Chapter: 12
Denian swallowed his tears inwardly and soothed his aching heart by firmly closing the half-open window.
Come to think of it, it had been the mistress who proposed the contract marriage.
Whether she had known what she was doing or not, he had no idea.
Since his master was unlikely to change his mind, it meant that whether the two of them would stay together for the rest of their lives or part ways somewhere along the way was entirely in the mistress’s hands.
If so, there was practically only one thing left for him to do.
‘Please, Mistress, change your mind and stay with him for the rest of your life…….’
He had to somehow change the mistress’s mind, which was still confined to the terms of the contract.
For his master, whose experience in making a mess of things had reached expert level.
And for his own happy love life!
‘Even if it’s only a contract, you absolutely have to go on a date!’
Ian stared blankly at the Sharoz residence, its walls covered in roses, from inside the carriage.
There were only about two weeks left until the wedding.
The preparations were going smoothly.
All he had to do was put into practice what he had already planned.
But a date?
That was something she would probably dislike even more.
‘Especially if you know what kind of gossip is going around about you and the young lady right now.’
Of course he knew.
How could he not?
Her name had appeared prominently in the newspaper he habitually read.
If he had had his way, he would have made sure the reporter who had written such nonsense about Vanessa having an affair and causing trouble would never hold a pen again.
If she really had been having an affair, at least he would have had some justification for his anger.
But that was as far as it went.
The only reason Ian had not stepped in was Vanessa herself.
Since she occasionally attended social gatherings, even if not frequently, she would have noticed it before he did.
Having received strict etiquette training, she would never simply let gossip that could damage her reputation go unchecked.
She knew better than anyone that rumors only grew like a snowball rolling downhill.
Since she had said nothing, it seemed she had no intention of issuing a correction, so he could not bring himself to act.
That did not mean he was comfortable with it, however.
For the time being, he had only taken measures to have the article removed.
And this morning.
Unable to withstand Denian’s relentless nagging ever since Vanessa had visited the residence, he had sent her a letter.
Her reply had arrived that morning.
It would be a rejection anyway.
If so, did he really need to open it?
What you imagine in your head and what you actually see with your own eyes could have very different impacts.
With that thought, he hesitated to open it. Only after checking the newspaper, where her name was nowhere to be seen, did he finally open her reply.
[Okay.]
Before he knew it, he was standing in front of the Sharoz ducal residence.
‘……I thought she would refuse.’
After leaving the carriage parked and spending several minutes inside it, Ian finally let out a small sigh, took a cigar from inside his coat, and lit it.
The cool scent of peppermint quickly filled the carriage.
‘About an hour, I suppose.’
Who would have thought that merely talking with her for a few days would make him develop such a tolerance to the medicine?
Tsk.
Clicking his tongue softly through the smoke, Ian got out of the carriage with the cigar between his lips.
The hand that habitually moved to brush back his bangs suddenly stopped.
‘……I’m doing all sorts of things.’
Normally, he would not have cared in the slightest whether his hair was messy or not.
Apparently, he wanted to make a good impression after all.
Ian stubbed out the half-burned cigar beneath his shoe and, instead of fixing his hair, buttoned up the front of his disheveled formal coat.
Just then, the butler hurried toward the entrance of the residence and bowed to Ian.
“Welcome, Your Grace, Duke of Ruscliffe.”
“Is the young lady ready?”
“She is still preparing. If you don’t mind, I will escort you to the drawing room.”
Instead of answering, Ian nodded and slowly crossed the garden.
For a residence built in a place that received plenty of sunlight, the garden was remarkably subdued.
The last time he had visited, he seemed to remember seeing quite a few flowers besides roses.
Now, all that remained were the red roses, the symbol of House Sharoz.
“Is the garden the young lady’s preference?”
“I arranged it with things that would suit the young lady.”
“I see.”
You have no eye for this.
If it were me……
As soon as his thoughts reached that point, Ian quickened his pace.
Seeing Ian quickly move ahead, the butler hurried after him.
“Please, come inside. I will show you to the drawing room.”
When the firmly closed door of the residence opened, Ian swallowed a groan inwardly.
Maybe he should have simply suggested meeting outside.
Even though he had smoked calming herbs, Vanessa’s unique scent was still so strong that it made his head swim.
“……Tell the young lady I’ll be waiting outside.”
