TRETTHD 32

Chapter 32. I Miss You

Belia gently shook her head.

“No. I want to. I…”

It wasn’t something she could bring up lightly, so Belia paused for a moment. The words—that she wanted Khalid to become emperor—grew heavier in her mouth, weighing her down. But she soon steadied herself and spoke again.

“I hope he becomes emperor.”

Her response, laced with unwavering conviction, caused Harold to look slightly surprised.

The king, wearing a confused expression, asked again.

“Can you tell me why you didn’t choose Prince Raul?”

How was she supposed to explain?

Belia simply wanted to say that a future with him would only mean death.

“If I were to marry him, not just the Kingdom of Ronica but everyone around me might end up dead by his hand. And I wouldn’t be able to live a happy life either.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“He’s not someone who can be trusted.”

Belia’s tone was resolute.

“Don’t trust Prince Raul or the emperor, Father.”

Their greed would eventually reach beyond the empire—and find its way here. Which was why they had to prepare for the empire. To the empire, the Kingdom of Ronica was an irresistibly tempting prey.

“Prince Raul is an ambitious man. Do you think he came to Ronica for no reason?”

“Hmm…”

At that moment, Harold, who had been quietly listening, cautiously spoke.

“I’ve read the report you submitted last time. I shared it with His Majesty, too.”

It was the report stating that Prince Raul had intercepted all information regarding the monsters in order to take sole credit.

“I thought it strange at the time.”

Harold stared intently at Belia.

“Belia. How did you figure that out?”

Belia stayed silent.

The king and Harold waited for her to speak, but she kept her lips sealed until the end.

“Belia, won’t you tell us how you found out?”

“…I’m sorry.”

“If you don’t tell us anything, we can’t take your word seriously, Belia.”

The king spoke to her sternly.

Yes, he was right.

Khalid, who claimed to trust her without any explanation, was the strange one.

“Prince Raul was suspicious from the beginning. He said he’d fallen for me at first sight, but it never felt sincere.”

So Belia brought up the story she had prepared in advance.

“Do you really think the only reason he came to the kingdom was to inspect the gold mine? Do you believe he proposed to me without any ulterior motive?”

“Hmm…”

“Just like we thought a marriage alliance with the empire’s First Prince wasn’t a bad deal, he likely weighed me up based on certain advantages too.”

She wasn’t wrong. It was strange how he supposedly fell for her the moment they met.

Perhaps in agreement, Harold gave a small nod.

“So I kept an eye on his actions. Better to be prepared than not. And just in time, I discovered signs that he was diverting the reports.”

As Belia finished, the king stroked his chin and chuckled.

“That was just your good luck. He was so sure he wouldn’t be caught—so sure, that he let his guard down.”

He looked at her warmly, as if proud.

“But we still don’t have enough evidence to fully believe you.”

“Father…”

“I understand your opinion. But don’t worry—I won’t handle matters lightly just because you’re in the empire. Will that do?”

He looked over the map Belia had brought. It marked the gold mine and the location of the monster sightings.

And between the Ingot Empire and the Kingdom of Ronica, there was a long, prominent line that stood out on the map.

“What is this?”

“If the empire demands access to the Shanetan Central Road, please make sure to refuse.”

“Oh? And what makes you think they’ll make such a demand?”

Belia’s eyes gleamed as she answered.

“Lately, the empire’s been demanding road access from other nations under the pretense of trade or investment. We won’t be an exception.”

The king nodded, as if he had been expecting this.

“We must continue collecting tolls as before. We absolutely cannot approve opening the road for their convenience.”

“And why do you think that is?”

“If our relations with the empire sour, they might use that road to invade us.”

Harold agreed with Belia.

“We already know there’ll be a struggle over the imperial throne. Who knows where the sparks might fly? There’s no need to take unnecessary risks by opening that road.”

A satisfied smile crept across the king’s face as he looked at Belia.

After a few more reminders, the long conversation finally came to an end.

“Princess!”

As Belia trudged wearily back to her room, carrying fatigue on her shoulders, a maid approached and handed her a letter.

A letter?

Wearing a puzzled expression, Belia sat down at her small desk and examined the seal. Her face immediately lit up. She knew exactly who had sent it.

When on earth did he write this?

The moment she realized it was from Khalid, her hands fumbled with excitement.

She quickly unfolded the neatly folded letter and began to read.

“Ahaha…”

By the time she finished reading, Belia burst into laughter—and even shed a few tears.

He had sent the letter after just three days of being apart.

