FRL 4

Chapter 4

The day I became suspected of having an affair was my birthday.

Despite hearing the rumor that the Marchioness had become a cripple, Ian had still been kind to me.

When he asked why I was walking around alone on such a wonderful day, I had asked him in return:

What was so wonderful about it?

‘It’s the day you were born.’

At his answer, uttered without even the slightest hesitation, the fragile heart I had been barely holding together finally collapsed.

‘I want to celebrate your birth more than anyone.’

‘…….’

‘And… I’m grateful that you made it safely to another birthday.’

‘…….’

‘If being able to say that is what makes today a wonderful day… Oh, dear. I wasn’t trying to make you cry.’

As he said that, he reached his hand toward me, only to stop abruptly in midair. The expression on his face was no different from the one he had worn as a child.

The sunlight was too bright.

Using that as an excuse, I hid my tears.

If only I had known that my mother-in-law had witnessed everything.

No… If only I had realized just a little sooner that even Carlisle insisting I wear those high heels on my birthday had been part of a trap they had deliberately set for me…

Would I have been spared the sight of Carlisle, who had branded me an adulteress and stripped me of every last bit of the ducal family’s wealth except the Charose residence, remarrying the merchant’s daughter as though he had been waiting for the chance?

And he did so less than a week after my father died.

‘If you resent me that much, why don’t you remarry, too? You happen to have a good match right beside you, don’t you? A crippled wife and a defective duke. What a perfect couple you’d make.’

One blade after another.

The cruel words that came flying at me as though they had been waiting for the opportunity shredded what little remained of my heart.

Did you never love me?

Though the question had no subject, he answered without hesitation.

‘Vanessa Charose. That’s the kind of question you should have asked when you still had plenty to offer.’

If you had, I would have gladly whispered that I loved you into your ear.

The violet eyes that had once shone like amethysts when he was young had become clouded with gray by then.

They looked so different that I could hardly believe he was the Carlisle Leonard I had once known.

No.

Looking back, those had been the same eyes from the moment he asked me to marry him.

Once I realized the truth, the love inside me shattered.

It disappeared without a trace, as though it had never held its shape in the first place.

Like a flower that bloomed for only one season before withering away.

‘I’m glad you were so innocent. If you hadn’t gone to look at dresses because of what I said back then, you wouldn’t have kept your distance from Ian. Every time he tried to talk to you, I went out of my way to interfere. I almost lost you.’

That evening, a letter arrived at the last residence that remained in my possession.

It was a document transferring my title, bearing my unmistakable signature.

I had been branded an adulteress and divorced, and on top of that, my father had died.

In such circumstances, I couldn’t allow them to take my ducal title as well.

I intended to go to the Imperial Palace as soon as dawn broke.

If I requested a handwriting analysis, it would take time, but at least the transfer of the title would be put on hold until the results came back.

Besides, I also possessed documents containing evidence of their corruption and illegal activities.

But an inexplicable sense of unease kept creeping over me.

In the end, I hurried out of the house before dawn.

And I was killed immediately.

As though someone had been waiting for me to come outside, they did it without the slightest hesitation.

‘You can pay for your sins later. Get some good rest, Vanessa.’

That was undoubtedly Carlisle’s voice.

I don’t know how much wealth and glory he enjoyed using everything he stole from me in my previous life.

But your time to pay for your sins is now, Carlisle.

After finishing her thoughts, Vanessa deliberately lifted the corners of her mouth.

“Oh, come to think of it, didn’t I hear that a restaurant run by Dominuk Freya recently opened near the capital?”

She roughly calculated the period she had returned to and remembered something.

It was an upscale restaurant said to have been opened by the former imperial head chef.

She had never been there before.

Before her wedding, she had been on bad terms with her father, and after her wedding, she had been subjected to the absurd lectures about how she ought to save money.

It was the first time anyone had ever told her that she was extravagant.

And yet, those people had replaced the furniture, wallpaper, and tableware in the house whenever they pleased, as though they were bored with them.

And that wasn’t all.

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner weren’t enough.

Whenever they had the opportunity, they went there to eat again.

And every single expense had come out of her pocket.

The days she had spent living comfortably in the ducal household, with nothing to envy in anyone else, had begun to feel like a dream.

The moment she married, she had been thoroughly isolated.

