The carriage that had been moving for a while stopped, and Bellia and Callid slowly got out.

The place they arrived at was the construction site of the clinic.

Currently, construction work was simultaneously underway on a total of eight clinics throughout the empire, including this one.

“Wouldn’t it be nice if we could build buildings with magic in a jiffy?”

“Haha. It’s bearable if you think of it as putting more effort into a place where we’ll stay for a long time.”

Magic was convenient, but it was mostly limited to destroying things or enhancing existing abilities.

With slightly higher-level magic, one could use magic stones to imbue weapons with special powers, but magic stones were so expensive that they weren’t common.

“It’ll be autumn by the time it’s completed, right?”

“That’s even fast, Bellia.”

Bellia bit her lip.

She wanted to settle in quickly. It still felt far off to catch up with what Raul had.

Callid approached Bellia and gently brushed her lips with his finger.

“Stop biting them. What if you get hurt?”

Bellia replied grumpily for no reason.

“So what? It’s fine.”

“I’m not fine with it at all.”

Callid hugged Bellia briefly as if to soothe her.

“Don’t be impatient. We’re doing well enough now, aren’t we?”

Bellia let out a small sigh.

The clinic under construction had finished its foundation work and walls were being erected.

Several technicians were busy at work.

‘They’re diligent, so there’s nothing to worry about.’

Bellia, who had been watching their work for a while, drew a smile on her lips as if satisfied.

It was worth the effort to inquire about technicians through Callid.

After touring the construction site of the clinic and giving a few instructions, Callid and Bellia decided to return to the imperial palace.

“What are you doing?”

As soon as they got into the carriage, Callid naturally laid his head on Bellia’s lap.

“I’m so tired today.”

Bellia chuckled and ended up gently fanning Callid, who had closed his eyes on her lap.

“You worked hard.”

“Do you know how much work I’m doing that I never used to do, thanks to you?”

“What are you saying? You’re originally a person who lives embracing work.”

“That’s news to me.”

Callid spoke shamelessly and adjusted his position to be more comfortable.

He’s really incorrigible.

Callid was busier than Bellia herself, yet he always tried to pretend to be idle.

As they were chatting and exchanging useless stories for a while, the carriage that should have arrived at the imperial palace long ago was still running.

“The travel time seems longer than usual today?”

Worried that something might be wrong, Bellia tried to pull back the small curtain on the carriage window, but Callid reached out to stop her.

“Huh?”

“Stay still, Bellia.”

It seemed he was up to something again.

“Where on earth are we going?”

“Shh. Just wait and see.”

Callid’s voice was full of joy.

Bellia became very curious about what was making this man so excited.

She had been somewhat worried recently as Callid had been looking quite down.

But suddenly, his expression had improved a few days ago, and today he was doing something out of the ordinary.

“Are you kidnapping me, Your Highness the Second Prince?”

“Yes. So I hope the princess will quietly submit to being kidnapped.”

It’s somehow funny to ask to submit quietly while committing a crime.

Bellia chuckled and shook her head at his brazenness.

“That’s not how it works. It’s strange for a kidnapper to say such things.”

Callid tilted his head at Bellia’s words and asked.

“Hmm… Do you perhaps like that sort of thing?”

He seemed to be holding back laughter.

“What sort of thing?”

What on earth was he trying to say this time, building up suspense like that?

Callid swiftly sat up.

Then he grabbed both of Bellia’s hands with one hand and raised them above her head. With his other hand, he grabbed her waist and pulled her close.

“Eek!”

Bellia, who suddenly found herself half-lying on the seat, looked at Callid who had climbed on top of her with wide eyes.

“This kind of forceful thing? Where I prevent you from moving…”

At those words, Bellia’s face turned bright red.

“Ah! What are you saying now! Really!”

Bellia looked around hurriedly and quickly cut off her words. Then she struggled to break free from under Callid.

“Hahaha.”

Callid, still lying on top of Bellia, hugged her affectionately again.

Finally, Bellia stopped struggling and closed her eyes, feeling the warmth he gave while being held by him.

Soon after, the carriage stopped.

Bellia got up and quickly tidied her clothes and hair.

Disheveled clothes and hair. It was a sight that could lead to misunderstandings if anyone saw.

“I think we’ve arrived.”

Curious about where they were, Bellia slightly opened the curtain of the window to peek outside.

But trees blocked the view and nothing could be seen.

“Let’s get out first.”

Callid opened the carriage door and got out first, extending his hand to Bellia.

Bellia, though puzzled, grabbed his hand and got out of the carriage.

“Where is this…”

Just as she was about to ask him a question.

Something flashed through Bellia’s mind.

“No way?!”

Looking at Bellia’s eyes that had widened in surprise, Callid said with a very handsome smile.

His expression was slightly flushed, unlike usual, as if he had been greatly looking forward to showing Bellia this mansion.

“Yes. It’s our house that I talked about back then.”

It was exactly as he had described.

The mansion they arrived at after passing through a wide grass garden was extremely luxurious. It had a completely different atmosphere from his palace, which had no special decorations. It was bright and cheerful.

The building made of white marble shone brilliantly in the bright sunlight.

