The Dead Villainess Had A Child With The Male Lead

Chapter 47 Connection

Veronia swallowed a sigh and braced herself.

‘It’s okay, I can do this, I still have my memories of my previous life.’

Veronia took a small, deep breath and unfolded her only weapon, the memory of her previous life.

“It’s a magical tool that sits on the ceiling, and when it senses heat and smoke, it pours water down.”

“…”

“But it would be impossible to have an infinite supply of water, so I thought it would be better if there was a way to signal the scouts at the same time the magic tool was activated.”

Killion, who had been listening to Veronia’s calm explanation, finally spoke up.

“Hmm… That’s a good idea, we should flesh out the plan a bit more and hasten the installation. We might even be able to take advantage of the fire scare and collect some extra taxes in the form of donations from the nobles.”

“…”

Veronia faltered. It was strange that she’d just blurted out an idea off the top of her head, and it had been pursued so quickly.

‘Here is magic more powerful than the wizards’ magic. His Excellency’s mouth.

Veronia laughed. She gasped, startled by the sound of her own laughter.

‘You can laugh with Killion sitting next to you! Aren’t you too nervous, Veronia?’

She chastised herself and stiffened her back. She needed to build up the tension again.

By now the rain had stopped. Rising from their seats, they headed for the carriage house.

They were walking in silence. A large puddle of water had been made at the entrance to the patronage. To get out, they had to step into the puddle.

She was giddy at the thought of getting her shoes and feet wet.

Killion wasted no time in stepping out, standing tall in the center of the puddle and holding out his hand to Veronia.

“Step on my foot and cross.”

“What? That, that’s…”

She was puzzled.

‘This is ridiculous. An Lord could be this polite to a princess, but I’m just a common laborer she barely knows. And you’re being so polite to me?’

It was strange and awkward, a scene that didn’t make sense.

And the constant mixing of honorifics and insults felt strange.

‘Does he know who I am? Does he know that I’m …’

A terrifying thought creeped up on her. But the thought was quickly dispelled.

‘No. He’s just being nice to everyone, nothing more, nothing less.’

Killion, whoever he was.

He was the one who had stood by Veronia’s side all those years while she was tormented by the real Veronia, and he had done so because he was a patient and respectful man.

‘So you’re only being polite to a stranger like me. I doubt he would have extended his hand to anyone else but me.’

At Veronia’s hesitation, Killion waved his hand, urging her on.

“Come on.”

The large, white hand moved closer. There was no choice. Veronia took his hand.

The callused hand was rough and warm. It was just as she remembered it.

She put her weight on her clasped hands and stepped forward. One foot, two, she stepped on his shoe and crossed the puddle.

For a moment, her body touched his, then she pulled away. It was only a moment, but long enough to feel the warmth radiating from his body.

As soon as she was safely across the puddle, Veronia let go of his hand and bowed.

“I’m sorry, and thank you.”

Killion looked wistfully at the small hand that had taken his and then let it go, then smiled.

“You’re welcome.”

“I’m sorry I got your shoes all wet.”

“It’s okay. They’re specially made for knights, so even if they’re wet on the outside, they’ll be fine on the inside.”

“You still wear… knights boots?”

She asked out of pure suspicion, surprised that he was still wearing those clunky boots even though he was no longer a knight riding the battlefield.

“It’s because they’re comfortable, and once a knight, always a knight, right?”

Killion said with a smirk. Seeing his smile, Veronia couldn’t help but laugh along with him, and she was stunned again.

‘Again… I laughed. Is it okay to laugh in front of him, so disarmingly? Is it okay… Get a grip, Veronia, don’t forget you’re a fugitive!’

She gritted her teeth and steeled herself.

Eventually, they arrived at the carriage house, but there were no carriages for Veronia to ride in.

“The carriages from the Matap Institute were taken by everyone else earlier, so there are none left.”

The guard standing guard said in disbelief.

“How could this happen…”

Veronia was perplexed. Apparently, the other labourers, who had finished their work while she spent some time sheltering from the rain in the backyard, had taken their wagons.

“Come with me in my carriage.”

“What? That’s…”

She hesitated.

