The Stand-In Empress’S Wedding Night [EN]: Chapter 9

9. Tonight

“Then what are you planning to do tonight?”

“……”

Emperor Linell’s tone was even, neither loud nor soft.

“I wouldn’t be visiting the Empress to discuss unfinished state affairs, would I?”

He stared intently at me as he spoke. Looking into his eyes, a strange mix of blue and emerald, I felt drawn in. I quickly turned my head and cleared my throat. Like an idiot, I picked up the wine glass again and drained it. *Damn it,* at this rate, I won’t be able to walk out of the banquet hall on my own two feet.

“Actually, I’d like to do it right away, like yesterday……”

The wine caught in my throat again at his quiet murmur. What Emperor Linell said was inappropriate with the young ladies watching. But it wouldn’t be comfortable to hear even if we were alone. I glanced at the young ladies standing against the wall. As expected, they were already blushing, probably imagining all sorts of things about what the Emperor had just said.

“Your Majesty, please don’t say such things here……”

I couldn’t meet his eyes, so I lowered my head and whispered so only he could hear.

“What…… words?”

His voice was too calm, considering what he’d implied.

“If I don’t say such things here, where else would I say them? In bed?”

I looked up at his brazen face. Emperor Linell was about to cut the steak in front of him with a fork and knife.

“Why isn’t it cutting well? The meat is tough today. Empress, why are you looking at me like that? I want to cut and eat the steak easily, like yesterday, but it’s not working today.”

“Is *that* what you…… meant?”

When I asked, narrowing my eyes, he replied as if he had been waiting for it, cutting the steak aggressively.

“Surely, you didn’t misunderstand what I said?”

“……No, Your Majesty. Now that I think about it, that’s how I heard it too.”

I retorted immediately, but my face was already red from the misunderstanding. It was fleeting, but I saw a hint of playfulness in the Emperor’s eyes. Did he make a pun to tease me on purpose? He put a piece of steak in his mouth and chewed with a pleasant smile. Now is the time. I have to ask while he seems to be in a good mood: whether I really need to use those young ladies as my maids, and why they came all the way to the banquet hall and are watching me while sticking to the wall.

“Your Majesty, why are those young ladies who were chosen as my maids in the banquet hall?”

“Why are you asking me that?”

He asked in a dubious tone. I shifted my gaze and stared at the faces of the young ladies one by one.

“Aren’t they the Empress’s maids? Shouldn’t they be following your orders?”

Emperor Linell asked, looking only at me without glancing at the young ladies.

“That’s right. That’s what I thought, but……”

I closed my mouth, deliberately dragging out the end of my words to create suspense. As I silently began to cut the steak listlessly, he finally turned his head and asked the young ladies.

“Didn’t you say you were here at the Empress’s call?”

“Yes, that’s right, Your Majesty. We were told that and came in!”

At Lady Melanie’s answer, I put the fork and knife on the table with a *thud*.

“By whom?”

I asked Lady Melanie, my voice sharp.

“Well, that is…… there are so many servants in the Imperial Palace that I don’t remember which one delivered the Empress’s message……”

Lady Melanie didn’t look at me, but at Emperor Linell, with a pitiful expression.

“There must have been some misunderstanding.”

Emperor Linell, who had been receiving Melanie’s gaze, said to me as if it were nothing.

“Is that so?”

I picked up the knife again and replied, raising it vertically as if to pierce the plate. I almost snorted, but I didn’t want to be seen as someone who nitpicks from day one.

“The message must have been delivered incorrectly.”

Instead, I expressed my dissatisfaction subtly by making my voice unsteady. It seemed the issue of the maids would have to be discussed separately with the Emperor later. But then, Emperor Linell’s firm voice cut through the air.

“I will have all the servants of the Empress’s Palace replaced.”

I was surprised by his unexpected decision.

“Everyone……?”

“Or, the Empress can change the maids herself.”

Emperor Linell said nonchalantly and slightly tilted his empty wine glass towards me. I quickly reached out, grabbed the wine bottle, and poured wine into his glass. After pouring about half, I met his eyes again, and I couldn’t help but laugh. He winked. It was like a signal that he understood my feelings. Of course, it could have been my misunderstanding, but well, it didn’t matter. Anyway, it was quite satisfying.

