The Regressed Empress Tames the Hunting Dog (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 12
A party was held to commemorate Second Prince Kalid’s first visit to the Ronica Kingdom.
After the party began, Bellia appeared alongside Kalid, holding his hand as his partner.
Everyone whispered as they watched them, still affected by what had happened at the Second Prince’s welcome ceremony not long ago—but the two paid it no mind. After all, this was exactly the situation they had wanted.
Even when Bellia and Kalid danced the opening dance that marked the start of the party, the guests couldn’t take their eyes off them.
Dressed in a red gown embroidered with golden thread and a black formal uniform—as if they’d coordinated their outfits—their smiling faces facing each other became the talk among the nobles attending the party all day long.
They seemed so utterly different that everyone had assumed they wouldn’t match well together.
Yet, the sight of them together wasn’t as jarring as expected.
“Unnie.”
At the soft call of her name, Bellia turned around to see Clozé standing there, beautifully dressed but wearing a sulky expression.
“What is it?”
While Kalid had briefly stepped away to speak with the King of Ronica, Clozé seized the opportunity to sneak over and puffed out her cheeks.
“What did you talk about with Prince Kalid that day?”
“Nothing much.”
Bellia evaded the question.
Clozé found it utterly fascinating that her older sister was keeping secrets from her.
So, she pulled out a bit of her hidden mischief and tossed out a question.
“What did you two do alone in that room?”
“Just talked.”
“A very, very deep talk?”
Clozé asked with a sly glint in her eyes.
“What on earth are you saying?!”
How on earth do children these days even come up with such things?!
Bellia cried out in shock.
“Hmm?”
But Clozé narrowed her brows, finding her sister’s reaction even more suspicious.
“Did you?”
Bellia hastily covered Clozé’s mouth.
“Mmmphh!!”
“Promise you won’t say a word, and I’ll let you go.”
Clozé nodded vigorously.
Only then did Bellia remove her hand and speak quietly.
“You… we need to talk later, okay?”
“Are you going to tell me about the Second Prince?”
Clozé showed no sign of remorse whatsoever.
Just as Bellia was about to scold her—
“Princess Bellia.”
Raoul appeared.
Bellia’s expression hardened.
“Would you care to dance a song with me?”
Raoul extended his hand politely as he spoke.
She wanted nothing more than to brush his hand away—but too many eyes were watching.
Bellia let out a quiet sigh and took Raoul’s hand.
When had he even arrived? If she’d known, she would’ve gone somewhere else beforehand.
Of all times, it had to be when Kalid wasn’t around.
“I’ve longed to dance with you.”
“Haven’t we danced together before?”
“Yes. It was the day I first came to the Ronica Kingdom.”
I should’ve just claimed I was unwell and left then!
Regretting her past self, Bellia walked toward the center of the hall, still holding Raoul’s hand.
“I fell for you at first sight that day, Princess.”
Bellia said nothing.
She was already growing weary of Raoul’s behavior.
“I thought you felt the same way about me.”
“No.”
“It must have been so. Your gaze was always warm whenever you looked at me.”
Raoul tightened his grip on Bellia’s hand.
His voice grew slightly stiff.
“But then, why did your heart change so suddenly?”
“Hearts are always changing. To be honest, I was briefly swayed by Your Highness once.”
Bellia continued calmly.
“But that small curiosity has vanished. So please, do not waste your affections on me anymore, Your Highness.”
“Is it because of Kalid?”
“…Not entirely because of him. It’s simply that my heart no longer wishes for it.”
As Raoul moved his feet to the music, he quietly whispered into Bellia’s ear.
“Princess Bellia. I will not withdraw my proposal.”
“…Your Highness.”
“The Ronica Kingdom must consider carefully what it means to reject the First Prince’s proposal.”
“Is that a threat?”
“Dare I threaten a princess? Of course not. I’m merely informing you.”
Raoul smiled gently.
After that, he said nothing more to Bellia.
They repeated a few dance steps in silence to the music until the song ended, then exchanged bows.
“Princess Bellia.”
As Bellia turned to return to her seat after the dance, Raoul caught her arm.
“Do you have more to say?”
“…You’ll come to regret it.”
“What exactly?”
Bellia asked, exasperated.
“Regret not choosing me—and instead choosing Kalid.”
“No. I won’t regret it.”
Bellia shook off Raoul’s hand and walked briskly back to her seat. There stood Kalid, who had just returned from his brief conversation with the king.
“What did you talk about?”
Kalid asked.
“Words not worth hearing.”
Bellia dismissed their earlier conversation without mercy.
Kalid watched her somber expression, then gave a soft chuckle and held out his hand.
“Care to dance another song with me?”
He stood there wearing an uncharacteristically gentle expression.
Bellia stared blankly at the hand he offered.
‘Regret…’
Of all the options Bellia could think of, tying herself to Kalid through marriage to strike at Raoul was the best way to act without arousing suspicion.
But was it right to bind him to her own selfish desires?
Did he truly wish to become emperor?
Had her thirst for revenge blinded her to his true intentions?
Countless doubts floated aimlessly in her mind.
“I’m tired.”
Bellia gently pushed Kalid’s hand away as she spoke.
They’d already shared the opening dance—there was no need to dance a second time.
Kalid, seemingly surprised he’d been rejected, fell momentarily silent.
Pretending not to notice his reaction, Bellia glanced around and said,
“How about we go to the terrace instead? I’d like to rest a bit.”
At her words, Kalid smiled again and offered his hand.
“Let’s go to the terrace. I was just thinking I wanted somewhere quiet too.”
“That sounds good.”
Bellia placed her hand over Kalid’s.
She wanted to go somewhere Raoul couldn’t see her.
Every time she faced him, she kept getting the unsettling sensation of smelling blood.
