In the original work, Killian was described as a knight with a cold-hearted disposition.
He wasn’t an unkind person, but he was definitely not the type to be swayed by emotions.
He didn’t particularly like his fiancée Veronia. He only maintained the engagement out of duty.
‘But why did I kiss her? Why did I spend the night with her? She should have run away when I approached! Why? Why on earth!’
Veronia thrashed about again, and with her movement, the bathwater splashed and overflowed.
“Your Highness, are you alright?”
The maid attending outside the bathroom asked worriedly from beyond the door.
“I’m fine. It’s nothing.”
She couldn’t even thrash about freely. There were many eyes and ears in the Crown Princess’s palace.
‘Gasp! Then the fact that I spent the night with Killian will reach the Empress’s ears too?’
Ugh! Veronia clutched her head tightly with both hands.
But she couldn’t thrash about. She couldn’t worry the maid standing outside.
Thinking of Sandra, who would smile lewdly and enjoy this, made her feel tight around the solar plexus.
It was clear as day that she would latch onto this matter.
“Sigh…”
Veronia let out a big sigh. But the stifling feeling remained.
‘Why couldn’t I resist! Why… couldn’t I push him away! Why… why do I like him!’
With a thud, Veronia sank deep into the bathtub.
Honestly, every moment with Killian had been ecstatic.
The quiet walk, the sudden fiery kiss, and everything that naturally followed.
She couldn’t push away his hand that pulled her in that instant. No, rather, she grabbed it tightly so as not to lose it.
It couldn’t be helped. It was a perfect night in every way.
The moonlight was brilliant, and they were alone in the garden.
She had had a bit of a tiring day, and he comforted her.
Moreover, he was the protagonist of the novel she had loved reading throughout her school days.
‘Handsome, intelligent, brave, strong, faithful…’
The problem was that his single-minded devotion was only for Evangelina, the female lead.
Sigh… The sighs continued endlessly.
Just as she was about to let out her 10th or 11th sigh.
The communication stone bracelet flickered.
‘Ah, it’s the Thick Owl! Finally!’
[This is the timeline separator]“A letter has arrived from the Imperial Palace.”
“Oh, I see.”
As soon as Killian received the letter from his aide Windler, his face contorted horribly.
‘Another rejection, I suppose.’
Windler quietly left the room, completely muffling his footsteps. For the next 3 hours, Killian’s mood would be very low pressure.
So it would be wise not to go anywhere near him.
Killian slumped down on the sofa.
He read it several times, but the content of the letter remained the same.
Veronia had not allowed Killian to visit, citing poor health as the reason. This had been going on for four days now.
“Sigh…”
He had many things he wanted to say to Veronia, many things he wanted to ask.
But she kept avoiding Killian.
“I miss you, Your Highness…”
He was surprised at his own sincerity that inadvertently flowed out.
But after acknowledging it out loud, his heart felt a little lighter.
So he said it once more.
“…Your Highness, I miss you.”
Unable to bear it any longer, Killian sprang up from his seat.
It seemed he would have to go to the Imperial Palace after all. He needed to see with his own eyes how and where she was sick to be at ease.
‘Ah, but…’
His gaze fixed on the letter in his hand.
There, a polite refusal was clearly written.
[…I’m not feeling well and am resting. I can’t do any outside activities and am confined to bed. I’ll contact you when I’m feeling better. I ask for Lord Killian’s understanding…]In the end, Killian slumped back onto the sofa without taking a step.
Sigh… A heavy sigh laden with pain burst forth.
[This is the timeline separator]Clop, clop.
A week after the banquet, Veronia was on her way back to the Imperial Palace after meeting with the Thick Owl, Onyx.
“The preparations are going very smoothly. Everything seems to be falling into place effortlessly. I guess the Crown Princess is truly blessed by the goddess of fortune?”
Onyx’s confident words echoed pleasantly in her mind.
“How about setting the scheduled date for a month from now?”
“Sounds good.”
Veronia nodded.
The sooner, the better.
“Alright. Then I’ll adjust the detailed plans accordingly. Be especially careful with your words and actions for the next month.”
“I will.”
“Contact me immediately if anything happens.”
Onyx said, tapping the communication stone bracelet.
Although he would become a troublesome villain later in the original work, he was a valuable talent with a strong professional conscience when on the same side.
“Your Highness, you seem to really like your new shoes?”
Linda, the maid sitting opposite, asked Veronia, who was smiling brightly.
It was the most relaxed and pleasant Veronia had looked in recent times.
