Realizing her words were too unkind after speaking, Ophelia thought Idren might not have understood what she said. She hunched her inexplicably trembling shoulders and added an explanation.

“I threw the ornament on the desk at Mahanas.”

The pitch-black thoughts in her mind, as if covered by dark clouds, gradually began to clear. Ophelia looked down at the scattered fragments on the floor.

She had absolutely no intention of causing physical harm to Mahanas.

It wasn’t for his sake. Normal people didn’t typically think about raising their hands against others. Ophelia was no exception.

She just wanted to hear a bit more of what Mahanas had to say. Her elder brother often carelessly let slip important things about himself or others due to his loose tongue.

“Why do you need money?”

“I’ve incurred some debt.”

The fact that he was pinpointing this after so long suggested it was a considerable amount.

Since this had happened much later in her previous life, a puzzled Ophelia asked,

“To whom, and how much?”

“What do you need to know that for? You just need to prepare the money as I say.”

“If you don’t want to tell me, there’s nothing I can do. I don’t want to spend money on something I know nothing about, so handle it yourself.”

“Are you really insane?”

Instead of replying, Ophelia stared blankly at her elder brother. Since it was clear who held the upper hand in the situation, Mahanas eventually answered with a grumble.

“…It’s the 2nd Prince of Egelbamot.”

“…To Netepel?”

It was an unexpected name, but what followed was even more outrageous.

“Yeah, there was a merchant guild I borrowed money from, but it turns out the real owner of that guild was the 2nd Prince.”

“Who told you that?”

In her previous life, the fact that Netepel owned a merchant guild hadn’t been revealed until after her death.

But Mahanas frowned as if she had asked a strange question and said,

“I heard it straight from his mouth, where else? The 2nd Prince came to Reden in person to tell me.”

“Netepel is in Reden?”

“Why do you keep prying? Are you having an affair with that guy?”

Ophelia looked at her elder brother with astonishment as he spoke inappropriately in the castle where her husband was present. It was a talent of sorts to spout nonsense every time he opened his mouth.

“The way you’re not answering my questions properly, it seems you don’t want the money?”

Mahanas flinched as if he was about to raise his hand, but eventually answered.

“…He’s not in Reden now.”

At the expression that wouldn’t have been used if Netepel had returned to his home country, Ophelia asked again.

“Then where did he go?”

“How should I know where that lowborn went? Just because he has some money, he dares to raise his head despite being only half…”

“Elder brother.”

The king of this place, Idren, was also not born of his father’s primary wife, just like their mother.

“Watch your words.”

Mahanas, seeming to realize his slip of the tongue, trailed off and changed the subject.

“Anyway, I don’t know where the 2nd Prince went. I heard he headed north towards the western archipelago.”

The western archipelago was a region completely opposite to Egelbamot. That place, where small islands gathered claiming to be individual countries, was closer to the west of Aglante or Brinwell than to Egelbamot. It would be an unfamiliar place for Netepel, who was rooted in Egelbamot despite everything.

Since Netepel wouldn’t have headed to the western archipelago just for sightseeing, Ophelia fell into thought for a moment. Somehow, it felt like something that shouldn’t be overlooked.

But Mahanas didn’t let her ponder for long.

“You just need to prepare the money. This debt is as good as yours, so you should pay it.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

“Nonsense? Did you just call it nonsense?”

And then Mahanas went on to say even more outrageous things.

“If I had married you off to the 2nd Prince instead of the Grand Duke of Aglante, this debt wouldn’t have existed, so isn’t it naturally your debt?”

“What did you say?”

“If I had known things would turn out like this, I should have given you to the 2nd Prince instead of the Grand Duke. They say he would have paid a higher bride price…”

And then her memory cut off for a moment.

When she came to her senses, Mahanas was on his feet, shouting at the top of his lungs. Even seeing the blood trickling from his forehead and the shattered porcelain pieces on the floor, Ophelia couldn’t grasp the situation.

Her memories were intermittent, as if someone had taken scissors to them. While she could perceive the scene, she couldn’t quite feel the cause and effect.

It was only after Idren took her hand that she fully realized exactly what had happened. Only after hearing the man who had firmly grasped her wrist ask what Mahanas had done did the situation start to piece together.

