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Chapter 254
Only then did Leroy seem to notice Walter’s presence, as if he had just realized he was there. He subtly increased the distance between himself and Iona.
Leroy encouraged Iona to continue her meal, then turned his head toward Walter.
“His Grace the Archduke will be here soon, so I hope you can wait patiently.”
Walter responded with frustration.
“Where is Father, that he’s this late? Seriously...”
His voice trailed off, caught mid-sentence. The words faltered as a wave of emotion surged through him.
He slowly ran his palm across his lips and lowered his head with a deep sigh.
Until he actually reunited with his father, no amount of words would be able to ease his anxiety.
Rather than offering meaningless reassurances, Leroy simply glanced at the clock hanging on the wall.
The appointed time had already passed, and yet, there was still no sign of the Archduke.
“Should I go check outside?” Iona asked.
“He might be taking longer to shake off any pursuers. If that’s the case, it won’t do us any good to move together and risk being seen.”
Leroy shook his head at Iona’s suggestion.
After a brief moment of thought, he stood from his seat.
“It would be better to send someone whose face isn’t known. I’ll head out for a bit.”
He gently tapped Iona on the shoulder, gave Walter a nod of acknowledgment, and then stepped outside.
Left behind, Iona continued her meal at a steady pace. Only after satisfying her hunger to some extent did she finally set her fork down.
As she dabbed at her lips with a napkin, she spoke calmly.
“There’s no poison, as you can see.”
Walter flinched slightly.
Every dish on the table had been tasted by Iona herself—without exception.
She had proven with her own actions that there was nothing harmful.
Yet Walter merely scanned the plates with a detached gaze and didn’t touch a single thing.
He politely declined.
“I’m not hungry.”
Iona shrugged and lifted her glass of water to her lips.
She had no intention of coaxing or pressuring him into eating.
Unlike the Archduke, with whom she had recently spent a great deal of time forming a bond, his son was still a stranger to her.
‘Someone you’ve never known your whole life doesn’t suddenly start to feel like family.’
The thought that this young man she was meeting for the first time today was her cousin still didn’t feel real.
Well, even when she first learned she and Richard were blood relatives, she had struggled to believe it, hadn’t she?
With that in mind, Iona quietly studied Walter, who sat across from her.
Perhaps feeling uneasy under her gaze, Walter suddenly spoke.
“How did you end up working with my father?”
Since Walter had already confirmed Iona’s identity—though up until that confirmation, he had clearly suspected her to be an imposter—his attitude had grown noticeably more respectful compared to when they first met.
There was no reason not to answer his question, so Iona responded plainly.
“His Grace the Archduke and my husband and I shared a common enemy. I believe that alone is reason enough.”
“So you joined forces with my father to plan a coup against the Imperial family?”
“That’s not… entirely off the mark.”
“Before my abduction, I’d heard talk of a marriage proposal between House Modrov and a certain duke’s family. So it did go through in the end.”
Walter murmured thoughtfully, his expression growing more serious.
“Why would you make such a choice? The Crown Prince is soon to become Emperor. That would’ve guaranteed you immense power and status far beyond what you have now.”
“Well, there were many reasons… but if I had to pick just one—”
“If you had to?”
“Then I’d say… the power of love.”
Walter furrowed his brow, as if he had misheard her.
He waited in silence, clearly expecting Iona to clarify that it was a joke.
But instead, she simply squared her shoulders, as if that was her complete and honest answer.
His gaze chilled again, the warmth vanishing.
With a sigh, he said,
“If you continue to hide your true intentions behind that kind of talk, you’ll never gain true trust.”
“I appreciate your concern, but I’ve told you nothing but the truth.”
“What I’m saying is, my father isn’t the type to fall for that kind of wordplay.”
There was something in his tone that almost sounded like concern for Iona.
She hesitated, uncertain of how to take the nuance behind his words, as Walter continued his advice.
“You did save our family’s only heir. For that, we’re undeniably in your debt. But how much of a return you’ll get for that debt… depends entirely on your conduct going forward—”
A noise from the distance interrupted him.
The sound of footsteps—multiple sets—echoed closer, making it clear more than one person was approaching.
