“Ugh… Ah!”
Veronia quickly hugged the tree trunk to avoid falling from the tree.
Fortunately, she avoided the misfortune of falling from a high place.
“Phew… That was close.”
But her cheek stung, perhaps scraped and wounded by the rough tree.
Sitting on a tree branch for a long time was not easy at all.
It was difficult to maintain balance with Veronia’s body, which had no muscles.
Moreover, she was not at ease, fearing attacks from snakes or insects while having nowhere to escape.
Time seemed to pass very slowly.
“Killian, come back quickly.”
Veronia murmured to herself.
Even though it was just a simple self-talk, it seemed to relieve the tension.
Veronia suddenly thought that she was like a tragic heroine.
So she began to speak in a more dramatic tone, as if reciting lines.
“Oh, Killian. Come back soon. Please. My Killian, come back to me!”
At first, it was an act that started with giggles.
But Veronia began to focus more and more on the performance.
“Brave male lead, my male lead! I miss you!”
The lines flowed smoothly, and putting emotion into them was a piece of cake.
However, she had to be careful not to raise her voice too much, given her hidden situation.
“Killian, come back! To my side where I’m waiting for you! Oh, Killian!”
Perhaps she was too engrossed in her reckless acting. Veronia didn’t notice someone approaching at all.
Not until she heard a familiar voice.
“I have returned, Your Highness. To your side where you’re waiting for me.”
“Ah… Huh?”
Too surprised and flustered, Veronia froze in place without even closing her mouth.
She desperately wished she could evaporate right now in this state.
A bright, cheerful smile spread across Killian’s entire face as he looked up at Veronia.
It was the first time he looked so pleased.
‘That’s definitely a teasing smile. Oh… What should I do?’
In Killian’s hand was a basket made by weaving several large leaves together, filled with wild strawberries.
Killian held out the basket.
“I picked wild strawberries. They are large and delicious. They’re also clean thanks to last night’s rain.”
“…”
“These wild strawberries are for you who waited for me. I hope they suit your taste.”
“That’s enough. Don’t talk about that. It’s embarrassing. My face feels like it’s boiling and about to burst.”
Veronia quickly shot back to stop Killian from speaking.
Killian thought she looked cute as she pouted and turned her gaze away.
Meanwhile, Veronia’s mind was in chaos, jumping up and down, doing front flips and back flips.
‘Ah… I keep doing embarrassing things in front of this man. Why did I do that? Why, why, why…!’
Whew, a tired sigh burst from the depths of her lungs.
[This is the timeline separator]Veronia and Killian returned safely to the detached palace without any further attacks.
All units of the Imperial Knights had been searching for the two all night, they said.
The Emperor and Empress shed tears as they embraced Veronia.
“It’s alright. You’re back alive, so it’s alright!”
“Thank you, Veronia! You must have gone through so much!”
To strangers, it might have looked like the hot tears of parents who had worried about their daughter all night, but Veronia knew. That these two’s acting skills were very high-level.
“Sir Killian, thank you so much for protecting our Veronia.”
“Not at all, Your Majesty. Rather, I feel sorry that because of me, the Princess got involved in an unnecessary incident. There were masked assassins who had deliberately ambushed to target me.”
“Wh-What? How could this be!”
The Emperor shouted in great anger.
His voice was so loud that the Empress next to him was startled, frowning and covering her ears.
“Please allow for a thorough investigation into the culprits and their backers, Your Majesty.”
“Of course we should! We must catch those rotten scoundrels immediately! We must uncover the mastermind! Sir Killian, you will be in charge of leading the search operation.”
“I will obey your command, Your Majesty.”
Before leaving, Killian stood in front of Veronia.
“I hope you return to the palace and take good care of yourself, Your Highness.”
“Yes, I will. I think it would be better for you to take care of yourself first, Sir Killian, but we can’t delay catching the culprits… I wish you luck.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
Killian politely bowed and kissed the back of Veronia’s hand.
As she watched him disappear on horseback with the knights, Veronia felt a sense of regret.
She already missed him.
[This is the timeline separator]The search for the culprits in the forest continued all day long. Until the sun was about to set, there were no significant results.
While they were discussing whether to expand the search area further, it happened.
A knight came running breathlessly and said to Killian.
“Sir, I think you should come and see this.”
“Alright, lead the way.”
The place the knight led him to was where the masked gang and the knights were engaged in combat.
Most of the masked gang members were already lying on the ground bleeding, and five knights were rushing at the last two remaining.
‘What is this…! I clearly ordered to capture them alive to investigate their backers!’
