Chapter: 09
Perhaps it was because the laughter that bloomed like ripples spreading after a drop fell onto water was warmer and gentler than she had expected.
The moment she saw the faint upward curve of his lips, she stared blankly with her mouth slightly open.
“……I don’t think that’s something a person who filled the contract with clauses forbidding all physical contact should be saying.”
“Love isn’t necessarily made up of physical contact alone, is it?”
“…….”
“I didn’t think you were like that, but you’re more narrow-minded than I expected.”
“N-Narrow-minded? Any grown adult would have thoughts like that at least once…….”
“I happen to value emotional connection.”
“…….”
“Not physical. Mental.”
“……Look at you, acting like some saint.”
“Seems like I had even planned to become a saint around the age of forty.”
Ian answered casually and gave a small chuckle. Vanessa’s cheeks, which had been puffed up with displeasure when they first met, had returned to normal before she knew it.
“Do you have anything else left to complain about?”
“…….”
“If not, I’ll see you off here. Denion, safely escort my future wife home.”
For someone who had just promised to fulfill her romantic fantasies, his farewell was rather cold.
But there was nothing else she could do there, so she had no choice but to quietly accept his farewell.
Leaving behind the butler, who stood a short distance away and looked awkwardly back and forth between Ian and her, Vanessa began to walk.
“Vanessa. Did you like the dress you’ll be wearing?”
Hearing Ian’s voice behind her, Vanessa unconsciously grabbed the hem of her skirt tightly.
“I like the dress, but the jewelry is too much. Take that part out.”
“Oh. But the custom order has already been placed.”
“…….”
“Perhaps next time, you’ll pay us a more timely visit.”
At the implication that he had deliberately acted first because he knew she would like it, Vanessa’s head snapped around.
However, the moment she saw Ian’s face wearing a faint smile, the mouth that had been about to say something immediately closed.
“……Forget it. I don’t want to start following the conditions already.”
The distance between the Sharoze Ducal Residence and the Ruscliffe Ducal Residence was far enough to require more than ten minutes by carriage.
In other words, if she wanted to stop him from making arbitrary decisions like this, she would have to stay closer to him.
Though he had phrased it indirectly, it was essentially an invitation for her to move into the Ruscliffe Ducal Residence.
At her tactful refusal, Ian simply nodded without adding anything else.
“I’ll let you know beforehand when it’s time for the fitting.”
“I’m so touched I could cry. I’ll be going now.”
Once Vanessa, whose cheeks had puffed up again, disappeared completely from sight, Ian’s brow twisted painfully.
Ian took out the cigar he had kept in the inner pocket of his jacket and lit it without hesitation.
As the scent of mint brushed against the tip of his nose, his breathing gradually settled.
“Duke Ruscliffe.”
“……Your Highness. You didn’t wait.”
“There was quite a commotion.”
Ian ignored the sly smile of the man behind him and filled his eyes with the sight of Vanessa visible through the window of the ducal residence.
Judging from the force in her footsteps, she must have been far from pleased with his preparations.
‘A marriage because they love each other…….’
Ian bit down firmly on his cigar and turned around.
“How is the preparation for the wedding ceremony coming along?”
At Ian’s question, the man shrugged.
“Thanks to someone.”
“What’s so difficult about it? All I have to say is, ‘Congratulations.’”
“Then I didn’t even need to prepare a wedding speech.”
The man patted Ian’s shoulder twice.
“Prepare at least one thing inadequately. That way, I’ll have an excuse to tell the woman who will become Empress that there’s at least one thing I’m better at.”
“You’ve chosen the Third Princess?”
“For now.”
“Wouldn’t the Second Princess be better? At least choosing a woman who has something in her hands would be…….”
“That’s precisely why.”
A deep smile appeared at the corners of the man’s lips.
“She knows very well that her position is nothing more than a title.”
“…….”
“So it’s easy for me to push my ambitions into her. If she has nothing, there’s nothing for her to protect.”
“How much are you planning to carve up and take?”
“Who knows? I don’t know how much it’ll take before my stomach is full. Is there any territory you want? I’ll give it to you as a wedding present.”
“…….”
“If there isn’t, I’ll divide something up myself.”
“……Give me Delphiro.”
At Ian’s words, the man bared his teeth in a grin.
“Delphiro. Yes, I suppose that’s a place where I’ve heard of your family’s curse.”
“It’s not entirely because of that.”
Ian glanced toward the entrance of the residence where the Sharoze family’s carriage had been parked moments ago, then slowly drew on his cigar.
“I thought it would make a decent honeymoon destination.”
At Ian’s murmured words, the man took half a step backward.
