#2. Ophelia
2023.12.02.
When Idrin opened his eyes again, what he saw was a blue sky.
Looking up at the bright blue sky bathed in warm sunlight, he thought, “The weather is nice. It’s as clear as the southern sky.”
Then he suddenly stood up in panic.
Edegrun, the capital of Aglante, was a place where it snowed for one-third of the year. Naturally, seeing such a clear blue sky was impossible.
Standing firmly on two feet, Idrin realized that he was on a ship. The blue waves surrounding him and the rocking floor made him aware of reality.
“…What is this?”
Blinking in disbelief at the absurd surroundings, Idrin thought.
Edegrun was inland. Right before the steep and high mountains stood Sigrasil Castle.
Furthermore, if he remembered correctly, he should have been stuck at the bottom of a well.
Not on such a calm river.
Idrin looked around. He saw small boats decorated with colorful flags and a riverside blooming with bright flowers. The scenery felt familiar.
It was just like the small canal between the southern part of Aglante and Reden.
As he stood there dazed, unable to believe what he was seeing, someone spoke to him.
“Your Majesty, are you alright?”
At the familiar voice, Idrin turned around, his eyes widening.
“…Penrel?”
The young knight with black hair narrowed his brow slightly and replied.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Staring dumbfounded at the vivid figure who looked no different from a living person, Idrin muttered,
“Penrel Soar, how are you…?”
The knight with the same black hair and similar build had definitely died last year.
Idrin clearly remembered Penrel’s death. In the war between Brinwell and Chiren, no one else but Penrel died in his place.
Before Idrin’s reign had even reached three years, Brinwell, the maternal family of the previous queen, had led an army to invade. It was under the pretext of avenging the dead princes, the offspring of the late queen.
The war, which started in early spring, lasted the entire year.
Though Idrin did his best, he did not achieve good results. He was too inexperienced to face the old king of Brinwell at that time.
When the war was nearing its end, he was surrounded by the Brinwell army, along with several knights close to him.
One of them, Penrel, had led the enemy forces away by pretending to be Idrin, and died in the process.
Afterward, the tide turned, and the Brinwell army retreated, but the death of the knight who had been with him for so long remained a heavy loss.
How could Penrel be here?
Idrin wiped his face with trembling hands.
“Could it be that I’m dead…? Penrel, is this the afterlife?”
But the land he saw beyond was too similar to Reden to be a paradise as people often say.
As Idrin scanned his surroundings in confusion, the knight looked at him and spoke.
“What do you mean by that?”
After a slightly awkward conversation, Penrel learned that his lord himself did not know where he was, and explained the situation.
“It is currently the fourth month of this year, and Your Majesty is on your way to the Reden royal palace. There, you are to meet King Dares and Prince Mahanas.”
Throughout his explanation, the knight showed concern about his lord’s mental state.
“He also mentioned it would be nice if you could meet the lady who will become your wife during the visit.”
Penrel finally asked again.
“Are you truly alright?”
Idrin brushed it off, saying it was just a temporary delusion. Penrel did not believe this excuse at all, but didn’t press further.
After sending Penrel to the rear of the ship because he wanted to be alone, Idrin sat down and gazed down at the water’s surface. The gentle ripples caught his eye.
Though he could not believe it, he felt as if he were in the past.
Of course, since time travel is nonsense, all of this must be a vision before death.
Therefore, Idrin did not ask Penrel anything more. He did not want to crack the illusion.
He did not like that it happened to be this particular time either.
As far as he knew, it was about three months before the wedding. Since the fourth month was when he was to meet the king and prince of Reden, there was no other guess.
At the beginning of his reign, King Reden had accepted his marriage proposal and invited him after half of the bride price had been paid.
Reden was at the southern end of Aglante, and Edegrun was in the north, so the distance was not convenient, but Idrin had accepted the invitation. He wanted to meet Ophelia, who would be at the Reden palace.
He wanted to tell her that the once awkward boy had grown well. That he hadn’t forgotten their conversations or the kindness she had shown, and that she could spend time with him without worries.
