“I said I was only following the will of Her Highness the Princess.”

“That’s an obvious lie.”

“I thought Her Highness the Princess wouldn’t deny it.”

Penrel also thought she might really take her family’s side.

Some people couldn’t give up their expectations of family even knowing they were mistreated by them.

It was behavior that didn’t make sense rationally, but such cases were more common than one might think. After all, what one learns in childhood tends to linger in memory for a long time.

As if reading his mind, the king said.

“I’ve already talked to Ophelia about that. More importantly, wasn’t the Second Prince of Egelbahnot in Leden?”

“Yes, I saw his procession entering as I was leaving.”

It was probably because of the Crown Prince.

Orien, the half-brother of Netepel Runthalis and Crown Prince of Egelbahnot, used his younger half-brother like a messenger. Idren had learned this fact, known only within the Egelbahnot Imperial Palace, by chance in his previous life.

So it wasn’t strange for the Second Prince to go down to Leden, but something else was bothering him.

The Second Prince had sent a servant to the funeral of the Lord of Rohos. It was the servant who had once come to see Ophelia under the pretext of delivering his master’s message.

Remembering how oddly arrogant he had been, Idren deliberately prevented him from meeting Ophelia. It wasn’t difficult since Ophelia had no interest in either the lord’s funeral or those attending it.

As it wasn’t common for a servant of a foreign prince to attend a lord’s funeral, Idren looked into it. What came to light was the friendship between the former Lord of Rohos and the Second Prince of Egelbahnot.

Learning this fact raised one question.

Did Netepel Runthalis not know what the former Lord of Rohos had done to Ophelia in the previous life?

Considering the friendship between Ophelia and the Second Prince, he should have known, but if so, it was suspicious that he had taken no action against Taeran despite knowing the truth.

If a friend of his – not that he had any – had suffered such a thing, Idren wouldn’t have left it alone.

Then, did Ophelia not tell even her closest friend what had happened?

To be honest, this was what he wanted to believe, but it didn’t add up either.

Because there was no way Ophelia wouldn’t have told her friend the facts she had told him.

It was truly an unpleasant fact, but the trust between Ophelia and him wasn’t as deep as the trust between Netepel and her. Even though they had grown closer recently, Idren didn’t delude himself.

But he could ask Ophelia about that issue after they became more intimate. As their relationship was clearly improving now, Idren believed that day would come someday.

Having finished his thoughts, he asked the knight before him.

“Is there anything else you’ve learned?”

Penrel hesitated a little before speaking.

“I heard one unsubstantiated rumor. I tried to find more credible information than this, but it seems a gag order has been issued in Leden itself, so I couldn’t hear anything else.”

“Even if it’s just a rumor, it doesn’t matter.”

After Leden’s downfall in his previous life, even those rumors became hard to uncover.

Moreover, if it was a useless rumor, he might need to take preemptive action.

Judging by the gag order issued in Leden, it seemed Mahanas had attempted to manage it, but Idren didn’t trust a prince who couldn’t even control his own drunkenness and got beaten to death.

And since Ophelia wouldn’t care about her own reputation, wouldn’t he have to clean it up?

Penrel, who had been hesitating, finally spoke.

“I heard that Her Highness the Princess originally had someone she was engaged to.”

“That’s something I already knew.”

After stabilizing the throne to some extent, Idren had heard about how Ophelia was doing.

Lest he cause her any trouble or spread unfavorable rumors – which was a consideration he had to make at the time due to various issues – he hadn’t looked into it in detail, but he knew as much as others did.

Ophelia originally had a fiancé. Prince Mahanas had also briefly mentioned it during the meeting.

Of course, it was a device to emphasize that his sister currently had no betrothed, so he didn’t go into depth.

Anyway, the fact that Ophelia had had a fiancé wasn’t a problem at all. Ophelia’s husband was him, and in the previous life, her former fiancé had never even been mentioned.

