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Chapter 227
Iona was momentarily taken aback and clamped her mouth shut.
His cryptic response lingered in the air, spreading like ripples in water.
It was as if he spoke with the certainty that his true feelings had already been exposed—and that he, too, was aware of it.
Their entire premise was built on the need to conceal their true selves from one another. If that façade crumbled, nothing would hold up their fragile equilibrium.
Iona made a conscious effort not to let her tension show on her face.
His deep blue eyes traced over her, moving in silence as though studying her.
The intent to probe was unmistakable, yet there was no brashness to his actions. Instead, his gaze carried a weight—a pressure that unsettled.
Then, as if to lighten the atmosphere, Richard let out a small chuckle and spoke.
“You were by my side every moment—we both know that. So you must also realize that I hardly have any reason to visit the North.”
Iona forced a stiff smile in response.
His suspicions had been momentarily deflected by her quick excuse, but the uneasy air between them still lingered.
Feigning composure, Iona replied, “I was wondering about that myself. I never imagined Your Highness had any particular interest in the North.”
“Of course, it’s not as if this land suddenly holds any newfound significance.”
Richard clasped his hands behind his back, his lips curving into a small smile.
His gaze narrowed slightly, and once again, his next words caught Iona off guard.
“I came to see you.”
“…….”
“I’m here to take you back to the palace.”
Iona inhaled sharply.
She had been wondering.
Why had he come all the way to the distant North?
What was he thinking, stepping into a place where her husband openly resided?
What was it that he wanted so desperately?
It wasn’t as if he had suddenly decided to bare his heart, confessing everything he had kept hidden.
Nor had the political constraints that once held him back suddenly lost their meaning.
So why was he saying that he had come to take her back?
Did he truly believe that closing the physical distance between them would somehow restore what had been lost?
His next words only reinforced Iona’s growing suspicion.
“I was short-sighted. Marrying you off because of some baseless rumors was a mistake. I convinced myself that your marriage wouldn’t bring about any significant change.”
“…….”
“I’m going to correct that mistake now. Let’s go back, Iona.”
His low voice carried an unmistakable sincerity.
And perhaps, in a way, it was the truth.
To chase her all the way from the East to the North—if he did not truly long for her, he would never have shown such relentless persistence.
The problem was that Iona couldn’t understand that obsession at all.
What had changed between their past life and now that made him so desperate for her?
Back when she had been within his grasp, he had cast her aside so easily. Yet now that she had slipped from his fingers, he was trying to reclaim her, full of regret.
She couldn’t understand it.
Her bewilderment seeped into her voice.
“I don’t understand what Your Highness is saying. Correct a mistake? Has my marriage caused you some kind of inconvenience?”
“The problem is that you are no longer by my side. This wasn’t supposed to happen.”
“Isn’t it normal for a wife to relocate with her husband? Now that I am a duchess, it is only natural that I reside in the duchy and oversee the affairs of the land.”
“I told you before, didn’t I? This was never a real marriage. You don’t need to act like an ordinary noblewoman.”
“Why?”
The question left her lips before she could stop it.
Even she was surprised by it.
Iona had never once resisted Richard’s orders before.
Not even when she left him—she had never pretended it was for his sake.
Defiance was simply not part of her nature.
She had seen far too often the consequences of disobedience.
Born into an unloving family, she had learned at a painfully young age to sell herself for survival.
Perhaps that was why Richard, taken aback by her sudden defiance, didn’t immediately rebuke her.
During her time away from his shadow, something within her had begun to change—quietly, but undeniably.
There was a new weight in her voice as she repeated, “Why isn’t this a real marriage?”
Iona met his gaze head-on.
Once, he had been her everything. Now, she didn’t even know how to define him.
He was not her family. Not a friend, nor a lover.
And yet, at the same time, he was the man who had once owned her entire existence.
It was almost laughable how empty words felt when trying to describe him.
