“Open your eyes, if you lose consciousness here, you’ll die.”

With an eerie warning, her body was forcibly raised. Iona then realized that she had passed out.

She looked down blankly at the hand that was gripping her collar, then slowly lifted her gaze upward.

A man was glaring at her with scary eyes.

Iona spoke, barely opening her dry lips.

“Lord… Leroy?”

“Yes, can you see me now?”

A strange feeling of relief passed over the man’s face.

It seemed that he finally had the hope that she would survive, but it was a futile expectation because her physical condition was in disarray. The mind was also not intact, and the memories before fainting were intermittently cut off.

Iona forced her mind to remember what had happened;

Hearing a loud sound and looking back at the source of that was the last scene that came to her mind.

Barely turning her neck, she found rubble piling everywhere as if the aftermath of an explosion.

Iona gasped and tried to clear her messy head.

‘Why did I become like this?’

It wasn’t that she had doubts about the state of her body that had become rags. There was an even more fundamental question — Why did the Emperor’s sword, Iona Modrov, have to wait for death, lying alone in the ruins?

‘Why am I spending the last moments of my life with this man who is even worse than others?’

To think that the person who came to visit her after she had been left behind, trying to protect the Emperor was none other than her husband, who had always been away from her.

Iona couldn’t decide whether the situation was funny or pitiful.

Though she couldn’t blame her husband. Wasn’t even Lord Leroy chosen to be her husband by her lord, the Emperor?

Iona was an escort knight for the Emperor, Richard, and had always been by his side even before he ascended to the throne.

She was always ready to go to any lengths for her lord. Even if it was a major event in life like marriage, it was the same.

One day, when rumors spread over an overly close relationship between her and Emperor, Richard summoned Iona and after briefly expressing his displeasure at the absurd rumor, he said in a non-trivial tone:

“I’d rather you get married…”

The person Richard had picked as Iona’s partner was the Duke of Leroy.

It was a time when House Leroy, a prestigious family with a long history, was faltering because of a mistake of their ally. Richard pushed Iona and Duke Leroy to marry at a time like this as if he was waiting for this perfect moment. The couple’s relationship was, of course, the worst.

The duke was always wary of his wife, who was the eyes and ears of the Emperor, and Iona humbly accepted his rejection.

From the moment she walked into the wedding hall with him until now, Iona had never thought that they were a proper couple.

It was probably the same for the Duke.

‘But, then… why are you here right now?’

“Why did you come here? How…”

Iona swallowed and asked with difficulty.

Except when there were foreign businesses, they mostly lived separately.

Hence she was confused about how he appeared in front of her at a time when she was left alone to die.

Her doubts were valid though; The Emperor’s cowardly manipulations against the Duchy had completely ruined her marriage. No one in the Leroy Duchy thought that Iona was a proper Duchess. But Iona wasn’t dissatisfied that much because she used Emperor selfishly as well and thought it was the right price to pay.

“I bet you didn’t come to rescue me…”

“Is it strange that the husband came to rescue his wife?”

“Of course, it’s strange for us.”

“I agree.”

Duke Leroy answered in a bitter tone and let go of her collar.

While he looked around, Iona checked her condition; The wounds she received during the battle were quite deep, but fortunately or unfortunately, thanks to her red uniform, they weren’t much visible on the outside.

Iona asked, somehow holding on to her spirit that was about to break.

“So, won’t you tell me what the real reason is?”

“If you survive safely, I will answer you.”

“It’s impossible. I’ll be dead soon, and if you’re unlucky, so will you.”

“Looking at you talking about my death, you seem to be able to hold on.”

Saying that the Duke carefully checked her body.

Seeing that he was trying to check her condition, it seemed that he really came to rescue her.

Iona turned around to hide her embarrassment.

“…Is His Majesty safe?”

“Are you asking about the safety of the master who abandoned you and ran away?”

The Duke asked angrily. However, Iona, the victim, had no regrets about the Emperor’s choice.

‘Isn’t it natural for the escort knight to protect her lord?’

Furthermore, she already knew that Richard, the Emperor, was not a person overflowing with compassion to the point of putting himself in danger just because she had served him for a long time.

She was indeed loyal to the emperor, but not so much as to deny the truth that the Emperor was objectively a bastard.

Even today, it was a surprise attack by people who were angry with his tyranny.

But Iona was not too surprised by the sudden attack because she knew that a leader who does not take care of the people’s hearts will not last long.

