Chapter 80 Getting Ready For Guests
She had an ominous premonition that her conversation with Killion, which had started so calmly, was about to turn the rest of her life upside down.
But she couldn’t let herself fall apart. She stiffened her back and lifted her chin gracefully.
“I do not wish to bring her into contact with the Empress, and I have no intention of letting her be used by the Imperial Family.”
“So, you’re going to lose your pretence with the Empress for a commoner healer woman?”
“If I have to, I will. And that commoner healer woman is not just any woman, she is the woman I love, Mother.”
“Killion!”
The godmother finally snapped, her breathing ragged. The hand gripping the armrest of her chair trembled.
“I’m going to let her and her child stay at the mansion starting tomorrow, …”
“What? Her child?”
The godmother repeated, her face pensive. Her face, drained of blood, turned white as a sheet.
“She has a child. A very cute child.”
“Hah…”
The godmother clasped her hands to her forehead and shut her mouth tightly, as if to say nothing more was worth saying.
“I’m sorry for the inconvenience, Mother.”
“Are you sorry?”
The godmother asked back, her voice thick with resentment. She looked as if she might collapse at any moment, and Killion’s heart felt heavy and heavy. He had expected this reaction from his mother, but it was still not easy.
“Please trust me, Mother, as you have always done.”
“…”
The godmother couldn’t say yes.
She had never once doubted her son’s choice. Just as she had never worried about her son’s future.
But this time, she doubted her son’s choice, and she was worried about his future. And very seriously.
“Rest, then.”
Killion bowed curtly and rose to his feet. He didn’t look back as he left the parlour, hoping and praying.
That his mother would soon pull herself together. And that she would accept Veronia and Jediel with a clear and open heart.
But Killion’s wish was not easily granted, and from that day forward, his godmother remained bedridden.
***
It was late at night, but Veronia’s bedroom was still bright.
‘My last night in this room…’
She couldn’t believe it. Everything had happened so fast, she was still dazed and it felt like a dream.
When she got the letter from Onyx in the morning, she packed her things, thinking she had to get away from Killion. Her head was white and her whole body was shaking.
Then Killion appeared in front of her and held out his hand.
‘So come to me and hide, just as you are. As a Nia.’
‘Allow me to join you in your secrets. Use me, as you used the Information Guild, as you used Onyx.’
It was too sweet an offer to refuse. It was the safest place in the world for a Duke of Drea, a place where even the Imperials could not easily do anything to her.
‘But… am I sure I should go into Duke Drea’s house as I am, and involve Killion in my secret?’
She buried her face in her hands. They say there are no right answers in life, but she didn’t know if she could ever know.
The problem was the other people in the mansion. She wasn’t sure how to face the godmother and her users.
‘She’ll never approve of me,’ she thought.
No wonder. The Godmother would collapse when she realized that the woman Killion had brought to marry him was a commoner with a child.
‘No, perhaps she has already collapsed.’
Worry overtook her. Her heart was heavy with the thought that she had caused a rift between Killion and his godmother.
“Hah…”
A deep sigh escaped her.
That’s when the faint orbs of light began to gather in one corner of the bedroom.
‘Huh? Is it a travelling spell, and who’s here at this hour?’
Veronia kept her eyes peeled for a glow. Soon the orbs formed a magic circle on the floor. The light grew more intense, and finally, a human figure appeared above the floor.
“Your Excellency, Killion?”
“Yes, it’s me.”
“How did you get here…?”
Veronia asked, her rabbit eyes widening in surprise at Killion’s sudden appearance.
“I thought Nia might be worried, but I have no other way to contact you.”
“Oh…”
“And I thought we might need to have a tactical meeting before we enter the mansion tomorrow, since we won’t be able to do it in the carriage with Jediel riding with us.”
“…I see.”
Veronia nodded, agreeing that it made sense. But she quickly added an aside.
