Chapter 31 In Memorial
It was a question out of pure curiosity, but it made Veronia cringe.
It was natural to have questions.
‘That’s because I’m not the real Veronia, the one who lived in the palace all her life.’
Having swallowed hard the secret she could never reveal to anyone, Veronia simply smiled.
“Yeah, well, I’m surprised at myself, too, actually – a little uncomfortable, but not unmanageable. You know how you can be so full of yourself?”
Onyx’s eyes narrowed as she laughed lightly, her round eyes folding in half.
The once-Princess had been a curiosity from the start. Especially those eyes.
‘They seem to see right through me. As if she had known me for a long time. As if… knew something about me that I didn’t even know…’
Onyx had expected her to be a spoiled young Princess who knew nothing of the world outside the palace, but she was far from it. Veronia’s innocent smile made Onyx suspect that she was not so innocent after all.
“I think I should go to the memorial service, Grandma and Grandpa are going, and it would look weird if I didn’t go by myself.”
“I suppose it would.”
“Do you think it’s okay if I go?”
“Hmmm…”
Onyx paused for a moment.
“It’s historic, and it’s a major national event, so I agree with you that it would be suspicious if a younger person, who isn’t disabled, didn’t attend.”
“I suppose that’s true, isn’t it?”
“Yes. I think you should go, after all, it’s important to behave yourself in public.”
“I see.”
Veronia nodded.
“Life, attending your own memorial service… On the one hand, it’s amazing.”
“I suppose so.”
The two people sharing a huge secret looked at each other and smirked.
‘I hope you don’t mind me not breaking the news about Count Killion Drea?’
Onyx silently changed the plan in his head.
The Princess’s former fiancé, Count Killion Drea, had not yet come to terms with her death.
Judging by the way he was still secretly searching for her.
‘We don’t need to add to his worries, do we?’
Onyx thought back to yesterday, when he had run into Killion at the mouth of the alley.
The sun was slowly setting. Onyx had left Sharald’s Shoe Shop and was heading down Mackin Street.
The narrow alleyway was lined with plainclothes knights carrying portraits.
The woman in the portrait was bundled deeply in her robes, half her face obscured, but Onyx recognised her immediately as Veronia.
“Have you seen a woman like this in the last month?”
Killion asked, pulling Onyx to his feet and showing her the portrait.
Onyx glanced at the painting and shook his head without answering, so Killion spoke again, barely concealing his disappointment.
“If you think of anything else, I’d like to hear from you. There’s a reward for information of significance.”
“Yes, sir.”
Onyx replied curtly and resumed his walk.
As he trudged along, he felt a strange sensation and stopped and looked back.
His eyes locked with Killion’s, who was still staring in his direction. The two men’s gazes clashed sharply in the air.
Killion nodded his head in greeting, and Onyx nodded in return, and soon both men
turned in unison and walked off in opposite directions.
***
The thought of traveling to the capital in a few days to take part in the memorial service kept Veronia awake at night.
‘In the original story, the Princess death fuelled the rebels. Within a week of her execution, the imperial family was conquered by the rebels, and the rest of the imperial family was executed.’
Veronia recalled the details of the original story.
It wasn’t hard to remember, as she had read the story many times in web novels and webtoons.
‘However, the death of the Princess took place almost a year earlier than the original, so there shouldn’t be any major events like riots at this memorial service, right?’
Moreover, unlike the original death, the current death was perceived by the citizens as an unfortunate accident, so there would be no need to inflame people’s anger.
The embers of the rebellion that had begun in the southern provinces had not yet grown sufficiently.
It would take a year for a large number of nobles and commoners to join forces and organise a rebellion.
‘So it’s okay, for now, for now…’
Pushing her fears aside, Veronia suddenly found herself curious to hear from Killion.
‘How is he doing? Is he thinking about me at all? Or maybe… has already moved on…’
She flicked through the papers, but there was no news of Killion. She knew she had to cut the ties, but it wasn’t easy.
A long sigh escaped her.
Veronia stroked her belly slowly.
“Sweetheart, I’m going to love you more than your father ever could. So don’t be too sad. Okay, sweetie?”
***
It was dawn, just beginning to break. Veronia climbed into the carriage with Luisa and Hugo.
“Thank goodness it’s not going to rain.”
Hugo said, looking up at the clear sky. He soon turned his head, took the reins, and began to drive the horse.
Luisa put a blanket over Veronia’s lap.
“It’s cold at dawn, though, so put this on.”
“Thanks.”
It wasn’t, but the early morning air was still chilly. A chill breeze touched Veronia’s tense face.
On my way to pay my respects to my dead self.
Veronia’s heart sank, heavy with a tangle of thoughts.
With a shallow sigh, Veronia prayed to herself. Please let me make it through the day.
As they entered the capital, there were plenty of people on the streets despite the early hour.