The fellow knights must have had the same idea, and as soon as the commotion was detected, they evacuated the Emperor in perfect order, as was expected from them.

Left behind on the scene, Iona slashed the enemies that came incessantly.

Iona was a woman who rose to the closest aide to the Emperor with only one sword, and no one could match her when faced with similar conditions.

Perhaps Iona could have killed everyone and safely returned to her lord’s side if the opponent had not used the explosives.

“My subordinates know I am here. They’ll come soon to rescue us, so don’t spend your strength needlessly and wait… The road leading to the outside has collapsed, so I can’t go out anyway.”

Saying that the Duke leaned his back against the wall with a light sigh.

‘Did he finally put his mind at ease knowing I’m safe?’

For some reason, his face looked a little less annoying.

It wasn’t that Iona was in good condition. Rather it appeared so because she was already good at hiding her pain by pretending not to be sick.

At first, she pretended to be okay out of caution, but seeing his face now, for some reason, she didn’t want to let him know that she was hurt. Perhaps because he was worried about her life and death and ran all the way here?

‘I’ll die soon anyway…’

“Lord Leroy, can I ask for one favor?”

“Speak… No. Don’t tell me If you’re going to make a loud noise again.”

“I want to kiss you one last time.”

A rare expression of bewilderment appeared on his face.

He hurriedly raised his previously relaxed body from the wall and came close to her.

“What did you just say?”

Thinking she might have hurt her head, his eyes carefully examined it.

He then frowned once before continuing the conversation.

“Is your head alright?”

“No, but it’s a bit unfair to die without kissing my husband.”

“We already kissed… at the wedding.”

“For three seconds, it was literally lip contact. Is the Duke’s mental age about 8 years old?”

This time, Iona showed a bewildered expression. Though she also understood the Duke’s suspicion.

Ever since they got married, they had never held hands in private. Of course, they didn’t kiss or spend the night together like any other couple either.

Because of this, Iona thought that he must have made a lover in a place she did not know.

Though she was grateful that at least the Duke did not insult her by appearing with another woman in front of her. Iona lived her life expecting only that kind of humane treatment from her husband.

That is until death was right in front of her eyes, and the Duke was the only person by her side.

“Let’s forget about it. I won’t tell anyone you asked me such a thing. Don’t worry, I will carry this secret to my grave—”

No one would be disappointed when it became known that they had kissed.

It was a promise that Duke made apparently to save face, but it seemed that the words sounded quite chaste unintentionally.

The Duke continued:

“—So don’t betray your lover… Don’t just say that you like me in a moment of weakness.”

“I never did anything shameless like that!”

Iona wasn’t sure how he got such an idea about her. But remembering that she was also assuming he was hiding his lover all this time from her just a few seconds ago, her head calmed down.

“What?”

The Duke showed his disbelief with a high-pitched voice.

When Iona showed a puzzled expression, the man let out a gasping sound.

“No, don’t say such a thing… Yeah, you must have wanted to have an affair after just being betrayed by your lover.”

The words that followed were incomprehensible.

She was definitely asking for a kiss from her legal spouse. The word ‘affair’ didn’t fit.

Besides, who the hell was he talking about? Who the hell betrayed her just now?

While pondering over her husband’s words, Iona suddenly came up with an absurd idea.

“No way… Are you talking about His Majesty, the Emperor?”

“No way… Are you talking about His Majesty, the Emperor?”

As soon as Iona asked in a suspicious voice, Duke Leroy hardened his expression.

Then, before she could explain anything, he put his hand behind her neck in an outrageous way.

Surprised by his sudden action, she blinked blankly.

But instead of hearing Iona’s explanation, he slowly tilted his head toward her.

Iona could see his shadowy gray eyes coming close to her inch by inch.

Before their lips met, the man hesitated for a moment before giving a warning.

“I’m telling you in advance… Just in case… You won’t die here and this won’t be our last kiss.”

Before she had time to refute, a soft touch pressed against her lips. Iona felt her lips tremble a little as his lips touched hers.

That was all. The man’s tongue did not cross the wall between them, even though she had mentioned his mental age earlier to provoke him.

‘I have someone to love me after all.’

Even in the midst of this, Iona was satisfied.

Though when she would go to the underworld and would be asked about her first kiss, she wasn’t sure whether to say that she had an experience or not; In the first place, it was questionable whether the afterlife existed.

It wasn’t that she didn’t desire to have a proper kiss with her husband, but she had already reached her limit.

