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Chapter 150
Erich felt nauseous.
It was as if the ground beneath him was shaking violently.
He staggered and tried to sit down, but the chair had fallen over, so he ended up crashing ungracefully to the floor.
Sitting there haphazardly, Erich let out a hollow laugh.
“Ha, haha...”
Iona subtly raised her upper body and looked down at him from across the desk.
Her face clearly showed her surprise at his sudden, unexpected action.
After hesitating for a moment, she walked around the desk and approached him.
She placed a hand on Erich’s shoulder, checking his condition.
“Erich, are you okay?”
Erich’s gaze, which had been wandering in the air, slowly focused on Iona.
He looked up at her, feeling like his breath had stopped.
In a daze, he murmured,
“This is impossible.”
“What?”
Erich thought, this can’t be happening. It shouldn’t be happening.
Yet, his heart was pounding furiously, unable to deny the realization that had just hit him.
All because her hand was touching him.
Oddly enough, Erich found himself at the brink of his last chance to confess his feelings.
Iona was soon to leave on a long journey and would likely settle there, never to return.
If Erich didn’t want this emotion to be buried without meaning, he had to confess his love to her now.
But his lips wouldn’t part.
Even knowing she was looking at him strangely, he couldn’t speak.
He felt dizzy, and eventually, nausea overcame him.
Erich barely managed to suppress the bile rising in his throat.
He realized that, just as he had always been a grumbling fool in front of her, he wouldn’t be able to be honest this time either.
“Was I... really that bad? Bad enough for you to refuse my help?”
Erich posed a question loaded with meaning.
It was a rather cowardly choice.
Sensing rejection, he was already trying to give up on his feelings for her.
And, as expected, Iona's reaction was not much different from what he had anticipated.
Furrowing her brow, Iona countered,
"Do we really need to have this conversation?"
"It's the last time. If we don't clear the air now, when will we?"
At Erich's firm insistence, Iona removed her hand from his shoulder and straightened up.
She looked down at him silently for a moment before delivering her harsh critique without mercy.
"It's hard to think well of a subordinate who constantly disobeys orders."
"Go ahead, criticize me more."
Iona didn't refuse the opportunity Erich had set up.
If he wanted to hear her criticisms, she had plenty to give.
There were many things she had wanted to say but had held back.
"You're too narrow-minded and hot-headed. You think you're always right because of your self-centered nature, but in reality, you're just a frog in a well."
"What on earth did I insist on...!"
"The fact that you get worked up over every little comment shows how immature you still are."
Iona shifted her weight, supporting her back with her hand.
Then she leisurely provoked Erich, who was rendered speechless by her sharp remarks.
"Should I go on?"
Feeling a wave of fatigue, Erich quietly rubbed his face.
Despite the emotional damage, he regained some composure.
At least enough to choose the best option available to him at this moment.
"...No, that's enough. I've heard what I needed."
"Still, you had your moments of being admirable."
"Giving me medicine after poisoning me?"
Iona smiled faintly and extended her hand to Erich.
He didn't want to refuse her help and cause unnecessary misunderstandings.
After a brief hesitation, he took her hand.
Her considerate touch helped him up swiftly, and then she let go without hesitation.
Erich suddenly felt relieved.
As clueless as he was, she also seemed oblivious, ensuring that in her memory, he wouldn't be a pitiful man but at most, a troublesome subordinate.
Erich straightened the fallen chair and naturally made his way to the door.
Looking back at Iona, he tried to speak in his usual tone.
"Well then, I'll be heading out now. Just leave the documents there when you leave."
Iona nodded in response.
Erich kept his gaze fixed on her as he stepped over the threshold, only to bump into the wall with a small groan.
He shrugged his shoulders weakly and exited the room.
The moment he was outside, his legs felt like they might give way, but he gritted his teeth and walked to the end of the hallway.
Only when he was far enough away that he couldn't feel her presence did he let his forehead rest against the wall.
"Stupid idiot..."
"Got rejected?"
Erich didn't even have the energy to be surprised. He just turned his eyes toward the voice.
It was Saskia, which explained why he wasn't too shocked despite having his feelings read so easily.
She stood there in a relaxed posture, looking at him with a pitying gaze.
Raising an eyebrow, Erich asked,
"Didn't you say you were busy? Why are you back so soon?"
"I gave you some space to say your goodbyes. How are you going to talk to Iona without my help?"
Her knack for hitting where it hurt was impressive, but she wasn't wrong. Erich gritted his teeth quietly.
Thinking back, Saskia had always been sharp in pointing out his interest in Iona.
This time too, it was as if she had been eavesdropping on their conversation, making uncanny remarks.
"You didn't make some clueless confession attack, did you? Iona's future husband seems pretty scary."
"I didn't. And why would I confess?"
"Because you like Iona."
"No, I don't!"
"Really? I thought you'd finally realized you were being an idiot and admitted your crush. That's usually why you act like a fool."
"..."
Erich showed a dissatisfied expression, as if he couldn't accept it.
Of course, it didn't seem like Saskia got the message.
She sipped her tea from a mug, standing in a nonchalant pose with one hand in her pocket.
"Anyway, now that you're upset from the rejection, let's dig into something together. It's best to stay busy at times like these."
"I told you, I wasn't rejected. I'll do the work if you assign it. What are you talking about?"
"The previous count's death still feels suspicious. It seems like the Empress had something to do with it. What if Iona gets entangled in a similar issue later?"
Erich instinctively looked around.
Saskia knew there was no one around, but it didn't hurt to be cautious.
As Erich's eyes grew serious, Saskia lowered her voice, focusing her attention.
"I've been closely observing the Empress's movements lately. She suddenly sent a spy to the Grand Duchy of Ernst."
"A spy...?"
"I don't know yet if it's related to the previous count, but we can find out. Things are getting interesting. So, are you in or not?"
As she asked, Saskia seemed confident that Erich would join her.
The issue at hand was Iona’s safety, something Erich couldn't ignore.
For the same reason he had just been flustered and unsure in front of Iona.
Swallowing a sigh, Erich replied,
“If I get fired, Captain, you’ll have to take responsibility.”
***
Nils, released from detention, only stayed at the mansion for a single night before departing for his estate.
He wasn’t even given time to visit Hayden's grave.
Unlike Yvonne, Nils didn’t seem particularly bothered by this, and since he had been docile and compliant throughout, the preparations for his transfer went smoothly.
Yvonne, perhaps frightened by what had happened with Leroy, had also become much quieter.
The day they were to leave for the capital was unusually bright.
Iona stepped outside the mansion, basking in the sunlight, and supervised the servants.
Thinking that she was finally getting rid of the thorn in her side made all the work seem worth it.
Just as all the luggage was loaded onto the carriage, the soldiers who had gone to the annex returned.
Nils and Yvonne, having been confined for so long, looked worse for wear.
Nils was even limping on one leg.
The bone Iona had broken hadn’t been properly treated, and it had worsened.
The once arrogant noble who had mocked and scorned his half-sister's lowly birth was nowhere to be seen in Nils' haggard appearance.
In contrast, Iona, standing naturally as the new head of the household and commanding the people around her, looked every bit the true noble.
Nils, too, seemed to notice the difference as his brow twitched slightly while looking at her.
--- End Of The Chapter ----
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