For the Lady's Wise Regression - Chapter 46

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 46
In my past life, I wanted to do this but never got the chance. This time around, with money that seems endless no matter how much I spend, a proper journey sounds rather appealing.
In the distance, a snow-capped mountain came into view.
Was that Snowood Mountain? The one where snow accumulates again as soon as it melts, keeping the peak perpetually white?
Vanessa rose slowly from her seat once the destination appeared.
She was thinking of calling Ian out from the cabin.
The Royal Family’s ship must have been spotted approaching by now, so House Parbian would certainly send someone to meet them.
Hoot, hooooot—
The ship’s horn sounded in short, successive blasts.
It was the signal announcing their arrival at port.
If she went straight for the Calming Herb the moment they docked, wouldn’t that be rather transparent?
After all, nominally they were here on a honeymoon.
‘All right. Just the hot springs, then.’
She hadn’t slept properly since they departed so early at dawn, and besides, the Northern Region’s hot springs were supposedly good for the skin.
It absolutely had nothing to do with noticing Ian’s complexion looking dull.
It was simply awkward to suggest wandering off separately on their first day of what was ostensibly a honeymoon.
Especially since she’d stumbled into learning about his past life as well.
Having constructed a rather convincing excuse, Vanessa strode toward the cabin where Ian had gone to rest.
Knock, knock.
“Ian, may I come in?”
Knock, knock, knock.
Even at the second round of knocking, silence was the only answer from within.
He’d only just gone in a moment ago—had he already fallen asleep?
“Ian? I’m coming in?”
Fortunately, the door wasn’t locked.
As Vanessa carefully turned the handle and peered inside, she couldn’t suppress a laugh.
When awake, he exuded such an austere, almost ascetic air that he seemed almost cold, yet even in sleep he maintained it.
As if he had mentally divided the bed exactly in half, Ian lay on the left side in perfect posture, both hands folded precisely above his navel.
It was a sight almost too lovely to disturb.
Not a single fiber out of place in that rigid composure.
‘I should have bought a camera.’
The basic model camera used by the newspaper office had poor image quality, so she’d been waiting for when cameras would be properly invented in the future.
It felt like a waste to capture this only with her eyes.
Vanessa spent a moment admiring Ian’s deathlike sleep before carefully drawing closer.
“……Ian. We’ve arrived.”
Unable to bring herself to touch him, she murmured softly near his ear, and his sleeping eyes slowly opened.
Blink, blink.
His gaze, moving sluggishly at first, fixed directly on her.
……Goodness.
It was Vanessa who first looked away from the unflinching stare.
“……I, I tried knocking but you wouldn’t wake.”
“…….”
“Did you…… sleep well? You must have been exhausted from moving about since dawn. There’s no need to push yourself—we can take things slowly next time.”
Perhaps it was the effect of meeting his gaze at such close range.
She found herself speaking at unusual length.
Yet Ian seemed entirely unaffected.
He straightened his already-immaculate clothing and rose from the bed.
“……How about resting a bit more once we’ve landed?”
As she ventured to suggest this to him as he moved past, his gaze turned toward her once more.
“I’m not that tired.”
His voice had returned to normal after a brief nap?
Hearing that chill edge in his tone, the atmosphere from the deck felt like a dream.
Of course it did.
“……That was pointless.”
At his follow-up remark, Vanessa looked up at him in disbelief.
“You would have woken on your own.”
Is he serious?
She woke him out of consideration, and he’s calling it a waste of effort?
Leaving the bewildered Vanessa behind, Ian disappeared from view.
“………Sigh. That insufferable, cold bastard.”
One hit, just one, and I’d have nothing left to wish for!
***
An awkward tension settled over the group.
At least for Vanessa.
The eldest son of House Parbian, who had disembarked and stood at a distance conversing with Ian, kept glancing sidelong at Vanessa.
“……Did you two fight?”
“Why would you care?”
Ian replied without turning, his eyes cold and cutting.
‘Intense, this one. Looks ready to draw steel the moment their eyes meet. Absolutely.’
“Because I have a feeling there’ll soon be a hole in your back?”
The moment he finished speaking, Ian turned—and Vanessa flinched, quick to feign innocence.
‘There it is. Even her arms are crossed tight. Anyone would see they fought.’
‘Though she seems completely oblivious.’
‘In any case, I keep telling him to spend less time perfecting Swordsmanship and more time learning to read a woman’s heart. Doesn’t his butler teach him anything?’
“Stop looking. Eyes off.”
The eldest son of House Parbian heard the glacial tone and lifted his shoulders in a shrug.
One more glance and he’d come at him with murder in his eyes.
