Chapter 42 The Star Palace
After his shower, Killion returned to his bedroom in his bathrobe. Plopping down on the bed, he immediately opened the drawer of his bedside table and pulled out a glass vase.
Inside was a red rose that hadn’t wilted in years. It was the same vase he had shared with Veronia.
Killion shook the vase. The pebble-sized magic stones in the vial rattled and rolled.
Then he heard Veronia’s voice.
‘I hope this gift is to your liking, Lord Killion. Thank you for your kindness, and I will not forget it.’
Her voice was light, almost cheerful. Sitting like this every night, listening to her voice, was a routine Killion never missed.
“I miss you, I miss you. Veronia… Your Highness.”
Saying her name out loud after all these years seemed to ease the sting.
But it was strange. The image of Jediel smiling face flashed through his mind.
‘Now that I think about it… Jediel’s smile reminds me a lot of Her Highness Veronia’s…’
Kilion’s face fell at the thought. It was a bit ridiculous, even for him.
‘First he looks like his brother Aaron, and now he looks like Your Highness Veronia… He looks like everyone I’ve ever lost… Oh, my.’
Something must have happened to his head. Maybe he should go to the doctor and see a consultant.
It seemed that he was the one who needed to take medication to fall asleep, not his mother.
Shaking his head vigorously to clear his thoughts, Killion immediately blew out the candle and lay down.
“I wish you a good night, Your Highness, wherever you are.
That was his nightly greeting to Veronia, who he knew was still alive somewhere.
***
Veronia’s stomach churned as she climbed into the carriage. She’d been told she couldn’t take part in the field work, and now she was being dragged along.
“Sorry, sorry. Don’t worry, I’ve deliberately scheduled the work for late at night when no one will be around. The Imperial Palace prefers to work at night. They don’t want to inconvenience passers-by.
She could still hear the warden’s voice ringing in her ears.
‘I’m going to get out of this job as soon as possible.’
Veronia clenched her teeth and steeled her resolve. But only for a moment.
‘Oh, no, that would mean that Jediel’s education would be… ah…!’
Once she left the Matap Institute, it would be impossible to send him to kindergarten or school. Besides, Veronia wasn’t sure she could teach Jediel herself.
She sighed heavily.
She was angry that she had to take this risk for a job she didn’t want, but she had no choice. It’s what happens when you’re a professional.
She thought, ‘Oh my god… this is the day, this is how I’m going to end up here.’
She felt so hopeless walking back into the place she had snuck out of.
She lamented the absurdity of the situation.
‘It’ll be okay, all the administrators have already left the palace, there will be guards at best, and besides, it’s not the same face. No one will recognise the real me.’
Veronia pressed her robes deeply into her skin and braced herself. It was time to be brave.
The carriage was emblazoned with the geometric symbols of the tower, and the gates of the palace were easy to cross.
Heart pounding, Veronia’s heart began to beat with a presence.
‘I’ll just make a quick getaway.’
Just as she was gathering herself, the carriage pulled up in front of the palace. It was finally time to enter the palace without the carriage.
“Huu…Whoo”
Taking a long, deep breath, Veronia nervously stepped out of the carriage.
Fortunately, there were few people coming and going. At the main entrance to the palace, the old staircase was being demolished.
As Veronia entered, she was approached by a woman with long, glossy black hair tied back into a tight bun. It was Flora, the foreman.
The faces were familiar to each other, having met several times in the Matap lab.
“Nia, welcome.”
“Good to see you. How far along are we with the demolition?”
Veronia asked, and Flora answered dutifully. She scanned the site as if she had forgotten all about her unwanted visit.
The foundation was not as simple as it seemed, with two sets of stairs, one going down and one going up, where there had been one wide set of stairs.
However, Veronica and Flora are pretty good communicators, so it was easy to work with them and they worked quickly.
After a 30-minute site inspection, Veronia was ready to go.
“Thanks for taking the hard step, Nia.”
“No problem. I was reluctant at first, but I’m glad I came and saw it for myself.”
“You’ll have to come and check on it from time to time, like today. I’ll keep it a night job, so you won’t run into any nobles.”
“… I will.”
