Following Ophelia through the castle corridor, Idren spoke.

“I don’t understand why you’re acting this way.”

Ophelia walked ahead without answering him. Even knowing she was slightly annoyed, Idren asked once more.

“Is it because you’re displeased with how I handle things?”

Again, no answer came.

Irritably waving away people who tried to greet them, Idren drew a little closer to her.

Extending his arm beside her head to open the door in front of the queen’s study, he added,

“If you have any complaints, please tell me.”

“I’m not doing this because I’m displeased with you. It’s just that this is something I need to do.”

Ophelia said, finally turning to look at him after entering the room.

“…And you, think about your dignity.”

Then Ophelia sat in her usual seat. Idren blinked as he watched her open the desk drawer and take out papers she used to use. Dignity, he thought.

If one had to choose which of them had been more conscious of others’ gazes until now, it was undoubtedly Ophelia.

For a moment, he felt a surge of anger, thinking she said such things purely to criticize him, but Idren didn’t show his thoughts. Ophelia had been through a lot recently. Considering he was the indirect cause, it was understandable for her to be irritated.

Even if she wasn’t angry at him, it was a situation where she could easily become sensitive.

Still, points that needed correction had to be addressed. Idren spoke to the woman who seemed to be busily touching various things, avoiding eye contact with him.

“A husband worrying about his wife doesn’t damage one’s dignity.”

Ophelia flinched at those words. She let out a small sigh as she fiddled with the pen stuck in the inkwell.

“It would be more efficient for you to worry about something other than me.”

“…What do you mean?”

“I’m saying you seem to be wasting your time.”

And Ophelia picked up the pen. After hesitating for a moment, looking down at the paper, she soon began to move the pen. Idren held back a sigh as he watched the woman writing something.

“Nothing is more important to me than you.”

Ophelia paused briefly but spoke without taking her eyes off the paper.

“There must be something.”

Idren felt a little like crying at Ophelia’s words, spoken with such certainty.

“There will never be, so please don’t say such things.”

Ophelia seemed to forgive his mistakes at times, but occasionally became cold like this.

At such times, Idren didn’t know how to act. An apology seemed insufficient to move Ophelia, but he had nothing else to say.

Promises to improve had been broken too many times to be trustworthy.

As he racked his brain for ways to overcome the situation, such thoughts would come to him. Maybe this wasn’t what Ophelia really wanted.

On the day when annulment of their marriage was first mentioned between them, the thing Ophelia said most was self-blame.

Idren vividly remembered that situation because it was truly awful how she considered herself terrible.

So when Ophelia said such things, it might be because she really thought that way, rather than to blame him.

But Idren intentionally ignored that possibility.

If Ophelia was simply displeased with him, he could apologize and correct himself as many times as needed. Idren was fine with her being angry or irritated with him. His heart might ache a bit, but his body would hurt less than his heart even if she struck him with all her might.

However, if what she found displeasing was herself, that’s when he truly became at a loss. He had no idea how to convince her that she didn’t need to feel that way.

I really wish you could see yourself through my eyes. Idren thought, recalling a conversation they had once when issues weren’t as prominent.

At that time, he was confident he wouldn’t make the same mistakes as in his previous life. While Ophelia didn’t fully agree with his thoughts then, she didn’t deny them like now.

No, Ophelia’s current reaction was closer to rejection than denial. Finally, Idren sighed and rubbed his face.

Glancing at him, Ophelia said,

“I can’t understand you.”

“If you tell me which part confuses you, I’ll explain.”

“It’s not that I’m confused, I just can’t understand.”

It seems today is a day for more conversation than usual. Trying to interpret the situation positively, Idren forced a smile.

“That’s the same thing.”

It was then that Ophelia stuck the pen into the inkwell. Idren flinched slightly at the gesture that seemed more emotional than usual.

Recently, while Ophelia had been lethargic or depressed, she hadn’t shown any emotion this overtly.

What happened when she met the Lady of Rohos? No matter how much he thought about it, that was the only thing that could have caused such a dramatic change in her mood.

