TMWDS Chapter 28

“Yes, I understand you well. I hadn't realized how much thought you'd put into this. I'll see to it that you won't have to concern yourself with this matter any further.”

“Yes. Ah, please keep it between us that we discussed this—don't mention it to Nils. I don't think he'd believe me, even if you would.”

At Ionna's request, Hayden nodded, feeling a faint pang of regret.

If only Nils had even a fraction of Ionna's ability.

That the legitimate children he'd raised turned out to be husks interested only in extravagance had long been one of Hayden's private griefs.

'Not that I could hand the title to her side, of course…… but it's a shame all the same.'

Tasting the bitterness of that thought, Hayden caught Ionna as she rose to leave.

“Ionna, I imagine you feel quite betrayed by Nils, but……. He's always been quick-tempered and shortsighted, you know that. Try not to hold it against him too much. He'll come to regret it himself, before long. Whatever else is true, you two are still family, good or bad.”

Ionna gazed at him for a moment.

Still family, after all. Your brother's always been like that—you need to understand him. He didn't really mean any harm……

A familiar kind of brainwashing.

The Ionna of before, who hadn't known better, had believed his words whole. Because Hayden had raised his daughter to be exactly that naive.

Shaping a girl kept locked away from childhood, molding her to fit his own convenience, had never been difficult in the slightest.

If the people she'd met outside these walls hadn't shattered that delusion for her, Ionna would have gone on living that way indefinitely.

"Still family," as if that word means anything at all.

Amused despite herself, Ionna curved her lips and answered.

“Of course. Whatever half-brother he is, surely Nils wouldn't have actually meant to kill his own sister—he's not that far gone.”

“…….”

“I'd like Nils and I to stay on good terms as well. Just as much as you would, Count.”

Having finished, delivered lightly, Ionna walked straight out of the room.

Not once, since running into Hayden that morning, had she called him father. Hayden took this as a matter of course and didn't so much as remark on it.

Whatever word might define what they were to each other, family—surely—would never be that name alone.

The news that Hayden intended to formally declare Nils heir came that evening, over dinner.

Ionna, cutting into the steak in front of her, thought idly to herself.

'Getting off work on time was worth it, after all.'

Today's shift had been unusually grueling—thanks to Erich, who'd descended on her the moment she arrived to interrogate her, and Saschia, who'd pulled her out of Erich's grip only to grill her herself over her unauthorized early leave.

When Ionna preemptively pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed at her face, Saschia had at least stopped talking.

After a long study of the bruise on Ionna's cheek, Saschia had jabbed a finger at her, face thunderous.

'You…… I'm letting this slide because the person you threw out yesterday was Florence. Understand?'

'I won't cause any more trouble.'

'No, cause some trouble, just—space it out. Don't go straight to catastrophe out of nowhere!'

For all the yelling, no extra duty had ultimately come of it. As a bonus, using the bruise as an excuse, she'd been assigned paperwork instead of the leg-punishing escort duty.

Even living as recklessly as this, the world kept turning somehow—a strange thing Ionna had been coming to understand lately.

“I—I'm to be officially declared heir at last?”

Across the table, Nils dropped his cutlery, his face flooded with emotion.

Ionna had been half-considering paying for dentures herself just to stop having to listen to his lisp, but it seemed the process had already been underway. Tonight, Nils displayed a set of smooth ivory teeth like a trophy.

“Congratulations, brother!”

Beside him, Yvonne threw her arms around her brother, her face lit with joy.

Nils returned the embrace while smiling smugly at Ionna over her shoulder—as if flaunting a victory.

Getting this worked up over reclaiming a seat that had always technically been his was its own kind of talent.

'Well—Hayden really has kept him on unsteady ground this whole time.'

It was usually standard practice to name an heir well before adulthood and educate them accordingly. But neither Yvonne nor even Nils had ever received a day of heir's training.

That was exactly why Nils, who should long ago have inherited some appropriate business or land, was still living off an allowance from the Count like a child.