What a fleeting dream it had been.
Recalling how vain his past hopes had been, Idrin bitterly laughed at himself.
To conclude, he had never met Ophelia. Throughout his stay at the palace, she had said she was unwell and had not left her room.
He should have known then. Ophelia would never welcome him.
However, in the past, he had been terribly oblivious, and believed the letter she had written him. Though the words promising a next meeting due to illness weighed no more than a single sheet of paper.
“…Pathetic.”
Labeling his past self with one word, Idrin stood up.
They would arrive in Reden soon.
At the dock, horses were waiting. They were sent from the Reden palace.
Like before, Idrin mounted a horse. Penrel, inspecting the formation nearby, asked softly,
“Didn’t you say you would buy flowers?”
Now that he thought of it, he remembered saying that in the past. Idrin shook his head.
“Why bother if they won’t be accepted anyway?”
Then he spurred the horse forward. The knight followed with a puzzled look.
Aside from its long history and scenic views, Reden was a kingdom with little else. Even its capital was small. They soon arrived at the Reden palace.
Stopping the horse before the small yet splendidly decorated palace, Idrin thought the path was shorter than he remembered. Even though the scenery had not changed.
Maybe it was because it was a vision. He silently gazed at the white stone palace.
The Reden palace was bright with spring. The carved reliefs on the exterior were splendid, and flowers of various colors that could not be seen in Edegrun climbed the walls. Idrin scanned them indifferently.
Penrel, looking wide-eyed at the floral display, glanced at him.
“To clear the knight’s doubts, you’d need to at least do half of that, but I don’t feel like it.” Idrin sighed quietly.
Suddenly, he wondered why the prince of Reden was nowhere to be seen.
In his past life, Prince Mahanas had come out even before they reached the palace.
But now, no one was visible, and from somewhere, loud noises could be heard. Idrin lifted his head and looked toward the source of the commotion. People had gathered near a building, murmuring.
Penrel saw it too and lowered his voice.
“Seems something is happening.”
Without answering, Idrin dismounted and, as if mesmerized, approached the crowd.
The source of the noise was a place he knew well. Pushing through the crowd to the center, Idrin looked up.
The balcony of the princess’s room was wide open.
When he had briefly stayed at the palace before, he had looked up many times, but it had never opened.
But more surprising was the figure sitting on the balcony railing.
All Idrin could see was the woman’s back, darkened by the sunlight, but he recognized her at once.
He muttered blankly.
“…Ophelia?”
As if responding to his words, the woman’s back swayed.
The first thing Ophelia Mebasa did when she realized she was in the past was to bang her head against the wall.
Then she tried to strangle herself, and after that, bit her tongue. She wanted to escape the nightmare by any means.
The Reden palace just before her wedding.
Even if she was used to all sorts of horrors in the world, this was too much.
Seeing her brother, who had lived a miserable life and died, raising his head arrogantly, Ophelia felt like vomiting.
Her oily-faced brother was not the only one. Her greedy father, the vain Reden, and all were just as they were.
This was wrong.
Hiding in her room and tearing at her hair like a madwoman, Ophelia muttered, “This is wrong, this can’t be.”
In her reality, everything was perfect. The king of the ruined kingdom, her father, begged her repeatedly but gained nothing. Her brother also died a similar miserable death. Her enemies were also cleanly avenged.
After mocking all of it sufficiently, Ophelia took her own life. That was her reality.
Not the life of a foolish, powerless princess like this.
But the nightmare did not end.
No matter how many times she closed and opened her eyes, she was still in the princess’s room at Reden palace. Nothing had changed.
A princess on the verge of marriage, going mad.
Ophelia desperately denied everything, but no one listened to her. Around that time, she had lost her old fiancé, so they thought she had lost her mind.
Realizing nothing would change, Ophelia stopped her actions. She neither bit her tongue, strangled herself, nor banged her head.
After about a month living in this nightmare, she finally noticed a dazzling light.
