The Stand-In Empress's Wedding Night (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 9
Then what are you going for at night?
……
Emperor Rinel asked in a tone that was neither high nor low.
“I doubt you’ve come to discuss unfinished state affairs with the Empress.”
His eyes continued to stare intently at me even after he finished speaking.
As I gazed into his eyes—mysteriously blended with blue and emerald—I felt myself being slowly drawn toward him, so I quickly turned my head away and swallowed again to moisten my throat.
But then, like an idiot, I picked up the wine glass again and drained the rest of the wine.
Damn it, if I keep this up, I might not be able to walk out of the banquet hall properly on both legs.
“Actually, I’d rather do it right now, just like yesterday…….”
The wine caught in my throat again at his quiet mutter.
That was not something Emperor Rinel should say in front of the ladies-in-waiting.
But neither was it any easier to hear when we were alone.
I glanced briefly at the expressions of the ladies-in-waiting standing side by side against the wall.
As expected, though I couldn’t tell what grand imaginings their minds had spun from his words, their faces were already flushed.
“Your Majesty, such remarks here……”
I couldn’t bring myself to meet his eyes, so I lowered my head and whispered just loud enough for him alone to hear.
“What…… are you saying?”
His voice was remarkably bland, unlike the tone of what he had just uttered.
“If not here, then where? In bed?”
I lifted my head and stared at his brazen face.
Emperor Rinel was just about to cut into the steak placed before him, fork and knife in hand.
“Why won’t this cut properly? The meat’s tough today. Empress, why are you looking at me like that? I just want to cut and eat this steak as easily as I did yesterday—yet it won’t slice well today.”
“Was that…… your meaning?”
When I asked, narrowing my eyes, he responded as if he’d been waiting, slashing the steak aggressively.
“Surely you didn’t misunderstand me?”
“……No, Your Majesty. Thinking about it, I believe I did interpret it that way.”
I parried his words instantly, but my face had already turned red as payment for the misunderstanding.
For a fleeting moment, mischief flickered in his eyes.
Was he deliberately teasing me with wordplay?
He placed a piece of steak in his mouth and chewed it with an oddly pleased smile.
This is the moment. I should ask now, while he seems in good spirits.
Should I really have to keep those ladies-in-waiting as my maids? And why, exactly, are they even here in the banquet hall, pressed against the wall, watching me?
“Your Majesty, why are the ladies-in-waiting chosen as my maids present here at the banquet?”
“Why are you asking me that?”
He asked me back, sounding puzzled.
I shifted my gaze and looked steadily at each of the ladies-in-waiting.
“Are they not your servants now, since they serve the Empress?”
Emperor Rinel did not look at the ladies-in-waiting at all; he kept his eyes fixed solely on me.
“Yes. I understood them to be so……”
I deliberately paused at the end of my sentence, then fell silent.
As I began to cut my steak with a sullen expression, he finally turned his head toward the ladies-in-waiting.
“Didn’t I say they came here at the Empress’s summons?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. We were informed as such!”
At Melanie’s reply, I clattered my fork and knife down onto the table.
“Who told you?”
I asked Melanie, my voice heavy with suspicion.
“I, uh…… I can’t quite recall which steward delivered the Empress’s message, because there are simply too many royal attendants.”
Melanie did not even look at me as she answered, her expression solemn as she gazed at Emperor Rinel.
“It seems there was some misunderstanding.”
Emperor Rinel, having fully received Melanie’s gaze, spoke to me as if it were nothing.
“Is that so?”
I picked up my knife again to reply.
Unconsciously, I held it vertically, as if ready to pierce through the plate.
I nearly let out a scoff, but I didn’t want to appear picky on the very first day.
“It seems the message was miscommunicated.”
Instead, I voiced my dissatisfaction in a vague tone and let it pass.
It seemed I would need to speak separately with the Emperor later about the maids.
But then, Emperor Rinel’s firm voice rang out.
“Replace all the attendants from the Empress’s Palace.”
I was startled by his unexpected decision.
“All of them……?”
“Or else, the Empress can choose new maids.”
He said it casually, then slightly tilted his empty wine glass toward me.
I quickly reached out, lifted the wine bottle, and poured wine into his empty glass.
