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101.
"Julian! Did you truly believe a ‌‌‌‌single letter could explain away this entire situation?"
Karim Latrannis approached Julian, who was occupied with greeting the guests.
He waved the letter Julian had sent, his irritation evident.
As his already harsh features twisted into something grotesque, those nearby trembled with inexplicable dread.
"Karim!"
Ignoring his fury, I spread my arms wide to welcome him.
When I embraced him warmly, patting his back affectionately, Karim recoiled in shock and pushed me away.
"What the hell is wrong with you? Have you lost your mind? You're getting married and you've completely lost it."
Though our bond ran ‌‌‌‌deep, we had never expressed our friendship in such a manner before.
I brushed aside ‌Karim's displeasure and draped an arm across his shoulders.
"There's no need to be so heated on such a fine day. Karim, there's something ‌‌I need you to do today."
"You treat me like this and then ask for a favor? Your audacity knows no ‌bounds."
"You've ‌‌always found my shamelessness amusing. Don't be like that—I'll compensate you generously, so please hear me out."
"Forget it. No matter how impoverished my territory becomes, I won't accept money from the noble Duke of Johannes."
Karim brushed my arm away with a resentful expression and surveyed the ceremony hall with mockery.
"It's dreadfully extravagant. The floral fragrance makes ‌‌‌my stomach turn. You've become just like those nauseating Capital folk, Julian."
"I'll give you an alchemist."
"What?"
At my proposal, Karim—who had been standing with his back to me—turned around.
An alchemist was a precious resource.
Alchemical research required vast wealth, so only the wealthiest nobles could afford to patronize alchemists.
Nobles who ‌‌‌‌sponsored alchemists resold the items and techniques their alchemists created, reaping enormous profits.
With just one alchemist, a fortune could be multiplied in mere moments. ‌‌
Yet most nobles dared not attempt to employ one.
Karim Latrannis coveted an ‌‌alchemist as well, but his house was impoverished from ‌‌sustaining countless idle soldiers.
Moreover, The North ‌‌‌where he dwelt was cold and mountainous—unsuitable for agriculture. ‌‌‌
Zahidra had granted him the Empire's greatest military authority, but not its wealth.
The Emperor supplied only enough provisions to keep the soldiers from starving, using this as a check against him.
Thus, my offer to provide an alchemist was tempting enough ‌‌to sway Karim.
Though alchemists had become precious commodities whose services commanded high prices, there had been an era when they were persecuted as ‌‌‌heretics for ‌‌defying ‌‌nature's laws.
But the previous Duke of Johannes, recognizing their value early, had protected them from the Temple.
Thanks to him, a lineage of alchemists sworn to House of Johannes had continued unbroken to this day.
The ‌‌‌House of Johannes possessed twice as many alchemists as those belonging to the Imperial Court.
I would never permit the removal of the Duke's ‌‌Residence alchemists.
Save for modest income from the Temple, the wealth generated ‌by alchemists comprised the entirety of the Duke's Residence ‌‌‌fortune.
It was no ‌‌exaggeration to say that House of Johannes's tremendous wealth originated from alchemists.
Being the sole source of funds independent from the Temple, I devoted myself entirely to the alchemists.
The alchemists, too, had ‌‌no reason ‌‌‌to leave House of Johannes.
I had constructed an unprecedented grand alchemical tower and supported their research without reservation.
"When I asked you for that, you scoffed at me. Now that you need something, you're offering me an alchemist? Ha. I thought we were friends, but it seems only I believed ‌‌‌‌that. Did ‌‌‌you see me as nothing more than a merchant haggling in the marketplace?"
"Life is nothing but negotiation, Karim. Even between friends."
"Have you ever truly considered me a friend?"
The offer ‌‌of an alchemist only seemed to fuel Karim's anger further.
Julian exhaled softly, barely audible to Karim, then drew him away to a secluded corner.
"You know as well as I do that I can only express myself this way. The situation was urgent. Just help me this once. ‌‌There's no one else I trust enough to entrust this to."
At Julian's words of trust, Karim's eyes—which had been resolute in refusing to soften no matter what flattery was offered—began to waver slightly.
"What on earth is this about?"
At the hint ‌‌of goodwill in Karim's gaze, Julian offered a faint smile. He leaned closer, his voice dropping to barely a whisper.
"I'll tell you a secret. My bride is... Rebecca Obelia. Once Rebecca of Devonshire."
"Rebecca of Devonshire? That mannequin of a woman? I heard she divorced not ‌‌‌long ago. Is your taste running toward beautiful divorcées now?"
At Karim's description of Rebecca as a mannequin, Julian's brow furrowed. ‌‌‌
Yet he soon laughed bitterly.
Not long ago, he had ‌‌‌thought of Rebecca in much the same way. He had considered her a living corpse. ‌
