TRETTHD 08

Chapter 8. Rumors

After finishing his conversation with Belia and exiting the royal palace, Prince Khalid was approached by his escort knight, Asid, who had been waiting nearby.

“Did it go well?”

From the look on Khalid’s face, it appeared the conversation had been quite pleasant.

Asid was intensely curious about what they had talked about. However, His Highness clearly had no intention of sharing the details.

“Hmm. Who knows.”

“You seem to be in a good mood. I assume you were pleased with her?”

“Well. She’s rather bold.”

Even thinking back on it, Belia was incredibly fearless.

She knew exactly who he was…

‘Well…’

She was going to be his lover from now on.

So, Khalid thought he’d better warn her to refrain from doing such reckless things moving forward. He closed his eyes for a moment.

“Did you learn the location of the gold mine?”

“No.”

“Wasn’t that the reason you came all the way here?”

Asid asked, sounding puzzled.

An enormous number of people had been mobilized just to trace the sender of that letter. They had retraced every step, worried that the First Prince’s faction might catch wind of it.

Through the wax seal’s origin, the places where the letter had temporarily stayed, and the partial lettering on the stationery, they had finally confirmed the sender—Princess Belia.

Asid felt a little disheartened remembering how Khalid had coldly pressured him during the investigation.

All that suffering just to get that information…

“Is it possible the Princess lied—?”

“Asid. Don’t jump to conclusions.”

When Asid began voicing doubts about Belia, Khalid raised his hand and cut him off.

“More importantly, I’ll be making an official visit to the royal palace soon. Prepare accordingly.”

So that’s how it turned out.

Asid nodded, realizing he’d need to significantly revise the schedule.

“And we’ll need to spread a few rumors.”

If word got out early that he and the princess were lovers, Raul would be desperate to try and win her over before Khalid officially arrived at the palace.

Just imagining that smug bastard groveling to gain someone’s affection amused Khalid.

Especially because Raul would undoubtedly fail.

‘This will be fun.’

From the way things were progressing…

Raul wouldn’t be able to spy on the princess anymore or station people around her to monitor her every move.

‘He should’ve been more discreet. What a fool.’

The guy lived in his own little world, and it showed in how careless he was.

Even when he tried to be clever, his thinking was so full of arrogance that he never considered the possibility of failure. Most of his plans were fundamentally flawed from the start.

Of course, Raul’s current position—backed by the Emperor’s full support—was powerful enough to override many of those flaws.

“What kind of rumor are we spreading?”

“That Princess Belia and I are in a very deep relationship. That she couldn’t accept the First Prince’s proposal because of me and is in a very difficult position.”

Ah, and to add:

“It’d be good to throw in that she’s been waiting desperately for her beloved.”

“…What?”

Now that they’d agreed to work together, it was only right for him to support her properly.

“So much to do for the one I love.”

“…What was that?”

Did he just say… love? Beloved?

Asid blinked, wondering if he’d heard correctly.

“And I think I’ll be getting married. Just a heads-up.”

“…Excuse me?!”

Asid shouted, completely unable to follow the logic.

Marriage?!

“W-Wait! Your Highness!”

But Khalid smiled and walked away, completely ignoring Asid’s shriek of disbelief.

* * *

The rumor spread like wildfire.

That the Second Prince of the Empire, Khalid, and the First Princess of the Kingdom of Ronica, Belia, were secretly involved in a clandestine relationship.

Given their status, it was far too grand a subject to be dismissed as mere gossip. People whispered the story everywhere.

“Sis!”

The rumor soon reached the Ronican royal palace. Having heard it at a tea party with friends, a stunned Chloé came rushing into Belia’s room.

“I just heard the wildest rumor!”

Belia had been sitting elegantly, reading a book. She looked up as the door slammed open.

Seeing it was Chloé, she calmly placed a bookmark where she’d stopped and closed the book.

“Chloé, didn’t I tell you not to run indoors?”

“Is that really what you want to say right now?!”

Even as she panted for breath, Chloé didn’t stop talking.

“You and the Second Prince…! That, that—!”

“Are the rumors saying we’re dating?”

Belia asked instead, filling in Chloé’s stammering.

“Yes! That!”

“And?”

Chloé, frustrated by Belia’s calm reaction, pounded her chest.

“What do you mean, and?! The whole nobility is talking about it! I bet it’s spread to the Empire too!”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Belia’s composure was almost unnerving.

“…Don’t tell me.”

Chloé suddenly recalled how frantic her sister had been trying to find a way to reject the First Prince’s proposal.

And how she had casually said the Second Prince seemed like a better option…

No way. No way…!

