For the Lady's Wise Regression - Chapter 79

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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 79
“You have the bearing of one willing to learn.”
It was a compliment, however subtle.
After that, Vanessa sipped her coffee quietly.
Despite holding the highest position, her posture spoke of humility—a willingness to listen from below.
What followed were ordinary tales: stories of children, grandchildren, and husbands.
Vanessa took no part in any of it.
To play a hand without knowing the game was to expose one’s weakness.
The Dowager’s gaze lingered long on Vanessa, who sipped her coffee with only her ears open.
“Ah, forgive me—that matter you mentioned before, madam. My husband says it’s rather difficult. Being silk, it seems the Eastern Kingdom has taken an interest.”
Once the pleasantries had passed, the real sparring began in earnest.
And it was directed squarely at the Marchioness Leonard.
“Is that so? But you were quite clear at the time, madam—you asked me to trust you. I even gave you medicinal herbs, which I’d gone to some trouble to obtain.”
“That is—”
The woman who had been speaking to the Marchioness Leonard glanced sideways at Vanessa, who sat quietly sipping tea.
“I’ve thanked you for that many times over. And my husband threw quite a fit, saying that one medicinal herb hardly balances out a foothold in Eastern Kingdom silk trade.”
“Well then, perhaps from now on you should ask Madam Vanessa here. After all, someone has just arrived who can deliver those herbs without difficulty.”
The sparks flew toward Vanessa.
The Dowager’s smile deepened.
Vanessa observed the two women’s verbal duel, then smiled gently.
“Is there something I might help you with, madam?”
The woman who had just been attacking the Marchioness Leonard let out a small, awkward cough.
The Jeongjeong Flower. Everyone in the room knew who controlled it.
Ian Ruscliffe.
And everyone knew that the person closest to him was not entirely what she seemed.
She had offered greetings, received rebuke, acknowledged it, and said nothing since.
That meant either she could read the currents of the room, or she understood that silence was sometimes a stronger card than words.
“My husband suffers from a chronic illness, madam.”
Chronic illness. Vanessa’s eyes widened at those words.
“Since I’ve broached the subject, I’ll speak plainly. Jeongjeong Flowers grow on the hillside behind our estate. Quite abundantly, in fact. Could you convey to your husband that I wish to purchase the manufacturing process first? I’d be willing to make it a priority.”
This was the first moment Vanessa had truly stepped into their game.
“I came to this gathering hoping to gain insight, yet you speak of my husband?”
When the Dowager pressed the point directly, the noblewoman who had addressed Vanessa’s cheeks flushed.
“Of course, I don’t expect to receive help for nothing. My husband has connections with fabric suppliers in the Eastern Kingdom. It’s a remote market, perhaps, but there will come a time when you too will have need of it.”
Fabric—though the way she said it, given the earlier insinuation, it was plainly silk.
The Marchioness Leonard’s jaw clenched tight.
Watching the prize slip through her fingers right before her eyes seemed to turn her stomach.
“I confess I’m not skilled in such dealings.”
As Vanessa stepped back, the woman who had made the offer waved her hand dismissively.
“Just consider it, madam. There’s no need to decide anything now. Besides, who is truly skilled from the start?”
At those words, Vanessa swallowed softly.
As if troubled by the idea of giving away something that wasn’t hers, while receiving the reward herself.
“I don’t mean for you to receive it through your husband. Simply passing along the message would be enough.”
An urgent note crept into her voice.
If her sitting figure fidgeted so noticeably after a moment’s pause, her husband’s chronic illness must be more serious than it appeared.
Did she have no heir to succeed her?
If so, the urgency made sense.
If her husband fell, the clan’s fortune would crumble before she could blink.
Vanessa nodded carefully.
“When I first offered my respects, you let it pass without reproach, so I will certainly convey the message.”
The woman’s touch was quite deft for her age—offering medicine while dispensing judgment.
The Dowager’s smile grew deeper still.
“You remind me of my granddaughter.”
Granddaughter. At that word, Vanessa’s eyes blinked.
The one Magrita Linne had mentioned—her granddaughter.
Vanessa feigned ignorance and looked at the Dowager.
“Your granddaughter must be about my age, then.”
“She’s studying abroad in the Eastern Kingdom. It’s not even term break, yet apparently something is urgent. I’ve just received word that she’ll be arriving soon.”