They were supposed to sit facing each other in the carriage, and she wasn’t sure she could face Killion in the confined space.

“Do you mind if I take you to the Matap Institute?”

Killion asked, holding out his hand. His gentle, large hand, his kind eyes, and his voice disarmed her.

‘This guy is really dangerous, but…’

She had no choice. It’s an hour’s walk from here to the Matap Institute, and walking would be impossible.

The ground would be muddy after the rain, and it would be difficult to catch a horse-drawn carriage at this late hour.

“If you’ll excuse me. Then thank you, Your Excellency.”

“You’re welcome.”

Veronia took Killion’s hand in hers, the warmth of it radiating through her.

As soon as they were seated, the carriage slowly began to move.

Meanwhile, there was a pair of eyes watching the carriage as it drew away from the corner of the building, and it was Counselor Windler.

The corners of his mouth turned up at the sides. Hoo-hoo, the laughter never dried up.

“Good, my plan worked!”

It was Windler who had sent the carriages of the Matap Institute away first.

It was an impromptu plan. It was a spur-of-the-moment idea he’d had as soon as he’d spotted Killion and Nia heading to the patronage together.

The execution of the plan was easy: swift feet and a greasy mouth made everything fall into place.

“Your Excellency, just trust me. I’m here to help you!”

Killion had never been interested in a woman in his life. He had briefly shown interest in his fiancée, the Princess Veronia, but she had died.

After that, there was no one. Too much of a nobody.

‘It’s not as if… was chaste…’

It was beyond the comprehension of the common sense of this world that a man, a nobleman, a bachelor, could not meet a single woman.

‘Your Excellency is the only one who has shown any interest. This meeting… must be consummated unconditionally!’

It didn’t matter if she was a commoner or had children. A woman without a husband, just one, was all that mattered.

‘I’m sure his godfather feels the same way, and this auspicious meeting is… to be reported as soon as we make progress in their relationship!’

Windler’s heart leapt with excitement at the thought of reporting this good news to his godfather in the near future.

Thump, thump, thump, his heartbeat thundered like a marching drum.

***

There was an awkward silence in the carriage for a moment. Veronica was the first to break the silence.

“But you usually walk to the carriage house yourself, don’t you usually?”

“I do. I usually wait at the front door and the carriage comes.”

The sharp question made Killion feel momentarily sick.

He wanted to see her face more, to talk to her, but he couldn’t say that, so he had to find another excuse.

Killion rolled his eyes quickly.

“Then why…?”

“Well, let’s just say it was to give me a chance to talk to someone of your calibre. And since I got to hear about your fire-fighting tools, I’d say it was pretty successful.”

“Ah, yes….”

A soft smile tugged at the corners of Veronia’s lips at the mention of competent. A satisfied smile formed at the corners of Killion’s mouth as well.

Taking advantage of the good mood, Killion asked the question he really wanted to ask.

“I think I heard last time that you have a child, and I’m sure he’s worried about you being late again today.”

Veronia spoke up lightly, which was quite natural for her.

“He’ll be fine, he’s with her grandparents.”

Killion replayed the sentence in his head over and over again as it flowed out of her mouth.

‘It’s going to be okay, he’s with his grandma and grandpa… ‘He’ll be fine, he’s with his grandparents…’

Nowhere in her answer did she mention her husband.

‘Does that mean… there’s no father for the child? Does that mean… there’s no husband…?’

For a moment, Killion’s whole face lit up.

‘That’s right, she has a grandparent to look after her, but no husband.’

Having come to a satisfactory conclusion, Killion was so pleased that he almost burst out laughing.

Fortunately, he managed to keep himself from actually saying it out loud. But he couldn’t help but notice the muscles in the corner of his mouth twitching as he tried to hold back his laughter.

Gathering his courage, Killion continued his question.

“If you could choose the first place to install a fire extinguisher, where would it be?”

Veronia thought about the question for a moment, then slowly opened her mouth.

“Well, firstly… I think I would install them in old wooden buildings, and also in places like nurseries and doctors’ offices.”

“Then we should find an old wooden building, either a nursery or a doctor’s office, and test it out first.”

Veronia was happy to show off the plan for the fire extinguisher, and Killion was happy to have made a connection with her.