Although I had to go to the imperial palace right away to finish the cleanup, reassuring Jediel came first. So Veronia and Killian asked Windler and Onyx to take care of the aftermath and returned to the duke’s residence first.

“Mom! Your Grace!”

Jediel, who had returned earlier with Yasen, was still awake waiting for Veronia and Killian. As soon as Veronia saw Jediel safe and sound, she ran and hugged the child tightly.

“……Mom?”

But Jediel’s body in her arms was stiff. It was because Veronia’s changed appearance felt very awkward.

“Jediel, will you listen to Mom for a moment?”

“……Yes.”

Veronia and Jediel sat face to face. She put on the magic tool piercing in front of Jediel and then took it off again.

Jediel’s eyes widened at the sight of her appearance changing right before his eyes. Only then did Jediel, now certain that Veronia was his mother, burrow into her arms.

“Mom, I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you!”

The child cried loudly, mixing relief at seeing his mother again with regret for not recognizing her immediately.

Veronia patted Jediel’s back gently until he stopped crying. When the child’s tears subsided, Veronia whispered in a soft voice.

“There were reasons, but… in any case, it’s true that I’ve been deceiving Jediel until now. Mom is really sorry. I won’t do it again.”

“……Yes.”

Jediel nodded, looking up at Veronia with teary eyes. Veronia hesitated for a moment, finding it difficult to speak, but then opened her mouth again.

“And there’s one more thing Mom lied about.”

“One more?”

Jediel’s surprised eyes grew round. Veronia’s heart pounded with worry that the child might be shocked. But it was something she had to say now, so she gathered her courage.

“It’s about Jediel’s father.”

“……Father?”

“Actually, Jediel’s father didn’t pass away. He’s alive.”

Jediel’s mouth fell open in surprise at this new information. And soon he had a question. The child asked without hesitation.

“Then… if he’s alive, why doesn’t he live with us?”

“That’s……”

It was uncertain how much the still young Jediel would understand, but Veronia had no choice but to start explaining.

“At first, Jediel’s father… didn’t know where we were. Because Mom changed her face and hid.”

“Ah……”

“And when I met your father again later, he helped with Mom’s lie.”

“You met Father again? I want to meet Father too.”

Jediel’s eyes sparkled brightly.

The child seemed more excited about the thought of meeting his father than curious or resentful about his mother’s story of deception. So Veronia was able to muster courage until the end.

“Actually, Jediel’s father is… Duke Killian.”

“What?”

A big question mark appeared on Jediel’s face. The child tilted his head and asked.

“Because he got 10 points from me?”

“Ah… no, that’s not it……”

It was a childlike idea. Veronia was momentarily taken aback by the sudden mention of the 10 points episode. But soon she collected herself and continued her explanation step by step.

“Even before getting 10 points, the Duke was Jediel’s father from the beginning.”

“……”

“You’ve heard many times that Jediel and the Duke look alike. It’s because you two are father and son that you look so similar.”

Jediel’s eyes rolled here and there as he pondered, trying to organize his thoughts. Finally, the child’s eyes lit up brightly as he reached understanding.

“Ah…! The Duke was Jediel’s real father! From the beginning!”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Jediel suddenly stood up and quickly ran to open the door wide. Killian, who had been waiting in the hallway, approached Jediel.

“Jediel?”

“Um……”

He had rushed out bravely, but now seemed shy standing in front of Killian. As Jediel fidgeted, twisting his body, Killian knelt on one knee to match his eye level and smiled gently.

“Come here and give Dad a hug?”

“Yes, Dad!”

Jediel fell into Killian’s arms. Nestled in the firm, broad embrace, the child looked up at Killian and said in a cheerful voice.

“You weren’t Dad because you got 10 points, but you were Dad from the beginning!”

“That’s right. I’ve been Jediel’s father from the start.”

Killian placed a long kiss on the forehead of the grinning Jediel.

Seeing Killian and Jediel embracing each other affectionately, a happy smile also spread across Veronia’s face.

There was more to tell Jediel. The fact that she was actually an imperial princess and that Jediel’s sibling was growing in her womb. But Veronia soon changed her mind.

‘I’ll stop here for today, and tell the rest gradually. Maybe tomorrow or the day after.’

[This is the timeline separator]

Jonathan was found dead on the streets of the capital. Nothing had been revealed about who killed him or how he died.

