The Regressed Empress Tames the Hunting Dog (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 16
Rustle, rustle—the sound of flipping through documents cut through the silence.
Though the room was slightly dim, Bellia was utterly focused, poring over documents detailing recent monster activity as if it posed no issue at all.
‘…There’s no report of any sightings.’
It should have been right around the time when engagement talks with Raoul had just begun.
Reports of monsters should have surfaced by now among those searching for the gold mine.
Could there possibly be an error in her memory?
Bellia carefully went through recent records again, searching for any information about monsters that had been exterminated or sighted.
‘What on earth is going on?’
Finally, she closed the documents she’d been reading, picked up the pen beside her, and began organizing her memories onto a blank sheet of paper.
There was a mountain range stretching across the Ronica Kingdom and the Ingott Empire—the very place where everyone was now desperately searching for a gold mine.
Along this range flowed a wide, mighty river cutting through the mountains, and reports had previously come in of monsters sighted in its vicinity.
Among those scouring the mountains for the gold mine, more and more claimed to have seen the creature.
As the situation grew unusual, an extermination schedule was quickly set. Naturally, Raoul led the vanguard.
Not only could he earn military merit by defeating the monster, but if fortune favored him, he might even obtain a mana crystal. There was no way he’d miss such an opportunity.
‘Yet now, there isn’t even a single report about that monster.’
Why had things changed?
The only difference from the past—at the time reports should have arrived—was that Bellia and Raoul had not become lovers.
“Suspicious…”
Bellia considered every possible assumption.
‘Could it be that the monster never appeared?’
That was impossible.
Then, had the reports been omitted?
Raoul was fundamentally in charge of managing all reports coming from the investigation team.
As the representative of the team dispatched by the Empire, that was only natural.
‘He’s up to something.’
It was highly likely he’d intercepted the reports mid-way—trying to monopolize the information.
Otherwise, there was no way absolutely no reports would exist.
Even if those from the Ingott Empire refused to share information, they couldn’t hide it perfectly—after all, some members of the investigation team were from the Ronica Kingdom.
They surely submitted their own reports, which Raoul likely intercepted.
‘What’s his plan?’
Did he intend to claim the mana crystal all for himself?
If she hadn’t possessed knowledge of the future, she might have completely missed the existence of such a monster.
The thought infuriated her.
Just how many things had she been blind to in her previous life?
“……”
In the past, Raoul had led his knights to exterminate the monster.
But that first expedition…
‘…ended in complete failure.’
Bellia remembered the situation with perfect clarity.
After seeing Raoul off, she couldn’t sleep properly for nights on end, consumed by worry for him.
Eventually, she pleaded with Abamama for the first time, taking knights from the Ronica Kingdom to go meet Raoul.
There, she barely managed to rescue him as he was being brutally overwhelmed by the monster.
‘Are you alright?’
‘…Bellia. Please leave me alone for a while.’
He seemed deeply wounded in pride by his failed extermination and subsequent rescue. Bellia, feeling guilty for hurting his feelings, desperately wanted to help in any way she could.
The terrain here, the type of monster, current troop strength, chances of successful extermination…
She recalled how she’d combined all her knowledge that day to devise a solution for Raoul.
‘Raoul. I have a way.’
Bellia snapped out of her reverie.
If Raoul was truly blocking information about the monster, there could only be one reason.
Raoul, oblivious to his limits, was once again driven by greed.
Just like before, he wanted to claim all the credit for himself.
‘Not this time.’
In her previous life, Kalid had never visited the Ronica Empire. Moreover, she—then Princess of the Ronica Kingdom—had already become his lover. Everything would have proceeded smoothly according to his plans.
But now, none of his schemes had come to fruition.
Bellia had rejected Raoul, and Kalid—who should have remained in the Ingott Empire—had unexpectedly visited the Ronica Kingdom, even insisting he was Bellia’s lover after she’d proposed to him.
The gold mine they’d been searching for still hadn’t been found.
From his perspective, having accomplished nothing, he must be growing anxious.
“Could he be planning to exterminate it alone?”
Overconfident in his abilities, just like back then.
“Hmph.”
Her lips kept curling upward.
Perhaps things would become easier.
After all, this time, Bellia had no intention whatsoever of going to rescue Raoul.
‘But there’s no helping it.’
If he were to die while visiting the Ronica Kingdom, it would cause a major diplomatic incident.
Moreover, it could give the Empire a legitimate reason to attack the Kingdom later.
She couldn’t allow that.
‘And I won’t let him die so easily.’
Bellia intended to watch as Raoul gradually descended into misery.
Thus, this time, she planned to have Kalid—not herself—rescue him.
To owe his life to Kalid, whom he despised so deeply—given Raoul’s pride, that would wound his ego terribly.
Through this incident, the First Prince would gain a reputation as a foolish prince who recklessly attempted extermination and failed.
Bellia’s hand moved briskly as she wrote her letter.
‘First, I need to confirm whether Raoul is really withholding information.’
After that, she’d have to prepare thoroughly to ensure Raoul couldn’t escape the consequences.
Bellia decided to entrust this task to Kalid.
Her hand paused briefly as she reached this thought.
‘But why does he keep…’
Just thinking about his recent behavior gave her a throbbing headache.
‘Might as well send him away for a while to create some distance.’
Having resolved her dilemma, Bellia quickly finished the letter she’d been writing and sealed it.
“Your Highness. It’s time.”
