Chapter 153

Chapter 153

Iona momentarily thought her ears had deceived her.

Or perhaps he had mistakenly misspoken.

Iona waited for Leroy to correct her misunderstanding, but he remained silent, offering only a faint smile.

The nonchalant attitude, which didn’t match his earlier statement, made the situation feel even less real.

Iona asked in a daze.

“...What did you just say? I mean...”

“I’m telling you this in advance because I thought you might be startled to hear about their disappearance later.”

Leroy added in a soft voice.

It was only then that Iona realized she hadn’t misheard him.

Not knowing how to react, Iona could only stare blankly at Leroy.

She couldn’t tell what kind of expression she had on her face right now.

It was probably quite a foolish one, no doubt.

“I don’t plan on publicly announcing their deaths. I’ll make it look like they escaped with valuables to avoid their confinement. For a while, I’ll let some stories of their sightings abroad circulate. There might be a brief stir, but it will soon be forgotten if there’s no tangible evidence.”

Leroy calmly continued to explain, as if to soothe her shock.

Though his explanation was mainly about the aftermath, Leroy was essentially speaking of Yvonne and Nils’ deaths.

There was no need to explicitly ask who had dealt with them.

If it wasn’t something he had done, there would be no reason to fabricate their disappearance like this.

Despite her confusion, only one thought filled Iona’s mind.

‘Why?’Th.ê most uptodate novels are published on n(0)velbj)n(.)co/m

“Why did you do it?”

Iona barely managed to ask.

She couldn’t understand why he had gone to such lengths for her personal grudges.

This was a problem Iona had to handle herself.

Not because she wanted to, but because she was the only one who could do it.

Unable to hide her bewilderment, Iona asked again.

“Did Nils or Yvonne do something that warranted such measures?”

Worried that they might have done something to Leroy without her knowing, Iona grew anxious.

She didn’t want to trouble her husband, who had generously overlooked her status as an illegitimate child, with family-related issues.

She thought they had developed enough of a bond to honestly discuss such matters, but Leroy couldn’t meet her eyes, looking away.

He answered hesitantly, uncharacteristically.

“...It was a personal vendetta.”

“I’m asking why you needed to take out that vendetta.”

Iona responded with a serious expression.

Contrary to her intention of confirming her half-siblings’ wrongdoings, it seemed Leroy had taken her questioning in a different direction.

After a moment of rubbing his neck, he pulled up the corners of his mouth slightly and asked.

“Are you disappointed that I’m a more narrow-minded man than you thought?”

At this point, Iona vaguely realized that they had been talking past each other.

Perhaps, if she just mustered a little more courage and took a step forward, she could cross the line between them...

Iona stood up and slowly approached him.

As she reached out and gently cupped Leroy’s face, he opened his closed eyes.

The long eyelashes that had cast shadows below his eyes slowly lifted, revealing his gray pupils.

In a low, husky voice, he asked.

“Aren’t you angry?”

“...Why would I be angry? You’re worrying too much.”

“Well, it seems that upsetting you is something I’m afraid of.”

Leroy answered nonchalantly.

On the other hand, Iona felt as if her heart had plummeted to the ground.

She wasn’t usually one to get nervous, yet she could feel sweat forming on her back.

Iona hesitated for a moment, unable to speak.

All she had to do was honestly tell him that she liked him. What was she so afraid of that made her hesitate like this?

She wasn’t standing in the middle of a life-and-death battlefield, nor was she stranded in some unknown remote place.

It was just a simple situation that required a single word, yet Iona couldn’t move her tongue.

Had Leroy also sensed her hesitation?

He looked up at Iona with curious eyes and leaned his cheek deeper into her hand.

Iona felt her mind going blank.

She couldn’t even remember why she had approached him in the first place.

The silence was stretching unnaturally long.

Unable to bear the situation any longer, Iona hastily asked,

“Can I kiss you?”

Leroy paused briefly before smiling softly and asking,

“Is it a reward?”

“No... because I want to.”

Iona answered, looking into his eyes like someone in a trance.

For Iona, kissing was a rather useful escape.

At least in the moments when she was kissing him, she didn’t have to say anything, and she could bask in the illusion that they were truly connected.

Her claim of liking kisses wasn’t a lie. She couldn’t admit that the reason she liked them was because of this.

‘After the kiss... I’ll tell him.’

Iona made a firm resolution within herself, giving herself a brief reprieve.

If she could feel his warmth while they embraced, she felt she could muster the courage to confess her feelings.

As if urging her to move, Leroy wrapped his hand around her waist, gently pulling her closer.

As Iona swept her fallen hair back and leaned towards him, there was a knock on the door from outside.

--- End Of The Chapter ----

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