The Regressed Empress Tames the Hunting Dog (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 2
“Haa, haa. You suddenly ran off like that—I was startled.”
Bellia wiped away the tears gathered at the corners of her eyes as she looked at the First Prince, who seemed to have hurried after her and was now catching his breath. Then, rising from where she had slumped, she spoke.
“…I’m not feeling well. Please excuse me.”
She didn’t even want to speak with him.
“Your Highness Prince Raoul, I’m sorry, but I believe you should return for today.”
Herald delivered the message politely.
Only then did the First Prince realize Bellia had been crying. With a flustered expression, he nodded.
“…Understood. I shall visit again later.”
After seeing the First Prince off, a brief silence passed.
Something was clearly amiss. Something must have happened, yet Bellia kept her lips tightly shut and said nothing.
Unable to bear the worried gazes of Herald and Clozé any longer, Bellia forced a smile.
“Are you truly alright? If anything worries you, please confide in me. I’ll always be on your side.”
Herald patted Bellia’s shoulder gently as he spoke.
Hearing those kind words made her heart swell with emotion once more.
“…Brother, are you very busy today?”
“Why do you ask?”
“How about having tea this afternoon with Clozé?”
Rather than question why she had returned to the past, Bellia simply longed to spend time with her beloved family.
She didn’t want to think about the Emperor at all.
Forgetting revenge and hatred, all she desired was to feel the warmth of her family once more.
“Hmm. I do have quite a bit on my plate today…”
“Still, please spare just a little time, Brother.”
“Very well. How could I refuse when you ask like that? I have something to report to Abamama—I’ll be back shortly.”
When she first heard that Ronica Kingdom’s royal castle had burned and collapsed by the hand of her own husband, the Emperor, she thought no greater tragedy could exist.
But then came the news that her parents hadn’t managed to escape the castle in time—and that her beloved younger sibling had thrown herself from its heights.
Her heart shattered into pieces so completely it was a wonder she hadn’t gone mad. She couldn’t hold herself together at all.
Only then did she finally understand the Emperor’s true motive—after foolishly ascending to the Empress’s seat, he never once sought her out.
It wasn’t love. It had never been love.
The sweet whispers in her ear, the tender gaze as if he’d give her the whole world without regret—
Everything had been a lie.
“Sister.”
Clozé gently grasped Bellia’s hand.
“I’m always on your side, okay?”
“…What’s that supposed to mean all of a sudden?”
“It means you don’t have to marry an imperial prince just because he’s from the Empire! I want you to marry someone you truly love.”
Clozé was such a kind and thoughtful child.
She never should have suffered the Emperor’s cruel mockery.
Looking at Clozé’s innocent face made Bellia’s heart feel as though it were being torn to shreds.
“Hey… truthfully, I don’t really like the First Prince.”
Clozé suddenly leaned in close and whispered quietly.
“Why?”
“Just… something about him doesn’t sit right with me.”
Bellia couldn’t help but laugh at Clozé’s words.
At that moment—when she’d received even the news of her brother’s death—she’d wished for just once, just once, to gather her whole family together and share a happy moment.
And now she could make that wish come true. There was no need to hesitate.
“Let’s go talk in my room.”
“Okay! I’ll even give you all my snacks today!”
“Really, that’s not necessary.”
“Pff… I’m saying this as if I’m giving you my own blood and flesh! How heartless!”
Watching Clozé puff out her cheeks and shout, Bellia truly felt she had returned to the past.
A neatly arranged room. The familiar scenery outside the window. Even the ugly statue tucked in the corner of the terrace—it was her long-missed room.
“Your Highness, the refreshments are prepared over here.”
From the sweet, soft desserts Clozé loved to the baked treats Bellia favored—
It was a simple yet lavish spread, clearly prepared with great care.
“So?”
Bellia asked as she sat down in a chair.
“What do you mean ‘so’? He looks like he’s worth his face, at least.”
