The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 72

72. Are You Out of Your Mind?

2021.09.11.

“Yes, Your Majesty. News has arrived that Empress Katria Edins of the Deloy Empire from the Southern Continent, along with her consorts, are entering the Imperial Palace in the royal carriage.”

“Everyone seems to have arrived earlier than scheduled, as if they had made a promise.”

He withdrew the playful gaze he had been giving me and returned to his usual, cool-headed Emperor Lapheon. Although it wasn’t the news I had been anxiously waiting for, the information Raphael delivered was surprising. I recalled the information about the countries of the Southern Continent that I had heard from Commander Marcrom when I first met him at the training grounds. The Deloy Empire is ruled by a female emperor. Empress Katria was the one who controlled all military power in the Deloy Empire even before she personally beheaded her own puppet brother. Her performance was also remarkable at the Valley of Death, the last battle between the two continents, wasn’t it? Moreover, she is exceptionally beautiful. Commander Marcrom even joked that he was comforted by the fact that he lost his eyesight after seeing Empress Katria’s face. Although I was curious about the other emperors, Empress Katria of the Deloy Empire stimulated my curiosity the most.

“The meal is almost over, so we should get up soon. Prepare to greet the Empress of Deloy with the Empress.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I will be waiting outside.”

“Alright.”

Linelle took a sip of wine, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and stared at me intently. I met his gaze with affectionate eyes.

“Shall we have one more of the Empress’s favorite broccoli before we get up?”

“?”

He used his fork to pick up a piece of raw broccoli that had been left alone on the side of his steak plate and held it out to my mouth. The rough taste of the raw broccoli I had just forced myself to chew and swallow was still lingering in my mouth.

“Come on, say ‘ah’.”

“I decline.”

***

Not long after arriving at the entrance of the main palace with Linelle, a carriage with the unique emblem of the Deloy Empire slowly stopped in front of the main palace. What was unusual was that the carriage was closer to a combat vehicle than a royal carriage. Sharp, small bars were densely embedded in the center of the wheels. In addition, there were several holes in the carriage through which one could shoot arrows or thrust swords from the inside out. At first glance, it looked like a painting with gorgeous patterns, but if you looked closely, you could see that the holes had already been patched up like a puzzle. An extraordinary aura overflowed from the carriage. My curiosity about Empress Katria increased significantly. Finally, the carriage door opened, and two men got out one after another… They’re handsome.

“Oh my gosh.”

I couldn’t help but exclaim. They closely resembled the depictions of male gods in Southern Continent mythology. I felt as if I were watching the characters in the paintings come to life. I was amazed that men could be so beautiful. What kind of voices would men with such beauty have? A sudden curiosity made my gaze fixate on the lips of the two handsome men.

“Zelda, a warning.”

Linelle quietly warned me. The hand around my waist tightened.

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

You idiot. I apologized to him without realizing it. It was as if I had readily admitted that I had been captivated by Empress Katria’s consorts. Meanwhile, Empress Katria, known as the Goddess of War, got out of the carriage. She stood between her consorts and began to climb the stairs, holding each of their hands. The sight of her being escorted somehow didn’t suit her. The Empress was carrying two large, thick swords that executioners might use on her back in an X shape. It would have looked fresher if she had been wearing a dress, but she was wearing a uniform. Impressively, Empress Katria climbed the stairs of the main palace two steps at a time. I looked at Empress Katria and felt slightly dejected. I thought I was the only one, but today there’s another one. I thought I was the only woman in the empire’s history besides me who had climbed the stairs of Lapheon’s main palace two steps at a time. She was quite a contrast to the handsome consorts who obediently followed her. She came up to the entrance of the main palace with a light expression without showing any signs of difficulty, and stood in front of Linelle and me with a very dignified posture. I looked at her face up close and recalled Commander Marcrom’s words.

‘Her beauty is as great as her swordsmanship.’

