Chapter: 06
Vanessa slowly went over the conditions she had considered for a marriage partner who would help her get revenge.
Did they need time to get to know each other? NO.
They had known each other since childhood, so although she didn’t know his personal preferences, she at least knew roughly how many bowls were in his mansion. She had visited there often, after all.
Did he have enough power? YES.
Did they have connections? YES.
Would he cause trouble in the future? YES.
The most important thing.
Was there a chance he would develop feelings for her? NO!
‘If it were anyone else, I might wonder, but Ian Ruscliffe? Absolutely not.’
As proof, just look at this.
Even after they parted like that at the mansion, he hadn’t sent her a single letter.
‘Excellent.’
She had found the answer right in front of her.
Now then… the final condition.
Would he fall in love with someone in the future?
“Of course… NO!”
Ian Ruscliffe remained single even as he approached the age of forty!
His past was clean, and his future was expected to remain clean.
He was an absolutely excellent husband candidate.
At least for Vanessa Sharoz herself.
“This is no time for this.”
Although she had left like some third-rate villain just now, Carlisle Leonard was not the kind of man who would give up over something like this.
For all she knew, by tomorrow morning, the entrance to the mansion might be piled high with everything needed for a wedding.
After all, manipulating high society was the specialty of a marchioness.
As people’s curiosity about her prospective husband grew, she would gradually reveal clues that would allow them to guess who he was.
And this ring would be one of those clues.
She had to meet Ian quickly before rumors spread everywhere.
‘It can’t be helped.’
If he wanted to talk face-to-face, he should have said so from the beginning, Ian Ruscliffe.
The final letter would be delivered personally.
“ I came to deliver a letter to His Grace, the Duke of Ruscliffe.”
A bolt from the blue was exactly what Vanessa Sharoz’s sudden visit amounted to.
Denion, the butler of the Ruscliffe mansion, gave Vanessa an awkward smile when he saw her visiting the mansion so early in the morning.
“Um, if you give the letter to me, I will deliver it to him. My Lady. His Grace went out early this morning…”
“Isn’t it a little much that I haven’t even received an answer to my proposal?”
“…Pardon? Proposal?”
The butler stared blankly at Vanessa with an expression that clearly said this was the first time he had heard of such a thing.
It was a proposal, technically.
For the past week, everything she had written in her letters had essentially said, ‘Marry me.’
Although she had added the word ‘contract’ before marriage.
Vanessa raised her gaze and stared at the Ruscliffe mansion.
More precisely, at Ian Ruscliffe, who was looking toward her from the balcony by a second-floor window.
Their eyes met.
Denion also followed Vanessa’s gaze and looked toward the same place.
Vanessa could hear the sound of him swallowing nervously.
At the same time, Ian gave a small nod, and Denion bowed his head to Vanessa.
“My Lady Sharoz. I will escort you inside.”
With an entrance permission that was practically an expression of surrender, Vanessa gladly stepped inside.
It was rather reckless, but she had no choice.
A gift had arrived from Carlisle just that morning.
If she wasted any more time here, she might end up being dragged straight to the wedding hall.
After taking a short, deep breath, Vanessa knocked on the study door twice. A low, monotonous voice from inside granted her permission to enter.
“Come in.”
Perhaps it was because of the position of the table by the window.
The moment Vanessa saw Ian standing against the light, she unconsciously let out a sigh.
He possessed an aloof yet ascetic air, like a statue of a god standing in the middle of the Holy Kingdom’s papal palace.
His neatly swept-back hair, without a single strand out of place, and the silver-rimmed glasses perched on his nose undoubtedly contributed to that atmosphere.
And that wasn’t all.
The vest and shirt fitted perfectly against his body, so tightly that they seemed to allow not even the slightest gap, giving him an atmosphere that was both restrained and dangerous.
As though completely uninterested in Vanessa, who had been observing Ian for quite some time, he removed the glasses from his nose and looked at her.
“Sit. Would you like some tea?”
“…Something cold.”
“Bring two of the same.”
Ian gestured toward the butler standing near the door, then looked at Vanessa, who was still standing there blankly.
