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Chapter 108
After a brief silence, a hollow laugh escaped from Richard.
Having composed his expression first, Richard leaned back loosely against the chair.
Leroy’s provocation seemed to have restored his reason instead.
Or perhaps he disliked the situation for being overly heated on his side.
Richard lowered his voice and said,
“What an insolent remark.”
Leroy did not respond.
To Leroy, it seemed Iona had no lingering feelings for the Crown Prince.
She had told him so directly, and her actions sufficiently proved it.
Therefore, it was somewhat inappropriate to say that Iona was wavering between two men.
To waver implies that there’s still some regret for the former partner.
Though Leroy could have shown a petty sense of victory, asserting that she had ultimately chosen him, he simply chose silence.
Iona was still serving as a royal knight and had to face the Crown Prince continuously until she officially married and left the capital.
He couldn’t trouble her just to engage in such a childish power struggle.
While Leroy remained silent, the Crown Prince pulled out a cigar and lit it.
He blew out a light breath, extinguishing the flame, and soon a pungent smoke spread around.
Leroy thought to himself that he indeed disliked the scent.
“Do you know how many years I’ve known her?”
“About eight years, I believe.”
Leroy calmly responded to the Crown Prince’s boastful question.
Of course, Leroy was not childish enough to claim that she had met him even earlier than the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince frowned, as if counting the years, and said,
“Even before serving officially as a royal knight, Iona frequently visited my palace. I’ve always cherished that child.”
“......”
“Without my summons, she would always voluntarily stay by my side. Wherever I went, whatever I did, she was there with me. Perhaps…”
The Crown Prince trailed off and spat out the cigar he was holding.
He chuckled softly and added,
“We might even be considered like family.”
The Crown Prince lifted only his eyes to stare intently at Leroy.
Leroy felt a strange bitterness in the other’s gaze. It was probably just his imagination.
“The time I’ve spent with her is not so short as to entertain absurd assumptions of ’wavering.’”
Leroy was not at all intimidated by the Crown Prince’s bold declaration.
Although the confidence of his counterpart was based on some grounds, it was, nonetheless, a misguided belief.
It was true that the Crown Prince had spent a long time with Iona, but in the end, she could not bear it and left him first.
A one-sidedly devoted relationship cannot last long, even if it’s familial.
“So, Your Highness treats family in such a way. Now I see, there are similarities with the Modrov family.”
“That’s an unpleasant misunderstanding. I’ve always only wished for Dame Iona’s well-being.”
“Under your command, she must have been hurt.”
“Clearly, you still don’t understand what kind of person she is.”
With such a thought, the Crown Prince tapped his fingertips and dusted off his lapel.
He had somehow regained his previous composure.
Leroy felt a strange displeasure in the Crown Prince’s attitude, as if he was confident that he and she were not in a deep relationship.
The Crown Prince spoke in a tone that was both condescending and threatening towards Leroy.
“I see you hold quite a grudge against me. But are you sure about that? Accepting my offer suggests you were in need of my support.”
“Don’t you think, given that I risked dishonor to choose Dame Iona, that she is an attractive woman in her own right?”
“That sounds like a man blinded by a woman, throwing away his family’s prestige.”
“People often do irrational things when they fall in love.”
Responding thus, Leroy fell into a moment of contemplation.
He had deliberately chosen words to provoke the Crown Prince, but he hadn’t deeply considered what his true feelings for her were.
He definitely saw Iona in a romantic light. A feeling akin to jealousy would arise whenever he noticed remnants of the Crown Prince in her.
He cared about her happiness, felt sympathy for her past, and sometimes even felt the urge to kiss those distinctly full lips.
Above all, he would never have done something as crazy as proposing to a woman in front of everyone, had it been the usual him.
He couldn’t be certain if what he felt for her was love, but at least he was sure she made him irrational.
However, did the Crown Prince merely take Leroy’s exaggerated statement as a playful banter?
The Crown Prince spoke with a mocking tone.
“Enough with the wordplay. Let’s end this tiresome exchange and say what you want.”
“I desire nothing. Thanks to your grace, I have formed a grateful connection. What more could I wish for?”
“Going to keep being uncooperative?”
“I don’t understand why you’re so overly sensitive about earlier events.”
Leroy shrugged nonchalantly.
When the Crown Prince first summoned him and issued a command that insulted him by marrying his mistress, he probably hadn’t anticipated this turn of events.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have executed such a nonsensical plan to marry off his lover to another man.
Moreover, contrary to the Crown Prince’s belief, Leroy was not the kind of person to meddle with another’s woman.
Even if it wasn’t Iona, Leroy would have likely lived up to the Crown Prince’s expectations.
“Are you really afraid that you might lose your lover because of me?”
Leaning forward towards Richard, Leroy lowered his voice as if about to share a great secret.
He whispered confidentially, “Then why not come out with me and announce it in front of everyone? Say you don’t want this marriage to happen, that it’s you who wants to take her hand.”
Of course, the Crown Prince could not do that.
He had claimed Iona needed to remain in his shadow, but in reality, he was the one hiding in the dark.
The Crown Prince would never publicly reveal his sordid true intentions.
His claim to Iona was based only on the meager time they had spent together; he had no substantial evidence to justify his possessiveness.
It meant that the moment their separation was decided, whatever connection they had lost all its significance.
No sooner had Leroy finished speaking, the Crown Prince twitched his jaw.
Just as he was about to retort, someone frantically knocked on the door.
Richard turned to the door with irritation.
“What is it? I told them not to disturb.”
“Your Highness, you might need to return to the ballroom.”
It was the voice of the attendant who had led Leroy here earlier.
Before even being allowed to enter, the attendant hurriedly explained the situation, indicating its urgency.
“Lady Florence has arrived at the ball. She started looking for Dame Iona as soon as she entered, and it seems someone needs to mediate.”
The moment Florence’s name was mentioned, both men rose from their seats simultaneously, even before the attendant could finish.
Their movements, as if choreographed, led them to reflexively glance at each other.
After a brief mutual scrutiny, their gazes drifted apart.
Ignoring each other as if oblivious to the other’s presence, Richard and Leroy headed out into the corridor.
Rescuing Iona from the commotion was a priority over continuing their exhausting confrontation.
***
“Do you have something to say to me?”
Iona genuinely wanted to know what Florence’s urgent matter was, although she wasn’t sure if Florence would believe her. It wasn’t a question meant to provoke.
At this moment, it wasn’t in Florence’s best interest to make a hasty public appearance.
Indeed, Florence seemed to have left the manor without the Duke’s permission, as she was dressed much more simply than usual.
“This is not the place for such a conversation,” Florence said, biting her lip.
Her hushed tone suggested she didn’t want others to overhear their conversation.
However, if she had something confidential to discuss, she should have tried to meet secretly instead of attending the ball. After all, Iona could easily attract attention at such an event without resorting to any forced methods.
“Please state your business first, Lady Florence. I have no intention of conversing privately with someone who is suspected of wishing to harm me,” Iona declared, her clear voice echoing throughout the hall.
It was only natural that everyone’s attention turned to the two women standing face-to-face.
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