'He probably just wanted some way to confirm he actually held power.'

The Count had been prone to friction with his wife and children over his philandering. What let him wield such unchecked authority within the household was that he'd hoarded every scrap of the family's power for himself, never distributing it.

'Well—Nils being untrustworthy probably didn't help, either……'

Watching Nils's already-insufferable expression, as if he owned the whole house outright, Ionna huffed a quiet laugh.

Hayden, apparently no more confident in his son than anyone else, launched straight into a lecture.

“Nils, the reason I hadn't confirmed your position as heir until now was because of your carelessness. You're not unaware of that, I trust.”

The smile vanished instantly from Nils's face. He answered, voice small.

“……Yes, Father.”

“I've named you heir now because I couldn't put it off any longer, but that doesn't mean I'm entirely certain the decision was right. Don't let this go to your head and act recklessly.”

“Understood.”

“Good. I trust you'll conduct yourself in a manner befitting your standing from now on. Becoming this house's next master means you are, now, this house's future. Please don't disappoint me.”

Hayden concluded gravely.

Something apparently occurred to Nils, because he shot a glance at Ionna.

Killing his half-sister and defying his father's wishes in the process would, of course, count as a disappointment.

Nils had likely just shelved his plan to kill her, right in this moment.

Or if not entirely cancelled, then the timeline had certainly been pushed back.

Ionna took an unhurried sip of her wine.

'She could sleep easy for a while, at least.'

Nils himself wasn't much to worry about—but an assassin funded by Nils's money was worth being cautious of.

It wasn't as though she'd suggested naming Nils heir purely out of fear of being killed, but not having to waste energy on that front was, unquestionably, welcome.

Ionna spoke, meaning it.

“Congratulations on finally getting the seat you've always wanted, Nils.”

At that, Nils's head whipped around, glaring at her.

He clearly didn't appreciate her cutting into the conversation as if she had any say in it.

But that lasted only a moment—conscious of Hayden's presence, Nils forced his voice into something smooth.

“……Thanks for the congratulations, Ionna.”

“Don't mention it.”

Answering as though it were nothing, Ionna returned to the piece of meat she'd cut.

For a family dinner, of all things, the food tasted appalling.

She'd have liked to leave every bite untouched, but she couldn't afford to let Nils misread the reason for her lack of appetite.

She had no interest in gifting him a drinking-night story that opened with something like, "Did you see the look on that bitch's face?"

She forced her way through dessert before the meal finally wound down.

Hayden spent the time before leaving offering up a string of well-wishes, none of which stuck in her memory afterward.

Ionna spent most of the time counting the pattern woven into the tablecloth.

Still lost in her own thoughts even as she saw Hayden off, Ionna was slow to respond when Nils called out to her next.

“Hey.”

“…….”

“Hey!”

“Mm?”

Ionna turned her head lazily toward Nils.

In the now-quiet dining room, Nils had somehow moved to stand directly in front of her.

Yvonne stood some distance off, casting anxious glances between them, clearly worried her brother was about to cause another scene.

At Ionna's blank what-is-it look, Nils's face naturally darkened.

“You insolent little—Were you actually expecting Father to hand the house over to you? A bastard, getting ideas above her station—serves you right.”

It seemed Nils had concluded that Ionna's obedience to Hayden all this time had stemmed from her own coveting of the heir's seat.

An absurd conclusion. Ionna had followed Hayden's commands because she remembered exactly what punishment awaited disobedience.

She'd simply never wanted to starve, or be beaten, or lose something, or be abandoned.

"A thing like you, acting all obedient like some well-trained dog—a dog's still a dog. Not a daughter."

Nils raised his fist as if to strike her, though he didn't actually follow through—apparently Hayden's warning had made enough of an impression to keep him from going that far.

Could she prod him a little, in this window, and get a decent show out of it?

Calculating this, Ionna smiled sweetly and said,

"Poor Count. No wonder it took you this long to decide—when what you got for a son turned out worse than a dog."