Chapter 248
A faint smile tugged at Iona’s lips, as if she had taken Leroy’s comment as a joke.
Leroy chose not to emphasize that he had meant what he said sincerely.
With an important mission ahead, he didn’t want to burden his wife with unnecessary worry.
Leroy gently adjusted the tie around Iona’s neck and stepped back.
“Come back without getting hurt.”
“You’re asking the impossible,” Iona replied playfully. “That just raised the difficulty of the mission by several levels.”
“Then should I change the plan and go in your place?”
“Only if you can perfectly disguise yourself as me.”
Iona responded casually.
Of course, with a nearly 20-centimeter height difference between them, there was no way Leroy could squeeze himself into this small uniform.
With a serious expression, Leroy quipped, “I should’ve lost some weight.”
They both burst into laughter.
Leroy knew that expressing worry at times like this would only hurt morale.
So instead, he added with a teasing tone, “In the end, the only solution is for you to be extra careful not to get hurt.”
It was time for them to head to their designated places.
After putting on the overcoat she had left hanging beside the mirror, Iona turned and said, “Then, I’ll be going now.”
With a smiling face, she passed by Leroy, who stood there seeing her off, and stepped outside.
Perhaps winter was drawing near—she could feel the chill the moment she stepped into the shared hallway.
Her outfit for the day was a little too telling of her status, so she had packed a cloak to cover it up. It turned out to be a lucky choice, given the weather.
Iona lightly lifted her collar and descended the wooden stairs.
The place they’d stayed for the past day or two was a secret residence owned by the duke’s household—one she had visited once before.
Along the way, she encountered a few residents of the building, but naturally, no one recognized her.
Iona even exchanged casual greetings with them before walking out of the building without a hint of hesitation.
Just then, an empty hired carriage happened to pass right in front of her.
Iona hailed the coachman and climbed aboard, stating her destination.
The coachman’s expression turned slightly curious.
“This early in the morning…?”
Since it was the kind of place that would naturally provoke such a reaction, Iona didn’t bother explaining. She simply handed the coachman the fare.
The place Iona was heading to was one of the secret information hubs run by the crown prince. Outwardly, it operated as a tavern.
Unless someone was thoroughly soaked in alcohol, it wasn’t the kind of establishment they’d visit before noon.
Unbothered by the familiar misunderstanding, Iona just asked the coachman to proceed.
Since the destination wasn’t far, the ride didn’t take long.
After getting off the carriage, Iona stepped straight into the dim interior of the tavern.
“Sorry, miss, we’re not open for business yet,” said the bartender.
“The door was open. Give me a tequila with a spoonful of marmalade jam.”
At Iona’s order, the bartender made an exaggerated gagging sound.
“The passphrase’s been changed.”
“Sorry, I’ve been a little slow lately. Just got married, you see.”
At Iona’s brazen excuse, the bartender wordlessly opened the back door leading to the kitchen.
He let her through without question, having seen her often enough in the past to recognize her immediately.
Iona passed him without pause and entered a small side door next to the kitchen.
Due to the secretive architecture of the building, this place also doubled as a kind of covert headquarters.
She had worried that she might catch them short-handed with her unannounced visit, but whether it was a good or bad sign, a strong, sour stench hit her the moment she stepped inside.
One of the men seated at the table playing cards looked up and, recognizing her, widened his eyes in shock.
“Wait, Lady Iona?”
“What the hell are you on about, you dumb bastard? Just play your damn card.”
“I thought you were down in the duke’s domain?”
As the man stood up while speaking, the others finally turned their attention toward Iona as well.
It seemed they hadn’t noticed her presence earlier due to the lingering haze in the room.
Thinking today might just be her lucky day, Iona opened a side window to let in some air.
Since the building stood near a cluster of nightlife establishments, there weren’t many people out and about during the day.
Confirming there were no prying eyes outside, Iona turned back to the group inside.
“His Highness the Crown Prince summoned me. I’ve been back in the capital for a few days. Seems like you lot have been living it up while I was gone.”
“Ah, today just happened to be a slow day, so we thought we’d bond a little—doesn’t usually happen. You know how it is.”
The man quickly rolled his blunt and tossed it onto the ashtray in a weak attempt to cover things up.
Of course, Iona didn’t believe a word of it.
The vast majority of members in this secret organization were infamous figures from the underworld who had submitted to Richard in exchange for money and power.
Because of their employer’s status, they occasionally mingled with knights, but given their origins, they were far from well-mannered.
Iona looked around at the thuggish men in front of her with a disappointed expression.
“I’ll give you five minutes. Get ready to move out. Get rid of that disgusting stench first and disguise yourselves as laborers.”
“Huh? Did you receive some kind of special order or something?”
“His Highness instructed me to transport a man from the storage warehouse to the imperial palace.”
The men exchanged uneasy glances at Iona’s response.
If she had to interpret those looks, they said something like, ‘That’s not really our job, is it?’
That was precisely why Iona had come to them.
Though they worked under Richard, they weren’t at the core of this operation, meaning their intel was slightly outdated.
In other words, they were malleable. Easy to use on her own terms.
And Iona also knew the best way to handle these kinds of people—by leveraging the chain of command.
Her gaze turned sharp as ice as she spoke.
“Why are you all just standing there like idiots? Move your asses.”
Thankfully, before she had to say “Do you want to die?”, the men scrambled and tossed down their cards in a hurry.
Exactly five minutes later, the once-lazy bunch reappeared in front of her, now perfectly disguised as scruffy laborers.
“You three, go get three carriages ready downstairs. The rest of you, grab some tools and follow me.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Led by Iona, the men burst out of the tavern like a small parade of clumsy soldiers.
In just over ten minutes, Iona had successfully rallied a crew of free mercenaries.
She ushered them into the carriages one by one.
The members wore unconcerned expressions, completely unaware that they were about to help bring down their own boss.
Of course, that didn’t mean there weren’t any bumps in the road.
Just as the carriages were pulling away, the man seated beside Iona furrowed his brow and asked a rather reasonable question.
“Weren’t you retired, Lady Iona?”
“I just took a short honeymoon break. I can’t stay away from His Highness the Crown Prince forever, can I?”
At that, the man gave a knowing nod.
The potential commotion was diffused in an instant.
Iona felt a strange emotion stirring inside her.
‘I really have lived a diligent life, haven’t I?’
She’d charged into enemy territory alone and yet naturally found herself leading their ranks.
She had kept her loyalties hidden from the public eye for strategic reasons, but she never expected it to work this well.
Iona wasn’t sure whether she should feel proud or mournful over how seamlessly her past as a model operative still paid off.
Lost in this mix of feelings, she turned to look out the window at the passing scenery.
The hostage had already been transferred from a northern merchant group to a larger one.
After monitoring their movements from the north, Iona confirmed that the duke’s son had been relocated to a warehouse on the outskirts of the capital.
Since the warehouse was built in a low-cost area, it was quite far from the city center.
As a result, this transfer took a bit longer than previous ones.
Iona estimated the time based on the surrounding landmarks.
‘I wonder if His Grace is doing all right…’
The duke had asked for confirmation that his son was alive, and Iona’s mission was to extract the hostage before Richard’s men arrived.
It was a simple plan, but timing was everything.
If she arrived too early, it would raise suspicion. But arriving after the actual transport team would be even worse.
Fortunately, luck seemed to be on her side. Iona reached the location without encountering any suspicious carriages.
Stepping down from her carriage, she gave a sideways glance at the secluded warehouse before saying,
“Let’s go.”
And with a confident air, she kicked open the iron doors and marched inside.
---The End Of The Chapter---
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