“Are you planning to talk while standing? Your letter mentioned what happened last time, so I assumed you wanted to clear up a misunderstanding.”
Ian slowly looked Vanessa over.
“Judging by your expression, I suppose this is that other business you always mention. If this distance was sufficient, I should have simply shouted toward you from outside the mansion.”
“…So, what’s your answer?”
“…”
“When I saw that mountain of letters over there, all bearing the Sharoz family seal that had been torn open, I thought you might finally have the intention of answering.”
Vanessa pointed at the table with her index finger, and Ian’s lips curved upward.
“You have a good eye.”
“…”
“Fine. Since you’re so adamant about it, I’ll marry you. However, there are conditions.”
Ian pushed aside the mountain of documents piled on the table and pulled a fresh white sheet of paper toward himself. With an expression suggesting that he had been dragged into a troublesome matter, he began moving his quill.
Before long, a sheet of paper was held out in front of the nervous Vanessa.
- There will be no sharing of a bedroom after marriage.
- There will be no children.
- There will be no physical contact under any circumstances.
- Vanessa Sharoz shall communicate anything she needs to discuss with Ian Ruscliffe through the butler.
- They shall eat breakfast and lunch together, but dinner shall be eaten separately.
- Vanessa Sharoz shall not enter Ian Ruscliffe’s private quarters unless the matter is important. If she must enter, she shall announce her intention to visit at least one hour in advance.
- Vanessa Sharoz shall not set foot in Ian Ruscliffe’s study, bedroom, or any other private space without his permission.
- When attending public events, they shall enter together but return separately.
Gasp!
Vanessa drew in a short breath.
The sheet she had received was covered with so many conditions that it was difficult to even believe they were supposed to be getting married.
As though he remembered every single one of the many conditions, he continued writing without hesitation on another sheet of paper.
There were now two sheets containing exactly the same terms.
“If you promise to abide by all these conditions, then marriage is acceptable.”
Ian said that as he finished signing both documents first.
Are we supposed to become less than strangers? No, even strangers would probably have it better than this…
After thinking for a moment, Vanessa spoke.
“…Do you perhaps dislike me?”
Ian’s brow twitched at Vanessa’s question.
“What does that have to do with these conditions?”
“No… Otherwise, you wouldn’t put conditions like these…”
She had been about to say, There’d be no reason for you to impose conditions like these.
But she firmly closed her mouth.
This was already a contract marriage. There was no reason to force someone into it if he disliked her.
She had to be careful about developing feelings in the first place, but if he actually disliked her, that would create stress in an entirely different way.
Of course, as far as she was concerned, he was an absolutely excellent husband candidate.
‘…What a shame. He was truly perfect.’
Should she ask one more time?
It would be such a waste to give up here.
There was no guarantee she would be able to find someone who met all these conditions within the time available.
With such a perfect husband candidate standing right before her, her standards for anyone she considered afterward would inevitably become higher.
“You don’t dislike me, do you?”
At her question, Ian frowned as though wondering what absurd thing she was talking about. Only then did Vanessa look again at the contract in her hands.
Huh?
‘Now that I look at it again, these are perfect contract terms for me.’
There would be no physical intimacy, so there was no chance of becoming personally entangled, and she wouldn’t even have to fulfill the duties of a married couple.
At this level, she could focus solely on her revenge without worrying about anything else, then separate from him cleanly afterward.
Vanessa lowered the paper in her hands and looked at the man in front of her.
“If you don’t dislike me, then as long as I follow these conditions, we can get married, right?”
“…Yes.”
“Good. If there’s anything you want in exchange for marrying me, tell me.”
“That… I’ll think about it a little more.”
“All right. I’d like to have the wedding as soon as possible. Is there a particular date you want? Or we could simply have a small ceremony in the Holy Kingdom, if you have a religion.”
As she spoke, Vanessa finished signing the contract.
“…I’ll send you a letter with the contract regarding that matter within a few days.”
“All right. Then, since I’m done here, I’ll be going. Sorry for disturbing you.”
Vanessa rose from her seat as she stared absentmindedly at the paper bearing her signature.
“Why don’t you take the tea with you?”