Except that the body was in such a terrible state that they couldn’t even recognize him as the emperor. But they say they later identified him as the emperor because of his luxurious clothes.

Since Jonathan died not as an emperor but as a criminal, there was no state funeral.

There was no family funeral either, as there was no family to mourn his death. Only a formal funeral was held, attended only by administrative officials from the imperial family and the council of ministers.

Tate, who was hit by arrows shot by the Imperial Knights, was critically wounded but managed to survive. However, the wound was deep and difficult to fully heal. After that day, he left the capital and lived a secluded life staying in his territory.

Sandra was exiled from the country as punishment for her involvement in the conspiracy to assassinate the former emperor. Sandra’s expression as she left the palace seemed rather relieved.

Veronia and Onyx were watching from afar as the carriage carrying Sandra departed. Veronia was the first to break the long silence.

“I went to see her many times, but she never met me.”

“Me too.”

Veronia looked at Onyx. She was momentarily surprised by the fact that he had also gone to see Sandra.

“I wanted to pour out all my resentment or whatever, but she didn’t even want to hear that.”

“It seems so.”

Onyx laughed emptily. Looking up at Onyx, Veronia spoke in a calm tone.

“Still, let me know how she’s doing from time to time.”

“What?”

Onyx’s face showed bewilderment at the sudden request. But Veronia just smiled gently. As if to say, you understand my intention without me having to explain in detail, right?

“Please, okay?”

“……Alright.”

Finally, Onyx nodded slightly while sighing. As he turned his gaze back to follow the retreating carriage, his eyes looked a bit sad.

[This is the timeline separator]

Veronia was restless before the general nobility meeting.

“How many did you say? 100? 200?”

“A total of 315 people.”

“Haa……”

Killian gently took Veronia’s hand, feeling sorry for her as she sighed deeply with a tense expression. Her stiffened hand was even cold. He slowly caressed her hand and spoke in an affectionate voice.

“Don’t be too nervous. I’m by your side, aren’t I?”

“……Yes.”

Although Killian’s gaze was warm, standing in front of so many people was still inevitably nerve-wracking. Veronia swallowed the sigh that was about to burst out and took a sip of herbal tea that was said to be good for calming nerves.

Finally, the general nobility meeting began, and Veronia headed to the grand conference hall with Killian.

There had been several meetings about the imperial succession, and finally, at the last meeting, it was unanimously agreed that Veronia would succeed to the throne.

Today’s meeting was scheduled to proceed with Veronia delivering her response to the opinions of the nobles.

“The rightful owner of the next throne, Imperial Princess Veronia, enters!”

As the heavy doors opened at the chairman’s shout, Veronia entered the grand conference hall escorted by Killian. The gazes of numerous nobles were fixed on Veronia and Killian.

Standing in front of the podium, Veronia cleared her throat with a cough and began her prepared speech.

“I am deeply grateful to the people of the Aesnerdem Empire who have welcomed me with open arms, even though I had left the imperial family. As the right and duty of one born into the imperial family, I will succeed to the throne.”

Applause and cheers erupted here and there. Veronia, who had been waiting silently for a moment, opened her mouth again.

“However, rather than following in the footsteps of my father and elder brother, I want to make a fresh start with a new name.”

The hall suddenly buzzed at Veronia’s unexpected statement. Even Killian’s expression, which had been wearing a gentle smile throughout, hardened. This had not been discussed with him in advance.

“I will marry Prime Minister Drea and succeed to the throne under the name Veronia Drea. I will rule the empire together with my husband, Prime Minister Killian Drea.”

All 315 nobles gathered in the grand conference hall looked bewildered.

It was not common, but there were rare cases where a married imperial princess succeeded to the throne. However, in such cases, the princess kept the imperial family name. The princess’s husband, who became the emperor consort, kept his original family name.

But Veronia was saying she would abandon the imperial family name and take her consort’s name.

Amid the unsettled atmosphere, Veronia opened her mouth again.

“Five years ago, a people’s rebellion against the Boynson imperial family shook the empire. It was Prime Minister Killian Drea who prevented the rebellion that started in the south from spreading nationwide.”

As Veronia continued her speech step by step, the buzzing atmosphere in the hall soon quieted down.

“Since then, the Boynson imperial family has tarnished its name with various criminal acts, including murder and incitement to murder. Nevertheless, the fact that the empire could remain firm was due to the hard work of all of you gathered here. And among them, I know that the role of Prime Minister Killian Drea was significant. I believe that you here know better than I do about the prime minister’s loyalty to the empire.”

