaining its vitality. *I’m* like this, but why is *he* regaining his vitality? His face, which had been dripping with cold energy, was flushed. This man is suspicious. The veins in the Emperor’s neck, and in his arms that were trapping me, were standing out so much that they seemed like they would burst if I pressed them even slightly. Why is his face turning red? Why does he keep biting his lip? Is he deliberately holding his breath? It was just the two of us in the bedroom, but ridiculously, Emperor Linelle’s acting was getting better and better. He kept tilting his head and then kissed me again. I really feel strange! Right now, I felt like some powerful force was pulling him towards me. The moment I swallowed hard, an unexpected thing happened.

My mind was becoming increasingly dizzy. It felt like I had been disconnected from all of space and time for a while and then returned. And when I came to my senses, my body temperature, which had been boiling, had returned to normal. I was overwhelmed by an irresistible force.

“Why does my body react like this when my skin touches the Empress… Why is my body getting so warm?”

I wanted to ask Emperor Linelle, who was asking me as if he was complaining in my ear, why do I feel so refreshed when my skin touches you, and why does my body feel so cool…

“……I didn’t mean to, not like this…”

Emperor Linelle whispered with a troubled expression and a very apologetic voice. I feel the same way. How did we end up like this?

“I’m sorry, I really am. But, Empress…”

Emperor Linelle, who was barely able to speak with a strained voice, was about to say something important but bit his molars tightly and groaned.

“Yes?”

“Ease up a little…”

“Strength? What strength are you talking about…”

When I asked back in a puzzled tone, he tapped my hand as if he was being strangled in a fight and was hitting his opponent’s arm to surrender.

“Unless you’re planning to wring my arm off, let go of my hand…”

Only then did I realize that I was gripping his arms tightly with my hands as if I was wringing laundry.

“Ah, I’m sorry!”

I quickly released his arms. Red handprints had appeared on the Emperor’s arms from how hard I had been holding them. Emperor Linelle buried his face in my neck and calmed his breathing. I wanted to ask, ‘Your Majesty, what were you trying to confirm earlier?’ but the awkward atmosphere made it hard for me to speak. He didn’t say anything for a while, just holding me. The sound of a heartbeat, which I couldn’t tell whether it was mine or his, echoed throughout my body. The two heartbeats were thumping, thumping, like two racehorses running against each other. After a while, he raised his head and looked down at me. I also didn’t avoid his blue eyes. It would be awkward to look anywhere else here anyway. If possible, it would be best to stare at the person who made me feel the strangest. Seeing his face, which was constantly restless for some reason, I had a feeling. Ah, Your Majesty, the Emperor of the Lapion Empire…! Was today really your first night too? The Shat-O’Neil Kingdom is quite open to dating after the age of twenty, when one becomes an adult. I was forced to live a saintly life due to circumstances, but I was always looking for an opportunity to burn with passion. But why are even the eyes of this handsome man so pure? While unintentionally having a staring contest with him, he suddenly kissed my eyelids. I instinctively squeezed my eyes shut when his lips approached, thinking that the Emperor was trying to pluck out my eyeballs. Maybe that was really his intention. After failing to pluck out my eyeballs, he kissed my cheeks repeatedly like a puppy. At least puppies are cute. This man’s breath is too dangerous… sexy. I suddenly became curious about the Emperor’s expression as he was kissing my cheek, so I slyly opened my closed eyes. Emperor Linelle’s eyes were closed. His long eyelashes were trembling. His intense appearance is captivating even without his pupils showing. Without realizing it, my hand went up to his dignified and radiant face. The Emperor’s skin, as smooth and soft as silk, slipped through my hand. He opened his eyes and smiled at me for a brief moment before returning to his expressionless face. Was that smile a sneer? Like, ‘How dare you touch my noble and beautiful face!’ Something like that? Beads of sweat were shyly flowing down Emperor Linelle’s face.

“What exactly is your identity?”

He said, grabbing my chin with his hand. At that moment, my heart sank at his words. Has he started to doubt my existence?

“I, I am…”

“It wasn’t a question.”

At his words, I carefully let out a sigh of relief.

“Then…”

“I couldn’t control it. I’ve lived my life controlling everything that’s happened to me so far. But why, why at that moment?”