“Your Majesty, would you like to discuss the procedure for changing the maids over tea after the meal?”

I suppressed my smile and asked with a demure expression. It wouldn’t matter if he didn’t agree, but I put it out there. In fact, I felt like I had nothing to lose. The eyes of the young ladies were all focused on Emperor Linell’s mouth.

“There’s no need to rush.”

Emperor Linell said, picking up a small piece of bread with a solemn expression.

“Ah, yes……”

The corners of my mouth, which had been preparing to smile, hardened. Rejection always stings.

“Let’s talk about it later.”

He nailed it down again firmly.

“Yes. I understand, Your Majesty.”

*See, do you think the Emperor will listen to everything you say?*

I could feel the ridicule in the eyes of the young ladies. I lowered my head. Then, something came into my sight. What is it? I looked up at him, bewildered.

“Tonight.”

He said, handing me a piece of bread.

I blinked, taking the bread.

“Let’s talk about that tonight, and eat this now.”

“Ah, yes……”

“It may be less soft than the bread from the Shattonil Kingdom, but the more you chew it, the more savory it becomes. But be careful, you might break a tooth.”

At the end of his blunt tone, my heart suddenly soared at Emperor Linell’s slight smile. As he said, the fruits and foods of my home, the Shattonil Kingdom, were generally better in taste than those of the colder Lapheon Empire. In particular, bread made from wheat that only grows in the Shattonil Kingdom is famous for being much softer and more savory than bread from other countries. The Emperor, who knew this, handed me bread and joked with me. I dipped the slightly tough bread into the soup, took a bite, chewed it hard, and replied.

“I originally like hard things.”

“Good taste.”

“Pardon?”

“……Ah, no. Nothing.”

Emperor Linell suddenly coughed dryly and spoke in a lower tone. His expression turned heavy again, and he ordered the young ladies, who were eavesdropping, to leave the banquet hall. The young ladies looked disappointed, but after greeting him politely, they left.

“They are all pretty young ladies.”

I said, staring blankly at their gorgeous backs.

“Well, their faces are.”

At the word ‘face,’ the area of my right burn scar tingled. In fact, I envied their flawless skin more than their looks. After the burn scar appeared, whenever I looked in the mirror, I often stood far away, squinted, and looked at my face. Or I would turn slightly to the left and admire only half of my face. The Emperor, who had been watching me closely, said in a much softer tone.

“The Empress has elegance.”

“Do you also know how to offer comfort?”

“If it sounded like that, you can take it that way. Pretty people only shine themselves, but elegant people have the power to brighten even their surroundings.”

“Good words.”

I nodded and repeated them several times in my mind.

“Elegance is not something anyone can have. But the Empress has it.”

His casual words settled hotly in my heart. I felt strange. My heart, which had been beating with fear, dread, or shame, began to beat for the first time with a thrilling feeling, with the anticipation of being loved. What should I say?

“Thank you. Your Majesty.”

In the end, I expressed my gratitude with a cliché and stirred the salad with a fork. I wanted to see his expression, but I held back. I quietly controlled my breathing because I didn’t want to show that I was nervous. I picked up the knife and fork again to finish cutting the steak, but my hands were shaking. Again, his hand suddenly came and went in front of my eyes. In an instant, my plate disappeared and his was placed before me.

“Hold this.”

The plate he handed me had steak cut into bite-sized pieces. He must have seen my hands shaking and cut his steak for me. Unlike his expressionless face and blunt voice, he was a very affectionate man. Wasn’t it said that he had been cursed and had a body temperature much lower than normal? The wizard who cast such a curse made this man’s body like ice, but he couldn’t freeze his heart. I took the steak that Emperor Linell had cut, poked it with a fork, and put it in my mouth.

“How is it? Is it okay?”

He asked as if he had been waiting.

“Your Majesty, the steak has become very…… cold.”

Perhaps because it was food that his touch had reached, it was much colder than the steak I was eating.

“But it’s delicious. Your Majesty, please try mine too.”

At my words, he hurriedly cut the steak I was eating and put it in his mouth. I waited quietly, anticipating his reaction. As soon as he took a bite, his eyes flashed. He tasted it and covered his mouth with his finger. I knew what he was going to say.

