#8. The One Who Wants to Repay
2023.12.08.
Idren Sigrasil came to see her again. In one hand, he held a yellow flower.
Seeing the bright yellow petals that would be at their most radiant around this time, Ophelia’s first thought was, oddly enough, eyes like summer leaves. It was a natural association since the only one who had ever brought flowers to her room was her deceased fiancé.
And since hope and her fiancé died at the same time, Ophelia no longer looked at flowers. She had learned that it was better not to have fragile things that wither and break easily from the start.
Even if what the flowers represented was something good, her thoughts didn’t change.
Ophelia spoke to the second fiancé who placed the yellow flowers on her vanity.
“You don’t have to bring something like that next time.”
“…Do you dislike flowers?”
“No.”
Then the man stared at her with eyes as yellow as the flower petals. Ophelia gestured to the chair beside the bed and added,
“They’re just hard to deal with.”
“Can’t you leave that to the servants?”
Was he always this talkative?
Sitting on the bed, Ophelia looked at him today as if he was picking at every little thing she said. He was now seated on the chair before her.
Drawing on the last of her patience and kindness, she answered.
“It’s not like others can take on what’s inside.”
The man had no retort and shut his mouth.
Sunlight streamed in, illuminating the side of his face. Since the wooden plank on the balcony had come loose last night, the room was flooded with light.
Ophelia lifted her head a little to meet his gaze. The slightly upturned eyes and pale skin. The tightly pressed lips came into view. As always, his face was dignified.
Suddenly, she thought this was the first time she had properly looked at his face like this. Until now, Idren and she had always maintained an appropriate distance.
Though the recent days had thrown many things out of balance.
Remembering again that she had traveled back in time, Ophelia sighed. Just thinking about it made her tired and irritated.
She rested her head against the bedpost. As she often felt, when the mind was exhausted, the body lost the strength to hold itself up. Idren watched her intently.
Ophelia closed her eyes, regardless of him. It was rude behavior, but she was never a polite person to begin with.
Idren took advantage of her closed eyes to observe her face bathed in bright sunlight. Indeed, Ophelia looked better in the well-lit room than she had yesterday.
It was then Ophelia spoke.
“If you’re going to talk about breaking the engagement, go to my father.”
At those words, Idren realized this wasn’t the time to leisurely admire her face. He hurriedly said,
“I think there’s some misunderstanding. I didn’t come here to talk about breaking the engagement.”
What nonsense was that?
Ophelia’s eyes snapped open. Idren Sigrasil often said bizarre things despite looking normal, and this seemed to be one of those times.
What man in the world would marry a woman who tried to jump off the balcony?
“Why?”
Idren blinked, seeing Ophelia unusually cooperative in conversation today. With a question like that, he had no answer.
Of course, he had thought a lot after hearing what Ophelia said two days ago.
But that did not lead him to conclude that he would not marry her.
Idren still intended to marry Ophelia. Although he knew she was unhappy about the marriage, he planned to accommodate those concerns.
There was only one reason he insisted on occupying the seat beside her.
No matter who the groom was, Ophelia had to marry.
In that case, wasn’t it better for him to be the one?
Embarrassed to say it out loud, Idren lowered his eyes and answered softly.
“You have to marry anyway, don’t you?”
“Me?”
Ophelia scoffed, clearly incredulous. She acted as if he had completely misunderstood the situation.
But Idren had his reasons for thinking that way. Feeling unfairly treated, he furrowed his brows.
As if reading his thoughts, Ophelia asked,
“Why do you think so?”
“Well, you… to your family…”
Idren hesitated about how to explain this.
He still didn’t know the full truth of the incident because the one who should have explained it—Ophelia—was dead.
But one thing was certain. After hesitating, he spoke.
“You’re trying to do something, aren’t you?”
Right after Ophelia’s funeral, Idren had received a letter from King Reden. To be exact, the letter arrived before the funeral, but he only opened it afterward.
The letter mentioned that Reden’s economy was in serious trouble and asked for help.
Having previously sent aid without telling Ophelia when such letters came from her in-laws, Idren almost replied that he would do the same this time.
But just before sealing the reply with his stamp, a strange thought occurred to him.
Surely, by now the news of Ophelia’s death should have reached Reden.
Then why was there no response at all?
One suspicion led to another, so Idren ordered his financial advisor, Salode, to investigate Reden’s situation. He wanted to find out why Reden’s national debt had become so severe.
But before Salode finished the investigation, treasures from the Mebasa royal family of Reden arrived at Sigrasil Castle.
The national treasures from Reden, delivered in Ophelia’s name, were so numerous one could believe the entire royal palace had been taken apart. The stacked crates in the hall of Sigrasil Castle almost touched the ceiling.
Ophelia’s financial advisor who brought them said these were her inheritance. Naturally, Idren couldn’t understand this, so the man explained further.
“They were all seized from the Mebasa royal family of Reden.”
So that meant Ophelia had been playing money games against her family back in her homeland.
After hearing that, Idren ordered Salode to change the direction of his investigation.
Less than a day after giving the order, an obituary arrived. This, too, came from Reden, and the name inside was one he knew well.
Mahanas Mebasa.
The prince had been dead for some time, but the news had been delayed due to circumstances.
“There was a fight at a tavern, and commoners who beat the prince to death were afraid and hid the body,” Salode reported as he conveyed the news to Idren, who pinched his forehead in disbelief. How one ended up in such trouble was beyond comprehension.
But that wasn’t the only troubling news.
Two days after hearing that Prince Mahanas had died, Idren received news that Reden had collapsed due to simultaneous riots.
The kingdom was occupied by rebels, and King Dares of Reden sent a request for asylum to him. However, Idren couldn’t reply because he had no idea where the king was.
With no time to find the missing king, he had to deal with refugees from Reden flooding into Aglante.
Among those who came, some spread malicious rumors about Ophelia, claiming she was responsible for all this chaos.
Idren executed most of them. He was originally tough on anything that could damage Ophelia’s reputation.
The reason some were spared was for interrogation. Given how fast things were happening, he thought this was quicker than investigation.
To speed things up, Idren brought one of Reden’s officials to the execution ground.
“It’s all because of Her Royal Highness, the Duchess.”
Having witnessed several beheadings, the trembling official said so.
“Her Royal Highness caused Reden’s downfall.”
His words were filled with resentment.
Idren wondered what kind of husband he thought he was to express such feelings but did not twist his neck immediately.
The official stammered and revealed what he thought was the truth behind the incident.
“A speculative frenzy had been raging in Reden for several years.”
Maybe because Idren threatened to keep him alive only if he told the truth, the story flowed smoothly.
“At first, it was minerals. Reden had mines here and there. They were abandoned because although pigments could be extracted from the minerals, it wasn’t profitable to develop them.”
Then the official said that one day Ophelia invested in those mines. She had pigments extracted from the minerals and bought them at high prices.
Naturally, the owners of the mines that dealt with her made a fortune and spread news of their unexpected luck far and wide.
“Everyone envied the mine owners. Even the royal family invested in the mines. Because the mines existed only in Reden, the country’s economy seemed to be booming suddenly.”
When the official said that, Idren remembered the red color Ophelia had popularized years ago.
Red was not originally a common color in Aglante.
But after Ophelia wore it during her inspection — something he had suggested to help maintain her reputation — red became fashionable in Aglante.
Ophelia, bathed in blood-red and deep color, was beautiful enough to enchant anyone.