Sitting on the sofa as Idren led her, Ophelia looked down at her own hand.

It wasn’t shocking that she had used violence against Mahanas. She could have hanged her elder brother on the gallows and watched the scene straight-faced.

But acting on impulse like this was completely different from executing a planned action. It meant that for a moment, her actions had escaped the control of her consciousness.

Moreover, this wasn’t the first time such a thing had happened. Ophelia raised her hands to cover her face. It was an instinctive action to hide the confusion and fear that must be clearly visible.

It was then that the man’s hand gently wrapped around her wrist.

“It’s alright.”

And Idren slowly lowered her hands. Ophelia realized that his knees were touching the floor. This action, unbefitting his status, seemed to be an attempt to meet her eye level.

As he wiped her palm with a clean cloth dampened with herbal extract and water, he said,

“There’s no need to be frightened about throwing something at the Prince of Reden. Didn’t I throw him to the floor? What you did won’t even leave a mark.”

Though his words were meant to reassure her and carried a light tone, they only made Ophelia more anxious. She stammered,

“It’s not the first time.”

Idren looked up at her once as if encouraging her to say more, then opened the lid of an ointment jar. Frightened by his calm demeanor, Ophelia added,

“I, I’ve done this before. In Reden, to Mahanas… And with that lord you mentioned…”

Until now, Ophelia hadn’t thought her condition was serious. After all, being normal or abnormal wasn’t such a big issue. Even if she was a flawed person, it didn’t matter to her.

But after Idren witnessed the scene just now, suddenly everything felt enormous. When he looked at her with those light-colored eyes, Ophelia felt as if all her hidden defects were being exposed.

Looking down at him as he spread the ointment over her torn skin, Ophelia’s lips trembled.

“…Maybe I’m crazy.”

Come to think of it, things had been strange for a while. She couldn’t remember things she had clearly just heard, and she did dangerous things without hesitation that a sane person wouldn’t do. She was careless in dealing with her surroundings, and her emotions fluctuated wildly.

So, maybe she had been… for a very long time…

It was something she had been anticipating. But when she admitted it out loud, her chest felt cold, and Ophelia blinked slowly. Her vision blurred.

It was then that the man looking up at her reached out his hand.

“You’re not.”

A warm hand gently cupped her cheek. Idren whispered in a pleasant voice.

“When angry, one might throw things. I do it sometimes too.”

But Ophelia had never seen him act violently.

Moreover, the problem wasn’t that simple. She rebutted with a voice still slightly trembling,

“It’s not just about throwing things. You know too. My memory…”

“You often forget things because you’re not interested in them. And that’s understandable. There’s nothing worth holding your attention, is there?”

“No, that’s not it…”

“Ophelia, look at me.”

Though quiet, his low voice had a strange power. Ophelia found herself doing as told without realizing it.

Meeting those eyes, bright as the brightest star in the dark night, her heart seemed to calm a little. She took a deep breath and closed her mouth.

Gently stroking her bandaged hand with his thumb, Idren asked,

“What’s my name?”

“Idren… Idren Sigrasal.”

“And your guard knight?”

“Hazel Chesa.”

“The financial advisor?”

“Dahel… He’s a commoner, so he has no surname.”

At that, the corners of the man’s mouth curved into a gentle smile.

“See, you remember everything.”

Ophelia wanted to say there was an error in his words. Idren had only asked about very easy things, things she could obviously answer.

But the moment she saw the sincerity in his eyes, unmarred by even a hint of impurity, she began to doubt herself.

If he was just saying anything to reassure her, Idren wouldn’t be able to make such a trustworthy face.

This man is not a fool.

Ophelia reminded her wavering self.

If there really was a problem with me, he would have known, and if he knew, he couldn’t have made such an expression.

And if she appeared normal in Idren’s eyes, she would appear the same to others.

As she reached this conclusion, her rapidly beating heart calmed as if by magic. Ophelia leaned forward with her now relaxed shoulders. Idren steadily received her.

Feeling the man’s large hands stroking her back and waist as he embraced her, Ophelia murmured,

“I think you’re right.”

The words spoken aloud had power. At that moment, Ophelia truly came to believe what she had said. Or perhaps she wanted to.

Before she could check her decision, Idren reinforced that belief.

“Because it’s the truth.”