They immediately entered the castle and continued their conversation in the reception room connected to her room.

“Her Majesty the Empress has responded that she will soon send a marriage proposal. The official proposal will likely arrive soon.”

“It’s truly fortunate that Her Majesty the Empress has stepped in.”

Bellia said as she took a sip of properly brewed tea.

“To be honest, I thought it would be impossible. Not only was it unlikely for His Majesty to grant unfavorable conditions to the First Prince, but I wasn’t certain that Her Majesty the Empress would personally take action.”

Callid asked curiously at those words.

“What do you mean?”

The Empress was Callid’s mother.

It’s natural for her to help him. So it was a bit strange that she lacked confidence in that aspect. Seeing Callid’s suspicious gaze, Bellia flustered and made excuses.

“Ah. I just thought that since Her Majesty the Empress doesn’t leave the Empress’s Palace, it might be a bit difficult to provide help…”

Before Bellia could finish speaking, Callid asked.

“Has such a rumor spread to Ronica as well?”

“Pardon?”

There was confusion as past and future information mixed.

Bellia’s expression instantly darkened with dismay.

When Bellia had stayed in the Empire, it was an open secret that the Empress was living in seclusion in the Empress’s Palace. So she naturally thought the current Bellia would know this too.

But after mentioning it, she realized that Bellia wouldn’t have known about the Empress’s situation before going to the Empire.

‘…A mistake.’

Bellia naturally put down her teacup and composed her expression. She needed to think of how to smooth things over.

At that moment, Callid took a very slow sip of tea and then spoke.

“His Majesty the Emperor is a man of great ambition who likes to show off. So no matter how infatuated he is with other women, he wouldn’t let it spread to other countries that Her Majesty the Empress stays in the Empress’s Palace like a dead person. That would be like spitting on his own face.”

His fingers slowly stroked the teacup.

“But I won’t pry this time either. So you don’t need to rack your brain thinking of how to make excuses.”

As Bellia looked at Callid with slight bewilderment, he continued speaking with a nonchalant expression.

“Back to our conversation. Her Majesty the Empress likely obtained the marriage proposal in exchange for giving something to the Crown Princess. She must have given up quite a bit.”

“…I see.”

“Anyway, you just need to know that an official proposal will be coming soon.”

Bellia nodded slightly.

“Thank you for letting me know in advance.”

“I agreed to cooperate, so I must do my best.”

Callid pulled up the corners of his mouth boldly.

“Do you have plans for lunch tomorrow? Let’s have a meal together.”

“I’m sorry. That’s when I have horseback riding…”

Bellia scratched her cheek awkwardly.

She felt embarrassed to refuse after he had kindly offered.

“I just started learning, so I don’t want to skip it right away. I’m free in the evening though.”

It would be good to practice as much as possible when there was time like now. Bellia didn’t want to waste any time.

Then Callid asked with a displeased expression.

“Will that knight from earlier be teaching you tomorrow as well?”

“Sir Ben? Ah, yes. That’s right. I asked him personally.”

“You seem quite close with your guard?”

His voice was full of displeasure.

His posture with crossed arms was also somewhat crooked.

“Of course. He’s as precious to me as family.”

Bellia answered calmly as if it were obvious.

Callid recalled the scene at the riding grounds where Bellia and Ben were talking as if meeting him was fortunate. His mood soured a bit.

As Callid pressed his lips together as if something displeased him, Bellia cautiously called out to him.

“Your Highness?”

“…Isn’t it time you called me by my name?”

His brows furrowed.

Bellia sighed and parted her lips.

“Callid.”

As expected, it felt like the letters swirled in her mouth when she called his name. But she didn’t want him to notice.

“Bellia.”

Again.

The atmosphere changed in an instant.

Then Callid moved closer to Bellia across the table.

“I’ve been thinking, to show people that our relationship is close, it seems we need to spend more time together.”

Callid said slowly with a smile.

“How about I teach you horseback riding?”

“You, Your Highness?”

Surprised by the unexpected question, Bellia habitually called him ‘Your Highness’, and Callid raised an eyebrow.

But soon he spoke in a subtle voice.

“Besides, it seemed like you wanted to learn swordsmanship.”

He must have overheard the conversation with Ben earlier.

“Even if regular swordsmanship is difficult, I can at least teach you how to handle a dagger.”

“Is that really true?”

Bellia brightened.

“Yes. So learn horseback riding from me. It’ll be more convenient to have no one else around to teach you dagger skills.”

To be able to learn horseback riding from him while also learning daggers. With a dagger, she could carry it concealed and use it in emergencies.

It was a very appealing offer.

Bellia immediately gave her acceptance.

“I’ll look for a suitable dagger for you to use, so for now I’ll just watch you ride.”

“Thank you.”

Hearing Bellia’s words of gratitude, Callid stood up from his seat. It was a neat attitude as if all his business was finished.

“Let’s have a meal together after you finish horseback riding. As I said earlier, it’s better for us to spend as much time together as possible.”

“Alright. I don’t have any other plans, so let’s spend all day together tomorrow.”

