Chapter 31

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter Title: Chapter 31: The Truth Exposed

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Ivonne suddenly shoved Iona aside.

"Enough, if you won't do it, I will. Get out of my way!"

"Ivonne!"

Both Ivonne, who had flung the door open, and Iona, who had chased after her, froze like statues in the next instant.

There, before their eyes, stood the cause of all their bickering.

"Du-Duke...?"

"...What is all this about?"

Iona prayed desperately that he hadn't overheard their conversation. A futile hope.

"So, Dame Iona is not Count Modroff's adopted daughter, but an illegitimate child?"

Duke Leroy's face hardened ominously as he cut straight to confirming the facts.

Feeling the pressure, Ivonne shrank back for a moment. But then, sensing an opportunity, she quickly adopted a pleading tone.

"I'm sorry, Your Grace! I never meant to deceive you. Really. I kept trying to tell you the truth, but my sister was so brazen that I just..."

Iona's face drained to a deathly pallor.

There was no excuse she could make.

How could she explain it away? What Ivonne said was entirely true.

Iona was an illegitimate child who didn't even know her own mother, and she had shamelessly tried to marry the duke while hiding that fact.

Even if he made an issue of it and ruined her in noble society, she would have no grounds to complain.

Leroy turned his gaze to Iona and asked.

"Dame Iona, answer me directly. Is this true?"

"Your Grace, if there's anything you're curious about, you can ask me. I..."

"It would be best if the lady returned to her seat now."

He firmly dismissed Ivonne's interference and stepped closer to Iona.

Ivonne, who had been itching to drive a wedge between them, looked a bit disappointed but soon composed herself.

After all, at this moment, the marriage talks between the duke and Iona were as good as shattered.

"Then I'll leave you to talk."

With her goal achieved, Ivonne walked away with light steps.

Finally, only the two of them remained in the dim corridor.

Leroy asked with an inscrutable expression.

"Why don't you explain this situation in a way I can understand, Dame Iona."

"...I have nothing to say. Everything you heard is true. I..."

Her jaw trembled. Iona had to force strength into the tip of her tongue before she could finish her words.

"...I am indeed Count Modroff's illegitimate child."

Silence fell.

Leroy stared piercingly at Iona's rigid face for a long while.

Iona, unable to meet his gaze, bowed her head deeply.

His low voice fell over her like a verdict.

"You tried to deceive me."

"..."

"Nils Modroff breaking your leg wasn't just out of inferiority complex."

She had thought he wouldn't know about the incident that happened while he was away from the capital, but perhaps for a man like him, such information wasn't hard to uncover.

She could sense a subtle undercurrent of anger in his voice.

She feared he might demand to call off the marriage right then and there.

For Iona, who had always survived by proving her usefulness, this failure was tantamount to a death sentence.

Wasn't obedience to her lord the only value she possessed?

If she couldn't fulfill Richardt's command, she might truly be discarded this time.

Terror blurred her vision.

Iona clenched her fists tightly and spoke urgently.

"Please, don't call off the marriage."

Iona knew full well she was engaging in a meaningless act.

Leroy had never once firmly promised to marry her in the first place.

Now that he knew her sordid origins, the chances of him accepting her were zero.

There was no way her pleas would sway him, and she knew it all too well—but even so, in this moment, she had to beg for his mercy.

It was the only thing she could do in this situation.

"I beg you. I'll make sure no one finds out. I'll handle Ivonne and keep her quiet somehow. Honestly, she has no intention of airing this outside either. She just hates me... Yes, that's all it is. Isn't that understandable?"

Iona rubbed her eyes as if to wipe away cold sweat. A strange chill ran through her body.

She could feel herself rambling incoherently, unlike her usual self, but she had no mind left to rein it in.

Iona bowed her head before him and blurted out whatever came to mind.

"I know full well that a marriage like this is utterly absurd for someone like you, Your Grace. And that my birth must seem utterly contemptible to you. An illegitimate child becoming a duchess? It's completely preposterous. But still..."

"..."

"Can't you... ugh, give me just one chance? I'll do anything you desire. I swear this won't tarnish the duke's family's reputation. I'll make sure nothing bothers you, so please..."

Please...

Iona squeezed her eyes shut.

Despite her desperate whispers, no response came from him.

Everything was a mess. In her desperation, Iona moved to kneel before him.

If he wished it, she was even prepared to lick his boots. Had he not reached out to stop her, she would have done it already.

"Stop."

"..."

"I understand... so stop now."

As he spoke, Leroy placed his hand over hers, cold with dread, and pulled her close enough for her to lean on him.

Only then, burying her face in his chest, did Iona realize how badly she was shaking. His body was surely still, yet her vision rocked wildly.

She wanted to apologize for her rudeness, but her breath came in ragged gasps, robbing her of her voice.

Iona matched her breathing to his steady rhythm, inhaling and exhaling.

Once her breathing finally steadied, he spoke reassuringly.

"I won't."

"..."

"I'll marry you."

Then, he gently massaged her stiff fingers, with utmost care.

Iona would never forget that moment for the rest of her life.

The faint scent of his cologne from his collar, the touch of fabric against her forehead, the slow rise and fall of his chest and the heartbeat beyond it.

The utterly unfamiliar sensation of being cherished by someone.

It was the perfect moment to fall in love.

If Iona were like any ordinary person, she might have started a hopeless one-sided love right then— even deluding herself that he felt the same.

But Iona knew all too well why he had changed his mind at the last minute.

She had been suspicious at first, but as time passed and she observed him more deeply, her conviction grew.

It was pity.

If he hadn't agreed to marry her, she would have been left abandoned in this hellish house.

It was obvious what treatment a failure like her—unable to secure the marriage or even yield the bride's position to her sister—would receive.

He was weak to unfortunates like her. That's why he accepted a doomed marriage and even stepped into danger to save a nominal wife.

Iona had shamelessly leeched off his kindness, devouring her share of happiness. That was the essence of their marital bond.

Iona could assert it with certainty.

If she revealed her past abuse and shed tears, he would gladly slip a ring on her finger again.

'But I can't do that.'

Iona hadn't proposed marriage to him just to repeat such theatrics.

This time, she would help him in return.

She resolved not to create any grievances from the start, so he could never pity her again.

By then, having finished applying the medicine, Leroy lifted his hand from her cheek. Iona bit the inside of her cheek to steel her resolve, then spoke firmly.

"I'm not the type to just sit back and take it, as you might think."