Her tongue stiffened first and her body followed. Iona had a natural foreboding that the end was near.

Was it because of the sudden death? Looking back on the short life she lived, she wondered what was missing.

When she thought of her tiring life, the sudden numbness now felt like a heavenly sleep.

‘If so, wouldn’t this be a pretty decent death?’

At least Iona had a husband who risked his life and ran to save her. It felt pretty good.

Among noble ladies with a reputation for being well married, there were not many who could claim to have had this experience.

Heck, an ordinary lady would even never be in the same situation.

“…Lord… Leroy?”

The man’s face blurred when she called his name.

Sensing something strange, he changed his expression in an instant and shook her body.

“Iona! Iona Modlov!”

He laid her on the floor and continued to call her name.

Iona wanted to answer his call, but only shallow breath came out of her mouth. She didn’t think she had consciously closed her eyes, but all she could see was just eternal darkness.

Hearing his somewhat distant voice still calling her desperately, Iona smiled lightly.

‘If it weren’t for the circumstances surrounding us, we might have lived as a pretty decent couple.’

This was Iona Modlov’s last thought in this pitiful life.

***

“Iona!”

“…”

“Iona Modlov! How dare you doze off in front of me!”

Iona opened her eyes abruptly at the sound of a loud command that fell on her ears.

A man with an angry face was glaring at her.

Just before she died, her husband was also calling her name, but the difference between the tone of this man and her husband was of Heaven and Earth.

‘The Duke too must have been angry with me…’

Shaking her head, Iona looked around in a bewildered mood.

It was strange.

She must have died defending the Emperor, but now she was sitting in the office of Count Modlov. There was no pain in her body and she even felt quite energetic.

Strangest of all, the man in front of her was already dead, like her.

Iona’s face was stained with disappointment as she looked at Hayden, her bastard Father.

“I guess I’ve been sent to hell.”

“What?”

Looking at Hayden standing in front of her, she concluded it must be hell.

“It’s not unexpected. I have committed too many sins to hope for heaven… Sigh, it seems I was deemed as a waste with no room for rehabilitation.”

Iona committed many sins under the command of the Emperor.

Even if it was someone else’s will, Iona had no intention of denying what she had done.

It would have been even more strange if she’d gone to heaven after committing so many sins. If there was any doubt, it was that this place seemed too good of an environment for hell.

Even after her father died, he was still living so luxuriously in hell. Had she known this, she would have let him live a life he’d wish to die.

“But it seems that life here suits you quite well. I see you have rejuvenated.”

Iona twisted the corner of her mouth and made a sarcastic remark.

Hayden stared blankly at Iona, then went red as if realizing what kind of mockery he had been subjected to.

Iona laughed at him inwardly, thinking that his hot-tempered personality did not change even after they both died.

Hayden’s anger easily crossed the line, as always. Jumping up from his seat, he waved his hand at Iona.

“How dare you lowly thing say—”

Iona lightly grabbed the savage hand that was flying toward her. She then pressed his arm onto the sofa table on her left.

Hayden’s face contorted in pain as he hit his elbow on the marble top.

Iona asked, looking down at her father, who was struggling with pain.

“Father, why am I lowly?”

“Stop!! Ugh!!.”

“You are the one who broke the trust between husband and wife, and slept with another woman, so why should I, who is innocent of any crime, have to be called lowly?”

“Gaah, you don’t even recognize my grace, and you’re acting like that, have you gone crazy!”

Hayden’s face was stained with embarrassment and shock.

Even at this point, it seemed that he had not yet let go of his old authoritative attitude.

Iona already put up with his injustice for a long time. It was no exaggeration to say that her entire life was marked by the ghost of her father.

As a knight, Iona couldn’t even choose the lord she would be loyal to.

Iona was an illegitimate child, and, of course, had an irredeemable scum as her father who could even sell his young daughter for success.

Count Mordlov wanted to put a leash on the future Emperor in advance, but at the same time, he wanted to avoid a situation where the leash would hold him back. In that sense, Iona, a child who was a disgrace in his eyes, was perfect to be the leash.

Count Modlov, who had initially accepted Iona as an illegitimate daughter because she showed talent for swordsmanship, kept his daughter locked away from the public eye.

Iona was hardened through hellish training that was almost impossible to handle, and if she couldn’t keep up, she would either starve or be beaten.

‘No, I’m usually both starved and beaten at the same time.’

