FWRP 10

Chapter 10

As though those words had been a signal, the employees who had been hovering nearby and watching Vanessa’s reactions suddenly sharpened their eyes and grabbed her arms all at once.

“What is this…?!”

Perhaps because she realized what was happening too late.

Before Vanessa could react, the measuring tape swiftly began taking her measurements one by one.

“Let go of me right now! If you don’t get away by the count of three…!”

No! If they take all my measurements like this, I’ll really have to wear that dress…!

Just as Vanessa gathered up the last of her dignity and prepared to swing her arm—

Knock, knock.

With two monotonous knocks, someone opened the door and walked in.

“I came just in case. Looks like I was right to come.”

The person who entered without the slightest concern for what was happening inside was none other than Ian Ruscliff.

“Ian! You…!”

“Have you taken all her measurements?”

“Huff… huff… Only her… bust remains!”

Apparently, Vanessa’s resistance had been stronger than expected.

The employee, who had been dodging her wildly flailing hands while trying to take her measurements, gasped for breath.

“…Make sure it’s accurate.”

Accurate? What exactly are you telling them to measure accurately? Are you insane?

Vanessa stopped flailing her arms and stared at Ian with an utterly appalled expression.

“We’ll make sure there’s not even a single inch of error!”

And why are you encouraging them?!

Vanessa let out an incredulous laugh.

Ian, meanwhile, wore a faint smile as he stared intently at her.

Huh?

Wait…

Where exactly are his eyes going?

“Ian Ruscliff?”

“I can hear you, so there’s no need to keep repeating my name… Sasha.”

His voice was annoyingly attractive.

Vanessa barely managed to withstand the sensation, as though her eardrums might melt, and widened her eyes.

“Sasha?”

“Since we’re going to be husband and wife, I thought it would be nice to have a nickname for you.”

“…”

“You can call me by my name comfortably.”

So that smiley face in the letter really had been modeled after his own expression.

Ian gave her the exact same irritating smile as the one in the letter, glanced at the employee carefully placing the measuring tape around Vanessa’s bust, and then turned his gaze away.

“…I’ll wait in the drawing room.”

Vanessa caught sight of the tips of Ian’s ears, which had turned red.

Had Ian ever looked like that?

Despite the words coming out of his mouth, his reddened ears made it obvious that he was embarrassed.

Even though Vanessa knew perfectly well that she was entering into a contractual marriage with him, a tiny spark of hope unexpectedly flickered inside her.

“Why? You told them to measure accurately a moment ago.”

“…”

“Don’t tell me… you’re embarrassed?”

“Of course not.”

A dry, icy voice descended over Vanessa’s ears just as she began to look triumphant, as though she had finally discovered a weakness.

It was enough to make her realize that the thought that perhaps their relationship might not be entirely bleak had been nothing more than her own wishful thinking.

“I don’t need to see it. And I won’t need to in the future, either.”

After finally finishing her battle over the fitting, Vanessa entered the drawing room.

Ian was staring out the window.

At the sound of her presence, his head slowly turned.

She had absolutely no idea what he was thinking.

His gaze remained as dry and listless as though he were staring at some tedious book.

He said he didn’t think he’d ever have a reason to see it.

He could hardly have made it any clearer.

It’s a contractual marriage.

Vanessa grumbled inwardly and let out a small sigh.

Whatever. What’s the point of getting angry now?

After all, she had practically used Ian herself to avoid marrying Carlyle Leonard.

If she was going to complain about his cold attitude, she should have simply proposed to someone else.

The man who had apparently even made plans to become a saint at forty really was as stiff as a deeply rooted tree, as though he didn’t understand a single thing about a woman’s heart.

Vanessa subtly avoided his gaze and sat down across from him.

“…The tea tastes good.”

At Ian’s slowly spoken words, Vanessa glanced at the teacup.

“I’m glad it suits your taste.”

Maybe you should actually take a sip before saying that.

She unconsciously pursed her lips before closing them again and stared at the teacup in front of her.

Despite its cloudy color, the tea carried an incredibly sweet aroma.

Just one sip was enough to gently soothe her previously foul mood.

It was milk tea made with honey and milk.

Her maid, Dia, used to make it herself especially for her.