“Pardon? If you wait in the drawing room for a moment, the young lady will be here shortly……”
“No.”
Ian shook his head.
If he crossed the threshold of the residence, today’s date would be over before it even began.
He had suspected it, but he had not expected his tolerance to have grown this much.
Still, he could not exactly sit there waiting for Vanessa while constantly puffing on calming herbs.
“……I can’t stand it.”
“……!”
The butler’s eyes widened at Ian’s involuntary murmur.
“I left the carriage at the entrance. Tell her to come there.”
The corner of the butler’s mouth twitched.
Ian had no idea what misunderstanding the man was having, but Vanessa would not attach much meaning to his words, so perhaps it did not matter.
“Yes. I will be sure to tell the young lady.”
Ian gave a casual nod and quickly retraced his steps.
How was he supposed to go on a date like this?
Even walking around a nearby lakeside, going boating, or at the very least attending a concert or sightseeing around the capital would all require them to maintain some distance.
‘……There is one thing we could do while staying apart.’
The question was whether Vanessa Sharoz would actually consider that a ‘date.’
“……This is difficult.”
It was not as though Vanessa Sharoz would develop feelings for him just because he did this.
What on earth had he expected when he came all the way here?
Tsk.
Ian clicked his tongue harshly, took another drag from his cigar, and inhaled deeply.
When the appointed time arrived, the door of the residence opened.
She walked neither too quickly nor too slowly.
Pink eyes gazed at Ian.
More precisely, at the cigar between his lips.
“What? Was that what you couldn’t stand?”
Vanessa muttered as she stared at the cigar in Ian’s mouth.
Who smoked a cigar that aggressively before a date?
‘Young lady, it seems His Grace has been looking forward to meeting you very much.’
Vanessa recalled what the butler had just told her.
At first, she had scoffed at the ridiculous misunderstanding.
‘Well. He said he couldn’t stand it while he was standing at the door, and then his face turned red before he went back to the carriage.’
That was why she had wondered if, perhaps, it might really be true.
Especially when she heard that his face had turned red.
She had not expected Ian to be the one to suggest a date first.
She had thought that perhaps, in his own way, he was trying to make sure their relationship did not look completely disastrous.
As soon as Ian’s eyes met hers, he quickly crushed the cigar between his lips beneath his shoe.
‘Well…… at least it’s nice to see that he has some consideration.’
Seeing his unusually flustered expression was somewhat amusing, too.
“Have you been waiting long?”
At Vanessa’s question, Ian’s lips moved slightly.
“……You could have taken your time coming out.”
“The butler was making such a fuss that I couldn’t.”
“…….”
“More importantly, I didn’t expect you to be the one to suggest a date first.”
“Denian was being so persistent.”
“Ah-ha.”
“……I did think it was necessary.”
Necessary…….
Muttering the word softly, Vanessa held out her hand to Ian.
“You saw the article?”
Silence.
That was confirmation.
Ian stared quietly down at the hand she had extended toward him.
“We’re not married yet, so we don’t have to start following the conditions already, right? We’re in front of the residence. Please understand.”
“…….”
He had trouble even escorting her, so why had he suggested a date?
At this rate, they were going to waste all their time 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 more like he was simply serving as a support.
But instead of saying anything, Vanessa climbed into the carriage.
Considering the contract was filled with restrictions against physical contact, this was probably a major decision for Ian.
“Thank you. For understanding.”
“……Sure.”
The carriage began moving with a jolt.
“So, where are we going for our date?”
“……Food.”
“Hm?”
“We’ll have a meal at a restaurant in Dominuk Freya, then go to a bookstore.”
They had come all the way to Abellard, the central capital, and instead of going to the fountain, one of the famous date spots, they were going to a bookstore?
“Is there a book you need to buy?”
“While we’re there.”
“Well…… okay. Is that it?”
“What else is there supposed to be?”
He had said he thought a date was necessary, so she had assumed he was concerned about the gossip in the newspapers.
In fact, Vanessa had accepted his proposal partly because she thought that if they showed themselves getting along well with Ian at a time like this, the focus would shift toward the question, ‘Why did she break up with Carlisle?’
Naturally, the gossip would end up dragging Carlisle Leonard into it as well.
But if they were just going to hole up in a bookstore, was there really any point in coming out at all?
