Chapter 19 Brother Aaron
“I thought I could get away with anything, as the dresses and jewelry had already been chosen by experts. I was complacent, trusting only in my natural beauty.”
Sandra cringed as Veronia rambled on and on with her reflections, which were echoed by her maids-in-law.
But Veronia was undaunted.
“I should have tried to shine a little brighter, but I didn’t, and I’m sorry, mother!”
Veronia hung her head low.
Despite the words of apology spitting out of her mouth, her face was flushed red and she had to hide it well.
“I’m glad to see you’ve realized that late. You’re so dumb that you have to be taught point by point like this.”
Hoo-hoo-hoo, a snake’s laugh slithered from its red lips, satisfied with a successful hunt and a full belly.
“Veronia, never forget who you are. You must be pretty, no, not just pretty.”
“…”
“You must be glamorous and beautiful. You have to be glamorous and beautiful. You have to make all eyes on you. You have to make it impossible to take your eyes off of you!”
“…Yes, mother.”
The more Veronia’s beauty was worshiped and adored by the people, the more the imperial shadow would be overshadowed.
“Very well. Would you prefer to have your maids do the rest of the dressing, or would you prefer to have my maids help you?”
The Empress asked innocently.
But everyone in the room knew. Veronia had no choice.
“Please allow me to enlist the help of the Empress’s maids, if it will not interfere with my mother’s preparations.”
“If it is your wish, I will do so.”
“Mother, may I make one more request?”
“What is it, tell me.”
“Please allow me to send my maids to the imperial physician now. I fear that my inexperience and inadequacies have left indelible scars on their faces.”
Sandra’s venomous gaze flicked to the shivering maidens on the floor.
Clicking her tongue in annoyance, Sandra waved her hand in the air, signaling for them to leave.
“Well, well. What’s wrong with your maids, it’s all because you’ve got the wrong phase, so be it.”
The maids cried out, bowing so deeply that their heads almost hit the floor.
“Thank you, Empress.”
“Thank you very much.”
Veronia clenched her fists as she watched the maids hurry out of the room.
‘I don’t want to see any more of this and that,’ she said, ‘and we must hurry as quickly as possible.’
Before leaving, Sandra ordered her maids to follow her.
“You will be expected to give your full attention to the Princess dressing.”
“As you command, Your Majesty.”
“Do not allow her to leave the bedroom until the red swelling around her eyes has subsided. Prepare an ice pack.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The maids bowed their heads deeply at Sandra’s command, answering like knives.
She was quite the mastermind.
“Go tell Lord Killion before he comes to escort her. There is no need for an escort today. The Princess is unwell and will be arriving at the banquet a little late.”
“Your orders, Your Majesty.”
With that, Sandra gave Veronia one last glance, a wry smile on her face, and left the room.
After that, Veronia had to leave her body completely in the hands of the maids.
Like a marionette without a will.
She tried on this, then that, then this, then that, then this again, to find the best combination of dress, shoes, and jewelry.
After more than two hours of dressing up, Veronia was completely exhausted.
But that wasn’t the end of the story.
The redness around her eyes was still a problem.
“Put a handkerchief over your eyes and rest. I’ll be back in half an hour to check on you.”
“Okay.”
The Empress’s maids handed her a handkerchief made of ground cooling stone and left the room.
They would wait outside the door.
Veronia was finally alone, but the thought of the maids standing guard at the door was unnerving.
Phew, a long sigh escaped her.
It was bad enough that they were straining and struggling.
If they didn’t get the swelling under control, there would be red lines on their cheeks this time.
‘I hope my maids are being treated well, I don’t want any scarring…’
Veronia leaned back heavily on the sofa, her handkerchief over her eyes.
‘I’m exhausted… I’m tired…’
Her limbs were limp, her mind was racing, and she had little energy left in her body or mind.
If she stayed like this, she would either cry again or go mad with emotion.
‘I mustn’t cry again. How long are you going to hold this cold handkerchief up?’
Veronia chastised herself.
She had to think of something else. Something fun and exciting to chase away the gloom.
But why did she think of Killion?
That scene from black history, black history!
“Killion, come back to me, I’m waiting for you! Oh, Killion!”
She remembered the lines from the one-man show that she had recited while waiting for Killion in the forest.
The effect was immediate.
“Phew! Puh-ha-ha!”
The memory was so embarrassing it was almost annoying, but for the moment, it completely lifted Veronia’s spirits.
