TRETTHD 20

#20. If We Had Never Met

Khalid led his knights in pursuit of Raul.

Velia felt strangely empty in the absence of the man who had been by her side every day.

Even when she buried herself in books in the library like before, her mood kept sinking.

Of course, this was just… a lingering sense of loss over the absence of someone who had become familiar.

“Haa…”

She couldn’t concentrate at all.

Velia ran her hands through her hair in frustration.

Then, she tangled her fingers in her hair and covered her face.

“…Familiar, my foot.”

Thinking about how Khalid had clung to her, using the excuse that they wouldn’t see each other for a while before leaving, left her feeling unsettled.

‘This wasn’t how I felt in my previous life…’

Though they had never met back then, just from the rumors, she knew how terrifying he was.

When Raul became emperor, he had tried to eliminate Khalid, who posed a threat. But every attempt had failed.

In the end, Raul gave Khalid the title of Grand Duke and granted him a distant fief. After that, Khalid never returned to the capital.

Thus, he became a forgotten Grand Duke—but Velia had known. She knew Khalid hadn’t stayed away out of consideration for Raul or to avoid conflict. He had simply been waiting for the right moment.

She had once warned Raul to keep an eye on Khalid. Of course, Raul hadn’t listened to a word she said back then.

‘I wonder what happened after I died…’

Even though she had returned to the past and everything had changed, she couldn’t help but be curious.

Did Khalid eventually start a rebellion?

Was Raul happy with Erze?

How did the Kingdom of Ronica fall after all the royals disappeared…?

‘Pointless thoughts. I came back to the past, and none of that happened.’

Velia shook her head vigorously.

More importantly, she needed to choose the right moment to spread the news about the gold mine.

No matter how she looked at it…

“When the engagement date is set by imperial decree.”

That would be the ideal time.

When all eyes were on them, she would release the rumor about the gold mine.

Along with Khalid’s heroic feat of subduing the monster and saving Raul, the news of the gold mine would only add to his glory.

‘I need people to spread the rumors.’

It had to spread through high society, of course, but more importantly, it needed to reach the citizens of the Empire.

She needed their support.

In the aristocratic circles, rumors about Khalid were already unfavorable.

That was all part of the narrative Raul had carefully crafted over the years.

So targeting high society directly wasn’t an option. She had to shift her approach.

‘I’ll start with the citizens and build up from there.’

A wise and warm-hearted prince—if such a man were also highly capable, he would become the object of admiration.

She needed to instill the idea in the people’s minds that Khalid was the rightful next emperor.

As the legitimate heir, that wouldn’t be too hard.

Then naturally, those stories would spread through noble society as well.

‘Strategy must evolve with the situation.’

When she helped Raul ascend to the throne, her targets were the Empire’s nobility.

Since his external image was already favorable, she had focused on spreading rumors about his competence. But with Khalid, the approach had to be the opposite.

‘I’ll start with the citizens and sway the nobles’ hearts toward Khalid too.’

That way, she would overturn the bad rumors about him and show the world who among the two princes was truly worthy of the throne.

‘This is his specialty, after all.’

Velia thought of the person she had considered seeking out not long ago, and without hesitation, she picked up her pen.

Khalid urged his knights onward as they traveled—not toward the location written in Raul’s falsified report, but to the spot Velia had indicated.

He’d been skeptical, but everything Velia had said so far had proven true, so he decided to trust her.

And when they arrived at the river’s lower stream, following the trail of the First Prince and his knights, they found Raul and his men under attack by the monster Allag.

“Wow. The princess was right again?”

Ashid exclaimed excitedly.

“To be honest, I doubted it at first, but now I feel like I can believe anything Princess Velia says.”

He’d thought to himself, What would a bookish princess know about monster attacks? But Velia had been spot on. Ashid’s eyes sparkled.

He hadn’t liked how she dared to order Prince Khalid around at first.

But since Khalid clearly liked her and forbade anyone from badmouthing her, all he could do was silently watch—even if he didn’t approve.

Frankly, both the discovery of the gold mine and the monster subjugation were largely thanks to Velia. Ashid felt his fondness for the princess growing.

“We’ll wait for the right moment to intervene. They seem to be holding up… for now.”

Khalid surveyed the area calmly.

If they were going to help, it had to be at the moment when things were dire—when all hope seemed lost.

If they rescued them too soon, they wouldn’t even be seen as saviors. Instead, Raul’s side would remain wary of them.

