The Dead Villainess Had A Child With The Male Lead

Chapter 122 Risen From The Dead

“I’m fine, don’t worry too much, once we get out of the building, I’ll be treated in no time.”

Veronia smiled at the child and said lightly, even though her body was throbbing all over the place. But smiling through her bloodied face only made her look more pitiful in Ted’s eyes.

“But what can we do, the teleportation scroll is burnt.”

“Hmph… ugh!”

Not only was the scroll burned, but Veronia’s hand was also grotesquely disfigured by the burns. Ted bit his lower lip and tried to swallow his sobs, but it wasn’t easy. Sob after sob escaped his lips.

“That… don’t worry. We’re both going to get out of here alive!”

Veronia scrambled to her feet, though her body was torn and scalded everywhere. 

Wiping the blood from her forehead roughly with her sleeve, she covered Ted’s head with her jacket. She scooped him up into a quick hug, and he threw his arms around her neck.

“From now on, I’m going to run as fast as I can, and you’re going to hold on tight so you don’t fall off. Can you do it, Ted?”

“I can do it.”

“Just close your eyes and count to 100 in your head, and we’ll be done.”

“Okay.”

Veronia walked quickly. The room was already smoky. She didn’t want the child to breathe it in, so she crouched as low to the ground as she could.

‘I can do this, I have to do this, I have to save this child, I have to save myself, Neither Ted nor I were meant to die here.’

Ted was about Jedielh’s size. Thinking of her son waiting for her at home, Veronia vowed to herself.

‘Jediel, mum won’t die! I’ll definitely get out of here! I’ll definitely see you again!’

Though she had no arms or legs, Veronia gritted her teeth and walked forward. She had to crouch to keep from touching the burning walls, and she walked and walked, careful not to trip over the pieces of brick and wood that littered the floor.

‘Faster! Faster! Come on!’

There was no time to waste if they were to get out of here before the building collapsed completely. Veronia pushed herself forward, step by step, with all her might.

‘… Finally!’

In front of her was a small door leading outside. Only thirty or twenty more steps and she would be out of this building once and for all.

“We’re almost there, we just have to hang in there!”

She said to Ted, but she was really saying it to herself. 

Just a few more steps and they would be free of this searing heat and acrid smoke. They are free from the things that threaten our fragile lives.

Veronia’s pace quickened. The pain she had felt with each step had dulled. She stretched her legs out in front of her, her eyes fixed on the door.

At that moment, something terrible happened. With a tremendous bang, the door collapsed, completely blocking the pathway to the outside.

“Oh… no!”

Thump, thump, thump, Veronia’s heart raced. She was now in a real life-or-death situation.

‘Am I going to have to climb over that pile of burning wood and bricks, and will I be able to do it with this body?’

She took a deep breath, trying to control her despair. She had come this far, there was no reason why she couldn’t go further. Now it was just a matter of steps.

‘So you can do it, you have to do it!’

Veronia clenched her molars tightly, trying to get her frozen legs to move again.

“… Aah!”

One by one, the timbers and bricks that had blocked the doorway shifted, slowly revealing a passageway, and a familiar voice called out.

“Hurry! I say, move faster! Lady Nia is still inside! Quickly, quickly!”

Tears welled up in her eyes at the sound of the voice she missed so much.

‘Killion, I’m so glad you’re safe, thank you for coming to my rescue!’

With Killion by her side, she had nothing to fear. She knew she would live, not die.

Time was not on Veronia’s side, however, as the ceiling began to cave in with a whoosh, behind her. 

There was no time to wait until the doorway was completely clear. Veronia hugged Ted tightly and ran forward.

‘This is the last time!’

She stomped her foot and leapt up, climbing over the charred timber and bricks. 

The timbers she stepped on snapped and creaked, and she slipped on the rattling bricks and wounded her knee, but she didn’t give up. Veronia climbed and climbed and climbed over the rubble.

Climbing and slipping, climbing and falling again, she finally reached the fresh air, just in time to see a strong arm reach out and snatch her up in one swift motion.

“Nia!”

“Killion!”

The thrill of having Veronia back in his arms quickly faded. 