Bellia said as she also stood up to see Callid off. Satisfied with her response, Callid was about to leave the room when he suddenly stopped as if remembering something.

“Bellia. It would be better if you leave him behind when you come tomorrow.”

Then he quickly left the room.

“…Huh?”

Could this be…?

‘It must be my imagination.’

Bellia soon chuckled and shook her head. Then she slumped down onto the sofa.

As it was afternoon, the sunset’s rays entered deep into the room. Bellia raised both hands to cover her eyes.

Callid needs to bring her the marriage proposal as soon as possible.

“Sigh…”

Things seemed to be going well, but she felt like she was missing something.

Bellia calmly reviewed everything that had happened so far.

First, she succeeded in bringing the Second Prince to her side. She was maintaining quite a good relationship with him too. If he sends a marriage proposal, she can cleanly reject Raul’s proposal by choosing him.

After that, she needs to make plans to make Callid the Emperor as the Second Prince’s consort.

Since she knew the future, it wasn’t impossible if she took away all the successes Raul would have based on that information. It was a bit concerning that the Emperor favored the First Prince, but the Emperor would die soon anyway.

‘Less than 3 years left.’

She had to change the situation in that time.

Realizing that she had less time than expected, Bellia removed her hands covering her eyes and stared blankly at the ceiling. She couldn’t hesitate. She had to keep moving forward.

This side had nothing compared to the opponent. So she had to sharpen herself even more than now and tear out his throat in an instant. It wasn’t the time to be playing with emotions like this.

Bellia slowly got up from her seat.

She didn’t know what he wanted from her, but.

‘…Sincerity.’

That joke Callid had made at the party, which was clearly a joke, flashed by.

But she soon shook her head.

“…Useless thoughts.”

There’s no way he would.

“Bellia.”

At this moment, why did Callid’s voice calling her name come to mind?

His blue eyes that she couldn’t look away from, his elegant face that was about to kiss her, even the cool breeze and chilly air that had settled that day.

It felt so vivid, as if she were still standing there now.

“Stop.”

Bellia slapped her cheek hard enough to make a sound and then pressed both hands firmly against it.

Her cheeks were burning hot.

“Get a grip. What are you thinking?”

Somehow she felt guilty.

When she had vowed to take revenge, where was that determination now as she lived so peacefully? The despair she had felt was still deeply etched in her heart like a fresh wound.

Bellia’s eyes darkened and hardened again.

The routine of horseback riding with Callid in the morning, having lunch together, and taking a walk in the afternoon had become familiar. That sight was now natural to others as well.

Today too, Bellia was having lunch with Callid after finishing horseback riding and changing clothes as usual.

“It’s delicious.”

Bellia said in a voice devoid of any emotion as she wiped her mouth after finishing her meal.

And Callid watched her with displeasure, resting his chin on the table in a crooked posture.

“Are you really not going to tell me what happened?”

“Nothing really happened.”

Only a cold answer came back to the clearly worried question.

Callid’s brow furrowed again.

“You haven’t been smiling lately and you’re being cold to me. And you still say it’s nothing?”

“That’s excessive meddling.”

At those words, his face hardened.

“…What exactly are you so afraid of?”

His sudden question made Bellia’s hand freeze.

He was just as perceptive.

Her heart thumped loudly as she realized he had seen through her inner thoughts.

…She really needed to distance herself from him.

They were too close now. That’s why he could see through her true feelings.

Finally, Bellia spoke with a bitter smile and a soft sigh.

“Callid. I’ll go back to learning horseback riding from Sir Ben. Thank you for taking the time to teach me despite being busy.”

Callid let out a hollow laugh at her sudden words and asked.

“Why did you suddenly decide that?”

“I’ve been hearing a lot of people say we look like a loving couple. We’ve achieved our goal. So that’s enough of learning from you.”

He hadn’t started teaching her dagger skills yet as promised.

The existing daggers were too heavy for her, so they decided to use a newly made one of suitable weight for Bellia.

But that dagger wasn’t finished being made yet, so she couldn’t learn dagger skills right away.

Then there was no reason to keep spending time together like this after achieving the original purpose of riding together. Spending time together for no reason was something only real couples did. And they weren’t real lovers.

Callid knew that well too. So her words were all perfectly understandable.

‘Right. We’re just contractual partners. And yet…’

Callid gritted his teeth.

He should just say he understood, but he kept wanting to hold onto her.

“I thought we had gotten quite close though.”

Callid’s voice lowered a bit.

Bellia noticed that he was upset, but pretended not to.

The moment she realized she had become lax, Bellia vowed not to get emotionally close to him like this.

There was no reason to become overly intimate since they were just bound by a contract anyway.

“…You’re stating the obvious. We have a lot to do together in the future, so it would be troublesome if we didn’t get along.”

Bellia smiled brightly.

“So bring the marriage proposal quickly, Callid.”

After urging him once more, Bellia stood up from her seat. Then she gave a light greeting and left the dining room.

Callid stared at her retreating back for a very long time with an indecipherable expression, unable to take his eyes off her.