Clozé rested her chin on the table, clearly displeased, and stabbed a piece of cake with her fork before popping it into her mouth.
“What? Haha. Where did you hear that phrase?”
“Worth his face”…?
That wasn’t something a fifteen-year-old like Clozé should be saying.
But apparently irked by her sister’s affectionate gaze, Clozé suddenly burst out,
“If you’re going to marry into the Empire anyway, the Second Prince would be better!”
“The Second Prince? You mean Prince Kalid?”
“Yeah. Exactly.”
Second Prince Kalid Ingott.
In the future Bellia had experienced, he had become a grand duke ruling over the rugged eastern territories.
“But isn’t Prince Kalid’s reputation rather poor…? I’ve heard he’s cold and aloof.”
He had never once visited the capital after Bellia became Empress—and of course, they’d never met before that either.
Back when she was dating the First Prince, she’d once felt curious about the Second Prince, whom she’d never met.
She remembered asking Raoul about him casually—and how Raoul had responded with icy coldness, warning her never to get close to Kalid.
“…That was a bit odd too.”
To be so sensitive about it and forbid even a word—it seemed he was hiding something. In hindsight, Raoul had been overly wary of Kalid.
Of course, rumors about the Second Prince weren’t exactly favorable either.
An arrogant prince who made no effort to hide his disdain for others, utterly lacking in manners.
A cruel and ruthless prince with a dark, sinister streak.
Thus, comparisons to the ever-kind First Prince were common among those around them.
“Ugh! Sister! You really don’t get it!”
Clozé thumped her chest in exasperation.
“People like Prince Raoul, who act like they’ll give you everything, always change later! Someone cold and aloof like Prince Kalid might actually be warm to the woman he loves!”
Clozé ranted passionately, huffing with indignation.
“Clozé… Didn’t I tell you to stop reading those novels?”
“N-novels? It’s not novels! Anyway!”
Caught off guard, Clozé pretended to sip her tea.
But only for a moment.
With a soft sigh, she gripped her fork and poked at her empty plate, muttering,
“Sometimes I just don’t understand you. If I were you, I’d have dated all sorts of men.”
“Clozé.”
“Seriously! What good is it if everyone says you’re pretty? You’re always holed up in the palace reading books, so of course you’d fall head over heels the moment the First Prince shows you a little kindness.”
Honestly—when had her sister started choosing words so poorly?
Bellia, judging her sibling’s phrasing as rather serious, hesitated over what to address first—and ended up chuckling softly.
She realized she was about to scold her long-missed sister, and that thought alone made her feel overwhelmed.
Such emotions felt like an impossible luxury.
“I didn’t fall for him.”
“Then you will in a few days.”
“Clozé. You really…”
Just as Bellia was about to say something, exasperated by Clozé’s refusal to back down even a word—
The terrace door opened, and Herald stepped in.
“I hope I’m not too late?”
“Of course not, Brother.”
Bellia smiled and gestured to the empty seat.
How long had it been since the three of them spent time together?
Warmth rose from deep within her chest, threatening to bring tears to her eyes again.
But she swallowed the surge of emotion and beamed brightly as she said,
“I truly wanted us to gather like this and spend time together.”
“So?”
“Thank you.”
For being alive.
Bellia silently mouthed the words she couldn’t bring herself to say aloud, then deliberately made a fuss as she took a bite of her favorite baked treat.
[This is the timeline separator]Seated before a large desk, Bellia stared blankly at a single letter.
“What shall you do?”
It was clear who had sent this paper, neatly inscribed with the words “marriage proposal.”
“Prince Raoul seems quite fond of you.”
“Abamama.”
“Didn’t you have feelings for him as well?”
Perhaps she had.
Recalling her past memories, Bellia had fallen deeply for Raoul in an instant.
But.
“Please refuse him.”
“…Weren’t you fond of him?”
“It’s true I wavered briefly, but not enough to commit to spending my whole life with him.”
