For the Lady's Wise Regression - Chapter 9

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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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Episode 9
Perhaps it was because her smile, blooming like something dropped onto water and spreading outward, carried a warmth and tenderness he hadn’t anticipated.
The moment he caught sight of those upturned lips, he stood speechless, his mouth falling open.
“……That doesn’t sound like something you should say, when your contract is filled with clauses about maintaining a No Contact Policy.”
“Love isn’t built solely through physical contact, is it?”
“…….”
“I hadn’t pegged you for someone so narrow-minded.”
“What, narrow? A full-grown adult should’ve thought about such things at least once…….”
“I place great importance on spiritual connection.”
“…….”
“Not physical—spiritual.”
“……You’re becoming quite the saint.”
“By the time I’m around forty, I imagine I’ll have made saint a genuine goal.”
Ian parried the deflection with casual ease, and a laugh escaped him. Vanessa’s cheeks, which had been pouting and swollen with displeasure the first time they met, had somehow already returned to their normal shape.
“Do you have more grievances to air?”
“…….”
“If not, let us conclude our farewell here. Denian, see that my future wife is delivered home safely.”
For someone who had just promised to fulfill her fantasy, his farewell felt rather cold.
Yet there remained no further business to conduct in that place, so Vanessa had no choice but to accept his cool send-off.
With the butler glancing awkwardly between herself and Ian before falling away behind her, Vanessa moved forward.
“Vanessa. Are you content with the Wedding Dress you’ll be wearing?”
At the sound of Ian’s voice from behind, Vanessa’s fingers instinctively clutched at the hem of her skirt.
“The dress is lovely, but the jewels are excessive. Leave those out.”
“Dear me. They’re already on custom order.”
“…….”
“I do hope your next visit will be more prompt.”
Hearing that he’d already anticipated her preference, Vanessa’s head whipped around. But the moment she caught sight of Ian’s faint smile, the words forming on her lips died unspoken.
“……Fine. I don’t want to spend the engagement already haggling over terms.”
The distance between the Duchess of Sharose’s Residence and Ruscliffe Duchy required a carriage ride of at least ten minutes.
Which meant that if she wanted to prevent him from making decisions so freely, she would need to spend more time in his company.
This was a roundabout way of saying the same thing: move into Ruscliffe Duchy.
Ian, understanding the polite refusal, simply nodded without pressing further.
“Do inform me beforehand about the Fitting appointment.”
“I’m so grateful I might cry—so I’ll be going now.”
Once Vanessa, her cheeks swollen with fresh indignation, vanished entirely from view, Ian’s brow contorted in visible pain.
He drew a Cigar from the inner pocket of his jacket and lit it without hesitation.
As the scent of mint brushed his nostrils, Ian’s breathing gradually steadied.
“Duke of Ruscliffe.”
“……Your Highness. I wasn’t expecting you.”
“There was a commotion.”
While the suave man’s laughter lingered behind him, Ian’s eyes filled with the sight of Vanessa visible through the residence windows.
The force in her step suggested she was deeply displeased with his preparations.
‘A marriage because they love each other…….’
Ian bit down hard on the cigar and turned away.
“Are preparations proceeding well for the Officiant?”
The man shrugged at Ian’s question.
“Thanks to whom, exactly.”
“What’s so difficult about it? A simple ‘Congratulations’—that’s all a ceremony requires.”
“So there was no need to prepare any vows at all.”
The man tapped Ian’s shoulder twice.
“Leave something to be desired. That way I can tell the future Empress that at least in this, I surpass her.”
“Have you settled on the Third Princess?”
“For now.”
“Wouldn’t the Second Princess be preferable? A woman with something tangible in her grasp would be the safer choice…….”
“And yet.”
The man’s smile deepened.
“She knows all too well that her position is name only.”
“…….”
“So it’s easy to impose my ambitions on her. Without anything to lose, there’s nothing to protect.”
“How much are you prepared to carve away?”
“Well, I’m not sure at what point my coffers run dry. Is there a region you’d prefer? I’ll give it to you as a wedding gift.”
“…….”
“If you’ve nothing in mind, I’ll just divide it up myself.”
“……Delfiro. Please give me Delfiro.”
The man’s teeth flashed in a grin at the words that fell from Ian’s lips.
“Delfiro. Yes, I’ve heard the stories about your family’s curse well enough.”
“That’s not entirely the reason.”
Ian, whose gaze had lingered on the entrance of the residence where the Sharose Family’s carriage had just been standing, drew slowly on his cigar.
“It seems like it wouldn’t be a bad place for a honeymoon.”
At Ian’s murmured words, the man stepped back half a pace.
