Chapter 43

As expected, the repurchase of Siam was completed smoothly.

Thanks to Joseph and Frieda's good communication, the owner of the land was anxious to hand over the time bomb he was carrying.

He didn't want to tell Count Mordov or even his own parents that he had taken the mine from Nils through a gambling bet.

'Is there at least one idiot in every family?'

Thinking so,  Iona folded the short letter that Leroy had sent her in half.

The setting was that Leroy secretly bought the land to impress Iona, so she couldn't accompany him to the transaction.

Instead, Leroy wrote a letter stating that things had gone well and delivered it through a person.

If there was a problem, it was that little unexpected person.

Iona asked, staring blankly at the man in front of her.

“… … Sir Theobald, where did you get this from?”

“Ah, the duke came to my house yesterday. He asked me to pass it on to Dame Iona before he left.”

“How does the Duke know you… … .”

“Of course, I told him first that I, like Iona, am a member of the same knight order! Oh, I was really surprised because I didn't expect to meet Sir Iona's groom-to-be like that. Strangely enough, he was acquainted with my brother!”

Saying that, Theobald laughed heartily.

Somehow, as soon as he went to work, he looked for Iona with an excited expression. It seemed that he was very excited about telling her about what happened yesterday.

Iona looked at Theobald with a pitiful look and asked.

“… …By any chance, does your younger brother have brown hair like you?”

"Ah yes. you're right. We both resemble our mothers.”

Theobald's smiling face, answering that question, looked especially innocent.

'To think that the one playing at the gambling table with Nils was Sir Theobald's younger brother.'

Iona didn't know why his younger brother was running around with the chaff like an idiot when he had such a good older brother.

She wanted to tell Theobald about his brother's dissolute life, but she had to move as quietly as possible until the matter was settled.

But in the end, Iona gave Theobald some heartfelt advice.

“To your brother… … Make some other friends”

"yes? … … Is there something wrong with the Duke?”

It was a mistake to hope that Theobald, who was famous for being careless, would take good advice on his own.

Leaving behind Theobald, who asked why and stretching his head with a puzzled face, Iona continued on her way.

She was on her way to receive a call from Richard. There was no time to spend leisurely arguing with her colleagues.

Soon after arriving at Richard's office, Iona left a short knock before going inside.

Richard, whom she hadn't seen in a while, seemed in a bad mood.

He used to tie his long hair up when he was working, and because of that, his ferocious eyes were pulled up even more, giving off a nervous feeling.

Glancing at Iona over with the papers he was holding, he said,

“I heard rumors that you get along pretty well with the duke while I haven’t seen you.”

Since she appeared at the ball with Leroy proudly, she had already expected that the rumors would have reached Richard's ears as well.

Fortunately, Iona had a pretty good excuse for this.

Iona answered calmly.

“I am trying to faithfully carry out Your Highness's orders.”

“Looks like the duke is making the effort, not you. I didn't know that he was the type to buy clothes for a woman.”

Saying that Richard raised only the corner of his mouth and smiled. 

After thinking about the answer for a while, Iona decided to act like Theobald. Pretending not to understand because of her lack of notice and she kept an expressionless face.

In fact, even she herself had no idea why Leroy had given her clothes out of the blue.

Richard, who had been carefully examining Iona's face, finally took his eyes off her. Then he got up and walked straight to the break area.

He took off his glasses and pointed at the sofa.

“Come and sit down.”

"yes."

Iona went and sat across from him as Richard told her to.

Richard pulled out a small box placed on the table and took out a cigar from inside.

He asked as he cut off the tip of the cigar with a knife.

“Now we need fire?”

He said if she had any matches. It was an attitude that he naturally assumed that Iona would hang out with him.

In fact, Iona had followed his invitation without rejecting it until now, but the answer she gave today was a bit different from usual.

"It's okay. It’s burdensome to smell like tobacco while on duty.”

Richard stopped his hand at Iona's refusal.

He raised his head, stared at Iona, and said.

“You didn’t care before.”

"Sorry."

Richard didn't accept Iona's apology, but he didn't recommend smoking again either.

He even lit a cigar and inhaled the smoke with a slightly disturbed look.

Richard leaned back against the backrest and smoked a cigar in silence for a long time.

He said, closing his eyes.

“I would prefer you not to meet personally with the duke from now on.”

It was a command she had never heard before.

Iona looked at Richard with puzzled eyes.

“I haven’t heard a proper affirmation from him yet.”

"That's none of your business, Iona. I will convince the duke on my own.”

Richard's eyes were still closed, so she couldn't guess what he was thinking by looking at his eyes.

After all, it would be impossible for the rest of her life to read his enigmatic inner thoughts.

This wasn't the first time he had given an order the other party couldn't understand.

Iona readily agreed.

"Alright."

Anyway, there was no reason to appear together with Leroy anymore.

If she had a business to meet separately, she could do it without being noticed by others.

After hearing Iona's answer, Richard finally opened his eyes.

Richard's expression was a little more relaxed than before, perhaps thanks to his savoring the beginning of the year.

He said rubbing his lips.

“I haven’t seen you for days.”

“It was in an unsuitable condition to serve Your Highness up close. I will be back in two days.”

“The cheek that Florence slapped seems to have healed already.”

“… …”

“Although the makeup is a bit darker than before… … . Anyway, isn't it enough for others to notice?"

He hadn't bothered to mention it until now, but he seemed to already know what had happened between Florence and Iona.

After all, she kicked out the prince's fiancée, and how the news couldn't have reached him.

Or maybe Florence wrote and sent a letter of complaint in the meantime.

“If Your Highness wishes, I will return right away.”

She didn't want to stay with Richard for a long time, so she just begged Saskia, but it was no problem if she returned right away.

Marsha had covered up the bruise even when it was worse than this, so making excuses for her injured face was, in fact, almost forced.

While Iona was silently waiting for his decision, Richard suddenly got up and approached Iona.

Stopping in front of Iona, he stretched out his hand and started rubbing her left cheek.

Iona didn't use face wash products, so the powder wasn't completely removed, but he could see traces of yellow bruises hidden inside.

He asked, stroking it with the tip of his thumb.

“Iona.”

"yes."

“Did you resent me?”

Iona suddenly recalled the moment of death when she was abandoned by him.

“How could it be?”

Of course, she knew that the other person wasn't asking about her feelings at the time.

Iona's obedient answer left Richard's mouth with a satisfied smile for a moment.

It was for this reason that Iona did not misunderstand his feelings for her as affection. As a habit, Richard tried to see how far Iona could sacrifice for him.

He was always happy to hurt her.

Even if one interprets this as a more personal feeling, it would be difficult to name it beyond possessiveness.

If there was a reason why she couldn't let go of his hand... …

“My sister has a big heart.”

It must have been because what he offered in exchange for loyalty was something she had been longing for.

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