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Chapter 185
As Marsha felt a twinge of curiosity, she tried to observe Leroy’s expression more closely.
A smile, as if painted on, appeared on his lips.
“Does a husband need any special reason to give his wife a gift?”
Though it felt like he was avoiding the question in a subtle way, technically, he wasn’t wrong.
Instead of continuing a meaningless exchange, Marsha picked out a few suitable gift candidates for Iona.
Leroy seemed to think the list was rather fitting, as he carefully considered her advice and eventually suggested they go out together.
Before agreeing, Marsha went over her schedule for the day.
There wasn’t anything pressing that needed her immediate attention, so there seemed to be no problem if she stepped away for a while.
Deciding to accompany Leroy, Marsha secretly set herself a private goal.
‘I’ll pick the most expensive one, no matter what.’
The man was already prepared to open his wallet.
How much sincerity could she draw out of him depended entirely on her skills as a recommender.
Part of the reason she insisted on buying accessories Iona didn’t particularly care for was due to that as well.
After all, there was nothing with higher value per volume than jewelry.
Besides, Marsha had always wanted Iona to have only the finest, most valuable things.
‘But why on earth did I have to run into her right at the entrance?’
She had come out specifically to avoid Iona, only to meet her face-to-face.
The unexpected encounter gave her a splitting headache.
Why Iona was there without any prior notice was a secondary concern—Marsha had a more immediate issue to deal with.
Bowing deeply to Leroy, Marsha apologized.
“I’m sorry, Your Grace.”
“For what?”
“I feigned a cold to get out of work… The Madam must have noticed something strange. She’ll probably look for me as soon as she returns, and I’m not sure how I’ll explain myself…”
In reality, Marsha hadn’t done anything that warranted an apology, but in such situations, offering an apology first was usually the wisest course of action.
Seeing Marsha’s troubled expression, Leroy shook his head as if to say it wasn’t necessary.
“Did I expect to run into her myself? Don’t worry, I’ll handle my wife. If you need an excuse, just say you were helping me with something.”
After reassuring Marsha, Leroy began to ponder how to “handle” Iona.
If he could execute his plan right after getting home, the encounter wouldn’t have been much of a problem. However, the gift wasn’t ready yet, which made things awkward.
Most of the items were custom-made and would take a long time to complete, so staying silent until then wasn’t an option.
Marsha seemed to share his concern, as she asked with a worried look, “What do you plan to tell the Madam, Your Grace?”
“Well…”
Considering his wife also seemed to be up to something behind his back, perhaps he could use that as an excuse to get himself out of this situation.
Leroy recalled Iona’s hardened expression from their last encounter and began piecing together a plausible scenario.
‘It really does seem like she’s hiding something from me.’
He intended to spin it as though they had both been caught planning something for each other, but there was no way Iona had roped in Yudia and Schneider just to buy him a gift.
Most likely, she had gone out to deal with matters related to Viscount Ida or some other secretive affair.
Why she felt the need to keep it from him, he couldn’t say…
‘Well, whatever it is, it’s probably not as frivolous as mine.’
Leroy let out a quiet chuckle, mocking his own embarrassing expectations.
Little did he know what awaited him that very evening.
***
Unlike Leroy, who decided to bide his time until the gift was ready, Iona made a far bolder decision.
Since she had already been caught by her husband, she resolved to push her plan forward ahead of schedule.
Rather than concocting some lie that Leroy wouldn’t believe, Iona figured it was better to get things done while there was still a hint of freshness to her plan.
Though she had to pivot toward purchasing items that were already completed, when she saw all the luxury goods assembled together, their grandeur rivaled that of any custom-made piece.
With a satisfied smile, Iona also bought candles, flowers, and various other decorations.
As she loaded the carriage full of gifts, a small worry crept in—what if Leroy came out to meet her?
“Where is the Duke?”
“He’s in his office, attending to work. Should I inform him that you’re asking for him?”
“No, that won’t be necessary.”
Thankfully, that didn’t happen.
Iona figured Leroy was avoiding her just as she had been avoiding him. After all, he had secretly taken Marsha out without telling her, which meant he was likely up to something of his own.
Once she calmed herself and thought about it, the reason was rather obvious.
‘He was probably out to buy me a gift.’
Considering how many times he had given her gifts without any particular reason, this wasn’t much of a stretch.
What else could he be doing at a jewelry store with Marsha, if not picking out a gift for her?
If it were for something else, there would have been no need to take Marsha along. He had plenty of maids under his service who could advise him on accessories.
‘The problem is, he’s probably guessed the same about me…’
They’d both brought along their own confidants and run into each other at the jewelry shop. There was no other plausible explanation.
Leroy had likely realized it first and had been testing her reaction.
Even though the game was completely exposed, Iona didn’t think the situation was that dire.
After all, Leroy didn’t seem burdened or uncomfortable, even though he must have figured out she was preparing a gift for him.
This gave Iona the confidence to proceed with her plan.
Steeling herself, Iona climbed the grand central staircase and headed to her room.
The workers she had hired followed behind her, carrying an assortment of items.
The group, having arrived at the mansion a bit later, was led upstairs in an orderly fashion by Yudia.
Watching the workers with a curious gaze, Yudia quietly approached Iona and asked, “Is there anything more you’d like me to do?”
“Make sure the Duke doesn’t come near this room until everything is ready.”
“Understood, Madam.”
As Yudia was about to step back, she smiled warmly and added, “It’s almost like you’re proposing.”
Iona couldn’t exactly deny that something like that was in store, so she merely nodded.
She silently prayed that, just as Leroy had accepted her proposal before, this time, he would respond with a similar answer.
***
It was late at night when Leroy finally emerged from his office.
Part of the reason was the unplanned outing that had delayed his schedule, but oddly enough, today seemed to bring an endless stream of paperwork that needed to be dealt with.
The head maid had also insisted on an unexpected meeting, suggesting that with the family growing, it was time to consider hiring more staff.
Once those discussions were over, a light argument about today’s outing followed.
“So, are you really not going to tell me why you went out today?”
“The Madam wanted to take a stroll through the city, so I accompanied her for a short while, that’s all.”
“There’s no need to hide things from me, you know.”
“I’m not hiding anything,” Yudia replied firmly, cutting off the conversation before exiting the office.
At least, Leroy thought, that had been the last task of the day.
Feeling somewhat like he’d lost an ally, Leroy stood up from his desk with a quiet sigh.
There was no point in pressing Yudia further, especially since he would soon face the person at the center of all this anyway.
Leaving the office, Leroy headed straight for the bedroom.
He reached the door and absentmindedly pulled on the handle, as he usually did.
However, something was off.
The room, which should have been illuminated, was oddly dim.
No, not completely dark—just darker than usual.
Instead of the usual bright light, small, low flames cast a soft glow across the space.
From the entrance to the far end of the room, a line of candles had been meticulously placed, forming a path that lit up his footsteps.
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