There were three or four doors on both sides of the long corridor, each seemingly leading to different waiting rooms.
The room Veronia was guided to was the third one on the left.
As she sat waiting on a plush sofa, a young man with red hair appeared.
It was obvious at a glance that he wasn’t someone who came to get his feet measured.
“I heard you were looking for me.”
The man said, looking Veronia up and down.
Veronia was a bit taken aback, as this was the first time someone other than the imperial family had spoken informally to her from the start.
“Are you the Thick Owl?”
“That’s right.”
The man’s golden eyes stared directly at Veronia.
Red hair and golden eyes. His appearance reminded her of someone.
‘Indeed, he resembles the Empress greatly.’
He was the son the Empress Sandra had before marriage, an unfortunate man abandoned at an orphanage as soon as he was born.
Living without knowing the secret of his birth, he would only learn that the executed Empress was his birth mother after the current imperial family fell.
And he would become the hidden mastermind sharpening his blade of revenge against Killian, who ascended to the throne, according to the original story.
‘But at this point, he’s just a capable guild member of the information guild who knows nothing, so it should be fine.’
Veronia took off her hat with a dark veil and looked straight at the man as she spoke.
“I am Veronia Boynson, this country’s Imperial Princess.”
“Oh, I thought you looked familiar. It’s the Imperial Princess! It’s my first time seeing royalty up close, how interesting.”
Even though she was an Imperial Princess, the man continued to speak informally without changing his expression.
Veronia didn’t mind at all, as she wasn’t here expecting special treatment.
She widened her eyes and tightened her lips to continue speaking.
The words she had been thinking about since the moment she was incarnated into this world.
“I want to fake my death and disappear. As soon as possible.”
“The Imperial Princess wants to disappear?”
The man’s golden eyes sparkled with interest.
His deliberation didn’t last long.
“It’ll be very expensive, you know?”
“I plan to slowly dispose of jewels. Here, this is for today.”
Veronia took out a box from her handbag and handed it to the man.
When opened, it revealed a necklace and earrings set with green diamonds.
It was one of the many pieces of jewelry Veronia owned.
“Please don’t make the mistake of trading domestically. I don’t want to be discovered.”
“Who do you take me for?”
The man closed the box with a grin.
“Alright. I’ll make the Imperial Princess vanish without a trace from this empire. A grand deception for the public! My heart’s already racing.”
A smile of relief appeared on Veronia’s lips.
As she had expected, the man didn’t refuse this tremendous request.
Although it was a request fraught with various risks, that seemed to be precisely what appealed to the man.
“Here, take this. It’s a communication device.”
Veronia received the bracelet the man handed over.
The fingernail-sized jewel embedded in the bracelet seemed to be a magic stone.
“First, we need to find a new identity for you to assume. It’s not just about finding one, but also working on properly integrating you into that identity afterwards, so it will inevitably take quite some time.”
Veronia was satisfied with the man’s expert-like plan.
She thought that seeking out this man was indeed a good choice.
“I understand.”
“Is there anything specific you want for your new identity? I can’t consider everything, but let’s hear it anyway.”
Having thought about it a lot, Veronia was able to answer immediately.
“I think it would be better to be near the capital rather than overseas or in rural territories for a young woman who suddenly appears to not stand out. I believe I need to hide among the masses. I’d appreciate it if you could focus on looking for areas with high population density in the outskirts of the capital.”
Hmm, the man stroked his chin and nodded.
“Alright. I’ll look into that.”
“Then I’ll wait for your contact, Mr. Thick Owl.”
“It’s Onyx, my name.”
“Yes, Mr. Onyx.”
And so, the first chapter of Veronia’s escape plan opened.
[This is the timeline separator]When she left the shoe store Sharald, the sun was already setting.
‘It’s already this late? I need to hurry!’
Veronia quickened her pace.
It would be troublesome if she was too late for tea time.
It was when Veronia was almost running, turning around the alley of Mackin Street.
‘Ah!’
Perhaps because she wasn’t looking ahead while moving hastily, she bumped into a tall man.
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“I apologize.”
Veronia and the other person apologized simultaneously.
Surprised by the familiar voice, she looked up to find it was Killian.
Although Veronia was wearing a hat with a dark veil, Killian seemed to recognize her immediately.
“Your Highness! What brings you here?”
“Shh! Please omit the ‘Your Highness.’ I don’t want people to crowd around.”
“Ah, yes. I understand, Your… um… My Lady?”
Killian, excellent in all aspects, seemed rather clumsy in situations where he had to feign ignorance, perhaps unskilled at lying.
Veronia found that aspect of him cute as well.
“And why is Sir Killian here? I sent a letter saying I would visit the Duke’s residence today.”