The mouths of the noblewomen fell silent.
The Dowager had deliberately turned the conversation’s course.
The Marchioness who’d had the audacity to continue that earlier conversation was nowhere to be found in this moment.
“If you’re studying abroad in the Eastern Kingdom, then you must be attending the Academy?”
The Dowager’s head tilted in acknowledgment.
Even in that brief gesture, a quiet pride in her granddaughter was evident.
“That’s impressive. I’ve heard enough through the grapevine to know how difficult the entrance examinations are for foreign academies, but will you be graduating soon?”
“Not yet. One more semester remains. And she’s top of her class at the Academy.”
Now she was bragging outright.
Yet Vanessa’s eyes gleamed with genuine admiration, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
“If you’re top of your class, you’ll have a brilliant future ahead. The etiquette and knowledge I’ve learned would be difficult to match.”
She lowered herself while saying “difficult”—but never “impossible.”
The Dowager studied Vanessa intently at that subtle distinction.
“In two days, if you’re free, come to my residence.”
“Dowager……!”
The Marchioness Leonard cried out in alarm. From the way the situation was unfolding, it seemed there had been a prior arrangement.
“One must have time to catch one’s breath. If that girl hears she learned her place the moment she arrived, she’ll be beside herself with fury. And your son, too—he seems unprepared.”
Pre-arranged seating. At those words, Vanessa understood.
Calail and the Dowager’s granddaughter had originally planned to meet in two days’ time.
And Vanessa had abruptly inserted herself, seizing the position ahead of schedule.
The sound of the Marchioness Leonard’s teeth clenching was audible. Though she hid it behind her fan, her indignation was plain.
To deliver one blow and then follow it with another—how generous.
A smile played at Vanessa’s lips.
“I didn’t expect to receive an invitation for sitting uninvited…… May I accept with gratitude?”
She spoke without so much as glancing toward the Marchioness Leonard.
Both refusal and acceptance rested entirely in the hands of the Dowager before her.
“I’ll have an invitation sent to your residence.”
It was a concise acceptance.
Vanessa bowed her head slightly.
“When we meet in two days, I’ll remember the lesson from today.”
At her words about assessing the seating before sitting—the Dowager’s eyes crinkled in laughter.
Then she rose from her seat and executed an absolutely flawless courtesy, without the slightest flaw.
“If fortune grants me another opportunity to pay my respects at this table, I hope you’ll judge today’s mistake with a generous heart, and allow me to make amends.”
At Vanessa’s words, the Dowager’s expression softened.
“Magrita.”
At the summons, the Baroness Magrita, who had been sipping her tea silently all this while, handed the envelope beside her to Vanessa.
“Coffee beans. A grinder is available even in the Empire, so you won’t have any trouble brewing coffee.”
The Dowager continued.
“The Duke of House Sharoze has raised a daughter of fine character. It’s easy to see why she married into such a good home.”
At her words, Vanessa placed her right hand at her chest, lifted her skirt slightly with her left hand, and bowed her head.
“Thank you for your kind hospitality. I hope this has been a pleasant time for you.”
Then, accepting the envelope from Magrita, she turned quietly and walked toward the center of the Banquet Hall.
Magrita, watching Vanessa’s receding back, quietly suppressed the smile rising to her lips with her teacup.
She’d struck the Marchioness Leonard twice in quick succession, not long after taking her seat. Unintentional or not, her eye for reading the situation was sharp.
Moreover, the Dowager had taken a liking to Vanessa Ruscliffe.
At this gathering, the Dowager had for the first time delivered an indirect rebuke to the Marchioness Leonard.
Only two people at this tea table understood that—or rather, three, counting Vanessa Ruscliffe.
‘And clever to boot.’
Magrita glanced sideways at the Marchioness Leonard, sitting beside the Dowager.
Her lips, hidden behind her fan, trembled silently.
“There’s quite a commotion for an Imperial gathering.”
The Dowager watched Vanessa’s receding figure, speaking softly.
“Your son keeps bringing private feelings into public affairs—he takes after you in that respect.”
The Dowager’s gaze turned toward the Marchioness Leonard.
“Dowager, that’s…….”
“Was I wrong? It was the same before. How could a Jeongjeong Flower and silk fabric weigh the same? Using desperation is shrewd enough, but that child is truly intelligent.”
The Marchioness Leonard trembled behind her fan.

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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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