A man who had only ever given her falsehoods had no right to take away the one piece of truth she had finally grasped.
She wouldn’t let him.
“You’re looking at me differently now.”
Richard studied her carefully before making the remark.
He was neither foolish nor sincere enough to openly reveal his hidden intentions.
Instead, he did what had always worked in their relationship—
He tried to assign meaning between them, to weave something irreplaceable into their connection.
“That’s why I came to take you back. I was afraid you would start saying and doing things that felt foreign. That we would no longer be as we once were.”
“……I don’t understand why you’re saying that. I only did as Your Highness wished. I simply got married, as you wanted.”
“If you had truly been confident in that, you wouldn’t have left the capital without a word.”
Richard’s quiet statement struck directly at the heart of the matter.
Fortunately, Iona had a convenient excuse prepared for exactly this moment.
With an impassive expression, Iona firmly rejected him once again.
“I have no intention of returning. Don’t waste your precious time traveling all this way. If Her Majesty the Empress finds out, you’ll be in trouble.”
At the mention of the Empress, a flicker of unease crossed Richard’s face.
He twisted the corner of his lips into a smirk before responding.
“My mother worries too much. There’s no need for you to concern yourself with that. It’s something I’ll handle, so put it out of your mind.”
Fortunately, it seemed he still misunderstood the reason for her departure exactly as she had intended.
There was no need to humiliate herself by recounting the conversation she had with the Empress in unnecessary detail.
Lowering her gaze slightly, Iona spoke in a tone heavy with implication.
“If Your Highness cares so much for a mere woman, then it’s only natural for Her Majesty to be concerned.”
“How could you be ‘just a woman’ to me? Iona, you are my most devoted subject.”
“But the world does not see it that way, and Your Highness knows that as well as I do.”
“What does it matter? It’s nothing but a misunderstanding.”
Perhaps because this was something he had told himself countless times, Richard seemed to have convinced himself of his own words—so thoroughly that he almost appeared to believe them.
It was a masterful act, the kind of deception that could even fool its creator.
In the past, Iona had chosen to ignore the truth for the sake of convenience, avoiding the mess that would come with unearthing it.
But this time, she felt the need to lay it bare.
Quietly, she asked,
“Is that truly just a misunderstanding?”
“……”
“Did Your Highness really never have feelings for me?”
Richard had not anticipated such a question from her.
For a long moment, he remained silent.
Only after what felt like an eternity did he finally answer, his voice hoarse.
“That question has no meaning.”
Once again, he had chosen to bury his emotions.
Iona could not understand why.
If he had wanted her, why hadn’t he taken her before?
Especially in the past—when she had lived solely for him—nothing had stopped him from reaching for her.
It wasn’t as though he had refrained out of concern for their difference in status.
Iona had never been the kind of woman to dream of holding an official title by his side.
If anything, she could confidently say she had been the safest choice for him.
Perhaps even safer than Florence, his former fiancée.
Even if he had laid his hands on her, Iona would never have spoken a word of it to anyone.
Now, however, the doubts that had lingered in her mind began to take shape—becoming more tangible, more undeniable.
That was the nature of truth.
Lies faded with time, but the truth, buried beneath them, never lost its brilliance.
And the more he denied it, the more his hidden feelings came into focus.
“Do I need another reason to take you back?” Richard’s voice was low, almost a growl. “You were mine. From the moment you took your father’s hand and crossed the palace walls to stand before me, that was decided.”
His face was tinged with a faint flush.
That twisted expression—this was the true face he had hidden behind his mask.
Richard was not mourning a lost love. He was enraged at having lost something he believed belonged to him.
And for the first time, Iona realized that they were finally standing face-to-face, stripped of all pretense and deception.
“Not anymore.”
She knew. This was a gamble.
“I know now why you called me your noona.”
Even so, an inexplicable certainty settled within her.
She was going to win this.
-- End Of The Chapter --
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