Not only in Edegrun but even beyond, no one who was sent out had seen the second prince of Egelbamont.

It wasn’t that a corpse or traces of one had been found either. Unless a long-starved beast had devoured him entirely, it was evidence that someone was hiding him.

However, Idren could not tell Ophelia this fact. It wasn’t because he didn’t want to reveal that he had mismanaged his subordinates.

Ophelia probably didn’t have good memories of Aglante as it was. He didn’t want to give such a woman the impression that someone from Aglante harbored hostility towards her.

What if Ophelia completely lost her attachment to this land because of that?

Unlike Ophelia, who could leave for wherever she wanted once she shed her marriage, he was bound to Aglante.

The throne obtained through rebellion came with obligations. Those who had once pulled down their king – including Salode Chesa and Risana – could always attempt a second time.

Unless he didn’t care about his future at all, he couldn’t neglect such risk factors in a situation where there was someone he wanted to be with.

Moreover, his wife didn’t necessarily set her destination in this world. Although she didn’t seem to have thoughts of throwing away her life recently, Idren couldn’t be certain that Ophelia had completely forgotten such impulses.

So, to make her feel the joy of life, the second prince needed to be found quickly.

Then and now, all he wanted was to look good to Ophelia, but he didn’t understand why it was so difficult.

Idren, who rubbed his face dry, ordered Penrel standing beside him.

“Put everyone who spoke with Gilrod Nevel when he was alive into the investigation net. Also investigate the pirate group as they might hold a grudge after Starlet’s death, and thoroughly search the forces of the deceased Prince Reden.”

The knight who had recently finished reorganizing the frontline and returned to his side bowed his head.

At that moment, Salode’s voice was heard from beyond the door.

“Your Majesty, an envoy has arrived from Brinwell.”

Come to think of it, it was time for the reply to the document sent regarding war reparations. Idren, who sighed, rose from his seat. Now that the second prince was gone, Brinwell wouldn’t have the ability to pay the reparations he demanded, so they probably came to ask for an adjustment of the amount.

When he opened the door, Salode looked up at him. Idren asked the familiar-faced financial advisor.

“Who did Brinwell send?”

“I was about to tell you about that. The delegation included the prime minister and the late first prince’s consort.”

“The prince’s consort came all the way here?”

It was a surprising statement as he didn’t think they would send royalty to a country they had just warred with not long ago.

Moreover, Brinwell’s prime minister, as King Nasda’s longtime friend, was not of an age to travel as a foreign envoy.

“It seems Brinwell’s second prince had a hand in this. It’s understandable.”

It was already a widely known fact that King Nasda favored the first of his two sons.

Apparently, Masaran, Brinwell’s second prince, had been quite dissatisfied with such treatment. So he must have seized the opportunity to cut off his father’s hands and feet.

But even if he could piece together the circumstances of that accident, he had no intention of being used in another country’s family affairs.

Thinking that he would prevent both King Nasda and Prince Masaran from getting what they wanted, Idren took a step. Salode spoke from behind him.

“Uh, if I may be so bold, it would be good for the Queen to attend the meeting with the delegation as well.”

Idren stopped abruptly at the unexpected words.

As he turned around, Salode continued.

“Her seclusion period has been too long. Although there’s no talk yet, you know it’s more certain to show her once than to control people’s mouths.”

“I don’t think Ophelia would be willing.”

Even without involving her, it was something he himself was reluctant to do.

He didn’t mind being hated by all sorts of people alone, but he didn’t want those arrows to turn towards Ophelia. Idren didn’t want to drag her into problems he should handle.

Then Salode hesitated for a moment before saying.

“The Queen is already aware of the situation.”

“…What do you mean?”

All news reaching Ophelia’s ears was controlled by him. It was in a way that no unnecessary words were conveyed unless it was something she wanted to know.

Moreover, to be honest, it wasn’t very pleasant to hear words related to Ophelia coming from Salode’s mouth.

Not long after returning from the war, Idren learned that there had been a conflict between Salode and Ophelia. It seemed they had clashed over various issues, starting from Starlet’s execution.

