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Chapter 75
“What?”
Iona, who had responded with such irritation, shifted her gaze back to the letter.
She thought it was nonsense, so she concentrated on reading it from the beginning, but the contents were actually as Nils had said.
Iona swallowed a hollow laugh.
“When did the messenger arrive?”
“This morning. You were sleeping, so I took it on your behalf.”
Apparently, upon hearing the news of her return, Richard immediately wrote a letter and sent it.
The hastily scribbled five lines showed no real effort or sincerity. The tone was completely indifferent, as if he had no concern about the implications of the letter’s message.
However, appearing at a grand event like the palace ball with another woman, not one’s fiancée, wouldn’t be as easy as it sounds.
From the fiancée’s perspective, it would be a huge insult. Moreover, the woman who played the role of the partner would inevitably face public scorn.
‘Isn’t that why he ordered the marriage because he was wary of rumors about being involved in an affair with me?’
Or had Florence annoyed him to the extent that he wanted to punish her this way?
Iona must have hurt Florence’s pride greatly because she retaliated by not accepting Florence’s anger as before.
Perhaps Richard was tired of the resentment and complaints directed at him and wanted to completely sever ties with Florence.
Regardless of the cause, this situation was a huge headache for Iona.
Thinking of an enraged Florence confronting her immediately sent a throbbing pain to her head.
In that moment, she would have been willing to quietly take a slap from Florence if it were to come.
‘He said he would compensate for the injury caused by Florence. What a joke.’
‘Compensating for the harm caused by Florence? What a joke.’
Indeed, Richard had no feelings of remorse toward Iona. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have invited her to such an event.
“You must have done something wrong.”
Even to Nils, this request seemed trivial.
Their family was already in turmoil due to an embezzlement issue.
The crown prince, who had been favorable to them, was showing signs of displeasure, which was concerning.
“Isn’t this a nasty scheme to make you disliked by the Lanzhov family?”
“Do you see it that way?”
“Are you joking with me now?”
In response to Iona’s casual question, Nils bared his teeth.
“I don’t know what your problem is, but behave yourself. If you’re going to ruin things, do it on yourself without splashing dirt on our family. If you tarnish our family’s name, I won’t stand idly by.”
Iona managed to suppress the laughter that almost erupted involuntarily.
Hearing advice about not tarnishing the family name from Nils of all people!
Iona thought she would remember this warning as she handed the letter to Marsha, who was standing behind her. She intended to write a reply later.
“Excuse me.”
Iona responded without much enthusiasm and walked past Nils, patting him on the shoulder.
If he hadn’t been blocking the way, she would have simply walked around him, but he stood so close that it was hard to move without bumping into him.
Despite this, Nils, who seemed surprised that Iona would dare to push past him, raised his voice in annoyance.
“Hey!”
Iona ignored him and strode into the hallway.
Nils, clearly frustrated, shouted after her, “Where do you think you’re going, ignoring my words? Don’t you know that I’m the heir now? What’s with your attitude...?”
“Embroidery gathering.”
At Iona’s reply, Nils’s voice abruptly stopped.
He seemed to contemplate her unexpected answer, pondering if it could be true.
But Iona wasn’t lying. The very reason she hurriedly returned to the capital in the first place was because of this gathering.
Maybe her explanation didn’t sound too far-fetched to Nils, as he didn’t try to detain her any longer. Instead, he muttered to himself, “What’s with her? As soon as she comes back, she goes straight to that gathering...”
Iona went down the stairs, ignoring the sound of Nils’s constant nagging.
Thinking about the limited time she had to endure his noise made it somewhat bearable.
***
The members of the embroidery gathering seemed to have somewhat adjusted to Iona’s presence.
During her previous visit, many had found her return peculiar, but today she blended in like any other attendee.
As before, Claudia, whom she encountered at the entrance, naturally inquired about her well-being.
“Has your hand fully healed?”
“My hand?”
“The place where you pricked yourself with the needle last time.”
It wasn’t until Claudia demonstrated by pointing at her own index finger that Iona remembered what she was referring to. The injury had been part of a ruse to have a private conversation with Viviana, so she’d nearly forgotten about the wound itself.
“Oh, of course. It wasn’t that deep to begin with.”
“But it bled quite a bit. Well, being a knight, you might be used to minor injuries.”
Claudia nodded in understanding.
Since Iona had never really heard words of concern about injuries, even more, severe ones, during her time in the knight order, Claudia’s reaction felt somewhat refreshing.
Iona expressed her genuine gratitude for the concern. It didn’t feel bad to be cared for by someone.
With a lightened mood, Iona accompanied Claudia into the reception room.
The seating was similar to last time.
The organizer, Lady Schiller, seemed to intentionally group Erna, Claudia, and Iona together.
It gave off the distinct impression that she gathered all potential sources of trouble in one spot for easier management.
Iona was a novice whose skills didn’t match the other members, while Erna was overly loud. Perhaps Claudia was there as a trainee.
“Dame Iona, Lady Claudia, you’re here! I guess I arrived the earliest today, right?”
Spotting Iona and Claudia, Erna cheerfully greeted them.
Iona briefly acknowledged Erna’s words and followed her gaze.
There stood Viviana, as always, looking down politely.
Although Viviana never met Iona’s eyes, judging by her presence, it seemed she had accepted the earlier proposition.
“Dame Iona, you’re wearing a dress today! It’s very beautiful!”
As soon as everyone sat down, Erna, as if she’d been waiting, immediately brought up the topic of clothing.
Today wasn’t just a casual stop after work; Iona, like the other ladies, had made the effort to wear a dress.
“Yes, I’m on vacation, so I didn’t have to go to work.”
“Oh, a vacation? What’s the occasion?”
“I was just a little busy with personal matters.”
Iona responded nonchalantly.
Her vague reply was meant to discourage probing questions, but Erna’s expression seemed a bit mischievous.
“Were you busy… perhaps preparing for marriage?”
“Miss Erna, please refrain from asking embarrassing questions.”
Claudia, who had been observing with decorum, felt the need to intervene. Naturally, Erna wasn’t one to back down.
“Why is that an embarrassing question?”
“Because the relationship between a man and a woman is a private sphere.”
“It’s not marriage, Lady Claudia. It’s the social season. Everyone is looking for a spouse, and by the next day, the whole city hears rumors about who visited whose daughter.”
At Erna’s extended remarks, Claudia looked at Iona with a troubled expression, as if to say she had done her best.
It was true that most young ladies couldn’t stop talking about marriage lately. It might have been uncomfortable to discuss such topics with Iona specifically.
“When does the Duke plan to propose?”
Erna looked at Iona with eyes full of anticipation and asked.
She seemed utterly convinced that Leroy had already hinted at a proposal to Iona.
Of course, Iona believed she would marry him without much trouble, but the exact timing was uncertain.
It all depended on how long Hayden would resist.
‘If he tries desperately to resist, it might be delayed. Otherwise, it might happen before the season ends.’
Although getting engaged earlier might simplify matters, Iona didn’t push Leroy.
She primarily wanted to stand proudly by his side once she became the head of the family, as originally promised.
Since she couldn’t broadcast this situation, so Iona just provided a superficial excuse.
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