However, the knight, who should know how royal marriages proceed, hesitated unexpectedly. Idren waited a moment for him to speak. Finally, Penrel opened his mouth.

“It seems they were close, having been engaged since childhood.”

“……”

“Perhaps because of that, some people say that Her Highness the Princess was in love with her former fiancé.”

Idren returned just as the conversation with the tailor was nearly over.

As she had something to tell him anyway, Ophelia called the man over. You.

“You should have your measurements taken too.”

Idren stared at her blankly. Ophelia realized he didn’t understand her words because of her unusual way of expressing herself.

She added a bit awkwardly.

“I thought it would be better to make clothes for you as well while we’re at it. I chose the fabric and design arbitrarily.”

It was something she wouldn’t have done normally.

Even in her past life when they were already married, Ophelia had never paid attention to what Idren wore.

He always dressed well without any noticeable flaws, and they weren’t close enough for her to catch the unnoticeable ones.

However, after the man who had been sitting with a gloomy expression went outside, Ophelia impulsively looked for male designs. The well-prepared tailor immediately pulled out papers as if he had expected her to take care of her fiancé.

While choosing fabrics that would suit him, Ophelia wondered why she was doing this.

Whether he was depressed or not, she had no obligation to comfort him. Idren had as much as, if not more than, her, and in a way, she was in a position to be swayed by him.

Even though she knew all this in her head, Ophelia felt like she had the upper hand. She felt this way even though the situation didn’t add up in many ways.

Unintentionally bringing someone down or lifting them up was really uncomfortable. Especially after realizing that she had hurt the other person.

Ophelia knew that all these sentiments were because of Idren. His reactions to her unintentional words and actions naturally affected her as well.

Because of this, Ophelia sometimes wanted to ask him how he could be so sensitive.

But she shouldn’t. Ophelia reminded herself as she watched the man obediently having his measurements taken. It was better not to open her mouth if she was going to say such things.

Hadn’t she made him cry before by prying?

She hadn’t forgotten what had happened in the carriage. Including how she had apologized after realizing her mistake, everything.

Ophelia didn’t want to be a bad person to Idren. Even if she couldn’t speak while considering his feelings, she didn’t want to make avoidable verbal mistakes.

However, when Idren was this docile, when he accepted the marks she left like an overripe fruit, her mouth kept itching.

It was because she wanted to find reasons and block them, as he kept getting hurt even though it wasn’t intentional.

Just endure for three years. Ophelia vowed as she turned her gaze to the design book spread on the table. The downfall of Leden and Mahanas would take less than three years, if not more.

It was then that she suddenly heard her name.

“Ophelia.”

Ophelia turned her head at the slightly subdued voice. Idren was looking at her from a distance. The tailor was packing up various things, apparently finished with taking measurements.

As the other person seemed to have something they wanted to say, Ophelia waited for a moment.

But Idren didn’t say anything even as he tidied his disheveled clothes. He kept his mouth shut until the door closed and they were left alone in the room.

Ophelia furrowed her brow to read the hesitation lingering on him more closely. However, before she could find anything meaningful, Idren spoke.

Lowering his gaze and fiddling with his collar, which he hadn’t realized was disheveled, he said.

“It seems the wedding ceremony will proceed earlier than you remember. Having the ceremony quickly will also help you establish your position.”

His large hand lingered on his sleeve for a long time. Through the man’s slightly tilted head and gaze fixed on the floor, Ophelia realized that he hadn’t actually said what he had intended to say.

A subtle discomfort began to pool at the other’s lack of honesty.

The problem was that even if she disliked it, she didn’t know what to say. Ophelia murmured in an uncertain voice.

“I don’t mind if that happens.”

Idren replied calmly, as if he had expected her to answer that way.

“Yes, and thank you for thinking about the clothes.”

Paradoxically, it was only after hearing those words that Ophelia realized how she should have responded when Idren talked about clothes yesterday. She hesitated before speaking. Um,

“I’m grateful too.”