For the Lady's Wise Regression - Chapter 61

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 61
A few days later at the Ruscliffe Duchy Residence.
Several carriages laden with fresh seasonal ingredients lined the entrance of the residence.
Who sent these? The master and mistress never mentioned receiving anything.
A fruit basket wrapped in expensive paper caught Denian’s eye as he stood puzzled.
“……Wow.”
Denian let out a low whistle upon reading the words on the palm-sized note.
[To my son-in-law.
Please avoid separate rooms if possible. I’m eager to see grandchildren soon.
—Duke Sharoze]
If the master sees this, he’ll be livid.
Wait—or is this actually good news?
If I ask him to lift the salary reduction during this window, he might actually agree to it?
With half his heart light and the other half anxious—unable to wait another four months for the salary reduction to be rescinded—Denian raised his hand to knock on Ian’s study door, only to freeze solid at the sight before him.
“Master, the Duke sent a letter… Eek!”
“……Ian, didn’t you lock the door?”
He couldn’t believe it.
The mistress, who was always so distant and cool unlike the master, was now perched on top of the master’s study desk, of all places!
“I, I… I beg your… forgive me…!”
This won’t do. This is dangerous.
His footsteps, which came seeking to reduce his salary reduction, now risked increasing it instead.
Denian quickly turned to leave.
“……Denian.”
“……Yes?”
At the sharp, frigid tone, Denian’s feet squeaked as he spun back around.
I’m done for.
I should have just knocked twice as usual and not opened the door.
Should have waited until he said to come in.
The master so detested having to speak that his standing order was always two knocks, and even if there was no answer, Denian would enter and announce his business straightaway.
Before the marriage, this had never caused trouble, but now was different.
Very different indeed.
“I think I’ll eliminate it entirely.”
Beyond the mistress perched on the desk, the master’s eyes gleamed with intensity.
So why… why did things suddenly accelerate like this…!
You two never used to be like this…!
His silent screams didn’t reach them.
Denian carefully placed the letter from House Sharoze on the nearby table, then bowed his head.
“How very generous of you, sir…”
But why are you both like this right now…
You were never this kind of couple…
Why do you suddenly look at each other like this…
Not that it looks bad, exactly…
But he couldn’t say it aloud.
The mistress’s clothing remained neat and unwrinkled, they weren’t even touching—she was simply sitting on the study desk—and yet somehow the scene demanded he swallow hard.
For some reason, the sight made his mouth go dry.
And what surprised him most was the master’s reaction.
His ears had always flushed crimson the moment the mistress was near, burning hot.
But now they were perfectly composed.
As if the figure before him were a doll rather than his wife.
How could he maintain such composure with her sitting so close?
One of them must have had too much to drink, or perhaps one was strongly convinced this was all a dream.
And by all likelihood, that would be the master.
Or would it?
Given the slight flush on the mistress’s cheeks, was she the one who’d been drinking, while the master was convinced this was all a dream?
“……Are you not leaving?”
As Denian stood rooted in place, deeply pondering the scene before him, Ian’s eyes widened again, his displeasure unmistakable.
“Ah, yes… please, enjoy your time together…!”
Only then did Denian snap back to his senses and scramble from the study as if fleeing. The moment he left, both their lips exhaled a sigh in unison.
“……Did he go?”
Perhaps because they were standing so close…
How many times had she swallowed dryly, hearing his voice murmur like that.
Vanessa glanced sideways at the firmly shut window behind him.
He usually kept the windows open, so why had he sealed them tight this time?
Good heavens, it was sweltering.
She resisted the urge to fan herself and carefully brought her fingers toward his collar.
“Just a moment… there.”
Pop!
Something came free with a soft whisper.
“Goodness… you startled me. What in heaven’s name was lodged there?”
What Vanessa held in her hand was none other than a small tailor’s pin.
Ian was wearing the formal suit he’d received as a gift before their marriage.