His expression was as bland as studying one of the empire’s notoriously thick histories, and yet he dared let such words cross his lips.
The man looking at Ian shook his head as though he’d grown tired of the sight.
“A honeymoon, coming from you. There’s no word in existence that fits you less.”
At the man’s words, Ian’s lips twitched upward. He drew deeply on his cigar and turned away.
“Of course.”
***
She’d gone mad. Absolutely mad. There was no way this could happen unless she’d truly lost her mind!
Early that morning, the moment Vanessa laid eyes on the wedding dress that had arrived at the residence without warning, she had to suppress the urge to tear out her own hair.
[This is your fitting dress.
I thought it would be better to send it directly rather than discuss it beforehand ^^.]
She’d been told that the fitting would be discussed in advance, so she’d expected to go to the Salon.
She’d never anticipated that the dress itself would be sent to her.
The wickedly drawn smile emoticon only deepened Vanessa’s anger.
“Ian Ruscliffe……!”
Grinding her teeth, Vanessa seized on his name and called out to a salon employee who was bustling about nearby.
“You there.”
“Yes, my lady.”
“Isn’t this dress rather… excessive?”
The employee tilted her head at Vanessa’s question and let out a small sigh.
“Your beauty will shine even more brilliantly!”
……She hadn’t been fishing for compliments.
Vanessa swallowed her sigh.
“What I meant was…… perhaps we could remove at least the jewels on the neckline?”
“Ah…….”
The employee glanced at the fitting dress’s neckline, then looked between it and Vanessa.
“Oh no! If we removed them, the dress would pale next to your radiance!”
Flinch.
Vanessa’s body trembled slightly at her fervent response.
“It wouldn’t be able to shine at all!”
……That was precisely the point. She wasn’t asking for praise.
The employee’s diplomatic skills were far more solid than Vanessa had anticipated.
She’d hoped that if even one person agreed with her, she could use that agreement as leverage to steer things the way she wanted.
The moment Vanessa’s eyes began to dart about in search of another target, the employees, as though bound by oath, all avoided her gaze.
‘Good heavens…….’
Everywhere she looked was excessive. It gleamed more brilliantly than the elaborate chandelier hanging from the ceiling.
‘At least I won’t need to worry in the dead of night.’
The light from the jewels alone would be blinding enough!
Vanessa, who had silently screamed inwardly, managed a smile at the employee approaching to take her measurements.
“I’ve only just eaten. If you don’t mind, could we postpone the measurements for later……?”
For now, she needed to buy time.
If they took the measurements now, she’d truly be committed to wearing this dress at the ceremony.
Though she wasn’t indifferent to finery in the manner befitting a noblewoman, this was simply too much.
Even saying that Vanessa could have uprooted one of the empire’s foundational pillars without exaggeration, the dress was too grand, too burdensome for her to wear.
‘At this rate, it won’t just be idle gossip for a few days. The bride might actually be despised for it.’
If people said she was ransacking her groom’s fortune to indulge in luxury, she’d have nothing to say in her defense!
Of course, the Ruscliffe Duchy’s wealth was such that a dress like this would merely fill one room and leave them with surplus!
‘It’s too much…….’
Vanessa breathed an endless stream of silent curses before exhaling heavily.
Expensive diamonds, an elaborate ceremony—it would be a lie to say she hadn’t hoped for these things.
Thinking back on her previous wedding, which had been quite modest and hurried, she understood the desire.
Yet having witnessed Ian compile such an exhaustive catalog of conditions for their marriage, Vanessa found herself bewildered. How could she make sense of it?
This was a marriage without love.
‘Go on then. If you insist on a love so urgent, so utterly essential that it cannot be anyone but you—if that’s truly your dream—then perhaps I was wrong about you.’
Of course, Ian had said as much in his letter, but Vanessa didn’t believe him. It was surely nothing more than a jest.
Would a man truly go to such lengths for a feeling that didn’t exist?
Surely…… the Ian she’d known in his forties had never felt quite like this.
Vanessa stared at the laughter marks written in his letter for a long moment, then shook her head gently.
“I think we should schedule the fitting appointment for another day.”
At Vanessa’s abrupt words, the hands of the seamstresses who had been carefully arranging the wedding dress stilled.
“I… Your Grace.”
The attendant who had just been offering such heartfelt praise without reading the room approached cautiously, tape measure trembling in her hands.
“Forgive me, but the Duke left us with very specific instructions…….”
“What instructions?”
“Well…….”
She exchanged a glance with the other seamstress working on the dress, then pulled the tape measure taut with a sharp snap.
“No matter what, he said we must complete the fitting today without fail. Please forgive our presumption!”

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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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