---------------
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, ‌‌‌‌please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
---------------

105.
"Sigh..."
Rebecca exhaled a long, weary breath.
She had thought a second wedding would be easier than the first.
But ‌‌‌a wedding was a wedding, regardless.
The weight of the dress bore down on her shoulders until they ached, and her feet ‌‌‌had swollen painfully in the high heels.
Kanna, who had been organizing cosmetics, turned to Rebecca at the sound of her sigh.
"You must be exhausted. Just a little ‌‌‌‌longer, just a bit more. Once you endure this moment, you'll become the Duchess, Rebecca."
"But it ‌‌‌feels strange to keep my own surname. It's as if my family itself has become the House of Johannes."
The House of Johannes forbade anyone but the heir from bearing the Johannes name.
Thus, it was tradition for the Duchess to retain her maiden name.
For this reason, Rebecca had ‌‌‌become Duchess Rebecca Obelia as of today.
"But I find it all the more wonderful. It's as though you've become noble in your own right, Rebecca. Of course, you were always noble to begin with."
"You're the only one who calls me noble, Kanna. Now, shall I return to—ah!"
As Rebecca tried to rise from the vanity, she winced and sank back into the chair.
"My skin is scraped raw..."
The shoes she had worn at the reception had been slightly too small, and as her feet swelled, the skin on her heels had torn away.
Blood beaded on the exposed flesh.
Kanna's brow furrowed as though she herself had been wounded.
"We must treat this at once."
"Yes. We can't have blood staining the dress."
"Please lock the door securely while I'm gone. I'll return shortly."
Kanna, who had checked the lock three times, hurried from the room.
Rebecca kicked off her shoes and limped barefoot toward the sofa.
She collapsed onto the long cushions with a heavy sigh. ‍‌‌
Exhaustion coursed through her from head to toe. A drowsy lethargy washed over her.
She felt as though she could sleep until morning without stirring.
As Rebecca waited for Kanna, she drifted off—only to awaken at a sharp sound.
An ominous premonition seized her, and she sat upright.
"Leo?"
* * *
Once Zeppelin confirmed Rebecca's ‌‌departure, he did not immediately rise to follow her.
A grave matter had arisen in the estate, and Karim had been unable to remain for the reception's conclusion.
This afforded Zeppelin some breathing room, yet another complication lurked.
Julian was watching him intently.
Even ‌‌‌as he conversed with guests, he cast warning glances in Zeppelin's direction at intervals.
Those beast-like golden eyes gleamed with menace.
Zeppelin bided his time, searching for an opening.
At a wedding, the groom was consumed with duties—greeting endless guests and managing unexpected situations with grace.
'Yes. An unexpected situation, precisely.'
Zeppelin watched Baron Jaconi, who had been pouring wine straight from the crate into his mouth since earlier.
"Hahahaha. No wonder it's from House of Johannes—the wine is absolutely top-tier!"
Confronted with such unrefined behavior, Zeppelin's brow furrowed briefly.
He was a ‌nouveau riche who had made a fortune through merchant ships and recently purchased his title.
Zeppelin couldn't fathom how such a man had received an invitation to the Duke's wedding.
Yet Zeppelin skillfully concealed his true thoughts and approached with a warm smile. ‌‌
"I'm delighted the wine suits your palate. But I've noticed you've been keeping to yourself all evening. Shouldn't you perhaps offer your gratitude to the Duke for providing such fine ‌‌wine?"
"Me? Would the Duke even ‌‌‌acknowledge someone like me? Honestly, I've been wondering if my family's invitation was a mistake."
At least he possessed some self-awareness.
Zeppelin gathered his patience and spoke again.
"Surely not. A man as magnanimous ‌‌‌as the Duke of Johannes is rare indeed. Even I, his ‌‌‌former husband, received such an invitation."
"Is... is that so...?"
"Indeed. Why ‌‌‌don't you take some wine and propose a toast? Who knows? The Duke of Johannes might take today as an opportunity to pave a bright future for you, Baron."
Baron Jaconi ‌‌was a timid man, but alcohol emboldened his meager courage.
Moreover, with the Earl of ‌‌‌Devonshire himself urging him forward, his confidence swelled instantly.
Baron Jaconi filled his glass to the brim.
Holding the precariously sloshing cup in one hand, he staggered toward Julian with equal unsteadiness.
"Duke Julian of Johannes, thank you so much for the invitation!"
He was following Zeppelin's plan to perfection.
At that moment, Julian was receiving farewells from Count Wagner and his wife, who were preparing to depart.
Count Wagner and his wife, who ‌‌would soon retire and ‌‌‌pass their title to their son, were the eldest among the guests.
The fact that these ‌‌frail nobles had remained until well past evening was itself a testament to how much they had enjoyed Julian's wedding. ‌‌‌
Unfortunately, Baron Jaconi, consumed by enthusiasm, failed to notice Count Wagner and his wife, and his foot caught on a wine bottle that Zeppelin had rolled into his path.
He tumbled forward.
Baron Jaconi and the wine in his hand came crashing ‌‌‌‌down upon Count Wagner.
"Oh no!"
The frail Count couldn't withstand Baron Jaconi's weight and fell backward.
"Count Wagner! Fetch a physician at once!"
Chaos erupted.
Count Wagner insisted he was fine, yet even with support, he couldn't rise from the ground.
"I... I didn't mean for this to happen..."
Baron Jaconi's face drained of color.
Drenched in wine, he trembled uncontrollably.
