The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 52

52. Hello? Master

July 03, 2021

“Ah, hahaha! If that is what the Empress desires, then by all means…”

Rosie said, forcing a smile while looking like she was about to cry. *What is it? Is it a precious egg?* I was just joking, I thought, watching Rosie’s flustered reaction. But suddenly, she exclaimed energetically.

“If Your Majesty wishes to eat it, then of course we must break it!”

“Really? But isn’t it something you cherish? Like for decoration or something?”

“There’s nothing less worthy of cherishing than that egg… No, I absolutely don’t cherish it. It’s not even good for decoration. It just rolls around everywhere.”

Rosie said, rolling up her sleeves.

“Really? Then shall we really eat it as a snack?”

I handed the egg I was holding to Rosie, saying it playfully.

“S-Shall I break it right now?”

Rosie asked, looking like she was about to smash the egg on the marble floor any second. Her appearance made me laugh.

“I’m just kidding. But, is it really an ostrich egg?”

“…I’m not entirely sure either, but that’s what I heard.”

“From whom?”

“From the person who entrusted it to me.”

“Hmm, in my opinion… it looks a bit different from an ostrich egg? It’s not about to hatch, is it?”

I asked, tapping the egg with the back of my hand.

“Absolutely not. If it were going to hatch, it should have happened 300 years ago… No, it would have already happened way before that. I just want to throw it away, but I’ve grown attached to it.”

She knelt down and took out a basket from under the bed, then placed the egg inside.

“Huh? Rosie, didn’t the egg seem to move just now?”

I tilted my head, looking down at the egg while bending over.

“…Huh? I didn’t, absolutely, not notice anything!”

Rosie replied, pressing down on the egg with one hand.

“It seemed like the egg was moving from side to side just now.”

Did I see it wrong?

“Could it be… is it really about to hatch?”

I straightened up again and said with a laugh.

“Ah, haha, what a surprising thing! We’ll have to keep a close watch tonight.”

Rosie nudged the basket with her toe, sending it back under the bed, then changed the subject.

“Oh, right, Your Majesty! I was wondering if you would like some refreshing pomegranate juice with lemon cake? The lemon cake made by the servant I brought from my family’s estate is surprisingly delicious!”

“Really? I was feeling a bit peckish, so should we?”

“Yes! Let’s leave that useless egg that can’t even be eaten and escort you to the terrace.”

Rosie went out to the terrace with me and ordered her servant to bring the lemon cake. We sat facing each other at the table outside on the terrace.

“Your Majesty, the weather is very nice, isn’t it?”

“Yes, the scenery outside the terrace is wonderful.”

I replied, looking up at the sky. *** Zelda and Rosie began to chat outside on the terrace, and inside the bedroom, the wyvern egg began to show changes. Red light repeatedly appeared and disappeared inside the egg. Then, cracks gradually formed on the wyvern egg, which had been sturdy for 300 years, and then, crack-! A small, black baby wyvern’s head popped out of the eggshell with a ‘pop!’

“Oh, this was so easy! Was I trapped for 300 years?”

The baby wyvern, with only its head out of the egg, jumped out of the egg and looked around the bedroom.

“Hmm? But where did my master go? Oh, there they are.”

The baby wyvern grabbed onto one of the bedposts. Its small head moved in and out between the bedposts, secretly peeking out at the terrace.

“Hello? Master…”

*** Grand Duke Martins read the letter brought by Sir Rolf several times. The person who delivered the letter to him was Norton, the Third Prince of the Partsha Empire [a powerful empire on the Southern Continent], who had eloped with Princess Resilia and fallen off a cliff, only to miraculously survive. The man he had thought was just a wandering mercenary was actually a prince of the most powerful country on the Southern Continent. Grand Duke Martins was the one who had saved such a person. Moreover, the Grand Duke had suddenly become the benefactor who had even saved his son. Grand Duke Martins was inwardly watching to see what Norton would do after he recovered.

“Did Prince Norton say anything else?”

