Chapter 87 Huh? You’re…!
Time flew by, and a week had already passed, until finally the day of the party at the Duke of Drea’s residence arrived. From early morning until late afternoon, the mansion was filled with the busy footsteps of hired help.
In the late afternoon, as the sun began to slowly set, the guests finally began to arrive one by one. Veronia stood beside Killion and her godmother to greet them.
“Welcome, welcome,” she said.
“This is a very fine party. Thank you for inviting us, Duchess.”
“I thank you for being here.”
The guests greeted the host of the party, the Godmother, first, before turning to Killion and Veronia.
“It’s been a long time, Marquis Johnson.”
“Good evening, I’m Nia Lampert, I’ve never met you before.”
“Oh, Lady Nia, you must be our guest of honour, how lovely to meet you!”
Curious gazes swept Veronia’s entire body. She had expected it, but being the centre of attention from dozens of people was still a bit overwhelming.
‘Still, it’s something that must be done once.’
Veronia forced the corners of her eyes to twitch downward, forcing a soft smile.
The only saving grace was that she wore a lace-trimmed veil that covered half her face. The outline of her face would be visible, but not the details of her mouth, which would make her look less nervous.
There was one more good thing about wearing the veil: no one would look at her face and think of the Princess who had died five years earlier.
‘I guess I made the right choice with the burn marks and tattoos on my face in the first place, thank goodness,’ she thought.
Of course, there were always uncomfortable glances at her, but they paled in comparison to the risk of having her identity exposed.
Curiously, none of the guests had asked her outright about Veronia’s veil. Curious glances would be directed at the face behind the veil, but no one would ever speak up.
‘I’m sure there’s a lot of speculation behind the scenes.’
That was the way of the aristocracy. They were very curious about the other person’s story and personal life, but they didn’t ask about it outright. They only speculated about it behind their backs.
It’s been a while since she’s been walking around, greeting one guest after another. It was almost time for the party to officially begin.
It was then that the last of the guests arrived, the Empress and Prince Caspian. Veronia’s body instantly stiffened with tension at their arrival.
Her nervousness must have rubbed off on Killion, who stroked the back of her hand gently with a gentle smile.
“It’s okay. I’m here for you, aren’t I?”
“I’m …”
Despite the rough surface, the warmth of his gentle hand soon relaxed her stiff muscles. Regaining her composure, Veronia looked up at Killion and smiled brightly.
The godmother turned to Sandra and Caspian, who now stood before them, and greeted them with a friendly voice and expression.
“Welcome, Your Majesty the Empress and Your Highness the Prince, welcome.”
“Godmother, Duke of Drea, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen you, and congratulations on your party at the Duke of Drea’s residence.”
“Thank you so much, Your Majesty.”
After greeting the Godmother, Sandra and Caspian’s gazes immediately turned to Killion and Veronia, who bowed respectfully to greet the royalty.
Then. Caspian’s pupils doubled in size as he studied Veronia, recognizing her.
“Huh? You’re…!”
He pointed his finger at Veronia, almost shouting.
“You’re… the healer in the square back then, right?”
Caspian said, staring into Veronia’s face. Veronia nodded, seeming to agree, but not quite sure. No wonder he was confused, meeting her in such an unexpected place.
‘Healer,’ Caspian said again, and this time Sandra’s eyes widened in surprise. Her gaze flicked from Veronia to Killion and back again, demanding answers.
Veronia stood there, breathless, but Killion spoke first. A calm, low, bassy voice came out.
“Your Majesty, Your Highness. This is Nia Lampert, my fiancé.”
“Good to meet you both, Your Majesty. Nia Lampert.”
Veronia bowed somewhat awkwardly to Sandra and Caspian.
“If you are Nia Lampert…!”
Sandra blinked at the familiar name; it was certainly the name of the silver-haired healer she’d heard from the Templar.
“Lord Killion, what is going on here?”