“It’s a mourning period,” she thought, “so the crowds seem to be several times larger.”
However, the scene at the beginning of the capital was subdued, and the crowds grew larger and larger as we headed towards the center.
Finally, she reached Central Avenue, which runs through the center of the capital.
Walking straight down this avenue leads to the main entrance of the Imperial Palace. She was told there was a memorial in the center fountain in front of the main entrance.
The wide streets were already densely packed with people. Unable to drive the carriage because of the crowds, the three of them left it in storage and started walking.
The faces of the people lining the streets were all somber.
There were no sounds of conversation or laughter. Instead, there were sighs and snorts.
The queue for wreaths was so long that Veronia and her family had to wait for hours. It wasn’t until almost dusk that Veronia’s turn came to pay their respects.
They had to pay for the flowers and message cards, which were more expensive than the ones sold in the city, but no one complained.
No one seemed to think it was worth leaving home at dawn, waiting in a queue in the heat for more than five hours, or spending a week’s worth of food on a single flower and a card for the Princess.
But Veronia was disappointed.
‘They make a big deal about using the proceeds to help the people of the South, but I wonder what percentage they’re going to use.’
‘Half of it, if that’s the case. The rest will go into the imperial pockets without a word. Using people’s grief to make money’
The imperial family’s use of the people’s grief to make money.
‘Veronia will be used by the Empire until the day she dies…’
It broke her heart to think of Veronia’s life, how she had been used from birth to death.
Veronia stood in front of the memorial and looked around.
The water from the central fountain had been drained and the entire area had been covered to form a circular dais.
In the center of the dais was a golden, ornate coffin, empty inside. The body was said to be in the palace shrine for safety reasons.
Surrounding the dais were several portraits of the empress.
So people could see Veronia in all her glory, from her childhood cuteness to her recent youthful beauty.
In the portrait, the young blonde beauty was smiling brightly.
Veronia stared at her own face in the portrait. Even Luisa and Hugo, standing beside the dais, had no idea that the maiden in the portrait could be Nia, standing alongside them.
Veronia gently placed the flowers and cards she had just bought on the dais.
Her chest tightened as if she were suffocating.
It was as if her internal organs had come together to form a large, heavy stone that weighed down on her chest.
There were sobs here and there, even Luisa, who was very tearful, sobbed.
Veronia clasped her hands together and closed her eyes. And she said goodbye to the real Veronia’s consciousness, which was already long gone.
‘Goodbye. Forget the hard life you’ve had, erase the life you’ve lived as an imperial puppet. …It’s been hard.’
For a moment, a searing hot sensation ran up her esophagus, but Veronia gritted her teeth and held it back.
‘I’m going to live happily and comfortably with good people for the rest of my life, and I’m going to have a healthy baby, and I’m going to raise it to be a happy child, and you’ll see. And… wish me luck. Be on my side. …I’m sorry.’
Before she knew it, tears were forming in the corners of Veronia’s eyes.
She had just finished paying her respects and was about to turn away. There was a commotion, and a group of nobles were approaching the memorial.
This memorial was primarily for commoners. Most of the nobles went to the space set aside for them in the palace shrine.
‘But why did they bother to come here? Is it to show off to the public?’
Veronia questioned as she walked quickly.
She didn’t recognise them, but she pressed her robes deeper into her hair, just in case.
It was then. A booming voice came from one side.
“It must be from the Duchy of Drea.”
“Oh, yes, indeed! Is that the Count who was the Princess’s fiancé?”
“Yes, I suppose so, and that…, look at the way he’s gone. He must be in a lot of trouble.”
Veronia’s heart sank with a thud as the name ‘Drea’ rose above the din.
Killion had come to pay his respects, along with his parents and vassals.
‘How did we run into each other here?’
Veronia quickened her pace. This time she heard the guards chattering.
“Count Drea has been coming to pay his respects every day.”
“He has every right to be. He must be devastated to lose his fiancé.”
“I’m sure he is. Rumour has it that the imperial court was in the midst of discussing his wedding.”
“I’ve heard that, too. Aww… poor man.”
A series of sighs escaped the guards’ mouths.
‘Killion comes to pay his respects to me every day?’
Veronia’s heart sank as she heard Killion’s news amidst the chatter. She felt sorry and guilty.
‘I’m sorry, Killion. I’m so sorry, and I hope you never… forgive me.’
She wanted to see his face one last time, just one last time.
It was a face she would never see again, so maybe a glimpse wouldn’t hurt.
Veronia tucked her robes in tightly and turned her head slightly, her eyes searching for Killion.
‘Ah, there he is! You’re actually smiling a lot.’
Veronia couldn’t tear her eyes away from Killion’s fluttering face, whether out of apology or nostalgia.
It was then.
Killion’s head moved slowly, and his gaze locked with Veronia’s for a moment.
