For the Lady's Wise Regression - Chapter 68

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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 68
A month had passed.
Duke Sharoze came calling at the Ruscliffe Duchy Residence.
His eyes gleamed with unusual brightness as he came to see his daughter, who had claimed to have matured—a bald-faced lie if ever he’d told one.
“Vanessa.”
Unmoved by the Duke’s sudden visit, Vanessa brought out tea.
Right. A month was about the time he’d start feeling the medication’s effects firsthand.
And it was true.
Duke Sharoze’s complexion had grown noticeably more robust than it had been a month and two weeks prior.
Not just his color—the dark circles beneath his eyes had faded. The weariness that always lingered at the corners of his gaze was gone, and the deep furrows of his brow, worn from constant administrative duties, had softened.
Vanessa studied her father’s face after a month of taking the Serenity Pills, and allowed herself a private smile.
‘Perfect. Verified.’
Far from having matured, she was the kind of daughter who wielded that maturity like a blade.
“Yes, Father.”
Though she could see her father’s eagerness, Vanessa maintained her composure.
The etiquette drilled into her in childhood remained intact.
The way she lifted the cup, the pace at which she set it down, the silent sip she took with the rim barely brushing her lips—all of it was second nature.
“Is there any more?”
“More of what, sir?”
“The nutritional supplement you sent for my health.”
“Did it work well?”
Vanessa feigned ignorance of the medication’s effects.
To appear to know its potency now would be amateurish.
She needed to maintain the attitude of ‘I merely sent it for your health—I had no idea it would be so effective,’ so he wouldn’t suspect her motives.
If she so much as breathed a word about the Imperial Palace, the Emperor, or seals, he’d surely keep it all to himself.
That wouldn’t do.
Her goal was for word of these pills to reach the Emperor’s ears and capture his curiosity.
It would be even better if Father sampled a box or so.
But from the look on his face, bringing that up now would only breed suspicion.
He was a man who kept public and private affairs strictly divided.
Vanessa clicked her tongue inwardly.
Even to his own daughter, he showed no mercy.
“It’s quite good, actually. I didn’t notice much for the first week or so, but the more I took it, the less sleep I needed and the less fatigue I felt. I wake up refreshed.”
……Never mind that several Jeongjeong Flowers went into making a single pill, and he’s calling it merely refreshing.
Vanessa nearly lost her composure for a moment, but barely held it back.
Stay calm. From his perspective, that’s practically equivalent to calling it a divine elixir.
“Is that so? Oh my… I’m relieved. I was worried it might not suit you.”
A lie. She’d known the effect would be excellent.
“I was suspicious when you claimed to have matured, but it seems you were telling the truth.”
Not a shred of truth. She’d used her father as a test subject.
Vanessa smiled silently without answering.
“By the way, if you have any stock left, I’d like you to spare some. Another week’s worth would be ideal.”
……I didn’t set all this up for you to take it all yourself, Father. The words almost escaped her lips.
Yes. This was the one thing she’d worried about most since making these pills and first giving them to her father.
Exactly this.
That Father would keep them all for himself.
“A week’s worth? Well… since it was only a gift sent lightly, if you wish for continuous use, I’m afraid you’ll need to wait a little longer…”
It was at this point that Vanessa decided to sound out her father’s true intentions.
She’d already told him what the pills were made from.
So he could easily deduce the time required to manufacture them.
If he was asking for a week’s worth because he intended to give it to someone…
“Ah, of course. Since it’s made from Jeongjeong Flowers, it does take time. Then what shall we do? His Majesty the Emperor…”
“His Majesty the Emperor…?”
Vanessa blinked her eyes innocently.
He’d taken the bait.
Faster than expected, too.
“Yes, my complexion improved, and he asked if there was something special I was taking. So I mentioned your work to him.”
He must have exchanged quite puzzled glances with the Empress when reading your letter. She could guess it without even seeing.
Being familiar with the reaction, Vanessa paid no mind and took another sip of tea.
“So His Majesty wishes to try taking it as well, is that it?”
“I tried it myself, and a week’s worth does show some noticeable effect.”
“……Are you considering supplying it to the Imperial Palace?”
Duke Sharoze’s eyes flickered at Vanessa’s words.
There it is. Public matters are public, private matters are private.
“I haven’t thought that far ahead yet.”
Vanessa clicked her tongue silently and set down her teacup again.
“Then it’s simply a gift.”
“That’s right. Why, are you disappointed?”
“I gave it to you thinking of your health, so disappointed? Rather, I’m bewildered.”
A flash of “that’s a lie” crossed Duke Sharoze’s gaze.
Vanessa let her eyes drift away as subtly as possible and sipped her tea.
