‘Get a grip, Veronia! You’re the Imperial Princess! Everyone is watching you! If you don’t want to ruin everything, focus!’
Veronia clenched her molars and steeled her resolve.
‘My goal is to break free from the villain’s frame. I must deviate from the original story!’
It was a determination that absolutely could not be relaxed.
After all, her life was at stake.
‘To do that, first… I need to get away from this man.’
As she finished organizing her thoughts, her mind felt lighter.
She seemed to have gained a little confidence as well.
Veronia gently took Killian’s hand and stepped out of the carriage.
“Thank you, Lord Killian. And congratulations on your return!”
“Thank you, Your Imperial Highness.”
Killian briefly kissed the back of Veronia’s hand over her glove.
“Wow!”
“You two look so good together!”
“Get married quickly!”
“Long live the Imperial Princess!”
“Long live Commander-in-Chief Drea!”
“Long live the Asnerdum Empire!”
The crowd’s affectionate cheers disrupted Veronia’s concentration.
The gaze of so many people focused on her, the presence of this world’s male lead, all felt like an enormous burden.
Thump thump, her heart began to beat fiercely.
Her hand clasped with Killian’s began to tremble.
‘What should I do! What should I do!’
Veronia bit the soft inner lining of her cheek, trying to regain her composure.
Meanwhile, Killian was also struggling to calm his surprised feelings.
‘She’s not throwing herself at me first today? I thought she would ask for a kiss, but there’s none of that.’
It was because her reaction was so different from the Veronia he had expected.
He thought his fiancée, whom he was meeting after two years, would not be satisfied with just a hand kiss in front of so many people, but he was wrong.
Veronia didn’t demand anything more from him.
‘And to see her so nervous like this…’
What kind of person was Imperial Princess Veronia?
She had attended countless large and small events, from state affairs to international events, noble gatherings, and even local festivals.
She had lived her life considering it her duty and pleasure to represent the imperial family in front of people.
It had been that way from the moment she was born until now.
If one were to name the person who had shown their face in front of the most people in the empire, it would be Veronia.
‘But why is her hand trembling like this? And that nervous expression… It’s as if she’s unfamiliar with standing in front of people.’
Killian closely observed Veronia’s expression.
‘I heard there was an assassination attempt using poison on her birthday. Could it be that she hasn’t fully recovered yet? Perhaps because of that…?’
Killian’s concerned gaze didn’t leave Veronia’s face.
Feeling his gaze, she looked at Killian, and when their eyes met in mid-air, Killian couldn’t help but doubt his own eyes.
‘What, what is this…’
It was because Veronia smiled politely, raising the corners of her mouth just slightly while keeping her lips closed.
The corners of her eyes lowered only slightly, with almost no change.
It was truly nothing more than a courteous smile, no more, no less.
It was an expression Killian had never seen among the many expressions of Veronia he had encountered before.
‘What… what happened to Your Highness during this time?’
The smile Killian remembered of Veronia was always the same.
It was a bright smile with her eyes curved like crescent moons and the corners of her mouth raised high, the kind of smile a beloved, cute young girl would make.
Not this modest smile that a demure lady would make.
‘Is it because her physical condition is not good?’
Killian thought it must be so.
Although they were meeting after two years, a person’s essential nature shouldn’t change so easily.
While Killian was having various thoughts about Veronia’s changed appearance, the ceremony began.
First, the Emperor, standing at the center of the platform, congratulated the Allied Knights on their victory and expressed gratitude for their efforts.
Then he bestowed rewards on the commander-in-chief Killian and the deputy commanders who had led the knightly order.
What was bestowed upon the leader of the heroes who had defended the borders were fiefdoms and imperial jewels.
The Emperor handed over the fief certificate, the Empress the box containing the jewels, and finally, the Imperial Princess presented the bouquet of flowers.
In return, they kissed the back of the Imperial Princess’s hand.
Each time the strong and gallant knights took the Imperial Princess’s hand, the crowd’s cheers grew louder.
Usually, in such ceremonies, there would also be a part where the meritorious subject and the Imperial Princess clink glasses and drink champagne, but it was omitted today.
This was due to the unfortunate incident at the Imperial Princess’s birthday celebration two weeks ago.
By the time Veronia had grown accustomed to the gaze and cheers of the numerous spectators, the victory ceremony ended.
‘Finally, it’s over! Ah, not yet. There’s something even more challenging left…’
It was the victory celebration banquet.
Veronia bit her lower lip hard, trying to swallow the sigh that was about to burst out.
[This is the timeline separator]After two hours of continuous grooming, Veronia was exhausted.
‘This is… I feel like I’m going to collapse from fatigue even before the banquet starts?’
She was no longer surprised by her own beautiful reflection in the mirror, which became more stunning with every touch of the maids’ hands.
After two hours of this, she now felt no emotion when looking in the mirror.
Instead, stray thoughts invaded her mind.
