Chapter 15 Stamps
“Ugh… Ouch!”
Veronia quickly hugged the wooden pole to keep from falling out of the tree.
Luckily, she was spared from falling from a great height.
“Phew… that could have been bad.”
But the rough wood scraped her cheeks, and it hurt.
Sitting on branches for long periods of time was not easy.
It was hard for Veronia to keep her balance when she had no muscles at all.
And with nowhere to run, the thought of being attacked by snakes or insects was not reassuring.
Time seemed to pass so slowly.
“Killion, come back quickly.”
Veronia muttered to herself.
It was just a simple thought, but it seemed to relax her.
Veronia suddenly realised that she sounded like the heroine of a tragedy.
So she adopted a more dramatic tone and began to speak as if she were reciting a line of dialogue.
“Oh, Killion. Come back, please, my Killion, come back!”
It started out as a giggle.
But Veronia began to concentrate more and more on the act.
“My brave lord, my lord, my lord, I miss you!”
The dialogue was flowing, and the emotion was easy to convey.
She had to be careful not to raise his voice, though, as she was in hiding.
“Killion, come back to me, where I wait for you! Oh, Killion!”
Perhaps she was too absorbed in her own pretence, Veronia didn’t feel anyone approaching.
Until she heard a familiar voice.
“I have returned, Your Majesty, to your waiting side.”
“Ah… Ah?”
So surprised and bewildered was Veronia that she could barely keep her mouth shut.
She wanted so badly to evaporate right now.
Looking up at Veronia, Killion’s face broke into a wide smile.
She had never seen him look so happy.
‘That’s definitely a mocking smile. Ugh… What am I going to do?’
In Killion’s hand was a basket made of several large leaves woven together, and inside was a small bowl of raspberries.
Killion held the basket out in front of him.
“I’ve picked raspberries. They’re big and delicious. They’re also clean, thanks to last night’s rain.”
“…”
“These raspberries are for you, for waiting for me. I hope you like them.”
“Never mind, don’t talk about that, it’s embarrassing, my face is boiling and I think I’m going to burst.”
Veronia shot a quick look at Killion to shut him up.
It was cute, Killion thought, the way she pouted her lips and looked away.
Meanwhile, Veronia’s mind was going crazy, jumping up and down, rolling forward and backward.
‘Ah… I keep embarrassing myself in front of this man. Why do I do that, why, why, why…!
Whoosh, a tired sigh erupted from the depths of her lungs.
***
Veronica and Killion returned safely to the palace without another attack.
It was said that every unit of the Imperial Knights had been searching for them all night.
The Emperor and Empress burst into tears as they embraced Veronia.
“It’s done. She came back alive!”
“Thank you, Veronia, what a hardship she has had!”
To a stranger, these might have looked like the passionate tears of a parent who had worried about their daughter all night, but Veronia knew that the couple were very good actors.
“Lord Killion, thank you so much for protecting our Veronia.”
“No, Your Highness. Rather, I feel sorry that Your Majesty got caught up in an unnecessary incident because of me. There were masked assassins who deliberately set up an ambush to target me.”
“What, what? How could that be!”
The Emperor shouted in response.
His voice was so loud that the Empress beside him covered her ears, frowning in surprise.
“Please see to it that the culprits are apprehended, Your Highness, and that a thorough investigation is made into their motives.”
“Of course I will! We must capture those rotten bastards and find out who is behind this! Lord Killion, you will be in charge of the search operation.”
“My pleasure, Your Highness.”
Before leaving, Killion stood in front of Veronia.
“I hope you will return to the palace and recover well, Your Majesty.”
“Yes, I will, Lord Killion, and while it would be wise for you to take care of yourself first, we can’t delay in catching the culprit… Good luck.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Killion bowed politely and kissed the back of Veronia’s hand.
Veronia felt a pang of regret as she watched him ride away with his knights.
She missed him already.
***
The search for the killer in the forest had been going on all day. It had been going on all day with no success until the sun was about to set.
They were discussing the need to widen the search.
A knight rode up panting and turned to Killion.
“My Lord, I think you should come and see.”
“Very well, lead the way.”
He followed the knight to where the masked men and the knights were engaged in a melee.
Most of the masked men were already down and bleeding, and five knights were charging the last two.
‘What the…! I thought we were supposed to capture them alive so we could investigate who was behind this!’
Kilion’s calm eyes blazed with fire.
