#120. Farewell
Belia sat down beside Khalid as if she were used to the empty space next to him.
Khalid ran a hand across his face, sighed, and finally spoke.
“Whenever I talk to you, I can’t help but feel… dumber. I just can’t make sense of what you mean.”
Belia chuckled softly at his words.
“Do you believe everything I’ve said?”
“Well…”
He paused briefly, then let out a small, amused laugh.
“But at least I can tell that the First Princess Consort now is different from the previous one.”
Talking with him felt a little more comfortable than before.
Perhaps, in her previous life, if she had met Khalid first instead of Raul—or even just encountered him when she arrived at the empire—a different future might have awaited her.
Come to think of it…
She suddenly recalled Khalid mentioning on the day he returned to the palace that they had met before in her previous life.
“Did we… meet before?”
“Why do you think that?”
“From the very first time we met, something felt off. Given what I know of your personality, if I were Raul’s consort, you would have ignored me or thrown me out immediately. There’d be no reason for you to speak to me.”
If she had indeed met him before, why did she have no memory of it at all?
It wasn’t because he was the Second Prince—anyone who had met Khalid even once would find it impossible to forget him.
“Did I… forget something?”
Khalid gave no answer.
Yet, in his silence, Belia felt as though she had received one.
“So there is something…”
But why did no memory remain at all?
Then Khalid asked,
“Do you dislike your brother?”
“Yes.”
Khalid replied with a lonely expression to her quick answer.
“I see. So I understand now that you are truly different from the person you were before.”
He hesitated for a moment, then, curiosity seemingly getting the better of him, he cautiously asked Belia a question—so unlike his usual bold demeanor.
“So what will happen to the ‘you’ that remains after you return?”
“…I suppose I’ll continue living as the First Princess Consort.”
Belia’s voice carried a bitter edge.
Even if her future self didn’t remember the time she had spent here, she would surely still love Raul and desire him.
Even if she tried to leave Khalid a clue about the future, asking her remaining self to pass along the message, he would probably just think she was strange and run away.
With all the stories she had heard about Raul piling up, the Second Prince Khalid was already someone Belia couldn’t let herself approach.
“I see.”
Khalid’s voice was hollow.
Belia hesitated for a moment, then asked,
“What exactly is this ‘memory I’ve lost’?”
Her curiosity could not be contained.
Although Khalid had told her to recall it, it wasn’t just that the memory was hazy—it was as if it had been completely carved out, leaving not even a trace behind.
Breaking the long silence, Khalid began to speak—and what he said shocked Belia deeply.
“…You learned of your brother and that woman’s relationship much earlier than you think.”
On the day Belia first witnessed Raul and Erze’s affair, Khalid had said that was when they first met.
“You were hiding in the corner of the party hall, watching them silently. And I caught you doing that.”
“Oh…”
Had that really happened?
Belia listened with a puzzled expression.
“Perhaps it was shocking, because you couldn’t make a sound and were crying, and when I discovered you like that, I looked away. Whether someone was crying or not was none of my concern.”
She could vividly picture the scene just from his words.
Herself, crying helplessly and unable to do anything, and Khalid, who surely must have found that pathetic.
It could not have been a pleasant meeting.
“And then, a few days later, when I happened to encounter you, you treated me as if I were a stranger.”
“Perhaps I didn’t see your face properly?”
“…No. You also had no knowledge of your brother and that woman’s relationship.”
Khalid had met Belia several times after that.
Each time, she treated him as if she had never seen him before, and they were able to converse freely.
One day, out of curiosity, he asked her about the night she witnessed Raul and Erze’s affair—and she had looked at him as if hearing about it for the first time.
“What…?”
“That means your memory had been consistently erased. And specifically, only concerning me.”
Belia covered her mouth with both hands to stifle the sound that threatened to escape.
She couldn’t believe it—her memories were being erased. By whom?
She ground her teeth.
…Raul.
If not Raul, who else could do such a thing?
Then how could someone even tamper with memories?
As if anticipating her question, Khalid asked,
“I investigated a little out of curiosity. Want to hear?”
Belia nodded.
“You acquired a magic stone, didn’t you?”
“But that was…!”
She had been certain it was used in a weapon.
