The Returned Empress Tames The Hunting Dog

“Haha, I was surprised that she suddenly ran away.”

She looked at the First Prince, who seemed to have followed her in a hurry and was catching his breath, and wiped away the tears that were gathering in the corners of her eyes. She then raised her body from where she had flopped down and said.

“…I’m not feeling well, so please excuse me.”

She didn’t even want to talk to him.

“His Royal Highness Prince Raoul. I apologize, but I think you’ll have to leave for today.”

Herald spoke politely.

Only then did the First Prince notice that Velia had cried and nodded with a puzzled expression.

“…All right. I’ll come back later.”

After sending off the first prince, there was a moment of silence.

She looked unusual. It was obvious something was up with her, but Velia kept her mouth shut and said nothing.

Herald and Klose looked at her with concern, and Velia smiled as if she was determined to win in the end.

“Is it really not a big deal? If you have any concerns, please talk with me. I’m always on your side.”

Herald said, patting Velia on the shoulder.

When I heard that kind consolation, my heart filled with tears again.

“…More than that, are you busy today?”

“What is it?”

“How about afternoon tea time with Klose?”

Velia thought that rather than wondering why she had returned to the past, she wanted to spend more time with her family, whom she missed so much.

She didn’t want to think about the Emperor one bit.

Forgetting about revenge and hatred, she just wanted to feel the warm embrace of her family.

“Uhm. I have a lot of work today…”

“But please give me some time.”

“I got it. If you say so, how can I refuse? I have something to report to Father, so I’ll come back soon.”

When she heard that the royal castle of the Kingdom of Ronica had been burned to the ground by her husband, the Emperor, she thought there could be no greater tragedy.

However, she later heard the news of her parents’ death as they had not been able to escape from the castle in time, and that her beloved younger brother had jumped from the castle walls.

Velia’s heart was so shattered that it was a wonder she didn’t go crazy.

It was only then that she realized what the Emperor’s purpose had been, and he had never looked for her after becoming empress.

It was not love. She was not loved.

The sweet words that were whispered in her ear, the affectionate gaze that seemed as if it would not be a waste to give the whole world.

Everything was a lie.

“Sister.”

Klose gently grabbed Velia’s hand.

“You know that I am unconditionally on your side, right?”

“…What do you mean by that all of a sudden?”

“It means that you don’t have to force yourself to get married just because it’s the prince of the empire. I want my sister to marry someone she truly loves.”

Klose was such a kind and friendly child.

He was not someone who should’ve been manipulated like that by the emperor.

As she faced Klose’s pure face, her heart felt torn apart.

“Hey, to be honest, I don’t really like the first prince?”

Suddenly, Klose came closer to her body and whispered quietly.

“Why?”

“Just. There’s something about him I don’t like.”

Velia burst out laughing at Klose’s words without realizing it.

At the moment she heard about her brother’s death, she thought that she wanted to have her whole family together and laugh and spend time together just once more.

And she could achieve it now. There was no need to hesitate.

“Let’s go to the room and talk.”

“Yep! I’ll give up all my snacks to you for today.”

“Is it okay?”

“Ugh… I’m saying this as if I were giving away my own blood and flesh! How cruel!”

Watching Klose puff out his cheeks and scream, Velia realized that she had indeed returned to the past.

* * *

A neatly organized room. A familiar scenery outside the window. And even the ugly statue placed in the corner of the terrace. It was her own room, which she had missed so much.

“Princess, we have prepared the refreshments here.”

From Klose’s favorite sweet and soft desserts to Velia’s favorite baked goods.

It was a simple but grand feast that felt like it had been prepared with great care.

“So?”

Velia asked, sitting down in her chair.

“Why did you say that? That you don’t like the first prince.”

“I don’t like it,” said Klose, resting his chin on the table, poking at the cake with a fork and putting it in his mouth.

“What? Haha, where did you hear that?”

Something off about him…

It wasn’t something Klose, who was only 15 years old, would say.

But, as if he didn’t like that his older sister was looking at him like he was cute, Klose shouted.

“If you’re going to marry into the empire, it’s better to be with the second prince!”

“Second Prince? Are you talking about Prince Khalid?”

“Hum, that’s right.”

Second Prince Khalid Ingot.

In Velia’s future, he was a grand duke ruling over a rugged eastern territory.

“If it’s Prince Khalid, aren’t the rumors bad? I heard he’s cold and cruel.”

He had not been to the capital once since she became the empress. Of course, she had never encountered him before.

When Velia was dating the first prince, she was curious about the second prince, whom she had never met.

She recalled that Raul had told her to stay away from Khalid due to his extremely cold demeanor, so she remembered him.

‘…That was a little strange too.’

He was so sensitive and that he didn’t want her to even see him. It seemed like he had something to hide. Thinking about it now, Raul was holding Khalid in check more than necessary.

Of course, the rumors about the second prince were not very good either.

He was the prince of Anhamuin who did not even try to hide his disdain for people and knew no manners.