“Yes. The Lady Nia by my side is the silver-haired healer your highness commanded me to find.”
At Killion’s statement, Caspian exclaimed, “So my memory was right after all!” while Sandra frowned and shot him a sharp look.
“I commanded the Duke to find a healer, but why did you tell me you could not find her? Did you lie to me, how dare you?”
The Empress’s fierce voice drew the attention of the nobles in the ballroom to Sandra and Killion.
“What’s going on, what’s so serious?”
“Her Majesty the Empress seems to be very upset…”
“There’s nothing to be angry about on such a nice day.”
“I’ve never seen Her Majesty so angry before.”
There was chatter here and there, but none of it reached Sandra’s ears.
Sandra shuddered with anger, her temper rising to the top of her head. Killion’s impassive expression only served to inflame her further.
“I apologize, Your Majesty.”
Killion bowed at ninety degrees. He spoke in a tone that could not have been more pleading.
“It could not be helped, Your Majesty. By the time you gave me the order to find her and bring her back, I had already fallen in love with Lady Nia.”
The nobles listening to him were once again stunned.
“My God, he’s in love!”
“How strange,” said the Empress, “that a man who could be stabbed and not draw a drop of blood should fall in love.”
The younger ones blushed at the word ‘love’ coming out of Killion’s mouth, but most of them were busy swallowing the mockery that flowed.
“I was surprised to hear that the Duke of Drea’s lover was a commoner, but she’s not just a commoner, she’s a healer of epic proportions!”
“Well, that makes a little more sense now.”
“Of course, a healer commoner doesn’t make sense either, but it’s better than just a commoner…”
A muttered curse escaped Sandra’s lips as she looked down on a healer, let alone a commoner.
As Sandra regained her senses, she heard the murmurs of the nobles.
None of them dared to blame Killion for his cowardice in lying to the Empress; they only wondered who Lady Nia really was, and the history of their love affair.
‘Lord Killion…. Is this the kind of reaction you were hoping for?’
Sandra’s irritation flared, feeling as if she had been forced onto the stage of Killion’s theater. But with so many eyes on her, all she could do was grit her teeth and glare at Killion.
Killion spoke next, his demeanor and voice as solemn as ever.
“Lady Nia was very shy about appearing in public or before the imperial court, she said the attention was too much for her and frightened her, so I couldn’t bring myself to take her to you.”
“That, that… now…”
Do you think that makes sense, you lying, cheating bastard! Sandra wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, “Love” could not be a valid reason for disobeying orders. No matter how great his love was, no matter how great his lordship.
Killion was clearly ignoring her now, and the thought made Sandra’s blood run cold.
She wanted to curse and swear, but there were many listening ears, so she held her tongue. Meanwhile, her face grew redder and redder.
Killion dropped to one knee this time and bowed his head. The nobles watching gasped at the sight.
“My God, the Lord Chancellor stoops to one knee!”
“This is enough to convict him of any grave sin…”
“This will be on the front page of every newspaper tomorrow.”
“The Chancellor has fallen to his knees, even the empress will forgive him.”
The people watched Killion and Sandra, their hearts pounding in their chests.
“We apologize, Your Majesty, and hope you will forgive the foolish mistake of a servant suffering from the fever of love.”
Veronia knelt beside Killion, and the nobles were stunned by the bizarre sight of the two leading people of the engagement party kneeling before the Empress.
Veronia, her hair clasped tightly, spoke slowly, her voice trembling. Her eyes were half filled with pity, half with envy as she spoke.
“I was only using the grace of the Goddess. How dare I stand in front of the people and accept an imperial reward when it was all the goddess’s doing? I didn’t think it was right, so I asked His Excellency to do it.”
Veronian’s feminine, sweet voice echoed through the spacious, ornate ballroom, and those who had focused on her nodded in understanding.
“At least she knows her place.”
“I do. An imperial reward for a job of that magnitude is a bit much.”
Whispers broke out here and there, echoing the stare from above.