“I’ll let Ian know. Three months’ worth for you, and one week’s worth for His Majesty.”
“……You have three months’ worth?”
“I told you—I prepared it thinking of your health.”
Vanessa caught the flicker in his eyes—a thought that perhaps she’d finally matured—and allowed herself a faint smile.
“Since you seem agreeable, there’s something else I’ve prepared to give you.”
“……Is that so? Mm.”
Duke Sharoze cleared his throat quietly.
He could have asked by letter, but the obvious effects of the remedy had sent his feet moving of their own accord.
This was the invisible dance between daughter and father.
They could predict each other’s moves so precisely it was almost as though they could read each other’s minds.
Having concluded their silent exchange, Vanessa rose from her seat.
“Please wait just a moment.”
She then walked forward with perfect posture, not a step out of place.
Why? Because if he believed she had truly matured, he wouldn’t voice suspicions about her intentions before His Majesty.
Duke Sharoze, watching her impeccable gait recede, finally let a smile touch his lips.
“So marriage really does mature a person. That flaw I couldn’t correct no matter how much I lectured her—it’s actually been fixed.”
A complete misunderstanding.
The unfamiliar effects of the remedy had clouded Duke Sharoze’s judgment.
Had he held onto his reason a moment longer, he would have noticed her steps returning to normal as she moved away.
“Heh heh. The tea tastes excellent.”
The fact that he’d rushed to the residence as soon as he heard she was waiting already marked his daughter’s victory.
***
All smiles.
Duke Sharoze headed toward the Imperial Palace, his face beaming with delight.
“Your Majesty, this is a nutritional supplement my daughter gave me as a gift.”
Bragging about a child’s filial piety was every father’s sacred privilege.
The Emperor accepted the long box being offered and glanced sidelong at the flat box in Duke Sharoze’s hands.
“Is that yours?”
“Yes. This is three months’ worth.”
“……And mine?”
“One week’s worth.”
“…….”
The Emperor’s lips twitched.
He knew that once you ascended to this throne, you had to be cautious about everything you consumed.
But wasn’t there a man standing right before him who had already been taking it regularly without any ill effect?
“This is my imperial command.”
Duke Sharoze’s eyes widened. Suddenly?
“……Exchange mine with his.”
He was telling him to hand over the three months’ worth and keep the week’s supply for himself.
Duke Sharoze’s whiskers twitched.
“Forcibly taking a gift is theft, Your Majesty.”
Indeed, he was a loyal subject.
Duke Sharoze boldly declared “I cannot offer that” before the Emperor, and fire kindled in his eyes.
“My daughter, whom I thought would never mature in her lifetime, has given me a gift thinking of her father for the very first time. And you would take it from me, Your Majesty? You’ve grown stingy.”
Stingy. The Emperor’s brow twitched.
“You, of all people, dare speak of stinginess to me?”
“I do.”
“Stinginess is what the world calls looking at you—spouting urgent matters even from your bedchamber in the dead of night.”
“Those were truly urgent matters, nothing more.”
“You accepted it half-asleep, and then you actually made me stamp the seal with my own hand?”
Duke Sharoze’s mouth snapped shut.
A venomous glint flickered across his gaze.
“……For Your Majesty’s health, I shall revise it.”
The flat box in his breast trembled visibly.
Unbecoming of a man who prided himself on propriety.
But the Emperor paid it no mind and accepted it smoothly, then handed over an elongated box in return.
“Don’t worry about such things.”
***
A week later.
Vanessa stood before the Emperor alongside Ian.
Smiling broadly.
Deep creases now lined the corners of the Emperor’s eyes—those eyes that had always been grave, solemn, and stern.
“The chief architects of my good health have come.”
Chief architects.
At those words, Vanessa blinked.
Ian’s expression remained unchanged.
“A Serenity Pill, was it? The effect is quite remarkable. In just a week of taking it, I’ve never felt mornings so refreshed.”
Now the real test began.
Vanessa bowed her head slightly, saying nothing.
“It is but a humble gift, prepared with my father in mind.”
“A gift.”
A layer of softness peeled away from the Emperor’s voice.
“For a gift, you’ve taken considerable pains.”
“It was my first present to you since our marriage, Your Majesty.”
“I hadn’t realized you were a daughter who cared for her father to such a degree.”
This was Ian’s subtle counterattack—he had learned the full account of Vanessa’s childhood from Duke Sharoze.
“That is precisely why I took such care in its preparation, to show you that I have grown wiser since my marriage.”
A flawless exchange.
Tap, tap. The Emperor’s fingers drummed lightly against the armrest of his chair.
“Wiser.”

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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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