The nobles listening to Veronia’s words began to nod one by one.

“As the next heir to the throne, this is my opinion. I will succeed to the throne under the name Veronia Drea, and I will rule the empire together with my husband Killian Drea!”

As the speech ended, all the nobles stood up and cheered, applauding vigorously. But Killian’s expression remained stiff.

[This is the timeline separator]

“That cannot be.”

“Seeing how the other nobles gladly agree, it doesn’t seem completely impossible.”

The general nobility meeting had ended, but the meeting between Veronia and Killian was still ongoing. Killian called Veronia with an unprecedentedly dry look and voice.

“Your Highness.”

But Veronia had no intention of backing down.

“This position was originally yours.”

“What on earth do you mean by that?”

Killian asked, narrowing his brows. He had always tried to understand Veronia. But this time, it wasn’t easy.

How could the position of emperor have been originally his? It was nonsense. How could that have been his position?

“What I said at the meeting was sincere. If it weren’t for you, the Boynson imperial family would have ended five years ago. But you resolved the rebellion and saved the Boynson imperial family.”

“……”

Killian listened to Veronia’s words without rebutting. It was a good sign. Veronia put more emotion into her voice.

“And I hate the name Boynson. You know that well. I hated it so much that I faked my death and ran away. It was like that in the past, and it hasn’t changed now.”

Only then did Killian’s expression soften a little. He seemed to finally empathize with Veronia’s story.

“That’s right. It was like that.”

Hmm…… Seeing Killian nod while letting out a shallow sigh, Veronia’s lips curled up in a pleased smile.

“I know it’s hard to understand even if you try. If so, it’s okay if you don’t try to understand. Just accept it.”

“……”

“This is the first and last time I’ll make such an unreasonable request. I promise.”

It was complete stubbornness. Veronia was clearly showing that she had no intention of compromising at all. When she acted like this, Killian had no other choice. He could only follow her.

“Since you know it’s unreasonable… I have no choice. Yes, I’ll accept it.”

“Thank you, Killian!”

Veronia smiled brightly and fell into Killian’s arms. She buried her face in his chest and murmured as if making a vow.

“I’ll really do well. For you, for Jediel, and for the Aesnerdem Empire.”

In the end, Killian declared his surrender. He gently wrapped his arms around Veronia’s back and kissed her forehead.

“I’ll do even better. For you, for Jediel, and for the Aesnerdem Empire.”

His lips, which had touched her forehead, lightly touched her eyes, cheeks, and the bridge of her nose before pulling away. His lips, which had been wandering over her face, finally met Veronia’s lips.

“Killian? We shouldn’t do this here……”

But Killian had no intention of backing down. His lips embraced hers, then let go, briefly brushed against them, then pulled away, repeating this pattern as he pressed her. And he returned the exact words she had said back to her.

“This is my unreasonable request. So please accept it.”

“What, what? Why is that being said here… Mmm……”

Veronia wanted to argue more, but she couldn’t. It was because Killian’s lips had completely enveloped hers. The kiss, exchanging heated breaths, continued for a long time.

[This is the timeline separator]

The day of the coronation dawned. A glass carriage carrying Veronia, Killian, and Jediel was leaving the imperial palace heading towards the Grand Temple. The road from the palace to the Grand Temple was filled with cheering people.

Jediel, nestled in Killian’s arms and looking around curiously, exclaimed in an excited voice.

“Wow! There are so many people! I can’t even see the end!”

Jediel’s eyes, seeing so many people for the first time in his life, grew as if they would pop out. Veronia gently stroked Jediel’s chubby cheeks and smiled.

“Jediel, smile brightly and wave to the people. Your arm might hurt, but please bear with it and wave for a long time. These are grateful people who have come a long way to congratulate and bless our future.”

“Yes.”

Jediel nodded, gritting his teeth, and began to wave enthusiastically. The applause and cheers for the new imperial family grew louder and louder.

“Long live the Drea imperial family!”

“Long, long live the Drea imperial family!”

Brilliant sunlight shone brightly on the faces of Veronia, Killian, and Jediel. Their smiles towards the people sparkled more brightly than ever.

– The End of “The Dead Villainess Carried the Male Lead’s Child” Main Story –