After Vanessa married Carlyle, she hadn’t even seen it again…

Only now did she truly feel that she had returned to the past.

She savored the familiar scent at the tip of her nose before taking another sip.

Mmm. Just as she remembered.

Milk tea really was the best when drinking it after returning to the past.

Vanessa placed the half-empty teacup down with a small clink and looked at Ian.

“Ian.”

“Yes, Sasha.”

His voice was gentle, but his eyes were utterly devoid of warmth.

If she only listened to his voice, she might have thought he was overflowing with affection for her.

But those eyes?

Even a freezing winter wind would be warmer than that.

“Can I change some of the conditions?”

“…”

“…”

“That… might be difficult.”

Unlike when he’d casually called her by her nickname, his voice carried a hint of hesitation.

Vanessa shrugged.

She hadn’t expected him to agree anyway, but hearing a definite refusal still left a slightly bitter taste.

It seemed inevitable that rumors would spread through high society that she was a woman who received no affection from her husband.

Vanessa silently savored the milk tea in her cup.

Well, it can’t be helped.

Being able to drink Dia’s milk tea again was enough consolation for her.

She glanced toward Ian.

His tea remained almost completely untouched.

Judging from his expression, he seemed eager to go home.

“All right. If you’ve finished your tea, you can—”

“Tell me.”

“…”

“My ears are open.”

He asked her what she wanted with a face that looked as though he was dying to leave the room immediately.

I really can’t figure this man out.

He had been like this even in his forties, but back then, he hadn’t been quite this impossible to read.

Vanessa softened her eyes as she looked at Ian, who was still watching her with that strange expression.

“There isn’t anything else to do besides the fitting, right? Then… I’d like you to leave now.”

“…Earlier.”

Ian slowly opened his mouth.

His gaze moved once to the teacup, then to Vanessa’s smiling face.

“Were you upset?”

“…”

“If you were, I’m sorry.”

Were you upset?

Without having the slightest idea what had actually been wrong, his perfunctory apology only made Vanessa smile more deeply.

“What do you have to apologize for? It’s a contractual marriage, after all.”

At her words, Ian’s brow twitched.

Contract.

He rolled the word around on his tongue before quietly exhaling and rising from his seat.

“Vanessa.”

The nickname was gone from his voice.

Only a cold winter wind remained.

“If we’re going to spend the rest of our lives together, it’s troublesome for you to draw a line between us like that.”

With those words, Ian glanced at the tea he’d barely touched before walking past Vanessa.

Only after his back had disappeared into the distance did Vanessa stare blankly with her mouth open.

“…Why on earth is he angry?”

Because the events of the afternoon kept disturbing her thoughts, Vanessa couldn’t fall asleep easily.

Not only had Ian filled their contract with countless conditions prohibiting physical contact, he’d even said they would have no reason to see each other.

And yet he was apparently offended by her calling their marriage a contractual one?

“Hah. This is ridiculous.”

Ian Ruscliff in his twenties was even more impossible to understand than Ian in his forties.

Back then, perhaps because she had been a cripple, he had seemed a little warmer than he was now.

“Ugh…”

Vanessa groaned and threw herself onto the bed.

It was enough as long as it wasn’t Carlyle.

Now that her wish had come true, she knew that wanting anything more from Ian—or making demands about his behavior—would simply be her own greed.

So she had kept quiet.

“…Still, it’s too much.”

Even so, Ian Ruscliff’s actions were undeniably excessive.

It’s almost as if… yes, as if he really…

Vanessa sat up and carefully examined the letter beside her bed again.

Looking at the enormous list of wedding preparations, from the items required for the ceremony all the way down to tending the gardens—

Even though she knew the illusion would be shattered the moment she saw his expression and behavior, she couldn’t help wondering.

He seems… happy that we’re getting married, doesn’t he?

But Ian was a man who hated unnecessary emotional expenditure more than anything.

That must have been why he’d made plans to become a saint at forty.

She could count on one hand the number of times she’d seen a woman by his side, and as for the people he actually spent time with…

There was practically only Tese Descartes, who was the Crown Prince now and would eventually become Emperor.

Vanessa shook her head slightly, as though she couldn’t believe her own thoughts.

…Good grief. What a ridiculous delusion.