The kind-looking middle-aged man listened carefully to Bellia’s words.
“I don’t wish to marry Prince Raoul.”
At his daughter’s firm declaration, he spoke with a serious expression.
“Ronica Kingdom is a small nation. No matter how peaceful we may be, we’re inevitably vulnerable to the consequences of events in greater powers.”
“So you’re telling me to marry him?”
Bellia asked with a slightly defiant tone.
“It’s not a bad match.”
Her father never gave her direct answers like this.
He always left the choice to Bellia—as if to say she alone must bear the responsibility.
Though he loved his family dearly, this aspect always left her feeling a little disappointed.
“Then please refuse him. There may be better matches, and my mind won’t change.”
“Prince Raoul stands closer than anyone to the throne of the next Emperor. To reject his proposal, you’ll need a valid reason.”
A valid reason?!
She hated him. She truly hated Raoul.
Wasn’t that enough?
Why did she need a reason when the one involved in the marriage proposal clearly didn’t want it?
“Is my dislike not sufficient? Even though my heart doesn’t desire him?”
“Bellia, don’t act like a child throwing a tantrum. I’m simply saying you need a reason he’ll accept.”
Bellia gritted her teeth.
‘Ah…’
Yet for some reason, Prince Kalid came to mind at that moment.
Was it because of her recent conversation with Clozé?
Upon reflection, to bring Raoul down, she needed someone to oppose him.
If he were to become Emperor someday, as an imperial prince, her status as a princess of a small kingdom wouldn’t grant her anything in return.
She needed someone who could become her sword.
‘…Kalid Ingott.’
What if she could make him her ally?
Bellia knew the future that lay ahead.
If she used all that knowledge…
‘…Perhaps I could place the imperial crown not on Raoul, but on Prince Kalid.’
She had stood beside Raoul, watching him claim everything he desired.
Until the very moment he received the imperial crown, Bellia had been his greatest supporter.
Though she later became Empress, discovered his hidden concubine, watched helplessly as he took everything from her, and was ultimately killed by his hand—at least until then, she had been the person closest to the Emperor.
“…Please give me just a little time, Abamama.”
Having returned to the past, Bellia prayed for Raoul’s utter downfall.
For that, she needed a new figure to claim all the praise he’d stolen from her.
‘If that person were the Second Prince…’
Raoul would be more furious than in any other circumstance.
To lose everything to the very younger brother he’d guarded against so fiercely—
Bellia shivered at the mere thought of that image.
Perhaps.
The one to force him onto his knees in utter despair.
The one to push him into suffocating darkness.
The Second Prince of the Empire, Kalid.
He might just be the right person.
Male lead is reincarnated to save his wife
I’ve also read this one twice already. The female lead is kinda soft and gets embarrassed easily—not really my type, but the plot is definitely worth reading. Hurry up and read it, y’all!
Intro
When Shen Yuan encountered Su Jin again in his previous life, she had already become the Prime Minister of the current dynasty. As for him, the former top young master of the capital, he had long since fallen into the abyss, becoming a singer on a pleasure boat.
After a song ended, he was redeemed and sent to the Su Residence.
Su Jin respected and cherished him, gave him a roof over his head, and bestowed him with warmth. Shen Yuan fell deeper and deeper, but before he could express his feelings, Su Jin passed away.
Shen Yuan died to follow her in death, but instead, he returned to when he was fifteen years old.
At that time, he was not yet engaged, and Su Jin was just a poor scholar.
Shen Yuan gritted his teeth, casting aside all his pride, and thought of ways to coax and entice her every day.
The colder and more indifferent Su Jin was towards him, the more proactive Shen Yuan became.
He was not afraid of being mocked by the world, only wanting to marry his Wife-master early, to hold her hand and never let go for a lifetime.
[Note: This story will not specifically point out the male lead’s reincarnation time point; it’s all in the details. Whenever you feel that the male lead is acting strangely, he has most likely been reincarnated.]
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
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