Even an ordinary person would, of course, achieve remarkable results if they devoted all their time except for sleep to training, and Iona was already a rare talent.

The teacher, who was training Iona, showed disbelief again and again when she saw Iona’s monstrous growth. Even so, she clicked her tongue in deep regret every time, because she knew very well what that training was for.

Iona grew up as a sword; and the price for not growing up like a human was paid by her humanity. Back then, she couldn’t tell the difference between nurture and exploitation, love and hate, or even happiness and pain.

So, even until the moment when she was sold to the prince – soon to be Emperor – Iona did not pity her situation. But as time passed, she also gradually came to understand what her father had done to her.

Iona whispered slowly. “Did you not know? Your sin grew and became me.”

“Ugh! You are going too far! I can’t let go of this!”

Hayden, who belatedly relieved the pain, clenched his teeth and swung his other arm.

But Iona avoided the flying fist by bending her body slightly and slammed his head on the floor.

-Bang!

The man groaned loudly at the sudden pain.

“Do you know that I became the next head of the House Modlov after you? Your two poor sons and daughters died without knowing why they were dying.”

Iona bent her head to see the loser’s ugly face. Seeing his pale face, now she wasn’t sure if this was really hell.

Hayden was trying to keep his composure, but there was an unconcealed fear in his eyes.

‘Did he just recall the moment of his death?’

However, Hayden spat out words completely different from Iona’s guess the next moment,

“What, what kind of crazy thing is that? Do you think you can do anything after being favored by the crown prince? In the first place, you are sitting next to him because of me!”

“…Prince?”

Iona muttered blankly as she loosened her grip on Hayden.

“What, what kind of crazy thing is that? Do you think you can do anything after being favored by the crown prince? In the first place, you are sitting next to him because of me!”

“…Prince?”

Iona muttered blankly as she loosened her grip on Hayden.

It was after Richard ascended the throne that Count Modlov died.

‘If it is the underworld, why did he bring the emperor’s name?’

Iona suddenly thought that and looked at Hayden’s face which strangely looked younger.

Since he was a devilish person, she passed it off, thinking that he must have been living in hell quite well, but when she checked again, it seemed that he had rejuvenated for almost ten years.

Iona tilted her head and looked up at the ceiling.

The chandelier, which had been replaced with a trendy design last spring, was nowhere to be found. Instead, the chandelier that Count Modlov had been using since he was still alive was in place.

Iona asked in a surprised voice.

“How old am I now?”

In the meantime, Hayden, who raised his head, shouted to Iona, staggering.

“You-you… …Have you really gone crazy? Or do you think you’ve made a great career out of talking about marrying the duke? It looks like you’ve lost your mind due to bad luck!”

‘I’m going to be a duchess.’

The period during which Iona was the prospective duchess was very short. The duke had decided to marry her after meeting her only a few times.

Then, when she put all of this information together, only one conclusion came to her mind… That she was back in the time when she was neither the head of the Modlov house nor the duchess, that was, when she was still a 20-year-old girl.

“…Nonsense! This can’t be true?”

Iona reflexively denied it.

She stood up, ignoring Hayden’s loud babbling.

She could feel Hayden flinch at her movement, but she didn’t care.

Iona walked towards the wall and stood in front of a large decorative mirror.

What she saw in the mirror was her youthful face.

Iona slowly raised her hand and touched her cheek. All the wounds she sustained in her last battle were gone.

No, let alone this, she couldn’t see even the slightest scar on her temple which she got a few years back.

Her blistered lips shone brightly like a red flower, and the bridge of her nose, which was broken, also stretched out smoothly.

Most of all, she looked young. Just like Count Modlov, who was holding his breath beside her, looked ten years younger than his actual age.

‘How did this happen?’

It was not a problem that could be explained logically.

In this unreal situation, if one thing was certain, it was the fact that she had come to the past, not the afterlife.

‘But, how? How did this happen?’

While Iona was trying to figure out the situation, the sound of footsteps from afar quickly approached.

Heyden would always keep his servants away from him when he was alone with Iona, so the person who was coming was probably not a servant.

The only ones who could be on the same floor at this time were those who didn’t need to ask the Count’s permission for maneuvering.

Soon the door to the study opened and a man and a woman with familiar faces rushed in. And their identity was as expected.

“Father! What fuss is this?”

“What happened? why are you on the floor…”

With bewildered expressions, they looked around the room in confusion.

They saw the sight of the collapsed father and the cheeky illegitimate child standing next to him.

