“Are you crazy?”

That was the first thing Ophelia said as soon as the explanation ended. Idren flinched slightly at the sharp question directed at him.

Ophelia turned her head to the side and let out a scornful laugh as if in disbelief. After crossing her arms for a moment as if trying to calm herself, she turned back to face him. Her bright blue eyes pierced into him.

“What were you thinking, drinking so much you couldn’t even think straight?”

I thought he was a man who didn’t drink. Her added words were chilling. Idren quickly tried to explain.

“I don’t.”

“Then what was that you said to me earlier?”

“That was a special circumstance-”

“Even if it was special, getting drunk and throwing yourself into a well? Are you so desperate to die? No, why were you drinking in the first place?”

But I have something to say about that too. Idren hastily spoke, backing away slightly in case he might get hit.

“B-but didn’t you drink poison?”

The reason he had wanted to forget reality in the first place was because Ophelia wasn’t in that reality.

But Ophelia already had a rebuttal ready for him.

“Mine was planned! Yours was impulsive. How are they the same?”

It seemed better to impulsively drink alcohol than to deliberately poison oneself, but he felt he’d lose more than he’d gain by talking back. Idren shook his head.

“They’re different. Yes, of course they’re different.”

Ophelia looked him up and down disapprovingly and asked.

“Are you going to do something like that again?”

“No.”

He was being sincere, but Ophelia jabbed her finger into his chest and threatened.

“You better not break that promise.”

“I won’t.”

Though not entirely satisfied with his answer, she seemed to find it acceptable enough and said nothing more. Sighing, she turned her body slightly forward.

As her anger seemed to have subsided somewhat, Idren discreetly sat down next to her. It was then that Ophelia turned to look at him again.

“And if the sacred object went missing, you should have said something right away. How could you just keep your mouth shut? What if someone had found out!”

“But no one has been able to tell the difference until now…”

“So you think you did well?”

“No.”

There’s no way I could have done well. No way. Idren shook his head. Ophelia glanced at him and sighed.

“I’m telling you to speak up right away if there’s a problem.”

“Yes.”

“And don’t do dangerous things.”

“Yes.”

“Acting all well-behaved normally, but doing such things behind my back…”

Strictly speaking, it was ‘after she left’, so Ophelia was also somewhat responsible… or rather, had contributed slightly to the cause, but Idren didn’t dwell further on that thought. Such a blame-shifting mindset didn’t seem conducive to domestic peace.

Instead, he placed his hand on the shoulder of the woman sitting next to him and gently massaged it.

“I won’t do it again in the future. I promise.”

“You think sweet-talking like this will erase what you’ve done?”

Though her words were sharp, her expression was gradually softening. When she even uncrossed her arms, Idren inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t like it when Ophelia got angry. He liked it when she sometimes spoke informally or made various demands outright, as it made them feel close, but… being scolded wasn’t so great.

Even this anger wasn’t so bad if he thought of it as coming from concern for him.

Reflecting on it, he really did seem to have strange tastes, just as Ophelia had said. Idren furrowed his brow slightly. That’s when Ophelia asked.

“When did they say the doctor from Egelbaum would arrive?”

Recently, he had written a letter to the Second Princess requesting that a doctor affiliated with the Empress’s palace be sent. The currency for this transaction was once again information related to the assets of her half-siblings, whom she viewed as thorns in her side.

Perhaps allowing more time than in his past life, there had been no news related to it, but Idren hadn’t looked into it deeply. Taking care of Aglante was more urgent, and being newlyweds, he didn’t have the leisure to pay attention to such things.

Still, it wouldn’t be bad to look into it now that he was thinking of it. Placing a light kiss on the cheek of the woman who still seemed slightly disgruntled, he answered.

“I received a letter not long ago saying they would send someone soon, so they should arrive shortly.”

Ophelia nodded, absentmindedly returning his kiss as if she had a lot on her mind.

“I see.”

“It’s strange.”

Mahanas muttered as he strolled through the garden that had been meticulously maintained at great expense. Though the garden was as beautiful as ever, blooming with lush red flowers for summer, his brow remained furrowed. It was difficult to lift one’s mood with something that was taken for granted daily.