Realizing that such a timid man ‌‌could never have orchestrated this alone, Julian's head snapped up as he scanned the ‌‌‌‌‌‌‌surroundings.
Zeppelin, who should have been wearing his characteristic smug smile, was nowhere to be seen.
A curse escaped Julian's lips.
"That bastard..."
Though ‌‌‌‌he'd muttered it under his breath, Baron Jaconi ‌‌‌‌heard it and nearly burst into tears.
Julian tried to leave immediately, but Count Wagner's condition appeared grave.
He resolved to handle the situation as quickly as possible before pursuing Zeppelin.
The physician arrived, ‌‌and ‌‌‌‌the servants cleaned up the mess on the floor.
Julian grasped Count Wagner's waist at the doctor's suggestion to move ‌him. In that moment, he staggered, clutching at his throat.
A suffocating sensation seized him with terrifying intensity.
"Cough... cough..."
It felt precisely as though invisible hands were strangling his neck.
* * *
Zeppelin ‌‌‌‌hastened from the Reception Hall, urgently searching the corridors where Rebecca might have gone.
Guest Powder Rooms were typically located on the first floor, but this was no ordinary mansion—it was a Rental Salon of an unfamiliar layout.
Unable to locate the Powder Room, Zeppelin grew increasingly anxious.
If Rebecca returned to the Reception Hall, his opportunity might vanish entirely.
Following his instincts, Zeppelin ventured into a corridor dimmer than the rest.
"She couldn't possibly be in a place like this."
As he turned to leave the desolate passage, golden eyes gleamed from the darkness.
Those eyes—the very ones that had always brought him misfortune.
"You!"
Leo spotted Zeppelin but decided to ignore him entirely.
He proceeded with haughty indifference.
Throughout those countless centuries, humans had both delighted and tormented me.
Yet now, everything felt hollow.
Save for a handful ‌of humans, I harbored neither curiosity nor desire for their wellbeing.
Each day passed in listless monotony.
I no longer wished to live.
I could no longer recall the face of the Goddess Defria, nor the commands she had once imposed upon me.
Having dwelt so long as a cat, I could not even remember my original form.
It seemed ‌‌‌‌I had always been nothing but a cat.
Only the faint traces of divine power the Goddess left within me reminded me that I once belonged to the heavens.
The heavens had surely abandoned me.
Moreover, the divine power that once tenuously connected me to the heavens had been halved years ago.
That halved divine power now voraciously consumed Julian's life force in its desperate ‌‌‌‌attempt to restore my original form.
I did everything in my power to slow that consumption, striving to reduce the rate of divine power depletion.
My efforts bore some effect, though I could not predict how long they would suffice.
Julian had no heir. The life of a ‌‌duke without succession was pitiful.
I could not bear to watch Julian waste away in his sickbed, growing thinner with each passing ‌‌‌‌‌day.
I longed to sever this terrible ‌‌cycle of existence. I wished to die.
After decades—no, centuries—of harboring such thoughts, I had become indifferent to all things.
Of course, there had been ‌‌moments when I desired to claw at this human called Zeppelin.
But disagreeable humans existed everywhere, and Zeppelin was merely one among them.
Avoidance was preferable. In truth, I simply could not be bothered.
I wished only to return to my comfortable bed.
"Where do you think you're going!"
Yet Zeppelin had no intention of releasing Leo.
He swiftly seized Leo by the scruff ‌of the neck and hoisted him into the air.
Leo let out an indignant yowl.
"You're that cat Julian always drags around with him, aren't you? How dare you seduce Rebecca?"
Zeppelin knew that Leo was a divine messenger. But he possessed not a shred of faith.
To him, Leo was merely an irritating black cat.
Leo momentarily considered using ‌‌‌‌‌divine power to subdue this pathetic human.
But if he did, it would complicate matters for Julian.
The ‌‌‌‌manifestation of divine power attracted considerable attention.
In the process, Zeppelin might discover the House of Johannes's secrets.
'How tedious...'
Leo released a small sigh and chose instead to adopt an innocent expression.
Most humans would shriek with delight whenever I made such a face.
Even in the midst of quarrels, they would soften their anger and gaze at my face in rapture, so ‌‌I made a vague assumption that Zeppelin possessed some vestige of humanity.
"That's right... if you died, that bastard Julian would grieve, wouldn't he? Then an opportunity would arise."
But Zeppelin was far more of a scoundrel than Leo had imagined.
When my charm proved ineffective, I bared my fangs.
Even if Zeppelin harmed me, I would suffer no real damage, but ‌Julian would bear ‌‌‌‌the full brunt of that pain.
Ever since making a foolish decision in the past, I had sworn never to let such a thing happen again. ‌‌‌‌
Leo's eyes began to gleam like topaz.
But Zeppelin's hands moved faster than Leo could summon divine power.
Zeppelin seized Leo's throat with both hands and began to squeeze.
It didn't hurt, but I could sense he was strangling my neck with enough force to kill Julian. ‌‌‌
The Duchess Who Fled Has Returned
E-book Publication

January 12, 2022
Author

Long night sky
Publisher

Desert fox
Published by
‌‌
Woongjin ThinkBig Co., Ltd.
Submission Received

naver.me/54VzzLSn ‌
Blog.

blog.naver.com/wj_fennecfox
Twitter. ‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌

@wjt_fennecfox

---------------
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support ‌‌our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
---------------