FRL 7

Chapter 7

A monotonous voice without the slightest change in pitch.

Ian’s eyes were fixed on his boring book, making it obvious to anyone that he had only offered the tea out of courtesy.

The stern line of his face made Vanessa feel that it would be difficult to leisurely reminisce about their childhood and have a heart-to-heart conversation, so she shook her head.

“I’m fine, but you look too busy to even have time for tea.”

Of course, if he had asked her to stay one more time, she was willing to sit back down and pretend she had no choice but to stay……

But when she glanced at the piles of documents and spoke, Ian didn’t press her any further.

Amid the awkward silence, Vanessa fell into thought for a moment.

……Could it really be as small as a pinky finger?

Everything about him was large.

The hand holding the quill, his broad shoulders, even the toe of his shoe that slightly protruded from beneath the table.

Carlisle wasn’t exactly small or frail himself, but standing beside Ian, he would look that way by comparison.

But…… how could everything else be so big while only that part was small…….

Vanessa gazed at the area around his hips with an unusually serious expression before shaking her head.

Enough. What does it matter whether it’s big or small?

She lifted her gaze from his waist and looked at Ian’s face.

Ian Ruthcliffe.

He had been her childhood friend for a long time, but they had lost touch after becoming adults.

Yet after returning to the past, she had somehow ended up spending a night with him a week ago.

She had thought about it over and over, and she was convinced that this was probably the reason he had included a prohibition on physical contact in his marriage conditions.

Could it be that I made the first move?

No matter how much she thought about it, she had no memory of doing anything with Ian that night.

Her clothes had been exactly as they were.

Of all times, why had she returned to the past under such circumstances?

For Ian, that incident had happened only a week ago.

For her, it had already been fifteen years since then.

And because she had been thoroughly drunk, that particular portion of her memories had simply been cut off.

The reason she had become so frightened and agreed to marry Carlisle in her previous life was precisely because she couldn’t remember everything that had happened.

Even if she had hugged Ian because she was happy to see him, surely he wouldn’t think she had assaulted him.

When Vanessa’s thoughts reached that point, she let out a small sigh inwardly.

But if he considered even touching his collar to be physical contact, wouldn’t he possibly consider a simple hug an assault?

Still, asking Did I hug you? or Did I touch you? here would only make the atmosphere even more awkward.

Just then, Ian raised his head, and their eyes met.

Vanessa gave him an awkward smile.

“Well, I’ll be going now. Sorry for disturbing you.”

Ian’s eyes followed her retreating figure without even waiting for an answer.

“She asked if I disliked her……”

Perhaps he was recalling Vanessa cautiously asking that question with her tiny lips, because his brows subtly furrowed.

“I almost wish that were the case……”

Just then, the butler, who had finished brewing the tea, noticed Vanessa passing him and tilted his head in confusion.

“Have you already finished your conversation?”

“Yes.”

“If the conversation ended before I even finished brewing the tea…… does that mean you refused her?”

At the butler’s question, Ian shook his head.

“Quite the opposite.”

“……Pardon?”

“I said the opposite.”

“You’re going to marry her?”

“……Yes.”

Leaving the butler frozen in place with his mouth hanging open, still holding the teacups in both hands, Ian finally rose from his seat.

His gaze turned toward the window.

A tiny head was moving farther and farther away.

Vanessa Sharose.

He remembered the way she had looked at him that night, her eyes hazy from alcohol and her face wearing a silly grin.

Normally, he would have simply ordered his butler to take her back to the ducal residence.

But he hadn’t been able to do that because……

……She seemed strangely vulnerable.

Not at all like a bride who was about to get married.

Her words had been slurred and jumbled, but they weren’t difficult to understand.

“Marriage.”

“Father’s opposition.”

Those two things alone had been enough for him to realize that she was considering marrying that bastard.

The Duke of Sharose was the sort of man who would do anything for his daughter, so eventually, he would probably reluctantly approve the marriage.

But for her to marry Carlisle Leonard of all people……

The words Why don’t you marry me instead? had nearly slipped out.

He had held her in his arms while she sobbed uncontrollably.

He had wrapped his arms around her trembling shoulders and nearly pressed his lips to hers without realizing it.

He had pushed her away the moment he regained his senses.

Does she not remember?

Of course.

That must be why, instead of criticizing him for what he had done, she had sent him a letter filled with an absurd proposal like this.

But he had never imagined that Vanessa would approach him first and propose marriage.

I thought she cherished me quite a lot.

If she was willing to suddenly break off her engagement and come to him, perhaps that wasn’t the case.

