#4. One Afternoon
A quiet afternoon.
In the past, around this time, Belia would always spend her afternoons with Raul.
Back then, she had accepted his proposal without hesitation, and everything regarding the engagement moved quickly. It was as if she had been bewitched—her entire world revolved around Raul.
He had seemed like a prince straight out of a fairy tale: endlessly kind and charming.
Even while staying in the Kingdom of Ronica, he managed to make time for her every day despite his busy schedule. After returning to the Empire, he continued to send her affectionate letters without fail.
There were even times when he couldn’t bear being apart and came all the way to Ronica just to see her.
“Even when I arrived in the Empire…”
He had run straight to her as she stepped out of the carriage, embracing and kissing her in front of everyone. The way he looked at her, as if he couldn’t contain his love, had always been warm.
It wasn’t until she became Empress that she realized all of that had been nothing but sweet talk and well-crafted pretense.
So now that she had returned to the past, Belia had no intention of spending this precious time with someone like Raul. The fact that he kept showing up uninvited was nothing but a nuisance to her.
“Unni, are you going to keep zoning out?”
“Hmm? Oh, sorry.”
“Hmph… suspicious.”
Clozet pouted and narrowed her eyes into slits.
Belia casually sipped her tea and smiled as she responded.
“What’s suspicious?”
“Do you have some kind of secret worry you can’t talk about?”
Was it really that obvious?!
Belia was inwardly startled but forced herself to stay calm and looked at Clozet.
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t pretend! You can’t fool this Clozet!”
Clozet popped a cookie into her mouth and burst out laughing.
“I know you’ve been having secret talks with Sir Ben lately!”
How on earth did she know that?!
Belia quickly interrogated her.
“…How did you know about that?”
“Well, uh…”
She couldn’t admit she had been spying.
Clozet quickly shut her mouth.
Belia smirked knowingly and asked again.
“You didn’t go blabbing that to someone else, did you?”
“Come on, what do you take me for? Of course I’ve kept my mouth shut!”
Clozet grinned and mimed zipping her lips.
“Sigh…”
Still, why hadn’t the second prince reacted at all?
The recent frequent meetings with Ben were partly to gauge any response from him.
It had already been over a week since she sent the letter. And yet, there was absolutely no reaction.
“…Did he just toss it without even reading it? Should I try a different approach?”
Belia propped her elbow on the table and rested her face in her hand.
Her cheek was squished into a pouty expression, but that wasn’t important.
“Hmm… I know something’s going on. My sharp instincts tell me—it’s got to be about a guy!”
Clozet grinned broadly and shouted.
Belia widened her eyes in surprise and stared at her little sister.
Who did this girl take after to be so sharp and quick-witted?
Clozet watched her sister’s reaction and slyly narrowed her eyes.
“Unni… don’t tell me you’ve started thinking about marrying the First Prince?”
…Forget what I said earlier.
Belia firmly rejected the idea again.
“What are you talking about! I would never marry Prince Raul.”
“Then what is it?”
Clozet fidgeted with her feet on the chair, clearly embarrassed that her guess was wrong.
“Clozet, didn’t you once say that Prince Khalid is way better than Prince Raul?”
At Belia’s sudden question, Clozet’s eyes widened—and then she smirked.
Leaning close to the table, she asked,
“Ooh? So you’re interested in the second prince now?”
“…No. What am I even saying to you?”
Belia sighed and rubbed her forehead.
Clozet, sensing her sister trying to dodge the question, pushed harder.
“Come on, Unni!”
Belia replied casually, brushing it off like it was nothing.
“It’s just… we talked about the second prince last time. I got curious about what kind of person he is, that’s all.”
“Really?!”
Clozet jumped out of her seat with a loud shout. Her chair toppled over, but she didn’t care at all.
There was something far more important happening right now.
“When did this start?!”
Her sister was usually indifferent to everything and everyone.
This was the first time she had ever said she was curious about someone.
Clozet’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
And more importantly—
‘At least she’s not showing interest in the First Prince anymore.’
In truth, Clozet had seen it.
The strange smile Raul had shown when he turned his back on Belia.
It wasn’t the expression of a man in love. Even though he claimed to have fallen for her at first sight.
But her sister, lacking experience with people, believed every smile and every word Raul said was genuine.
No matter how much Clozet tried to convince herself that as long as her sister was happy, it was okay—Raul’s strange smile had kept nagging at her mind.
