Time passed and a week had already gone by. And finally, it was the day of the party at the Drea ducal residence. From early morning to late afternoon, the mansion was filled with the busy footsteps of employees.

In the late afternoon as the sun began to set, guests finally started to appear one by one. Veronia stood next to Killian and the duchess dowager to greet the guests.

“Welcome, please come in.”

“It’s a wonderful party. Thank you for inviting us, Duchess Dowager.”

“I’m grateful that you could attend.”

The guests first exchanged greetings with the duchess dowager, the host of the party, and then turned their attention to Killian and Veronia.

“It’s been a long time, Viscount and Viscountess Johnson.”

“Hello. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Nia Lampert.”

“Oh my, Lady Nia is today’s guest of honor! I’m so pleased to meet you!”

Curious gazes scanned Veronia from head to toe. As expected, it was no easy task to be the focus of dozens of people’s attention.

‘Still, it’s something I must go through at least once.’

Veronia deliberately softened her eye corners and created a gentle smile.

Fortunately, she was wearing a lace-decorated veil that covered half of her face. While the outline of her face would be visible, the details of her mouth shape wouldn’t be seen, so she could appear less nervous.

There was one more advantage to wearing the veil. No one associated her face with the imperial princess who died five years ago.

‘It seems creating burn scars and tattoos on my face was a good choice from the start. What a relief.’

Of course, there were always uncomfortable gazes upon her, but compared to the risk of her identity being exposed, that level of impact was practically negligible.

Strangely, none of the guests openly asked about Veronia’s veil. They stared intently at the face behind the veil with curious gazes, but no one directly approached to speak to her.

‘Surely there will be all sorts of speculations behind my back.’

That was the way of the nobility. They might be very curious about others’ stories or private lives, but they wouldn’t dare to ask directly. They would only make various imaginations behind closed doors.

Quite some time had passed as they greeted each guest one by one. It was now almost time to officially start the party.

That’s when it happened. There were guests who arrived almost last – the empress dowager and Prince Caspian. Their appearance suddenly made Veronia’s body tense up.

Perhaps her tension was transmitted to Killian who was right beside her. He gently patted the back of her hand with a soft smile.

“It’s alright. I’m here with you.”

“…Yes.”

Despite the rough surface, the warmth of his kind and gentle hand soon relaxed her stiff muscles. Veronia looked up at Killian and smiled brightly as she regained her composure.

The duchess dowager greeted Sandra and Caspian, who were now standing before them, with a friendly voice and expression.

“I greet Your Majesty the Empress Dowager and Your Highness the Prince. Welcome.”

“Duchess Dowager of Drea, it’s been a while. To think the day would come when a party is held at the Drea ducal residence. Congratulations.”

“Thank you very much, Your Majesty.”

After greeting the duchess dowager, Sandra and Caspian’s gazes turned directly to Killian and Veronia. The two also bowed their heads politely to greet the imperial family.

That’s when it happened. Caspian’s eyes, which were carefully observing Veronia, doubled in size. He had recognized her.

“Oh? You are…!”

He pointed at Veronia and almost shouted.

“You are… the healer from that square back then, right? Isn’t that correct?”

Caspian stared intently at Veronia’s face as he spoke. He seemed to think it was right but wasn’t completely certain. It was natural to be confused when encountering someone unexpectedly in a completely different place.

At Caspian’s words ‘healer’, this time Sandra was surprised and opened her eyes wide. Then she looked at Veronia and shifted her gaze back to Killian, sending a look that demanded answers.

As Veronia stood holding her breath, Killian spoke first. His calm baritone voice spread out.

“Welcome, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager and Your Highness the Prince. This is my fiancée, Nia Lampert.”

“I greet Your Majesties. I am Nia Lampert.”

Veronia bowed her head demurely to Sandra and Caspian.

“Nia Lampert…!”

Sandra’s eyes widened at the familiar name. It was indeed the name of the silver-haired healer she had heard from the knight commander.

“Duke Killian, what exactly is going on here?”

“Yes. Lady Nia beside me is indeed the silver-haired healer Your Majesty ordered to be found.”

At Killian’s statement, Caspian rejoiced saying ‘So my memory was correct!’, while Sandra frowned sharply and snapped.