He asked Sir Rolf, folding Norton’s letter.

“He didn’t say anything special other than the letter. He did ask about the Empress, though.”

“He asked about the Empress?”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“What was he curious about?”

“He asked about her relationship with Emperor Linelle, whether she was adapting well to life in the Rafion Imperial Palace, and how close she was to Prince Tesler.”

“Really? That’s strange. I thought he would be curious about Princess Resilia…”

“He didn’t ask a single word about the Princess. Rather, when I subtly brought up the Princess, he glared at me as if he wanted to kill me! Ah, I think he actually tried to kill me a couple of times.”

Sir Rolf said with a resentful face.

“Hmm, is that so? It looks like I’m going to have a very interesting spectacle for a while.”

Grand Duke Martins folded Prince Norton’s letter in half again with an intrigued expression. The letter roughly stated that Norton would arrive at the Rafion Imperial Palace before his older brother, the Second Prince Kalvain, and that he would be entrusted with all authority to represent the Partsha Empire until Prince Kalvain arrived.

“Sir Rolf, is it certain that Prince Tesler is bringing Princess Resilia?”

“It is certain. It seems that the plan is to make Princess Resilia catch Emperor Linelle’s eye before the Continental Hunting Competition, right?”

“That’s right. But what should we do? It looks like we’re going to encounter an unexpected obstacle…”

A faint smile spread across the Grand Duke’s face.

“Anyway, the number of guests visiting the Rafion Empire before the Hunting Competition has increased by one more country.”

“But, will Prince Norton and Princess Resilia clash here?”

“If there isn’t one, we’ll have to create one.”

Grand Duke Martins muttered with a meaningful look.

“Won’t there be a bloodbath?”

“Wouldn’t it be strange if there wasn’t?”

“Then Prince Tesler’s plan for remarriage will be ruined, won’t it?”

Sir Rolf asked secretly, lowering his voice.

“You just keep a close eye on Prince Tesler. The Prince will definitely meet with the spy he has planted at least once.”

“Yes, then we’ll be able to find out who the messenger is who brings news from the Imperial Palace.”

“That’s right. So you keep a close watch around the Prince.”

Grand Duke Martins said, patting Sir Rolf’s shoulder.

“Yes, Your Grace. Don’t worry.”

“Oh, right, when is Prince Norton arriving?”

*** I headed to the training grounds with a light heart. Today, I deliberately moved after receiving news that Linelle had just attended a meeting with the officials and priests. Therefore, there was no chance of him suddenly barging in like last time. Even if he were to look for my bedroom, it would be very late, so there was plenty of time to spend at the training grounds. I slipped out through the back door connected to the laundry room, as before, and ran across the field. There were hardly any people in the back garden of the Empress Palace at this time, but it was safe to run without stopping until entering the cypress forest path leading to the training grounds. From the forest path, I enjoyed the fresh air and walked slowly. The training grounds were empty as expected. I carefully went inside, looked around for a moment, and then headed straight to the weapon rack. My eyes began to adjust to the darkness as I walked. I picked up a sword from the weapon rack, just like last time.

“It wasn’t here last time?”

As I turned around again, several bows displayed on one side caught my eye. It seemed they had been brought in for the knights to practice in anticipation of the Hunting Competition. I put the sword down on the display stand and picked up a bow instead. I drew the bowstring in several directions. In fact, I was more familiar with slingshots than bows, but the feeling of shooting a bow wasn’t bad either. The feeling of hitting a target while riding a horse as one gave me a similar thrill to when I struck an opponent’s weakness with a sword. I drew the bowstring and suddenly had this thought: *My life right now is like this tightly drawn bowstring. A destiny that doesn’t know when, where, or how it will fly. I don’t even know how many arrows of opportunity I have left…* I put the bow back in its place and picked up the sword. The solemn sound of the blade as it was drawn from the scabbard excited every vertebra in my spine. In fact, I was so happy to hear that the empresses and some concubines of the Southern Continent would be participating in the Hunting Competition, because I could escape from my static life for a while, because I could ride a horse and hold a sword and bow. Still, I should refrain from hunting as much as possible, right? I had to be careful because there would be many eyes watching me in various places on the hunting grounds. Suddenly, I wondered what the martial arts skills of the Southern Continent women were like. Since I had no information about them, I had no choice but to experience it myself. Just as I was about to lift the sword,

“We meet again.”