Still, it was a relief that she wasn’t going to marry that snake of a man.

But did Vanessa realize it?

The situation she was in now was essentially the same as entering a tiger’s den while trying to escape a fox.

“I left home in a fit of anger, but then I realized I had nowhere to go.”

Her face when she complained like that was no different from when she had been a child.

And that was precisely the problem.

Because he was……

Ian picked up the cigar lying on the table with one hand and let out a small sigh.

“……What exactly are you planning to do?”

“I set some conditions. They’re over there, so read them.”

His gaze, which had been following Vanessa until she disappeared into the distance, shifted toward the butler.

“Conditions? What kind of……”

The butler slowly read the words written on the paper.

Then he nearly shrieked.

“She accepted these?”

“Yes.”

“Conditions that would only work for a woman who had vowed to become a servant of God in the Holy Kingdom?”

“……”

“Or perhaps she already has a mistress?”

“……I don’t think so.”

The butler looked at the words on the paper, then at his master, with an utterly baffled expression.

“……It looks to me like you two are planning to live together as celibates until you die.”

Dominuk Freya’s Restaurant

While eating, Vanessa let out a small, suppressed laugh.

Her father, the Duke, looked at her somewhat strangely.

“It is fortunate that you never intended to marry that man……”

The Duke had visibly brightened when Vanessa told him she wasn’t going to marry Carlisle.

“You seem to have grown up so much overnight.”

His tone was a mixture of pride and bitterness.

It was almost as though he was marveling at how quickly his daughter had grown.

Of course, that sentiment was shattered almost immediately.

“Instead, I’m going to marry Ian. What do you think, Father?”

At her words, the Duke gave her a look that clearly said, Of course.

Vanessa knew that deciding on marriage like this was another act of disrespect toward her father, but she couldn’t back down.

“Do you really have to get married?”

“I already told Carlisle that I was going to marry Ian.”

Technically, she had only said she had someone else in mind.

But whether you called it a necklace or a belt depended on where you hung it.

“Why would you…… No. If that is truly what you want, then do it. As your father, I can’t oppose you twice.”

Perhaps he had lost his appetite at his daughter’s declaration, because the Duke put down the utensils he had been holding and sighed softly.

“But are you sure? A marriage simply to keep a promise you made in anger…… Marriage can only be happy when both people have feelings for each other.”

The worry was plain on her father’s face.

Vanessa smiled at him reassuringly.

“He’s a good person. And…… you know Ian and I have been childhood friends. The order is a little backward, but it’s fine. Marriage first, love later.”

Of course, it was closer to marriage first, revenge later than marriage first, love later.

As long as I can avoid marrying Carlisle Leonard, I can get married without love as many times as necessary.

Vanessa swallowed the words she couldn’t bring herself to say.

Then she put the final piece of steak into her mouth and chewed.

“The food is delicious. I’ll visit often even after I get married, so let’s eat out together from time to time.”

“……Yes. Let’s do that.”

My daughter is acting strange.

It seemed like only yesterday that she had been a mischievous little girl.

That side of her hadn’t disappeared completely even now, but the Duke couldn’t shake the feeling that his daughter had somehow grown much, much more than she had before.

Today marked three days since the day Vanessa proposed their contractual marriage.

The moment Vanessa checked the contents of the gift Ian had sent, she was left feeling somewhat dumbfounded.

Inside an extravagant, expensive-looking box sat the contract, neatly arranged inside.

“……Isn’t the packaging a little excessive?”

Vanessa stared intently at the contract bearing both their signatures before letting out a small scoff.

“A life as a nun instead of a life as a crippled wife……”

She had essentially signed away the life of a woman who had vowed to become a servant of God in the Holy Kingdom in exchange for living in the Empire.

But……

It’s probably for the best.

In her previous life, her newlywed days—which should have been the happiest time of her life—had been filled with constant conflict because of her mother-in-law, who barged in whenever she pleased.

There had been no romance, no dreams, and no marriage like the one she had imagined.

Everything she had dreamed of had ended up rolling around in the dirt of reality.

Because of her mother-in-law’s interference, Carlisle hadn’t even touched her, and all those things had accumulated one by one until eventually……

Even my late mother became the subject of gossip among the nobles.

The fact that they had failed to have an heir had not been Vanessa’s fault at all.

It had been entirely because of her mother-in-law.

Thinking about it now, she had probably been trying to avoid creating a problem that might interfere with a future remarriage.

Regardless, Vanessa was more than willing to accept this life simply because none of those things would happen this time.

It’s sad that I won’t be able to have a child who looks like me, but there’s nothing I can do about it.