A maid approached and spoke cautiously.
Bellia handed the letter to the maid and said,
“Take this to Prince Kalid and return.”
Today was the day of a tea party with noble young ladies.
Though she didn’t particularly enjoy such gatherings, her status as a princess required her to attend occasionally. Bellia rose from her seat and headed toward the garden with light steps.
[This is the timeline separator]The noble young ladies at the tea party chattered incessantly about the Imperial princes who had recently visited the Kingdom, seemingly quite popular.
“Your Highness, how did you meet His Highness Prince Kalid?”
“It happened through a very serendipitous encounter. We’ve agreed to keep the details as our little secret, so I’m sorry I can’t share them with you.”
“Oh! No, not at all! We asked too personal a question. Forgive us.”
Bellia smiled gently and accepted her apology.
“By the way, I heard Marian’s shop has released a new dessert.”
Bellia smoothly changed the subject. They continued chatting on various topics for quite a while.
Though Bellia never particularly enjoyed such gatherings and felt a bit tired, she maintained a pleasant smile and listened attentively to their words until the end.
“Bellia.”
At that moment, a low, deep voice—impossible to hear in this place—sounded.
All the noble young ladies turned toward the source of the voice.
There stood Kalid, holding a vibrant bouquet and smiling.
Bellia, upon seeing him, let out a small sigh so quiet no one noticed.
‘Of course. I should’ve expected this.’
Lately, one of the things that constantly unsettled her was precisely this kind of behavior from Kalid.
Ironically, the moment she’d resolved to keep her distance from him, Kalid’s attitude had instantly changed.
‘He’d always been unusually kind for someone merely bound by a contract…’
But recently, his tender demeanor—as if he truly cherished her like a beloved—kept drawing her attention and left her feeling uneasy deep inside.
Bellia first offered a composed smile, rose from her seat, and walked toward him.
“What brings you here, Kalid?”
“I wanted to deliver this.”
Kalid held out a beautifully wrapped bouquet.
“Lilies?”
“They bloomed beautifully in the garden. Seeing them reminded me of you. Since you’re hosting a tea party, I thought they’d make a nice decoration here.”
Kalid said with a shameless grin.
Bellia alternated her gaze between the bouquet and Kalid. Of all flowers, it had to be lilies.
The pure, delicate lilies clashed starkly with Kalid’s sharp, refined aura.
Somehow, it felt like a terribly mismatched combination.
“Oh my.”
“His Highness Prince Kalid…”
Though they’d spoken quietly, Bellia could hear the noble ladies whispering among themselves.
Still holding the bouquet, Bellia leaned into Kalid’s chest and embraced him tightly,
as if overwhelmed with emotion and unable to contain herself.
“Thank you.”
“You’re very welcome.”
Kalid replied, pulling Bellia—who had nestled into him—close in a firm embrace.
Then, he smiled as if delighted.
“…That’s enough now.”
“How heartless. I came all this way with a bouquet just thinking of you.”
Kalid whispered softly into her ear, his voice low enough that no one else could hear.
Bellia was speechless.
She’d thought she’d drawn a clear line the moment she realized she was swaying toward him. Since then, she’d kept her distance even more strictly.
Yet, looking at this bouquet—she’d lost count of how many he’d brought since then—she couldn’t help but let out a quiet, involuntary chuckle.
His ability to instantly close the distance she’d so abruptly created made her heart pound wildly again. This was dangerous.
“Kalid.”
She had to send him away quickly.
If she let him stay, who knew what he might do.
But this time, Kalid was faster than Bellia.
He gently held her shoulders, pulled her slightly away, and addressed the assembled nobles at the tea party.
“I’m sorry for stealing the ladies’ time. Please enjoy the rest of your gathering.”
What?!
Bellia stared at him, utterly bewildered.
“Bellia. I just dropped by because I missed you. Now that I’ve seen your face, I’ll take my leave.”
Kalid gave a clean, decisive bow—without a trace of reluctance—and leaned close to whisper into Bellia’s ear.
“I received your letter. I’ll look into it as quickly as possible.”
Then, with practiced ease, he stepped back precisely the distance she’d wanted, creating space between them. Somehow, that act felt slightly vexing.
But everyone was watching. In the end, Bellia could only offer a gentle farewell bow as she watched Kalid turn and disappear from view.
[This is the timeline separator]The moment Kalid stepped out of the garden, the smile he’d been wearing vanished instantly, his expression hardening.
Though he’d carefully hidden his growing impatience and smiled tenderly in front of Bellia, in truth, he’d already reached his limit.
“Ha…”
Kalid ran a hand down his face.
His own actions—so unlike him—felt utterly foreign.
When he’d first seen her, he never imagined he’d go this far.
That accidental glimpse of her being intimate with another man kept irritating him. At first, it had merely been amusing, slightly bothersome at most—but ever since that day, the image had dominated his thoughts nonstop.
Worse still, she’d been the one to propose love and marriage, only to immediately pull away the moment emotions became involved. That infuriated him the most.
“I’m not some fool to be toyed with.”
He knew exactly what this feeling was.
Once acknowledged, his emotions crashed over him like an angry tide, relentless and overwhelming.
He wanted Bellia to smile only at him. He wished for her full attention to be on him alone.
‘But the moment I reveal my true feelings, she’ll surely run away from me.’
He wouldn’t allow that.
Kalid’s gaze settled into calm resolve.
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
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