For the Lady's Wise Regression - Chapter 63

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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 63
The result was a perfect victory for Ian.
Vanessa, having taken two Jeongjeong Flowers the same way he had, felt nothing and let out a scoff—well, what did she expect?—but…
When she took the two Jeongjeong Flowers differently, exactly as he’d instructed, her mind suddenly cleared.
The effect really was that different?
No—how could it actually work?
And the effect was even stronger when she took it as a pill.
‘This would be even better if I took it before bed, especially at night.’
For a moment she caught a whiff of something that smelled like a charlatan’s patter, but having already felt the effects of the Jeongjeong Flowers she’d brewed into tea, Vanessa followed his instructions with skepticism and hope in equal measure.
And this time too, the result was a complete victory for Ian.
“…!”
The heaviness that had always weighed on her mind—burdened as it was by her pursuit of revenge—lifted the next morning, not just clear but refreshed, as if a hole had been punched clean through her skull!
‘This works!’
Vanessa exulted inwardly.
If just two common Jeongjeong Flowers found throughout The Empire had this much effect, then selling them to the nobility under some name like “Jeongjeong Pills for Fatigue Recovery” would see demand far outstrip supply.
Democratize it?
Don’t make her laugh. This had to be monopolized.
Let the nobility become so utterly enthralled by this effect that they wouldn’t dare entertain a single thought of challenging House Ruscliffe’s monopoly on Jeongjeong Flowers.
But why hadn’t Ian thought to sell such a potent remedy before?
Did people only take medicine when they were ill, when something was broken?
Medicine for everyday use, something people should take regularly even without any serious ailment.
If such a thing were created, in her past life too people would have rushed to it, but the focus would shift from the Jeongjeong Flower to that medicine instead.
The Empire was full of skilled craftspeople.
Gem cutting, leather work, blacksmithing—these trades existed not just in the east but throughout all regions.
So why did most nobles commission their bespoke work in Pommeldt, the street known as the artisans’ quarter?
Because no matter how many counterfeits flood the market, the original always surpasses them.
Apprentices trained in Pommeldt would eventually leave and establish their own shops elsewhere under their own names, but even the finest disciples rarely surpassed their masters—and those who did inevitably inherited the master’s shop back in Pommeldt.
The same held true for medicine.
If remedies made by House Ruscliffe were markedly superior to those of others? There was nothing more to say.
Just as nobles flocked to Pommeldt for every commission, they would stream to House Ruscliffe whenever medicine was needed.
Where once the Jeongjeong Flower had been merely a humble herb—”quite good for people of all ages, truly splendid, mmm…”—this enterprise would surely give it wings.
There was no time like the present.
With a mind clearer than ever and a body that felt light as air, Vanessa practically flew into Ian’s study and rapped sharply on the door.
“Ian, Ian!”
“…Come in.”
His voice drifted out from inside, heavy with exhaustion—nothing like hers.
At his permission, she pushed open the study door to find Ian slumped at his desk, dark circles hanging halfway down his neck, his hand moving ceaselessly as he wrote.
“…Something good must have happened this morning.”
The intensity of his demeanor was so acute it made the fine hairs on her skin stand on end.
Ugh. Look at those circles.
Had he spent the entire night organizing information about Jeongjeong Flowers?
Scattered across the surface around him were papers, each bearing a large, carefully sketched illustration of what appeared to be similar medicinal plants.
Vanessa picked up one of them and read slowly through it.
Three roots and five leaves of Jeongjeong Flower?
Finely ground into powder and ingested?
Effects… relief of heartburn?
Mesmerized, she reached for the next sheet, which noted a Jeongjeong Flower with three roots and five small branches.
This one was to be moderately ground and chewed before swallowing? Effects… suppression of nausea?
Did the presence or absence of branches enhance the efficacy? And in turn, make the method of ingestion more complicated?
…He’s lost his mind.
How could he spend the entire night on this without sleep?
Vanessa gathered the scattered papers and stacked them neatly on the desk.
“Ian, did you get any sleep?”
“Almost done.”
So he’d sleep after he finished?
“Don’t you have a dinner engagement with the Crown Prince this morning?”
“…I forgot about that.”
He let out a small sigh, but his hand never stopped moving.
There was plenty to forget, but if he was making a compendium, he’d need to consult with printers too—why was he rushing it like a man with no tomorrow?
In any case. No wonder Father saw him as a promising prospect.
“Ian. Look at me.”
Only then did his hands, which had been moving without pause, go still.
His gaze rose slowly, and it was utterly exhausted.