Clozet quietly set the chair upright and sat properly.
“I’m ready to listen. Tell me everything, Unni.”
Belia, surprised by Clozet’s mature tone, smiled unconsciously.
But she couldn’t tell her everything, so she needed to steer the conversation elsewhere.
So the two of them continued chatting, jokingly gossiping about the second prince.
It was a truly peaceful and delightful time.
Tall trees thickened the mountain landscape under the clear blue sky.
It was a breathtaking view—anyone would call it stunning.
But the man watching it showed no signs of being moved. His blue eyes calmly scanned side to side.
They were the same shade as Raul’s, yet the chill they carried was entirely different.
Perhaps it was due to that piercing cold gaze.
“Your Highness, what are your plans now?”
“We withdraw.”
Second Prince Khalid turned away from the faint shapes of the investigation team beyond a small village in the Kingdom of Ronica.
He had been curious what treasure had Raul rushing all the way to Ronica—but it turned out to be nothing special. And to top it off—
“There’s no gold mine here.”
His low voice, tinged with mockery, spread quietly through the air.
“But if the First Prince’s side ends up discovering one…”
“Impossible.”
Ashid looked confused at Khalid’s firm reply—but soon nodded in understanding.
“Well, with such weak readings… the odds are low.”
Ashid glanced down at the magic device in his hands.
It was a disc-shaped tool covered in complex magical formulas, emitting only faint traces of light.
The joint investigation team from the Kingdom of Ronica and the Ingot Empire used magical tools to detect specific ores over wide areas.
But the device they brought today was far more advanced. Though its detection range was narrower, its readings were far more accurate.
The fact that it only emitted this faint glow meant there might be traces of gold ore here, but certainly no large-scale mine.
“I’ve already reviewed the team’s report. We’re unlikely to find the kind of gold mine we were hoping for.”
“Thinking about how mad the First Prince’s men must be about coming up empty-handed… I can’t help but feel a bit pleased.”
Ashid chuckled lightly, and Khalid smirked.
“Exactly. So we’ve no time to waste here.”
“I’ll deliver the retreat order.”
“Tell them to hurry.”
“Yes, sir!”
Just as Ashid was about to pass the orders to the knights, one of them approached and spoke quietly.
“What is it?”
The knight explained the situation and pulled a bundle of letters from his coat, handing them to his superior.
It wasn’t unusual—they occasionally gathered letters that arrived at the prince’s palace this way.
Ashid thanked him and was just turning to carry out Khalid’s orders when the knight hesitated and spoke again.
“Um… there’s one odd letter. Shouldn’t we report it to His Highness right away?”
“Odd?”
Ashid sifted through the letters and spotted one with no sender listed.
“I considered handling it myself, but I thought it best to report it first.”
The knight explained how he found the letter in the prince’s palace.
Since Khalid spent more time outside than in, letters were gathered in one place and screened before delivery.
Most were invitations or requests for investment.
But occasionally, a letter with no sender would slip in.
It wasn’t unheard of.
“Hm? You didn’t check the contents?”
Ashid raised an eyebrow.
Normally, any suspicious letters were opened and checked before delivery—or discarded.
“But the wax seal wasn’t from the Empire.”
The knight replied firmly.
As the one always in charge of letter deliveries, he was confident.
This sealing wax wasn’t from the Empire.
He had no idea how such a mysterious letter had even made it to the palace.
“I thought about opening it, but it felt… different from the usual junk. So I brought it as-is.”
It didn’t seem like a random attention-seeking message.
The content might still be trivial—but that would be preferable. He didn’t want to open it and discover something he couldn’t handle.
The knight stood stiffly, waiting for Ashid’s decision.
Ashid closely examined the letter again.
There was no crest on the seal, but the wax color was unfamiliar. And the paper was of high quality—definitely not a prank.
“…Alright. I’ll report it to His Highness.”
Ashid turned back toward Khalid.
When he returned, Khalid gave him a look, as if asking what now.
“Your Highness. A letter from the palace.”
Ah, right. It was today.
Khalid glanced at the handful of letters in Ashid’s hands and curled one side of his lip in disdain.
“Skim them and throw them all away.”
They were all bound to be useless chatter.
The fact they were trying to reach him when Raul was absent from the palace made the contents all too obvious. He didn’t need to read them.
He had no desire to waste time on words from desperate hypocrites trying to use him.
Shameless fools.
His expression turned cold as ice.
