The Dead Villainess Had A Child With The Male Lead

Chapter 16 A Voice

Three or four doors flanked each side of the long corridor, all of which seemed to lead to different waiting rooms.

Veronia was ushered into the third room from the left.

As she sat down on a plush sofa to wait, a young man with red hair appeared.

At first glance, it was clear that he hadn’t come to measure her feet.

“I heard you were looking for me.”

The man said, looking Veronia up and down.

Veronia was a little embarrassed because it was the first time anyone spoke informally to her from the beginning except for the Imperial family.

“Are you a thick owl?”

“Yes.”

The man’s golden eyes looked directly at Veronia.

Red hair, golden eyes. His appearance reminded her of someone.

‘You do look a lot like the Empress.’

He was the son Empress Sandra had born before her marriage, an unfortunate boy who had been abandoned in an orphanage at birth.

He never knew the secret of his birth, and only later, after the fall of the current Empire, did he learn that the executed Empress was his real mother.

The original story was that he would become a black membrane to sharpen the blade of revenge against Killion, who ascended to the throne.

‘But at this point, I don’t know anything, I’m just a resourceful guild member of the Information Guild, so I guess it’s okay.’

Veronia removed her dark veiled hat and looked the man straight in the eye.

“I am Veronia Boyson, the Princess of this country.”

“Oh, I thought I recognised you, Princess,” said the man, “but this is the first time I’ve seen a royal up close.”

The man’s face didn’t change, even though she was an empress.

Veronia didn’t mind at all, as she wasn’t sitting here expecting to be treated with favor.

She narrowed her eyes and pressed the corners of her lips together to form her next words.

The words she’d been thinking ever since she’d been possessed by this world.

“I wish to fake my death and disappear, as soon as possible.”

“Your Majesty, you wish to disappear?”

The man’s golden eyes twinkled with interest.

His consideration was short-lived.

“It must be expensive.”

“I plan to sell off my jewelry slowly, so here’s yours for today.”

Veronia pulled a box from her handbag and handed it to the man.

He opened it to reveal a necklace and earrings studded with green diamonds.

It was one of many pieces of jewelry she owned.

“I hope you don’t make the mistake of trading domestically, I don’t want to get caught.”

“See me as what?”

The man chuckled as he closed the box.

“Good. I’m going to rid this Empire of the Empress, and I’m already excited about it. A publicity stunt.”

A smile of relief tugged at Veronia’s lips.

As she had expected, he hadn’t refused the enormity of the task.

It was fraught with danger, but that was what had attracted him.

“Here, this. A communicator.”

Veronia took the bracelet from the man’s hand.

The fingernail-sized gemstone embedded in the bracelet appeared to be an enchantment stone.

“You’ll need to find a new identity to assume first, and that’s going to take some time, not just to find it, but to work on it so that you can properly blend into it afterwards.”

Veronia was pleased with the man’s plan, which sounded quite professional.

Perhaps she had made the right choice in coming to this man after all.

“All right.”

“Is there anything else you’d like to see in your new position? I know I can’t consider everything, but let’s hear it.”

Veronia had been thinking a lot, so she was able to answer right away.

“I think the area around the capital would be better than abroad or on a country estate to avoid being seen by a young woman who has suddenly appeared out of nowhere. I think I need to hide in the crowd, and I’d like you to look for me in some of the more densely populated towns outside the capital.”

Hmm, the man stroked his chin and nodded.

“Okay. I’ll see what I can do.”

“I’ll look forward to hearing from you then, Mr Thick Owl.”

“Onyx, that’s my name.”

“Yes, Onyx.”

Thus began the first chapter of Veronia’s escape plan.

***

As she walked out of Sharald’s, the sun was already setting.

‘It’s getting late already. We must hurry!

Veronia’s pace quickened.

She had to be back in time for teatime, and she didn’t want to be too late.

Veronica was almost running when she turned down an alley off Mackin Street.

‘Aah!’

She hadn’t been looking and was in such a hurry that she bumped into a tall man.

“Whoops, sorry.”

“Sorry.”

Veronia and the other person apologized at the same time.

The familiar voice startled her, and she looked up to see it was Killion.

Veronia was wearing a hat with a dark veil, but Killion recognised her instantly.

“Your Majesty, what brings you here?”

“Hush! Please take the word off. I don’t like crowds.”

“Ah, yes. I see, I’m, ah… Lady?”

Killion was excellent in all things, but he was a terrible liar, and he didn’t seem to have mastered the art of this kind of situation.

It was cute, Veronia thought.

