CH 30

“Can I ask you a rude question?”

“… …”

It was a time when Iona was nervous inside, wondering if he was trying to point out her poor closet situation again.

“Before, I pretended not to know, and I thought it was right, but now I started to wonder if that was the right decision.”

“… …”

“Do you have a bad relationship with your family?”

Iona was stunned for a moment and covered her cheek.

Iona forgot that she had a bare face because she had been resting alone in her room.

It wasn't the first time she had shown him a bruised cheek, but that made it even more of a problem.

The marks that Nils made had disappeared long ago, so it might have felt strange to Leroy.

“Does your family often raise their voices at you? Or use violence?”

Iona hurriedly responded to Leroy's series of questions.

"No."

“The eldest son of the Mordov family is jealous of his adopted sister and often even cuts her hand. So, are these rumors false?”

As he said that, the expression on his face turned cold.

He must have been angry in the place of Iona about what they had done.

'I know he's that kind of guy, but... …' 

Not knowing how to explain this situation, Iona remained silent.

Even if she revealed that this was Florence, not Nils, nothing would get better.

Knowing that it wasn't just her family who treated her like a trash can for venting anger only made her laugh.

Leroy, who was immersed in worry and looking at Iona, said after a while.

"You say you've never told a lie to your lord in your entire life, but it seems like you've never been honest with me."

It was as if he knew exactly how to provoke her to get an answer.

In the end, Iona's mouth opened at the point that she couldn't just ignore anymore.

“I was just thinking about how to explain it. It was an accident that occurred due to friction at work. It wasn't Nils's fault."

“Who did you have friction with?”

“… …Lady Florence.”

Florence was the woman who was promised to marry the crown prince.

Leroy didn't even bother to hear the explanation in detail.

He sighed lightly and responded in an inaudible voice.

“… …It really...”

Soon that expression was erased from his face, and he turned to Marsha.

“Is there any ointment that is ease bruise?”

“Ah, yes.”

Marsha, who was standing a short distance from them, heard the call and hurriedly ran.

Marsha was always carrying an ointment for her lady who was often getting injured. Although it wasn't being used properly because her lady didn't bother to apply medicine.

Leroy, who had received the small iron barrel from Marsha, sat Iona on the chair next to him.

It was only then that Iona recognized what he was trying to do and belatedly stopped him.

“You can ask Marsha for this-”

“-Oops, I'm just very dumb. I forgot laundry?"

Marsha interrupted Iona by raising her voice and leaving the room faster than anyone else.

Iona looked at the place Marsha had just left with an absurd feeling.

There was no reason for Marsha to worry about the laundry, which was not even her responsibility.

Count Mordov's house was not so unorganized that even the laundry was left to the maid who assisted members of the family.

It was a time when Iona was frozen in an embarrassing situation, not knowing what to do. She suddenly felt something cold on her skin.

Meanwhile, the man who had taken the ointment from the jar was rubbing her cheek with his fingertips.

Iona reflexively clenched the hand she had placed on the chair.

Every time the hard knuckles brushed over her skin, she felt a strange feeling. There was no contact at all except for the necessary parts, but that was why more attention was focused on the narrow area in contact with him.

It was strange.

Iona, who had been looking down at the floor to avoid him, immediately lifted her eyes upward.

“… … You don't have to do these troublesome things yourself.”

“I agree. But you don't seem like the kind of person who would take good care of yourself."

He was pointing out the fact that Iona had let her cheek get bruised twice.

Even though it was a piecemeal situation, it said a lot about the person she was.

In fact, Iona was waiting for it to heal on its own, and she wasn't even taking care of the wounds on her body properly.

At a loss for words to refute, Iona silently accepted Leroy's treatment.

In fact, if she looked at it closely, he was touching her with just his knuckles, and it wasn't something that was particularly embarrassing.

Didn't she and he had already kissed each other in the past? Even if it was because of her last will.

He had always been like this ever since. Whenever she asked something of herself, he never refused. That was also the reason why Leroy had accepted her marriage proposal in the previous life; Iona had begged for the marriage.

{..

“Oh my gosh, Duke. You finally showed your precious face. Come on, come this way. You can look forward to it as our chef prepared this dinner with great care.”

One day in the past, Leroy was visiting the count's residence as he did this in this life.

Unable to refuse Count Mordov's successive invitations, he eventually accepted the invitation to dinner.

The atmosphere wasn't too bad until they all gathered together to eat.

It was around the time when they started chatting after dinner that the problem became noticeable.

Yvonne, who dragged everyone into the performance room saying she would let the duke play the piano, made a series of mistakes that were different from usual.

Yvonne stood up, making an excuse to be drunk, then she said she had to go to the bathroom and asked Iona to help her.

Of course, this was smoke, and as soon as Yvonne got to the bathroom, she pushed Iona.

“You, you know you got an off-topic opportunity, right?”

Yvonne crossed her arms and continued.

“If you have a conscience, go ahead and tell the duke. 'I can't because I'm too, too, too- out of date to marry the duke. How about marrying my sister who is younger and prettier than me?' Go fast.”

This was not something Iona could do anything about.

At that time, to Iona, Richard's order was no different from the truth. It was impossible to arbitrarily change brides without his permission.

When Iona explained this, Yvonne wrinkled her face as if she knew it.

She warned in a clear voice.

“If you don’t tell him, I will tell him everything.”

"What?"

"What do you mean by what? I will tell him that you're a dirty bastard!"

As Iona hardened her expression, Yvonne only then raised the corners of her mouth as if she was delighted.

Yvonne said, poking Iona's chest with her index finger.

“Does the Duke have to sleep in a blanket with a girl of unknown origin like you? We don't know what kind of person your mother was... … Oh no. Since she gave birth to you, she must know no shame. It must have been an opportunity to grab some money after a while.”

“… … Calm down, Yvonne. I told you this is something I can't do anything about."

“Stop making silly excuses! Why can't the bride change? If it can be a bastard like you, why can't I! It makes absolutely no sense!”

Unable to hold back her anger, Yvonne terribly cursed.

“You think I don’t know why you don't want to say anything? You have no choice but to seduce men with that pretty face and get ahead in the world, right? Dirty, shameless bitch. How are you different from your mother? If you're not a prostitute, then what else!”

Not knowing how to calm Yvonne, Iona glanced back at the door.

If she goes to Count Mordov first and asks for help, will he stop Yvonne or will he really take her side... …It was just when she was thinking about that...

..}