“Wow…”

No wonder he was so proud of it.

“How is it?”

“It’s really beautiful!”

Bellia was genuinely impressed.

She also liked that the mansion was completely separated from others’ gazes, surrounded by large trees.

“I had some more work done before you came. I thought it would be nice if we could live here together.”

Bellia’s heart wavered at his suggestion.

She thought she could be happy spending her life with him in this incredibly peaceful place. But she couldn’t. Bellia shook her head.

“You know we can’t do that.”

The emperor will die soon.

She had to stay in the palace and monitor the emperor’s condition. And she mustn’t lose track of Raul’s movements.

“Raul, backed by the Canteriff ducal family, won’t be easy to deal with.”

The Tessa ducal family in the west and the Ronica kingdom.

And the Canteriff ducal family in the center.

The fight to seize the next imperial throne will be extremely fierce.

“We don’t need to create weaknesses.”

Bellia walked slowly across the wide lawn.

“You have no intention of indulging my feelings at all, do you?”

“You knew all that and still brought it up unnecessarily, didn’t you?”

“Sigh. Our princess has no romance.”

Callid let out a sigh mixed with laughter as he approached Bellia’s side.

“Let’s come here to play often. That alone would be too good.”

“Alright. Let’s do that.”

Callid spread a blanket on the ground, which he had brought from who knows where.

“What I mentioned back then.”

“Oh? Hahaha.”

Bellia burst into laughter and sat down beside him.

He remembered that Bellia had said she wanted to spend time sitting like this. He always remembered every conversation he had with Bellia.

Even the tiniest, most trivial things.

‘…It’s amazing.’

It’s really no different from any other couple, is it?

A cool breeze wrapped around Bellia and passed by.

The late afternoon of summer gave a strange feeling.

“Ah, this is nice!”

Bellia raised her arms high and flopped down on her back.

The sky that had been blue was now tinged with red, blending into a mysterious array of colors.

Blue, red, pink, and purple intertwined to create an incredibly gorgeous sight.

Callid lay down next to Bellia.

“That sky is similar to your eyes.”

At those words, Bellia turned her head towards Callid.

“Really?”

“It’s beautiful.”

“Haha. What are you saying?”

Since he said this every time, Bellia laughed it off and looked back at the sky.

“It’s true. Look, that purple color is like your eyes.”

Callid said happily, propping his head up with both arms.

“That’s why I thought you were beautiful as soon as I saw you. Because I like the sky at this time.”

Thump, thump.

Bellia’s heart fluttered.

But remembering something that came to mind, Bellia spoke with a slightly pouty expression.

Thinking that it must be an exaggeration that he thought she was beautiful as soon as he saw her.

“…Back then, when I proposed marriage, you didn’t react at all.”

It was when they first met.

When Bellia told him to marry her, didn’t Callid look at her with an incredulous face as if thinking, ‘What kind of person is this?’

“You were beautiful then too.”

“You’re lying.”

“…Because no one had ever said such a thing to me.”

Callid murmured bitterly.

Feeling how lonely he must have been from his words, Bellia couldn’t even offer any words of comfort.

“You’ve stayed in the imperial palace for a few months now, so you must have grasped the atmosphere, right?”

His voice was calm. That’s why Bellia felt even more heartache.

Those strangely alienating gazes towards Callid that she had felt since entering the imperial palace.

She could see at a glance how he must have grown up since childhood.

The reason Callid had to become an arrogant prince was probably to maintain his pride as the legitimate prince even amidst such gazes.

“There were many women who wanted to marry Raul, even if they weren’t noble ladies.”

Callid gave a self-deprecating smile.

“Of course, there were those who tried to approach me since they couldn’t even dream of him. But it was obvious that even they would run straight to Raul if he reached out his hand.”

Bellia closed her eyes tightly at the sight of Callid laughing as he said that there were actually people who hung around him and then scurried off to Raul.

“But you said you wanted to reject Raul’s proposal and chose me. That was a first in my life.”

The fact that someone had chosen him over Raul. That fact was an enormously significant event for Callid.

So in truth, Bellia had been beautiful to him from the start.

When he found out that she had chosen Raul and then returned to the past, he felt utterly miserable, but by then it was already too late. It was after he had fallen hopelessly deep.

“Bellia.”

The sky had already turned red.

Callid continued speaking while still looking at the sky.

“That’s why you’re the only one for me.”

Bellia couldn’t utter any response.

When she confessed to him about returning to the past, she had only thought about her own feelings.

But how must he have felt listening to that story then?

With what feelings did he pat her and say everything was okay?

Bellia couldn’t turn her head towards him. If she moved her head even a little, the tears welling up in her eyes felt like they would roll down.

‘What should I do…’

It felt like her heart was being squeezed.

Bellia tightly closed her eyes.

A single tear that had fully gathered fell down her cheek and dropped onto the ground.

‘I think I love Callid.’

She thought it wasn’t love.

She couldn’t imagine feeling such emotions again after being hurt so badly.

But at the moment of realization, it felt like the emotions that had been so difficult suddenly found a clear answer and brightened.

Yes. It was love.

Unbelievably.

Once again, she had ended up falling in love with someone.