“And why is Lord Killion here, anyway, when I wrote to him that I would be visiting the ducal residence today?”

“You did, but apparently your letter got mixed up. There is a regular meeting of the Knights Templar today, so I left early this morning.”

“Ah… I see.”

Veronia blamed her carelessness for the mix-up in correspondence.

She shuddered to think that if she had rushed to the ducal residence, she would not have met Killion anyway.

There was plenty of scope for it to look like a fling to a third party.

“But what business did you have stopping here on your way to the ducal residence, unescorted?”

“That was…”

Veronia was momentarily taken aback by the unexpected question, asked in a completely unexpected context.

It was times like this that she needed to answer without pausing to allay suspicions, but… was screwed.

After gathering her thoughts, Veronia spoke quickly.

“I wanted to bring a gift for Lord Killion, for all his hard work at the last hunting festival, and I’ve been looking around and lost track of time.”

“But you didn’t see anything you liked. I see you’re empty-handed.” 

“Oh, that’s because… I don’t know Lord Killion’s tastes, so it’s hard to choose a gift.”

Veronia was stumped again by the sharp point.

So she threw up her hands.

“Ah! Perhaps our chance meeting is a sign from the heavens!”

Veronia exclaimed cheerfully as she quickly grabbed Killion’s arm.

“Would you mind picking out a present for My Lord together? I think it would be very helpful if he could pick out a present for me, and we could go on a street date, how about that?”

“I, ah… Young Lady, that’s…”

Neither her offer nor her outstretched arms were so sudden that Killion’s brain and body stiffened.

Veronia looked up at him with an innocent expression and asked again.

It was her trademark move. A refusal that meant no.

“Why? Are you in a hurry, or have I been too hesitant to catch you in a hurry?”

“Oh, no.”

Veronia’s special move seemed to have worked.

Killion quickly shook his head and replied.

“I’m not busy, all right, I’ll accompany you on that… street date.”

“Wow, I’m excited!”

Both the word ‘street date’ and the situation seemed very awkward to Killion.

It took a while for his brain and body to return to their normal state once they were stiffened.

Veronia tugged hard on Killion’s arm.

“Let’s go into that shop.”

The shop was full of cute and curious magical paraphernalia.

Among the many wares, it was a red rose in a round glass jar that caught Killion’s eye.

‘The deep red color seems to resemble the color of His Majesty yes… and…’

Killion wanted to be at the moment.

There are so many shades of red in the world, and to think of the color of Veronia’s eyes! What must have happened to his head, Killion thought.

If he continued to stare at the rose, he would have similar thoughts again, so he moved away.

He stopped and locked eyes with Veronia.

She smirked.

“Do you like that flower? They say it never wilts, Lord Killion, you’re surprisingly romantic.”

“Not so… formerly, ah… better… to you,Young  Lady.”

Killion couldn’t finish what he was about to say.

The shop assistant, who had noticed their interest in the product, approached them.

“These are very popular with our customers as a couple’s item. Why don’t you buy it as a set with the blue roses here?”

“What do you mean, it’s a couple’s item… that’s right…”

Veronia was about to say, “No, it’s not,” but she couldn’t finish her sentence.

The sales clerk, who was very eager to sell, interrupted her and continued.

“I think it would be a very meaningful gift for the two of you if you split a red rose, which is the colour of your eyes, and a blue rose, which is the colour of the knight’s eyes. What do you think?”

The clerk spoke excitedly, as if she were singing a scene from a fairy tale.

“There is one more unique thing about this product, do you happen to know what it is?”

“…What could that be? Hmm… maybe it changes color?”

“…I’m not sure either.”

Veronia and Killion shook their heads in response to the clerk’s question.

The two of them were getting caught up in the clerk’s dialogue.

“Now, don’t be alarmed, but listen carefully! Do you see the magic stones in the glass jar here?”

“Yes.”

As the clerk had said, the jar contained fifteen magic stones, each the same colour as a rose.

Every time he shook the bottle, the stones rolled and made a clicking sound.

“These magic stones have the ability to store the voice of the other person. Just like a flower never fades, your voice will never be erased.”

“Oh, that’s amazing!”

“…It seems so.”

By now, Veronia and Killion were completely absorbed in the clerk’s explanation.

The salesperson’s way of getting them to want to buy was brilliant.

“Now, what would you like to do with this product, customers? After you buy it, you can record your voice in a private room in the back! It’s the perfect couple’s item, right?”

Ho ho ho, the clerk’s pleasant laughter echoed throughout the store.

As if mesmerized by something, Veronia purchased a red rose vase and a blue rose vase.