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Chapter 178
Iona stared blankly up at Leroy, her face utterly dazed.
The situation felt surreal to her, as she had been hit with unexpected events one after another without a moment to process them.
“Wha– What is this, all of a sudden…?”
Iona wasn’t the only one thrown off by Leroy’s sudden intrusion.
Dieter, who had been knocked down, barely managed to get back on his feet, coughing awkwardly.
The way his hand fumbled over his chest showed he was more surprised than in pain.
As Dieter recalled the conversation he had just been having with Iona, a look of realization crossed his face, as if he had just understood why this was all happening.
After all, Dieter had been holding the hand of the Duchess and shouting about how much he loved her.
Of course, it had merely been an exaggerated compliment, but anyone who didn’t know the context could easily misunderstand.
And it became even worse when the person who overheard was the Duchess’ husband.
Dieter frantically yelled, “It’s not what you think, Your Grace!”
Leroy, having released Iona’s hand, now turned to face Dieter.
But the rigid expression on Leroy’s face didn’t soften, suggesting he wasn’t in the mood to listen to any sort of explanation, no matter how sincere.
“I’m not sure what series of unfortunate coincidences led to this situation, but it’s too bad. From this point on, I won’t be hearing a thing.”
As Leroy took a large step forward, ready to grab Dieter by the collar, Iona instinctively reached out and grabbed Leroy’s opposite wrist.
“Please, wait, Your Grace.”
Thankfully, her intervention seemed to work, as Leroy halted and looked back at her.
Iona quickly racked her brain, trying to find the most efficient way to diffuse this chaotic situation as fast as possible.
After a brief moment of thought, she blurted out the first plausible explanation that came to mind.
“This man is just trying to avoid getting scolded by his father.”
Whether or not it was a convincing excuse didn’t matter. What was important was that it immediately cut off any hint of romantic tension Leroy might have been wary of.
Dieter’s face turned bright red in an instant.
“I-I just didn’t want to worry my father, that’s all…!”
Iona swiftly interrupted Dieter’s words, continuing with her own explanation in a low, hurried voice.
“He messed up and didn’t want his father to find out, so he was begging me to keep it a secret. Just look at him, drenched in sweat. And the stench… If he was really trying to woo me, he wouldn’t look or smell like that, would he? Don’t you agree?”
“……”
Dieter, still reeling from the verbal and physical blows he had received, was too shocked to say another word.
Indeed, having sprinted all the way from the training grounds before coming here, he looked nothing like a man confessing his love.
His rumpled clothes, disheveled appearance, and oddly greasy hair certainly didn’t help. It would be impossible to describe him as even remotely presentable.
Moreover, the acrid stench of the cigarette he had smoked earlier clung to him.
Leroy, after taking a moment to survey Dieter’s state from head to toe, nodded in agreement, finding the explanation reasonable.
It was impossible to deny that he had overreacted—his appearance said it all.
“…Indeed.”
Defeated, Dieter lowered his head in resignation. Though the misunderstanding of him attempting to woo a married woman had been cleared, his dignity as a human being seemed to vanish along with it.
He muttered weakly, “Yes, that’s right. Of course, that would never happen…”
Leroy, now finished with Dieter, turned his attention back to Iona.
Iona, who could sense that the worst of the misunderstanding had been resolved, breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
Finally, she asked the question that had been on her mind.
“Weren’t you with Viscount Ida just now? What brings you here?”
“I stepped out for a break; the conversation was getting long.”
“Ah, I see. Do you think you’ll finish up soon?”
“The important matters are mostly handled, so it shouldn’t take long. But more than that…”
Leroy started to say something, then paused.
He stared at Iona’s face for a long moment before furrowing his brow and muttering something incomprehensible.
“…It’s probably best to limit today’s embarrassing actions to just this.”
Despite saying this, his eyes held a strange reluctance, as if he was hoping for her to understand something.
Iona remained silent, unsure of why he was acting this way.
After a brief, awkward silence, Leroy finally spoke again, this time with a faint smile.
“I caused quite a fuss over a silly misunderstanding. I apologize if I startled you.”
“…It’s fine. It was a perfectly understandable reaction.”
“But regardless, young master Dieter should be more mindful of his actions from now on. Whatever the reason, it doesn’t look good to be so familiar with someone who’s married.”
Leroy’s voice was flat as he cast a sidelong glance at Dieter, his words clearly a warning.
Startled by the reprimand, Dieter stammered, “Y-Yes, sir.”
Leroy, now satisfied that the situation had been resolved, offered a polite farewell with a smile, as if nothing had happened.
His smooth exit caught Iona off guard, and it wasn’t until half a beat later that she realized she was still holding his hand and quickly let go.
Even as Leroy’s figure disappeared through the door, Iona couldn’t tear her gaze away from his retreating form.
Though his demeanor had returned to its usual calm, something about him still felt oddly off.
After the door closed and a moment passed, Dieter, having risen to his feet, cast a glance in Iona’s direction.
Brushing the dust off his pants, he cautiously asked, “Is the Duke… uh, always like that?”
“What?”
Dieter flinched at Iona’s cold response and fumbled for an excuse.
“N-No, it’s just… it seemed like the Duke was, uh, more anxious than necessary…”
“You seem to be pretty relaxed, considering you’re meddling in our marriage right now. If I were you, I’d go clean myself up before your father finds you.”
Iona’s blunt and practical advice cut through Dieter’s needless comments.
Finally sensing the danger of his situation, Dieter gave Iona a hurried bow before rushing out of the room, presumably to scrub away the evidence.
Left alone, Iona sat down and rested her chin in her hand, lost in thought.
Was it just her imagination, or had Leroy actually seemed… jealous?
***
To get straight to the point, Iona had accurately seen through Leroy’s true feelings.
However, the beginning of this wasn’t as recent as Dieter’s emotional love confession. To better understand the situation, we have to go back to when Leroy had separated from Iona and entered the mansion.
Accompanied by Fin and Jonas, Leroy began discussions with the Viscount, as planned, about reopening the trade routes.
The Viscount seemed somewhat surprised that Leroy would personally take charge of the negotiation, but he quickly masked his surprise with an effort to appear pleased.
Since Leroy had clear objectives, and the Viscount had his own ambitions, the discussion flowed more positively than usual.
Thanks to this favorable atmosphere, the Viscount even loosened up enough to make self-deprecating jokes and readily adjusted a few conditions to favor Leroy’s duchy.
It was clear the Viscount wanted to leave the impression that they should work well together moving forward, which wasn’t a bad outcome for Leroy’s side.
After a lengthy conversation, a short break was announced.
With a few participants hurriedly stepping outside to use the restroom, only Leroy, his assistant, and Fin remained in the room.
During the break, Fin was diligently organizing the notes from the Viscount’s points, carefully doing the calculations.
As Leroy glanced over Fin’s work, he couldn’t help but feel impressed.
He understood now why Iona had gone out of her way to bring Fin to this meeting—he truly was a valuable asset.
Leroy had noticed this earlier when Fin was mediating and adjusting the Viscount’s suggestions. His competence was undeniable.
“How long did you work for the Modrov family?” Leroy asked, after realizing a bit late that his words were directed at Fin.
“I’ve been with them since I was around twenty, so it’s been quite a while. But I only recently started serving Lady Iona.”
Leroy immediately recognized the subtle distinction in Fin’s words, separating Iona from her role as head of the Modrov family.
It was a rather significant statement.
It was as if Fin was implying that even if Iona hadn’t become the head of the Modrov family, he would have followed her regardless.
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