I definitely heard that, didn’t I? But she wasn’t as great a beauty as Commander Marcrom described. The commander’s eyesight probably wasn’t very good even before he lost it due to the wizard’s curse. Although the overall atmosphere was definitely extraordinary, Empress Katria’s appearance was more suited to the expression ‘cool’ than ‘beautiful’.

“To His Majesty, the Sun of the Lapheon Empire! Katria of the Deloy Empire greets you warmly!”

Empress Katria’s charismatic voice echoed loudly throughout the main palace lobby. But, you don’t have to greet me warmly. Empress Katria’s words were somehow slightly irritating. I deliberately smiled more brightly, but I had a bad feeling.

“It’s been a while, Empress Katria.”

Linelle reached out his hand to shake hers.

“Emperor Lapheon, you have a strange charm that makes people excited even when we meet in a place other than the battlefield.”

Empress Katria replied in a loud voice, brushed Linelle’s outstretched hand aside, and… Smooch-!

She kissed him.

The sound of the kiss was as loud as her voice. What did I just see? The Empress kissed Linelle’s lips… my husband’s lips… in front of me! I stared at her with an absurd expression, without even having time to check his expression. Empress Katria gave me a normal greeting, and I received the greeting with a sullen expression. Noticing my bad expression, she said as if making an excuse.

“Oh, don’t misunderstand. Our Deloy Imperial Family has a tradition of kissing when meeting the royalty of other countries.”

“Does Your Majesty of the Deloy Empire uphold traditions well?”

When I asked sullenly, she burst into a hearty laugh.

“Hahaha, sometimes when I meet someone I’m really happy to see, I end up greeting them like that without realizing it.”

It sounded like she didn’t usually uphold traditions.

“But I should have been careful coming to the conservative Northern Continent; I unintentionally committed a rudeness. Ah, hahaha!”

It was embarrassing to keep frowning at Empress Katria’s straightforwardness. But, does the traditional greeting not apply to women?

“Is it really traditional in the Deloy Imperial Family to exchange kisses in greetings with royalty?”

I relaxed my hardened expression and asked Empress Katria with a bright smile.

“Of course. So I hope Empress Lapheon doesn’t take it to heart.”

I looked at her male gods, no, her consorts, who were standing firmly like pillars on either side of her. They also seemed quite embarrassed by the Empress’s actions, just like me. So, the kiss she just gave Linelle was a provocation… This is proof that she ignored my existence. She said kissing was a traditional etiquette of the Deloy Imperial Family? I took a step closer to the handsome man with a flour-doll-like white face next to Empress Katria. Okay, I’ll be rude to you first. I first greeted the consort in front of me, who had vibrant green leaf-like eyes.

“The Empress of the Lapheon Empire also wel-comes the distinguished guests of the Deloy Empire warmly!”

Smooch-! I also put a welcoming greeting on his lips in accordance with the Deloy Imperial Family’s traditional greeting method for royalty. Consort 1 with the green eyes put his hand on his lips and looked at me with a blank expression. Consort 2 with the gray eyes next to him pursed his lips as if thinking, ‘Surely she won’t kiss me too?’ You can’t be biased in etiquette. So you come here willingly too. No. I’m the guest, so I should move.

“Indeed, a warm welcome!”

Smooch-! Consort 2 with the gray eyes had an expression as if he had been caught off guard. Wow, as the faces of the two consorts, who had been as pale as flour, began to regain their color, their beauty became even more prominent. Hey, elves? You’re not the only ones with charisma. I turned my raised chin to the side and shifted my gaze to Empress Katria. I smiled at her in the same way she had smiled at me a little while ago. Anyway, I showed more sincerity than the discriminatory greeting she had shown me.

“Zelda Gadion Edpha, the sunflower of His Majesty Emperor Linelle, the sun of the Lapheon Empire, formally greets Her Majesty Empress Katria, the warm lips of the Deloy Empire.”

