The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 67

67. Take it off?

Fortunately, Prince Tesler reacted quickly, ducking behind the bedroom door just as I approached it.

“What’s going on?”

My voice was sharper than I intended. Sharon tried to enter, but stopped short when she saw me blocking the doorway. “I received word that His Majesty is entering the Empress Palace, Your Majesty…”

“H-His Majesty, why?!”

He left less than three hours ago. Why is he back already?

“I don’t know, Your Majesty. There was no announcement of his arrival. He seems to have come on a whim. All the dresses are ready, so you can change immediately.”

Right, the dress. But first, I had a problem to solve.

“Sharon, while today’s outfit is lovely, the color seems a bit dark. I’d prefer to change into something else.”

“Of course, Your Majesty! While Sollie and Theresa do your hair and makeup, I’ll select another dress and bring it to the bedroom.”

“No, I’ll choose it in the dressing room myself. Tell Sollie and Theresa to come a little later.”

“…Yes, Your Majesty?”

Sharon paused, halfway to the dressing room, and turned back with a puzzled look.

“I just… need to take care of something first.”

“Ah… Yes, Your Majesty. I understand.” Sharon still looked doubtful, but when I gestured towards the dressing room, she finally went. I quickly closed the bedroom door. Prince Tesler was leaning against it, silently laughing.

“Leave. Now.”

I said urgently.

“Where is Emperor Linell now? On the second-floor stairs? Or just arriving on this floor, strolling leisurely down the hallway?”

Unlike my growing impatience, Prince Tesler smirked, carefree.

“If you’re so curious, why not stay and ask him yourself?”

My annoyed tone only seemed to amuse him more.

“A prince from another country in the Empress’s bedroom… It would be very troublesome if we were caught.”

He wagged a finger at me, noting my bathrobe-clad state. “So please leave quickly. This is embarrassing for both of us!”

I glanced at the terrace door he’d used to sneak in. Had I lost my mind this morning? I wanted to throw him out the same way he came. If I wasted any more time, I might just grab him by the collar and do it.

“Even though I am a prince from your home country, we aren’t close enough for you to greet me in a bathrobe, are we? His Majesty would be very surprised, and I would feel terrible if I were him.”

“So what do you want me to do?”

He broke in uninvited, and now he was trying to blame me?

“You don’t want His Majesty to misunderstand, do you? I feel the same way. So, if you clear up my misunderstanding, I’ll disappear.”

“What misunderstanding are you talking about?”

“The misunderstanding that you have ulterior motives in your deal with me. Clear that up, and I’m gone.”

Prince Tesler’s gaze dropped to the pouch in my hand.

“What do you mean?”

I already knew his intention. He was the worst kind of person – despicable and vile.

“Give me one magic potion bottle.”

He held out his palm. If I gave him one, I’d only have one left.

“We greet His Majesty the Emperor!”

To make matters worse, the servants’ voices echoed from the hallway. Linell had arrived. I couldn’t waste any more time. But this… no. Even if he misunderstood, I couldn’t give the potion to Prince Tesler. Linell might be jealous, but he wouldn’t seriously suspect anything. And as Prince Tesler was watching Emperor Lapion, this situation would not be good for him either. So, I had to stand my ground. Endure. That was my conclusion. But,

“Behind the drawer, you were keeping the jewelry box I gave you, not just the potion. Bonis… misses you a lot.”

“!”

“When I told him I was going to the Lapion Empire, he cried and begged me to take him with me.”

Prince Tesler made his eyebrows into an eight shape, imitating Bonis’s pitiful expression. I bit my lip.

“Don’t worry, I comforted him. I told him you could meet again soon, and only then did he stop crying.”

The prince held out his palm again. I had no choice but to take the potion from my pouch and hand it over, avoiding his gaze. If I made eye contact, I wouldn’t be able to let him go. When I looked up, I saw Prince Tesler’s back. He paused at the terrace door, turning back to me with a twitch of his eyebrow. I was about to look away, hating his smug expression, but he opened the potion bottle. No way…! I couldn’t stop him. He poured the potion out without hesitation, as if he were watering the red roses in the vase. He threw it away. After confirming my dumbfounded expression, he placed the empty bottle next to the vase and disappeared. I was beyond angry, just stunned.

