Love Me Just Once - Chapter 30

Ophelia was about to tell him that there was no need to take her side, nor to kill the lord for doing so.

Though she didn’t yet remember clearly who Taeran was, she could handle the surrounding situation herself.

However, before she could open her mouth, they reached the castle gate. Considering that Idren had adjusted their walking pace, it seemed quite intentional.

Idren exchanged greetings with the man waiting in front of the castle gate. It was Taeran, the castle lord.

When that man approached her and bowed, Ophelia examined his face closely. She saw hair like a wheat field and eyes of the same color.

Ophelia furrowed her brow at that face, which evoked a strange sense of déjà vu. Then Taeran asked with a seemingly kind face.

“Is there anything else making you uncomfortable?”

Ophelia was about to ask the man if they had met before, but stopped herself. Aside from it seeming like a socially awkward question, of course they must have met if she had even slapped his cheek.

Though he probably wouldn’t remember.

Ophelia shook her head. Taeran, still not losing his smile, stepped back.

“Let’s go inside.”

With those words, as Taeran walked inside the castle gate, Idren didn’t immediately follow him but kept his distance. Since her hand was held by him, Ophelia also ended up keeping her distance.

It was an unwelcome development, as she felt she might remember something useful if she observed the other person a bit more. Ophelia pulled her captured hand slightly forward. But Idren didn’t budge.

When they reached the guest room prepared for them, Idren sent everyone out and asked.

“What happened here?”

As she was already developing a headache, Ophelia pressed her brow and said.

“…I told you I don’t remember.”

“Is it enough for you to just say you don’t remember? Why did I…”

And the man closed his mouth as if suppressing his anger. Ophelia said to the man who was acting so frustratingly, as if he knew everything.

“Then why don’t you tell me first? What does it mean that you killed the lord because of me?”

It was a reasonable question, but Idren frowned as if greatly offended by those words. He spoke while averting his gaze slightly from her.

“…Not long after we were married, you laid hands on Taeran’s face at his castle. After that incident, he went around maliciously slandering you, and you never offered any explanation.”

“…”

“I couldn’t let him go around insulting you, so I took action. Do you understand?”

“…Why are you asking about this now, when you didn’t ask back then?”

If he had asked then, she would have answered, but now it was a natural question to ask about something she couldn’t even remember from years ago. Ophelia said irritably.

Idren almost told the woman who was only blaming him that he had tried to ask.

In fact, he had even attempted to do so before.

But when he asked her what problem she had with Taeran Rohos, Ophelia instead turned the question back on him.

“What did that lord say?”

Perhaps he could have had more of a conversation with her there.

But at that time, he was seriously mindful of Ophelia’s mood, so instead of risking upsetting her by opening his mouth, he said he would take care of it himself.

Ophelia had blinked at him with her characteristic indifferent expression when he said that.

“Do as you wish.”

Looking back now, it was an incredibly stupid thing. Idren wanted to slap his past self and tell him to wake up.

Ophelia would dislike him whether he did that or not, so he couldn’t understand why he had lived being so mindful of her mood.

Recalling how foolish he had been, Idren glared at Ophelia.

“I don’t know why you didn’t get along with Taeran, but this time I have something to ask him, so try to restrain yourself.”

“…”

“If you want to do something, tell me first and then do it. Understand?”

The woman frowned for a while and then said sulkily.

“…I understand.”

Before leaving the room, Idren said to the woman who always seemed displeased with him.

“I have business to attend to, so if you have something to say, send someone.”

Taeran was waiting for him in the reception room. Idren waved his hand at the southern lord who greeted him as soon as he entered. The man bowed politely and sat down.

As he sat in the opposite chair, Taeran ordered the servant waiting beside him.

“Bring the tea.”

The young servant, who looked to be about fourteen or fifteen years old, immediately brought a kettle from atop a small brazier.

