Siana seemed quite frightened.

Ophelia looked at the woman sitting in front of her with her head bowed. Her swollen eyes and flushed cheeks revealed that she had been crying all along.

…In fact, that was still the case.

“My, my name is Si, ana, Nebel.”

Responding thus to the name asked in an attempt to break down her wariness, Siana had been crying until now.

It didn’t seem like she was crying because she wanted to. Her hands constantly wiping her eyes and her attempts to suppress her hiccups were evidence of that.

But Siana’s efforts were pitifully ineffective.

Looking at the woman who was still hanging her head and sniffling, Ophelia gestured to the servant standing by. The approaching servant handed Siana a handkerchief. It was the third handkerchief.

“I’m, I’m sorry… I, I usually, when I start crying…”

“It’s alright, go ahead and finish crying.”

Considering why Siana was so scared, it should naturally be okay.

Suppressing a sigh that was about to escape, Ophelia recalled what Penrel had told her.

“His Majesty has left behind some of the royal family’s assets he possessed, one villa, and two people…” said the knight who had gone to Salode to receive the list of assets that Idren had set aside for his fiancée.

Ophelia remembered the bewilderment that had clouded his face when he mentioned the last item.

And those people were…

“My name is Dahel. I was originally a servant working at Rohos Castle in the south…”

“That’s enough. You don’t need to say more.”

The boy, who seemed even smaller than in her previous life, visibly relaxed at those words.

Though intelligent, perhaps because he had been suddenly brought to an unfamiliar place without knowing anyone, Dahel was quite anxious.

Ophelia soothed the boy well and heard exactly how Idren had brought him.

“I heard that after executing the former lord, His Majesty demanded my servant documents.”

And Dahel added.

“I wonder if the young master is doing well. He must be the lord now, but the last castle I saw keeps flickering in my mind…”

As the scenery of Rohos Castle remained vivid in her memory too, Ophelia couldn’t say the boy was being excessive.

There was only one thing she could say to Dahel.

“The Lord of Rohos seemed to be doing well. You don’t need to worry too much.”

At least that wasn’t a lie.

Although she was quite tense about what exactly Idren had done, Anika looked healthy anyway.

As she was someone who had lost her life in a carriage accident, Ophelia hadn’t even seen her last appearance. So seeing that person – who seemed a bit scared – doing well was also pleasant.

But it didn’t seem to be Anika.

In her previous life, Anika had approached her, so this time Ophelia had wanted to try approaching first.

But throughout her stay at Rohos Castle, the woman never relaxed in front of her.

Ophelia had no choice but to understand that as well.

Anika said she had seen Idren beheading the lords right before her eyes. It wasn’t right to ask her to be friendly to his fiancée.

Anyway, Dahel seemed somewhat relieved by her words.

“I see. That’s really a relief…”

As it seemed pointless to keep the boy any longer and would only torment him, Ophelia sent Dahel away.

“If you need anything or if there’s something uncomfortable, tell me.”

And after a moment’s hesitation, she added.

“When the king returns, I’ll ask if he can send you back.”

Although Dahel had always been her financial advisor in her past life, Ophelia didn’t want to force that position on the boy.

Dahel stared at her for a moment before saying.

“Um, may I say just one thing?”

“Go ahead.”

“It seemed that a young lady from a noble family was also brought to this castle besides me. If it’s alright with you, could you perhaps check on her?”

It was kind of him to care about others when his own situation must feel uncertain.

As she was already planning to go see the young lady from a noble family – Siana – that the boy mentioned, Ophelia nodded readily.

“I will.”

And this is how it turned out.

She had succeeded in visiting Siana’s room and calling her out, but Ophelia couldn’t figure out what to do next.

She was better at making people cry than comforting them.

And Siana, being tearful and timid, was more difficult to console than others.

But Anika used to comfort her well. Ophelia recalled a report she had heard once.

There was a time when she had looked into how Siana and Anika became close after hearing that they had become friends. That’s when she learned that Anika was good at comforting people.

It was then that Siana slightly lifted her head that had been bowed all along.

Ophelia realized that her crying had subsided somewhat.

“I’m, I’m sorry. I took too, too long…”

“No, it’s alright.”

Again, all of this was because of Idren.

In her past life, Ophelia had seen how much Siana could change depending on her environment.

The last time she saw Siana, she didn’t stutter, laughed well, and wasn’t intimidated by gazes.

It was a completely different appearance from now.

Can’t be helped. As she gestured to the servant to pour fresh tea for the woman, Ophelia thought she should clean up this situation instead of her arbitrary fiancé. After all, Idren was to be her husband, and she too had once entrusted her reputation to him.

“Have you had any difficulties recently?”

And Ophelia tried to recall how Haslen or Deos had treated people. Those two were the most harmless people she knew, and they could open others’ hearts without lying.

There was one more face that came to mind when thinking of someone who knew how to open hearts, but Ophelia deliberately erased that face. Isn’t Idren trying to close what he had opened with his own hands?

Moreover, to include him in the list of harmless people… even she had a conscience.

“Re, recently, there have been some, some issues…”

“You don’t have to say if it’s difficult.”

Even if Siana didn’t say it, the whole castle already knew that Idren had executed the elders.

Before an awkward silence could descend again, Ophelia spoke.

“I am a princess from Reden, the king’s betrothed. Although the marriage hasn’t taken place yet, I’m staying at the castle as his fiancée, so if anyone has been hurt by what he did, I should be able to take responsibility.”

Saying words perhaps ten times kinder than her actual personality, Ophelia wondered if Idren had also gone around taking responsibility for her reputation with this kind of mindset. Did that man also not want to see me being hated by people?

Of course, she was more concerned about preventing anticipated threats from turning into unexpected ones.

Perhaps it’s because she wasn’t inherently altruistic and was used to weighing people and calculating situations.

To be honest, Ophelia was more worried about Idren losing the support he had than being hated by people.

When people have power, they can cover up even evil deeds, but now he was destroying the foundation of his power with his own hands.

And if that happens… though it’s a bit ominous to think about, isn’t it just right for getting backstabbed?

Ophelia didn’t want to see her husband getting backstabbed.

“It’s, it’s okay. His Majesty, it’s not related to him…”

While it was thankful that she thought that way, considering the inheritance Siana would receive, it would be better for her to think it was her fault and remain loyal to the royal family.

Ophelia expressed her thoughts as gently as possible.

“I’ll soon be a member of the royal family too, so it can’t be said to be unrelated.”

“Is, is that so…?”

“Yes, so tell me what the king did to you. I promise to compensate for what I can within my means.”

And if not Siana, there was no one to tell her exactly what had happened in the capital.

Penrel was still her guard, but he was also tasked with controlling outside news.

The same was true for Salode. The royal financial advisor, who in her past life had always answered her words and did his best when cooperation was requested, drew a businesslike line every time they met.

Needless to say about Lisana.

Well, it’s understandable since she could return to Reden anytime if the engagement was broken, but it was frustrating.

Even after hearing her words, Siana hesitated several times.

After constantly coaxing and soothing the cautious woman, Ophelia was finally able to make her speak.

“Actually, about a month ago, at night…”