Siana couldn’t hide her anxiety at those words and bit her lip. Though she clearly saw blood forming on her bloodless lips, Ophelia asked as if she knew nothing.

“Is there a reason you don’t want to go home?”

It was a voice deliberately gentle enough to make the other person conflicted.

“I, I…”

And Siana couldn’t continue her words and lowered her head.

Ophelia didn’t give her much time to ponder between fear of her father and a new attempt.

“If you have nothing to say, then go back now.”

And Ophelia saw Siana clasp her hands together, which were surely cold and damp. Her bony hands were clenched so tightly that the joints showed.

Soon Siana began to stutter even worse than before.

“You, you saw. If, if I go home, I’ll, I’ll be hit…”

Though they were pitiful words, Ophelia looked at the woman pleading to her with unwavering eyes. She had to make it clear that nothing could be gained by such passive demands.

It was then that Siana, staggering towards her, fell to her knees.

It was a knee that fell too easily to believe she was the daughter of a prominent family. It was also proof of how desperate she was to not even care about appearances.

And Siana bowed her head and begged.

“Ple, please, I, I beg you like this. Do, don’t send me ba, back.”

Ophelia saw tears that had barely stopped welling up in Siana’s eyes.

And she felt somewhat perplexed.

This was clearly what she had intended, but it didn’t feel very good.

Ophelia grasped the chin of the woman kneeling before her and tilted her head back.

“If I don’t send you back, what can you do for me?”

And Ophelia added.

“I’m not someone who sympathizes without reason.”

Your father, too, didn’t he constantly demand something from you.

Siana looked up at her with wide eyes, as if forgetting even to cry for a moment. She seemed surprised that she would act like that even after seeing what Gilord Nebel had done.

But if she didn’t act as cruelly as Gilord Nebel, Siana wouldn’t be able to betray her father. Because people trained by whipping respond more sensitively to the pain before their eyes than to rewards.

Ophelia released her tear-soaked chin and said.

“I’ll give you a day, so think about it slowly.”

But Ophelia knew that even tomorrow, Siana wouldn’t be able to bring a proper answer.

She would surely come to her and ask her to decide. Siana would thus give up her initiative. That must have been the way that had dominated her entire life so far.

Finishing her reminiscence, Ophelia asked Idren.

“What punishment is there if the head of an elder family insults a royal?”

“Who did such a thing to you?”

Idren asked, carefully laying her head on his lap. Ophelia realized that he had already undone all of her hair. It was a much faster and more skillful touch than before.

Still with her eyes closed, Ophelia said.

“It’s just a hypothetical.”

“Insulting royalty is a serious crime. While there may be degrees within that, the crime itself is never lightly punished.”

If it happened inside the castle, they could at least revoke entry rights to the royal castle. Idren said, gently rubbing between her furrowed brows.

“And being unable to enter the royal castle means being distanced from central politics.”

It was natural since all valuable agendas were discussed inside the royal castle.

He had only mentioned it thinking it wouldn’t hurt to point out such an important fact, but Ophelia retorted primly.

“I know that much.”

And she adjusted her posture slightly. Idren fiddled with the shimmering auburn hair spread across his lap.

There must be a reason Ophelia is asking such questions.

“Is this related to Siana Nebel?”

At that, Ophelia turned her back to him and lay down. It was an action she often did when she didn’t want to answer.

But in this situation, such behavior was only an affirmation. Idren held back his desire to ask her more. Anyway, since Hazel was there, he would report to him before anything big happened.

Perhaps uncomfortable after turning over, Ophelia lay straight again not long after. Idren suddenly realized that his legs were somewhat hard and high for her to use as a pillow.

But he liked the light weight resting on his thighs, so Idren ignored the fact that there was a cushion on the opposite sofa that could support her head. Anyway, that cushion seemed about the same height as his leg.

It was then that Ophelia, who had been quietly lying with her eyes closed, suddenly said,

“I made Siana cry today.”

“…Is that so?”

