TRETTHD 22

#22. The Reason My Heart Trembles

“Haa…!”

Derrick swiftly drew the sword from his waist and pointed it at Belia.

“You’re taking a dangerous gamble. Do you really think I’d let someone live who knows this secret?”

The blade touched Belia’s neck. The cold metal on her skin sent chills down her spine.

A chilling, creepy coldness.

But Belia had something she could rely on.

“You didn’t think you’d walk away from here safely, did you?”

“You can’t kill me.”

“And why do you think that?”

To his question, Belia responded calmly, as if the answer were obvious.

“Because your curiosity won’t allow it. How does she know this? A secret no one else could know—why would the princess be aware of it? What other information might she have…?”

Then, she locked eyes with Derrick.

“That’s what you’re dying to know. That’s why you can’t kill me.”

She was right.

Derrick was someone with informant instincts ingrained down to his bones.

If he killed her now, he wouldn’t be able to hear the rest of the story that intrigued him so deeply.

In the end, Derrick let out a dry laugh and withdrew the sword from her neck.

“…A troublesome client has come to me.”

Sheathing the sword back into its scabbard, Derrick slumped into a chair.

He was no different from the Derrick Belia had known in her previous life.

That meant coaxing him going forward wouldn’t be too difficult.

It had been a gamble, but fortune was on her side—it worked out easier than expected.

‘Well, either way, he wouldn’t have killed me in the end.’

Though he threatened her, asking if she really thought she could walk out safely, killing someone who knew about the marquisate bastard of House Sellon would’ve been too costly.

He was a calculating man—he’d surely realized the risk outweighed the gain.

“Alright. Then may I ask what information you possess that I didn’t foresee?”

Derrick’s tone changed.

His gaze now held a deeper suspicion and curiosity toward Belia.

“I believe I’ve already paid you in full.”

“Think of it as a down payment. I have a feeling we’ll be doing a lot more business in the future.”

Belia thought the same.

She was sure their dealings would continue for a long time.

With a calm smirk, Belia folded her arms and waited a moment.

“Hm. Honestly, even if I told you, this wouldn’t be information that’s useful to Lunes.”

And yet, if he heard this, his client status within the information guild would no doubt skyrocket. Even the guild members and the Emperor of the Empire didn’t know this.

Belia smiled slyly.

“You’re not the branch manager of the information guild.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Derrick asked with a completely unbothered expression, as if he truly didn’t understand.

Belia found him amusing.

The information she had was all based on what she had personally experienced—it was reliable. This story she was about to bring up was something he had confirmed with his own mouth in the past.

She wondered how he would react now upon hearing it.

“Derrick Sellon, master of the Lunes Information Guild. How does it feel to meet me?”

It wouldn’t be fair if only he knew her true identity, right?

* * *

Belia exited the room with a stiff expression. Ben, who had been waiting nearby, saw her face and relaxed his grip on his sword. The two of them descended the stairs quietly and left the tavern.

“Were you alright?”

“Yes. Things went smoothly.”

“I see.”

Seeing Ben’s downcast expression, Belia spoke.

“I’m sorry I can’t tell you everything. But you’re the only one I could bring with me. Thank you for always going along with my unreasonable requests.”

At Belia’s warm words, the tightness in Ben’s face eased slightly.

“Come to think of it, I recently received a delicious fruit. It’s a tropical fruit that only grows in the southern continent—I’ll send some to your house. I think your wife and child will enjoy it.”

“That won’t be necessary.”

“No, I want to give it as a gift. Please accept it without worry.”

Having been by her side as her escort since she was young, Ben held a special place in Belia’s heart.

“Then I’ll accept it gratefully.”

Knowing how she felt, Ben didn’t refuse again and smiled politely.

“When we return to the castle, if Cloja asks questions, please pretend you don’t know anything.”

“Of course.”

Cloja, being sharp, might have already realized they’d slipped out again.

Knowing she wouldn’t get an answer from Belia, she’d surely bother Ben instead.

“Let’s hurry back then.”

“Yes, Princess.”

* * *

When Belia arrived back at the castle, the atmosphere was strangely unsettled.

‘What’s going on?’

It was loud, but also subdued—an odd tension hung in the air.

“Is something happening?”

She stopped a passing maid and asked. The maid, flustered, replied,

“Ah! Princess! Yes, yes! His Highness the princes have just returned!”

“You mean Prince Khalid and Prince Raul returned together?”

“Yes, that’s correct!”

Khalid and Raul?