Chloé clutched her head and shouted,

“You didn’t spread that rumor yourself, did you?!”

Belia shook her head.

“No. I wasn’t the one who spread it.”

Right. Of course not.

There’s no way she would—

“He probably did.”

“…Huh?”

Wait. WHAT?!

“Are you saying the Second Prince spread the rumor?!”

“Yeah.”

“Sis!”

Chloé screamed so loudly that Belia winced and covered her ears.

“You’re hurting my ears. Why are you yelling?”

“Hold on. Just wait…!”

As her younger sister flailed in panic, Belia spoke calmly.

“There’s no need to be so shocked. It’s something we agreed on.”

“You’re not actually saying you’re in that kind of relationship with him, are you?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

Belia casually corrected her and walked out onto the terrace.

The sun was still bright.

The sunlight glinting on the stone made her feel strangely refreshed.

‘He’s fulfilling the contract.’

If Raul were to now withdraw his proposal because of the scandal, it would be ideal.

‘But he won’t.’

He was still visiting her daily, pestering her persistently.

In that case, she thought, it would be better to publicly reveal her “relationship” with Prince Khalid.

‘How should I make it known…?’

It bothered her, thinking so calculatingly about a relationship. It made her feel no different from Raul, who had done the same to her.

But this wasn’t a relationship built on love.

It was a transaction based on mutual benefit.

So this was different.

If Khalid were to one day come to her and say he had fallen for someone else—

‘Then I’ll let him go quietly.’

Since divorce among royals was forbidden under imperial law, she could just retreat to a countryside estate and live out her life as if dead.

As long as she could ruin Raul utterly…

If she could return even a fraction of the hell she had experienced, it would all be worth it.

“Sis. You barely knew the Second Prince until recently. Just because you didn’t want to marry the First Prince—jumping into this suddenly…! You won’t be able to walk this back!”

Chloé had followed her onto the terrace, her voice filled with disbelief.

What the hell had happened in that short time? And how had she even met the Second Prince?

“Don’t worry.”

Unlike her stunned sister, Belia’s expression remained calm.

She smiled faintly at Chloé.

This time, she wouldn’t let anyone die.

No more tragedies.

May her precious family finally live happy lives.

“I’ve got a plan.”

In this life, she was determined not to repeat the past’s mistakes.

‘I’m atoning for everyone.’

She would undo the misfortune she had caused.

So there would be no problem.

Even if it meant sacrificing her own life.

The rumors about Belia and Khalid only grew wilder and more widespread.

But still, Raul kept visiting Belia, offering her everything he had that Khalid didn’t.

He subtly badmouthed Khalid, trying to sway her heart.

“Haa…”

To an outsider, he may have seemed like a concerned older brother.

But Belia knew better.

This was Raul’s typical, passive-aggressive way of tearing others down.

“So please, reconsider my proposal.”

“Your Highness. As I’ve said many times—”

Belia began, exasperated, but Raul cut her off with a smile.

“Princess Belia, I’m a patient man. I can wait however long it takes to win you over. So please, give it more thought.”

“I…”

“You said you had feelings for Khalid, didn’t you?”

Again, Raul cut her off, as though he didn’t want to hear the rest.

“You’re only saying that because you don’t know the real him.”

She had told Raul several days ago that her heart already belonged to someone else, implying his proposal was meaningless.

Her tone had been firm—essentially a rejection.

But Raul didn’t back down.

“I know him quite well.”

“No, Princess. That’s a delusion. You’ve only met him once.”

Raul spoke as if he knew everything. As if anything outside of his experience couldn’t possibly be true.

Belia let out a small, incredulous laugh.

“Your Highness. Khalid is currently staying in our capital. Do you really think I’ve only met him once?”

Raul’s expression froze.

But he quickly regained his smile and tried again to persuade her.

“You’ve only known him for, what, a month? Can you really trust your feelings so quickly?”

He had known Belia for less than two months himself. Yet he spoke as if he were the exception.

“That’s strange coming from you, Your Highness. After all, you haven’t known me that long either.”

You’d think that would wipe the smile off his face, but Raul remained unfazed. Still wearing that gentle expression, he said,

“I truly love you, Princess. That love only grows stronger each day. I’m the one who can make you happy.”

Liar…!

In her previous life, Belia never realized how false his words were.

That ignorance now filled her with rage.

How laughable she must have looked to him back then!

Belia pushed down her seething anger. Now wasn’t the time.

Even though Raul continued to pour his heart out in persuasion, she remained firm.

She stood up, signaling the end of their tea time, and stated clearly,

“No matter what you say, I don’t think I’ll ever change my mind.”

No sweet words would ever move her again.

She would never choose him.