Chapter 260
Iona and Leroy exchanged glances in silence.
The Empress had risked her life to save Teresa?
Naturally, it was a claim they found hard to believe.
Even Leroy, who had first brought up the topic, looked uncomfortable, as if he hadn’t originally intended to say this much.
Even if the Empress had done something like that, it was probably nothing more than a performance to clear herself of suspicion.
They weren’t going to fall for something that transparent.
Iona, still harboring doubts, asked curtly,
“You were present at the scene, then?”
“Yes,” the maid replied. “I was one of the attendants who tried to stop Her Majesty the Empress.”
Perhaps to paint a more favorable picture of the Empress, the maid began to explain how close her mistress had been to Princess Teresa.
“I tried to dissuade Her Majesty for her own safety, but… I can’t say I didn’t understand her feelings. Neither Her Majesty nor Princess Teresa had anyone they could truly call a friend. So Her Majesty would often visit the princess’s quarters with His Highness the Crown Prince, hoping to comfort her.”
“……Are you saying His Highness the Crown Prince also had a relationship with the Princess?”
“Most certainly. Princess Teresa loved him like her own child.”
“This is the first I’m hearing of it.”
“Ever since Princess Teresa passed away, His Highness has become quite reserved. But when he was with her… he used to act his age, even whining like a normal boy sometimes.”
Oddly enough, the maid’s words sounded sincere.
If she had been trying to deceive Iona, she wouldn’t have padded her earlier statement with such unnecessary details.
To think Richard not only interacted with her mother, but had actually been close to her—
It was a shocking revelation.
Iona had always believed that Richard could have romantic feelings for her precisely because he’d had no connection with the aunt who’d been imprisoned.
‘I made the mistake of thinking too humanly. As if he’d think the same way.’
Swallowing a bitter laugh, Iona said with a faint trace of amusement,
“I’ll have to ask His Highness to share stories about Princess Teresa when I see him.”
“I believe Her Majesty is planning a gathering for later this evening. The four of you can speak at length then.”
The maid finished gently, as if tucking away a secret.
For the first time since returning to the past, Iona felt a twinge of anticipation at the idea of meeting Richard.
She was curious, what would Richard say about her mother with that same foul mouth he’d once used to whisper love to her?
If he couldn’t hold it in and ended up raising his voice in front of the Empress, well… that would be quite the spectacle too.
While lost in conversation, they had already reached their destination.
The maid guided Iona and Leroy to the entrance of a resplendent detached palace, bowing politely as she offered her formal greeting.
“Please, treat this place as your own home and rest in comfort.”
As if hinting at a future where someone else would one day become the master of this place.
***
“It used to be a fairly well-known story back then,” said Leroy. “That the Empress suffered severe burns while trying to save Princess Teresa.”
“This is my first time hearing it,” Iona replied.
“After the Empress started wearing a veil, everyone stopped talking about it. No one wanted to stir up painful memories for no reason.”
As he spoke, Leroy pulled back the curtain and scanned the outside.
Finding nothing suspicious, he closed it again and returned to Iona’s side.
They had already tapped the walls and floors to check for any hidden mechanisms.
Only then did Leroy finally get to the real point.
“Since the cause of the fire was never identified, we can’t rule out the possibility that it was staged.”
“But it’s hard to believe the Empress would go so far as to suffer real burns… to the point of covering her face for the rest of her life. That part doesn’t sit right with me.”
“Maybe things didn’t go according to plan. Maybe she got out later than intended.”
If the fire had been started by the Empress, then Iona had lost both her father and mother because of her.
It was practically a certainty that Hayden had been quietly eliminated on the Empress’s orders.
With a hollow expression, Iona murmured,
“I never imagined we’d share something this tragic in common.”
“You mean… both becoming orphans because of the same person?” Leroy responded, voice tinged with bitterness.
Iona didn’t answer. She simply curved her lips into a faint, bitter smile.
There was nothing good to be gained from saying such things out loud.
“In any case, it looks like we’ll have to bide our time here for now.”
“Don’t you think we walked a little too confidently into the enemy’s den?”
“I figured if we didn’t make a bold enough move, we’d never get close to the truth.”
“For starters, we should quietly spread the rumor around the inner palace about why I’m here. The odds are slim, but if there’s anyone left who remembers what happened back then…”
She trailed off mid-sentence, her ears perking up at a faint sound from the hallway.
Her instincts hadn’t dulled. She could already sense footsteps approaching.
Just as Iona was about to straighten her posture, Leroy reached over and gently grasped her hand, leaning in with a quiet whisper.
“I think I find you a little exciting when you’re like this.”
“…Excuse me?”
Caught completely off guard, Iona’s voice came out sharper than expected.
It wasn’t the time, or the kind of comment, she could have anticipated. The sheer unpredictability of it left her speechless.
Leroy chuckled, amused by her reaction.
“I figured calling you sexy might sound ungentlemanly, so I dressed it up a little.”
“……This isn’t about the wording. I mean, what part of this situation…?”
But she didn’t get to finish.
The footsteps were now practically right outside the door.
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t like their conversation needed to be hidden… but this one? Iona desperately wanted to keep under wraps.
If that kind of mortifying topic leaked out, she might never show her face again.
“…Let’s talk about this later,” she muttered.
“Gladly,” Leroy replied, stepping back with a courteous smile.
Ever since she’d gotten dragged into that carriage with him, she’d realized something, her husband had a real talent for doing scandalous things under a mask of civility.
Just as Iona finally managed to pull her expression back under control, a knock came from the other side of the door.
“What is it?” Iona asked, raising her voice.
“Pardon the interruption while you’re resting. A messenger from the Imperial Court has arrived. Should I escort them inside?”
She had willingly moved into the palace, but that didn’t mean things would be simple from here on out.
By the time the belongings had been brought in from the mansion, the necessary procedures completed, and a few attendants granted entrance into the palace, midday had already long passed.
It seemed the Empress was preparing to summon them again, now that dinner arrangements had been completed.
Iona stood up from her seat after saying she would go out to meet the summons.
She gently pressed her hand on Leroy’s shoulder and said softly,
“I’ll go check. You should stay here and rest.”
“You sound like you’re trying to get rid of me,”
Leroy replied, voice laced with suspicion. “This doesn’t feel like concern—it feels like abandonment.”
“Then, knowing that, stay here like a good patient,” Iona shot back.
With that pointed remark, Iona turned away and exited the room, leaving her husband behind.
As befitted honored guests, the room assigned to the couple was spacious, though not quite on the level of the Empress’s quarters, it was still divided into several sections by interior doors.
Iona passed through a short corridor and entered the reception room.
There, at the central table, sat a man who had already made himself quite at home.
His hat was pulled low, obscuring his face, but Iona recognized him without difficulty.
For a brief moment, she felt relieved she had come alone.
Just as she had once tried to hide Yvonne and Nils from Leroy, she had no desire to parade this shameful piece of family history in front of her spouse.
She spoke in a cold, rigid tone.
“I didn’t know you were so impatient. We were bound to meet at dinner anyway.”
“You’re always testing my patience.”
With those words, Richard rose slowly from his seat.
---The End Of The Chapter---
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