“But I do sleep with Jediel sometimes, Your Excellency, and that would have been a shame, though fortunately he’s sleeping with his grandmother tonight.”
“That’s great, I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”
As they sat across the table from each other, she felt a little embarrassed as she recalled the morning’s intense emotions clashing and tangling.
Killion was the first to speak.
“What were you worried about? Let’s talk about it one by one.”
“…I was worried about your godmother’s.”
“Ah… I see.”
Killion nodded slowly and told Veronia about the events of the evening.
“My mother will shake it off soon enough, she trusts me more than anything, so don’t worry too much.”
“You said Jediel looks like Aaron, didn’t you?”
“Yes. He had the same eye colour as me, but he was blond, like my father, which is why I was so surprised when I first saw Jediel’s face in the market and saw a younger version of my brother Aaron.”
“…I see.”
“But as it turns out, the blond hair was yours and the face was mine.”
For a moment, Killion missed Jediel terribly, but he decided to hold back for now. Tomorrow, he’d be able to see without the circle.
“The last five years have been hard, haven’t they?”
“Grandma Luisa and Grandpa Hugo have treated me like their own grandchild, and I couldn’t have asked for a better environment to have and raise a child.”
“You were very fortunate.”
The corners of Killion’s eyes suddenly became moist.
“I didn’t even know I was pregnant when I ran away. I arrived at this house a few days after leaving the palace, and that’s when I first found out.”
“…”
“I thought I was completely alone in the world, but it turned out that Jediel was growing in my belly, and I was so happy, and grateful, for the child, and for you.”
Killion smiled at Veronia’s shy confession.
They talked for a while, catching up on the past and making plans for the future.
It felt like a dream, to be able to talk to someone with no secrets. If this moment was a dream, she was so ecstatic that she didn’t want to wake up.
It wasn’t until dawn broke that Killion said goodbye.
***
In the early hours of the morning, Sandra was awakened by her maid’s voice.
“Your Majesty!”
“What time is it and you’re waking me already?”
The maid rolled her shoulders in irritation as Sandra, a light sleeper, replied in an irritated voice. The maid ruffled her hair and reported in a muffled voice.
“I know it’s still early, but Prince Tate has sent an urgent messenger.”
“Tate?”
“Yes. Whatever it is, His Imperial Highness has told me to report it immediately…”
At the sound of Tate’s name, the sleep that had been weighing down Sandra’s entire body leapt away, and she snatched the letter from her maid’s hand and hastily unfolded it.
[…Duchess Drea was busy all day yesterday preparing for a guest. Even her servants aren’t quite sure who the guests are yet, but they’re assuming it’s a young woman and a child…]
“No, what are you sending me this early in the morning?”
My irritation flared. She was tempted to stop reading and go back to sleep, but she pushed through and read on.
[It seems likely that the woman and child will be staying for quite some time, and it is unusual that they have had rooms prepared in the main house rather than using the annexe for entertaining guests, a move that compares favourably with the case of Princess Espin, who used the annexe when she visited the Duke of Drea a few days ago…]
Suddenly Sandra was intrigued by the content of Tate’s urgent message.
‘Oh, so… this is a guest you’d like to host more intimately than Princess Espin? Who is she, and what is their relationship?’
[…The guest’s visit was said to be today, so the Duke’s hired help were all in a panic, especially the Godmother…]
‘What, the godmother of the Duke of Drea is ill, the healthy woman?’
Sandra’s eyes widened as she finished reading the letter and considered the various possibilities for the visitor to the Duchess of Drea.
‘Another bridal candidate? No, no. I thought you said you had a child. Could it be… that the godmother has been put off by a bride-to-be with a child? Hmmm…?’
Whatever the case, she had a feeling something very interesting was about to happen.
‘Shall we go out for a drink at the Duke of Drea’s house after all these years?’
Hoo-hoo, Sandra’s mouth curved up into a smile. It was a coy smile that transparently hid a vicious intent.
