Chapter 167

Chapter 167

The head maid believed that the woman Leroy had set his heart on couldn’t possibly be a bad person.

She thought that the woman her master loved must be worthy of that love and that she would cherish and respect him just as much in return...

In her own way, she was wishing for her master’s happiness.

“Well, as long as they’re happy, that’s all that matters in marriage.”

Muttering with a sense of relief, the head maid turned on her heel to find the butler, who had disappeared in the meantime.

She was eager to share the good news with her colleagues, who must have been worried sick seeing their master suddenly return as a married man.

***

Something felt off.

“Madam, please try this too. It’s a pie made from Birne berries, a local specialty. They’re in season now, so they’re very sweet.”

As expected, something felt off.

“Madam, do you like the tea? If you have any preferred tea leaves, please let us know. We’ll make sure to keep them in stock at all times.”

She couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was wrong, but she was certain that this whole situation was very strange.

“Oh, madam! Just leave it! I’ll clean it up!”

Iona had stopped midway as she reached for the napkin to wipe away the crumbs from the pie that had fallen on the table.

A maid quickly approached and cleaned up the area in her stead.

Iona awkwardly withdrew her outstretched hand.

She wondered why they wouldn’t even let her clean the table herself, as if she had no hands of her own.

She had never experienced such overprotection before and it made her feel as if she were sitting on pins and needles.

Avoiding the fervent gazes of the maids directed at her, Iona subtly turned her head.

She looked around for someone to rescue her from this uncomfortable situation, but all her personal maids had mysteriously disappeared.

She couldn’t fathom why those who were supposed to be with her in shifts had all vanished at the same time...

‘No, it certainly wasn’t a coincidence.’

She was astute enough to realize that someone had intentionally created this situation.

The problem was that the intention behind it was different from what Iona had anticipated.

The past two days since Iona arrived at the duchy had been strangely peaceful.

There was no sign of the subtle snobbery, ambiguous pranks, or mocking whispers she had been bracing herself for.

So when Iona realized that only the duchy’s maids were left by her side, her first thought was, ‘Finally, it has come.’

But instead of the troublesome questions or malice she had expected, what was laid out before Iona was a table full of meticulously prepared refreshments.

When Iona hesitated to eat the desserts, the maids made several trips to the kitchen to bring back something that might suit her taste.

Their pure, sparkling eyes and considerate demeanor, the kind of sincerity that couldn’t come from ill will, eventually made Iona acknowledge the truth.

The maids thought very highly of her.

‘The problem is, I have no idea why.’

Since arriving here, Iona had literally done nothing.

Though flustered by the barrage of questions, Iona soon began answering them calmly one by one.

“Yes, he really did, everyone was surprised, and although I was sure I’d marry the Duke, I didn’t expect the proposal itself. I hadn’t imagined he’d prepare something like that.”

“Right? We were also shocked when we heard the story. We thought the Duke would propose quietly somewhere.”

Iona had thought the same.

If the crown prince hadn’t insisted on asking her to be his partner, Leroy wouldn’t have proposed to her in such a flamboyant manner.

In hindsight, it was a wise decision as it prevented her from appearing to prioritize the crown prince over him.

“No, I think I understand. He wanted to declare his love for you in front of everyone. Love can often inspire that kind of possessiveness...”

A maid who had been listening quietly clasped her hands in front of her and shared her different opinion.

Clearly, these maids had a major misunderstanding about her relationship with Leroy.

Of course, it was true that her relationship with him had recently become quite passionate, but these maids were already taking the exaggerated rumors and blowing them even further out of proportion.

With a vague smile, Iona quickened her pace.

Her determination to meet Leroy and clarify the situation grew stronger.

Thanks to her steady, brisk pace, Iona soon arrived at the training grounds where Leroy was supposed to be.

She shaded her eyes from the sun with her hand and squinted around.

The training grounds were spacious, and either because of this or because Leroy had already moved elsewhere, she couldn’t spot him.

Just as she was about to call out to someone nearby to ask about Leroy’s whereabouts, a familiar title caught her ear.

“What, so you’re saying you haven’t even sparred with Lady Iona once?”

Iona’s gaze snapped to the direction where her name was mentioned.

Three burly knights stood with their backs to her, and one of them looked particularly familiar.

As she quietly traced her memory, she recalled that this knight was one of the escorts who had accompanied her on this journey.

He rebuked his colleague, who was spouting nonsense, in a tone of exasperation.

“You idiot, what do you mean spar? Should I, as her escort, just throw a glove at the Duke’s wife and challenge her to a duel? Do I look like I want to lose my hard-earned job?”

“Aren’t you curious, though? They say she was quite the force in the capital. Don’t you want to see how strong she really is? How long did it take us to get here anyway... It’s disappointing, Sir Ventil, that you didn’t even cross swords with such a renowned knight.”

The knight who shouted this scuffed the ground in frustration.

Another silent companion stroked his chin thoughtfully and chimed in.

“But I’m curious too. If she comes to the training grounds later, maybe we could have a sparring match. Or is that too rude to even think?”

Iona revisited a thought that had crossed her mind many times today.

This estate is indeed strange.

Why are the knights tasked with protecting the Duke and Duchess more curious about their lady’s combat skills than her character?

--- End Of The Chapter ----

[ TN: Join Patreon to support the translation and to read 5 chapters ahead of the release: /YourNoona

Join Our Discord for regular updates, and have fun with other community members: /invite/SqWtJpPtm9 ]