Velia’s pupils contracted sharply.
It was clearly a statement with some hidden meaning.
“Just now, what did you say…”
In the encounter, Icha’s blue eyes sparkled.
“You did something mischievous. That letter, right?”
He received the letter. Moreover, he realized that the sender of the letter was himself.
As soon as he realized that fact, Velia’s heart thumped loudly, making a sound.
It wasn’t tension or fear trembling.
It was clearly exhilaration.
The feeling of finally buttoning up the first button of revenge tightly grasped Velia’s heart.
Unable to hide the flushed cheeks, Velia bit her lip.
“Khalid Prince…”
He must manipulate him well and lead him to the same side.
The fact that he had reached this point proved his ability.
So what was needed now was…
A place where they could talk candidly, away from the annoying Raul.
“Rude, Khalid.”
At that moment, Raul, who had been watching Khalid whispering in Velia’s ear, approached with a frown. Then he forcefully pulled away his hand, which was grabbing her.
“Ask again. What are you doing here?”
Raul blocked Velia’s view of Khalid to prevent her from seeing him.
He showed a subtle sharp attitude, unlike his usual relaxed self.
“Oh?”
Capturing that fleeting moment, Velia felt certain that choosing Khalid Prince was the right decision. She wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but it was clear that he was feeling some discomfort toward the second prince.
Seeing Raul reacting much more sensitively than usual, she couldn’t help but feel strange. Perhaps Khalid also found it amusing, judging by the smirk on his face, twisting his lips.
It seemed like she could easily turn the tables inside out.
“If you’re just going to wander around the casino gambling, your explanation of why you came here won’t fly.”
“Were you always so interested in what I’m doing?”
“Khalid.”
At his brother’s teasing remark, Raul sighed and called his name softly.
Yes. That tone and manner.
He had grown up in a position where everything was beneath him.
So it wasn’t anger or injustice, but rather a pure call, even a bit naive, that he couldn’t understand why things were coming at him, even though it might seem unreasonable.
Velia realized that while he was restraining the second prince, he still didn’t consider him an equal match. So, while restraining him outwardly, she also realized that inwardly, she was mocking him.
“So it was right to choose the second prince after all.”
When he was satisfied with his position and relaxed.
That’s when she would rip his throat out.
Watching Raul’s back, which obscured her view, Velia smiled brightly.
“Hmm. Originally, I just planned to take a look around and go back… But I can’t just leave when I see your face, can I? Since I’ve come this far, I should pay a visit to the Royal Palace and greet King Ronica.”
Khalid exaggeratedly looked around and then spoke.
“It’s quite a coincidence to meet Princess Velia here too. Well, it could be considered fate.”
Velia’s eyes twinkled at Khalid’s words, indicating that he was entering the Royal Palace. It meant they could create a place where she and Khalid could talk privately without Raul’s interference. Since Raul couldn’t interfere with the princess’s private meeting in Ronica’s palace, it was a pretty good solution.
So Velia quickly opened her mouth to ensure that Raul couldn’t oppose Khalid’s visit to his palace.
“I didn’t know earlier. Prince Khalid, the second prince of the Empire. The Royal Palace of Ronica has always been friendly to the Empire. So, the visit of the second prince is also welcome.”
Since it wasn’t an official meeting in the castle, Velia allowed it informally by just holding her skirt lightly. It was clearly an opportunity.
“You seem to get along quite well with the princess.”
As they say, like attracts like.
Khalid also thought that Velia, who sent the letter, wasn’t an ordinary woman.
Even now, he hadn’t refrained from steering the conversation in the direction he wanted.
“Khalid. If you’re going to cause trouble, leave quietly. This isn’t the Empire.”
Raul threw a word as if he was uncomfortable.
“Hey, brother. How do you know whether I’m going to cause trouble or not? Hmm?”
Khalid glanced at Raul with a smirk, bending his waist slightly, then exaggeratedly continued.
“Besides, Princess, isn’t it that you welcome my visit? You can’t refuse that. Right, brother?”
Unable to refute Khalid’s words loudly in front of Velia, Raul just turned away, his teeth clenched.