After pouring halfway, our eyes met again—and I couldn’t help but smile faintly.
He gave me a slight squint.
It felt as if he were sensing my mood.
Of course, it might have been my imagination—but it didn’t matter.
After all, it was quite satisfying.
“Your Majesty, could we discuss the procedure for replacing the maids over tea after dinner?”
I suppressed my smile and asked again with a composed expression.
If he refuses, there’s nothing I can do—but at least I’ve spoken.
Honestly, I had nothing to lose.
All the ladies-in-waiting’s eyes fixed intently on Emperor Rinel’s mouth.
“There’s no need to rush.”
Emperor Rinel said to me solemnly as he picked up a small loaf of bread.
“Oh, yes……”
The smile I had prepared for my lips stiffened bitterly.
Refusal always carries embarrassment.
“Let’s talk about it later.”
He drove the nail in firmly once more.
“Yes. Understood, Your Majesty.”
‘See? You thought the Emperor would actually listen to you?’
I sensed mockery in the ladies-in-waiting’s gaze directed at me.
Without realizing it, I lowered my head.
Then, suddenly, something appeared before my eyes.
What?
Still dumbfounded, I raised my gaze to look at him.
“Tonight, then.”
He handed me a piece of bread as he spoke.
I automatically took the bread he offered and blinked.
“Let’s talk about that later tonight. For now, just eat this.”
“Oh, yes……”
“Not as soft as the bread from the Shattonil Kingdom, but the more you chew, the richer it tastes. Just be careful—your teeth might break.”
At the end of his blunt tone, a faint smile brushed across Emperor Rinel’s lips—and my heartbeat suddenly surged.
As he said, the fruits and foods from my homeland, the Shattonil Kingdom, were generally more flavorful than those from the colder Lapion Empire.
In particular, bread made from wheat grown only in Shattonil was famously softer and richer than bread from other nations.
Knowing this, the Emperor had handed me the bread—and added a joke along with it.
I dipped the slightly tough bread into the soup, took a bite, chewed diligently, and replied to him.
“I’ve always preferred firm textures.”
“Good taste.”
“Huh?”
“……No, nothing.”
Emperor Rinel suddenly coughed, then spoke in a tone even lower.
His expression grew heavy again as he ordered the ladies-in-waiting, who had been quietly eavesdropping, to leave the banquet hall.
The ladies-in-waiting showed faint looks of disappointment, bowed respectfully, and exited the hall.
“They’re all such beautiful ladies.”
I gazed after their elegant retreating figures before speaking to him.
“As for their faces, yes.”
The word “faces” made the scar on my right cheek burn.
In truth, I envied their flawless, smooth skin more than their beauty.
Since the scar formed, I often stared at my reflection from afar, squinting slightly.
Sometimes I turned my head slightly to the left, admiring only half my face.
The Emperor, who had been watching me closely, spoke in a gentler tone.
“The Empress possesses grace.”
“Do you know how to comfort someone?”
“If it sounded that way, then take it as such. Beauty shines only on itself, but grace illuminates those around it.”
“Nice words.”
I nodded at his words, silently savoring them several times in my mind.
“Grace is not something anyone can possess. But you have it.”
His casual words settled warmly within my chest.
I felt strange.
The heart that had always raced with fear, dread, or shame now beat for the first time with fluttering anticipation—expecting to be loved.
What should I say in a situation like this?
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
In the end, I offered the conventional expression of gratitude and idly poked at my salad with my fork.
I wanted to see his expression, but held myself back.
I didn’t want to show any tension, so I calmly regulated my breathing.
I picked up my knife and fork again to finish cutting the steak, but my hands trembled slightly.
Once again, without warning, his hand appeared before my eyes.
In an instant, my plate vanished, replaced by his.
“Eat this.”
On his plate, the steak was sliced into perfectly bite-sized pieces.
He must have noticed my trembling hands and cut some from his own steak to give me.
A man whose expression was blank and voice blunt, yet whose actions were unexpectedly kind.
Didn’t they say he was cursed with a body colder than normal human temperature?
The mage who placed that curse had turned his body into an icebox—but had not frozen his heart.
I speared the steak Emperor Rinel had personally sliced and placed it in my mouth.
“How is it? Is it good?”
He asked as if he’d been waiting.