[This is the timeline separator]They entered the terrace, locked the door, and drew the curtains.
Everyone must have seen them come in—more rumors would surely spread.
Most would question Bellia’s purity and criticize her for lacking the dignity expected of royalty. But she didn’t care. She’d long since let go of everything concerning herself.
“Has the investigation team left for the south?”
“Yes.”
His team had secretly headed to the gold mine location she’d recently revealed to him, so they’d likely hear results soon.
She’d expected it would take at least a month, but it seemed they might get confirmation even sooner.
‘Their magical artifacts are far more advanced than I thought.’
Even Bellia, who had returned from the future, had never seen anything like them.
These artifacts bore far more complex enchantments than the search-type magical tools used by the empire and kingdoms.
How did Kalid come to possess such items?
But she decided to look into that later. After all, shortening the timeline was to their advantage.
“We’ll need to stay here at least two more weeks to hear the results.”
Bellia leaned against the railing as she spoke. The breeze felt refreshing.
Cheerful music seeped through the locked door from inside.
Yet, toward the garden on the opposite side, only profound silence drifted through the air.
It felt strangely unreal.
“To be honest, I don’t like stepping out onto the terrace during parties.”
“Why not?”
The terrace at a party was a place where contradictory words coexisted unrealistically.
Chaotic, dizzying, lonely, isolated, desolate.
And all those words pointed straight at Bellia.
As if mocking her.
Look at the result of your choices.
In the end, you’re all alone.
Everything.
‘…I made this happen.’
Bellia lifted her gaze to the sky.
Countless stars shimmered in the darkness.
“Standing at the boundary of such opposing places makes me feel oddly detached from reality.”
Bellia closed her eyes.
This place mirrored her own position—Empress of the empire, yet belonging nowhere.
Because she’d trusted Raoul, she never thought to build her own power base for the future.
In the end, all that remained was the hollow title of a solitary, noble Empress.
An Empress exiled by the Emperor, powerless and insignificant—just a foreign princess bearing a meaningless title.
‘I should’ve borrowed Ronica’s strength from the very beginning.’
She shouldn’t have been so stubborn.
She should’ve leveraged the name of the Ronica Kingdom to assert herself.
Afraid of burdening her family, Bellia had tried to handle everything alone.
And in doing so, remained unaware of what had befallen them.
By the time she realized she’d been deceived by Raoul, the Ronica Kingdom had already been invaded by the empire.
The Emperor had cut off all information reaching the Empress and destroyed Ronica through an extremely covert operation. In the end, nothing remained by her side.
“I also often come to the terrace to avoid people I can’t stand.”
Noticing Bellia’s suddenly darkened expression, Kalid stepped beside her.
He looked up at the sky indifferently and spoke.
“There are so many bothersome people. Those who badmouth me behind my back tremble in front of me, afraid to meet my eyes, and flatter me shamelessly.”
He recounted his own story plainly, as if offering comfort.
Strangely, his tone was clearly different from his usual joking manner.
It even felt a little warm.
Bellia, her voice slightly brighter, playfully tossed a remark his way.
“I’ve also heard rumors about Your Highness.”
At her words, Kalid turned to look at her.
Bellia opened her eyes, turned her head, and met his gaze.
“Hah. So you heard all those rumors and still proposed marriage to me?”
“To me, those rumors mean nothing.”
Bellia paused for a moment.
Then she let out a soft chuckle and spoke.
“Well… the Second Prince I see before me now doesn’t seem nearly as terrible as the rumors suggest.”
“Is that so?”
After that, they stood leaning against the terrace in silence for a while.
Inside, bright light and music still flowed through the windows.
On the opposite side, darkness and quiet drifted together.
The breeze was cool.
The stars in the night sky shone brightly.
They shared that strange feeling—as if they belonged nowhere, adrift and alone.
Though neither revealed their innermost thoughts, they even entertained the amusing notion that they might understand each other’s hearts.
The cool night air felt refreshingly crisp.
Bellia swept her loose hair back with her hand and turned to Kalid.
“Still… being here like this with Your Highness isn’t so bad after all.”
It was the first time she’d stayed on the terrace with someone else.
It wasn’t as uncomfortable as she’d expected.
In fact, it even felt a little pleasant.
Bellia turned and leaned against the railing.
“Really… not bad at all.”
She murmured, not sure to whom the words were meant.
Male lead fell into her trap — and shattered when she walked away
This is also on my reread list!
This one is a slow burn, but when it burns, it burns hard.
Definitely worth a read, y’all!
The story follows a thousand-year-old seductive spirit who, on a bet, sets out to charm the male lead—a once-promising but unfortunate cultivator.
But just when she succeeds in making him fall for her, she heartlessly leaves, driving him to madness.
Determined to find her at all costs, he captures her, keeping her by his side no matter what, even if she hates him.
I love this kind of trope—I enjoy watching the male lead suffer in agony.
The ending drags a bit with unnecessary filler, but that’s fine.
As long as I enjoy the beginning, I’m good.
Intro
As an enchantress, Su Heng possesses captivating eyes and charming beauty, easily manipulating the joys and sorrows of living beings at her fingertips.
But to enchant a god, making him taste the bitterness of love’s separation, long-lasting resentment, unattainable desires, and inability to let go…
Do you dare?
Su Heng assists a divine lord in his cultivation, aiming to make him experience all the sufferings of love, so that he can attain the Great Dao.
Only after being chased down from the heavens by the divine lord, confined and completely possessed by him, does she realize how successful she has been.
The once gentle and polite youth has transformed into someone she no longer recognizes.
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Why the chapter stop here i want mooooore😭
Poor clozé her sister will go on another country to mary she will be allone
I wante to see the face of the first crown when he knows