Khaled’s lips curved in a playful smirk, as if he thought Velia was joking with her sudden words. But Velia’s expression was serious, with no hint of jest.
“Um, are you about to say you’ve traveled back from the future?”
Even as he asked, a flicker of amusement seeped into his voice, as if he thought the idea absurd.
“Or have you read a fairy tale?”
Velia paused at his dismissive attitude, as if he couldn’t fathom her words being true.
An uncomfortable silence followed.
“……Velia.”
“Yes.”
Khaled stared intently at Velia’s face. Then, as if realizing she wasn’t joking, he rubbed his face with his hand, his expression complicated.
“Alright… magical artifacts are being actively researched, and even magic that transcends space is being developed. The idea of traveling back in time may not be entirely impossible. Yes, I suppose it’s possible.”
He strung his words together as if trying hard to understand.
But Velia shook her head resolutely.
“No, in the future, it was impossible to transcend either space or time.”
Khaled clamped his mouth shut, as if at a loss for words. It seemed he was mulching over whether she was really saying she’d traveled back in time.
Seeing Velia’s serious gaze, Khaled finally sighed and spoke.
“……Honestly, it’s hard to believe.”
“I know. That’s why I took so long to bring it up.”
Velia’s face darkened at Khaled’s words. She forced her tightened lips to speak.
“Khaled, I’ve traveled back from the future. This isn’t a dream or a fairy tale. Regression was my reality.”
“……Um.”
Khaled wore an uncomfortable expression, then closed his eyes.
Her gaze followed his movements, capturing them in slow motion.
‘Ah…’
Velia turned her head to the side, overwhelmed by a rush of emptiness.
He doesn’t believe me. He’s not listening to me.
It took her a long time to muster the courage to say it.
It wasn’t an unexpected situation, but still.
‘I thought he would believe me.’
He was the only one who believed in her without question.
Not her parents, not her siblings; Khaled believed her when they did not.
‘It’s laughable…’
They had secrets from each other. They couldn’t trust each other.
Their relationship was bound by a contract from the start.
So why now…
“Velia.”
At the sound of her name, Velia jerked, shuddering.
Khaled reached out his hand.
“Come here.”
Velia hesitated for a moment.
“Velia.”
Khaled called her name again, his arm still outstretched toward her.
A wave of sorrow washed over her.
She realized she had somehow always thought he would be unconditionally on her side, that he would believe every word she said.
‘So foolish…’
That’s why it hurt so much.
Even though anyone would find it hard to believe, she thought he would be different.
“I’m sorry.”
Unable to move, Velia watched as Khaled stood and approached her.
He lifted her into his arms and adjusted his sitting position.
Though she squirmed, uncomfortable in his lap, Khaled tightened his grip around her waist, as if unwilling to let her go.
“I wouldn’t know what to do if you were crying.”
Crying?
Velia wiped the corner of her eyes. Wetness smeared on the back of her hand. She was startled.
Velia wiped the corner of her eyes quickly, feeling the moisture on the back of her hand. It was disconcerting.
Swiftly dabbing away at her eyes, Velia spoke as if nothing was wrong.
“…I know it’s hard to believe.”
Yet, her voice was tinged with sadness.
“Believe. Just believe it all. I just needed some time too.”
Prince Khaled gently patted Velia’s back, as she leaned her head on his shoulder.
“I want to hear the details of your regression.”
Velia hesitated for a moment before opening her lips.
“I was the empress in that place, lost everything, and died miserably. I had no control over anything.”
At Velia’s flat declaration of her lost life, Prince Khaled’s expression turned cold.
“…Tell me more.”
Velia began her lengthy story.
That there, Raul had been the emperor, and she was his empress.
“Was Raul your lover?”
The fact that Velia had been Raul’s lover seemed to irritate Prince Khaled the most, and he asked again.
“Once upon a time, yes.”
It was an illfated relationship.
Only terrible memories remained.
Velia’s complexion darkened.
“Is that why you want to bring Raul down?”
“Yes.”
“Ah…”
Prince Khaled let out a deep sigh.
Regret engulfed him, thinking perhaps it was better not to have known.
‘No. Assuming I had kept on not knowing would have been worse.’
Velia’s feelings towards Raul.
Prince Khaled couldn’t stand not knowing what was at the root of those feelings. But hearing the answers he had so longed for didn’t make him feel any better. He couldn’t shake off the twisted expression on his face.
His puzzling questions had been clearly answered, yet his mood darkened further.
The arm holding Velia tightened.
“So, why did you choose me?”
“Because you were the only one.”
Velia stepped away from him and slowly headed for the terrace.
Throughout the conversation about her regression, she had felt stifled. She couldn’t breathe easily.
Male lead is a Destined Young Husband (Female-dominant)
One-sentence summary: Wife-master, listen to my explanation!
Li Ruantang, a young lady from a prestigious family, stumbled and fell. When she woke up, she saw a noble and beautiful young man sitting by her bedside, wiping away tears.
The young master had slightly reddened eyes, and his every move exuded charm.
The sight made Li Ruantang’s eyes hot and her heart flutter. After all, she had made a bet with the young master Meng from the neighboring family. If she couldn’t marry a husband before the end of the year, she would have to admit defeat and give up the jade she had worked so hard to obtain.
Outside the window, the flowers were in full bloom.
Rather than losing the bet, the jade, and her face, Li Ruantang calculated that it would be better to seek marriage with the young master in front of her, killing three birds with one stone.
…
Meng Jun never thought that an accident during a spring outing would lead to them rolling down a cliff and into a river, yet still survive.
Now they were trapped in an unknown village, and Meng Jun had overheard that the family who had rescued them had their own intentions.
After all, it was Li Ruantang who had lost her mind and sought marriage first. He was only trying to protect himself!
Glancing at Li Ruantang, who was listing her own merits, the young husband’s voice softened, and he blushed as he lied, “W-wife-master, Wife-master, don’t you remember me?”
The young husband’s voice was clear and handsome, coaxing Li Ruantang’s heart to be soft and sweet, and she spared no effort to protect him.
It wasn’t until they returned to the capital that Li Ruantang suddenly remembered.
When they had fallen off the cliff, in order not to implicate Wei Yunruo, whom he secretly admired, the young husband had instead pulled her, who was slightly farther away, down the cliff with him…
Short summary by Yuushi L: Initially, the male lead (ML) liked another girl, while the female lead (FL) liked the ML. Both fell off a cliff. The FL temporarily lost her memory, and the ML, fearing others might take advantage of him, claimed FL was his wife while they were staying in a village. Later, when they returned home, the FL regained her memories and remembered that the ML liked someone else, so she kept her distance from him. However, during their time living together in the countryside, the ML’s view of the FL had completely changed. From this point, his pursuit of the FL begins.
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