Bellia was dumbfounded.

She instinctively felt uncomfortable with Raul, who kept showing her strange interest.

When they actually became lovers, he cruelly abandoned her, claiming someone else was his true love. Now that no matter how hard he tries, she won’t fall into his hands, is he frustrated and bothered by that?

“…Ha.”

It was laughable that he seemed to know it was rude, sending a letter along with the tiara.

Bellia quickly read through the letter, then gritted her teeth and crumpled it up.

“Princess. I couldn’t refuse since it was sent by His Highness the Prince. I’m truly sorry.”

“No, it was an unavoidable situation. It’s alright.”

He had sent a total of three tiaras.

Bellia sighed as she neatly placed the three tiaras on the table.

Looking at the sparkling tiaras made her feel a bit uneasy.

‘Is it a coincidence?’

If not.

Was it showing that no matter how much she struggled, she was bound to repeat her previous life?

‘How could these…’

In her previous life, Raul had also gifted her three tiaras and asked her to choose one.

And Bellia had chosen the tiara blessed by the saint among them.

Of course, all three of these tiaras were highly valued by the imperial family of the Ingot Empire.

“Oh my! Princess, this is the tiara that Empress Carlina often used! To see it in real life when I’ve only seen it in portraits…”

“This is ‘The Sun’s Joy’ that Saint Aren herself imbued with divine power.”

The maids gathered around Bellia, unable to stop marveling at the tiaras. It was no wonder, as these were all precious tiaras with remarkable histories even at a glance.

“Even Her Majesty the Empress has never used these. How…”

“If you wear one of these at the wedding, it will surely cause a huge sensation in society.”

She knew. Using one of these would certainly help her position greatly.

A favorable atmosphere towards Callid had already formed among the imperial citizens.

She had tried to spread that atmosphere to high society as well, but it wasn’t as easy as expected. The arrogant nobles weren’t quick to change their minds.

But if she were to use a tiara with such an incredible history that even the Empress couldn’t use at the 2nd Prince’s wedding, society’s attention would naturally turn to the wedding, and that attention would eventually reach Callid, the protagonist of the wedding.

‘If I use that attention, it would be much easier to change public opinion.’

But she didn’t want to use these tiaras that Raul had sent as if doing her a favor. Who knows what kind of scheme he had.

“…I should return all of these for now.”

Besides, she had already been eyeing a particular tiara.

It was the tiara with a large amethyst that the current Empress had made when marrying the Emperor.

“And I should choose a tiara today and inform His Majesty to avoid any controversy.”

“Shall I bring some writing paper?”

“No, there’s no need to write a reply. Just return them and convey my thanks for the gesture.”

The maid carefully placed the tiaras back in their boxes and left, meticulously carrying them.

This much was just a minor incident.

Not many people would know yet that Raul had sent tiaras for her to use at the wedding.

So if she decided today to use the current Empress’s tiara, it would give her justification for refusing Raul’s goodwill, and since she spent very little time considering his gift, it would also prevent malicious rumors from spreading.

‘But something feels off.’

What on earth did he want from her?

What was he hoping for, constantly showing such suspicious behavior so openly?

Bellia furrowed her brow.

Come to think of it, the strange obsession he showed last time when he grabbed her was also weird.

‘And suddenly sending the same tiaras as in my previous life is suspicious too.’

It was all strange.

‘Could it be.’

Bellia shook her head lightly, trying to deny the thought that had occurred to her.

‘It can’t be.’

Maybe because she’s been overly sensitive lately, impossible assumptions keep coming to mind. Bellia let out a hollow laugh.

Even so.

To suspect that Raul might also have memories of his previous life, like herself – what an absurd suspicion.

“…”

But even the hollow laughter soon stopped.

She couldn’t force herself to laugh anymore.

‘…It might be good to test him if I get the chance, just in case.’

Bellia decided not to dismiss this premonition of hers.

It’s true that she’s being more sensitive than usual.

But if this premonition turns out to be true, wouldn’t that be more troublesome?

It was too much to think it couldn’t possibly be true – after all, she herself was here, having returned to the past.

‘When I first met Raul in the Ronica Kingdom, he clearly seemed to know nothing.’

So she had dismissed the thought that he might have regressed like herself.

But it’s also true that the current Raul is acting a bit strange.

‘It’s better to be suspicious of everything.’

Bellia hurriedly took out her pen.

For now, it seemed she needed to monitor Raul’s movements even more carefully than before.

Bellia visited the central palace’s treasure room well past lunchtime. She had informed the Emperor in advance, so there was no issue with entry.

There, Bellia carefully examined the jewels and valuables kept by the imperial family and made a list of items to wear on her wedding day.

As she had initially thought, she chose the Empress’s amethyst tiara and then selected earrings and a necklace to match it.

“Princess.”

It was the maid she had told to return the tiaras to Raul this morning. In her hands were three elegant boxes stacked neatly, containing the tiaras.