“The Crown Prince sent letters full of such fuss over this business that I couldn’t fathom what the problem was. Now I see—it was all a misunderstanding on my part.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve always been mad. What’s so remarkable about a madman doing mad things?”
He gestured with his chin toward the Royal Family’s ship, his shrug suggesting it was nothing worth noting.
“I thought you’d start a war for the Duchess’s sake, at the very least.”
“…….”
“While we’re at it, take more Calming Herb with you.”
He patted Ian’s shoulder twice—tap, tap—then moved toward Vanessa, only to have Ian’s hand clamp down on his shoulder.
“Where do you think you’re—”
“Introductions, introductions. We didn’t even make it to the wedding ceremony, so let’s at least do the proper introduction.”
He pried Ian’s fingers away one by one with deliberate force, then swiftly positioned himself in front of Vanessa before Ian could protest.
“……Ah.”
A sigh escaped her lips, her frustration now fully apparent.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Lord Kireus. I apologize for the late introduction. I’m Vanessa Ruscliffe.”
“The pleasure is mine, my lady. Kireus Parbian. Please, call me Kir if you find that easier.”
“……I’m sorry?”
“If ‘Kir’ displeases you……—Ugh.”
Kireus let out a short cry, his eyes crinkling with amusement a moment before pain bloomed across his face.
From an angle she couldn’t see, Ian’s fist had driven straight into his ribs.
“Vanessa, the House steward will show you to your room. Go inside and wait there.”
“Oh—yes. Thank you so much for offering us lodging on such short notice, Lord Kireus. I’ll see you later.”
“Yes, my lady. Later……”
“You won’t. Not in this lifetime.”
Vanessa blinked at his cut-off words, let out an awkward laugh, and disappeared into the House Parbian estate.
Only once she was completely out of sight did Kireus raise both hands in surrender and begin backing away slowly.
He was yielding.
“It’s because I sent an invitation myself and then wrote ‘absolutely no attendance allowed’ on it. That’s why she’s upset. I’m sorry.”
“…….”
“……Surely you can tell the difference between a joke and earnest words, yes? She’s your friend’s wife, after all—a little jest shouldn’t be beyond the pale…… Hey, hey?”
Kireus continued shuffling backward, his pace quickening, until finally he turned and broke into a run.
“Please, stop! One punch from that fist and I’m finished!”
A game of tag—the kind where losing means death—had begun before dawn even broke properly.
Kireus, who despised sweating, soon collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud, gasping for breath.
“Huff, gasp…… I knew you were mad, but……”
“Want more? You mentioned your body felt sluggish lately. This is convenient.”
“You’ve…… lost your mind……”
With that, Kireus fell backward onto the grass, struggling to steady his ragged breathing.
Ian looked down at him for a moment, clicked his tongue softly, and stepped past him without another word.
“The Duke still raises his son like a delicate flower, I see.”
‘Was that really something to say to someone with asthma……?’
Kireus could only focus on catching his breath, unable to muster a reply.
‘A monster……’
‘How does he always know exactly where my limit is—and push me right to the edge?’
In ordinary circumstances, he would have gone further, insisting that Kireus strengthen his muscles with dedicated training since his stamina hadn’t improved at all.
And that was only the beginning.
He would have gripped the sword so relentlessly that new calluses would have formed atop the old ones.
……Surely he won’t come back again?
Kireus, lying still and watching Ian’s receding figure grow smaller in the distance, exhaled softly in relief once the man disappeared entirely from view.
The Duchess has unexpectedly granted me my freedom back.
How much suffering has that madman put me through.
If I were to catalogue every hardship from each visit to the Northern Region, the list would be tearful enough to make one weep.
After double-checking that the mansion’s door was firmly shut, Kireus raised his hand while lying down, spreading his palm open to examine it.
Good. Even the calluses that were beginning to form last year have softened by now. Thank heavens.
All that careful maintenance would have been for nothing otherwise.
His hands, long and slender enough to be called jade-like, were a part of his body that Kireus was quite fond of.
Calluses on such hands.
It was unthinkable—yet he could never complain about it to Ian.
After all, Ian dragged his heavy body all the way here, thinking of Kireus’s frail constitution, and subjected him to these fitness drills every time.
Whenever Ian visited the Northern Region, it meant Kireus’s hellish training regimen was about to unfold, so despite the suddenness of his arrival, the dread was impossible to shake.
Last year, Ian had left satisfied after seeing the calluses forming on Kireus’s palms—so if he discovered that every trace of them had vanished, the training volume would undoubtedly double.
Yet this time, he had ended the fitness training with nothing more than a run.
It was something he would never ordinarily do if Ian were involved.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————