The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 83

83. Almost Lost an Heir

2021.10.20.

I tossed the decorative sword into a corner and immediately adopted a fighting stance. The masked assassin slowly emerged from behind a pillar.

“You’ve got a death wish. How dare you sneak into His Majesty’s bedroom?”

“……”

The assassin leaned back against the pillar, crossed his arms, and gave me a crooked look with an arrogant posture. I don’t know why he pulled his mask up to the middle of his eyes, but judging by his relaxed attitude, you’d think he owned this room.

“An assassin acting so leisurely.”

I deliberately kept talking to the assassin. Assassins are usually silent, but since I couldn’t see his eyes properly, I had no way of gauging his skill. I just had a feeling he wasn’t a novice. Despite having a sword hanging on his back, the assassin didn’t seem to have any intention of drawing it. Why? Why is that? Does he think he’ll fight me fair and square with his bare hands since I don’t have a sword? Such an un-assassin-like sense of fairness?

“Who’s behind this? Who sent you?”

“……”

As expected, the assassin remained silent, but I felt like I should try to probe him with words before the fight. But the assassin didn’t seem willing to fight me. What’s with this guy? It’s like he’s waiting for me to attack first?

“Did you come for His Majesty’s life? Or mine? Too bad. Whoever’s life you came for, you picked the wrong opponent!”

To prove my point, I leaped into the air in one swift motion. But maybe it’s because it’s been a while since I threw a roundhouse kick… The assassin dodged my kick with the agility of a loach [a type of freshwater fish known for its slippery movements]. This guy’s no joke. With that kind of quick defense, he could have easily grabbed my foot as it flew towards his face and slammed me into the wall. But the assassin only dodged to the side and didn’t attack me at all. Ah, is it because the mask is covering half his eyes and he can’t see me well?

“You dodged that well. But consider that you’ve used up all your luck for tomorrow! The luck of not getting caught entering the bedroom, the luck of dodging my roundhouse kick. You’re not getting out of here alive today!”

Moreover, I couldn’t let him live since he had witnessed my swordsmanship.

“Hmph.”

The assassin chuckled again.

“Laughing? Well, alright, you have a very positive attitude towards death.”

I threw a powerful punch at the assassin again. But again, the assassin moved like a loach. He blocked my punch with his elbow and pushed me aside. Incredible speed, disciplined and powerful force felt at the end of his movements. He’s really not an ordinary guy. The assassin didn’t push me hard, but my body slid forward with one foot extended as if I were dancing a sword dance, and I unintentionally did the splits.

“Ah…!”

To think that a move I couldn’t do while dancing the sword dance a moment ago would succeed like this. I flailed my arms, barely regained my balance, and stood up. Then I stumbled back again, and my other foot slipped. This is driving me crazy! Normally, I would have quickly recovered from this kind of imbalance, but the situation was different now. The perfumed oil I used in the bathroom was the problem. I accidentally poured too much oil into my hand, and I ended up applying it to the soles of my feet, so my feet kept slipping. This slipperiness was quite helpful when I was dancing the sword dance, but now that I was trying to fight, my movements kept failing, and I couldn’t put any strength into my body. It was already a slick marble floor, and I had perfumed oil on the soles of my feet, so it would have been strange if I hadn’t fallen. My body fell backward. From the assassin’s perspective, it was the perfect time to attack me. I think I just made eye contact with the assassin? Yeah, there’s no way he’d miss such a good opportunity. Am I going to be defeated like this…?

***

Prince Noden and Prince Tesla walked along the garden path leading to the detached palace, keeping a distance from each other. Prince Tesla was the one who was trying to gauge the situation, wondering whether to speak or not. The prince knew that Prince Noden had arranged to meet Resilia behind the opera house. Resilia had proposed the meeting to Prince Noden at the banquet, and Prince Tesla came up with a shallow plan to call Zelda to the temple garden. The siblings planned to have the two meet by chance and have Emperor Linel witness this scene. Just the sight of the Empress standing with a prince from another country in a dark place late at night would create a plausible picture. And Prince Tesla’s idea worked. He could feel the anger seething from Emperor Linel’s back. They would have gotten away with it by making various excuses, but all distrust starts from such small and trivial gaps. If Emperor Linel had even a moment of doubt about the Empress, that would be a decent gain. But then, a strange concubine suddenly appeared and ruined everything. And as if she was out of her mind, that concubine even confessed to Prince Noden. Something was seriously wrong. How did that concubine know that Prince Noden and Zelda were meeting in the temple garden and suddenly appear to tell the prince that she loved him? Everything was full of questions. As they approached the detached palace, the prince spoke to Prince Noden, who was a few steps ahead of him.

“Your Highness, please go in first. I’d like to enjoy a walk a little longer.”

Although it was minor, Prince Tesla needed a place to vent his frustration after his first plan to put Zelda in trouble went awry. So, Prince Tesla thought he should take a walk and go to Concubine Pesilini’s residence to relax his body and mind.

“If you’re going to take a walk, the west promenade where the concubines’ residences are located is nice.”

Prince Noden pointed towards the west palace and turned to look at Prince Tesla.

“Yes? Ah, is that so? It seems Your Highness has been there before?”

Prince Tesla lowered his voice and asked, feeling guilty when Prince Noden mentioned the west palace.

“No, I heard it from the detached palace’s servants.”

“Ah, I see. I’ll keep that in mind.”

‘Of course. How would that prince know anything about the west palace where the concubines’ residences are located?’

A sigh of relief escaped Prince Tesla, and a sly smile returned to his lips.

“There are many eyes watching, Your Highness.”

Prince Tesla threw a warning at the back of Prince Noden’s head as he headed back to the detached palace.