“Did you? It seems we must have missed each other’s letters. Today, there was a regular meeting of the United Knights, so I left early in the morning.”
“Ah… I see.”
Veronia blamed herself for her carelessness at the mention of the missed letter.
It was chilling to think that even if she had hurried to the Duke’s residence, she wouldn’t have met Killian.
To a third party, it might have appeared as if she had been stood up.
“But why did you stop here on your way to the Duke’s residence? And without escorts, no less.”
“Well…”
Faced with an unexpected question in an unexpected situation, Veronia was momentarily flustered.
At times like this, it’s best to answer promptly without hesitation to avoid suspicion… This is bad.
After quickly organizing her thoughts, Veronia hastily opened her mouth.
“I wanted to give Sir Killian a gift. As a token of gratitude for his efforts during the last hunting festival. I lost track of time while looking around.”
“But it seems you didn’t find anything suitable. Seeing as you’re empty-handed.”
“Ah, that’s… I don’t know Sir Killian’s tastes well, so it’s difficult to choose a gift.”
Veronia was flustered again by the sharp observation.
So she took a risk.
“Ah! Perhaps our chance meeting is an opportunity given by the heavens!”
Veronia quickly linked arms with Killian and exclaimed cheerfully.
“Will you help me choose? If you help choose a gift for yourself, it would be a great help. We can also have a street date while we’re at it. What do you think?”
“Your… um… My Lady, that is…”
Both her proposal and the arm-linking seemed too sudden, as Killian’s brain and body stiffened.
Veronia looked up at him with an innocent expression and asked again.
It was her own version of a finishing move. A refusal meant to convey refusal.
“Why? Are you busy? Did I perhaps act too impulsively by holding onto a busy person?”
“Ah, no.”
Veronia’s finishing move seemed to have worked properly.
Judging by how quickly Killian shook his head and answered.
“I have no urgent matters. Very well. I shall accompany you. To the… street date… that is.”
“Wow, how exciting!”
The word ‘street date’ and the situation seemed very awkward for Killian.
It took quite some time for his stiffened brain and body to return to their original state.
Veronia pulled Killian with all her might.
“Let’s go into that shop.”
The shop was filled with cute and curious magical items.
Among the numerous products, what caught Killian’s eye was a red rose inside a round glass bottle.
‘The deep red color… it seems to resemble Her Highness’s eye color…’
Killian suddenly felt a pang of regret.
With so many shades of red in the world, why did he have to think of Veronia’s eye color! Killian thought something must be wrong with his head.
Just as he was about to move away, fearing similar thoughts might occur if he kept looking at the rose,
He ended up making direct eye contact with Veronia.
She smiled gently and said,
“Do you like that flower? They say it’s a flower that never withers. Sir Killian, you’re unexpectedly romantic.”
“That’s not it… Your… um… My Lady would be better…”
Killian couldn’t finish what he was trying to say.
Because a clerk, noticing the two showing interest in the product, quickly approached them.
“This product is very popular among customers as a couple’s item. How about purchasing it as a set with the blue rose here?”
“A couple’s item… That’s not…”
Veronia, who was about to say that’s not it, couldn’t finish her sentence either.
The clerk, whose passion for selling products was quite intense, interrupted Veronia’s words and continued,
“The red rose resembling the color of the lady’s eyes and the blue rose resembling the color of the knight’s eyes would make a quite meaningful gift for both of you if you share them. What do you think?”
The clerk spoke in an excited voice, as if singing a scene from a fairy tale.
“There’s one more unique point about this product. Can you guess what it is?”
“…What could it be? Hmm… Perhaps the color changes?”
“…I’m not sure either.”
Veronia and Killian shook their heads and answered the clerk’s question.
The two were already getting caught up in the clerk’s sales pitch.
“Now, don’t be surprised and listen carefully! You see these magic stones inside the glass bottle?”
“Yes.”
As the clerk said, there were five or six magic stones of the same color as the rose inside the bottle.
Every time the bottle was shaken, the magic stones rolled around, making a clinking sound.
“These magic stones have the function of storing the other person’s voice. Just as the flower never withers, the voice will never be erased.”
“Oh my, how fascinating!”
“…It seems so.”
Now Veronia and Killian were completely drawn into the clerk’s explanation.
The clerk’s eloquence in stimulating customers’ desire to purchase was excellent.
“Well, what will you do? Will you take this product, customers? After purchasing, you can even record voices in the private room prepared in the back! It’s truly the perfect couple’s item, isn’t it?”
Hohoho, the clerk’s pleasant laughter echoed throughout the store.
As if enchanted by something, Veronia purchased the red rose glass bottle and the blue rose glass bottle.
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