Yvonne Modlov and Nils Modlov; half-sister and half-brother of Iona.

For a while, they glared at Iona fiercely, and then the two soon turned their eyes to check Hayden’s well-being.

Hayden struggled to get up with their help. Even as his children poured out their worries, he continued to remain silent.

When Hayden’s mouth hardly opened, Nils finally showed a frustrated look.

“What the hell are you doing? Was there a raid here?”

It never occurred to Nils that his father had been intimidated by an insignificant illegitimate child.

Thanks to this, Iona forgot the confusing situation of returning to the past for a while and laughed out loud.

Hayden glanced at Iona with anxious eyes. In response, Nils looked back at her Iona as if he had noticed something in her.

Nils asked in a hushing voice.

“Iona, did you make father like this?”

“If you know I made him like this, then what are you asking?”

“What?”

“Are you asking how father became such a worm? Or about why he fell in such a funny way?”

Nils couldn’t hide his embarrassment at Iona’s sarcasm.

In the past, by this time, Iona was still immature, and compared to the position she had, she didn’t know much about the world. Her family had no interest in educating her other than raising Iona to be a useful swordswoman.

They wished that Iona would continue to remain like that. Only then could Iona continue to be exploited in the name of her family.

So, for Iona, 20 years old was just the days when she treated those bugs as human beings without knowing what she could or should do.

“Iona Modlov! Your words and actions are reckless!”

Nils couldn’t hold back his anger at the rebellion of his half-sister, who had been obedient all along.

Even Yvonne, Nils ‘real’ younger sister, flinched in surprise at the response.

Iona, who became the object of Nils’s anger, resolutely met his gaze and said.

“Nils Modlov, the reckless one is you and your father who do not properly treat the imperial knights.”

At that moment, Nils’ expression when he was dealing with Iona, who was not at all frightened, looked bewildered.

Iona calmly continued.

“Did you ask why your father was lying so ugly? He tripped on his feet and fell. When he tried to stab his daughter, he was stopped by her and fell down. It was all because of the father who taught her wrongly, or the daughter who grew up under him.”

Finally, a vein popped on Nils’ forehead.

Leaving Hayden with Yvonne, he slowly got up. His throat was trembling with anger.

“A lowly girl, just skilled with a sword. We accepted her as a member of the family despite her lack of morals. And this is what we get in return.”

He strode in front of Iona and raised his arm.

The moment he waved his hand, Iona finished her brief thought. Then, his thick hand slapped Iona’s cheek fiercely.

It was a foretold attack, so she did not fall and endured it, but her ears were deaf.

She stuck out her tongue and licked her bottom lip, feeling the taste of iron. Iona said, glaring at Nils with cold eyes.

“Father and son do the same thing.”

The reason Iona didn’t feel intimidated by the duke’s people after her marriage was simple; Her family treated her more humiliatingly and degrading than they did.

It was easier to deal with others who consistently ignored her than bloodlines that were prone to verbal abuse and violence.

“It seems that we have been very kind to you all this time, judging by the fearless attitude you show to us. Let me personally guide you to your real position. You really need discipline.”

“Yeah, that girl seems to be getting more and more cocky these days. The other day, when I asked for the prince’s schedule, she even ignored me!”

When her brother came out strong, Yvonne also regained her momentum and complained.

Nils, who soothed his younger sister with a friendly attitude, said he understands, and his murderous eyes flashed at Iona.

“Don’t worry, Yvonne. I’ll thoroughly educate her so that she won’t be so arrogantly rebellious again. If we break her leg like last time, she won’t be able to hold her head up like this.”

‘Come to think of it, about a year ago, my leg was broken by a hunting rifle wielded by Nils.’

Iona thought deeply as she rubbed her tongue on the inside of her sore cheek.

‘It’s just that I got hit.’

“Nils Modrov.”

“Don’t call me by my name, you lowly… …!”

“Bite something tight.”

“What?”

Iona slapped him on the chin before he even had time to react.

-Smack!!

“What the hack…”

Yvonne’s screams echoed high in the room.

Niels, who fell like a piece of paper at the same time, rolled on the floor.

A grunting **** flowed from him as if he hadn’t fainted yet; because she controlled her power.

His face was red with a mixture of pain, embarrassment, and humiliation.

Nils cursed at Iona with a leaky accent even as he fumbled his tingly chin.

“You, is this girl… …Go, how can a lowly thing like you hi-hit me?”