A party was held to commemorate her 2nd Prince Khalid’s first visit to the Kingdom of Ronica.
After the party started, Velia held Khalid’s hand and appeared as his partner.
In the aftermath of what happened at the 2nd Prince’s welcoming ceremony not long ago, everyone was looking at them and whispering, but the two didn’t care at all. Because this was the situation I wanted it to be in the first place.
Even when Velia and Khalid did their first dance to signal the start of the party, people couldn’t take their eyes off them.
The sight of them smiling while facing each other in matching red dresses embroidered with gold thread and black uniforms was a hot topic all day long among the nobles who attended the party.
I thought they wouldn’t fit together because they were such different images.
The picture of them together wasn’t as disparate as I thought.
“sister.”
When I turned around at the sound of Velia calling softly, I saw Klose dressed up nicely but with a sullen expression on her face.
“what’s the matter?”
While Khalid left for a moment to talk to the King of Ronica, Klose, who did not miss the opportunity, sneaked up and puffed out his cheeks.
“What did you talk about with Prince Khalid that day?”
“I didn’t say much.”
Velia avoided her answer.
Klose found it fascinating to see her older sister keeping secrets from her.
So she took out her tightly hidden sense of playfulness and asked a question.
“What did you do when you two went into the room alone?”
“Just talk.”
“A very, very intense conversation?”
Klose asked with a sinister look in his eyes.
“What are you talking about?!”
How on earth are kids these days that you say things like this?!
Velia was startled and screamed.
“Hmm?”
However, Klose narrowed her brows as if she was even more suspicious of her sister’s reaction.
“Did you sleep?”
Velia hurriedly covered Klose’s mouth.
“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!!”
“I promise you won’t say anything. Then I’ll let you go.”
Klose nodded his head vigorously.
Only then did Velia speak quietly as she removed her hand.
“you… … “I need to talk to you later.”
“Are you going to tell me about her second prince?”
Klose showed no sign of reflection at all.
The moment Velia was about to say something to Klose.
“Princess Velia.”
Raul appeared.
Velia hardened her expression.
“Would you like to dance a song with me?”
Saying that, Raul politely held out her hand.
She wanted to throw the hand away, but her eyes were too many to see.
Velia let out a small sigh and took Raul’s hand.
When did you come here? If she had known, she would have been somewhere else beforehand.
And that happened at a time when Khalid was not around.
“I wanted to dance with you.”
“Haven’t we danced together before?”
“you’re right. “It was the first day I came to Ronica Kingdom.”
I should have said I was sick and left!
Velia walked to the center of her hall, holding Raul’s hand, regretting her past self.
“I saw the princess for the first time that day and fell in love with her at first sight.”
Velia didn’t answer.
It was because I was a little tired of Raul’s attitude.
“he thought the princess felt the same way I did.”
“no.”
“It certainly was. “Because there was always warmth when you looked at me.”
Raul gave strength to her hand that was holding Velia.
His voice became a little hard.
“But why did you suddenly change your mind?”
“People’s minds are always changing. To be honest, there were times when I was a little shaken by Your Majesty.”
Velia calmly spoke her words.
“But that little curiosity disappeared. So don’t give me any more attention, Your Majesty.”
“Is it because of Khalid?”
“… … It’s not entirely because of that. “It’s just that my heart doesn’t want it.”
Raul moved his feet to the music and quietly whispered in Velia’s ear.
“Princess Velia. “I will not withdraw my marriage proposal.”
“… … majesty.”
“The Kingdom of Ronica needs to think carefully. “What does it mean to reject the first prince’s marriage proposal?”
“Is this a threat?”
“How dare you threaten the princess. No way. “I’m just letting you know.”
Raul smiled sweetly.
After that, he didn’t talk to Velia anymore.
They just repeated a few movements to the music without any conversation, and then exchanged greetings after the song ended.
“Princess Velia.”
Raul caught Velia, who was about to return to her seat after dancing.
“Is there anything else left to say?”
“… … “You will regret it.”
“What?”
Velia asked back as if she was amazed.
“That you didn’t choose me. “It is also Khalid who was chosen instead.”
“no. “I won’t regret it.”
Velia shook off Raul’s hold on her hand and returned to her seat again. There stood Khalid, who had left the room for a moment in conversation with the king.
“What did he talk about?”
Khalid asked.
“It’s not worth listening to.”
Velia mercilessly evaluated the conversation from earlier.
Khalid, who was looking at Velia as her mood sank, chuckled and held out her hand.
“Would you like to dance a song with me?”
He was standing there with an uncharacteristically friendly expression on his face.
Velia stared at his outstretched hand for a moment.
‘I regret it… … .’
Of all the options Velia could think of, tying her to Khalid in marriage and hitting on Raul was the best way for her to make her move without arousing suspicion.
But is it right to tie him down with my greed?
Does he really want to be emperor?
Perhaps he was so blinded by revenge that he did not properly understand his intentions.