Empress Katria’s face was as hot as her lips. After greeting her, my heart suddenly started beating. Ah, I’m not Zelda von Trova anymore, but Zelda Gadion Edpha. I said my changed last name out loud for the first time. Feeling strange, I looked at Linelle’s face next to me. His face was burning red from the sunlight. Come to think of it, not only Linelle but everyone else’s faces were red. Linelle’s face was the reddest. Feeling a stinging sensation on my face for some reason, I turned my gaze to Empress Katria’s consorts.

“Let’s go inside and have a cup of tea.”

At Linelle’s words, Empress Katria nodded silently and entered the main palace lobby with her consorts first. I was about to follow them into the entrance when Linelle grabbed my arm and growled quietly.

“Hey, sunflower… are you out of your mind?”

***

With a somewhat grim atmosphere, everyone entered the drawing room. Even sitting around the round table, the cold atmosphere did not easily dissipate. Both Linelle and Katria, the two emperors, looked at me with unkind eyes. Originally, the emperors’ expressions were dark and not good, so I pretended not to notice and ignored it. Instead of making eye contact with the arrogant emperors, I turned my gaze to the handsome consorts who were sitting demurely. The expressions of the two consorts, who had suddenly had their lips stolen by me, were still blank.

“Was the journey here uncomfortable?”

Just as I was getting used to the long silence, a knock was heard. Knock knock knock-. It was Secretary Raphael.

“I apologize for interrupting. Your Majesty, there is an urgent report.”

“Speak.”

“That is… it would be better to come out for a moment and listen.”

Raphael said with an unusual expression, and his gaze briefly lingered on my face. Ah, it seemed that the murdered servant had finally been discovered.

“What’s going on? Just report it.”

Linelle frowned slightly and said. At this, Raphael hesitated and had no choice but to tell the story.

“A servant’s body has been found in the Empress’s Palace garden.”

“The cause of death?”

“It seems… he was murdered.”

“Was there a power struggle?”

Empress Katria asked me with an interesting look. When I shrugged my shoulders without saying anything, she immediately continued.

“It’s a common occurrence in the Delphi Imperial Family as well. Murder takes place in the garden, in the gardens, and even on the floor of my bedroom.”

She said that this kind of thing was inevitable like the laws of nature.

“It rains today, the wind blows tomorrow, and a typhoon rages the day after tomorrow, that’s the weather. Imperial life is the same. Isn’t it?”

At Empress Katria’s words, Linelle stood up from his seat.

“Empress Katria, I must excuse myself for a moment.”

“By all means.”

She nodded, holding her teacup.

“Let’s go out together and listen.”

Linelle said to Raphael and held out his hand to me. It seemed that he wanted to hear about the incident that happened in the Empress’s Palace garden with me. I obediently took his hand and left the drawing room. ***

“Before hearing the story again, Raphael, you can go out for a while.”

When we came out to the waiting room outside the drawing room, Linelle asked Raphael to leave for a while.

“Yes? Ah, yes… Your Majesty.”

Raphael was bewildered, but quickly opened the door to the waiting room and went out into the hallway. As soon as the door closed, he grabbed my arms and turned me around to face him fiercely. His gaze, glaring at me with wide eyes, felt like it was burning my face.

“Ah, it’s hot.”

I muttered softly, turning my head slightly to the side.

“What?”

“You’re looking at me too intensely.”

“Indeed… should all food be cooked before eating?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m wondering if the raw broccoli I ate at lunch was bad. I was wondering if that’s why you did something strange earlier.”

Linelle seemed really angry.

“Strange thing, what? Ah, are you talking about me kissing Empress Katria’s consorts? I was just following the Deloy Empire’s traditional imperial greeting method.”

“Didn’t you think about how I felt watching that?”

“I’m sorry, I know how it feels to be on the receiving end first.”

I deliberately looked elsewhere and replied indifferently.

“Is that all? You must have something else to say to me?”

“Ah, I’m sorry, I did it twice.”

“…That’s not what I’m talking about!”