“Team One has moved to the canyon. The water flow will be cut off soon.”

Khalid looked up at the sky.

The weather was good.

No rain, no sudden gusts of wind. No variables.

“Good. It’ll be over in two hours.”

From afar, he coldly watched Raul and his knights struggling to defeat Allag.

They wouldn’t all be saved. Nor should they be.

Even if criticized for being unethical, Khalid intended to appear only after Raul’s failure was certain, posing as a coincidental savior.

All to create the image that Raul failed—and Khalid saved him.

‘I have to give Velia what she wants.’

Only then could he win her heart.

Khalid analyzed the situation rationally.

‘Right flank… rear…’

It was an ideal angle to attack Allag.

Raul and his knights were struggling because they hadn’t secured proper positioning.

The creature’s slimy body was also making it difficult for weapons to land blows—but what were they doing, floundering around like that?

‘He has skilled men and can’t even use them right. What an idiot.’

The First Prince’s knights were, in fact, highly capable.

The emperor wouldn’t have sent him a bunch of nobodies.

But Raul had been careless. He underestimated the situation and overestimated himself. And this was the result.

Raul wasn’t completely lacking in ability. If he were truly incompetent, even as the emperor’s beloved son, he wouldn’t have so many people following him.

“The monster seems more powerful than expected.”

Indeed, it was just as Velia had said. This was no ordinary Allag.

Khalid stared at the monster’s tail.

Of course, nothing could be seen with the naked eye—but something about that area nagged at him.

‘Could there really be a magic stone…?’

An unusually strong monster appearing in a specific location—every detail was valuable. If Velia had chosen Raul instead of him, all this information would’ve gone to that man.

The very thought left Khalid in a foul mood.

How lucky that Velia had rejected Raul’s proposal and chosen him instead.

She could have picked a noble from Ronica—a man she’d at least met. Then they might never have crossed paths.

‘Am I just lucky…?’

Khalid felt his mood lift again.

Velia had written to him—no one else.

And even though he usually ignored such letters, he had traveled all the way to Ronica after reading hers.

What started as a whim had snowballed into something much more.

“Your Highness. The First Prince is injured. Should we move in?”

Ashid’s words brought Khalid back to the present.

Raul was wounded, and his knights were barely holding on.

Should he wait a little longer, or—

‘Is now the time?’

Raul, clutching his injured shoulder, was retreating.

Some of his knights had been wounded as well.

No one had died yet. Khalid silently watched.

“If we leave them, they’ll be wiped out.”

…The knights weren’t at fault.

Caught up in the princes’ power struggle, they didn’t deserve to die.

Khalid nodded.

“Prepare for battle.”

Shing.

Swords were drawn.

The knights’ eyes gleamed with excitement. It had been a while since they last fought.

If Team One successfully blocked the water, taking down Allag would be quick work.

“From this point, we rescue Prince Raul and his knights. We’ll begin the monster subjugation after they’re safe.”

“Yes, sir!”

Khalid looked at Raul with eyes cold as ice.

“Then let the operation begin.”

Khalid’s knights joined the battlefield and swiftly drew Allag’s attention away, rescuing Raul and his knights and pulling them to the rear.

To prevent the monster from moving, Ashid and a few others stayed by the river to confront it directly, while Khalid and the rest tended to the severely wounded.

It was only first aid—but it was the difference between life and death.

“How… did you…?”

Through blurred vision, the badly wounded Raul spotted Khalid’s face.

Khalid didn’t answer.

Raul soon lost consciousness, and Khalid, staring at his unconscious brother, turned without hesitation toward the monster.

The First Prince’s knights watched as Khalid drew his sword from his belt—and admired his back.

Though his personality was foul and his behavior even worse, his skill, as the grandson of Duke Tessa, was the real deal.

Soon, the knights upstream successfully blocked the water flow, and the riverbed was laid bare.

“Surround the monster and attack! Don’t drag this out! Finish it in one strike!”

“Yes, sir!”

With a single swing, Khalid sliced off one of Allag’s arms.

Knights stabbed the monster from all sides.

Without water, Allag was powerless—and it collapsed.

“Waaaaah!”

Even Raul’s knights couldn’t hide their amazement and shouted in awe at the swift takedown.

Ignoring the cheers, Khalid walked toward the monster’s tail—and without hesitation, plunged his sword into it.

Clink.

A metallic sound rang out as if metal had struck metal.

“Ha…!”

Just as Velia had said, a magic stone lay hidden inside.