Velia shook her head slightly.

“No. I want it. I…”

Unable to easily speak her thoughts, Velia paused for a moment. The words expressing her desire for Khaled to become the emperor were increasingly weighing her down. Nevertheless, she gathered her courage and spoke.

“I hope he becomes the Emperor.”

Harold seemed somewhat surprised by Velia’s firm answer.

The king looked puzzled and asked again.

“Why didn’t you choose Prince Raul?”

How should she explain?

Velia simply wanted to say that a future with him meant nothing but death.

“If I marry him, not only the Kingdom of Ronica, but everyone around me may also die by his hand. I won’t live a happy life either.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“He is not a trustworthy person.”

Velia was resolute.

“Don’t trust Prince Raul or the Emperor, Father.”

Their ambition would extend beyond the empire to reach this place. Therefore, they had to prepare against the empire. After all, the Kingdom of Ronica was an appetizing target from the empire’s perspective.

“Do you think Prince Raul came to the Kingdom of Ronica for no reason? He is a greedy man.”

“……Hmm.”

Harold, who had been quiet, carefully opened his mouth.

“I have received the report you sent last time. I have shown it to Father as well.”

It was about Prince Raul intercepting all reports on the monsters to monopolize the merit.

“I found it strange at that time too.”

Harold looked intently at Velia for a moment.

“Velia, how did you notice?”

Velia closed her mouth.

Both the king and Harold waited for Velia to speak, but she remained silent.

“Velia, can’t you explain how you found out?”

“……I’m sorry.”

“If you don’t speak, we can’t consider your opinion, Velia.”

The king spoke firmly to Velia.

Yes, that was true.

Khaled, who simply trusted her without proper explanation, was the strange one.

“I was suspicious of Prince Raul from the start. He claimed to be deeply in love with me, but I never felt his sincerity.”

So Velia brought out the story she had prepared in advance.

“Do you really think he came to the kingdom only for mining surveys? Do you think his proposal had no calculations behind it?”

“Hmm……”

That wasn’t a wrong statement. Falling in love at first sight was indeed strange.

Harold nodded in agreement.

“So I’ve been watching his actions closely. It doesn’t hurt to be prepared. Then I happened to discover evidence of him stealing the report.”

When Velia finished, the king stroked his chin and smiled.

“That was lucky for you. You caught him because he was so confident that he wouldn’t get caught.”

Then he looked warmly at Velia.

“But the evidence is still severely lacking to fully trust your words.”

“Father……”

“I have taken your opinion into consideration. We will not deal with the Empire lightly just because you are there. Is that okay?”

He then examined the map Velia had brought. It marked the location of the gold mines and where the monsters had appeared.

And there was another mark drawn between the Ingot Empire and the Kingdom of Ronica, a very long line that caught the eye instantly.

“What is this?”

“Please refuse if the Empire ever demands the opening of the Shanetan Central Highway.”

“Oh? What makes you think the Empire would make such a request?”

Velia’s eyes gleamed as she spoke.

“The Empire has been demanding road transit rights in other countries under the pretext of trade or investment. We will be no exception.”
The king nodded, as if he had anticipated this.

“We must continue to collect tolls as before. Under no circumstances should we allow them free passage on the road.”

“Why do you think that?”

“If our relationship with the empire deteriorates, they could use that road for invasion.”

Herald agreed with Velia’s words.

“We know for sure that a struggle for the throne will break out. We don’t know where the sparks will fly, so there’s no need to unnecessarily risk opening the road.”

A very satisfied smile appeared on the king’s face as he looked at Velia.

And he concluded the lengthy conversation after entrusting her with a few minor details.

“Princess!”

A maid approached Velia, who returned to her room, fatigue weighing on her shoulders, and handed her a letter.

‘A letter?’

Velia’s face brightened the moment she sat down at the small desk in her room and checked the seal. She knew right away who had sent it.

‘When did he write this letter?’

Her hands became a little jittery as soon as she realized that the letter was from Khaled.

And she hurriedly unfolded the elegantly folded letter and read it.

“Ahaha.”

When she finished reading the letter, Velia laughed and even shed tears.

It was a letter sent just three days after he had left.

However, the letter was densely filled with various phrases saying he missed her. Each sentence was written so affectionately.

The content of the letter didn’t match his actual voice at all, which made it all the more hilarious. Such a fuss over nothing.

“What is this.”

Although she blurted out in disbelief, Velia read the letter over and over again. For some reason, her empty heart felt a bit filled.