Until now, Iona had been nothing more than a puppet that listened to him.
Originally, she never showed her likes or dislikes towards Hayden, and never rebelled against his orders.
It was because Hayden had imbued the words 'father' and 'family' with absolute power.
Thanks to this, Iona thought and acted as he intended, never straying from the path assigned to her. However, Hayden felt that she was somehow like an inanimate object.
She demanded nothing in return for his orders and even accepted violence without resistance.
How simple and creepy this was.
But lately, she had changed like a different person.
She got angry. She did not endure Nils's punches and fought against them.
She showed disrespect to Hayden without hiding it, and even Yvonne glared at her with increasing arrogance
Hayden suddenly became afraid when he realized that Iona was a person who could give back as much as she had suffered.
He had done many evil things to his daughter that normal people would not dare to do. When Iona was just his puppet, she was fine with that.
But what if she belatedly changed her mind?
What if she realized the meaning of what he had done to her?
“Count, you called me family, but you never treated me like your other children.”
Hayden called out to Iona as if to restrain her, but she just kept on talking as usual.
“Nevertheless, I believed in those words and worked tirelessly. It's hard to find someone so obedient. No payment was given, and I never came forward to ask for anything, but I can't say I didn't want anything.”
“I know now that I can't do it forever.”
It wasn't the face that resented him. She was simply talking about giving up.
Still, Hayden felt somehow nervous.
“Even real families sometimes count what they give and take. If it's just a relationship that is no different from that of a stranger, it's even more important to be clear about the accounts.”
“I've spent my entire life making myself fit into the role of your stepdaughter. It wasn't such a bad deal since the abandoned child gained a foothold to become a duchess.”
Iona said as if she had no regrets about that fact.
The voice, which was skillfully mixed with sincerity, sounded more believable than he thought.
“But next time you ask for something from me, the Count will have to pay for it too.”
“It means that as much as the Count gives me strength, there will be many things to look forward to in the future. Fortunately for the Count. Even if I throw away the last name Modrov, that background doesn't completely disappear. We should be able to help each other for quite some time.”
Iona knew that Hayden was hanging himself in the position of the duchy's father-in-law.
If Iona became the link between the duchy and the imperial family, he would benefit more than anyone else.
Due to having said everything she couldn't and shouldn't have said right after her regression, it was a difficult situation to pretend that there were no hard feelings toward him. It would be better to keep their relationship strictly business and not say anything else.
Even if she treated him carelessly, it was only to determine the superiority and inferiority of power, so they could still pretend to be on the same team.
Sure enough, Hayden was already in trouble with her.
Hayden explained while hiding his embarrassment.
"Iona, it's true that I treated you differently from Nils and Yvonne, but it was inevitable. Someday when I die and Nils inherits the family, it would be hard to expect any more support. I pushed you because I wanted the best for you.”
Hayden had been unconsciously portraying himself as a good person in front of her.
He hadn't noticed it before, but it wasn't the first time he did something .
When Iona sacrificed everything, he didn't.
He had never thought about how she would react to his behavior because he didn't think she had the power to retaliate.
It was only when Hayden faced Iona's hidden wrath that he was able to respect her.
"If you're done talking, I'll leave."
Ignoring his lament, Iona stood up from her seat. Hayden grabbed her and hastily spoke.
"Iona, you're my daughter. That's an undeniable fact."
Oddly, his mouth felt dry and he clenched his lips.
Iona stared at his trembling eyes for a moment before giving a small smile, lifting the corners of her mouth.
"Keep doing that in front of others, it looks really good."
Without waiting for his response, she left the room.
After Fleur's visit, Nils and Yvonne continued to maintain a cold relationship with Hayden.
Hayden had to bend down first to ease his children, but the problem was that his mind was in a completely different place.
He had shown a personal interest in his eldest daughter for the first time in her life, perhaps because he was bothered by his conversation with Iona.
As Iona's personal maid, Marsha, who had to watch Hayden's change in attitude from the front, couldn't hide her surprise.
At that, Iona stopped turning the pages and pretended not to know.
“The Count sent something again today.”
Judging by the packaging, it seemed that clothes were in it.
Yesterday, the furniture was changed, and this morning a new carriage was delivered. It seemed like it was time to change the wardrobe this time.
Iona clicked her tongue briefly.
"What a waste of effort."
Iona had never been particularly interested in material things since she was a child.
She remembered being amazed by Yvonne and Nils's fancy room, but that was all. It was a memory that was too old for Iona now. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵※𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾※𝙣𝙚𝙩
Hayden seemed restless, wanting to make up for the wrongs he had done to her during her childhood.
"The Count doesn't seem to know Miss's taste at all."
Marsha muttered abruptly before removing the ribbon that decorated the box.
Upon seeing that the lid was still closed, it seemed that she didn't confirm what was inside, and instead, Iona's curiosity prompted her to ask.
“The lady doesn’t like clothes or luxury items. You like food.”
“It was all about when I was young.”
Even though she was in denial, Iona admired Marsha's memory.
Despite being apart for a long time, Marsha still knew a lot about herself, which was even more remarkable because she herself had forgotten some things.
“When I think of that time, I really feel, uh… … Upset."
Marsha let out a big sigh and went on as if complaining.
"One time I went to give her some snacks, but they tore open the bag and spilled it all over the ground. I roughly cleaned it up and threw it in the trash, but when I came back, she was picking it up and eating it. How do you think that made me feel?"
“Has there ever been such a thing?”
“There are many more. If they were bored, they make her go hungry, so can a growing child survive?”
But she didn't remember struggling with hunger after being officially adopted. She could even sneak into the kitchen if it was too difficult to endure.
The most difficult time was when she and her teacher were trapped alone while honing their sword skills.
There's no way her teacher, who often substituted meals with alcohol, would have taken good care of the child's meals.
At that time, Iona was always hungry. She had developed a habit of putting all the food in front of her into her mouth without realizing it.
When she thought about it, she realized that she had learned most of life's bad habits there.
Becoming accustomed to leaving the direction of her life to others and starting to turn away from people who were approaching, fearing the upcoming separation, were all things that happened at that time.
'Ah, I forgot again.'
Iona skillfully pushed her sense of guilt to the back of her mind. Then, she jokingly said to Marsha.
“I grew pretty tall for someone who starved as a child, don't you think”
--- End Of The Chapter ----
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