FWRP 31

Chapter 31

Sender Unknown?

Vanessa tilted her head in puzzlement as Dia handed her the documents.

Ah. Could this be the information on the servants of the Ruscliffe family that Denion had mentioned?

She felt a little sorry, since she had unintentionally ended up asking someone to investigate the Ruscliffe household behind Ian’s back.

Meeting Denion, the butler of the Ruscliffe family, at La Fond du Neve had been almost a coincidence, but to Vanessa, it had been a stroke of luck.

She had been wondering what to do with the dresses she had bought from Primadella Dress Shop when, the moment she saw him, a plausible excuse had popped into her head: Why don’t I give them as gifts to the servants of the ducal household?

Afterward, she had casually asked whether there was anything she ought to know about the servants she had mentioned.

She hadn’t expected him to actually prepare documents and send them to her.

Vanessa set down her teacup with an audible clink and carefully opened the envelope.

“Dia. Could you make me another cup of milk tea? This time, make it cold.”

“Shall I bring some refreshments as well?”

“Oh, yes. I have some desserts I bought. Give me a few, and you can eat the rest.”

“You mean the fondant au chocolat? In that case, I’ll prepare a different tea to go with it.”

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

He had gone so far as to prepare documents simply because of a question she’d tossed out in passing.

Could this perhaps be something closer to a warning?

Vanessa casually began looking through the documents, but her eyes gradually widened.

“What is this…?”

Were all these maids hiding extraordinary abilities—or rather, hiding extraordinary connections and power?

One of them had a family member who ran a three-story workshop in Pommeld?

If she simply continued the family business, three generations—or even several generations—could live comfortably. So why was she working as a maid in a ducal household?

And what was this? The owner of the Elbaium mines in the North?

If it was a northern mine, buying the mining rights alone would cost a fortune because of the Parvian ducal family. Yet this person actually owned one?

And even if she possessed the ownership rights, wouldn’t mining there be difficult without their permission?

…Ah. So she was from a distant collateral branch?

She caught fish in the waters of Glendar?

…Didn’t that require a shrimp-fishing vessel officially licensed by the imperial family?

Every single one of them was far too valuable to be merely a maid.

Just how had Ian managed to recruit such exceptional people—people who would be difficult for anyone to acquire even one of—into the household as servants?

Even more astonishing was the fact that the shortest period any of them had served the ducal family was one year, while the longest was twenty.

In other words, once most of them entered the family, they put down roots and never left.

Vanessa stole a glance at Denion, who had been serving for twenty years.

Come to think of it, I’ve never actually seen him order the servants around.

They say that if you want to know what kind of person a master is, you should look at how he treats those beneath him.

Judging solely from the documents before her, Ian must have been the best possible master in their eyes.

That must be why they continued working for the ducal family despite the power, wealth, and prestige they possessed themselves.

Well, it wasn’t as though a person’s actions and reputation always matched.

Even if Ian was an incomprehensible man to her, he must have been an exceptionally good master to these people.

In any case, these were backgrounds she would eventually learn about with time.

So why had he gone out of his way to answer a question she could easily have overlooked, as though he’d been waiting for her to ask?

Vanessa’s eyes widened slightly as she stared at the documents.

The butler’s background was even more striking than those of the others.

So he was an illegitimate child.

And not just anyone’s illegitimate child—the illegitimate child of the Chelia-go ducal family.

If this became known, the repercussions would be considerable.

Only then did Vanessa carefully examine the documents again, and a faint smile slipped between her lips.

At last, she noticed the title that had been hidden beneath all those backgrounds.

Every single one of them has been through so much.

Every one of them was either a fallen noble or someone who had been forcibly stripped of their right of succession.

And the moment Vanessa checked their salaries, she couldn’t deny that Ian was the best master they could have asked for.

He never said anything, but he was helping them behind the scenes.

Then, by showing her these documents, what was Ian hoping to achieve…?

He wants me not to look at them through the lens of prejudice.

And perhaps he also wanted to prevent his own reputation from being tarnished because of them.

A master’s ignorance inevitably becomes tied to the reputation of the family.

Claiming that she simply didn’t know anything about the servants would only be an excuse.

If she had discovered these facts later, they would surely have become a weakness she could be criticized for someday.

But she had never expected to find an owner of an Elbaium mine among them.

