TRETTHD 34

#34. I Hoped You’d Be Curious About Me

Velia didn’t respond—she simply raised her eyebrow slightly.
Seeing this, Khalid immediately wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her in quickly.

“Do you think I’ll regret this?”

With that, Velia naturally placed her arms around Khalid’s neck.

At her provocative answer, Khalid, as if losing the last shred of reason he’d barely been holding onto, desperately sought Velia’s lips.

“Eep!”

“Oh dear…”

Watching them, Asid let out a sigh.

He had a feeling they were being too quiet.

As someone who had witnessed their relationship up close back in the Kingdom of Ronica, Asid had been on edge the whole time.

How could they lull him into a false sense of security, only to pull something like this so suddenly?

“Velia…”

Khalid’s voice, calling her name in a low and husky tone, was not normal.
If this kept going, something serious was definitely going to happen!

“Ahem!! Ahem! AHEM!!”

Asid began coughing desperately.

‘Not here! Absolutely not here!’

His position was entirely different from that of Princess Velia!
Was she trying to stir up more rumors?

“Pfft.”

“Huh…?”

Hearing a sudden burst of laughter, Asid looked around in confusion.

“Hahaha.”

It was a clear, sparkling sound.

The laughter came from none other than Princess Velia.

“That’s enough. Let’s go inside. Thanks for the warm welcome, Khalid.”

Still leaning into his chest, Velia giggled before gently pushing him away.

“Where’s my room?”

With her calm question, the strange tension between them dissolved as if it had never existed.

“…Haa. I’ll show you.”

Khalid wiped his face once with his hand and then extended it to Velia.

She lightly took his hand and stepped toward the stairs leading to the Second Prince’s residence.

* * *

In her previous life, Velia had stayed in the First Prince’s palace, so this was her first time seeing the Second Prince’s quarters.

As the First Prince’s consort, she had no reason to visit, and even after becoming Empress, she never once visited the uninhabited palace of a prince.
So she had vaguely assumed Khalid’s residence would be similar to Raul’s.

“It’s neat.”

“I don’t like clutter.”

While the First Prince’s palace, where Raul stayed, was drenched in luxury, the Second Prince’s palace was simple and clean, free from anything unnecessary.

Yet it didn’t feel empty—it felt comfortable, simply unburdened by excess.

Khalid suddenly stopped and asked,

“…Do you like cutesy things? Should I redecorate your room?”

At his cautious question, Velia covered her mouth and laughed again.

“What’s funny?”

“You… seem a little different.”

“Me?”

You’ve become kinder.
There was warmth in his words.

Maybe it was because it had been a while since they last met, but everything he said sounded so sweet.

But Velia only giggled quietly and didn’t answer him.
Let him wonder a little longer.

“Is this the room I’ll be staying in?”

She quickly changed the subject.

As they entered the room he had prepared, Velia gasped in admiration at how thoughtfully it had been arranged.

The adjoining walk-in closet was filled with newly tailored dresses and all sorts of jewelry.
She could’ve walked straight into a party that very night—everything was perfectly prepared.

“When did you do all this?”

“Right after you returned?”

“But I didn’t even get my measurements taken…”

Usually, clothes are custom-fitted, requiring proper measurements.
How could these dresses have been made without that process?

When Velia expressed her doubt, Khalid replied proudly.

“I snuck away a few of your clothes in advance. Your sister helped.”

Seriously?

He colluded with Cloze and secretly took her clothes?

Velia was speechless, her mouth agape.

“Princess Cloze has such a great personality. I like her.”

“…Khalid.”

“But it saved you the trouble, didn’t it? You would’ve had to get everything tailored anyway.”

He smiled, saying he wanted to gift her an entirely new wardrobe for the Empire.
And with that, Velia couldn’t even get mad.

In the end, she chuckled softly and thanked him.

“Oh, and we’ll greet His Majesty together later.”

“We don’t have to go today?”

Even though Ronica was a friendly allied kingdom, it was still a much smaller nation compared to the Empire.
Technically, Velia should’ve gone to greet the Emperor right away.

But Khalid shrugged casually.

“I already informed him. He didn’t seem to care much. Besides, you’re tired today. You should rest.”

In truth, Velia wasn’t particularly eager to meet the Emperor, either.
She had only considered it to avoid any unnecessary rumors.

“There’ll be a welcome party for you in a few days, so there’s no need to push yourself now. Things will get busy after the party.”

Velia nodded slightly.

“What about the Empress?”

She also needed to greet the current Empress, who had essentially locked herself away in the Empress’s palace.
After all, the Empress was Khalid’s mother, and Velia wanted to meet her properly.

“You don’t need to.”

But Khalid firmly refused, even avoiding Velia’s gaze.

“I should. I’m marrying your son, after all.”

Khalid didn’t answer, clearly reluctant.

Velia dismissed the maids who were unpacking her belongings and sat Khalid down on the sofa.
She realized he had never really talked about the Empress before.