His expression remained as emotionless as if he were reading one of the Empire’s famously thick history books, yet somehow he had actually said something like that.
The man looked at Ian and shook his head in disbelief.
“A honeymoon coming from your mouth. There probably isn’t a word less suited to you.”
Ian’s lips twitched at the man’s remark. He took a deep drag from his cigar and turned around.
“You don’t say.”
She was crazy. Absolutely crazy. There was no way this could be happening unless everyone had completely lost their minds!
Early in the morning, the moment Vanessa saw the dress that had arrived at the residence, she had to suppress the urge to tear her hair out.
[It’s your fitting dress.
I thought it would be better to send it directly rather than tell you about it beforehand. ^^]
She had been told that they would discuss things in advance on the fitting day, so she had assumed she would be going to the salon.
She never expected them to send the entire dress to her.
The annoyingly smug smiley face only made Vanessa even angrier.
“Ian Ruscliffe……!”
Grinding her teeth and practically chewing on Ian’s name, Vanessa stopped one of the busy salon employees.
“You.”
“Yes, Lady Vanessa.”
“Isn’t this dress a little too much?”
At Vanessa’s question, the employee tilted her head and let out a small gasp.
“I think your beauty will shine even more brightly in it, my lady!”
……She hadn’t been asking for a compliment.
Vanessa swallowed a sigh.
“What I meant was…… wouldn’t it be better to remove at least the jewels attached to the neckline?”
“Uh…….”
The employee glanced at the neckline of the fitting dress, then looked back and forth between it and Vanessa.
“No! If we remove them, the dress would completely lose its impact against your elegance!”
Vanessa flinched.
She trembled slightly at the employee’s passionate reaction.
“It wouldn’t be able to show its full potential!”
……That was exactly the point. She wasn’t asking for compliments.
The employee’s ability to handle the situation was stronger than Vanessa had expected.
If even one of them had agreed with her, Vanessa had intended to use that reaction as an excuse to steer them toward what she wanted.
But when Vanessa rolled her eyes around as though searching for another potential ally, all the employees avoided her gaze as if they had made a pact beforehand.
‘Sigh…….’
No matter where she looked, it was excessive.
It seemed even more dazzling than the magnificent chandelier hanging from the ceiling.
‘At least I won’t have to worry about being seen in the middle of the night.’
The jewels alone were bright enough to make her eyes hurt!
Suppressing an internal scream, Vanessa forced a smile at the employee who cautiously approached to take her measurements.
“I just ate not long ago. I’m sorry, but could we take the measurements later……?”
Let’s push this back for now.
If they took her measurements too, it would feel as though she really had to wear this dress at the wedding.
She certainly wasn’t completely uninterested in extravagant things, as befitted a daughter of a noble family, but this was simply too much.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that they had casually pulled out at least one of the Empire’s foundations just to make this dress.
It was far too extravagant and burdensome for Vanessa to wear.
‘At this point, it’s not just going to be gossip for a few days. People might actually criticize the bride.’
They could even put it in the gossip papers, saying that she had drained the groom’s fortune just to indulge in luxury, and she wouldn’t have anything to say in her defense!
Of course, considering the wealth of the Ruscliffe Ducal Family, a dress like this could probably fill an entire room and they would still have plenty left over.
‘It’s too much…….’
After cursing inwardly countless times, Vanessa let out a deep sigh.
Expensive diamonds and a magnificent wedding.
It would be a lie to say she had never wanted such things.
Especially when she remembered how simple and hurriedly arranged her previous wedding had been.
But after seeing Ian list out all sorts of conditions for their marriage, Vanessa simply couldn’t understand the situation.
It was a marriage without love, after all.
‘Go ahead. A love so desperate that it feels as though it has to be you and no one else. If that’s your romantic fantasy.’
Of course, Ian had said that, but Vanessa didn’t believe him.
He was probably just joking.
Was he really the kind of man who would go this far for feelings that didn’t even exist?
Certainly…… Ian in his forties had never felt like this.
Vanessa stared at the smiley face written in the letter for a moment before giving her head a small shake.
“I think it would be better to schedule the fitting for another day.”
At Vanessa’s sudden declaration, the hands of the employees who had been diligently adjusting the dress came to a stop.
“Um…… Lady Vanessa.”
The employee who had just enthusiastically complimented her, seemingly without realizing the situation, cautiously approached while holding a measuring tape.
“I’m sorry, my lady, but the Duke gave us very strict instructions…….”
“What instructions?”
“Well…….”
She exchanged glances with another employee who had been adjusting the dress, then pulled the measuring tape out with a sharp snap.
“He told us that no matter what happens, we absolutely must finish the fitting today. Please forgive our rudeness!”