He couldn’t stop. He stared at me intently and asked as if he was complaining.

“……”

Perhaps it wasn’t a question asking for my opinion in the first place, he moved to lie down next to me. And after taking a moment to catch his breath, he glanced at me. When I gave a shy smile at Emperor Linelle’s gaze, he suddenly covered me up to my forehead with the blanket.

“Ugh, Your Majesty?!”

For a moment, I thought he was trying to suffocate me. He chuckled at my flustered voice and pulled the blanket back down to my neck. When I glared at him slightly, he pretended not to notice my gaze and shouted towards the bedroom door.

“Stian!”

When Emperor Linelle called the chamberlain’s name, the bedroom door immediately opened, and the priests who had been waiting outside entered the bedroom. *** The priests, who surrounded the inside of the bedroom, took turns offering words of congratulations without any suspicion.

“Your Majesty, we will proceed with the final procedure.”

“Do so.”

The priests began to sing the final song of blessing, announcing that we had become a true couple. It wasn’t bad to listen to, as they even added harmonies. When the song of blessing ended, the priests politely bowed and left the bedroom in an orderly manner.

“May you both have a comfortable first night.”

Hmph, how amusing. I don’t think the people who made the first night the most uncomfortable should be saying that? *** Once again, Emperor Linelle and I, and an awkward atmosphere, were left in the bedroom. We lay side by side, looking up at the ceiling mural of baby angels gesturing. Then, at Emperor Linelle’s movement to raise his upper body, I turned my body slightly to the opposite side, worried about his gaze looking down at me. But when I turned my body, I realized there was no need to. Because my burn scars weren’t visible because I had taken the magic potion. I had forgotten that fact and acted out of habit.

“Empress…”

His cold voice tapped my back. Whenever the Emperor called me Empress, it felt uncomfortable, like I was wearing clothes that weren’t mine.

“Empress.”

He called me again.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

I answered quietly.

“Don’t turn your back.”

“……Yes?”

At his unexpected words, my body turned to him on its own.

“Don’t turn it first. Your back.”

“Ah, Your Majesty. I was just…”

“I know. What you’re worried about.”

His softened voice made me even more nervous. Hearing those words made me feel nauseous for some reason. Emperor Linelle probably didn’t mean anything by it, but it felt like he knew my weaknesses, and I was ashamed. But the thought of turning my back to him again disappeared. I had always lived pretending not to care about other people’s attention, but that wasn’t true. I wanted to hide my burn scars, which were obvious to others, even a little more. Even if no one openly mocked me, everyone gossiped behind my back. I knew it well. The duplicity of the nobles. They were kind on the outside, but they didn’t try to get close to me when I approached. There were some who deliberately hovered around me to prove that they were dignified nobles with compassion and pity. But none of them told me that my appearance as it was now was okay. My burn scars were not something to be okay with, but something to be pitied, and they were like a sign that drew a line that couldn’t be crossed with them. The gazes and unspoken expressions of the nobles who wanted me to avoid their eyes first. But Emperor Linelle was telling me not to turn my back to him first. This is a first. Of course, he said it without seeing my burn scars, but still, my heart felt heavy.

“Did you… understand what I said?”

He asked again, as if he was displeased.

“Of course, Your Majesty.”

“You’re quick to answer other things, but why are you suddenly speechless again?”

He still glared at me with dissatisfied eyes, then made a face as if he had realized something. Then, he frowned and sighed deeply, and only after a long time did he open his mouth.

“I was only going to pretend, but I did it my way… So you’re upset.”

“?”

“Earlier… yes. I’ll apologize again.”

Emperor Linelle said to me politely. His gaze was so gracious that I couldn’t help but raise my body as well. I pulled the fluffy blanket up to my chest and received his gaze. He stared at my face for a few seconds, then cleared his throat and said seriously.

“Ahem, the priests are quick-witted and have sharp eyes.”

“Yes?”

“They probably felt with their divine power from outside the bedroom whether we were really consummating our marriage or not.”

“……Suddenly?”

“What?”

“Earlier, you clearly said that the priests were foolish and had terrible divine power, so they wouldn’t know we were acting even if they were watching us in the bedroom, didn’t you?”