Yet it was filled to the brim with flowery expressions and dozens of ways to say I miss you. Each sentence was written with such sweet exaggeration…

It didn’t match his usual tone at all, which only made it funnier. It was over-the-top, even absurd.

“What is this?”

She muttered with a baffled smile, but still read the letter over and over again. Somehow, the emptiness left by his absence felt just a little bit less heavy.

What was this emotion?

A ticklish warmth fluttered around her heart.

She couldn’t take her eyes off the line where he wrote, I miss you.

“Haa…”

Belia let out a long breath.

She felt so full of unfamiliar emotions, it was almost suffocating.

“Khalid…”

Where was he now?

Had he reached the Duchy of Tessa?

Was the journey hard on him?

…Was his heart truly sincere?

Countless questions spun around in her head.

Thoughts of Khalid filled her mind entirely.

“…I miss you, too.”

The words slipped from her mouth before she even realized. It had only been a few days, yet she already missed him.

They hadn’t even spent that much time together.

She had lived far more days without him than with him—so being alone now should’ve felt normal. But strangely, she couldn’t remember those days clearly anymore.

Especially on this particularly tiring day, she wished he could be by her side, holding her tightly.

Derrick let out a half-laughing sigh as he looked over the report brought by the elite informant.

So it’s true…

He leaned against his desk and rested his chin on his hand, looking skeptical.

How could all of this be real?

“When are they expected to arrive?”

“…They should be here in two days.”

“And the pursuers?”

“All taken care of.”

Derrick nodded.

The location of the sacred relic that Princess Belia had shared was extremely well hidden. It was too risky for informants to enter just to confirm the relic’s presence—they could’ve lost their only shot.

This one was practically a gamble…

There had been only one chance to verify the place where the relic was supposedly kept.

It was a sealed chamber protected by layers of magical devices, leaving no way to hide any signs of intrusion.

Trying to confirm Belia’s intel might have led to a total mission failure—and if that happened, they’d have moved the relic elsewhere.

It would’ve been nearly impossible to track down afterward.

So in the end, they decided to proceed with the retrieval together with the high priests from the Holy Nation who had commissioned the job. Since sacred relics couldn’t be touched by just anyone, there was no other way.

The clients had been skeptical, but recently they received confirmation that the relic had indeed been found and successfully recovered.

“How’s the investigation on the Second Prince coming along?”

“…There are some suspicious leads. Please give us a bit more time.”

“Suspicious?”

“Yes. A few things are still unclear. We’re nearing the end of the investigation and will compile it shortly.”

Derrick let out a long sigh.

If even their top-tier informants couldn’t figure it out—

Interesting.

Once the clients and the relic arrived safely, he would hand over the information Princess Belia had requested, as agreed.

The guild already had a considerable amount of information on Second Prince Khalid. But while reviewing and reorganizing it, they discovered several new things.

…They really are a strange pair.

Of course, he meant Khalid and Belia.

Derrick recalled a previous conversation he’d had with Khalid.

If Belia ever asks for information about me, tell her everything—even the smallest details.

He had said it with such excitement, as if he genuinely looked forward to Belia investigating him. Then he’d added—

Oh, and if the guild doesn’t know enough, just come find me. I’ll tell you the rest myself.

That comment, implying you’ll never be able to uncover it all without me, had really bruised Derrick’s pride.

The intelligence guild Runess was acknowledged across the entire continent. For someone to say come to me if you can’t do your job properly was infuriating.

Haa…

Even now, just thinking about it irritated him.

Still frowning, Derrick asked about the personal investigation he had ordered earlier.

“Has the investigation into Princess Belia been completed?”

“…I’m sorry.”

Derrick shot a sharp glare at the investigator standing before him.

“Don’t tell me you found nothing.”

“What I reported earlier was everything. There’s nothing unusual about Princess Belia.”

“Then how do you explain how a princess who spent her days quietly reading in the castle suddenly knows about all the hidden happenings across the continent?”

“…I’m sorry.”

Derrick ran a rough hand through his hair.

“Keep her under observation. Raise her surveillance level to top-priority.”

“Yes, sir.”

Something about this damned curiosity kept urging him to dig deeper into them.

“Hmm…”

He had confirmed it when he saw them together—they were definitely sincere. It wasn’t a political marriage or a forced relationship. And yet, they both seemed anxious about each other. That had struck him as odd.

“For now, investigate as thoroughly as we can. And prepare a revised report on Prince Khalid. We owe it to our clients to maintain their trust.”

He’d catch something eventually, if he kept watching.

Derrick smirked meaningfully, the corners of his lips curling upward.