FRL 12

Chapter 12

Denion swallowed his tears inwardly and soothed his wounded heart by firmly closing the half-open windows.

Come to think of it, it had been his master’s future wife who had proposed the contractual marriage.

Whether she had known what she was getting into or not, he had no idea.

But since his master would never change his mind, whether their relationship lasted for the rest of their lives or ended somewhere along the way was entirely in the hands of the future mistress.

If so, then his own role was practically decided.

Please, Your Ladyship. Change your mind and stay with my master for the rest of your life…

He had to somehow change the future mistress’s feelings, which were currently limited to a mere contract.

For the sake of his master, who had practically earned a professional degree in making a mess of things.

And for the sake of his own happy love life!

“Even if it’s a contract, the two of you absolutely have to go on at least one date!”

Ian stared silently at the Charose estate, its rose-covered walls stretching out before him from inside the carriage.

There were only about two weeks left until the wedding.

The preparations were going smoothly.

Everything was simply being carried out exactly as he had planned.

But a date?

That was something she seemed more likely to dislike.

“Especially if you knew what kind of gossip is going around about you and Her Ladyship right now.”

Of course he knew.

How could he not?

Her name had been printed prominently in the newspaper he habitually read.

He had wanted to make sure the journalist who had written the absurd nonsense about Vanessa having an affair or causing some sort of scandal would never be allowed to hold a pen again.

If she really had been having an affair, perhaps he could have understood.

But that was as far as it went.

The only reason Ian hadn’t intervened himself was Vanessa.

She occasionally attended social gatherings, even if not frequently, so she would have noticed the rumors before he did.

Someone who had received such strict etiquette training would never simply ignore gossip that could damage her reputation.

She knew better than anyone that rumors only grew like snowballs rolling downhill.

Since she hadn’t said anything, it seemed she had no intention of correcting the rumors, which was why he hadn’t acted rashly.

That didn’t mean he was pleased about it.

He had merely taken measures to have the article removed.

And then, this morning—

Unable to withstand Denion’s relentless nagging after Vanessa had visited the estate, he had sent her a letter.

Her reply had arrived that morning.

She’ll probably reject me anyway.

If so, was there really any point in opening it?

The shock of imagining something and actually seeing it with his own eyes was different.

With that thought, he hesitated to open the letter. He first checked the newspaper to make sure there was no mention of Vanessa, and only then did he finally read her reply.

[Okay.]

Before he knew it, he had found himself sitting in front of the Charose ducal residence.

…I thought she would reject me.

He left the carriage parked and spent several minutes sitting inside.

Eventually, Ian let out a quiet sigh, pulled a cigar from his coat, and lit it.

A sharp peppermint scent quickly filled the carriage.

About an hour, perhaps.

Who would have thought he would develop a tolerance to the medicine after talking with her for only a few days?

Tsk.

Ian clicked his tongue softly through the smoke and climbed out of the carriage with the cigar between his lips.

His hand instinctively moved toward his bangs, as though he were about to brush them back, then stopped.

…I’m really going all out.

Normally, he wouldn’t have cared in the slightest whether his hair was disheveled or not.

Apparently, he wanted to make a good impression after all.

Ian crushed the half-burned cigar beneath his shoe. Instead of fixing his hair, he fastened the buttons of his suit, which he had left partially undone.

Just then, the butler hurried toward the entrance and bowed to him.

“Welcome, Your Grace, Duke Ruscliffe.”

“Where is the duchess-to-be?”

“She is still getting ready. If it is all right with you, I can escort you to the drawing room.”

Ian nodded instead of answering and slowly crossed the garden.

For a mansion built in a location blessed with plenty of sunlight, the garden was surprisingly subdued.

The last time he had visited, he thought he had seen quite a few flowers besides roses.

Now, however, all that remained were the red roses symbolizing House Charose.

“Is the garden the duchess-to-be’s preference?”

“We arranged it with things that would suit the young lady.”

“I see.”

He has no eye for these things.

If it were him…

The moment his thoughts reached that point, Ian quickened his pace.

He soon moved far ahead, forcing the butler to hurry after him.

“Please come inside. I will show you to the drawing room.”

As the firmly closed mansion doors opened, Ian swallowed a groan.

Maybe I should have just asked her to meet me outside.

Even though he had smoked calming herbs, Vanessa’s distinctive scent pierced his nose the moment he entered and made his head spin.

“…Tell the duchess-to-be that I’ll wait outside.”