“We greet His Majesty the Emperor.”

Sharon’s voice came from outside the door, and I forced myself to come to my senses. I quickly put the pouch back in the drawer. With a knock, Linell entered. Seeing his affectionate smile, I felt tears welling up.

“Ah, did I come at the perfect time?”

His eyes darkened as he looked at me in my bathrobe.

“What brings you here? So suddenly…”

“I just wanted to see you. Though I didn’t expect to find you like this.”

He didn’t seem to have a specific reason. “Please, sit down. I was just about to change.”

As I turned towards the door, he hugged me from behind and turned me towards the bed.

“Then there’s no point in me coming here, is there?”

“The sun is up…”

“That’s right. And the terrace door is wide open.”

He replied with a smile. He didn’t know what he was saying, but a chill ran down my spine. Linell threw himself on the bed, pulling me with him.

“Aren’t you busy?”

“I was. I’ll be busy this afternoon too. I rushed through work this morning to make time for this before lunch.”

He kissed my forehead, pleased with his joke, and laughed, a sound that didn’t quite match his serious tone.

“You’re impulsive.”

“You have no idea. If I were impulsive, I wouldn’t just be holding you. I’m a man who moves according to plan.”

Linell grabbed the string of my bathrobe and spun it around, feigning a wronged expression.

“Then what’s the plan from now on?”

I asked, burying my face in his chest. I needed peace. Held in his arms, the anger at Prince Tesler subsided.

“My plan is to hold you like this until lunch with the Shattonil royal siblings.”

Ah, today. The day I had to watch those two and force food down my throat.

“Okay…”

I wrapped my arms around his back, slipping my hands inside his uniform. I wanted to feel his bare skin, not just the soft silk of his shirt. I grabbed the shirt with my thumb and forefinger and pulled it up, but it wasn’t as easy as I thought.

“Why, want me to take it off?”

Linell asked in a husky voice.

“Just… can you lift it up a little?”

“Just a little?”

He frowned, then pulled his shirt out of his pants.

“Should I unbutton a few buttons at the bottom as a service?”

“That’s okay.”

“Is there anything else… you want?”

He asked slyly, fiddling with his belt.

“No, that’s enough.”

“Haa, my empress is too unselfish.”

He took his hand off his belt and pulled his shirt up, as if telling me to use his upper body as much as I wanted. I smiled, put his clothes down, and hugged him. I wrapped one arm around his waist and put my hand inside his shirt. Touching his firm, smooth back brought a sense of peace. The reason I was hugging him so tightly was also because I didn’t have the courage to look him in the face. I closed my eyes and thought: I am such a two-faced person. I can’t look him in the eye because I have a guilty conscience, but I still want to be comforted in his arms. A self-deprecating laugh escaped.

“I’ll go change now.”

I struggled to get out of his arms and raised my upper body. He looked up at me with a disappointed expression.

“Already?”

“If I want to change, put on makeup, and get back to the main palace banquet hall, I don’t have much time.”

I replied, checking the time.

“Play with me a little longer.”

He grabbed my wrist.

“I won’t even if you order me to.”

“I’m begging you.”

“It doesn’t suit you.”

“I know. Knowing that, I deliberately said it with a straight face so it would look less pathetic. So it’s okay.”

“…”

“Isn’t it?”

He muttered, looking at me. I burst out laughing and kissed him. He made me smile like this again. I initiated the kiss, but Linell opened his lips first, and I deepened it. As our softness intertwined, everything except his eyes was becoming rough.

If I dragged on any longer, I felt like I wouldn’t be able to control myself, not him.

“Haa, Linell… stop, let me go. I really have to get ready.”

“Where are you going after making your husband like this?”

He said resentfully.

“Even if you come back after changing, I’ll have to stay in bed for a while.”

“Why?”

“I can’t walk in this state…”

Linell replied sullenly, stretching out his arms and legs.

“Then calm down for a moment.”

I chuckled and put my hands on the mattress, ready to get up. But without realizing I was holding down the bathrobe string with one hand…

“Ah!”

As I straightened my back, the string slipped, and the front of the bathrobe opened. It was a mistake. My face turned red, and I quickly tried to close it, but Linell grabbed both my hands.

“What’s the intention of this now?”