Like a saint who’d seen every sordid thing in the world, poised at the very edge of corruption.
Vanessa gently took the pen from Ian’s hand.
“Why don’t you get some sleep? There’s no rush for this…….”
“Just thirteen more entries. Then I’m done.”
He took the pen back from her hand.
“Besides, we still need to find a printer for the Compendium and arrange the binding. That’s not work you can finish in a single day.”
“I’ve already taken care of it.”
“……What?”
“Everything. Finished it all yesterday. This is all that’s left.”
Hearing the exhaustion that seeped from his voice, Vanessa found herself speechless.
They’d only mentioned it yesterday. And he’d already……?
This wasn’t work that needed to be done to such an extent.
“Why……?”
She couldn’t understand the reason.
Why he was going about it with such desperation, treating it as though it were the most crucial task in existence.
Ian glanced at her as though she were asking something absurd.
“Because you asked me to.”
“What?”
“You suggested this venture because you were thinking of me. I owe it that level of sincerity.”
“…….”
“I’m accustomed to staying awake. But in any case……I should have greeted you sooner. Did you sleep well?”
The good mood that had flooded through her the moment she’d woken vanished entirely.
Was she sorry for him, for having his pen moving ceaselessly all night over her single word?
Or was she troubled that she couldn’t tell him about the business she’d been meaning to propose—the one born from experiencing the efficacy of the Jeongjeong Flower firsthand?
No…….
It was purely this.
‘……It’s too much.’
That attitude of his, treating her word as more precious than gold itself, more absolute than an emperor’s decree.
It kept sending ripples through her heart.
Ian Ruscliffe—the man she’d thought to use only for revenge—kept appearing to her in an entirely different light.
“Ian, you don’t have to go this far.”
“Have you changed your mind? Either way, it was a good proposal to me. You needn’t worry.”
“That’s not it…….”
It was only a casual remark she’d thrown out, but if he devoted himself to it so earnestly, then she couldn’t speak of the things she’d just been thinking about.
And she feared he’d continue like this.
A dim room. Hands moving without rest beneath a shaft of sunlight. Dozens of pages scattered about. Clear signs of exhaustion. All of it unfolding because of her single word.
“……I’m sorry. I should have helped you.”
Shame washed over her at how she’d meant only to use him.
All the more so, seeing him cling to her casual words with such desperation.
If he could be this sincere even over words spoken by virtue of their Contract Marriage, how much deeper must his devotion be to the woman he truly loves?
The thought struck her oddly, making her chest ache with bitterness.
She envied her—whoever she was. The thought of that woman receiving his love like this, going forward.
“That’s enough, Ian.”
Vanessa snatched the pen from his hand with a resolute gaze, pulling it away from him.
“I’m doing this because I want to. Don’t worry about it.”
“I’ve thought of something better than making the Compendium.”
Only then did Ian’s head lift completely.
Vanessa looked at the dark shadows beneath his eyes, then met his gaze.
“……Are you serious?”
His eyes asked if it truly was all right to stop now.
Despite looking as though he might collapse the moment he closed his eyes.
Stubbornly devoted to a fault.
Even in my past life, he would wait in silence like an awning until my tears ran dry.
And so this part of him—it hasn’t changed from then.
“Does medicine have to be taken only when you’re ill?”
“……?”
Confusion flickered across Ian’s eyes at her question.
“A remedy that’s good to take regularly, even when there’s nothing particularly wrong with you.”
Vanessa lifted the corner of her mouth slightly.
“A remedy that works even better the more faithfully you take it.”
“Why the sudden question?”
“What if you made it and sold it?”
“……A remedy people take regularly?”
“Yes. There’s no reason to rely only on food for health, is there?”
Ian’s eyes, which had been slowly turning her words over in his mind, suddenly lit up with a spark.
“……You’re right. From a profit standpoint, it’s actually a better proposal than the Compendium.”
“See? So the name should be…….”
Vanessa fell silent, lost in thought.
House Ruscliffe. Pharmaceutical Science. Health and nutrition…….
What kind of name would be instantly recognizable to anyone and make clear what sort of remedy it was?
‘Health, nutrition, remedy, refined…….’
……Ah!
A breath escaped Vanessa’s lips.
“Since House Ruscliffe excels at Pharmaceutical Science, we could give it a name that means we’re refining together the nutrients and remedies needed for health……Nutritional Supplement. What do you think?”
Nutritional Supplement.
Ian repeated the words softly, as if tasting them, and lifted the corner of his mouth.
“Perfect.”

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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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