Killion’s resolve crumbled at the sight of her. Her hair and face were smeared with thick, dark blood, and she was covered in scratches and cuts all over her face, neck, and shoulders.

The skin on her hands was blistered from the burns, and her back and thighs were deeply gouged by bricks.

But now was not the time to dwell on such things. Killion took the child from Veronia’s arms and spoke quickly.

“We need to get out of here, it looks like the building is about to collapse.”

Killion grabbed her arm and waist firmly and started running forward, supporting her. They were almost out of the building and into the backyard.

Baam, Kwaaang!

The entire building came crashing to a halt. Leaving the roaring castle behind them, Veronia and Killion ran and ran, their legs never stopping.

“Ahh!”

“Thank goodness you’re safe!”

“Thank you for saving our Ted!”

“Thank you so much!”

The nursery school teachers and children bowed their heads in gratitude to Veronia. They were moved to tears by the fact that the two were alive and unharmed, and they were saddened by the sight of the two in such a terrible state.

Then one of the teachers standing behind me muttered in a small voice, wide-eyed and surprised.

“It’s impossible… Your Highness, Princess Veronia?”

The voice was so small it was barely audible to the person next to her. 

The teacher’s eyes widened and she took in Veronia’s face once more. The rich blond hair, red eyes, and beautiful features were unmistakably those of the Princess.

‘When I first saw her, she was definitely silver-haired and green-eyed, but not anymore, and now that the veil that hid her face is gone, I can tell for sure that… is definitely Princess Veronia!’

Teacher Leila was certain. Her eyes were not mistaken. There was no way she could not have recognized Princess Veronia. No matter how bloody and scarred her face was.

She had admired her fervently since she was a very young girl. 

Her bedroom was plastered with portraits of Veronia, and she traveled to every local event she could find her way to. 

Most of the time, of course, she had only seen her from a distance, but once in a while she had seen her face right in front of 

Her beautiful face and gentle smile were out of this world. You could have sworn that an angel had descended, that she was divine. She never thought she would see that unforgettable sight again, here and now!

‘When I heard you had died, I believed it could never be true, that you could not have died so futile, but it was true, you were really… alive!’

Tears were now trickling down the corners of Leila’s eyes.

“Your Highness, Princess Veronia… Your Highness, Princess Veronia!”

Leila walked forward, pushing past people as if possessed by something. People shook their heads in bewilderment at Leila’s sudden behavior.

“Your Highness, Princess Veronia…, you’re back! You jumped into the fire to save our Ted, and you came back with him!”

Leila fell to her knees in the dirt, tears streaming down her face. Leila’s appearance stunned everyone, even Veronia and Killion.

Veronia immediately reached for the magic piercings in each ear. But she couldn’t touch them, only felt a bitter pain. 

‘Oh… I’ve lost all my piercings! What am I going to do…!’

Veronia’s face went rigid with embarrassment. Meanwhile, Leila, who was convinced Veronia was a princess, raised her voice in an almost wailing howl.

The dumbfounded crowd slowly began to grasp the situation. There was chatter here and there.

“That’s the Princess Veronia, who died five years ago?”

“But you know, Miss Leila was an ardent supporter of Her Highness the Princess of Veronia, there’s no way she could have mistaken her.”

“That’s true.”

There was a flicker of recognition in the room, eyes darting from one to the other, still unsure of what was what.

Windler stepped in front of Veronia and knelt down. He had been Killion’s aide for many years. He had seen her face at close range dozens of times. The woman before him was the Princess.

The woman who had once hidden behind the silver hair and green eyes, the burn scars and veil, the name Nia, was the Princess! Swallowing back the tears of joy that threatened to overwhelm him, Windler spoke in a trembling voice.

“Greetings, Your Highness, the Princess of Veronia!”

The knights watching stiffened, and one by one they fell to their knees, some of them having seen her face up close, others not knowing her face but trusting Windler’s discernment. 

When the knights had knelt, the nursery teachers and children knelt, too. And then they all cried out in unison.

“Her Highness the Princess Veronia!”

“Greetings, Princess Veronia!”