Many questions were floating over her head.
“I’m having a hard time.”
Velia said as she nudged Khalid’s hand away.
She had already had her first dance with him. She wouldn’t have to dance twice.
But Khalid was silent for a moment, probably because he didn’t know he would be rejected.
Velia pretended not to know Khalid’s condition and looked around her as she spoke.
“Would you like to go to the terrace instead? “I want to rest a little.”
Khalid smiled again at her words and held out his hand.
“Go to the terrace. “I also wanted to go to a quiet place.”
“That’s good.”
Velia folded her own hands into Khalid’s hands.
I wanted to go somewhere where Raul couldn’t be seen.
Because every time I faced him, I kept smelling blood.
* * *
I entered the terrace, locked the door, and drew the curtains.
Since everyone probably saw them coming here, various rumors will arise.
Most people would doubt Velia’s purity and disparage her as lacking the dignity that royalty should display. But it didn’t matter. It’s been a long time since I let go of everything about myself.
“Has the investigation team left for the South?”
“okay.”
His investigation team has secretly moved to the location of the gold mine that was revealed to him not long ago, so we will soon be able to hear the results.
I expected it would take a month at the earliest, but I thought it would be possible to confirm sooner than that.
‘The level of their magic tools was much higher than I thought.’
It was the first time even Velia, who had returned, had seen it.
A magic tool with a much more complex formula than the search magic tools used by empires and kingdoms.
Why does Khalid have this item?
But she decided to find out little by little. Anyway, shortening the time is a good thing for us.
“You’ll have to stay here at least two more weeks to hear the results.”
She said as Velia leaned her body against the railing. The wind was cool.
Music playing cheerfully leaked out from inside the locked door.
However, only a very quiet air flowed towards the garden on the other side.
It was somehow unrealistic.
“Actually, I don’t like coming out onto the terrace at parties.”
“Why?”
The party terrace was a place where words that seemed unrealistic and did not fit together coexisted.
It was noisy, dizzy, lonely, lonely, and lonely.
And all those words were directed at Velia.
As if laughing.
Look at the results of your choices.
In the end, you were alone.
Everything.
‘… … ‘I made it.’
Velia lifted her head and looked up at the sky.
Countless stars shone in the darkness.
“When I stand on the border of such conflicting places, I feel strange because I feel like I am the only one who is disconnected from reality.”
Velia closed her eyes.
This place was similar to her own situation of being the empress of the empire but not being included in any of them.
Because she trusted Raul, she never thought of creating her own force for later.
In the end, all she was left with was the title of Empress.
She is a princess from a foreign country who has been abandoned by the emperor and has no power, and has only the name of empress.
‘I would rather borrow Ronica’s power from the beginning.’
She shouldn’t have been stubborn.
She should have at least put herself forward with the name of the Ronica Kingdom on her back.
Worried that she would be a burden to her family, Velia tried to handle everything on her own.
Meanwhile, without knowing what situation her family was in.
By the time she later realized that she had been tricked by Raul, Ronica had already been invaded by the Empire.
Her emperor cut off all information going to her empress and collapsed the Ronica kingdom through a very secret operation. In the end, she had nothing left by her side.
“I often stay on the terrace to avoid people I don’t like.”
Khalid, who noticed Velia’s suddenly dark complexion, stood next to her.
Then she looked up at her sky indifferently and said,
“There are so many people who are so annoying. “Those guys who go around swearing at me behind my back actually flatter me in front of me, trembling for fear of being noticed.”
He told his story calmly, as if to comfort him.
Somehow, it was clearly different from his usual joking tone.
I also thought that she seemed a little warm.
Velia’s voice brightened a little as she threw her playful words at him.
“I also heard the rumors about Your Highness.”
Khalid looked at her after hearing those words.
Velia also opened her closed eyes and turned her head to meet Khalid’s gaze.
“So. “Did you ask me to marry you after all those rumors?”
“Because those rumors meant nothing to me.”
Velia paused for a moment.
She then burst into laughter and opened her mouth.
“what. “From what I can see now, His Highness the Second Prince doesn’t seem as bad of a person as the rumors say.”
“is it.”
Finally, she stood leaning on the terrace in silence for a while.
There was still bright light and music flowing from inside the window.
On the other side, there was darkness and silence.
The wind was cool.
The stars in the night sky shine.
They shared that strange feeling of being alone and not belonging anywhere.
Although we didn’t reveal any of our true feelings, we even had the funny thought that we might be able to understand each other’s feelings.
The cool, lightly blowing air was refreshing.
Velia said to Khalid, running her hand through her flowing hair.
“Still, being here with Your Majesty, this place isn’t that bad.”
It was my first time staying on the terrace with someone.
It wasn’t as uncomfortable as I thought.
No, it actually seemed a little pleasant.
Velia turned her body and leaned against the railing.
“Really, it’s not bad.”
She muttered something unknown to whom she was handing it to.