It was an unusual fact, but not a big deal. Ophelia was a woman who often made even him cry.

He wasn’t even concerned about making just one noble cry. Idren wrapped her fragrant and soft hair around his hand.

However, Ophelia seemed slightly irritated by his reaction. Frowning, she added.

“I acted just like her father.”

If it’s Siana Nebel’s father, isn’t that Gilord Nebel.

To compare herself to such a man. Idren didn’t understand why Ophelia would say such a thing, but he first responded to her words,

“You must have been much better than that man, so don’t worry about it.”

He wanted to say it dozens of times more firmly but had put it indirectly, but Ophelia immediately raised her eyes.

“How do you know that?”

And Ophelia thought Idren was speaking too easily without even having seen the scene.

After frightening Siana, she felt indescribably tired. It was more mental fatigue than physical.

Ophelia knew that if she examined that fatigue, there would also be a faint mixture of disgust at her own actions.

Anyway, she despised people like Mahanas, so she couldn’t help but despise herself for acting like that as well.

Not knowing how complicated her feelings were, Idren just stared down at her without saying anything. Then he suddenly said something strange.

“No matter what you do, it looks somewhat good in my eyes.”

It was an unadorned but sincere statement, but Ophelia turned her back again. Then she shifted a little.

Idren decided to give up his selfishness before she became more uncomfortable. He carefully lifted and set down the woman’s head.

Ophelia opened her eyes at the sudden lowering of her head onto the sofa. It was then that her eyes met Idren’s, who was bringing a cushion from the opposite sofa.

“I thought this might be better, so I brought it.”

And Idren placed the cushion under her head. Ophelia saw him sit on the rug on the floor instead of on the sofa.

“Why are you sitting there?”

Idren replied nonchalantly as if it were nothing.

“Isn’t it easier to talk with you like this?”

“Even so, it’s the floor…”

Idren said to the woman who was concerned about such a trivial thing.

“I’ve sat in worse places than this. This much is fine.”

When circumstances weren’t favorable, he had even sat on dirt floors.

Ophelia didn’t say anything more about where he was sitting. Idren put his hand on her hair that had slipped down a little. Feeling the peace that came with the other’s tacit permission for a moment, he unconsciously murmured.

“I should have lived like this from the beginning.”

He couldn’t understand why he had been so mindful of Ophelia’s feelings back then.

If he had been mindful, there should have been that much improvement, but the result hadn’t been good, had it?

Idren said in a slightly smaller voice. I should have done better.

Ophelia looked at the profile of the man who spoke as if he truly regretted it.

It seemed it had been the same at Rohos’s manor, he had a tendency to blame himself in their relationship.

But since she was clearly the one with more problems between them, Ophelia thought about whether things would have really turned out as Idren said.

If Idren had really acted like he does now, would she have become close to him?

Without thinking too deeply, Ophelia knew she couldn’t be sure of that.

In her previous life, she had felt Haslen’s death very strongly. Back then, she often saw her fiancé from the execution ground in her dreams.

Suddenly, Ophelia realized that she hadn’t dreamed of Haslen in this life. There were often days when she would spend the whole day with Idren and become so tired that she would fall asleep without even dreaming, which seemed to be the reason.

It wasn’t just dreams that had changed. Unlike in her previous life, Ophelia thought she could make Idren her friend, and was actually treating him to that extent.

And that was all because several events had happened to them.

While attempting suicide twice, Ophelia had done everything she wanted in front of Idren. She had shouted, thrown things, sneered, and acted like someone who had never learned manners.

Still, Idren remained unchanged in that place.

Ophelia didn’t know if she would have treated him as comfortably as she does now if she hadn’t seen such an attitude from him.

Finishing her thoughts, she lowered her eyes and murmured.

“It might not have been exactly like that.”

Then Idren turned his body towards her. Ophelia knew he was looking at her, but she didn’t look in his direction.

After keeping his mouth shut for a moment as if choosing his words, Idren said.

“How about just living with me for a long time this time?”