Hmph, Veronia cleared her throat.
She began humming in a small voice.
“Oh, Killion, my perfect one, get me out of here. Please save me, alas, save me from the clutches of that wicked witch, the Empress!”
She felt a little sluggish doing this.
It’s amazing how much easier it is to write dialogue and act with emotion.
She was chuckling to herself, pleased with her polished dialogue and excellent performance.
A memory popped into her head.
“Oh, right! The glass voice.”
Veronia jumped to her feet and went to her bedside table.
There was a glass vase with a glowing blue rose in it.
“I’d forgotten about this!”
They had completely forgotten that this was where they stored their voices.
Veronia picked up the vial and shook it.
Rattling-clatter- The magic stone rolling around the bottom of the bottle made a sound.
She heard an embarrassed cough to clear his throat, followed by a low, relaxed voice.
“…khhhh… gift, thank you, Your Majesty.”
That’s it? Veronia was disappointed by the shortness of the voice.
She hadn’t expected anything spectacular, but three words was still too much.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
Killion’s voice continued a little longer after a slight pause.
“I’ll keep it for the rest of my life, ah! No, I don’t mean for the rest of my life, I mean… will keep it, thank you very much, thank you.”
A pause, then a burst of laughter.
The sound of Killion’s voice as he stuttered in embarrassment at his mistake was adorable.
“That’s so unexpected.”
But a lifetime…
She knew it was a mistake, but it still gave me a little thrill.
‘Why did you have to correct me on that? Why couldn’t you just let me be excited?’
Cheekily, Veronia pouted her lips and shook the vial slightly again.
With a clicking sound, Killion’s voice played again.
Listening to his voice over and over again, the sullen mood had completely disappeared.
It was comforting. Veronia’s face broke into a relaxed smile.
But only for a moment. The psychological brakes had kicked in.
‘But… it’s not a good habit to rely on Killion like this…’
We were going to be separated soon anyway.
So a weakness to rely on him would be poison in the end.
‘No!’
Veronia shook her head.
‘Just for this moment, … have mercy on me. Let us lean on him just a little, just a little.’
Veronia shook the vial slightly again.
“You’ll run better when you rest, if you rest properly.
Killion’s voice seemed to soothe her as she spoke.
***
In the carriage on the way to the palace, Killion kept his eyes open for a moment.
The breeze was soothing, or perhaps it was the tossing and turning that kept him awake. Killion drifted off in the rattling carriage.
‘Uh… this place?’
It was the manor house of a local lord. Where he’d spent most of his childhood.
Looking at his brother Aaron’s empty room, the young Killion asked the servant.
“Where is my brother Aaron?”
“The Duke has been out on the rehearsal grounds since early this morning, preparing for tomorrow’s departure ceremony.”
“Another parade, Cheet?”
Killion asked again, his face pinched, and the servant smiled and replied in a sweet voice.
“Yes, it is, my lord. The Duke will be traveling to the Canton Mountains tomorrow as part of the demon extermination campaign.”
“The Canton Mountains… That far away? Then he won’t be back for at least a month.”
How long has it been since you’ve been back from training, and you’re off again? You’re not even home, and you say you miss me every day, you liar! Little Killion scowled.
“I’ve been in a bad mood since this morning, and it’s all because of you! You’re an idiot!”
All the way back to his room, Killion chattered to himself.
I’ll help you practice swordsmanship, we’ll go hunting on the weekends, we’ll swim in Lake Collet in the summer…
Aaron always wanted to do things with his younger brother, Killion.
He used to think of him as cute and affectionate, as if he were his brother.
But he had a lot of work to do as a petty duke, attending succession classes, and being the deputy leader of the Knights of the Noble Alliance.
With such a busy schedule, he didn’t often find time to spend with his brother.
He tried, but it wasn’t enough for young Killion.
“If you’re so much smarter than everyone else, and you fight so much better than everyone else, why is it that you’re always busier than everyone else, and it’s because you can’t actually do everything, huh?”
As he was stomping his feet, he heard a chuckle behind him.
He turned around to see Aaron grinning at him.
“I’m sorry you’re not smarter than everyone else, and I’m sorry you can’t fight better than everyone else.”
“…Aaron!”
For a moment, Killion’s face turned bright red.
It was embarrassing to think that his brother had heard all the things he’d blurted out to himself in his confidence. It made him want to hide somewhere right now.
