Returning to their palace, Khalid and Belia continued the meeting with serious expressions.
Around them were Asid and other knights, as well as secretaries.
“…This is a trap.”
“I know.”
Although Belia tried to dissuade him from going, she knew the fact that they couldn’t outright refuse the Emperor’s proposal.
There was no grounds to reject it, and the benefits of successfully resolving this diplomatic negotiation were significant.
While the Second Prince, Khalid, had recently shown prominence, there lacked a decisive event to be recognized as the heir.
And this negotiation was a golden opportunity to showcase his abilities.
The negative image of Khalid had largely been erased.
However, if people were asked whether he was competent, most would either not know or even assert that he wasn’t.
Hence, despite knowing that this journey to Yakum might be a trap, it was as tempting as a fruit at the end of a long road, capable of dispelling all doubts and concerns.
“It’s too dangerous to go without knowing what they are hiding.”
“I have no choice. Since they have agreed to send Duke Caprie Hufak and the knights, it’s not an entirely malicious plan.”
Belia also wanted to leave with Khalid, using the excuse of the Ronika Kingdom’s matters. However, Khalid did not permit it.
If this was a trap, Belia shouldn’t have gone, especially in a situation where there might be unknown dangers.
“First, request all the information we can gather from the Central Palace.”
Khalid ordered Asid.
Then, he assigned tasks to the surrounding knights and secretaries, each having something they needed to do immediately.
The departure date needed to be decided, a meeting had to be held, and the personnel for the negotiation team needed to be selected.
Tasks poured in like a mountain.
“We’ll start the meeting as soon as we gather all the information.”
“Yes!”
As everyone was about to leave the meeting room with enthusiastic responses, Khalid stopped Asid.
“Also, deliver this letter to Duke Caprie.”
Today, they needed to gather all the information they could grasp. Tomorrow, they would hold a meeting with the nobles who would leave with them. And Duke Caprie would be the representative of the nobles.
“…Something feels off.”
It was reasonable to include Duke Caprie in the negotiation team, as he was a neutral figure. But why send him along when there were rumors that he supported the Second Prince?
“Did he notice something…?”
He intentionally leaked some information, but suspicions still lingered. Sending Duke Caprie, a person unrelated to this mess, on such a clearly treacherous mission seemed odd.
Khalid, who had been contemplating for a moment, stopped Asid from leaving in a hurry. He quickly scribbled something on a blank paper.
“Deliver this to the manager of the clinic.”
When Asid approached to take the paper, Belia hastily intervened and stepped forward to grab the paper.
“Belia?”
“I’ll go to the clinic. There must be something to find out, right?”
There was only one reason to convey a message to the clinic in this situation. It was certain that there was something to investigate through Deric, the master of the Information Guild Luness.
It was difficult for Belia to interfere closely in the problems that needed to be solved through close cooperation within the palace. Therefore, she had to assist in external matters.
As the people who had gathered for the meeting left the palace to carry out their assigned tasks, only Belia and Khalid remained in the room.
“…Raul must have orchestrated something.”
It was strange that he withdrew from such an affair.
Moreover, even the Emperor readily accepted his words… Belia continued to search her memory.
However, nothing came to mind.
What was she doing at this point in her previous life?
‘It was when we were in the midst of preparing for the wedding.’
At that time, the discovery of the gold mine was delayed, and the search prolonged, making Raul’s stay in the Ronika Kingdom unusually long.
Moreover, it took longer than expected to get engaged after Belia left for the Empire.
So, at this time, he was undoubtedly busy with wedding preparations.
‘I should have stayed alert and understood the situation from the beginning if I knew it would turn out like this…!’
Belia actively started assisting Raul in his work only after their marriage.
To fulfill her responsibilities as the princess consort, she had actively helped, but before that, she had been completely preoccupied with dating him.
Recalling her past self during that time, Belia cringed.
“I might try to kill you.”
She would try to exploit this situation to threaten him.
In the process, she might even lose her life.
Raul was a ruthless person.
Feeling anxious, Belia bit her lip.
Upon this, Khalid raised his hand and gently touched her lips.
“I told you not to bite them.”
“…Ah.”
Belia, who had been so anxious that she didn’t even realize her actions, widened her eyes in surprise.
“Don’t worry.”
Khalid pulled Belia into his arms and spoke.
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