“What? If you wait in the drawing room for just a moment, the young lady will be out shortly—”

No.

Ian shook his head.

If he crossed the threshold of the mansion, today’s date would end right there.

He had suspected it might happen, but he hadn’t realized his tolerance had become this bad.

And he couldn’t exactly sit around waiting for Vanessa while constantly puffing on calming herbs.

“…I can’t stand it.”

“……!”

The butler’s eyes widened at the words that slipped unconsciously from Ian’s mouth.

“I left the carriage at the entrance. Tell her to come there.”

The corner of the butler’s mouth twitched.

Ian didn’t know what misunderstanding he was having, but Vanessa wouldn’t attach much meaning to his words anyway.

So perhaps it didn’t matter.

“Yes. I will be sure to tell the young lady.”

Ian gave a perfunctory nod and quickly retraced his steps.

How am I supposed to have a date like this?

Taking a walk around a nearby lake, going boating, attending a concert, or even sightseeing around the capital would all require them to maintain a certain distance.

…There is one thing we could do while remaining apart, though.

The question was whether Vanessa Charose would actually consider that a “date.”

“…This is difficult.”

It wasn’t as though Vanessa Charose would develop feelings for him just because he did this.

What exactly had he expected by coming all the way here?

Tsk.

Ian clicked his tongue sharply, roughly took another cigar into his mouth, and inhaled deeply.

When the appointed time arrived, the mansion doors opened.

Vanessa walked out at an unhurried pace—not too early, not too late.

Her pink eyes settled on Ian.

More precisely, they settled on the cigar hanging from his lips.

“What? That was what you meant by not being able to stand it?”

Vanessa muttered as she stared at the cigar in Ian’s mouth.

Who smoked a cigar that aggressively before a date?

“My lady, His Grace seems to be very much looking forward to meeting you.”

Vanessa remembered what the butler had just told her.

At first, she had scoffed, wondering what kind of misunderstanding that was.

“He said he couldn’t stand it while waiting at the door, and then his face turned red before he went back to the carriage.”

That was why she had wondered if perhaps—

The mention of his face turning red had made her think so.

She hadn’t expected Ian to be the one to suggest a date first.

She had thought perhaps he was at least making an effort to ensure that their relationship didn’t look completely terrible.

The moment Ian’s eyes met hers, he quickly crushed the cigar beneath his shoe.

Well… at least he seems capable of showing some consideration.

Seeing him look so unusually flustered was somewhat amusing, too.

“Did I keep you waiting long?”

At Vanessa’s question, Ian’s lips moved.

“…You could have taken your time.”

“I would have, but the butler was making such a fuss.”

“……”

“More importantly, I didn’t expect you to be the one to suggest a date.”

“Denion was being extremely persistent.”

“Ah.”

“…I did think it was necessary.”

Necessary…

Vanessa murmured the word softly before holding out her hand to Ian.

“You saw the article, didn’t you?”

Silence.

That was confirmation enough.

Ian stared quietly down at the hand she had extended toward him.

“We’re not married yet, so we don’t need to follow the conditions already, do we? We’re right outside the mansion. Please understand.”

“……”

He can’t even properly escort me, so why did he suggest a date?

At this rate, we’ll spend the entire day standing here.

Just as Vanessa was about to withdraw her hand, Ian carefully placed his palm beneath hers.

…Is he carrying a plate?

It was hardly an escort.

It was closer to using his hand as a support.

Still, Vanessa didn’t say anything and climbed into the carriage.

Considering how many restrictions against physical contact were written into their contract, this must have been quite a major decision for Ian.

“Thank you. For understanding.”

“…All right.”

The carriage began to move with a gentle jolt.

“So, where are we going for our date?”

“…Well.”

“Hm?”

“We’ll have a meal at Dominuc Freya’s restaurant, then go to a bookstore.”

They had come all the way to Abellard, the central capital, and instead of visiting the famous fountain that was a popular date spot, they were going to a bookstore?

“Is there a book you need to buy?”

“While we’re there.”

“Oh… All right. Is that it?”

“What else is supposed to happen?”

He had said he thought a date was necessary, so she had assumed he was concerned about the gossip in the newspaper.

Besides, she had agreed to his proposal partly because she thought that if they showed themselves getting along well, the focus would inevitably shift to “Why did she break up with Carlisle?”

That would inevitably drag Carlisle Leonard into the gossip as well.

But if they were simply going to hole up in a bookstore, was there really any point in coming out at all?