A cruel and vicious prince with a dark side.

So, she often heard people around compare him to the first prince, who was always kind.

“Ugh! Sister! You really don’t know anything!”

Klose pounded his chest and spoke in frustration.

“People like Prince Raul who act like they will do anything are bound to change later! A cold person like Prince Khalid actually turns out to be warm to his lover!”

Klose huffed and gave a passionate speech.

“Klose… You told me to stop reading novels.”

“Well, it’s not a novel! Anyway!”

That seemed to have hit the nail on the head and Klose pretended to drink tea.

But just for a moment.

With a sigh, he held his fork and poked at his empty plate, muttering.

“I don’t understand you sometimes. If I were older sister, I would have met all these guys.”

“Klose.”

“That’s right. What do you do if people spread around that you’re pretty? You always reads books in the castle, so if the first prince suddenly appears and treats you just a little bit well, you’ll fall in love with him.”

Really. Since when did he start having so many problems with word choice?

Velia, who had decided that her younger brother was quite serious, was wondering what to point out first in Klose’s words, and then burst into laughter.

It was because she realized that she was trying to nag her younger brother whom she hadn’t seen in a long time.

Even these feelings are so extravagant that she don’t know what to do with herself.

“I didn’t fall for him.”

“Then you will in a few more days.”

“Klose. you really…”

The moment she was about to say something, the terrace door opened and Herald came in.

“I guess I’m not too late, right?”

“Of course, Brother.”

She smiled and offered an empty seat.

How long had it been since the three of them spent time together?

It felt like tears would well up again as warmth welled up from deep within her heart.

But she swallowed down the emotions rising up and smiled brightly and said.

“I really wanted to spend time with the three of us like this.”

“Really?”

“Thank you.”

For being alive.

Velia muttered in her mind the words she couldn’t bear to say. She deliberately made a fuss and took a bite of her favorite baked pastries.

* * *

Sitting in front of her large desk, Velia stared blankly at a piece of paper.

“What should I do?”

It was clear who had sent this piece of paper with the words “marriage proposal” written on it in very straight letters.

“Prince Raul is very affectionate towards you.”

“Father.”

“Didn’t you have feelings for him too?”

She probably did.

When she remembers her past, she realizes that Velia instantly fell in love with Raul.

But.

“Please refuse.”

“…Don’t you like him?”

“It is true that I was shaken for a moment, but not to the point where I’ve decided to spend my whole life with him.”

The kind-looking middle-aged man listened to Velia.

“I don’t want to marry Prince Raul…”

He opened his mouth with a serious expression upon hearing his daughter’s firm words.

“The Kingdom of Ronica is a small country. No matter how peaceful we are, we are a small country that has no choice but to bear the full impact of what happens in a powerful country.”

“So you’re telling me to marry him?”

Velia asked in a perverse manner.

“It’s not a bad marriage.”

Father always did not give precise answers.

He always gave Velia a choice. As if saying that she must shoulder that responsibility alone.

Although she loved her family very much, she was a little sad about this.

“In that case, there are better partners out there, so please refuse. My mind will not change.”

“Prince Raul is closer to the position of next emperor than anyone else. There must be some justification for rejecting his marriage proposal.”

No reason to refuse!

I hate him. I really hate Raul.

Isn’t that enough?

Why do you need a justification for saying you don’t like the person proposing marriage?

“Are you saying that my dislike is not enough? Even though my heart doesn’t want him?”

“Velia. Don’t throw a tantrum like a child. Isn’t it true that you have to come up with a suitable reason to convince him?”

Velia gritted her teeth.

‘Ah…’

I don’t know why I thought of Prince Khalid at this moment.

Was it because of the conversation I had with Klose earlier?

When I thought about it, in order to take down Raul, I needed someone to oppose him.

Assuming that he became the prince of the empire, or even the emperor, she could not take revenge as a princess of a small country.

She needed someone to be her sword.

‘…Khalid Ingot.’

What if she brought him to her side?

Velia knew what would happen next.

If only she had access to that information.

‘…I think we could crown Prince Khalid instead of Raul.’

I stayed by Raul’s side and watched everything he achieved.

Until the moment he received the emperor’s crown, Velia was by his side as the emperor’s greatest helper.

Although once she became empress and discovered the existence of his hidden mistress, watching him take away everything she had and killing her in the end, she was as close to the emperor as she could be until then. The person closest to him was herself.

“…Please give me some time, Father.”

Velia, who returned to the past, prayed that Raul would fall into the abyss.

To do that, she needed a new person to take all the praise he had taken from her.

‘If that person is the second prince…’

Raul would be more angry than any other situation.

To think that everything was taken away from him by his younger brother, whom he had kept in check so much.

Velia’s entire body trembled at the sight she had imagined for a moment.

Perhaps.

She is the one who will make him kneel on all fours at the end of her pitiful pain.

She is the one who will push him into the sticky darkness of despair.

Khalid, the 2nd prince of the empire.

He might be the right person.