Killion immediately drew his sword and entered the fray. His first priority was to cut the masked men’s breathing space.
But it was too late.
The knight’s blade pierced through the torso of the last of the masked men before Killion could lunge.
“Crack!”
“Crack!”
Killion turned his sword on the knights as they fell to the ground, coughing up blood.
“I thought I told you to take them alive?”
His eyes were as cold as ever, his voice as heavy as ever.
The knights sheathed their swords and gave a panicked nod.
“My Lord, we had no choice, they attacked us from behind first, and we panicked and drew our swords.”
“That’s right, My Lord, and look. The condition of the wounded on our side is also very poor.”
“I apologize for disobeying orders. But I hope you will consider the urgency of the situation, My Lord.”
The knights dropped to their knees and whimpered.
If it was true that the masked men had attacked from behind first, the knights could hardly be blamed.
Still, Killion was very dissatisfied with this situation.
“I have heard your situation, but whether it is true or whether it was disobedience of orders will only be known upon investigation.”
“We will do our best to investigate, My Lord.”
“What are your affiliations?”
“The Second Order of Knights.”
The Second Imperial Knights’ main duties were to escort the crown Prince and guard the Imperial palace.
‘Was it the crown prince’s order to eliminate the masked men first? To destroy evidence and witnesses?’
It was still a wild guess.
Evidence and witnesses were needed to find out if it was just speculation or the truth.
‘But there’s nothing.’
A dark shadow fell over Killion’s face.
Just then, the knight carrying the body called out.
“My Lord, this man here is still breathing.”
“Very well! We must keep him alive at all costs! He’ll be an important witness to uncover who is behind this!”
“Yes, My Lord!”
***
The appointment was almost over.
It was time to go to Pelos, the magic tool shop on Mackin Street.
Of course, her reason for leaving the palace was the same as before an appointment for tea with Killion.
Just as she was finishing up, Sandra arrived.
She did this every time, checking Veronia’s outfit and offering a word or two of criticism disguised as advice.
This time, she followed Sandra’s instructions and changed her shoes and necklace twice before she was allowed to go out.
“It’s good to see you and Lord Killion seem to be getting closer.”
“Yes, well.”
Veronia replied, deliberately checking her wall clock.
It was a gesture that suggested she was running out of time and wanted the small talk to end quickly.
But Sandra wasn’t the kind of woman who would let that happen. She had to say what she had to say.
“Veronia, you… Spent the night with Lord Killion, and you can’t tell me that nothing happened?”
“What do you mean by nothing, mother?”
Veronica asked, and Sandra sighed heavily, as if she were pathetic.
“It’s times like these that we must be on our guard, and be sure to stamp. A stamp!”
“Stamp…?”
“My dear, don’t be so naïve, what other way can a man and a woman put their stamp on each other than the most obvious one?”
Sandra’s beautiful figure wiggled her thin eyebrows and smiled wickedly.
‘You’re sleeping with Killion, and you’re telling your daughter this as advice. I’m disgusted!’
Veronia wanted to storm out of the room in disgust, but she held her tongue.
Her stomach churned. Would Veronia have spoken to Sandra this way even if she were her own daughter, she wondered.
‘Of course not. The Empress’s mind is not normal, so it wouldn’t have mattered if she was her biological daughter or not, would it?’
Sandra, unable to read Veronia’s mind behind her poker-faced smile, said hesitantly.
“Veronia, I think it’s time for you to make the most of your femininity and bring Lord Killion’s masculinity to a boiling point.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, mother.”
Not really wanting to hear or understand what was being said, Veronia nodded curtly enough to free herself from the thorn cushion.
***
Veronia first went to Pelos, the harnessmaker’s shop, where she met an old man who mended shoes.
As soon as he saw her, he said.
“Go to Charald the shoemaker and tell him you want shoes made of leather from the bull. Then he will appear.”
Following his words, Veronia went to a shoe shop called ‘Sharald’.
In the exotic atmosphere of the shop, there were many shoes with unusual designs that never followed fashion.
They were all different shapes and materials.
Standing in front of the clerk, Veronia remembered what the old man had said and said it.
“I’m here to be fitted for a pair of shoes made from bull leather.”
“I see,” the clerk replied, “I’ll take you into the anteroom so I can take your measurements, if you’ll follow me, ma’am.”
Veronia followed the clerk into the back of the shop.