"She's nothing like that. Rebecca ‌‌is more vibrant than anyone, wise, and..."
Julian launched into praise of Rebecca as if defending her.
Karim, observing him carefully, wore an expression as though witnessing ‌‌‌the most peculiar thing in the world.
After listening to Julian's paean to Rebecca ‌‌for some time, Karim finally spoke.
"Do you love her?"
"What?"
"Why do you have that foolish expression on your face?"
"You know me ‌‌‌‌well enough. I couldn't possibly be capable of love..."
It should have been impossible. Yet the moment the word "love" left my lips, Rebecca's image materialized before my eyes.
But I quickly shook my head vigorously.
'Julian. You must not ‌fall in love.'
I, raised on such words, could not possibly experience love.
What I felt for Rebecca now was... yes, possessiveness.
It was merely the state of desperately ‌‌‌wanting to own something so precious and rare.
Because I coveted Rebecca so intensely—enough to throw a childish tantrum—my ‌‌‌mind had simply frozen for a moment.
That's why I became foolish as a child ‌whenever I stood before ‌‌‌‌‌Rebecca, wanting to bestow everything upon her.
I had simply gone mad with the desire to possess her.
If that were true, everything made sense.
Whenever I became obsessed with an object, I lost all reason—skipping meals without thought.
'But what does it mean to possess someone?'
Typically, married ‌‌‌couples were said to possess each other.
But now I too would marry Rebecca. Did that mean I would now possess her?
No, from the ‌‌‌beginning...
'Can one even possess a person?'
Julian's finely sculpted face descended into confusion.
Because of it, he stood gazing blankly into empty space like a fool.
"Julian!"
Karim shook me vigorously. My confused, hazy eyes gradually began to regain clarity.
"Ah. My apologies. I was lost in thought for a moment."
"You ‌know you've been acting really strange lately, right?"
"Even I think it's strange... but anyway, the point is, I'd like you to stop the Earl of Devonshire."
"Why should I."
I gazed at Karim's firm, stubbornly ‌‌‌‌closed lips.
When Karim Latrannis first approached me, I found him ‌‌‌merely tiresome.
But as time passed, I gradually found myself drawn to how he treated me without pretense.
He saw me not as the Duke ‌‌‌‌of Johannes, ‌‌‌but as Julian himself.
Had the curse of House of Johannes not existed, we might have become the closest of friends.
But unfortunately, the curse did exist, and intimate relationships were a luxury in my world.
If I became his closest ‌‌‌companion, Karim would surely suffer greatly after my death.
The thought of someone longing ‌‌‌for me after I was gone made my blood run backwards.
So I maintained a proper distance between us.
But now the situation had changed.
I had Rebecca. A savior who could break my curse had brought hope.
I smiled at Karim.
It was an expression I'd long wanted to show to ‌‌someone who always brought me joy.
"Let's go hunting."
"Hunting...?"
"Yes. You've always wanted to go with me, haven't you? Where should we go? Ah, the Hartz Forest in my domain would be perfect. Every autumn, fierce bears attack the settlements there. We could easily take care of that."
'We?' ‌‌
Karim's crimson eyes trembled violently.
It was surprising enough that I smiled at him, but to refer to us as "we"...
Karim forcibly suppressed the corners of his mouth from rising.
"Don't forget to give an alchemist as well."
"I promise."
"Good. So where is the Earl of Devonshire?"
"He hasn't arrived yet."
"Why ‌‌‌‌did you invite him if you dislike him so much?"
"I need to show him."
My face, which had been smiling warmly, turned cold in an instant.
A chill far deeper than the northern winter settled over my eyes.
"I need to make him understand exactly what he's lost. So he'll regret it, again and again. And when he tries to reclaim it..."
I noticed a bug that had been lurking in my shoes for some time and shook my foot.
The insect that fell into the grass, I crushed ‌quietly but precisely.
"I'll crush it. So no one can ever confine it again."
Karim touched the goosebumps rising on the back of his hand. Facing my gleaming golden eyes—something I hadn't shown in so long—a chill ran through him.
My gaze, now far more bestial than before, sent a shudder down his spine.
Karim smiled crookedly.
"If it's that entertaining, you should have mentioned it sooner. You're asking me to hunt now, aren't ‌‌you?"
"Will ‌‌‌you join me?"
"For a friend's request."
Karim extended his hand.
Julian stared at his hand for a moment before grasping it in a firm handshake.
"Yes. I have one favor to ask of a friend."
Friend.
Julian had called him that once more.
An unmistakable smile bloomed across Karim's face.
The Runaway Countess Returns
E-book Publication.
‌
January 12, 2022
Author.

Long Night Sky
Publisher.

Desert Fox ‌‌‌
Published by.

Woongjin ThinkBig Co., Ltd.
Submission Contact.

naver.me/54VzzLSn
Blog.

blog.naver.com/wj_fennecfox
Twitter.

@wjt_fennecfox

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