“Those are…”

“When I delivered the tiaras along with your message, the First Prince told me to return them to the treasure room as they were.”

So that’s why they were brought back here intact.

Bellia let out a small sigh.

“Was there nothing else?”

“No. He just asked what message you had sent, and after that, he simply told me to go without saying anything else. The First Prince seemed to have already anticipated that you would refuse.”

What kind of trick is he trying to pull?

Bellia narrowed her eyes and glared at the boxes in the maid’s hands. But no matter how much she glared at the boxes, nothing would be revealed.

Bellia pressed her forehead with one hand. Even she felt weary of her own behavior, reacting so sensitively to the slightest actions of others.

“…I see. Thank you. Then please hand the tiaras over to the manager. I need to finish selecting, so you can return to the Second Prince’s palace first when you’re done with your work.”

Bellia told the maid she had done well, then resumed looking around the treasure room.

After that, she also designated substitute accessories in case there were any problems with the items she had chosen for the wedding day, then left the treasure room.

‘I’m tired…’

She felt it was time for a break.

There was still much to do, but if she remained on edge every moment like this, she wouldn’t be able to endure for long.

Still, she had accomplished a lot today. She had decided on the dress draft, mostly finished the urgent invitations, and chosen all the accessories for the wedding.

Bellia took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. The sky was already dyed a burning red.

She thought she would choose quickly and come out since she already had a tiara in mind, but by the time she left the treasure room, more time had passed than expected.

Bellia hurried her steps to return to the Second Prince’s palace quickly. And after walking for a while, she spotted a familiar figure in the central garden and bit her lip hard.

“Ah…”

Why?

Why are Erzé and Callid together there?

They were too far away for their words to be heard.

But seeing Erzé smiling shyly and Callid quietly listening to her words, Bellia felt her heart sink. A strange sense of déjà vu stirred up her heart into a mess.

Every time the flower-like lovely Erzé smiled brightly, a gloomy feeling gradually consumed Bellia from the ground up.

With each step closer to them, her heart pounded fiercely.

She felt like she was reaching her limit, but she didn’t want to show it. The thought of feeling inferior to Erzé again seemed truly miserable.

“Callid.”

Callid turned at Bellia’s call.

Then he smiled brightly.

“Princess!”

Erzé looked at her with a lovely smile.

“I was on my way back after going to the central palace for wedding preparations. How did you two end up here…?”

Erzé answered Bellia’s question with her eyes curved in a smile.

“Ah! I just ran into His Highness the Second Prince returning to the imperial palace while taking a walk in the central garden. I remembered I hadn’t thanked him for listening to me so well at the bazaar last time, so I was in the middle of expressing my gratitude.”

A clean explanation as if nothing had happened at all.

But Bellia couldn’t smile back.

The image of them kissing in her nightmare flashed in her mind.

The vision of Callid looking at Erzé with warm eyes and Erzé nestled in his arms kept overlapping with their current figures like a hallucination.

And the final lingering image was of herself dying coldly on the floor.

“Bellia?”

Her stomach churned. She felt like she was going mad.

She had been fine before. Not once had she ever found it so difficult to control her emotions, swayed by the remnants of her previous life.

Bellia forced herself to pull up the corners of her mouth.

“Ah… I must be a bit tired today. So, have you finished exchanging greetings?”

Erzé looked at Callid and greeted him in response to Bellia’s question.

“Thank you so much for listening to me, Your Highness.”

Then she smiled at Bellia.

“It’s done now. I just forgot to say thanks, that’s all. Haha.”

Erzé’s clear and beautiful laughter rang in Bellia’s ears.

That laughter kept turning into sharp daggers stabbing Bellia.

“…Princess?”

Sensing Bellia’s unsettling demeanor, Erzé called out to her worriedly.

Callid, noticing Bellia’s pale complexion, quickly approached to support her.

But the moment Callid’s hand touched Bellia’s shoulder.

With a dull sound, Bellia swatted his hand away.

“Bellia…?”

It was an unconscious action.

Bellia, also surprised by her own behavior, stared blankly at Callid’s hand frozen in mid-air.

“This is…”

Bellia’s voice trembled.

Callid immediately took off his outer garment and draped it over Bellia’s shoulders. Then he spoke to the surprised Erzé.

“Lady Kinetta. It seems Bellia is not feeling well at all. We’ll be going ahead.”

“Ah… Yes, you should take the princess inside quickly.”

Erzé’s somewhat dazed voice reached Bellia’s ears, but she couldn’t shake off the shock of having pushed Callid away.

“…Callid.”

“It’s alright.”

Callid carefully lifted Bellia into his arms.

Her whole body was cold.

“It’s alright, Bellia.”

Callid’s steps quickened as he headed back to the Second Prince’s palace, whispering gently to Bellia.

In his arms, her consciousness gradually faded away.

But even in her dimming senses, Bellia could be certain.

Bringing Erzé into the imperial palace was clearly her own mistake.