A fire flared up in Killian’s eyes, which had been calm until now.
Killian immediately drew his sword and jumped into the fray. The urgent task was to keep the masked gang members breathing.
But was it too late?
As soon as Killian rushed in, a knight’s blade pierced through the body of the last masked gang member.
“Cough!”
“Argh!”
Killian pointed his sword at the knights after seeing the gang members fall, spitting blood.
“I’m sure I ordered to capture them alive?”
It was the coldest gaze and heaviest voice ever.
The knights showed signs of bewilderment as they sheathed their drawn swords.
“Sir, we had no choice. They attacked us from behind first, so we were startled and drew our swords.”
“That’s right, sir. Look. The condition of our wounded is very poor as well.”
“We apologize for disobeying orders. But please consider the urgent circumstances, Sir.”
The knights knelt down and pleaded as if making excuses.
If it was true that the masked gang attacked first from behind, the knights could not be blamed.
Still, Killian was very displeased with the current situation.
“I have heard your circumstances. Whether it is true or was insubordination will be revealed through investigation.”
“We will sincerely cooperate with the investigation, Sir.”
“Which unit do you belong to?”
“We are from the 2nd Knight Order, Sir.”
The 2nd Imperial Knight Order was mainly responsible for guarding the Crown Prince and the Crown Prince’s palace.
‘Was it the Crown Prince’s order to eliminate the masked gang first? To remove evidence and witnesses?’
It was still just a suspicion.
Evidence and witnesses were needed to determine whether this suspicion was mere conjecture or the truth.
‘But there’s nothing.’
A dark shadow fell over Killian’s face.
At that moment, a knight collecting the bodies shouted.
“Sir! This one is still breathing!”
“Good! We must save him by any means necessary! He will be an important witness to reveal the mastermind!”
“Yes, understood!”
[This is the timeline separator]The promised time had already come.
It was the day to go to Pellos, the magic tool shop on Mackin Street.
Of course, the reason for leaving the palace this time was also a ‘tea time appointment with Killian’.
Around the time to finish getting ready, Sandra came to visit.
She seemed to need to check Veronia’s outfit and throw one or two criticisms disguised as advice every time to feel satisfied.
This time too, Veronia could only get permission to go out after changing her shoes and changing her necklace twice as per Sandra’s instructions.
“It’s good to see that you’ve gotten quite close to Sir Killian.”
“Yes, well.”
Veronia deliberately checked the wall clock as she answered.
It was an action that fully conveyed the meaning that she hoped the idle chat would end quickly because there wasn’t much time.
But Sandra wasn’t one to fall for such tactics easily. She had to say what needed to be said.
“Veronia, you… You spent a night with Sir Killian, surely nothing happened, right?”
“Nothing? What do you mean, Mother?”
At Veronia’s question, Sandra sighed deeply as if thinking her pathetic and said.
“At times like this, you should be careful not to let your guard down and make sure to leave your mark. Your mark!”
“Mark… you say?”
“Oh child, pretending to be innocent! Is there any other way for a man and woman to leave their mark on each other more surely?”
Sandra’s beautiful appearance, wriggling her thin eyebrows and smiling wickedly, was chilling.
‘She means to sleep with Killian. Giving such advice to her daughter, how disgusting!’
Veronia wanted to storm out of the place immediately out of disbelief, but she held back.
Her insides were boiling. She wondered if Sandra would have spoken this way even if Veronia had been her real daughter.
‘No. The Empress’s mind isn’t normal, so it probably wouldn’t matter if I were her real daughter or not.’
Unaware of Veronia’s true feelings hidden behind a poker face smile, Sandra continued to ramble on.
“Veronia, now is the time to exert your femininity to the fullest and make Sir Killian’s masculinity boil to its peak.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, Mother.”
Veronia, who didn’t want to hear or understand what she meant, was able to escape from the thorny seat by roughly nodding her head.
[This is the timeline separator]
Veronia first went to the magic tool shop Pellos and met the old man who repaired shoes.
As soon as he saw Veronia, he said this.
“Go to the shoe store Sharald and say you want to order shoes made of Bullien mountain leather. Then that person will appear.”
Following his words, Veronia went to the shoe store called ‘Sharald’.
The exotic atmosphere of the store had many shoes with unique designs that didn’t follow trends.
The shapes and materials were diverse.
Standing in front of the clerk, Veronia recalled what the old man had said and repeated it verbatim.
“I’ve come to order shoes made of Bullien mountain leather.”
“I see. I’ll guide you to the waiting room so we can take your measurements. Please follow me this way, customer.”
Veronia followed the clerk into the back of the store.
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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