First, Killian’s face, which she had seen during the victory ceremony just now, came to mind.
‘The life of a villain’s vessel is quite harsh, but still, it’s nice to see a handsome male lead.’
Even though her hands were trembling from nervousness. Hehe, a deep smile appeared on Veronia’s lips as she carefully pictured Killian’s appearance in her mind.
‘He seemed well over 180 cm tall… Tall, with very broad shoulders. And that chest! And that waist!’
Her mouth opened involuntarily as she recalled the firmly muscled chest and the smoothly tapered waist without an ounce of fat.
But Veronia soon came to her senses.
‘It’s not a relationship that will continue anyway! It was like that in the original story, and even more so now!’
So, don’t give myself even the slightest chance. Just think of him as a handsome statue, and enjoy with my eyes only!
Veronia repeated her resolution over and over.
‘If the male lead is this good-looking, how beautiful must the female lead be!’
To shake off thoughts of Killian, Veronia began to think about Evangelina, the female lead.
Although she didn’t participate in the victory ceremony, she was said to attend the evening banquet.
‘Finally, the female and male leads are meeting again after a long time! A fateful reunion!’
They must have already encountered each other a few times on the battlefield in the border region.
At that time, Evangelina was a priestess belonging to the temple, treating injured commoners.
Back then, before her immense holy power manifested, she was just one of the ordinary temple personnel.
‘Still, the male lead always recognizes the female lead! Didn’t Killian take notice of her tending to patients while cutting back on sleep?’
A month ago, an incredible holy power manifested in the body of the ordinary priestess Evangelina, and she came to be revered as a saint.
The entire nation, not just the temple, was in an uproar of excitement over the powerful holy power of a saint that had manifested for the first time in over 100 years.
The saint’s healing power was extraordinary, allowing her to bestow blessings on an entire medical ward or village, healing many people simultaneously rather than treating them one by one.
The remaining treatment of patients who had overcome dangerous crises thanks to the saint’s blessing was left to the physicians.
‘I want to see her quickly. The female protagonist, how pretty she must be! How noble!’
However, she intended to end her connection with the original female lead after just seeing her once and exchanging greetings.
She had no intention whatsoever of getting entangled with Evangelina beyond that.
It wouldn’t do to hang around the original female lead unnecessarily and possibly invite strange misunderstandings.
It was better to cut off all possibilities of getting involved with Evangelina from the start.
She had to be cautious.
‘For now, let’s focus only on the plan to break free from the male lead I’m bound to by engagement and from the imperial family I’m tied to by blood!’
Just as the grooming was finishing up.
Knock knock, with a short knocking sound, the door opened and the Empress, Sandra, entered the room.
“We greet Her Majesty the Empress.”
Sandra waved her hand at the maids who were bowing gracefully and said,
“Yes. I’ll do the finishing touches myself, so you all withdraw.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Veronia felt very awkward in the space left alone with the Empress.
It felt suffocating, as if there wasn’t enough air.
Sandra kept her mouth shut until the footsteps of the maids who had left the room had all disappeared.
‘Surprisingly thorough in this aspect, I see.’
She must be afraid of it being revealed that the Imperial Princess, loved by the entire empire, is in fact nothing more than a puppet of the imperial family and suffers from gaslighting accompanied by personal attacks on a daily basis.
Sandra’s sharp gaze examined every inch of Veronia’s body.
Her keen eyes resembled those of a picky buyer inspecting goods rather than a mother looking at her daughter.
Sandra’s gaze fixed precisely on Veronia’s chest area.
“You seem to have lost some weight. Didn’t I tell you to pay attention to your diet earlier? The volume is a bit disappointing, but it can’t be helped. That’s just how you’re made.”
Haah, Sandra let out a long sigh.
Her criticism didn’t stop there.
This time, the neatly braided hair to the side came under scrutiny.
“Oh my! I’m sure I told the maids to do an updo!”
“I said I wanted braided hair rather than an updo.”
Veronia calmly answered the Empress’s irritated question.
Perhaps displeased by the nonchalant response, Sandra’s eyes and voice grew even sharper.
“Why did you do that?”
“I thought braided hair might enhance the innocent look more than an updo.”
“Innocent look?”
Sandra frowned in disbelief as she questioned.
“You’re no longer a girl, but an adult now. It’s time to mature. Shouldn’t you be highlighting your charm as a woman rather than innocence!”
The Empress, unable to contain her anger, finally shrieked.
Startled by the sudden high pitch, Veronia’s shoulders flinched.
“Didn’t I tell you to definitely capture Lord Killian’s heart at today’s party?”
“……”
Sandra tapped Veronia with the fan she was holding, saying,
Tap, once on the head, tap, once more on the arm, tap, on the back, tap, on the chest. Each touch didn’t hurt, but it induced a sense of shame.
In front of the Empress, she felt like she existed not as a human being, but as an object, a product.
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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