She remembered how, after she finished eating alone, they would deliberately enter the mansion together, chatting happily from the very entrance as though flaunting their closeness.

Ironically, now that she had returned to the past, even those memories had become fuel for her desire for revenge.

‘This time, I’ll show them exactly what it means to spend money.’

She intended to show them exactly what happened when the daughter of a duke decided to spend money without restraint.

The more extravagant she became, the more they would hound Carlisle for letting her slip through his fingers.

After all, they had always wanted an endless supply of money.

The more they agonized over the wealth and glory they had lost right before their eyes, the stronger Vanessa’s desire for revenge would become.

“Where did you hear that…? Never mind. Yes. Once you’re finished here, prepare yourself and come along. I’ll be waiting.”

After her father finished speaking, Vanessa entered the ducal residence and quickly tidied herself up.

Then, when she reached the drawing room, a natural smile curved across her lips.

It would have been wonderful if she could erase even the relationship they had shared as childhood sweethearts.

But there was nothing she could do about that.

Still, she had returned just before accepting his proposal.

How fortunate.

She could call off the marriage.

“Vannet! I was going to contact you before coming, but I couldn’t stand not seeing you.”

When the door opened, the mature, cold face she remembered from her previous life was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, a youthful face filled with excitement greeted her.

In the past, she had thought his hair was dazzling, as though it had been molded from sunlight.

His softly curved eyes had seemed like purple amethysts that emitted their own light.

But now…

They looked as dull as purple paint smeared across bright yellow wallpaper.

There was no emotion.

No excitement.

Nothing that made her heart flutter.

“Carlisle! You should have contacted me before coming. If you had, I might have returned later.”

Vanessa curved her eyes into a bright smile.

Anyone looking at her would have thought she was delighted by his visit.

But her words were enough to make Carlisle look puzzled.

“…Hm? Haha. Then I would have gone to meet you.”

“Yes. That’s why I said it. I wanted you to come meet me. I felt frustrated when I couldn’t see you.”

“……”

“I missed you very much, too…”

Did he know?

Did he know how much she had once wanted to see him at this age?

How much she had hated him, to the point that she had desperately wished she could return to that moment and set everything right?

How much she had regretted it?

Amid the silence, Vanessa quietly stared at Carlisle, who was wearing an awkward smile in front of her.

By now, he would normally have become irritated and snapped at her for keeping her mouth shut.

Instead, he avoided her gaze.

Vanessa’s smile deepened.

‘I have so much now.’

The leg she had lost.

Her honor.

Her reputation.

Everything had returned to her hands.

Enough to make Carlisle Leonard whisper words of love to her.

Facing Carlisle’s youthful face made it increasingly difficult for Vanessa to suppress her laughter.

‘Carlisle Leonard, your wife in this life will be the commoner your mother wanted so badly.’

And you will lose even that pathetic marquisate.

Suppressing her laughter, Vanessa gently curved her eyes at Carlisle.

“Carlisle.”

“Yes, Vannet.”

“Do you love me?”

Perhaps he hadn’t expected such a question out of nowhere.

His violet eyes widened before slowly narrowing into a smile.

Then, with the clearest, most innocent-looking smile of all, he answered.

“…Very much. I love you so much that I can’t believe you and I are lovers.”

Pfft.

A snort of laughter escaped Vanessa before she could suppress it.

Perhaps he thought her laugh meant she was happy to have her love confirmed, because Carlisle immediately continued.

“Oh, by the way, what do you think about getting the wedding dress from Sovina Salon? I’ve looked around a few places, and that one seemed the best. Apparently, everyone has been having their dresses made there lately.”

“A wedding dress?”

“Ah.”

Carlisle gave a small gasp at Vanessa’s question and blushed shyly.

“I was thinking… perhaps we should finally get married. We’ve been together for quite a long time, ever since we were children. And more than anything…”

He smiled.

“I’ve come to want to spend the rest of my life with you as my wife.”

“Isn’t that a little sudden?”

“…You’re too beautiful for me to leave you alone.”

Unlike the sweet words he so effortlessly spouted, his eyes were filled with nothing but annoyance.

When their eyes met, he hurriedly curved his eyes into a smile, making Vanessa almost laugh again.

‘I really was completely insane.’

Only now had she realized the way Carlisle had been looking at her all along.