Sensing something, Walter stood blankly from his seat.
And then the doors to the dining room opened.
At last, the man they had been waiting for entered: the Archduke.
Following close behind him, Leroy offered Iona a smile.
“It looks like he made it just in time.”
The Archduke’s cheeks and hands were flushed red from the cold air outside.
His pale, wind-chapped skin seemed to betray the exhaustion he’d endured until now.
For a long moment, the Archduke simply stared at his son without a word. Then, all at once, he strode forward and pulled Walter into a tight embrace.
“I kept looking for you.”
“…Father.”
“I looked everywhere, but you were nowhere to be found… Every day, it felt like my blood was drying up. If you had gone to meet your mother first—what face could I show her in the afterlife…?”
“…”
“I’m glad you came back.”
“...”
“I’m so glad you came back…”
His voice, hoarse and cracked with emotion, repeated the words again.
And though Walter had fought off his captors like a brute with the strength of a mountain bandit, standing here in his father’s arms, he looked every bit the young man he truly was—shedding tears of sorrow, helpless and raw.
Iona quietly stepped back to give the two time to reunite, watching from a respectful distance as father and son embraced.
The thought that these two might have never had this reunion in the original timeline left a bitter taste in her mouth.
She couldn’t tell whether it had been fortunate or unfortunate that she hadn’t known Walter’s whereabouts back then.
After all, it wasn’t as if she would have disobeyed Richard’s orders. Perhaps it had been better not to know at all.
At least… that’s what she told herself to justify it.
But even as she tried to reason it away, Iona felt it wasn’t enough.
Maybe the real reason she was standing here now… was to finally make things right.
To do now what she should have done back then.
“I’m glad,” she murmured.
Hearing her soft words, Leroy reached out and gently clasped her hand.
His large hand, cold from the outside air, was lukewarm at best—but still carried a quiet warmth.
The sudden rush of emotion nearly startled Iona herself. She hadn’t expected to feel like crying.
She quickly inhaled through her nose to steady herself, but just then, the Archduke took Walter by the arm and guided him forward.
“Did you thank her properly?”
“Ah… N-no, Father. Everything happened so quickly…”
Ashamed of the tear-streaked state of his face, Walter hastily wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.
Before he could recover, the Archduke stepped forward in his place and pulled Iona into a firm embrace.
Clearly, the one most intent on expressing gratitude… was the Archduke himself.
He stroked her back with his large, calloused hand, repeating his thanks over and over again.
Iona responded with a small, gentle smile on her lips.
“Didn’t I promise I’d bring your son back to you?”
At that moment, startled by the sudden display of affection, Walter grabbed his father’s shoulder and tried to pull him away.
“Father! At least let go before you start talking!”
Even if it was a moment of heartfelt gratitude, pulling a noblewoman into an embrace without her consent was highly inappropriate.
Given that Walter only knew Iona as a stranger to the family, it was no surprise he reacted with alarm.
He glanced anxiously at Leroy and whispered urgently:
“Even if you’re overwhelmed with emotion, you can’t just go hugging unfamiliar women like this! Please, step aside!”
“Hmm?”
Halfway through crying, the Archduke blinked and allowed himself to be pulled away in confusion.
He looked blankly between Walter and Iona before asking,
“You haven’t told him yet?”
“I figured he wouldn’t believe me.”
Iona replied with an awkward tug at the corner of her mouth.
It had taken long enough just to convince him she was Iona. How could she possibly expect him to believe they were cousins?
Even if she’d explained clearly, in front of the Archduke himself, there was still a chance he would’ve thought her a con artist.
All she’d really wanted… was to be seen as a decent, trustworthy person—not someone who could be accused of fraud.
But the Archduke wasn’t exactly the kind of man to read between the lines or pick up on delicate social cues.
With a firm nod, he pointed openly at Iona and declared:
“Walter, greet her properly. She’s your cousin.”
For a moment, Walter’s eyes widened in pure shock—then narrowed in sharp suspicion.
Unfortunately—or perhaps fortunately—it didn’t quite go the way Iona had expected.
Walter turned to stare at his father… not with disbelief, but with the look of someone genuinely concerned about early-onset dementia.
---The End Of The Chapter---
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