TMWDS Chapter 16

Before stepping down at their destination, Ionna spoke, as if out of consideration for Leroy.

It was true he'd had some regret about accompanying her, once he'd learned just who she meant to meet. But Leroy, in the end, didn't withdraw his decision.

Leroy answered, as though swallowing a sigh.

“……I'll come along.”

He'd already changed into a disguise for the outing, after all.

Not having expected to accompany her on a covert errand as well, Leroy hadn't thought to bring a spare change of clothes—but he solved the problem easily enough by trading outfits with Yonas.

The fit ran a little small, but not so much that the seams threatened to give, so he could more or less bear to wear it.

Leaving Yonas behind, needlessly resplendent now, Leroy took his place beside Ionna.

Since they'd left the carriage some distance off to avoid drawing attention, there was still a bit of a walk left to their destination. Leroy used the time to ask,

“Besides me, who else knows you've come here today?”

“Meetings with a mistress are always best kept secret.”

“If it isn't an errand for your adoptive father, either, then I honestly can't fathom why you'd come all the way out here. Of all days, too.”

Even after learning that the person Ionna had come to see wasn't him, but her adoptive father's mistress, an uneasy feeling still lingered in Leroy.

As though agreeing with what he'd said, Ionna gave a faint smile.

“Not the sort of woman one brings along a man she might marry to meet, I suppose.”

That was precisely why Ionna had turned down his suggestion that they move together.

Being a family she held in contempt made her all the more reluctant to expose their flaws to someone else.

Had Leroy not spoken of trust, Ionna would have found some way to shake him off entirely.

Deciding to live for his sake didn't mean she intended to bare every shameful corner of her life to him without concealment.

Stepping lightly up onto a low curb, Ionna added,

“So I thought this would be a fitting time to build myself an alibi. No one would imagine, of all days, that I'd be coming to see her today.”

Leroy found himself agreeing with the reasoning more than he cared to admit.

He, too, had wondered the very same thing on hearing her plan—why today, of all days. Her choice had certainly caught him off guard in exactly the right way.

If there was still something he wanted to understand, it wasn't the timing, but the purpose.

“May I ask why you want to see her?”

“Well… it's difficult to explain, exactly. In the long run, it's for your sake, Your Grace.”

“For my sake?”

“You'll understand once we're inside.”

Answering plainly, Ionna walked briskly ahead of him.

Perhaps because the sun hadn't set yet, the building Ionna had found looked much like an ordinary residence.

The shared entrance wasn't locked. The two of them stepped through the door and climbed a narrow staircase, one after the other.

The moment they reached the top floor, Ionna went straight to the door directly ahead.

She knocked, without a word.

“I'm sleeping in more, Betty.”

A drowsy voice came from the other side of the door.

Undeterred, Ionna knocked again.

The knocking must have pissed her off, because a moment later came the sound of stomping feet, getting closer.

“Didn't you hear me say I went to bed late last night!”

The one who appeared, throwing the door open, was a weary-faced woman.

Spotting the unfamiliar visitor, the woman stopped short before she could finish scolding.

Ionna slowly pushed back the hood that had been covering her face.

“Hello, Miss Fleur. Might I come in and speak with you for a moment?”

“……Dame Modrov? What are you doing here—”

“There's something urgent I need to discuss with you.”

“For someone who calls herself a knight, you don't seem to know the first thing about manners.”

Grumbling as much, Fleur glanced past Ionna at Leroy standing behind her.

Whether it was his unfamiliar attire or something else, she didn't seem to recognize who he was, and quickly lost interest.

She stepped back, letting them in without further protest.

“Let's hear it, then. Whatever it is.”

Ionna and Leroy followed her inside without a word.

She clearly wasn't one for tidiness—the room was a filthy mess.

Ionna's eyes swept dryly over the wine bottles and stray clothing scattered across the floor. Meanwhile, Fleur showed them to the sofa.

She sank onto it first, dropping down with a soft thump, and asked,

“So, is this about asking me to part ways with the Count already?”

Fleur, making no effort to soften the jab, picked up a cigar from the table.

A moment later, a heavy scent of tobacco spread through the room.

It seemed meant as a bid to seize the upper hand, but Ionna, having worked for years under an avid smoker, wasn't much affected by it.

Ionna answered evenly.

“It's nearly the anniversary of the Countess's passing. It would be best if a difficult time like this could pass quietly, if possible.”

“Ah, the anniversary… has it really been that long already?”

“If, on the anniversary of their mother's death, their father's mistress came and caused a scene, there could hardly be anything more wretched for a child to endure. Wouldn't you agree?”

At the incomprehensible remark, Fleur paused mid-drag on her cigar and frowned.

However much of a woman of the streets she might be, she had enough sense not to cross the man who paid her.

Even as Fleur looked on, puzzled, Ionna went on laying out her absurd hypothetical.

“Of course, this wouldn't be a particularly wise move for the mistress, either. An angry patron might well decide to end things.”

“What exactly are you even talking abou—”

“This is a consolation payment.”

Cutting Fleur off, Ionna drew out a heavy pouch from within her coat. Even at a glance, it clearly held no small sum.

Watching Fleur's dumbstruck face, Ionna added, unhurried.

“Once things end well between the two of you, I'll give you double this amount.”

Only then did Fleur fully grasp what Ionna meant.

Ionna was now asking her—to cause a scene at the Count's residence, timed to the late Countess's anniversary.

Feeling suddenly wide awake, she hastily stubbed out her cigar.

Despite how suddenly it had all come up, some calculating instinct in her was already working the sums.

“……It's not every day I land a noble. Ordinary money won't cover it, will it?”

Fleur made a point of not letting her eyes drift to the coin purse sitting on the table. She wanted to hold the advantage in this negotiation.

But Ionna, as though she knew perfectly well Fleur was bluffing, returned the point lightly.

“Count Modrov doesn't stay with one woman for long. Even the longest of his lovers hadn't lasted two years. You've already been seeing him for over a year now, Miss Fleur—so the money you'd still get from the Count amounts, at most, to another year's worth.”

Ionna knew perfectly well that Hayden didn't spend heavily on women.

He had no interest in sharing intellect or ideas with them, and so he deliberately chose only women of low standing.

That he'd never once had an affair with any of the celebrated courtesans of high society was proof enough of that.

Ionna pressed the point home.

“There are plenty of women who could take Miss Fleur's place. You're not so naive as to believe the Count will stay faithful to one woman, are you?”

Fleur, too, had noticed Hayden's visits growing gradually less frequent.

Was it because he had a new woman already?

If so, then just as Ionna said, it might well be more profitable to simply take the money being offered now.

Fleur watched Ionna steadily and picked up the pouch.

She loosened the drawstring, and the gleam of gold coins caught her eye. Momentarily dazzled by the shine, Fleur fell silent for a beat.

After a long pause, she finally spoke.

“Double, if I break things off with Count Modrov—that right?”

“Of course.”

Ionna answered without hesitation. Her low, businesslike tone carried a certain reliability.

Composure fully recovered, Fleur gave a coquettish smile and pulled the drawstring tight again.

“And what does the good Dame get out of doing me this favor?”

“Cleaning up unnecessary entanglements ahead of time will only benefit the Count as well.”

“Yeah, right. Quite the devoted daughter, aren't ya.”

Fleur smiled, as though she found the whole thing rather amusing.