12. Emotions Flowing in the Quiet Silence

A party was held to celebrate the Second Prince Khalid’s first visit to the Ronica Kingdom.

After the party started, Velia took Khalid’s hand and appeared alongside him as his partner.

Due to the aftermath of the recent welcome ceremony for the Second Prince, many whispered as they saw the two together, but neither of them cared at all. After all, this was how they wanted things to be from the start.

When Velia and Khalid performed the first dance to signal the beginning of the party, people couldn’t take their eyes off them.

Wearing a red dress embroidered with golden thread and a black uniform respectively, facing each other and smiling, their appearance became the topic of conversation among the nobles for the entire day.

They seemed like such different images that no one expected them to match.

Yet, the sight of them together didn’t feel as out of place as one might think.

“Unni.”
When Velia heard the soft call, she turned around to see Cloze, beautifully dressed but with a sullen expression.

“What is it?”
While Khalid stepped away briefly to talk with the king of Ronica, Cloze seized the opportunity to sneak up and puffed her cheeks.

“What did you talk about with Prince Khalid that day?”

“Nothing special.”
Velia evaded the question.

Cloze found it fascinating that her sister kept secrets from her.

So, she teasingly dug a little to get an answer.

“What did you do after going into the room alone with him?”

“Just talked.”

“A really, really deep conversation?”
Cloze asked with a sly look.

“What are you talking about?!”
Velia was startled and shouted.

“Hmm?”
But Cloze frowned suspiciously, as if her sister’s reaction made her even more doubtful.

“Did you sleep together?”
Velia hurriedly covered Cloze’s mouth.

“Ughhh!!”

“Promise me you won’t say a word. Then I’ll let you go.”
Cloze nodded vigorously.

Only then did Velia remove her hand and quietly say,

“You… we’ll have to talk later.”

“About Prince Khalid?”
Cloze showed no sign of remorse.

Just as Velia was about to scold her, Raul appeared.

Velia’s expression stiffened.

“Would you honor me with a dance?”
Raul politely extended his hand.

Though she wanted to refuse, too many eyes were watching.

Velia sighed softly and took Raul’s hand.

When had he arrived? If she had known, she would have gone somewhere else beforehand.

And of all times, why now, when Khalid was absent?

“I wanted to dance with you.”

“Have we danced before?”

“Yes. The first day I came to the Ronica Kingdom.”
She regretted not excusing herself then due to feeling unwell, as she held his hand and walked toward the center of the hall.

“That day, I fell in love with you at first sight.”
Velia didn’t answer.

By now, Raul’s attitude had grown somewhat tiresome.

“I thought you felt the same.”

“No.”

“I’m sure you did. Whenever you looked at me, there was always warmth.”
Raul tightened his grip on her hand. His voice grew a little stiff.

“But why did your feelings change so suddenly?”

“People’s feelings always change. Honestly, I was a bit shaken by His Highness once.”
Velia spoke calmly.

“But that small curiosity is gone. So please don’t put your heart into me anymore, Your Highness.”

“Is it because of Khalid?”

“…Not entirely. It’s just that my heart doesn’t want it.”
As Raul moved his feet to the music, he whispered quietly into Velia’s ear,

“Princess Velia. I will not withdraw my proposal.”

“…Your Highness.”

“You should think carefully about the Ronica Kingdom. What it means to refuse the First Prince’s proposal.”

“Is that a threat?”

“How could I possibly threaten a princess? No, I’m only informing you.”
Raul smiled gently.

Then, he stopped talking to her.

Without any further conversation, they repeated several dance steps to the music.

When the song ended, they exchanged bows.

“Princess Velia.”
As Velia was about to return to her seat, Raul stopped her.

“Do you have more to say?”

“…You will regret it.”

“What?”
Velia asked, astonished.

“Not choosing me. And instead choosing Khalid.”

“No. I won’t regret it.”
Velia shook off Raul’s hand and clicked her heels as she returned to her seat.

There stood Khalid, who had just returned from speaking with the king.

“What did you talk about?” Khalid asked.

“Not worth listening to.”
Velia bluntly evaluated the conversation.

Khalid, seeing Velia’s gloomy mood, chuckled and extended his hand.

“Will you dance with me?”

He wore an uncharacteristically gentle expression.

Velia stared at his outstretched hand for a moment.