“Charlotte…”

This will be useful for my revenge.

She needed a mine if she wanted to bring the Marquis of Leonard’s family down to its very roots.

There were only about four days left until the wedding.

Once she entered the Ruscliffe ducal residence, it would be difficult to find time to move around alone as she did now, wouldn’t it?

“Good. Then I should probably head to the North soon.”

There were four days remaining, after all.

One day to get there, one day to return, and one day to obtain the Jinjeongcho.

If everything went according to plan, she would arrive late the day before the wedding.

But so what? At least she wouldn’t be arriving on the day of the ceremony.

She had already thought of a way to obtain it, so the Parvian ducal family wouldn’t be able to refuse her proposal.

Perfect.

This was exactly the right time to visit the North and obtain medicine for her godmother’s granddaughter, who would soon be coming to the Empire.

“Lady Charose… No, I suppose I should call you Duchess Ruscliffe now. Congratulations on your marriage.”

Vanessa forced the corners of her lips upward as she looked at the Crown Prince, Tessa Decart, who had appeared before her.

“Your Highness. I apologize for being unable to observe proper etiquette because of my attire. Thank you for not only agreeing to officiate the ceremony but also for providing the venue.”

Her words said one thing, but Vanessa was grinding her teeth inwardly.

The wedding date.

The fitting of her dress.

The seemingly genuine dates.

And, on top of all that, the sudden barrage of gifts.

Her plans to visit the North had become meaningless when gifts kept pouring into the Ruscliffe ducal residence at all hours of the day. She had spent an enormous amount of time dealing with them.

To make matters worse, it wasn’t anyone else but Ian himself who came to deliver each gift personally, forcing her to spend all four days receiving him.

Perhaps that was why.

She had overlooked the word wedding venue written at the very bottom of his letter.

Who would have thought the Crown Prince would use the palace where he had lived as a child as their wedding venue?

No matter how close an old friend he was, this was guaranteed to become the subject of gossip!

But with only an hour remaining until the ceremony, there was no way she could change the venue now.

“I’m glad you understand how I feel, at least. Ian certainly found himself a good partner. Your husband practically informed me that I was officiating, so I thought for a moment that I was some sort of item he’d already reserved.”

The Crown Prince said it with a shameless smile, but Vanessa couldn’t bring herself to laugh.

“If I stay any longer, I’ll get an earful. You should be careful, too. Your husband is more… than you think—ugh.”

He lowered his voice as though sharing a secret, but suddenly glanced toward the entrance of the bridal waiting room and let out a low groan.

Vanessa instinctively turned her head.

And her eyes met Ian’s.

He was standing outside the bridal waiting room, staring intently in her direction.

“In any case, congratulations on your marriage once again.”

With those words, the Crown Prince quickly left the bridal waiting room. He said something to Ian as he passed him, then disappeared somewhere.

Ian remained alone.

He stared at Vanessa for a moment, then turned toward the direction in which the Crown Prince had disappeared and followed after him.

Talk about being on pins and needles.

Vanessa had known since her previous life that Ian and the Crown Prince were quite close.

But she had never had any connection with the Crown Prince herself, much less exchanged a proper conversation with him.

Of course, the Crown Prince had approached her and spoken to her a few times…

Oh, dear. That bird has already flown away before I even had a chance to do anything.

She had deliberately kept her distance because he always spoke in that incomprehensible manner.

One unpredictable man like Ian was already enough for her.

But somehow, in this life, it looks like there are going to be two of them.

Sighing softly, Vanessa smiled toward the three women who entered the bridal waiting room afterward.

Apparently, word had already spread throughout noble society about exactly how much had been spent on her wedding.

Honestly. Don’t these people have anything better to do?

Well, considering that she had openly clashed with the Marquis of Leonard’s family during Lady Ernacilla’s wedding, she supposed it was inevitable that a few new rumors would emerge.

“Did you hear? The Marchioness of Leonard…”

“I wonder if she’s pregnant. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be any reason for…”

“Shh. Do you all want to lose your heads right here? You shouldn’t be talking about things like that…”

The noblewomen smiled as though nothing were amiss, congratulated Vanessa on her marriage, and then left the bridal waiting room.

Their whispers followed Vanessa’s ears all the way out.

I can hear every word, you idiots.