* * *
Velia postponed meeting Derek for later and returned to the palace with Prince Raul and Prince Khalid.
Ultimately, she didn’t achieve her goal, but it wasn’t entirely unproductive.
She could be sure that where Derek was would be a tavern, and she met the second prince, whom she had been observing for a while.
It felt like holding useful cards in both hands.
“Welcome to Ronica.”
The King of Ronica was very surprised to meet the second prince who had come suddenly.
The fact that two princes of the Empire visited the kingdom at the same time could have a bigger impact externally than expected.
Since the heir to the throne had not yet been decided, and they were competing for the next emperor, it was even more so.
Moreover, they were currently conducting a joint investigation of the gold mine with the Empire, so it was possible that Ronica could be seen as intervening in their power struggle.
For this reason, the king couldn’t just welcome the sudden visit of the second prince unconditionally.
“We also need time to prepare, so could you give us some time? What do you think?”
After much deliberation, the king decided that today was not the second prince’s visit but that of a friend of Velia’s, and he would decide on the date for the second prince’s official visit to Ronica.
When Khalid’s knights all gathered in the capital, there were no plans for today’s meeting, and they planned to hold a grand welcoming ceremony as if today’s meeting had never happened.
“All right. Then, I’ll visit formally on the scheduled date.”
Khalid also agreed with the king’s decision.
He never had any intention of coming into the palace and staying.
It was just something he did to dig into Raul’s mind.
“Well. And I had something to talk to the princess about as well.”
In fact, Khalid didn’t sincerely accept the story in the letter.
Knowing there was no gold mine was surprising, but maybe it was just a coincidence that the story fit. So initially, he wanted to find out who it was.
Anyway, if the contents of the letter were true, he could gain tremendous benefits, and even if it was someone’s prank, it would be annoying, but it wouldn’t be a loss.
But the moment he found out that the sender was Princess Velia of Ronica, his heart changed instantly. The weight of the words written in the letter became heavier.
Moreover, Raul was secretly contacted by the woman he was currently desperately chasing.
And that too, with a clear intention of teasing Raul.
“Interesting.”
Khalid chuckled as he leaned against the window, his arms crossed.
He found himself genuinely curious about her true intentions.
“Welcome. Let’s reintroduce ourselves formally. I’m Velia of Ronica.”
At that moment, when Velia entered the reception room, she greeted him with a bright smile.
“You came.”
Khalid’s expression as he glanced up at her was unexpectedly chilly, with an air of arrogance typical of nobility.
And a subtle arrogance that was uniquely Khalid’s.
The gaze that briefly appeared between her youthful face was as sharp as a veil. There was only transparency like crystal clear eyes, reminiscent of Siri, which resembled Raul’s.
“Khalid Ingot.”
He said his name as he slowly approached from the window to the table, where he casually tossed a letter.
Seeing Khalid for the first time today and dealing with unnecessary greetings, Velia nodded, pretending not to know anything.
“What is this? Is it from the princess?”
Glancing at the letter briefly, Velia widened her eyes in surprise and then casually moved her head as if she didn’t know anything.
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t play dumb.”
His tone was disdainful, as he pointed to the subject he had left behind.
Khalid crossed his arms again and spoke up.
“What was the reason for sending this letter to me?”
Velia smiled mischievously at Khalid’s words, her mouth slightly tilting upward.
Her smile seemed very knowing.
“Because I wanted to.”
“But before you ask why, shouldn’t you give me an answer to the letter I sent?”
She could feel his hand reaching out to hers.
Because…
“I know the location of the gold mine. I thought you might have considered that the information might be somewhat true, considering that you came all the way here.”
He would hold her hand.
Because…
“Don’t you also want to give the first prince a hard time?”
“What? Hahaha!”
Khalid burst into laughter, grinning broadly at Velia’s words.
And just as his laughter began to fade away.
He genuinely asked, with a hint of amusement.
“What do you want from me?”
As expected.
Velia’s expectations were not wrong.
“What I want…”
Her lips curled up in a very tantalizing manner.
