Khaled agreed with Raul’s words for the first time in a long time, as he too felt that he had been lucky. Of course, that didn’t mean he was joyful enough to laugh heartily about it, so he responded with a bit of a tilt.

“Doesn’t feel like you’re admitting it though?”

“Haha. What are you talking about.”

Raul laughed boisterously.

As if he had nothing to worry about, so carefree.

Khaled, not liking the sight of it, put on a thick smile and spoke.

“If it’s unfair, go cling to His Majesty and weep. You’re good at that, aren’t you?”

Running to His Majesty to tattle every time something happens.

“Khaled.”

“Being a beloved prince. It must be nice and comfortable?”

“You’re going too far.”

“You’re the one to talk. I learned all this by watching.”

Raul opened his mouth to retort.

“Princess Velia…….”

“Enough. Don’t casually bring up my woman.”

Khaled was incredibly annoyed seeing Raul, with that stupid, lingering face, bring up Velia.

“Hey, you tend to get tired of things quickly. I don’t want to see you obsessing just because you weren’t chosen.”

Khaled patted Raul’s shoulder in a mock consoling manner.

So now, lose interest in Velia.

“……Go back to the empire first.”

Raul bit his lip in anger.

Khaled didn’t forget to scratch at his pride until the very end.

“Be careful on your way. Don’t recklessly gamble with the life I worked so hard to save.”

“…….”

Without a word, Raul turned sharply and led his knights out of the castle. Khaled watched his retreating figure without taking his eyes off him until the end, tilting his head slightly.

A vivid smile was etched on his face.

It had been a long time since Velia had visited the forest near the royal castle, so she was extremely excited. This was her first time here since she returned. From Velia’s perspective, it had been over ten years since she’d last visited this forest.

“You’ll fall at this rate.”

Khaled reached out his hand to Velia. Then Velia laughed brightly and took his hand.

“I can’t fall at just this much!”

Then she stepped forward with all her might, stepping on the next rock and going over it. Khaled followed her, shaking his head as if he couldn’t stop her, his face full of laughter.

“Velia. How does it feel to be out after so long?”

“I’m really, really happy.”

“Are you happier because I’m here?”

Khaled asked teasingly.

Then Velia gave a bashful smile and ran ahead.

Under normal circumstances, she would have laughed it off, but this time, she responded positively with a bright smile.

“Yes. I’m grateful that you’re here with me.”

Khaled felt like it was his first time seeing Velia smile so brightly. As if she was genuinely happy, that smile of hers, without any other thought but to laugh in response to her feelings, left a lingering image in his eyes.

Seeing Velia’s laughing face made him realize anew that she had not laughed out of genuine happiness until now.
“Before you leave for the Empire, I wanted to spend time like this.”

Khaled, with long strides, stopped by Velia’s side.

Then he extended his arm, and Velia, with a laugh, grabbed it.

“If I knew it would be like this, I would have gone out more often.”

“Indeed. I never thought about going outside the castle together.”

“When you return to the Empire, we can go out and play together. I know many good places here and there.”

Velia felt it odd to hear the words ‘going out and playing’ from his mouth. Perhaps because she knew that it wouldn’t really happen, it felt even more delightful.

“Okay. Let’s go out and play here and there. Leisurely.”

Khaled and Velia walked through the forest hand in hand for a long time. They watched as the sunlight filtered down through the trees, creating beams of light, and listened to the sound of the small stream flowing quietly.

Then, on a peaceful hill, they laid down a thick blanket and comfortably sat on it.

“Ah…”

Velia stretched her arms and lay down.

If the queen, her mother, saw this, she would undoubtedly nag her that it wasn’t a sight for a princess, but now, she just wanted to be comfortable.

Seeing Velia flop down, Khaled chuckled and lay down next to her.

“The sky is beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t know how long it’s been since I last looked at the sky.”

The clouds slowly moving seemed somehow leisurely. They just entrusted themselves to the wind and let themselves drift.

“The sky has always been this blue and clear…….”

Why was she walking in such a dark abyss?

“Velia?”

“Hmm. Just… Suddenly, I want to float slowly like a cloud.”

Velia laughed absurdly.

Although she had told him she would tell him everything, she needed time to prepare her mind until then.

To fully accept the past and to gather herself more.

To prepare to talk about her painful suffering to someone.

To hold onto the hope of painting a better future.

That was it. Velia needed preparation.

“There is a house of mine in the Empire.”

At that point, Khaled suddenly said, and Velia turned her head to the side.

“It’s a house I arranged myself. Not received from the royal family, but truly my own house.”

“How did you arrange it?”

“I have many things to do. Primarily, I run a trade. At first, I thought I would fail completely, but somehow I secured a good position and made a lot of money.”

“Did you buy a house with that money?”

Khaled grinned.

“Yes. It was the first thing I owned, that.”

A mansion built on the outskirts of the capital of the Ingot Empire.

An extremely luxurious and beautiful villa built by a noble family that had fallen a very long time ago, and what’s more, the garden was much wider than the house itself, making it infinitely open. Khaled explained enthusiastically that it was a very good place to stay quietly because it was on the outskirts of the capital.

He spoke about the house for a while, then suddenly stopped speaking with a deep smile. He then turned his body toward Velia and slowly opened his mouth.

“Let’s live there, Velia.”