A while later, Ophelia went to see Salode. She was accompanied by a servant carrying a bag of gold coins.

At her signal, the servant placed the heavy bag on Salode’s desk. Although he clearly knew what was inside the large bag that smelled strongly of metal, Salode asked:

“May I inquire what this is?”

Ophelia looked down at the man. His pale face showed tension from facing an unfamiliar person and skepticism about her actions.

“I disposed of some of the wealth the king left me.”

While showing his displeasure in every way except words, Idren had definitely left her with wealth.

Although it was an incomprehensible action, it was helpful in this situation.

Looking up at her over his glasses, Salode asked:

“May I ask why you placed this before me?”

It was a question that showed clear wariness, though cautious due to the difference in status. His attitude was as if he had witnessed a superior’s incomprehensible display of wealth.

She was quite good at showing things with money, but this time she had a different intention. Ophelia said brightly:

“I thought it might be needed.”

From what she had heard, the royal financial advisor was having some headaches in managing money lately, though not quite to the point of financial difficulties.

As it happened, Ophelia had enough money to potentially solve his predicament.

In return, what she wanted wasn’t that big of a thing.

Ophelia smiled, looking down at the man’s gradually widening pupils, wondering if he understood her words.

“It seems we have things to discuss. What do you think?”

The royal financial advisor, who had grown close without anyone interfering, was quite different from the person she had known.

“Every person has at least one good quality.”

When dealing with Salode, Ophelia was reminded of what Deos used to say during her time as a princess.

Of course, she had already known that he had good qualities. Ophelia knew that he was moral and dedicated to the values he pursued.

Perhaps he could even be someone essential to Idren.

But Ophelia had never felt personal affection for him.

She had tried to be open-minded towards him since he had taught Dahel, but after Starlet’s death, she came to think it was meaningless.

However, once she got off to a good start, Salode turned out to not be such a bad person.

In particular, Ophelia liked something he had said recently.

“The king is fundamentally a person who thinks of the country.”

Despite being the type who wouldn’t understand Idren’s recent actions at all, Salode had said that in front of her. It was a statement that showed his intention to side with his king in front of others, regardless of the situation.

Strictly speaking, it was closer to caring for the country that Idren represented rather than Idren himself, but their goals were the same nonetheless.

Moreover, now that Idren was behaving in ways difficult to interpret, Ophelia thought she needed to gain Salode’s support – that was also why she had disposed of her wealth and brought it to him – so she tried to view the man positively.

That effort was not in vain. Ophelia soon developed a relationship where she could even exchange some jokes with him. In fact, people can become completely different in just a month, so the current Salode was completely different from the Salode she had known. Even though she had learned this through Dahel in the past, Ophelia found this fact fresh as she grew closer to him.

Perhaps she had been viewing her surroundings too negatively out of habit. When she thought about it, there was someone who came to mind.

The man who had said he wanted to show her exactly what he saw.

Ophelia had so much to say to Idren. From small things like scaring Siana and forcibly bringing Dahel, to acting recklessly without considering future consequences and failing to elicit maximum support from allies. All of these needed to be mentioned at least once.

But there was one feeling greater than all of these combined.

Longing.

Ophelia truly missed Idren.

And now she knew what this emotion was. Love. Affection. Romantic feelings. The name didn’t matter.

The important thing was that this was the emotion Idren had felt for her.

Perhaps Ophelia thought she had been feeling such emotions for quite some time before now.

At one point, she had thought she could never understand the emotions Idren spoke of, but that was a complete misjudgment.

Idren had ultimately ignited a fire in her, and Ophelia was willing to throw logs into that flame.

And it was Idren’s wish for them to share the same emotions. Even though he had never directly said so, Ophelia knew that was one of the man’s desires.

Now that it had come true, it seemed like they only needed to resolve a few issues and then live happily… but the most important Idren was not by her side.

This wasn’t the only sigh-inducing reality.

Even if she could somehow stabilize the domestic situation with Salode, the diplomatic issues could only be resolved when Idren returned.

“Egelvamot’s response is not good.”

That was what Salode said one day.

At that time, Ophelia was having tea with him. She didn’t enjoy tea, but Salode, with his typical Edegrun noble demeanor, always had tea during his work.

Ophelia had sat down for refreshments with Salode a few times. She was practicing ‘doing things others enjoy together’ so that she could accommodate Idren when he returned.

Touching the smooth contours of the teacup, the man continued:

“Although direct sanctions haven’t come yet, problems will arise in the near future.”

Although they were now in an almost independent relationship, Aglante was once part of Egelvamot. Because of this, while the Runtalis Imperial Family called the Sigrasal royal family relatives, they also kept them in check depending on the situation.

Salode added:

“I hope there won’t be any armed conflicts.”

“Everyone does.”

There probably isn’t anyone in the world who likes war.

However, the man slightly furrowed his brow and lowered his head.

“It’s a bit deeper than general concern. Actually, one of my relatives is a legion commander… Ah, you’ll know as soon as you see them. They look a bit like me…”

Although she already knew what Hazel looked like, Ophelia just nodded.

The man, unusually hesitant for a moment, finished his sentence.

“…Anyway, if war breaks out, that child will have to lead the vanguard, so I’m worried.”

“You seem to care quite a bit for your relative.”

“If you see it that way even though it’s an unwanted treatment for the other party, then yes. I tend to.”

Only sincerity was embedded in those words, but Hazel and Salode were not close. Ophelia had never directly heard the reason, but she roughly knew. Memories formed in childhood tend to remain intense.

Given Salode’s personality with firm standards, he probably didn’t do anything directly wrong, but he must have appeared hypocritical in Hazel’s eyes.

Above all, the two were quite different. If Hazel was good on the surface, Salode seemed fastidious from the first glance.

Seeming to be somewhat aware of this fact himself, his excuses continued.

“We’re not on particularly good terms. Even though I want to be close, my personality is so different from that child’s that I don’t know how to treat them.”

And before Ophelia could react, Salode took back his words.

“I’ve spoken out of turn.”

“No. Isn’t this the time for such conversations?”

At least for Edegrun nobles, tea time was for such things.

And Ophelia thought that perhaps it was the lack of such times that made Idren behave so unpredictably.

Even if it wasn’t a fully plausible inference, it wasn’t an impossible guess.

Judging by his actions alone, he must have a considerable amount of pent-up dissatisfaction, and Idren tended to hold onto trivial things. He might be exploding like this after accumulating small things.

Of course, even so, the probability of such trivial things prolonging this separation to this extent was low, but…

As she thought about it, she felt a sense of kinship. Ophelia murmured:

“It might not be quite the same as your situation, but I too have someone I don’t know how to treat when we meet.”

Understanding who she was referring to, Salode defended:

“I know it’s strange to say this given the situation. But His Majesty truly wanted to marry Your Highness. So you shouldn’t worry too much…”

“I’m not doubting his sincerity. It’s just that he seems to be much later than I thought, so I’m afraid he might not be here even on the day of the ceremony.”

To be precise, it was closer to feeling anxious rather than afraid.

Strictly speaking, although it was said to be the third time, it was the first marriage with the same heart, so Ophelia wanted to proceed without any hitches.

No, rather than wanting it to be without hitches, she didn’t want to proceed without Idren, even if there were a few problems. This marriage would be the most special among all the marriages they had had so far.

It’s natural to want to share a special moment with the person in your heart.

Salode stared at her for a moment and said:

“He will return before the wedding day.”

Ophelia nodded at the man’s words.

“I hope so.”