‘Prince Callid…’

Bellia tapped the desk, lost in thought.

Would he truly be someone who could help her?

‘If I had met him in my previous life, I would have made a decision right away…’

All she knew now was that for some reason Raul was extremely wary of him, and fragments of gossip about him circulating in high society.

Rumors about him composed of sensational and negative words.

But Bellia couldn’t trust those rumors.

Because she had clearly witnessed how rumors were created in her previous life.

Raul tried to destroy Empress Bellia’s reputation for the sake of his lover Erzé.

Because the Emperor wanted it that way, malicious acts she had never committed were deliberately spread as if they were true.

One rumor gave birth to another, and as they piled up, she became a vicious and evil empress who met a miserable death.

Perhaps the Second Prince also had false rumors spread about him for similar reasons?

As Bellia knew Raul’s true face, she decided to keep all possibilities open.

“I’ll need to find out a bit more.”

Once you’ve made up your mind, it’s right to put it into action immediately.

Bellia mulled over those words as she immediately began writing a letter to send to Prince Callid.

She casually leaked information that he would likely be most curious about, so he would surely take interest.

Of course, it wasn’t a letter sent under Bellia’s name.

‘This much of a test should be fine, right?’

There were many things that needed to be done together to bring down Raul.

So checking his abilities was a necessary process.

Would he be able to figure out that she sent this letter from an anonymous informant?

She had heard many stories about Prince Callid’s arrogant personality and attitude.

But there was no information about what abilities he possessed.

No, rather, everyone would have talked about his incompetence.

‘But…’

Bellia tried to recall what the Second Prince was like in her previous life.

She had strangely few points of contact with him.

Even at that party where the Second Prince was said to participate, he never showed up in the end.

However, the lingering uneasiness somewhere made her want to learn more about him in detail.

‘…It seemed like he was plotting something.’

Bellia decided to trust that intuition she had briefly felt long ago.

The intuition that he wasn’t just an incompetent prince.

She quietly called for Ben, her knight.

“Princess.”

“Sir Ben. I have a favor to ask.”

Bellia handed him the letter she had written earlier, along with another small piece of paper.

“Please make sure the letter is delivered as written on this paper.”

Ben briefly unfolded the paper and asked curiously.

“…But this way, no one will know it was sent by you, Princess.”

“That’s the point. I’ve hidden a trap in the middle, so if he’s clever, he’ll figure out I sent it.”

Bellia said with a light smile.

“So, I’m counting on you.”

Ben didn’t understand Bellia’s actions, but thinking there must be a reason since it was his princess’s request, he nodded.

“Understood.”

Is choosing Prince Callid the right decision?

Bellia rested her chin on her hand as she watched Ben leave the office with a reliable answer.

Just thinking about Raul, who must be wandering around this peaceful Kingdom of Ronica even now, made murderous intent towards him rise from within her.

“Haah…”

Bellia lightly pressed her cheeks with both hands.

Although she had returned to the past and was spending warm days, the things she had experienced were not forgotten.

But now, rather than being emotionally angry, she needed to more clearly picture what to do next.

She said she would bring down Raul, but he wasn’t an easy opponent to rush at without thorough planning.

‘First…’

To see that shameless and hateful face contort, she needed to make everything he was confident in fail.

The first method for that was the content written in the letter sent to Prince Callid.

‘…I need to make a deal with him.’

Recently, a large-scale gold mine was detected in the eastern mountains. The Kingdom of Ronica could have investigated it alone, but the location was too tricky.

So after much deliberation, the king had joined hands with the Ingot Empire, which could receive support from the Magic Tower, and invested a lot of manpower.

But due to the vast range, the investigation was slow. Magic tools could only find approximate locations, and in the end, people’s hands were needed to actually search.

That’s why Raul came all the way here in person.

If he discovered the gold mine while he was here, that would be great, and even if he didn’t, he could gain the image of a kind prince by coming all this way to encourage them.

Bellia’s expression hardened coldly.

Returning to the past had the advantage of being able to preempt information better than anyone else.

But it was still dangerous for Bellia to come forward directly.

‘If I tell Prince Callid the exact location of the gold mine in exchange for causing a bit of trouble so that Raul’s marriage proposal can be rejected…’

Yes. That seems like a good start.

This wouldn’t be a bad proposal for him either.

‘If he read my letter, he’ll surely be interested.’

He’d also be curious about who sent the letter.

If he figures out that Bellia is the sender and contacts her…

‘I must persuade him.’

Building trust as an ally and then asking him to become the sword for achieving the ultimate goal.

Proposing to help him become emperor in exchange for helping to destroy Raul was certainly a deal worth considering.

Tok. Tok.

