Aloof King and Cool (Acting) Queen

(T/N: HELLO, IT’S 3AM! So where have I, BlackMaskedPhantom, been? Well, just like you all, I read FreeWebNovels, and I was recommended this beautifully funny one. Ended up binge reading it. Whoops. Then I got distracted and totally forgot about updating.

Haha... Well, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter that I worked so freaking hard on. This chapter gave me brain aneurysms. I was seriously struggling and super close to crying! Me, a grown man, crying because I don’t understand. What a beautiful sight...

RAWS:

*POV: Shane*

There was little happening beside for people giving warm blessings, but the wedding ended safely.

Since the wedding ceremony had come to an end, the most concerning thing for me was the "wedding night" (bridal night).

I was a bit opposed to being held by a man; in addition, I still didn’t know much about Leonhart-sama yet. He also had concubines, so I wouldn’t want to hold a man like him at all.

*Nonetheless, I couldn’t help but try to put together facts, such as, having circumstances that I don’t know about. I thought that there should at least be some counter measures.

That night, I once again put on some make-up, and I put on a silky negligee. ** The maid-san, who was in charge of my make-up, saw my appearance and left the room satisfied.

Elias showed a complicated expression and handed me a bottle. There was a slightly sticky, pink liquid inside.

"You may be nervous, but His Majesty is a gentlemen, so please be relieved. Since this liquid has an aphrodisiac effect, please use it if necessary. I think it will relieve the pain a little."

"Oh, thank you." I said as I received it, but I had no intention of using it.

Elias probably gave it to me out of kindness, but I was still a little embarrassed. He, then, left the room, leaving me alone.

There was still some time until Leonhart-sama was scheduled to come. So I went into action.

First, I removed the makeup that was just applied. I, then, tied my hair together and put on some male clothing I brought from Orania.

I waited for Leonhart-sama; incidentally, these are from when I worked in the garden. (WHAT THE FUCK)

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What would Leonhart-sama say if he saw this appearance? The more I thought about it, the more nervous I got.

And then, the door was finally knocked on.

"There you are."

The door was opened at the sound of my voice; Leonhart-sama, who was lightly dressed, entered the room.

He then looked at my figure, and said, "When you look like that, you really are a man."

The answer was too honest and too quick that my nervousness disappeared.

"Yes, I am a man. I wanted Your Majesty to see this appearance at least once, and I dare to do this now. Does it ruin the mood?"

I dared to do this in the first place. (WHAT?)

"No, I just couldn’t believe your appearance until now. You also don’t need to worry about formal speech when it’s just the two of us. So, don’t call me ’Your Majesty’. We are a married couple now."

Even though he was expressionless, it surprised me that his words were gentle.

"Thank you. Then, is it alright if I call you Leonhart-sama?"

"...Leo is fine."

"Okay, Leo-sama. If you don’t mind, would you like to have some tea over there?"

Even though it was just a nickname, I was surprised by how intimate it feels.

I offered some black tea to Leo-sama.

Arranged on the table, there was the item I asked Elias to prepare.

"Shane, what is this?"

"This is a game I learned from my mother. We have time to kill tonight, so I had this prepared."

This was my secret plan to get through the first night.

"Is that so? I have never seen this before. How do you play it?"

I was relieved that Leo-sama showed an interest (in the game).

I immediately explained the rules. "This board has 64 squares drawn on it. There are also 64 black and white stones each. Black goes first, and white goes second. You are able to move down, left, right, up, and slanted. You are also able to change the color of your opponent’s stone by blocking the path [to sandwich or to pinch] at both ends." (I bullshitted this soo much but it was such a long sentence, so I broke it up...)

The game I prepared was "Othello". (Aka Reversi...?) Even though Shogi and Go were good, Othello’s rules are easy to understand and I was confident in this game.

After I briefly explained the rules, I decided to start the game immediately.

Leo-sama had decent strength for a beginner, but he wasn’t my opponent. The result was black all over the board; it was my complete victory.

"What is this game? At first, my white was overwhelming, but just like that, it became black all over." Leo-sama was muttering while looking at the results.

It seems he liked Othello. (Here’s a bit about )

"Leo-sama, you were very strong for your first time playing. However, for advice in this case would be that if you leave too few spaces, it would become a disadvantage." ***

If he had too much strength, these kinds of games would get boring quickly. It’s okay to give advice, but not to the extent of overdoing it.

"I see, well Shane, let’s play again."

Yes, I answered, and put the stones back on to the plate.

After that, the matches continued until morning.

"Please come again when you think of a good strategy." I told Leo-sama as I saw him off.

Afterwards, when I was starting to feel drowsy, Elias and the Maid-san came into the room with smiles on their face.~*

Everyone was probably thinking it happened, but it was nothing like what they were thinking. (CONFUSION)

And that night, when I was about to go to bed, the door to the room was knocked on again.

I replied in confusion, and Leo-sama came inside.

"Shane, I thought of a good method (strategy), so let’s play Othello."

He was called the "Aloof King", but to think he could be so childish.

But, do not show this kind of behavior. (Attitude?....to others? WAIT WHAT?)~**

"I understand. Will you arrange the stones while I prepare some tea?" I calmed myself down at last, and spoke to him.

From that night on, Leo-sama went to my room for Othello. His skill improved since then, and there were 1 out of 10 times where I became scared.

Thus, thanks to the "Othello Meetings", a rumor that "The Emperor is obsessed with the Empress" had spread.

Footnotes/ Please help me:

*それでも、既成事実をつくっておかなければならないとか、俺の知らない事情があるかもしれないと思うと、出来る対策はしておかなければならないと考えていた。

** その夜、俺は再び化粧を施され、スケスケのネグリジェを着せられていた。

(WHAT THE FUCK) – 庭園で働いていた時に近い恰好をしてレオンハルト様を待った。

(WHAT?) – あえて一人称を俺にした。

*** ただ、アドバイスするとしたら、自分が置くところが少なくなると不利になる場合がありますよ」

~* その後、眠気を堪えながらメイドさんやエリアスを部屋に迎えると、何やら微笑ましい笑みを向けられてしまった。

(CONFUSION) – みなさんが思っているような事は何もありませんでしたよ、とは言えない。

~**しかし、そのような気持ちは態度に出してはいけない。

(T/N: As you all can see from the footnotes, this chapter was freaking difficult. If I made a mistake of any kind, if I skipped a line, just say the word. Thanks for reading and sorry for the delay (because of my struggles and distraction).