#52. Gilrod
Idren woke her up in the late morning as he had said last night. He was also sitting next to her in his pajamas.
Ophelia asked the man, who was clearly already awake—judging by the fatigue on his face, Idren must have risen early.
“Why are you still in the bedroom?”
The man replied with a somehow defeated expression.
“It’s best to wake up late the day after the wedding night.”
Since the servants were waiting in advance, Ophelia was able to wash up immediately after getting up. When she came out of the bathroom connected to the master bedroom, breakfast was already prepared in the tidy room.
“Come and eat.”
Idren, who was sitting in a chair next to the bed, spoke as soon as she entered the room. Ophelia went inside the bed as he instructed. As if the servant was waiting, a small table was placed in front of her.
When food was served on it, Idren dismissed the servants. The man, who now smelled pleasantly as if he had washed, served food for her to eat.
While she was chewing fruit, Idren explained the day’s agenda.
“This afternoon, the delegations who arrived the previous day will have their formal audience. After the foreign delegations pass through, the council elders will come in, so it’s good to memorize their faces.”
Ophelia nodded since she was already planning to observe the Edegrun nobles this time. Idren, who put some finely chopped meat in front of her, added:
“I told you about public sentiment, but I’m not forcing you. You don’t have to endure what you dislike, so if it’s burdensome, don’t worry about it.”
“Understood.”
Then Ophelia said to the man who only used his own plate to cut food.
“You should eat, too.”
Idren looked touched once again. Whenever he made that expression, Ophelia felt strange, so she turned her head away.
By the time they finished eating, a lot of time had passed, so they could not delay any longer.
Since she had to dress appropriately for the queen’s status in the audience chamber, Ophelia had to carefully fix her appearance just as meticulously as the day before. The time was tedious for her, but her husband, now the man beside her, waited in the same room throughout.
Her seat in the audience chamber was placed very close to the throne. Thanks to this, whenever people she barely remembered presented tributes and bowed under the platform, she could hear Idren’s explanations.
Although there were many people, he quietly explained what she needed to know in an easy-to-understand manner, almost as if he had prepared it in advance.
Finally, all the foreign delegations had passed, and the nobles of Edegrun began to appear. When a woman with familiar red hair stood beneath the platform, Idren whispered:
“Not all the council elders are hostile. Chesaa and a few other families support us, but their numbers are too few to overturn the current system.”
Then Idren motioned toward a woman who bowed before him. The woman, clearly related to Hazel, carried a box and climbed onto the platform.
When she got close enough, Ophelia could see what was inside the box. The box was lined with dark green velvet and contained a tree made of silver and jewels.
The tree, thick-bodied and with many branches, was the symbol of the Sigrasil royal family. When Idren motioned again, the head of the Chesaa family placed the box in front of her.
“Congratulations on your marriage.”
The woman bowed respectfully again and then left the platform without turning around. While Ophelia briefly gazed down at the sparkling artifact in the box, Idren whispered:
“Do you like it?”
“…It’s sparkling.”
Idren frowned slightly, sensing her ambiguous response, but as usual, he explained:
“Chesaa has a large silver mine. The knight standing behind you owns thirty percent of that mine.”
The knight behind her was Hazel. Ophelia raised an eyebrow.
“Isn’t the family heir your financial advisor?”
“That’s right. But the mine Hazel owns was directly given to her by the previous head of the family, so it belongs to her.”
Idren added playfully, “So try to be friendly. It’s better than pirates and the like.”
Ophelia ignored the last sentence, knowing it was his true feelings, but Idren chuckled quietly, pleased.
Feeling uncomfortable about his laugh that wasn’t mocking but still somehow irksome, Ophelia turned to say something, but at that moment his expression hardened coldly.
Curious who he was facing, Ophelia looked ahead. A middle-aged man with reddish-blonde hair stood before them with a brown-haired woman.
“Congratulations on your marriage, Your Majesty.”
The man bowed deeply. Ophelia waited for Idren to add an explanation, but he remained silent.
As the awkward silence lingered, Idren finally spoke:
“Gilrod Nebel. It’s been a while.”
“Three months, Your Majesty.”
“Yes, your congratulations bring new feelings.”
“Aren’t you the king of Aglante? Naturally, as your subject, I must congratulate you.”
Idren smiled irritably. Ophelia was a little surprised to see him smile like that for the first time.
Idren ordered the man called Gilrod:
“Lift your head. We should see what you brought.”
Gilrod raised his head as if waiting for that and grabbed the elbow of a woman standing a step behind him.
As the woman—seemingly his peer—stepped forward, Ophelia saw she was carrying a red wooden box.
Gilrod continued:
“A ruby from the Nebel mines and my daughter.”
He turned to look at her. Ophelia looked down into the man’s dark black eyes.
“She’s not particularly talented, but I thought she might at least be company for the new queen.”
His words treated the woman like an object.
Frowning slightly, Ophelia was sure nothing like this had happened in her previous life. Even if she couldn’t remember every gift, she would have remembered receiving a person.
Ophelia looked down at the woman behind the man who resembled Mahanas. The daughter of the Nebel family stood with shoulders hunched and chin tucked in.
After a moment of observing them, Ophelia said,
“Thank you.”
She realized that this was the first time she had greeted someone proactively.
Idren seemed to think the same and waved Gilrod away while tilting his head toward her.
“Were you acquainted with Gilrod or his daughter?”
“No.”
But Ophelia felt it was something she would never forget. She asked the man beside her:
“Is Gilrod Nebel a close elder of Brinwell?”
“That’s right. The Nebel family is mixed with Brinwell royal blood, and the current council elders are gathered around him.”
Idren added:
“In my previous life, he appeared only at the very end of the wedding, but since the Brinwell fleet couldn’t enter this time, it seems he decided to change his attitude.”
Upon hearing that, Ophelia understood why Idren’s expression had been unpleasant.
Reviewing Gilrod Nebel’s reddish-blonde hair and black eyes to remember him well, Ophelia murmured:
“He didn’t say his daughter’s name.”
The wedding celebration banquet lasted until sunset.
Ophelia sat in her seat beside the throne and watched the guests. Whether or not she could remember everything properly, she planned to keep in mind who gathered with whom.
Her eyes fell on Gilrod’s daughter standing in a corner of the banquet hall. The brown-haired woman, with softly curled hair and a noticeable dress, looked timid even from afar.
Just as Ophelia was about to ask Hazel to bring her over, a familiar voice interrupted.
“Your Majesty the Queen, I have something to deliver.”
Ophelia looked forward. A man was bowing in front of her. She recognized him as the servant of Netepel who had come to deliver letters before.
Before she could speak, Idren beside her said:
“The Egelbamot delegation should have already had their audience.”
“My master said he wanted to deliver it under a friend’s name rather than the country’s. That’s why it was delayed. Please forgive the rudeness.”
Although polite enough, Idren frowned as if displeased.
Since it was just a gift, Ophelia took Idren’s hand resting on the armrest. Idren flinched slightly at the touch.
Having held hands all night, Ophelia gave a meaningful glance to the man who suddenly acted distant and then asked the bowing servant:
“What does your master want to convey?”
Even if they called each other by name, it was inappropriate at official occasions.
Besides, Ophelia felt uneasy about the attitude the servant had shown last.