“I ordered you to find the healer. So why did you tell me she couldn’t be found? Did you dare lie to me?”

At the empress dowager’s harsh voice, the gazes of all the nobles gathered in the banquet hall turned to Sandra and Killian.

“What’s going on that it’s so serious?”

“The empress dowager seems very angry…”

“What could there be to get angry about on such a good day?”

“It’s the first time I’ve seen Her Majesty so angry.”

Whispers could be heard here and there, but none of it reached Sandra’s ears.

Sandra, with anger rising to her head, trembled uncontrollably with rage. Killian’s calm expression further provoked her anger.

“I apologize, Your Majesty.”

Killian bowed at a 90-degree angle. Then, in the most earnest tone possible, he spoke as if pleading.

“I had no choice, Your Majesty. By the time Your Majesty ordered me to find and bring her, I had already fallen in love with Lady Nia.”

The nobles listening to his words stirred once again.

“My goodness! He says he fell in love!”

“To think the prime minister, who seemed like he wouldn’t bleed even if stabbed, fell in love! How strange indeed.”

“But love… at his age, not a teenager… really…”

Was there another word in the world as unrealistic as ‘love’? Young ladies blushed at the word ‘love’ coming from Killian’s mouth, but most were busy swallowing their emerging sneers.

“I was wondering why the Duke of Drea’s lover was a commoner, but she’s not just any commoner but an amazing healer!”

“Well, that makes a bit more sense now.”

“Of course, even a healer commoner doesn’t make sense, but it’s somewhat better than just a commoner…”

Whispers belittling and looking down on not only commoners but even healers spread from mouth to mouth.

Sandra, who had regained her senses, heard the nobles’ murmurs.

None of them dared to blame Killian for his audacity in lying to the empress dowager. They were only curious about the true identity of the woman called Lady Nia and about the love story between the two.

‘Prime Minister… Did he aim for this kind of reaction from people?’

Feeling as if she had been forcibly dragged onto a stage play created by Killian, Sandra felt a surge of irritation. But in the current situation with many watching eyes, all she could do was grit her teeth and glare at Killian.

Killian continued in an extremely polite and solemn attitude and voice.

“Lady Nia was very shy about appearing before the public or the imperial family. Being a naturally timid woman, she said the attention of people was overwhelming and frightening. So I couldn’t bring her to Your Majesty with my own hands.”

“That, that is… now…”

Do you think this makes sense? You liar, you fraud! Sandra wanted to shout. ‘Love’ could not be a valid reason for disobeying orders. No matter if he was the prime minister, and no matter how great that love was.

Killian was clearly disrespecting her now. As that thought occurred to her, Sandra felt like her blood was boiling.

She wanted to hurl curses and insults at him, but with many ears listening, she held back again and again. Meanwhile, her face gradually flushed red and blue.

This time, Killian knelt on one knee and bowed his head. The nobles watching gasped at the sight.

“My goodness! The prime minister is kneeling!”

“At this point, even the gravest crime would be easily forgiven…”

“Tomorrow’s front pages of all newspapers will be filled with this story.”

“Even if it’s the empress dowager, she’ll have to forgive him now that the prime minister has even knelt.”

People watched Killian and Sandra with bated breath.

“I apologize, Your Majesty. Please forgive this foolish mistake of a subject suffering from the fever of love.”

Veronia also knelt down beside Killian. The nobles were shocked at the strange sight of the two protagonists of the engagement party kneeling before the empress dowager.

Veronia, with her head bowed, slowly opened her mouth in a trembling voice. The eyes of the people watching her fragile and pitiful figure were filled half with sympathy and half with envy.

“I merely used the grace bestowed by the goddess. Everything was done by the goddess, so how could I dare to stand before people and receive rewards from the imperial family? I thought that would not be right. So I begged His Excellency the Prime Minister.”

Only Veronia’s frail and modest voice echoed through the wide and splendid banquet hall. The people who had been focusing on her voice nodded as if understanding her.

“At least she knows her place clearly.”

“Well, imperial rewards for just that much of a deed… It is a bit excessive.”

Whispers filled with condescending gazes from above burst out here and there.