Ophelia sat on the bed until the sun went down. As she hadn’t allowed anyone to enter the room, the debris she had shattered remained as it was.

She neither ate nor changed out of her torn clothes. She just sat there until darkness settled.

Honestly, she thought Mahanas would come in to slap her. Her violent brother had never disappointed her in that regard.

But even after several hours passed, Mahanas did not come to see her.

If she was going to be hit, she wanted to be hit quickly and rest, so when no one came until it got dark, Ophelia slowly began to feel irritated.

This marriage was doomed anyway. After what she had said, if Idren Sigrasal was in his right mind, he would not marry her.

And men who could pay conditions similar to his would want women other than her. Objectively speaking, Leden was not a good country to form a marriage alliance with.

Of course, Mahanas was desperate to sell her off, so he would find a new man from somewhere… But he would never get what he wanted.

No one would be able to sell a damaged product.

Ophelia lay on the bed, the crumpled blanket half-slipping off. She looked up at the ceiling and thought about what would happen next.

In just a few weeks, creditors would swarm into Leden. Those who had lent money to the king and prince of Leden would be running out of patience by now.

They, who had taken the palace treasures as collateral before her, would soon realize that not a single gold coin was left in the royal family. It was only natural, as they would have spent all their money compensating for the bride price.

Ophelia intended to watch the chaos brought about by the overdue debts. She wouldn’t be safe in the process either, but that was fine. Pain could no longer exhaust her patience.

Perhaps only fatigue could.

Ophelia’s eyes scanned the pillars supporting the ceiling of the bed. She wanted to hang herself again if she could. She would have gladly done so if it could end this exhaustion.

But she had already failed twice. She couldn’t make a third attempt when she didn’t even know the cause properly.

She thought Idren Sigrasal would know something, but he still seemed clueless.

Nevertheless, since he was going through the same thing as her, she might have to put her head together with him to find out the truth, but Ophelia didn’t want to face the man again.

Idren had a talent for making people uncomfortable. It was a characteristic of people who were so immersed in their own emotions that they tried to drag others into it.

It wouldn’t be too late to ponder the issue of time rewinding again after Leden was ruined. Ophelia, with her eyes closed, let out a small sigh. Just thinking about those wavering golden eyes gave her a headache.

It was then that someone knocked on the door.

The impatient knocking carried a strange forcefulness. Still with her eyes closed, Ophelia did not answer. The door was bolted anyway…

“I know you’re not asleep yet.”

And Idren rattled the door. Startled, Ophelia sat bolt upright.

“What are you doing now?”

“Open the door. Otherwise, I’ll force it open.”

What kind of nonsense was that? Ophelia narrowed her brow and approached where the door was, asking.

“Are you really crazy?”

Perhaps her words might be true.

Listening to her footsteps approaching him, Idren twisted his lips.

But it wasn’t the first time Ophelia had made him look like a fool. Idren decided not to care anymore how he looked in the woman’s eyes. A madman or an idiot, what difference did it make?

Soon, the sound of the bolt being unfastened was heard. Beyond the door that swung open, Ophelia appeared with a frown.

She asked in a rising tone.

“Do you have no manners?”

“Neither of us has them, so let’s not nitpick.”

And the man strode into her room. Without even asking for permission.

The action was so natural that Ophelia even forgot to pull him out. She grabbed the wrist of the man who was standing in the center of the room, surveying the still uncleared debris.

“Get out right now.”

“The shards are sharp enough to cut if stepped on wrong.”

“I said get out now!”

“The palace isn’t short on servants, so why didn’t you have them clean it up?”

“Idren Sigrasal!”

Only then did the man turn to her. Bright yellow eyes met hers in the dim room. Ophelia felt a strange discomfort at that transparent gaze.

He stared at her for a moment, then asked.

“How do you feel?”

“What?”

“I asked how it feels to be ignored by someone.”

And before she could say anything, Idren picked up a broken chair leg. Ophelia flinched a little at the sharp wood held in the large man’s hand.

Idren pushed the chair fragment towards the wall and used his feet to gather the irregularly scattered glass pieces to one side.

Ophelia looked at the man with astonished eyes as he cleaned up the mess he had barged into. She couldn’t understand why he was doing such a thing.

Regardless of her reaction, Idren stubbornly tidied up the room. He pushed all the sharp debris into one place, and even picked up her shawl and curtain that had fallen to the floor and hung them on a chair.

Finally, having made the room look like a person could walk around in it, he turned to her at last.

“No matter how much I thought about you, I realized you don’t think about me.”

“Did you come all the way here at this hour of the night just to whine like a child?”

“It seems that’s how my words sound to your ears.”

And Idren looked her up and down. When his gaze touched her calf exposed through the torn clothes, Ophelia realized that her right leg was injured.

A belated pain was felt. She frowned.

“Does it hurt?”

“Mind your own business.”

Idren, as if he had expected her to do so, pulled the cord hanging next to the broken dressing table mirror. He ordered the servant who came in shortly after.

“Go and bring water, a towel, and medicine for abrasions.”

Ophelia said to the man who had barged into someone else’s room and was naturally acting like the owner.

“No need.”

Idren Sigrasal acted as if he hadn’t heard her.

When the servant brought the mentioned items, he forced her to sit on the bed. It was the best of the furniture remaining in the room.

He put down the tray with medical supplies on the side table and grabbed her leg. Ophelia tried to shake off his hand, but the rock-solid hand didn’t budge.

He took off her right shoe and made her soak her foot in the basin. When the water touched her foot, Ophelia pushed the other’s shoulders with both hands. And she realized that the man was heavier than she had thought.

“What are you doing now? I said I don’t need it!”

The man soaked her leg in water without any reply. Ophelia shivered a little unknowingly at the cold sensation. Calloused fingers gently rubbed the blood-crusted skin. Looking down at her calf, he asked.

“The water is cold. Is the bath water like this too?”

Instead of answering, Ophelia picked up the basin and threw it. With a thud, the brass basin rolled on the floor. Water soaked everywhere. It splashed on the man kneeling in front of her as well.

However, the man didn’t even blink. He neither loosened his grip on her leg nor got angry at her.

Instead, he wiped her leg with a towel as if nothing had happened, applied medicine to the wound, and wrapped it with a cloth.

Rather than feeling appeased by his calm actions, she became more irritated. Ophelia folded her arms. It was to avoid impulsively punching his jaw.

Only after he finished all the treatment did she say to the man who was wiping his jaw with the used towel.

“Do you have no self-esteem?”

Idren looked at the woman who he didn’t know since when had started worrying about such things. She was now openly showing hostility. Her mood seemed to have been twisted by his arbitrary intrusion.

He thought about whether Ophelia had ever expressed such a clear will before. No, she hadn’t.

It wouldn’t be easy to prove that his way was wrong at every moment like this.

Smiling bitterly, he put the towel down on the side table.

“You always did as you pleased.”

As if determined to get under her skin today, Idren continued to say other things. Ophelia thought about whether she should snatch the medicine bottle he was closing and throw it at him.

But no matter how much she threw things, it seemed Idren wouldn’t even blink an eye.

As she pondered how to drive out this unwelcome guest, he said to her.

“So from now on, I will also do as I please.”

Tap. The man who had placed the tray on the side table raised his head. Deeply shaded golden eyes met hers. Eyes that reflected nothing, whether due to time or angle.

And an unbelievable word was stuck in her ear.

“I will pay the remaining bride price to the King of Leden tomorrow.”