For a while, only the sound of fingers tapping on the desk filled the quiet room.

“Princess.”

Just then, a maid quietly called for Bellia.

When she raised her head to look at her, the maid spoke with a troubled expression.

“The First Prince is requesting to meet you.”

Raul came to see Bellia every day requesting a meeting.

He didn’t seem to realize how rude it was to come like this every day.

He was confident that Bellia wouldn’t refuse him.

How could she have been so happy to see such behavior in the past, which showed no regard for the other person’s feelings?

“…Where is he?”

“We’ve shown him to the reception room.”

Bellia closed her mouth again.

Maintaining this state was not a good direction.

‘Rejecting Raul’s proposal is the first thing I need to do anyway.’

Getting revenge on him is a matter for after that.

“Princess. Shall I convey a message of refusal to the Prince?”

When no answer came from Bellia, the maid asked carefully.

Having watched their meetings several times, the maid had noticed that she disliked meeting with the First Prince. No matter if he was an imperial prince, she couldn’t stand seeing her princess troubled.

“…I wish you wouldn’t force yourself to accommodate him, Princess.”

The maid conveyed her frustration to Bellia in a sulky voice.

“Haha. Is that so?”

Bellia laughed at the maid’s words and asked back.

Everyone in the Ronica royal palace was on Bellia’s side no matter who the other party was.

It warmed her heart.

She loved her current life so much.

There was also a weak feeling that this happiness would continue if she could somehow reject the proposal.

‘…But that will never happen.’

Raul focused more on what Bellia had.

Though the Kingdom of Ronica was small, it was rich in resources. Even before the existence of the gold mine became known, the Kingdom of Ronica was always a place overflowing with goods.

Fertile farmland spread across the western part of the kingdom, and mountains in the east made it convenient to supply wood and mineral resources. Moreover, there was a large lake, so water was not scarce, and there was even a small diamond mine.

‘And now that the existence of a large-scale gold mine has been revealed, it’s no wonder he courted me.’

How sweet it would be to obtain the Kingdom of Ronica.

In her previous life, she naively believed that he truly loved her, but not now.

He wanted Bellia solely for his own benefit.

‘And yet…!’

She couldn’t stand it every time he came to see her with that pretense of a benevolent expression. The time she had to forcibly meet him was dreadful.

“Princess.”

The maid looked at Bellia with a resolute expression, hoping she would refuse.

But she sighed and opened her mouth.

“…Tell him I’ll be out soon.”

One cannot slight an imperial prince.

Bellia began preparing to meet him very slowly.

* * *

When she went out to the reception room, Raul was sitting by the window, bathed in sparkling sunlight.

Mysterious platinum blonde hair and clear blue eyes beautiful to the point of transparency. And the relaxed smile always on his lips.

‘…He must have calculated that too.’

Knowing so much about him now, she could clearly see what kind of tricks he was playing.

Even the position where he was sitting must have been decided in anticipation of making Bellia fall for him as soon as she entered the reception room. He was a man who knew his own strengths terribly well, if nothing else.

“Prince Raul.”

“Princess Bellia.”

Raul smiled brightly as if he had just noticed Bellia’s presence and held out a small bouquet.

“The weather is so lovely today. I wanted to show you these flowers I saw on my way to meet you, as they resemble you.”

Bellia smiled faintly at those artificial words and actions.

Then she took the bouquet he offered and placed it on the table as it was.

“Thank you.”

It wasn’t the reaction he expected, as the corners of his mouth trembled subtly.

“More importantly… have you still not made up your mind?”

He was asking about her answer to his proposal.

Raul seemed puzzled that he didn’t immediately receive a letter of acceptance from Bellia.

“I need more time to consider.”

“Is there any reason to hesitate?”

The Emperor was always a man full of confidence.

Long ago, there was a time when she loved that about him.

Now even his breathing irritated her.

“It hasn’t been long since I met Your Highness. How can you ask me to decide my heart so easily?”

“…I am sincere. I will raise you to the highest position in the empire. I will dedicate all manner of noble things to you.”

He certainly would.

But those would be things thrown to her like alms to achieve his purpose, things that held no value to him.

“I appreciate your words. But I’m not convinced.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Can Your Highness swear to love only me for life?”

“Of course!”

Raul confidently affirmed the question Bellia threw at him.

Bellia quietly gazed at him for a moment and then slightly shook her head.

“…Unfortunately, I’m not that naive.”

Raul couldn’t exactly understand what meaning was contained in these words.

And what Bellia was thinking right now.

‘I will bring you down. I will surely see you fall apart miserably.’

So look forward to it.

How you will walk towards your own destruction.

Bellia smiled as she gazed at the cooling teacup with cold eyes.