Idren watched as the boy poured hot water over the red flower petals in the strainer. The scent of flowers wafted strongly.

Looking down at the teacup filling with red tea, Idren recalled the report he had heard in his previous life.

The knight he had assigned to Ophelia said that there was a loud noise from inside the room, followed by Taeran’s scream.

“Fortunately, there seemed to be no problem with Her Highness, but…”

The knight trailed off after saying that. And for good reason.

Taeran Rohos was one of the few lords who had been favorable to him from the beginning.

Until he staged the rebellion, most lords thought Lemetel would ascend to the throne. Lemetel was the most grown of the princes, and the king also seemed to plan to place his first son on the throne.

So all the lords invested in the first prince, and all those investments turned to nothing when he killed Lemetel.

Those who suffered sudden losses in that chaotic time were divided into two groups: those who forgot their losses and joined hands with him, or those who sharpened their knives of revenge against the one who had harmed them.

In the capital Edegrun, where Lemetel’s forces had been concentrated, the latter were overwhelmingly more numerous.

However, the south was calmer than expected. While part of the reason was the lesser losses due to the distance from Edegrun, the main reason was that Taeran, who had considerable influence in the area, had supported him from the beginning. This support continued until the marriage, making Taeran the center of his southern power base.

Whether his own authority had made him arrogant or not, after the problem with Ophelia arose, Taeran openly expressed his dissatisfaction. He publicly claimed that she had struck him, leaving an indelible scar on his face. Considering how delicate Ophelia’s hands were, it was an absurd claim.

No matter how amicable his relationship with Taeran was, Idren could not allow Ophelia to be slandered, so he gave Taeran two choices: keep quiet, or protest to him personally.

Of course, if he chose to protest, the rule was that all information would be disclosed for the sake of fairness. Not only Ophelia’s words and actions, but also his own would have to be confessed in full.

However, Taeran chose neither, and Idren finally decided to uproot him on justifiable grounds. Conveniently, Taeran’s daughter had exposed her father’s corruption and slave trading, so there were no complications.

Originally, it should have been settled with bail, but Idren exiled Taeran and then executed him. People said he was cutting off his own branch, but as time passed, even those voices faded.

After Taeran’s death, his daughter took his place.

As it was not a typical succession, there was some weak resistance, and the southern power structure built around Taeran also collapsed, but fortunately, Ophelia got along well with the new lord.

After confirming that much, Idren had not paid any more attention to that matter. He had many other things to be concerned about.

“This is tea imported from Egelbamot.”

…If he had known it would come to this, he thought he should have at least found out why Ophelia had struck Taeran before killing him.

Idren thought this as he watched the man personally setting down the teacup before him.

In any case, he planned to remove Taeran in this life as well. Although Taeran had been a major supporter until now, Idren couldn’t leave things as they were, knowing that he would end up in conflict with Ophelia.

However, there was something he needed to find out before uprooting Taeran.

Taeran had been friendly with Mahanas. Their friendship was deep enough to allow for financial transactions.

Idren remembered what Ophelia had said.

“If they can’t sell me to get the bride price, Reden will be ruined.”

For Ophelia to say such a thing, Mahanas must have borrowed quite a lot of money from various sources.

As Reden and Mahanas were among the few things that could elicit a reaction from Ophelia, Idren intended to gather as much information as possible related to them.

Idren asked the man who was smiling kindly before him.

“Taeran, let me ask you directly. Have you ever lent money to Prince Mahanas?”

At this, Taeran’s lips stiffened slightly. His eyebrows twitched a little. Seeing this, Idren realized the man was hesitating.

Judging from his attitude of slandering Ophelia in the previous life, he wouldn’t be considering friendship with the Reden royal family, so he seemed tense, unable to understand the intention behind the question.

To ease his hesitation, Idren let out a small sigh and said.

“Actually, Ophelia is very worried about Prince Mahanas’s debts. I was wondering if you knew anything related to that.”