Since she’d also purchased a few pieces from the same salon, it had seemed reasonable enough that they’d made his to roughly similar specifications.
But she’d never imagined he’d been wearing the suit with the tailor’s pin still fastening the seams.
When she’d come in on business and spotted the pin protruding from the back of his neck, she’d had quite a start.
She couldn’t fathom why he was so oblivious to such things.
Hadn’t his neck been irritating him?
Since the tailor’s pin was positioned where his hand couldn’t reach, she’d had no choice but to extract it herself while he sat on the edge of his study desk…
Vanessa held the tailor’s pin between her thumb and forefinger and waved it in front of Ian’s eyes.
“Are you losing your mind lately? I never took you for the scatterbrained type, yet here you are.”
When she spoke with playful banter, he averted his eyes from her gaze.
“…I’ve been busy.”
“I’m sure you have. And whose doing is it that your budget has doubled?”
“…”
“So, have you given thought to what I mentioned?”
Vanessa stepped close to Ian.
“Do you… really need to sit there anymore?”
Without this, it would take days to extract a proper answer from him.
And truthfully, she was just as embarrassed.
“Won’t you move a bit closer? I rather like seeing your face up close.”
“…”
“Now, have you thought about it or not?”
Ian, who had been gazing at Vanessa intently, released a small sigh.
“I can manage to allocate some of the budget to you, but I oppose the idea of creating a different ointment using Jeongjeong Flowers.”
“Why?”
“There’s no real need for it.”
“You said yourself it would be more effective than what’s sold in the markets. If we get the mixture right, we could even perform partial surgery with it…”
“Vanessa.”
A note of reproach crept into his voice.
“Have you ever truly considered how far Anesthesia can be misused?”
“Well…”
“There are certainly those who desperately need it. The agony of rotting flesh, childbirth, burns, frostbite… whatever the affliction, if the affected area is numbed, yes, fewer people would die from pain alone.”
“…”
“But truly, would it only be used in such cases?”
Vanessa fell silent, pierced by the precision of Ian’s question.
The emotion gleaming in those golden eyes was unmistakably a rebuke.
“If the Jeongjeong Flower provided only pain relief, that would be one thing, but if it turns out to possess such potent Anesthetic properties that it could be used in surgery?”
“…”
“In regions torn by conflict, silent deaths would abound, and we would grow obscenely wealthy. Not from healing, but from assassination.”
“But, Ian, that’s…”
“Fifty-eight cases.”
A small sigh escaped him, and those eyes—now burning with emotion—fixed upon her.
“That’s how many compensation claims alone related to Jeongjeong Flowers reach the Ruscliffe Duchy Residence in a single year.”
“…”
“This Empire has far too many people with empty palms already, and we cannot afford to add to that burden. I understand what you were thinking and why you suggested this, but it’s too dangerous for now. At least regarding the Jeongjeong Flower… no, this is still too uncertain.”
His opposition, far more stubborn than she’d anticipated, left her with no recourse to argue further.
In her past life, this was a venture Ian had pursued first, so accelerating the timeline should have posed no complications.
Was something different this time?
If it was possible in her past life but impossible now, there had to be a reason…
A flash of understanding crossed through her mind.
The Priority Right—the exclusive right to guarantee originality in business ventures.
‘Priority Right?’
But she dismissed the thought just as quickly.
The timing didn’t fit.
That law had been enacted not long after Tesse Descartes ascended to the throne as Emperor.
So why the opposition, then?
Simply because there was no means to protect a new venture?
Ian exhaled softly as he looked at Vanessa’s serious expression.
“To be honest, I’m hesitant to expand the business in new directions just yet.”
At Ian’s words, Vanessa’s lips parted slightly.
She was torn over whether she had the right to ask why. Sensing her hesitation, Ian spoke again before she could.
“We’re already overwhelmed just handling the flood of petitions coming to the residence.”
Ah.
Vanessa let out a small sigh.
She understood now.

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