But Idren wasn’t in a position to ask about it. It was an unspoken rule between them – usually Ophelia – not to pry into things the other wanted to keep hidden.

Blue eyes fixed on him as he stayed quiet, trying to gauge her mood.

“Isn’t it past the time when judgment gets clouded because of first love?”

“Your words are sharper than usual. What have I done wrong?”

And Idren realized this was an inconsistent statement. Hadn’t he been apologizing for everything being his fault just a few days ago?

Ophelia then pulled her head back slightly. Raising her chin in a defensive posture, she said,

“I only have a bad influence on you. Don’t you realize that yet?”

“Well. Looking at the situation, it seems I’m the one who has had a bad influence on you.”

“You gave a country-sized piece of land to a woman who couldn’t even move her own body freely, let alone have any property, and you’re not ashamed of yourself for saying such things?”

“I don’t understand why I should be ashamed of myself. To you, maybe, but not to myself.”

“That’s exactly the kind of attitude that’s the problem.”

And Ophelia closed her mouth. Seeing the corners of her tightly pressed lips tremble, it seemed her mood had worsened further.

Giving up on rationally conveying his thoughts to her, Idren raised both hands.

“Let’s stop this debate, and though I know it’s rude…”

“…I really don’t understand why you like me.”

The blue eyes that had been fixed on him as if about to stab him dropped downward. The texture of emotion that had been present also changed instantly from anger to depression.

Looking down at the paper on the desk, Ophelia said,

“Do you pity me?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“No matter how much I think about it, that’s the only reason I can come up with.”

This can’t go on any longer.

Deciding this, Idren stood up. Even if he got slapped, he felt he needed to examine Ophelia’s condition up close.

However, when he approached the chair and placed his hand on her shoulder, Ophelia pushed him away with a firm gesture.

She covered her face with both elbows on the desk. A suppressed voice came out,

“I helped you because I pitied you.”

Idren, realizing which time she was referring to, lowered his hand that had been hovering in the air. He noticed her trembling shoulders.

“That was all it was…”

And Ophelia quietly sobbed. Idren looked down at the woman who had hurt herself by bringing up a settled controversy in an attempt to hurt him.

It seemed Ophelia thought he would give up on this relationship if he heard such words. Even though she was defensive, her personality disliked stirring up trouble, so the fact that she deliberately mentioned a past topic made it clear without asking.

But there was something she overlooked. Idren already knew where the kindness Ophelia had shown him in the past came from. It was natural, as there are limited reasons for a person to show kindness to a stranger they’ve just met.

To avoid repeating an action the other had rejected, he completely moved his hands behind his back and said,

“I knew.”

The sobs leaking through her fingers stopped. Idren added an explanation to make his words more understandable.

“I know that back then, you only pitied me.”

“Then, then why…”

“It didn’t matter.”

It was a fact he couldn’t admit until recently.

The other had only thrown a very small piece, but the fact that he had licked it for years and even embedded it deep inside was pathetic no matter how he thought about it.

Idren took a deep breath. He knew this might have no effect. What was a difficult confession for him might be less than an ordinary passing story for the other.

But none of his pride weighed more than Ophelia’s sadness.

“Before I met you, I thought there was a big problem with me.”

He wanted to rationalize the hardships he faced that way. The situation was already difficult enough, and if it became unfair on top of that, it would be even harder to endure.

But no matter how much he tried to deceive himself by pretending to be stupid, there were things he could see.

“But the misfortune wasn’t my fault, and that was harder for me to bear. I hated not being able to properly blame even myself.”

The sense of unfairness grew no matter how much it was trampled, and the longing for things he couldn’t have only increased.

“Around the time I started thinking it would be nice to live normally just once, I met you.”

At that time, Ophelia reached out to him.

The first kindness and luck that came to his life felt like a revelation that he too could live a normal life like others.

And Idren admitted,

“Even if what you gave me then was pity, it doesn’t matter.”

It was okay even if it was a meaningless impulse.

“You were the first to make me normal.”

She made it possible for him to dream and hope like others.

So how could he resist? Idren spat out the bitter truth rising within him.

“How could I not love someone like you?”