“It seems someone turned it into a magical tool for manipulating memories. It’s installed somewhere in your room. Its purpose: to prevent you from remembering the Second Prince, Khalid.”
Belia trembled with rising feelings of betrayal and anger.
Since when had someone so meticulously planned to betray her?
And why erase only the memories of Khalid?
“So it erased all memory of our encounters. Your relationship with Erze was erased because of me.”
Belia let out an incredulous sigh.
“But now I remember you. How is that possible?”
“Just my guess… If what you say is true, it might be because you came from somewhere else. You weren’t the first target designated by the tool. But honestly, I can’t be certain.”
Khalid spoke, a little awkwardly.
Belia clenched her fists tightly.
What in the world had Raul been doing to her and Khalid all this time?
So that’s why Khalid always acted like he was meeting me for the first time.
And today, he finally confirmed that he remembered her, which is why he greeted her.
She could not imagine how it felt for someone to forget her every single time.
Belia hoped Khalid would not suffer any more.
She wanted him to be happy.
“Thank you.”
Belia lightly took Khalid’s hand.
“From now on, do whatever you want. Whatever it is, I’ll support you.”
Khalid did not pull away.
He fell into deep thought, then spoke heavily.
“I might become your enemy.”
“I know.”
It would be better if Khalid struck at Raul and killed me as well. That way, the future where Ronica burns might never happen.
“I won’t hold a grudge against you. I can promise that the ‘me’ in this life wouldn’t either.”
Khalid’s pupils trembled in surprise.
Belia smiled brightly and spoke with courage.
“So don’t hesitate, no matter what comes.”
Even if it meant rising above her father and brother.
Even if it meant killing the First Princess Consort.
Belia sincerely wished for him to make his decision here and become emperor.
“Khalid. Today is the last time I’ll come to this garden.”
Belia bit her lip in reluctance.
Khalid smiled lightly.
“You should break that habit of biting your lips.”
At the familiar words, Belia stared at him blankly.
Khalid rose from his seat and asked,
“How is the me there doing?”
“…Very happy. Truly well. Living with sincerity and care for each other.”
Khalid gave a small laugh.
“That’s a relief.”
He walked steadily back to the Second Prince’s palace, offering no words, as if a simple goodbye sufficed.
Belia watched his departing figure for a long time, as if saying farewell.
A sudden sharp pain made Khalid drop his pen and clutch his head. He had never felt this before and wondered if he had overexerted himself.
But memories began to surface, one by one.
“Make a deal.”
“My lover there… is you, Khalid.”
“It seems it’s because of you that I cannot return.”
It was the same phenomenon he had experienced before.
If previously, memories from before his regression had flooded in, this time…
What… is this?
These were experiences he had never lived through.
“Ugh!”
The pain was almost unbearable, and Khalid let out a pained groan.
“Don’t hesitate, no matter what comes.”
A single tear fell from Khalid’s eye.
The foggy, unclear memories slowly began to sharpen.
Once all his previous life’s memories returned fully, everything seemed to fall into place.
Khalid let out a hollow laugh and muttered to himself.
“If I hadn’t hesitated… Belia, I would have killed you. How could I have said that knowing it…”
He could not even imagine the state of mind that had allowed him to voice such a thought.
Transparent tears fell endlessly from his eyes.
Though he did not faint like before, the shock was immense.
Yet, what shocked Khalid even more was that the Belia he met in the garden was the same as the Belia of the present.
What on earth is happening?
Khalid calmly reviewed the situation.
Why only now…
Then a thought struck him, and his eyes flickered rapidly.
Belia had not returned to the past at the time she realized her regression.
So that never happened.
Since it hadn’t happened, she couldn’t have memories of it; hence, her memories of the garden had been locked.
And now that he had met her, her memories had returned.
No, he wasn’t entirely sure. How could he comprehend what the divine had done?
One thing was certain: he had requested the time magic from Duke Errington because he met Belia at this time.
He had learned of the time magic from her.
And only now did he understand why Duke Errington had said Belia was lost.
Khalid approached Belia, brushed her hair aside, and kissed her slightly on her slightly thin cheek.
“I’ll wait here, so come back quickly, Belia.”
A smile spread across Khalid’s lips.
If these memories and assumptions were correct, Belia would awaken soon.