“Your Majesty, the steak has become quite… cold.”
It was colder than the steak I had been eating, perhaps because his hand had touched it.
“Still delicious. Your Majesty, please try mine.”
At my words, he quickly cut a piece from my steak and ate it.
I waited quietly, anticipating his reaction.
The moment he tasted it, his eyes flashed.
He gently covered his mouth with his fingers, savoring the flavor.
I knew exactly what he wanted to say.
“How is it?”
“How can it still be warm like this?”
“Perhaps it’s because my heart is warm.”
I answered, barely holding back a smile.
I had no intention of revealing my secret to him.
If I were truly his wife, and not just a proxy Empress—what would I have done?
I would have confessed to him at once: “Don’t abandon me. Keep me by your side. Then I’ll melt your icy body!”
The thought of Princess Resilia’s chronic cold extremities suddenly came to mind, and I nearly laughed aloud.
“Shall we have tea with Grand Duke Martines shortly? Will you join me?”
As the meal drew to a close, Emperor Rinel wiped his mouth with his napkin.
He watched me closely, waiting for my reply.
“We already took tea in the audience hall this morning. I’ll join you next time.”
“‘We’?”
Emperor Rinel twisted his lips slightly before continuing.
“Well, since Grand Duke Martines came from the Shattonil Kingdom, you must rely on him greatly, yes?”
“Even so, I am now a subject of the Lapion Empire.”
At my reply, his gloomy expression lifted slightly, and a faint smile touched his lips.
“Yes. No matter your past life, you are mine now.”
For a fleeting moment, a cold glint passed through his eyes.
Could he… have begun to suspect my true identity?
Seeing his face grow distinctly sterner after mentioning Grand Duke Martines, a chill crept over me.
[This is the timeline separator]It was nearly time for bed, but Emperor Rinel did not come to my chamber.
I hadn’t truly expected him to.
Even in the Shattonil Kingdom, the King and Queen did not share the same bed every night.
I wasn’t sure whether they simply could not or chose not to—but either way, they did not sleep together nightly like common nobles or peasants.
Knowing this, I never fully believed his words at lunch that he would come to the Empress’s Palace.
Sharon placed a scented candle on a small table away from the bed, calling it good for deep sleep.
I gently took Sharon’s arm.
“Sharon, thank you.”
“Huh?”
Sharon blinked and smiled slightly.
“If not for you, life here would have been far harder. Please continue to help me.”
“You flatter me. When you personally select ladies-in-waiting who please your heart, palace life will become easier.”
I nodded at Sharon’s words but replied with a question.
“Will there ever be someone who can truly ease my heart?”
“Of course. There must be a noble lady with a kind disposition.”
“Yes, and… I don’t know how long I’ll be able to stay with you, but before I leave this place, I promise I’ll repay you.”
“What… are you saying? Leave?”
Sharon looked at me in shock, her head snapping up as she stared intently into my face.
“Oh. No, that’s not what I meant.”
“Your Majesty, please don’t even think such impossible things! That must never happen!”
“I see. I understand.”
Seeing how grave Sharon’s expression had become, I forced myself to smile more brightly.
I’m sorry, Sharon.
But I’m the one doing that terrible thing—the thing that must never happen.
“Now, go rest as well.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Sleep well.”
Sharon placed the water pitcher on the bedside table one last time and left the chamber.
I sat on the bed, slowly scanning the lavish, spacious room, then lay down.
An oppressive silence settled around me.
[This is the timeline separator]
As always, the symptoms began.
I woke suddenly, my entire body burning with heat and an intense thirst.
Water, I need water…
I kicked off the blankets and gasped for breath.
Too hot……
Another scorching night alone, I must endure.
No matter how much heat built within my body, no warmth showed on my skin, no sweat emerged—so no one would believe me if I tried to explain.
“Water… cold water…”
I flailed my arm toward the water pitcher Sharon had placed on the bedside table.
Suddenly, a vessel like a glass appeared in my hand out of thin air.
Was this a dream?
Bewildered, I forced my eyes open.
The moment I did, something blue flashed before me.
The blue light drew closer…
“Hm?!”
It covered my lips.
And cool water flowed between our mouths into mine.
“Are you awake now?”
Emperor Rinel.
It was his voice.
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
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