Khaled scanned his counterpart up and down.

He was, in a way, averagelooking.

Annoyingly so.

“Good day, Prince Khaled. I am Rain, the branch head of the information guild, Runes, in the Kingdom of Ronica.”

“A pseudonym.”

Despite clearly knowing who he was, to introduce himself with a pseudonym was unbelievable.

“Haha. It’s a habit.”

Derek responded with a casual laugh.

Khaled didn’t like his facial expression or his laugh. Everything about Derek was displeasing to him. Perhaps he would’ve minded less if Derek was a middleaged man.

The thought of this averagelooking man of his age having a private conversation with Velia turned his stomach.

Hadn’t he himself been utterly smitten when he had a oneonone meeting with Velia? There was no guarantee that this man before his eyes wouldn’t fall for her, especially since he, who had no interest in others, had fallen for her.

That Velia was so charming one couldn’t resist falling for her.

… He had to admit that he had already fallen for her.

“I have received the content from Princess Velia by letter. I hear you know all about me.”

Khaled just nodded without giving any response.

It was obvious that these sort of men were attracted to Velia because she was too beautiful.

Seeing him raise his voice when talking about Velia and the slight curve of his lips, Khaled was certain of his suspicion.

‘Hmm. He seems to dislike me.’

Khaled’s expression hardly changed, but Derek, who had dealt with people for a long time, realized by instinct that Khaled didn’t like him.

However, having had experience dealing with various clients while working in the information business, dealing with someone like Khaled was not difficult for him.

“Unfortunately, she couldn’t come with me today due to unavoidable circumstances, but it would be nice if the three of us could meet next time.”

Derek nodded his head while smiling even more brightly than before. This was just a formal response for dealing with a difficult customer in the information business, but Khaled interpreted it differently.

Showing such a bright smile at the mention of meeting Velia!

So, he added a comment in a guarded manner.

“… Because of the upcoming engagement ceremony preparations, we have been busy.”

He subtly warned Derek not to meddle, implying that they were about to get engaged and that he had a lover.

However, as if he didn’t understand the warning, Derek smiled broadly and responded.

“Is that so.”

Khaled knew he was acting childishly, something even a child wouldn’t do.

‘It’s serious.’

Velia had said that the master of the information guild was a trustworthy person. And that he was definitely a person they needed. Although he didn’t like it, he put aside his personal feelings and recalled the reason why he came here.

“Let’s hear about the plan for the future first.”

Khaled asked, folding his arms.

“What Princess Velia asked me to do was to spread rumors about Prince Khaled in the empire.”

“I heard about it.”

“Our guild members are already dispatched throughout the empire. When I send a signal, they plan to spread rumors about the existence of the gold mine and Prince Khaled.”

It was the same thing he had heard from Velia.

He wouldn’t have wanted to meet him just to say this.

Khaled looked at Derek for a while. As if to say, speak up if you have something to say.

“The truth is, I requested to meet you because I had a question.”

Despite Khaled’s piercing gaze, Derek continued speaking without changing his expression.

“The discovery of a new gold mine is extremely highlevel information. It’s too valuable news to spread widely.”

Khaled agreed with that.

It would be much more beneficial to not spread rumors, negotiate with the King of Ronica, and have it as his property. There was no need to throw a bone to the 1st Prince for the sake of checks and balances.
“It’s a gold mine discovered not even by a nation, but by an individual. I think it’s too much to spread rumors like this. I’ll pay a sufficient price for the information received, so how about keeping this story hidden?”

“Do you plan to sell the information here and there and profit from it after that?”

Although no answer came back, Khaled had an idea of what he was thinking.

As a merchant, a bigger profit was clearly visible, and he wouldn’t have missed it.

In addition, if Raul were in the same situation, he would have definitely kept the existence of the gold mine a secret and used it as a stepping stone to prepare his personal wealth.

But Khaled shook his head.

“Velia made the decision.”

His answer was very firm.

But Derrick, slightly confused by the slight smirk on his lips, asked again.

“I’m asking you, Your Highness. Aren’t you the one who discovered the gold mine?”

Khaled wanted to say that it was not him, but Velia who had discovered the gold mine.

But he kept his mouth shut, thinking that she definitely had a reason for making a fuss and putting him forward.

‘Velia is the thoughtful type.’

Khaled asked Derrick in return.