Apparently, the warden had relayed Veronia’s words to Flora.
‘Anyway, our warden is not a big talker.’
She already knew this, but it didn’t feel good to have it confirmed in this way. She shook her head nervously and turned to leave.
In the distance, a tall, well-built man walked towards her. She only caught a glimpse of his silhouette through the corner of her eye, but she knew instantly who he was.
‘Killion!’
Veronia’s heart dropped to her stomach.
She turned her head and spun around. She tried to turn and walk away, to get to the carriage before he saw her.
But she couldn’t move an inch.
The moment she caught sight of Killion, all of her attention seemed to be focused on him, unable to perform any other function.
‘Ah…!’
She barely managed to muster the strength to spin around and take a step forward when the large, open front door slammed shut, creating a rush of air.
The gust of wind blew Veronia’s robe off her head.
‘How dare…!’
She had been hiding under her robe since the moment she entered the palace, and now she was showing her face in front of Killion.
Her long silver hair blew in the breeze, disheveled.
Their gazes met.
But the distance was too great for her to see the expression on Killion’s face.
Veronia gritted her teeth and quickly pulled her robes up.
‘I got different hair, different eye color, and I got scars and tattoos. He’ll never recognize me, no way.’
Veronia was just soothing herself with words of comfort when she heard Flora’s cheerful voice. Flora’s bubbly voice came in.
“Your Excellency, you’re late for court today.”
“…So it is. Oh, are you still working on…?”
“Yes. The planning staff came out for a site inspection today, so it’s been taking a little longer. Nia, Nia, wait, here!”
Veronia had turned completely around and started to walk away. Flora called after her in a booming voice.
‘Ah… oh no!’
Please tell me you didn’t call me to Killion right now! Veronia’s heart sank with frustration.
‘What if I just run away?’
The urge was strong. But she had to resist.
‘I’ll be recognized as suspicious, and it won’t matter if she’s an employee of the Matap Labs, they won’t let someone run away as soon as they see me.’
‘After that, there will be an investigation, and your hooded face will be traced.’ Veronia turned away as the thought crossed her mind.
‘It’s okay, stay calm, your face is already a different person, it’s just your expression and your voice, you’ll be fine, nothing will happen.’
And with that, she trotted over to Flora and Killion.
“Nia, this is the Chancellor. He’s the highest person in this building, and he’s the one who ordered our work.”
“Ah, hello, His Excellency. I’m Nia, from the Matap Institute.”
To Veronia’s relief, her voice sounded normal and not shaky.
“Are you… a mage yourself?”
“No. I’m a normal person without magic. They said the planning department needs someone like me.”
Veronia replied calmly to Killion’s question. It was so obvious that Killion didn’t seem to recognise her.
‘Well, … already knows I’m long dead, he won’t recognize me.’
It was unnecessary to worry. Veronia the Empress was already dead.
There was only Nia, the commoner.
‘Remember, my name is Nia, and I’m a commoner, and I work for the Tower.’
Veronia was mulling over the situation in her head when the maid called for Flora, and she had to leave.
Now that she was alone with Killion, Veronia tensed again. She glanced towards the entrance, trying to think of a way out, but Killion asked more questions.
“How are things going?”
It was an odd question.
Why would anyone ask a stranger if a job was a good fit? Veronia wondered. It seemed to be a question that was asked because it wasn’t common for commoners to work at the Matap Institute.
It also seemed odd for a chancellor to use an honorific for a commoner.
“Yes. I have to fit in if I want to make a living, but I’m pretty good at it.”
“…That’s good to know.”
There was a moment of silence. Veronia, who had been watching, decided it was time to speak up.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, Your Excellency, I’m running late for work. I have a child waiting for me at home.”
“Ah…”
She rattled off a string of trivia to make it clear that she was just another commoner.
But the answer didn’t come right away.
‘What’s wrong? Did I make a mistake? Did he notice something? That can’t be right…’
Veronia’s heart leapt into her throat.
“Good, because I’m on my way to the carriage house anyway, so come with me, I have more questions.”
“Ah… yes.”
Killion trudged forward. Watching him go, Veronia despaired again.
At this rate, she was afraid she’d get nervous and make a stupid mistake.