Moreover, he had recent matters weighing on his mind.

“The southern lords of Aglante have died en masse.”

It was a fresh report he had just received yesterday.

What’s more, all the deceased lords were acquaintances of his. He had even been close with some of them. Taieran Rohos and his friends knew how to treat royalty properly.

But Taieran had lost his life at the hands of his own king, and the group centered around him had scattered.

Mahanas too had remained in Reden. He had owed a debt to Taieran before his death, and Taieran had died before extending the repayment deadline. It seemed the new Lord Rohos, who had taken his father’s place, would soon pressure him about it.

But before what he had anticipated could happen, those he used to associate with had died one after another from illness.

That wasn’t the only problem.

The Grand King didn’t even reply to the letters he sent − it seemed he had found out why Ophelia had left Reden early − and Netepel Runtalis, who had committed crimes in a foreign country, had gone missing.

When Ophelia had claimed that he had tried to kidnap her, Mahanas hadn’t believed it. Wasn’t she just his mentally unstable sister who had been in and out of her senses since her first fiancé died?

On the other hand, the Second Prince of Egelbaum, though of somewhat humble origins, was a cultured man who understood what he said well.

But the man who seemed like he would come to assert his innocence at any moment hadn’t shown his face for months. To top it off, the Second Prince’s servant who used to follow his master around like a duckling had gone half-mad.

“His Highness the Prince has disappeared.”

When the old servant had looked at him with strangely glistening eyes, Mahanas had felt an instinctive aversion. Feeling that getting involved would only lead to complicated matters, he had quickly driven the servant out of the palace. From what he had heard, the servant had returned to his own country, but how he was faring there was none of his business.

“Meanwhile, that Ophelia hasn’t written a single letter.”

He had known she wasn’t an affectionate lover to begin with, but it naturally irritated him that she wasn’t resolving his share of the canal fees either.

Thinking of the land and status she had taken to Aglante upon her marriage made him even more upset. With her new title and land, hadn’t she gained succession rights as well?

Of course, having succession rights wouldn’t do Ophelia any good. Not only had there never been a case in Reden’s history where a second child ascended to the throne when there was a healthy first-born, but Ophelia knew nothing about ruling a country.

Nevertheless, his irritation didn’t subside, so Mahanas turned his steps.

“I should go see Father.”

He felt he needed to at least ask what he thought of this situation to be satisfied. After all, it was Dares who had taken away what was originally his son’s property and given it to Ophelia as she left for Aglante.

As always, Dares was in his private chambers with alcohol and people around him. Mahanas frowned at the strong scent of pleasure herb that hit him as soon as he entered the room. He didn’t particularly enjoy things like pleasure herb. He had a more refined taste – flower tea.

The old man, half-intoxicated with alcohol and herbs, raised himself from the bed. If not for the Tears of Mevasa, the royal family’s symbol hanging around his neck, he looked disheveled enough to be mistaken for a commoner rather than a king.

Mahanas asked him:

“Father. Have you heard from Ophelia?”

Dares frowned deeply and immediately asked:

“What do you want from me?”

Irritated by the attitude that treated him as a nuisance, Mahanas raised his voice.

“You need to take some action! She deceived us! If only you hadn’t given her my land…”

It was then that Dares shouted angrily.

“Us? How dare you put yourself on the same level as me?”

Is that what’s important right now? Mahanas’ eyes widened at the absurd response. That’s when Dares grabbed the incense burner beside him.

“Insolent fool, get out!”

With a crash, the vase that was hit by the incense burner shattered. Startled by the violent act, Mahanas quickly left the room.

The shock quickly gave way to indignation over the injustice he had suffered as he walked down the corridor. His aging father clearly didn’t understand the gravity of the situation. Yet even now, the money going out due to the canal fees was steadily increasing.

Mahanas stormed into the room with angry steps and shouted at the waiting servant.

“Contact the servant we sent with her to Aglante!”

He needed to write letters to creditors asking to delay repayment again today. As Mahanas walked towards his desk with a deep frown, he noticed an unfamiliar envelope.

“What’s this?”

His eyes widened as he picked it up and checked the sender written on the outside.

The envelope bore Netepel Runtalis’ signature.