After removing Reden’s officials, Hael, who had briefly left his post, entered.

Since losing trust in Salode, Ophelia had begun keeping Hael by her side. Hael was essential to her, so she couldn’t let anyone else handle him.

Although she was said to be living with a clear mind these days, Ophelia thought she might act like before again at any moment. Like the time when she couldn’t properly remember what she needed, responded to people’s words as she pleased, and neither recognized nor cared where her reputation was heading.

Perhaps in the past, it wouldn’t have mattered. But now, it shouldn’t be that way. Ophelia even thought about what she had done for the sake of the royal family’s reputation.

Hadn’t she cut off Starlet’s head?

Even going back on her own words.

The problem wasn’t that she had lied. Since she wasn’t that moral to begin with, Ophelia had no qualms about deceiving someone. There were only people she didn’t want to disappoint, people she didn’t want to deceive.

This issue was the same.

Starlet was someone she didn’t want to kill.

The world said he was a matchless villain, but he was kind to her alone. Having grown up being beaten by those of her own blood, Ophelia knew that kindness from others wasn’t given freely.

It wasn’t that she had developed any special feelings for him. But with her ties to Netepel cut off as well, Starlet was the only person left who was somewhat like a friend to her.

She couldn’t forget the last conversation she had with him when he was still in his right mind. At that time, she had spoken as if she knew everything about him. And then she let him die.

Ophelia knew that Starlet’s death was entirely her fault, as he would have been alive if he hadn’t been involved with her.

And death could not be reversed by anything. What happened to her and Idren was an exception. For ordinary people, death was the end.

There was clearly a time when she didn’t even fear her own death, but Starlet’s death felt different. Recalling the familiar head falling helplessly, Ophelia’s chest tightened and her hands grew cold several times a day. It was a sensation similar to fear.

Yes, perhaps it really was fear.

The thought that Starlet was dead, and that nothing could be undone in their relationship, made her throat tighten.

But isn’t it also ridiculous that she fears death?

Ophelia recalled the things she had done to her own body with her own hands. She had drunk poison, hanged herself, and thrown herself off.

After killing herself like that, not someone else but herself, what else was there to fear?

When she thought that far, Ophelia thought that she might not be able to do the same things as before anymore. It was a thought that came suddenly without any reason.

That night, on her private execution ground, it was not her fiancé’s head that fell, but that of the handsome pirate.

Sitting at the desk in the study, Ophelia pressed her throbbing forehead. Perhaps because she hadn’t had proper sleep lately, her physical condition wasn’t very good.

When Idren was here, she used to sleep without dreaming.

Thinking how she missed those nights, Ophelia realized she hadn’t opened Idren’s letter yet. Since Starlet’s execution, she hadn’t dared to touch it.

She opened the desk drawer and took out the paper. Though late, she needed to check his letter now. The problem wasn’t with Idren, was it?

The disgusting one was her, not that ideal man who had done nothing wrong.

The letter was very neat, unlike one from a battlefield. It was slightly crumpled, but that was because she had gripped it tightly when she received it from Salode.

Unlike her handwriting that had become overly ornate due to her despicable brother’s influence, Idren had a neat handwriting like himself. Ophelia stroked the neat script written on the envelope’s surface.

As Ophelia was fiddling with the envelope, she opened the letter. It was then that she heard a knock at the door.

“The council will convene soon.”

And Salode fell silent for a moment. The queen sitting at the desk was looking up at him with round, cold blue eyes.

These days, he didn’t know how to deal with the queen. He also didn’t know what she was thinking.

Despite knowing that her home country’s royal family was on the verge of collapse, the queen took no action.

It would have been easier to assess the situation if she had wanted to provide aid.

As it was, he had been feeling guilty about going against the wishes of the one he was supposed to serve, so Salode was planning to support her desires as much as the situation allowed.

But when he reported that a riot had broken out in her home country, the queen’s response was no different from before.

“Do nothing.”

Salode remembered the coldness on her face at that moment. The queen didn’t show personal hostility towards him, but through that expressionless coldness, Salode realized that she had come to strongly dislike him.

He didn’t care much about being disliked by someone in itself, but the problem was that the other party was the companion of the king he served. It wasn’t a pleasant situation for someone who had to live as a nobleman of Aglante until death.

“Ah, I’d like this one thing to be kept. Don’t let the rioters cross the Aglante border.”

That too was the attitude the queen had consistently taken.

Salode now knew the reason. It seemed the queen wanted to pressure the prince of Reden in that way.

The effect was certain, but if you keep pressing, it will burst someday. Salode wasn’t sure if the queen knew that.

The queen didn’t seem to think only of her home country like the previous queen, nor did she seem as naive as she appeared, but it was an unchanging fact that she had no political experience.

But objecting seemed likely to seriously offend a woman who already didn’t like him much, so Salode kept his mouth shut. At least until the king returned, he shouldn’t let his relationship with the queen deteriorate any further.

Fortunately, it seemed the king would be able to return soon.

Finishing his brief reminiscence, Salode continued speaking.

“Since the harvest is over and it’s time for conscription, we need to proceed with voting in this council. In that case, Your Majesty will need to sit on the throne on behalf of your husband, so…”

“We’ll have to seat Siana in the council.”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

Come to think of it, the situation has been so bad lately that I haven’t been able to pay attention to Siana. Ophelia recalled the gentle-looking woman whose face she hadn’t seen in quite a while.

From what she had heard before, Siana was studying hard. Having seen her betray her father in front of many watching eyes, Ophelia knew that Siana was more determined than others thought.

If she was taught a few things to be careful about, it should be fine to seat her in the council. Everyone has their first time, after all.

Of course, since there should be no mistakes in Siana’s first time, it would need to be carefully checked…

And Ophelia realized that these weren’t things she should be worrying about.

Conscripting troops from the south wasn’t just her goal. No, rather than her goal, it was closer to Idren’s and the royal family’s goal.

There was even someone right in front of her who despised the royal family. She said to Salode,

“You take care of that. You’ve dealt with the elders more than I have, so that would be better. Rather, how is the situation in Reden these days?”

“Across the canal, people are crying out for relief, and some are attempting to enter the country illegally.”

The expression of the man saying this wasn’t very good.

Well, no one in the world would be pleased to see such a sight.

Except for herself.

In her previous life, Ophelia had created even worse situations without batting an eye.

It didn’t seem likely that doing the same thing again would change her feelings, but what she intended this time wasn’t simply the collapse of Reden. Ophelia said to the man standing before her,

“Nothing will come from the Prince of Reden, so they will resent the royal family and eventually turn their arrows towards us. When that time comes, tell them that even if I want to help them, I can’t.”

“…Could you explain your meaning a little more in detail?”

“I was a princess of Reden, but now I’m the queen of Aglante, and they are still citizens of Reden. Unless I were the heir to the Reden throne, I couldn’t use my country’s treasury to help the citizens of another country, could I?”

If Mahanas’s subjects didn’t bring her the throne, she would just take it from somewhere else.

“Make them think that if I had the Reden throne, I would have gladly taken care of the Reden people.”

Then, among those who started the riot, those with working brains would realize what they needed to bring to her.

The man with the long-standing red hair of his family finally bowed his head to her.

“I understand.”

After looking at him for a moment, Ophelia added an explanation she had to give him.

“If the Reden throne comes to me, it will eventually belong to the Aglante royal family.”

“…”

“I believe you understood well what I’m saying.”