‘What is that wretched bastard babbling about now?’

Prince Noden glared at the prince with a cold gaze.

“Your Highness should be careful with your actions.”

“What did you say, Prince?”

“A scandal with a concubine from another country…”

Prince Tesla muttered mockingly. Prince Noden stared at him, then shook his head, looking down at the ground in disbelief. He was the one who enjoyed a secret meeting with Concubine Pesilini, was caught by a servant, and ordered his bodyguard to kill that servant. Who was he to tell someone else to be careful with their actions?

“Thank you for the advice. If such a situation happens again next time, I’m thinking I should just eliminate the witness altogether. That way, there won’t be any unnecessary misunderstandings.”

“Wh-what?”

“I couldn’t do it earlier because His Majesty was there.”

It was a trap set by Prince Tesla anyway. So, there was no need to explain to him that meeting the Empress in the temple garden was a coincidence. Prince Tesla was startled, and the prince waved his hand and laughed.

“Hahaha, it’s just a joke. Why are you so serious…”

Prince Noden gave Prince Tesla a light bow and headed back to the detached palace.

***

Everything happened in an instant. As expected, my guess was right. As soon as I slipped on the floor and fell backward, the assassin saw his chance and lunged at me to kill me. Just before my hard head met the even harder marble floor with a loud crash, something intervened. Before I could realize what had dramatically prevented my head from meeting the marble floor, my body was instantly flipped over, and my position changed. Wait, did the assassin’s hand just touch my head? If I collapsed from a concussion, it would be easier for him to deal with me, so why did he protect me? My body was already on top of the assassin’s body. I glared at him with a fierce look. Did this guy change my position so he could stab me in the back with his sword? Before the assassin could draw his sword from behind, I rapidly punched him in the solar plexus more than five times a second, shouting.

“Who, are, you! Just, what, kind, of, bastard, are, you!”

“Ugh, stop hitting me. I’m not your bastard!”

“What is this dark-hearted bastard saying?”

“I’m a handsome bastard! Ugh…”

Wait.

“…What?”

I stopped punching the assassin’s solar plexus with all my might. I felt like I had to stop. I had an ominous feeling that something would happen that would soon stop my breath as well. Yeah, I’ve heard that voice somewhere before. There was something unsettling about ignoring this voice and continuing to punch.

‘No, Zelda! You have to beat him half to death first. It’ll be hard to catch the assassin if you don’t take this opportunity!’

My inner Hwansin [a spirit or deity residing within a person] chuckled and egged me on. Ah, right. But how can you laugh in this urgent situation? I internally vented my frustration at Hwansin and glared at the assassin under me again. Yeah, this guy broke into His Majesty’s bedroom. I can’t let him get away with it. I’ll make sure he can’t function as a man for the rest of his life! I bent my knees and prepared to deliver a fatal blow to the assassin’s lower body. Then the assassin urgently shouted, “Wait!” and took off his mask himself.

“…Li, Linel?!”

“Hoo, my guess was right after all.”

He slapped my knee with his hand, stopping it from heading towards his vital area, and sat up. Then he rubbed his solar plexus, his face unable to decide whether to be angry or laugh. I had to apologize quickly, but my voice wouldn’t come out. I couldn’t even blink. I just kept clenching the fist that was about to crush his solar plexus. Linel picked me up, who was pushed back near his ankles and sitting astride him, and sat me back on his lap. Only then did I find my voice.

“W-what is going on…?”

“Let’s unravel the story step by step. Before that, let’s loosen this fist.”

He tapped the back of my clenched hand and unfolded my fingers one by one.

“Your Majesty, what is this attire?”

I picked up the mask he had been wearing from the floor and asked.

“What was that dance of yours?”

Linel asked in a serious tone. I almost stopped breathing.

“…From where did you see it?”

“From when you were forcibly tearing off the decorative sword sheath attached to the wall.”

“Did it look very different?”

“Of course. I’ve never seen you use your strength like that before.”

“No. Compared to the empresses’ sword dance…”

“Zelda, you know what? No one can be good at everything.”

“…Yes.”

If Linel hadn’t patted my back, I wouldn’t have understood what he meant by that. From the comforting touch, I could tell how he was evaluating my sword dance.

“I really thought you were an assassin.”

“I wanted to test it. To see if what I was feeling was right.”

“When… when did you know that I knew swordsmanship?”

I asked in a voice that was barely audible, unable to make eye contact with him. Did he know from when he grabbed my hand holding the knife at the banquet?

“When I found out doesn’t matter. What matters is that you were caught.”

“…That’s right. Your Majesty is also quick-witted.”

“What, did you think I was just a handsome husband?”

He kept rubbing his solar plexus as he spoke. Oh no, it seems like the pain hasn’t subsided yet….

“No. I also think you have a great body.”

“I even noticed that you were thinking that. Ah, but your fist is really spicy.”

He only smiled briefly, but he frowned again as if he felt pain in his solar plexus. I slyly hid both hands behind my back. Then he took my hands from behind my back again and examined them as if he were appraising an object, continuing to speak.

“Actually, I had suspicions, but there was no concrete evidence. I was sure when I saw you throw the knife at the banquet today. But I wondered if I might have been mistaken, so I pretended to be an assassin.”

Haa, so he knew from then.

“You almost got into big trouble.”

“It’ll be faster to experience it directly like this.”

“Even so…”

If he had taken off his mask even a little later, the Rafion Empire’s lineage… would have been cut off. Just thinking about it makes me dizzy.

“I also never imagined that you would unleash an attack that would make me unable to function as a man.”

Linel slightly covered his precious area, which was almost about to lose its function tonight, with both hands and glared at me.