Chapter 27

“By the way, Count, can I speak honestly?”

  “… …”

“If you avoid me like this, won’t I think there is something wrong between us?”

Hayden, who didn't want to make an excuse to hurt his pride, eventually asked briefly.

"What's the matter?"

"Let's go inside and I'll quietly tell you."

Saying this, Iona pushed the door with her palm.

The door was pushed helplessly inside.

“… …Come in.”

Hayden entered with an expression that he really didn't want to, and went inside first.

Iona followed him and quietly looked around.

It was twice the size of the room Iona was now living in.

As it was the place where the head of household lived, the lighting was good, the landscaping was great, and above all, it was in a good location to move anywhere in the unnecessarily spacious mansion.

Iona felt somewhat regretful.

'This was my room.'

Everything she wore and used was changed when she became the head of a family and the wife of a wealthy man.

She had never really thought of being obsessed with something like that, but losing something she originally had felt a little different.

It wasn't like she broke down the door specifically on purpose to kill Hayden.

It was just that Hayden's way into this room naturally bothered her.

'I'll have to be a little more careful.'

Until the goal was achieved, it was necessary to formally recognize and treat Hayden as superior.

Because it would be difficult for the other party to let go of futile resentment.

“Okay, what do you want to say?”

Hayden gave off his first rhyme, giving off a hint of "Hurry up and leave."

It was a cheeky attitude, but Iona was glad to see that they had agreed for the first time in a while.

Iona answered without delay.

“Nils sent an assassin to me.”

What Iona said was not true, the assassin had not come yet, but he would soon.

Iona put on a serious expression while clearing her mind.

Thanks to this, Hayden's eyes widened as if it didn't look like a lie.

“What, what?”

Hayden's face even looked absurd.

It was true that it was an overly weighty topic to bring up early in the morning. So Iona spoke again slowly so that he could understand.

“It is literally what I said. Nils is trying to kill me. The cause is roughly... … Could it be that my success made him sick to his stomach? So he wants to eliminate the competitors.”

“Oh, oh, no. What kind of nonsense is this? Nils sent you an assassin? Was there someone who was after you? How else did you know that Nils sent it?”

Finding a hole to get out of was the obvious response.

But Iona trampled on his attempt with a confident attitude.

“Since I caught and killed him, wouldn’t I have found out who was behind it like this?”

Hayden's face went pale.

Even in Hayden's opinion, his son was a good enough person to do such a thing.

There were many ways for Nils to finance the commission. He often sneaked into Hayden's office or warehouse and stole things that might turn out to be money.

Hidden cash, land that was not worth much and could be disposed of, jewelry that had not been used for a long time… …. The means were limitless.

“I-I’m sorry, Iona. I made a mistake in educating my children. How could he try to kill his own sister, this is... … .”

Hayden, who was in a hurry to make Iona marry safely to the duke and look good to the imperial family, immediately bent his stiff neck.

His head was spinning tightly looking for a way to rectify the situation.

He had to quietly put his son on his own to prevent further problems, and to do so, he had to shut Iona's mouth first.

He said, raising his head.

“That, yes. Seeing that you came to see me, is there something else you want? I will listen to everything. Please tell me.”

The way he dealt with the situation was clear and neat, but there was something glaringly lacking.

He was not worried about her, he was just worried about his son.

Even though his daughter was in danger of dying, Hayden was only concerned about Nils' safety.

'It's not different from what I expected.'

Since Iona abandoned her family in the distant past, beyond death, she did not even feel betrayed.

It was because it was a repeated experience; too boring to bring out old emotions and pity oneself.

Iona, who was bothered by even pointing this out, went straight to the point.

“It’s good that we talk quickly. What I want...”

“What you want… … ?”

Hayden lowered his upper body toward Iona, awaiting her sentence.

After fully appreciating his servile appearance, Iona made eye contact with him and said,

“Announcing Nils as the heir to the Mordov family. Officially.”

“… …What?"

Hayden's bewildered reaction caused Iona to laugh.

"It's obvious why Nils did that. You yourself not recognized him as your successor, let alone the head of the household, but you said that I was going to become the duchess, so he was dissatisfied.”

The marriage of a lifetime was coming soon, but Iona didn't want it to be short-lived because of the misunderstanding that she coveted this small family.

Iona added in a relaxed voice.

Even so, Hayden just stood still, not knowing what to do.

Iona was patient and gave him reasons to convince him.

“If I use this as an excuse to ask for something great, the Count will think about what the intention is hiding there. Isn't it?”

"Heh, hehe... …”

“I’m a swordsman, and using my brain unnecessarily is a no-no. I don't want to be killed suddenly without knowing why I'm dying. If you stop Nils from doing something like this again, I won't ask anything more.”

Hayden seldom responded to the broad generosity he did not dare to ask for.

It was because he couldn't understand Iona's request with his common sense.

After a while, Hayden's mouth opened.

“… … Are you saying you want Nils, who tried to kill you, to be my successor?"

"Of course, you'll also have to tell him to act appropriately for his position."

Iona replied as if she had been waiting.

Hayden asked again, thinking that his daughter's tongue, which had always acted like a machine, was strangely smooth.

"You… … Are you really not greedy for the position of head of household?”

“Are you willing to give it to me if I want it?”

When Iona asked as if she was dumbfounded, Hayden cleared his throat and turned his head away.

Naturally, he had no intention of handing over the family to Iona.

Until now, Nils had not been confirmed as the successor only to make it easier to deal with his troublesome son.

It was also easier for Hayden to remain as a single gasoline man in order to deal with his son's accident.

The ambiguous treatment developed an inferiority complex toward Iona.

“Half of the reason Nils bothered me was always because of his inferiority complex. The remaining half is due to my other lineage, so this is something I can't do anything about.”

At the uncomfortable comment, Hayden turned his head away pretending not to know.

Even though he always used the word low bloodline when slandering Iona, he couldn't ignore the fact that her birth originated from him.

“Last time you yelled at me terribly, so I got a fever and said some crazy things, but I’m leaving home soon anyway, so what’s the point of all that? If I can’t get a position, it’s better to give it up quickly and get rid of unnecessary doubts.”

With an understandable explanation, Hayden's doubts that had been clear on his face gradually softened.

After all, it wasn't particularly unusual for Iona to make such a suggestion.

Although she had been showing a cheeky attitude lately, Iona originally had an obedient personality.

'Well, she is going to become a duchess, but she has been treated too much in the meantime.' Hayden  thought.

She had a position that was incomparable to before, so she could not stand it any longer as the poor treatment continued.

It was never a welcome thing for Iona's nose to rise to the sky, which she had been trying to keep low, but it was not something that could be prevented for the rest of her life.

It would be better for him to readjust the relationship smoothly at this point.

After organizing his thoughts, Hayden replied in a kind voice.

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