Chapter 28

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter Title: Chapter 28

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“Yes, I understand perfectly. I had no idea your thoughts ran so deep. I’ll handle this matter myself so you don’t have to worry about it anymore.”

“Yes. Ah, please keep this conversation between us a secret from Nils. Even if Father wouldn’t mind, I doubt Nils would believe me.”

Hayden nodded at Iona’s request, feeling a twinge of regret.

How much better it would have been if Nils had even half of Iona’s talent.

His legitimate son and daughter were only interested in extravagance, nothing more than good-for-nothings—this had long been Hayden’s nagging worry.

‘But that doesn’t mean I can hand the title over to her... What a shame.’

Hayden swallowed his bitterness and grabbed Iona as she rose from her seat.

“Iona, I know Nils must have hurt you deeply... But that boy has always been short-sighted and hot-tempered. Don’t take it too much to heart. He’ll come to regret his actions soon enough. After all, you two are family, for better or worse.”

Iona stared blankly at Hayden for a moment.

Still family. Your brother’s always been like that, so understand him. He didn’t mean any real harm...

It was the same old brainwashing.

The naive Iona of the past had swallowed his words whole. Hayden had raised his daughter to be that naive.

It wasn’t hard to mold a girl who had been locked away since childhood to his liking.

If people from the outside world hadn’t shattered that illusion, Iona would have lived her whole life that way.

‘“Still family,” huh. Nice packaging.’

Iona tugged at the corner of her mouth in amusement and replied.

“Of course. No matter that he’s my half-brother, surely Nils isn’t so beyond saving that he’d truly try to kill his sister.”

“......”

“I hope Nils and I can remain on good terms, just like you wish, Father.”

With those bright words, Iona finished and left the room.

Since running into Hayden that day, Iona had never once called him “Father.” Hayden took it as a matter of course and never pointed it out.

Whatever words defined their relationship, “family” was never just a hollow title.

Hayden announced Nils as the official heir that evening at dinner.

Iona sliced into the steak before her and thought indifferently.

‘Worth coming home on time for once.’

Today’s shift had been particularly grueling.

The moment she arrived, Erich had come charging in to interrogate her, and then Saskia had snatched her away from him to grill her about the unauthorized early dismissal.

Iona had pulled out a handkerchief and wiped her face as if she’d been waiting for it, and Saskia finally shut up.

After staring at Iona’s bruised cheek for a long while, Saskia had jabbed a finger at her with a fierce glare.

“You... I’m letting it slide this time because the one you chased off yesterday was Florence. Got it?”

“I won’t cause any more trouble.”

“No, just... pace yourself a bit! Don’t drop a massive bomb out of nowhere!”

Saskia had yelled, but in the end, no extra duties were assigned. As a bonus, Iona got paperwork instead of guard duty, citing her sore leg from the bruise.

Lately, Iona had been realizing in a strange way that the world kept turning no matter how willfully she lived.

“Y-You’re finally announcing me as the official heir?”

Meanwhile, Nils, seated across from her, dropped his cutlery with a look of rapture.

She’d been thinking of buying him dentures with her own money since his lisping was grating, but apparently, they’d already been made.

Today, Nils was proudly flashing his smooth ivory teeth.

“Congratulations, brother!”

Ivonne, sitting beside him, hugged her brother with tears of joy.

Nils hugged her back and shot Iona a smug smile, as if flaunting his victory.

It took real talent to act so overwhelmed after inheriting a position that was rightfully hers to begin with.

‘Well, Hayden had kept him on edge all this time.’

Usually, heirs were selected and trained well before adulthood.

But neither Ivonne nor Nils had ever gotten a whiff of heir training.

That was why Nils, who should have inherited a business or land by now, was still mooching off his father’s allowance.

‘He must have been desperate to secure his power.’

The count already had frequent clashes with his wife and children over his affairs.

The only reason he wielded absolute authority at home was because he monopolized all the family’s power and doled it out as he pleased.

‘Though it probably didn’t help that Nils was so unreliable...’

Iona let out a soft chuckle at Nils, who already looked arrogant as if he owned the whole house.

Hayden apparently shared her doubts about his son, launching straight into a lecture.

“Nils, I never definitively promised you the heir position before because of your reckless nature. You know that, don’t you?”

The smile vanished from Nils’s face in an instant, and he replied in a small voice.

“......Yes, Father.”

“While I’ve had no choice but to name you heir now, I still don’t fully trust that it was the right decision. Don’t let it go to your head and act rashly.”

“I understand.”

“Good. I trust you’ll conduct yourself in a manner befitting your station from now on. Becoming the next head of this house means you are the family’s future. Don’t disappoint me.”

Hayden concluded sternly.

As if struck by a thought, Nils glanced at Iona.

Killing his half-sister and defying his father’s will would certainly disappoint Hayden.

Nils had probably scrapped—or at least postponed—any plans to kill Iona right then.

Iona took a leisurely sip of her wine.

‘I can sleep soundly for a while.’

Even if Nils himself was unreliable, the assassins he hired with his money were worth watching out for.

She hadn’t suggested naming him heir out of fear of being murdered, but it was a welcome relief not to waste energy on needless threats.

Iona said sincerely.

“Congratulations on getting the position you wanted, Nils.”

Nils whipped his head around and glared at her.

He clearly didn’t like her butting into the conversation as if she mattered.

But after a moment, mindful of Hayden’s presence, Nils forced a gentle tone.

“......Thank you, Iona.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Iona replied nonchalantly and popped another bite of sliced meat into her mouth.

It had been a while since a family dinner, and the food was predictably awful.

Everyone wanted to leave it untouched, but she couldn’t let Nils misinterpret her lack of appetite.

She didn’t want to give him fodder for drinks, starting with “Did you see that wench’s face?”

Only after forcing down dessert did the dinner finally end.

Hayden showered them with well-wishes before leaving, but nothing stuck in her memory.

Iona spent most of the time counting the patterns on the tablecloth.

Still lost in thought even as she saw Hayden off, she reacted slowly to Nils calling her.

“Hey.”

“......”

“Hey!”

“Hm?”

Iona slowly turned to look at Nils.

In the now-quiet dining hall, Nils had approached her at some point.

Ivonne watched them anxiously from a short distance away, clearly worried her brother might cause trouble again.

As Iona stared at him questioningly, Nils’s face naturally twisted into a scowl.

“You cheeky little... You must’ve thought Father would hand the house over to you, huh? A bastard like you getting greedy—serves you right.”

He seemed to think Iona had obeyed Hayden all this time out of greed for the heir position.

It was a ridiculous assumption. She had followed orders because she remembered the punishments for defiance.

Iona simply hadn’t wanted to starve, get beaten, lose something precious, or be abandoned.

“No matter how much you act like a good little dog, you’re still just a dog. Not a child.”

Nils raised his fist as if to strike her, but hesitated to actually touch her—clearly heeding Hayden’s warning.

This could be fun if I provoke him now.

Calculating that, Iona smiled brightly and said.

“Father must feel sorry for himself too. To agonize this long over children who aren’t even as good as dogs.”