“……Did I say that?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. You said that exactly 1 minute before the priests came in.”

“Maybe I said that because I thought the Empress seemed too nervous…”

Emperor Linelle patted his neck with his hand and mumbled as if he was making excuses. And he really seemed sorry. Actually, there was no need at all. He had taken away my pain of burning alive in the fire, so I wanted to tell him that I had survived thanks to him. If he hadn’t done that, maybe I would have….

“You don’t have to apologize. We’re already a couple.”

My conscience pricked my heart when these words came out of my mouth, even though I was just a surrogate empress.

“It was warm.”

Emperor Linelle said abruptly. That one word, like a short confession, dug into my heart and settled heavily.

“I’m always a person of winter. But when I kissed the Empress, it was spring for a moment. So I wanted to check it out more.”

“?”

He continued to speak calmly.

“Whether it was a delusion or whether my body temperature was really rising. But it wasn’t a delusion. My body even became as hot as summer.”

What on earth is he talking about?

“You probably heard about my condition from Prince Tesler.”

When I stared blankly at his incomprehensible words, he chuckled.

“Prince Tesler didn’t tell you this either, did he?”

Yes, that bastard is a handsome son of a bitch. After seeing your face, he doesn’t look handsome anymore, so now he’s just a son of a bitch.

“I haven’t heard anything from the Prince.”

“This is why there’s talk that royal marriages are full of lies.”

“Was there something else I should have heard?”

I asked calmly. His lips, which didn’t seem like they would tell me easily, moved again.

“I was in the middle of the final war in the Valley of Death. At that time, I was ambushed by a mage from the Southern Continent who controlled wyverns [a type of dragon] and received a curse.”

“A curse? What…!”

At Emperor Linelle’s words of curse, the area of my burn scars tingled. I unconsciously raised and lowered my hand over my burn scars. His blue eyes, which felt cold, stared at me intently before answering.

“My body temperature is much lower than that of ordinary people. That’s my curse. But the moment I was with the Empress without realizing it… It felt like my frozen internal organs were thawing.”

At Emperor Linelle’s words, I gasped. It was the opposite reaction to mine. My body, which had been hot as if engulfed in flames, cooled down as soon as it touched him! Does our body temperature return to normal when we come into contact? I wanted to say that I was experiencing similar symptoms to you. But I was only a surrogate empress, not his real wife, so I had to save my words.

“Were you surprised?”

“No. I’m glad that Your Majesty felt even a little bit of comfort.”

“That was, the word comfortable is not enough to express it.”

Emperor Linelle shook his head and said with a confident voice.

“I felt good, but I’m curious… no, worried about how you felt.”

Seeing him looking at me shyly like a young boy made me feel even more embarrassed. His eyes, which had seemed so cold, were also moving around in confusion, which looked a little cute.

“Yes? What did you say?”

So I deliberately pretended not to understand and asked him again.

“Ah, was that question too old-fashioned? The Empress understands.”

“Yes.”

I swallowed the laughter that was coming out of my throat and nodded.

“This is the first time this has happened.”

“……Yes?”

“First, I said.”

He said, putting strength into his voice, as if he thought I hadn’t heard him. I had expected it, but it was shocking to hear it directly from him.

“Your Majesty, is today really your first experience…?”

I realized I had asked too openly. As expected, Emperor Linelle’s expression crumpled, and he stared at me intently with narrowed eyes.

“Why, wasn’t the Empress’s first time…?”

His low voice flew sharply at me.

“Or, was it because I wasn’t your ideal type that you didn’t like it?”

Eh? These are the words I said last night… Could it be! A bad feeling rushed over me in an instant. I asked him again to confirm.

“Your Majesty, what do you mean I’m not your ideal type? What are you talking about…”

“That’s the conversation we had yesterday. Don’t you remember?”

“!”

He gave a sinister smile.

“Yo, Your Majesty, perhaps yesterday….”

“Yes, I remember.”

Emperor Linelle said with a leisurely expression.

“And. How could I forget when we met in such a place?”

Damn it, I’m screwed. He remembered exactly what happened last night when we met. Even the words I blurted out!