That meant things had gone just as she’d planned.

With a lighter heart, Belia returned to her room, where a lady-in-waiting was pacing anxiously.

“Princess! Where have you been? You fell asleep in the garden again, didn’t you?! The second prince has returned!”

“I heard. Where is he now?”

“He’s speaking with the prince near the front square.”

Belia nodded and quickly changed her clothes.

She felt her current attire, after having been outside, was not appropriate to present herself to him in.

“How about this one, Princess?”

“Hm… do you have something in a darker tone? This color’s too bright—it feels like I’m trying too hard.”

“Hmm… Whatever you wear, you’ll look like you tried too hard…”

Ignoring the maid’s comment, Belia chose a deep blue dress—modest yet elegant.

With a satisfied expression, she adjusted her dress and headed toward the main gate.

Just as the maid said, Khalid and Herald were chatting there. Behind them was the enormous corpse of a subjugated monster loaded onto a carriage.

“Hahaha! Truly impressive!”

“No, I was just lucky. I only followed out of concern for Prince Raul…”

Khalid responded modestly.

Herald liked Khalid.

When rumors first circulated about him being involved with Belia, Herald had been furious enough to want to trip him on purpose. But now, he saw that Khalid was manly, easygoing, and remarkably capable.

In hindsight, maybe he had always been better than Prince Raul.

“Thanks to you, Prince Raul was able to return safely.”

“I’m truly relieved he’s unharmed.”

Khalid lied shamelessly.

Herald, unaware, was moved by his kindness and sincerity.

Herald was truly a good man. Too good—it was almost worrisome.

Belia, who had been watching quietly, slowly approached them.

“Brother. Khalid.”

“Belia! Where have you been? Prince Khalid subjugated Alag and even brought back Prince Raul!”

“Oh my! You were so worried about the first prince back then! It’s a good thing Khalid followed him. How lucky!”

Belia shamelessly joined the charade. That’s what it meant to be in a relationship with him, right?

Khalid laughed in delight at her performance. He then naturally reached out his hand to her.

Belia, thinking he was about to hug her, mentally prepared herself.

‘…Huh?’

But the hug never came.

Puzzled, she looked at him—only to see Khalid pulling his hand back.

“Khalid?”

Belia tilted her head and moved closer.

Startled, Khalid stepped back.

‘What?!’

She approached out of joy, only to be avoided—her heart sank.

“…What’s that about?”

He always tried so hard to touch her!

Now he was avoiding her? It was jarring.

Even though he saw her reaction, Khalid couldn’t bring himself to reach out.

‘This is driving me crazy.’

He clenched his fists.

Having just returned from the subjugation, he hadn’t bathed in days. His clothes were stained with monster blood and fluids—he likely smelled awful.

He couldn’t hug Belia like this. But how could he ignore her outstretched hand?

It was harder than fighting monsters.

Khalid’s pupils trembled.

“Belia. I’m too dirty right now—I can’t come near you.”

“Why?”

“I haven’t even bathed for days…”

That’s why he pushed her away!?

Belia felt annoyed.

She couldn’t say exactly why, but she was upset.

She offered her hand, and he rejected it. He didn’t rush to her as soon as he saw her. He avoided her just because he hadn’t bathed?

‘Seriously, what is this…’

She didn’t understand why she felt so conflicted over something so trivial.

They were just in a contractual relationship—so why feel hurt that he didn’t approach her?

She quickly tried to suppress her jumbled emotions and looked at Khalid again.

‘Oh, come on!’

Seeing him looking utterly dejected, even more upset than she was, her heart softened again.

With a quiet sigh, she stepped forward.

“Belia!”

Khalid called her name in surprise, but she ignored him and embraced him tightly.

“My clothes will get dirty—wait…”

Khalid tried to push her away, but Belia didn’t budge.

“I don’t care.”

“But…”

“You’ve worked hard. I’m glad you came back safely.”

Her words made Khalid’s heart pound fiercely.

Just the fact that she approached him first had already overwhelmed him.

“I’m back.”

With trembling hands, Khalid wrapped his arms tightly around her.

He buried his face in her neck and inhaled deeply.

It felt like he could finally breathe.

“I missed you, Belia.”

Though she didn’t reply with a “Me too,” it didn’t matter.

The fact that she approached him first.

The way she said she didn’t care that he was dirty.

That was more than enough of an answer.

For some reason, Khalid felt like he couldn’t live without Belia anymore.

“I really, really missed you.”