Regret…

Among the options she could think of, marrying Khalid and thus keeping Raul at bay was the safest way to avoid suspicion while acting.

But was it right to tie him down for her own selfish reasons?

Did he really want to become emperor?

Had she been blinded by revenge and failed to understand his true intentions?

Countless questions floated over her head.

“I’m tired.”
Velia gently pushed Khalid’s hand away.

They had already shared their first dance, so there was no need for a second.

Khalid was momentarily speechless, clearly not expecting rejection.

Pretending not to notice his silence, Velia looked around and said,

“Shall we go to the terrace? I want to rest a bit.”

Khalid smiled again and offered his hand.

“Let’s go to the terrace. I was also hoping for somewhere quiet.”

“That sounds nice.”
Velia placed her hand over Khalid’s.

She wanted to go somewhere Raul couldn’t see.

Every time she faced him, she felt a scent of blood.

They entered the terrace, locked the door, and drew the curtains.

Everyone probably saw them entering, so rumors would surely spread again.

Most would doubt Velia’s purity and belittle her for lacking the dignity befitting royalty.

But she didn’t care. She had long since let go of everything about herself.

“Has the investigation team left for the south?”

“Yes.”
The secret expedition to the gold mine location she had recently informed him about was underway.

She expected the results in about a month, but it seemed they might come sooner.

Their magical tools were far more advanced than expected.

Even Velia, who had regressed, had never seen such complexity.

Why did Khalid possess such a device?

She decided to investigate that gradually. After all, a shorter wait was good news for them.

“You’ll have to stay here at least two more weeks to hear the results.”
Velia leaned on the railing, feeling the cool breeze.

Music from inside leaked through the locked door.

But the garden on the opposite side was utterly silent.

That felt unreal.

“Honestly, I don’t like coming out to the terrace during parties.”

“Why?”

The party terrace was a place where incompatible words strangely coexisted.

Noisy, chaotic, lonely, desolate, and melancholic.

All those words seemed to point at Velia.

As if mocking her.

Look at what you chose.

In the end, you’re alone.

Everything.

I made this happen.

Velia looked up at the sky.

Countless stars shone in the darkness.

“When standing at the boundary between such contrasting places, I feel strangely detached from reality.”

She closed her eyes.

This place resembled her position as empress of the empire — belonging nowhere.

She had trusted Raul and never thought to build her own power base.

In the end, all that remained was the solitary title of empress.

An empress rejected by the emperor, powerless, a mere princess of a foreign land.

I should have at least borrowed the power of Ronica from the start.

She shouldn’t have been so stubborn.

She should have backed herself with the name of the Ronica Kingdom.

Afraid of burdening her family, Velia tried to handle everything on her own.

Meanwhile, she had no idea what situation her family was in.

By the time she realized she had been deceived by Raul, Ronica had already been invaded by the empire.

The emperor cut off all information going to the empress and secretly launched an operation that destroyed the Ronica Kingdom.

In the end, nothing remained by her side.

“I also sometimes avoid people I dislike and stay on the terrace.”
Khalid stood beside Velia, noticing her sudden dark expression.

He looked up at the sky casually and said,

“There are so many annoying people. Those who secretly curse me tremble and flatter me when facing me.”

He spoke plainly, as if trying to comfort her.

His tone was noticeably different from his usual joking manner.

She felt something warm in it.

Velia playfully teased him with a brighter voice.

“I’ve heard the rumors about you too.”

Khalid looked at her.

She opened her closed eyes and met his gaze.

“Ha. After hearing all those rumors, you still asked me to marry you?”

“To me, those rumors were nothing.”
Velia paused briefly.

Then she chuckled and said,

“Well, the Second Prince before me doesn’t seem as bad as the rumors say.”

“Is that so?”
After that, they stood silently leaning on the terrace.

Inside the window, bright lights and music continued.

Outside, darkness and silence flowed.

The breeze was cool.

The stars shone in the night sky.

They shared that strange feeling of being alone, belonging nowhere.

Though neither spoke their true feelings, they oddly felt they could understand each other.

The light, cool air was refreshing.

Velia brushed her scattered hair back and said to Khalid,

“Still, being here with you, this place isn’t so bad.”

It was the first time she had stayed on the terrace with someone.

It wasn’t uncomfortable as she thought.

Rather, it felt somewhat pleasant.

She turned and leaned on the railing.

“Really, it’s not bad at all.”
She murmured words no one else could hear.