FWRP 12

Chapter 12

Denian swallowed his tears inwardly and soothed his aching 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 in the first place.

Whether she had known what she was doing or not, he couldn’t say.

But there was no chance his master would change his mind. Which meant that whether their relationship lasted a lifetime or ended halfway through would depend entirely on the future mistress of the house.

If so, then there was no need to wonder what he had to do.

‘Please, let the mistress change her mind and stay with him for the rest of their lives….’

He had to somehow change the mistress’s heart, which was still set on nothing more than a contract.

For the sake of his master, whose career in making a mess of things had already reached expert level.

And for the sake of his own happy romantic life!

‘Even if it’s a contractual marriage, the two of you absolutely have to go on dates!’

Ian stared silently at the Sharoze estate, its walls covered in roses, from inside the carriage.

There were only a little over two weeks left until the wedding.

The preparations were proceeding smoothly.

After all, he only had to put into practice everything he had already planned.

But a date?

That was something she would probably dislike even more.

‘Especially if you knew what kind of gossip is going around about you and the mistress right now.’

Of course he knew.

How could he not?

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

If it were up to him, he would make sure the reporter who had written the absurd claims that Vanessa had cheated and gotten herself into trouble would never hold a pen again.

If she really had cheated, at least there would have been some justification for the accusations.

But that was as far as it went.

The only reason Ian had not intervened was Vanessa herself.

She attended social gatherings from time to time, even if she wasn’t particularly fond of them. She must have noticed the gossip even before he did.

Having received such strict etiquette training, there was no way she would simply let rumors that could damage her reputation continue unchecked.

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

Since she had shown no intention of correcting them, he couldn’t bring himself to act without her permission.

That didn’t mean he wasn’t displeased, though.

He had merely taken measures to have the article removed.

And this morning.

After Denian had relentlessly badgered him ever since Vanessa had visited the estate, Ian had finally sent her a letter.

Her reply had arrived that morning.

She’ll refuse anyway.

If so, did he really need to open it?

There was a difference between imagining something in his head and seeing it with his own eyes.

With that thought, he hesitated to open the letter. Only after checking the newspaper and confirming that Vanessa’s name wasn’t in it did he finally look at her reply.

[All right.]

Before he knew it, he had already arrived in front of the Sharoze estate.

‘…I thought she would refuse.’

He left the carriage waiting outside and spent several minutes sitting inside.

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

The sharp scent of peppermint quickly filled the carriage.

‘About an hour, I suppose.’

He had only spoken with her for a few days, yet he had apparently already developed a tolerance to the medicine.

Tsk.

Clicking his tongue softly along with the smoke, Ian got out of the carriage with the cigar between his lips.

His hand instinctively moved to smooth back his hair, then stopped.

‘…I’m really going all out.’

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

Apparently, he wanted to look good for her after all.

Ian ground the half-burned cigar beneath his shoe and, instead of fixing his hair, buttoned up his loosened jacket.

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

“Welcome, Duke Ruscliff.”

“Where is the young lady?”

“She is still getting ready. If you don’t mind, I can escort you to the drawing room.”

Ian merely nodded and slowly crossed the garden.

For a mansion built in a place that received plenty of sunlight, the garden was remarkably subdued.

When he had come before, he seemed to remember seeing quite a few flowers besides roses.

Now, all that remained were the red roses that symbolized House Sharoze.

“Is the garden to the young lady’s taste?”

“We arranged it with things that would suit Lady Vanessa.”

“I see.”

You have no eye for these things.

If it were him—

His thoughts stopped there, and Ian quickened his pace.

The butler hurried after him as Ian quickly moved ahead.

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

The moment the firmly closed door opened, Ian swallowed a groan.

Perhaps I should have told her to meet me outside.

Even though he had smoked calming herbs before coming, Vanessa’s distinctive scent stabbed at his nose so strongly that his mind began to grow hazy.

“…Tell the young lady I’ll wait outside.”

“Pardon? If you wait in the drawing room, Lady Vanessa will be here shortly—”

No.

Ian shook his head.

If he crossed the threshold of the mansion, today’s date would be over before it even began.

He hadn’t expected it, but apparently his tolerance had improved this much.

Still, he couldn’t simply sit there smoking calming herbs one after another while waiting for Vanessa.

“…I can’t stand it.”

“……!”

The butler’s eyes widened at the words Ian muttered unconsciously.

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

The corners of the butler’s mouth twitched.

Ian had no idea what misunderstanding he was having, but Vanessa wouldn’t attach any particular meaning to his words anyway.

So it probably didn’t matter.

“Yes. I will be sure to tell her.”

Ian gave a vague nod and quickly retraced his steps.

How am I supposed to go on a date like this?

Walking around a nearby lake, going boating, attending a concert, or even sightseeing around the capital—all of those required them to remain at least somewhat close to each other.

‘…There is one thing we could do while staying apart, though.’

But would Vanessa Sharoze even consider that a date?

“…This is difficult.”

It wasn’t as though doing this would make Vanessa Sharoze fall in love with him.

What expectations had he brought with him to come all the way here?

Tsk.

Ian clicked his tongue irritably, pulled the cigar roughly from his mouth, and took a deep drag.

When the appointed time arrived, the mansion door opened.

Neither late nor early, Vanessa walked out at an unhurried pace.

Her pink eyes fixed on Ian.

More precisely, on the cigar between his lips.

“What? That was what you couldn’t stand?”

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

Who smoked a cigar like that before a date?

‘My lady, it seems the duke is looking forward to meeting you very much.’

Vanessa recalled what the butler had just told her.

At first, she had scoffed at the misunderstanding.

‘He said he couldn’t stand 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—

She hadn’t 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 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 considerate enough.’

Seeing him look unusually flustered was somewhat amusing, too.

“Have you been waiting long?”

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

“…You could have taken your time.”

“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 overly persistent.”

“Ah.”

“…I did think it was necessary.”

Necessary…

Vanessa murmured the word softly and held out her hand to Ian.

“You saw the article, didn’t you?”

Silence.

That was an affirmation.

Ian quietly looked 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 right in front of the estate. Please understand.”

“…….”

He can’t even escort me properly, 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 over hers.

…Is he carrying a plate?

It was less like an escort and more like he was simply providing a platform for her hand.

But Vanessa said nothing and climbed into the carriage.

Considering the contract was filled with restrictions against physical contact, this must have been a considerable decision for Ian.

“Thank you for understanding.”

“…All right.”

The carriage began to move with a jolt.

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

“…Food.”

“Hmm?”

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

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

“Is there some book you need to buy?”

“While we’re there.”

“What… Fine. Is that it?”

“What else is there supposed to be?”

He had said he thought a date was necessary, so Vanessa had assumed he was worried about the gossip in the newspapers.

Besides, she had accepted his proposal partly because if they showed themselves getting along well, the focus would naturally shift toward “Why did she break up with Carlisle?” The gossip would inevitably spill over onto Carlisle Leonard as well.

But if they were just going to hole up in a bookstore, what was the point of coming out at all?