“Commander Macrome?”

“Yes.”

Commander Macrome walked in from the entrance of the training grounds. I confirmed that it was the Commander and turned on one of the lamps on the wall. Unlike the last time I saw him, he was sweating. It looked like he had just finished sparring with someone.

“Greetings, Commander. Were you perhaps practicing swordsmanship outside the training grounds?”

“That’s right. I worked up a sweat in the forest for a while.”

Commander Macrome looked tired, but he seemed to be in a good mood.

“Bonnie, did you get permission from the Empress to wander around?”

He asked jokingly.

“…Of course.”

I was momentarily flustered when Bonnie’s name came out of Commander Macrome’s mouth. It felt strange that he remembered Bonnie’s name and called me that.

“You must be nervous about the Hunting Competition, because you have to protect the Empress among the rough women of the Southern Continent. Especially Empress Katria, who has a very rough temper, so keep that in mind.”

“Is there a female emperor among the Southern Continent countries?”

“Didn’t you know?”

“No, this is the first time I’ve heard of it.”

“Well, you may not know since she only recently came to the forefront after putting up a puppet emperor until recently.”

“A puppet emperor?”

“Yes, they outwardly put up an emperor. The real power was the emperor’s younger sister, who held all military power. She played a big role in the last war in the Valley of Death. Eventually, after the war ended, she murdered her brother, the emperor, and became the female emperor herself.”

“That empire is…”

“The Delroy Empire. It can be said to be the second most powerful in the Southern Continent. Although weaker than the most powerful Partsha Empire, the Delroy Empire’s Imperial Knights are famous for their bravery.”

“Has Empress Katria married…?”

After asking him the question, I myself wondered why I had asked such a question. It was just simple curiosity, but I felt unnecessarily more concerned because she was a female emperor.

“I don’t think she has yet. But she has consorts. I think she’ll probably participate in the Hunting Competition as well, right?”

“Ah, I see.”

“Her beauty is as outstanding as her cruel nature.”

“How do you know?”

“Well, I know because I saw her in the Valley of Death, just before I lost my sight.”

Commander Macrome muttered with a wistful expression, as if reminiscing about the past.

“That’s a relief…”

“What is?”

“Because I lost my sight after seeing Empress Katria’s beauty.”

Macrome laughed heartily as he replied.

“…Ah, yes.”

A female emperor who is not only skilled in swordsmanship but also has outstanding beauty. I wondered what it would feel like to actually meet her.

“What about the other empire in the Southern Continent?”

“The Tebello Empire? It was originally the country that was closest to the Northern Continent. It also had the most active trade. Emperor Adrian Meltin of the Tebello Empire was also the person who opposed war the most in the entire continent.”

“I see. I heard that the Second Prince Kalvain of the Partsha Empire, where there was a prince’s rebellion not long ago, will soon ascend to the throne.”

“That’s right. Among the seven princes, the First Prince, who was the son of the Empress, was eliminated, and the Second Prince Kalvain, who was the son of a concubine, is working hard to be recognized by the officials before ascending to the throne.”

Commander Macrome lowered his voice when the story of the Partsha Empire came up. Moreover, he came closer to me and even covered his mouth with his hand as he spoke.

“Commander, why are you whispering about the Partsha Empire like a secret?”

“That’s because…”

“It’s probably because of me.”

A man suddenly appeared at the entrance of the training grounds without a sound. Commander Macrome quickly turned his head towards the sound and scratched his head as he said.

“Ahaha, Prince Norton. Haven’t you left yet?”

*Who is it?* I stared intently at the man walking towards me.