#7. As Planned
2023.12.07.
At first, there was no answer.
Idren knocked on the door a little harder. He couldn’t hide his impatience and called her name.
“Ophelia?”
After all, she was the one who had jumped from the balcony yesterday. Moreover, even the maid who served her was said to have been driven out of the room, so it was only natural to feel uneasy.
Idren anxiously twitched his fingers. That was when a small voice came from behind the door.
“…Come in.”
The calm voice was hoarse. Perhaps the maid, who had been driven out by Ophelia, heard it and opened the door. Idren stepped into the somewhat dark princess’s bedroom. Despite the bright morning, Ophelia’s room was subtly gloomy.
When the door closed behind him, Idren realized why. The balcony, where sunlight should have entered, was nailed shut with wooden boards.
Idren froze at the sight of two large boards nailed in a crude cross. It was an aggressively blatant intention.
The voice of the other person brought him back to reality.
“Why did you come?”
Only then did Idren regain his sense of reality and looked toward the voice. Ophelia, dressed more plainly than yesterday, was sitting on the bed.
She nodded toward the chair beside the bed. After sitting down as instructed, Idren noticed that her attitude was oddly defiant. Ophelia had never pointed at something like that before.
That wasn’t the only unfamiliar thing. The plain clothes without the usual accessories, the tired, unkempt posture — everything was unfamiliar.
The Ophelia he knew always maintained a straight posture. Wearing the most expensive of everything was just a given.
Whenever she looked down on something with a cold face, Idren sometimes suspected she was born not of frost and the north wind but of something harsher.
She was always so precise and exact.
But here, in the shadowed room, Ophelia looked more fragile than ever.
Her dark blue eyes looked up at him then.
“I asked why you came.”
The rising question was now sharp. Realizing he hadn’t answered, Idren opened his mouth.
“Yesterday was…”
“If it’s because of that, it’s fine.”
Ophelia cut him off before he could finish. Her tone was annoyed, but if listened to carefully, it was clear she was just brushing it off indifferently.
Having come to admit his fault, he felt a sudden lump in his throat upon realizing she did not even consider hearing his apology worthwhile, as if yesterday’s incident meant nothing to her. Idren frowned.
Strictly speaking, the criticism he had poured out yesterday was justified.
But such a careless attitude.
Before he could say anything else, Ophelia’s question came faster.
“Do you know why this happened?”
Though the sentence lacked a proper subject, Idren understood its meaning immediately.
‘This’ must refer to what had happened to them — the regression to the past.
By now, Idren fully acknowledged that this was reality. The heart rate spike he had felt the day Ophelia fell from the balcony made him realize the truth.
But when asked why this had happened to them, he had no answer. Idren shook his head. Ophelia sighed deeply.
“…I see.”
Then she wiped her face with both hands. Idren watched her bare, unadorned face and restless hands. It was unfamiliar to see her emotions displayed so openly, and he couldn’t look away.
Ophelia had never shown him this kind of emotion before.
Suddenly, Idren thought maybe she would answer his questions now. He parted his lips.
But once again, Ophelia was quicker.
“If you have nothing more to say, would you leave? I’m tired.”
Idren, leaving the room, met Fenrel waiting outside. The knight walked with him down the corridor, and when no one was around, spoke cautiously.
“Your Highness, may I ask you something?”
Idren nodded. Even with permission, Fenrel cautiously checked his reaction before speaking.
“Will you hold the wedding as planned?”
At those words, Idren stopped in the hallway.
So many things had happened that he had momentarily forgotten—they weren’t married yet.
“Of course…”
He was about to say “Of course, I will.”
But the words he had heard yesterday caught at him.
“You sent the proposal to my father, not me. How do you expect me to refuse?”
Hearing that, Idren realized what he had missed.
If he wanted to propose, he should have asked Ophelia’s opinion first.
Of course, in royal marriages, feelings were rarely considered. The more prestigious the name, the more people valued conditions over emotions.
That’s why their families were so varied.
Some were closely bonded despite the lack of a formal agreement, while others brought evidence of infidelity.
Knowing this, Idren didn’t expect much from Ophelia after marriage. He believed if he didn’t force her, she would eventually turn to him.
But if the first step was already wrong…
Noticing his hesitation, Fenrel added:
“This may be presumptuous, but Princess Reden seems different from the person you know.”
At that, Idren understood why Fenrel had brought up the wedding.
The version of himself in this timeline was excited and hopeful about the marriage because the princess he remembered was honest and kind.
But Fenrel worried about him marrying someone he didn’t truly know.
Though Reden was a historically significant country possessing one of the three sacred relics, it was not ideal for marital alliances. The Reden king’s excessive extravagance was often known beyond the borders.
Knowing Fenrel’s negative attitude stemmed from concern, Idren had reassured him about Ophelia.
After hearing his somewhat idealized past memories and Ophelia’s nature, Fenrel had accepted the proposal. He believed that even if political gain was forsaken, the marriage wouldn’t be unhappy.
Therefore, Fenrel was also the one who cared most when their married life didn’t meet expectations.
“One night at the battlefield, drunk, he said he should have opposed it more firmly.”
“If you had, Your Highness, even if you couldn’t love her, you would have someone to rely on.”
Idren couldn’t argue with that.
Still, he couldn’t say he regretted marrying Ophelia. Without her, he might never have ascended to the throne.
But now, Fenrel need not worry about disappointment.
He already knew how cold and indifferent Ophelia was.
Idren answered the knight’s worried look.
“I know what kind of person she is.”
The knight looked doubtful if he really knew but said no more.
They rounded a corner.
“Duke.”
The voice he heard again this morning made Idren frown.
“Prince Mahanas.”
A man with pale blue eyes and reddish hair stood before him.
Though his overall colors resembled Ophelia’s, the saturation and brightness were clearly different. The man smiled at him.
Idren felt disgust at the friendly smile. Knowing Ophelia’s relationship with her family, it was natural.
Instead of returning the smile, Idren hardened his face and said,
“I saw that the princess’s balcony is blocked. It’s hideous enough to upset anyone who sees it.”
The prince seemed a bit taken aback by Idren’s hostile tone but smoothly defended himself.
“As you know, she did something dangerous yesterday, so in haste, it was boarded up.”
“If you leave the room like that, won’t even normal people do dangerous things?”
If the balcony had to be blocked, there were many other ways. Adding new hinges or changing the latch to open only from outside would have been better, considering Ophelia’s status and aesthetics.
But choosing such a crude method was clearly meant to intimidate someone.
It probably wasn’t meant to intimidate Idren, but precisely for that reason, he found it unpleasant.
In front of him, the Reden king and prince pretended to care about Ophelia. The king’s five-page letter filled with affection for his daughter was still on Idren’s desk.
Of course, the letter’s latter part said such a beloved daughter wouldn’t be given away for a trivial bride price, but Idren never doubted the sincerity. The Ophelia he knew was worthy of love.
But now Idren knew she wasn’t on good terms with her family.
Without greeting the prince, Idren called his knight.
“Fenrel.”
Seeing him snap at the prince, the knight answered tensely.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“The wedding will proceed as planned.”
No matter how things had changed, Ophelia would marry him.
Because she needed this marriage.
