From the balcony overlooking the garden, Mahanas anxiously tapped the table.

As soon as he arrived in Leden, he gave up two southern islands as requested by Ophelia and granted her a title, just as he had said he would.

But the money had not yet arrived. Not even a reply, let alone money. Even now, the dunning letters from the Second Prince of Egelbamot were piling up one by one.

If he had known it would be like this, he should have just given her to the Second Prince. Mahanas thought, touching his now fully healed chin. He still couldn’t accept that the Duke had done such a barbaric thing to him. When they met a few times, he acted perfectly normal, but it turns out that was all an act.

Or perhaps he had fallen for Ophelia’s whispers.

Mahanas no longer believed his sister was innocent. He had educated her so strictly to prevent her from being corrupted, but were women just naturally like that? It was incomprehensible how his sister, who had never even held a man’s hand before, had seduced her husband as soon as she was out of his sight.

“Bring me tea.”

The servant quickly obeyed the order. Mahanas took a sip of the still-red tea as before and waited for this anger to subside. Tea made from dalihua had uplifting and calming effects.

But no matter how long he waited, the turmoil inside him did not settle.

Finally, he frowned deeply and turned to the servant.

“Did you brew the tea properly?”

“Yes, yes. I brewed it as usual.”

“Then why is it like this?”

And Mahanas looked down into the teacup. The color was still red as he remembered. The scent was the same as well.

But something was different. Originally, when he drank this tea, even if he wasn’t feeling good, he would feel better and his body would become energized, but today there was no change.

It wasn’t just today. Recently, Mahanas thought the quality of the tea had deteriorated.

It wasn’t like this when the Second Prince of Egelbamot brought it, but since the Crown Prince Orien sent a new agent, the taste of the tea wasn’t the same as before.

Although friendship with Crown Prince Orien was important, he couldn’t tolerate quality issues. He should probably write a letter. Thinking this while glaring at the teacup, Mahanas realized the surroundings were noisy.

“Why is it so…”

Before his words could be completed, the door burst open. Before he could even get angry at the rudeness, an urgent voice was heard.

“Your Highness! A riot has broken out!”

“They say a riot has broken out in Leden.”

When Salode said this, Ophelia thought that what was bound to happen had happened.

In her previous life, there had also been a riot in Leden. On top of that, this time she had deliberately driven out refugees and spread rumors slandering Mahanas, so it was bound to happen sooner.

She pressed her throbbing head, which had been aching due to recent lack of sleep, and replied.

“Make sure the refugees or rioters don’t cross the canal.”

“Yes.”

And Salode hesitated for a moment before saying.

“If you wish to provide support, please feel free to say so.”

“No, I won’t be providing any support.”

Far from support, it seemed like it wouldn’t be enough even if she scraped up everything on Leden’s land.

But Salode seemed to think that she might be holding back her words because she didn’t feel comfortable with him. It made sense since he didn’t know exactly how she felt about her home country, but Ophelia had no intention of explaining the situation to the man.

Since Starlet’s execution, Ophelia had been maintaining a certain distance from him.

Starlet had said that Chesa’s army had captured him. Of course, she knew that it was likely to be an impersonation since it was Gilord who had handed over the pirate.

However, even though she understood it logically, she couldn’t shake off the ‘what if’ assumption.

As soon as rumors spread in the capital that Starlet was in the castle, Salode had dragged him to the execution ground. When she said to wait a moment, he pressured her by handing over Idren’s letter.

Ophelia knew that it was solely for Idren’s sake. However, trusting Salode was a separate issue.

When the spy hiding in Galisa was captured as Salode had ordered, Ophelia handed him over to the 2nd Army that Idren had separately given her, not to the original castle army. The castle army seemed likely to be associated with Salode.

By that logic, the 2nd Army was also under Hazel, who was associated with Chesa, but Hazel had been by her side the whole time, so he couldn’t touch the prisoner.

That wasn’t the only action stemming from distrust.

Ophelia didn’t tell Salode that the person who captured Starlet had the emblem of Chesa. It was a time when the interrogation of the spy in Galisa hadn’t properly ended yet. It seemed that fact could be told after Idren returned, or after she was certain that the spy had absolutely no connection to Chesa.

Salode, who had been looking at her for a moment, bowed his head.

“I will do as you command.”

Ophelia knew that the man had looked at her with a complicated gaze, but she didn’t respond to it. Until the heir of Chesa retreated, she sat silently in her place.

It wasn’t long before someone from Leden came.

The high-ranking officials who were close to Mahanas and Dares were also familiar faces to Ophelia.

Ophelia looked down at those who had been so eager to please her brother while standing by his side.

“What brings you all this far?”

It wasn’t a question she was asking because she really didn’t know. In the first place, it was she who had granted them permission to enter Edegrun.

As they should have had enough intelligence to make that judgment no matter how corrupt they were, the officials from Leden looked at each other with perplexed expressions. Ophelia looked down at them with an unimpressed gaze.

In her previous life, they had lost their lands by her hand. It was due to a failed investment in red pigment.

“If you have nothing to say, then you may withdraw.”

And she raised her hand as if to call someone. It was then that the officials all fell to their knees.

One of them first bowed his head and began to beg.

“Your Highness, please have mercy. A riot has broken out in Leden.”

Yes, please listen to us, voices followed. Ophelia snorted at the men prostrated before her.

“As far as I know, the reason for the riot is that the people rose up because they were starving.”

“…”

“Someone might think I was the one who starved them.”

In her past life, she had never directly exploited the people of Leden. There was no need to do so as they squeezed the people under them on their own.

Then one of those prostrated raised his head.

“The current situation in Leden is very serious. Your only elder brother, Prince Mahanas, and King Dares are unable to leave the palace.”

“And?”

Whether her father and brother died trapped in the palace or not was of no concern to her. No, if they died right there, Leden would fall right into her hands, so it would rather be advantageous.

The official seemed taken aback by her cold attitude. Blinking his eyes, he said.

“Don’t you know how your elder brother raised you? Please have mercy!”

Why did it sound like a demand even when mixed with words like ‘please’ and ‘I beg you’?

Ophelia thought about how many of those prostrated before her had sided with the Rakmata family a few years ago when they asked Mahanas to lower the tax rate.

No matter how much she tried to recall, there were none applicable.

Before her already heavy head started throbbing more, she stopped reminiscing.

“Yes, my elder brother cared for me so much that he even killed my fiancé.”

“That was because he first laid hands on a member of the royal family.”

“He stood in front of his betrothed who was being assaulted, and the price for that was execution. Isn’t that too harsh?”

Saying this, Ophelia inevitably thought of the young man who had died. The day of his execution had completely taken over her nights recently.

Compared to that, Mahanas had been too peaceful all this time.

She said to those below her.

“If the price for protecting one’s betrothed is execution, then a riot seems like a cheap price for exploitation.”

And Ophelia gestured to call the royal guards who had been standing back. She had no intention of listening to them any further anyway.

“Go back and tell my elder brother. If he wants to save his life, tell him to bring the Tears of Mevasa.”

“But Your Highness, that sacred object is only attributed to the king…”

“How stupid, you still don’t understand my meaning?”

The royal guards grabbed them and made them stand up. Ophelia said to the officials who were as stupid as Mahanas.

“Go and tell the Prince of Leden. Tell him not to expect any help from Aglante until he brings me the throne of Leden.”