He didn’t think Salode was wrong. He was intelligent and had his own sense of justice, speaking up when something didn’t conform to it.

So he would have voiced his opinion without hesitation if Ophelia seemed to be making a wrong choice.

He had no intention of penalizing or dismissing Salode for that. After all, by societal standards, Salode’s choices would have been considered correct.

However, not being broad-minded enough to let it repeat itself, Idren chose to separate Salode and Ophelia.

Although Salode wasn’t of a gloomy nature, if given frequent opportunities to oppose Ophelia’s opinions, he might unconsciously come to look down on her.

If it were him in Ophelia’s place, he would have crushed the man before things got to that point, but Ophelia was surprisingly indifferent to how she was treated.

Moreover, constantly clashing with someone wasn’t a good experience. While it might be different for Salode, who had made arguing with others half his job, Ophelia was of a quiet nature, so it was obvious she would feel pressured if such incidents became frequent.

It wasn’t an unavoidable situation, and there was the compromise of going through him, so there was no need to put them together.

As it was, Ophelia needed stability right now.

Although he had never directly mentioned it, Salode would have understood the situation through his own perception.

Such a man deliberately bringing up Ophelia to him surely had a reason, but that didn’t make it pleasant.

Idren looked at the financial advisor with a hardened face. Salode, bowing his head in accordance with etiquette, said.

“The Queen asked about the recent affairs of the castle.”

“…As a subject, it’s not something that can be hidden.”

At this, Salode bowed his head even deeper. It was a silent agreement.

There was no need to hear how things had unfolded to understand. Salode, who couldn’t approach Ophelia on his own will, would have answered in detail every question she asked, and Ophelia would have figured out what the man wanted from those answers alone.

And then, thinking she should fulfill her duty, she would have agreed to Salode’s opinion.

But Ophelia didn’t need to take on any obligations. At least not where he was.

Idren, letting out a small sigh, turned his back again.

“I’ll talk to Ophelia myself.”

But when he entered the bedroom where Ophelia was, it was already too late.

Idren sighed as he saw the back of the woman sitting upright in front of the mirror.

“You’ve already finished preparing to go out.”

“It’s been a while, after all.”

And Ophelia waved away those who were applying makeup to her face. She turned around on the backless chair.

“And I had nothing else to do.”

“That doesn’t mean you needed to find something to do.”

“I can’t not do what needs to be done.”

She doesn’t give an inch.

Idren approached the woman who was staring at him with a face brighter than usual. Although he had conversed with Ophelia on similar topics several times before, it had never flowed to the desired conclusion, so he hesitated to speak.

Suppressing a sigh that was about to escape – he didn’t want to give a negative impression unnecessarily – Idren stroked his wife’s cheek, which had been applied with a suitable amount of color.

“If you touch it, the makeup will smudge.”

“…I’d rather it did.”

Then she wouldn’t try to attend a place she didn’t need to go to.

But he didn’t want to ruin what Ophelia had prepared either, so Idren eventually removed his hand. It was then that Ophelia grabbed his hand.

She pulled his hand to her ear and said,

“I didn’t put anything here, so you can touch.”

In a way, it was almost like stating a fact, but it was inexplicable why his face heated up as soon as he heard it. Idren, who covered his reddened face with an empty hand, turned his head slightly.

“What’s wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Just, his heart was beating a little faster. He took a deep breath and squeezed his eyes shut before opening them again. He didn’t want to startle the other person by revealing that he was overreacting to actions with no particular intention.

But some truths are conveyed even without being spoken.

“…Why is your face red?”

You touched me first, really weird. Ophelia, who spoke primly, slapped his hand away.

Idren alternately looked at his hand that had suddenly lost its place and his wife who had turned back around. He couldn’t understand what had happened.

“Ophelia…?”

“Don’t touch my face from now on.”

The woman saying this had ears that were turning red. Realizing that she was feeling embarrassed, Idren gritted his teeth to keep from laughing.