“Khalid. Do you not want me to meet the Empress?”

Velia asked carefully.

“But I’ll have to see her at our wedding anyway.
And wasn’t she the one who helped us get engaged?”

“…I was worried she might scare you.”

“Who? The Empress?”

“She’s… a very formidable person. She might say something harsh.
Even helping with the proposal was something that aligned with her own goals.
The Empress is nothing like a typical mother.”

Khalid’s explanation, unlike his usual confident self, was laced with bitterness.
Watching him, Velia searched her memories of the previous life—of her encounter with the Empress.

Back then, when she visited as Raul’s fiancée, she was humiliated.

‘She slapped me. Poured tea on me.’

But looking back, the Empress hadn’t acted irrationally.
Her cold and calculated judgment stood out.

‘She didn’t even glance at me when no one else was around.’

When the Empress heard that Velia had come alone to the Empress’s palace, she showed up abruptly and theatrically slapped her.

The icy glare in her eyes had shocked Velia.
It hadn’t been the gaze of a madwoman.

Later, when Velia tried to investigate more about her, the Empress suddenly died.

“I’ll go see the Empress myself.”

Velia was sure the Empress had a deep emotional wound.
But something didn’t sit right.

Given what happened, the fact that she shut herself away in the palace must’ve been a choice.
Velia couldn’t understand why the Empress accepted the stigma of madness and chose isolation.

There had to be another hidden reason.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to visit her today, so just arrange a meeting sometime soon.”

After their conversation, Velia looked around the room and noticed a particularly unusual door.
She turned the handle, but—click—it didn’t open.

“What’s in here?”

Khalid made a strange face at her question.

He looked like a child seeking praise.

‘Huh?’

Velia jiggled the door handle a few more times—click, click.

“Are you curious?”

“Yes. Very curious.”

“One sec.”

Without answering, Khalid left the room.

Velia stood there, baffled.
But then she felt the handle turn smoothly in her hand.

“Huh?”

The door, once firmly shut, opened to reveal Khalid on the other side, smirking mischievously.

“What is it?”

“What do you mean? It’s a door.”

Catching a glimpse of the room behind him, Velia giggled.

“Is this your room?”

Khalid silently stepped aside—as if to say, go ahead.

“Then, excuse me.”

Without hesitation, Velia entered his bedroom.
It was a simple space with a large bed, a sofa, and a desk.

“Not much here, huh?”

Velia sat casually on the bed and smiled.

Khalid leaned against the desk and stared at her with a grumpy expression.

“You don’t seem to care much about me.”

His voice lacked its usual energy.

“What do you mean by that?”

“You have no idea how much I’m holding back right now, do you?”

His eyes widened dramatically, as if truly surprised she didn’t know.

“I do.”

“You do? Then how can you act like this? You’re cruel.”

He grumbled with heartfelt frustration.

“You even pushed me away when I kissed you earlier.
Do you even realize it’s been a whole month since we last met?”

His sulking tone made Velia turn her head away and burst into laughter.

“Hahaha.”

Seeing her pretty eyes crinkle as she laughed, Khalid felt a wave of mischief rise within him.

“So? Did you find out a lot about me while I was gone?”

How did it feel, learning more about me?

Did you end up knowing more about me than Raul?

His blue eyes were filled with unspoken questions.

“You’re quite sneaky…”

Velia rose from the bed and approached him.

She placed her hand on his shoulder and pressed close.

“You hid a lot of things, didn’t you?”

With a subtle smile on her lips, she asked,

“Must’ve been fun for you, huh?”

Her tone was light—but her words were not.

“We have a lot to talk about, don’t we… Khalid?”

Khalid’s gaze followed her hand as it slowly slid from his shoulder down to his chest.

As her fingers trailed across his chest, up his brow, and down to her long lashes, nose, and red lips, his gaze gradually heated.

“…I wanted you to be curious about me.”

“And I became very curious about you.”

Khalid placed his hand around Velia’s waist and pulled her onto the desk.

“So? Did that satisfy your curiosity?
Or are you thinking of proposing a new condition?”

He teased, smirking provocatively.

But Velia shook her head.

“No.
Rather, I’ve been thinking about what it is you really want from me.”

Why did he keep acting like a child begging for attention?

“Do you really want my heart? Or are you just pretending to?”

“Velia.”

Every time he called her name, her heart fluttered—like a young girl in her first romance, just as Cloze said.

“I can’t trust you. I don’t believe you.”

People always change.

You… and me, too.

“But…”

Unable to hold back any longer, Velia cupped his face and kissed him briefly.

“If all you wanted was for me to be curious about you and give you attention—
Fine. You got what you wanted.”

Khalid held Velia’s hands, still cradling his cheeks.

“As I wanted?”

He smiled deeply.

“Velia. I think you’re misunderstanding something.”

Then, he leaned in close—his lips nearly touching hers—and whispered,

“You have no idea how much I want you.”