“How is it?”

“How can it still maintain its warmth like this?”

“I guess it’s because my heart is warm.”

I just smiled and answered. I had no intention of revealing my secret to him. If I were really his wife, if I weren’t a surrogate empress? If that were the case, I would have confessed to him about the Incarnation [a being embodying a deity or spirit in human form] within me right away. *‘Please don’t abandon me. Keep me by your side. Then I will melt your ice-like body!’* I would have appealed to him, shouting like an advertisement in the Imperial Newspaper. Suddenly, the fact that Princess Resilia usually suffers from cold hands and feet came to mind, and I almost laughed.

“I’m thinking of having tea with Grand Duke Martins later, would the Empress like to join us?”

As the meal was ending, Emperor Linell wiped his mouth with a napkin and said. He seemed to be watching to see what answer I would give.

“We already had tea in the audience hall this morning. I will join you next time.”

“We?”

Emperor Linell twisted his lips and continued.

“Well, Grand Duke Martins is someone who came with the Empress from the Shattonil Kingdom, so the Empress must rely on him a lot. Is that so?”

“Even so, I am now a person of the Lapheon Empire.”

At my answer, his mood, which had been somewhat depressed, was relieved, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

“Yes. No matter what your previous life was like, now, you are also my woman.”

In a fleeting moment, a cold light flickered in his eyes. Could it be…… that he has started to doubt my identity? A sense of foreboding struck me as I saw his face harden after he mentioned Grand Duke Martins.

***

The time to go to bed was approaching, but Emperor Linell did not come to my bedroom. I wasn’t particularly expecting it. Even in the Shattonil Kingdom, the King and Queen do not spend every night together. In fact, I don’t know exactly whether they can’t or don’t, but anyway, they don’t sleep in the same bed every night like some nobles or commoner couples. Knowing that, I didn’t completely believe what he said at lunch about coming to the Empress’s Palace. Sharon said it was a scented candle that was good for sleep and placed it on a table a little away from the bed. I gently grabbed Sharon’s arm.

“Sharon, thank you.”

“Yes?”

Sharon blinked and smiled brightly.

“If it weren’t for you, life here would have been much harder. Please continue to take good care of me.”

“You flatter me. If you directly choose the young ladies you like as maids in the future, your life in the Imperial Palace will be more comfortable.”

At Sharon’s words, I nodded but also asked.

“Will there be anyone who can make my heart comfortable?”

“Of course, there will definitely be a noble young lady with a good personality.”

“Yes, and you know…… I don’t know how long I will be able to be with you, but I will definitely repay you before I step down from this position.”

“What…… are you saying? Step down?!”

Sharon raised her head sharply with a bewildered look and stared intently at my face.

“Ah. No, I’m just saying.”

“Your Majesty, don’t even think about such absurd things! It’s something that should never happen!”

“Yes, I know.”

I deliberately smiled more brightly, thinking I should appease Sharon, whose expression was becoming too serious. *Sorry, Sharon. But I’m committing that scary thing, that thing that should never happen…….*

“Now you should go out and rest too.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Then have a good night’s sleep.”

Sharon put the last water pitcher on the bedside table and left the bedroom. I sat on the bed, slowly looked around the splendid and spacious bedroom, and lay down. I felt a terrible sense of silence.

***

As always, the symptoms started. I woke up feeling a severe thirst along with a burning sensation all over my body. *Water, I want to drink water……* I kicked off the blanket and gasped for breath. *Hot……* Another hot night that I have to overcome alone has come. No matter how hot my body gets, the sensation doesn’t show on the outside of my skin and I don’t sweat, so it was a symptom that was hard to believe even if I told others.

“Water…… cold water……”

I waved my arms towards the water pitcher that Sharon had placed on the bedside table. Suddenly, something like a water glass was caught in my hand. *Is it a dream?* I opened my eyes with difficulty at the strange feeling. As soon as I opened my eyes, I vaguely saw something blue. The blue light gradually approached me…….

“Huh?!”

It covered my lips. And cool water flowed into my mouth between the touching lips.

“Are you awake now?”

Emperor Linell. It was his voice.