“Yes, of course. It’s my first time wearing shoes made of Bullien mountain leather, so I can’t help but feel good! That’s why I ordered three more pairs.”
Hohoho, Veronia laughed out loud for the first time in a while.
Linda thought that Veronia’s laughter, which she hadn’t heard in a long time, sounded so clear.
‘Now it’s just one month! In exactly one month, I’ll be free from the Imperial Palace! I can escape from the original story!’
Veronia felt like she could fly at any moment. But she didn’t forget that at times like this, she needed to be more cautious than ever.
‘And now it’s time to part with Killian too…’
In fact, parting with him seemed a bit regrettable.
It was natural in a way, as he was the character she had spent the most time with since being transported to this world.
But it was a relationship that inevitably had to be severed.
‘If it’s to survive, to preserve my precious life… I should be able to discard such a brief relationship without looking back.’
Yes, that’s right! Veronia comforted herself as she fixed her gaze on the changing scenery outside the carriage window.
The magnificent Imperial Palace was already coming into view.
‘Now, sleeping in that awful place will be over in just a month, over!’
[This is the timeline separator]All the way from getting out of the carriage to walking into the palace, Veronia whispered and laughed with Linda.
Veronia was immersed in dreams of escape, while Linda was simply happy about the outing after a long time.
But the joyous laughter of the two didn’t last long.
It was because of the figure waiting for her return in Veronia’s bedroom.
“You’re late, Veronia.”
Crown Prince Jonathan greeted Veronia with a stern expression.
His atmosphere was ominous.
“What brings you here, brother?”
“Where have you been?”
“I went shopping to get some fresh air after a long time. Linda, could you go and prepare some tea?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Veronia first sent Linda, who was tense with her shoulders stiffened, out.
“After being cooped up in your room all this time, the only place you went after a week was mere shopping?”
“…”
“Without saying where you were going, without guards, accompanied by just one maid?”
“It was just light shopping. There was no need to bring many people grandly…”
Slap―
Ugh, Veronia’s head tilted back and her whole body leaned to the side, then slumped down on the floor.
“…Brother?”
One cheek stung and felt hot.
The inside of her mouth tasted of blood, as if it had been cut.
“I told you not to use your body recklessly! Your body is not your own! Your body belongs to the Imperial family! It’s a precious asset of the Imperial family!”
Jonathan spat out, as if grinding his teeth.
His glare at Veronia was as chilling as a snake eyeing its prey.
“That fair body… It belongs to Father and Mother now, but soon it will be mine, don’t forget that! So when you go out, you must report where you’re going, and always be accompanied by at least 2 guards! Do you understand?”
Veronia glared at Jonathan while roughly wiping the blood flowing from her mouth with the back of her hand.
‘Haa, damn… This cursed household!’
[This is the timeline separator]The bedroom after a storm had swept through.
‘Has he suddenly gone mad?’
Veronia sat in front of the mirror and applied ointment to her split lip. It stung, but was bearable.
‘Calling me an asset of the Imperial family, yet striking such a visible place… I don’t think he ever hit before, even if he might have poisoned.’
Goosebumps rose on her arms as she recalled Jonathan’s flushed and agitated expression as he yelled at her.
She had been careless.
She didn’t expect things to blow up like this when she didn’t use her usual cover story of meeting Killian.
‘But… what can I do when seeing Killian’s face is a bit awkward…’
For a week since waking up in the same bed with him, she had been avoiding meeting him.
She didn’t know what expression to make, what words to say, or what emotions to show when meeting Killian.
‘But I can’t keep avoiding him… I should say some kind of farewell too…’
While sitting in a troubled state, the door suddenly burst open without a knock and Sandra entered.
‘Please, couldn’t you limit it to one person a day?!’
Hiding her boiling inner thoughts, Veronia forced her lips to curl up.
“Mother, what brings you here at this late hour?”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk…”
Sandra saw Veronia’s split lip and frowned, shaking her head.
“There’s a meeting of the great nobles tomorrow. Lord Killian will attend too, so invite him to tea after the meeting. And casually bring up setting a wedding date.”
“…”
“This isn’t a suggestion, it’s an order. Even if you don’t do it, the Emperor will likely send a letter to Duke Drea soon.”
“But Mother, I’m not yet…”
Sandra grabbed Veronia’s chin with one hand.
“You still haven’t come to your senses. Was one hit from your brother not enough? Should I add one more?”
A vicious gaze clung to Veronia’s face.
It felt like being covered in filth.
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
