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

13.
When I lifted the lid, a heap of golden hair cut in thick chunks came into view.
Kanna truly was skilled—there was nothing she couldn't do.
I could already envision Zeppelin failing to find the real culprit and venting his fury on some innocent person instead.
Rebecca felt a twinge of conscience at the thought of someone who would unjustly fall under Zeppelin's displeasure.
If luck turned against them, they could be beaten soundly and cast out. ‌‌‌
Yet as Zeppelin's hunting dog was replaced with a new one, it only benefited Rebecca further, so she held her tongue.
Training a new hunting dog took considerable time.
Who could say whether a dog whose loyalty was not yet firmly established would side with Rebecca?
Rebecca placed the box beneath the mattress of her bed.
"Ah, you've awakened?"
Kanna entered ‌‌‌‌carrying a ‌‌‌simple breakfast and washing water. Upon noticing the box had vanished from ‌‌the nightstand, she smiled subtly.
"You did excellent work."
"No, it was a simple task."
"You've proven yourself more than qualified now. I'll be going out today, so would you prepare things for me?"
"What sort of clothing should I prepare?"
Rebecca bit into a piece of freshly baked warm bread and smiled radiantly.
"The most shabby clothes you can find."
* * *
In the sunlit Dining Hall, only the clinking of dishes and the occasional violent crash of ‌‌Zeppelin's hand striking the table in barely restrained fury could ‌‌‌be heard.
Zeppelin sat at the head of the table, while Rebecca sat across from him.
Alicia, however, sat to his left.
'Why am I being treated like a guest?'
Alicia cut irritably ‌‌‌‌at her small steak.
Though she had officially become the Countess, both the servants and Zeppelin himself treated her like an outsider.
Had she known it would come to this, she might have been better off taking Rebecca's money and fleeing.
'No, that's not right. ‌‌‌Not after all the hardship I endured to reach this point.'
Alicia cast a sidelong glance at Rebecca's appearance.
Though dressed in modest clothing unlike usual, it suited her perfectly nonetheless.
Watching Rebecca, who radiated elegance from head to toe, Alicia picked at her nails.
"Bring me another portion."
Alicia, whose appetite had grown voracious of late, quickly emptied her plate of steak ‌‌‌and raised her hand.
Zeppelin, observing this, furrowed his brow.
"Stop eating. You've ‌‌gotten fat recently."
"Pregnant women need to consume sufficient food, don't they?"
"You wouldn't know, being a commoner, but noblewomen don't eat so indiscriminately even when carrying a child. Alicia, if you become obese, ‌‌I'll cast ‌‌‌‌you out. Know that."
"My Lord!"
"Silence. This is driving me to distraction. Look at Rebecca. How elegant she is. Learn from her, won't you? How many times must I say it? This is why commoners are...."
It was merely one plate of steak. Despite becoming the Countess, she couldn't even eat as she pleased.
And the word "commoner" had grown unbearably tiresome.
Alicia stared at Rebecca with a flushed face. She ‌carried Zeppelin's child, yet Rebecca's position remained unshaken.
Whether Rebecca noticed Alicia's gaze or not, she calmly set down her fork and dabbed her mouth. Then she drifted toward Zeppelin with deliberate grace.
The flawless, silent elegance of ‌‌‌her movements only stoked Alicia's fury further.
"Zeppelin, please don't be so harsh. Alicia is carrying your first child, after all. Wouldn't it be better to let her eat more?"
Rebecca smiled sweetly while subtly caressing his arm.
Zeppelin flinched and gazed down at ‌‌Rebecca's touch.
"I've always felt guilty that we haven't been blessed with a child of our own. So I do hope Alicia's baby grows ‌‌‌strong and healthy."
Rebecca lowered her eyes.
Zeppelin's resolve always crumbled whenever he ‌‌saw her trembling lashes.
"Very well. Bring her another half plate."
"I won't eat it!"
Alicia hurled her knife. The empty plate clattered loudly against the table.
It was humiliating. ‌‌
She couldn't comprehend it. Shouldn't a concubine be cherished? Only a legitimate wife should indulge in jealous tantrums and petulant displays.
Seeing ‌‌Alicia glare at Rebecca with resentment, Zeppelin suddenly rose from his seat and shouted.
"Alicia!"
Rebecca caressed Zeppelin's arm once more.
Her gentle touch made him hesitate momentarily.
"Please, don't upset yourself. Pregnancy makes one sensitive, doesn't it? By the way, since your hair is already in this state, wouldn't it be better to cut it short ‌‌altogether?" ‌‌‌
"Cut my hair?"
"Yes. I've ‌‌‌been thinking about it for some time, and I believe short hair would suit you wonderfully. It would give you ‌‌a more masculine appearance, wouldn't you say?"
"If you say so..."
Rebecca's eyes crinkled with a smile.
Zeppelin found himself entranced, gazing at her without thought.
Rebecca knew him well. At this moment, he would grant her any request.
"I ‌‌‌‌was thinking of stepping out for a brief errand. Would you permit it?"
"Where ‌‌‌to?"
At the mention ‌‌of going out, Zeppelin's brow furrowed.
Rebecca seized the moment and kneaded his arm gently.
"The Orphanage. I used to visit regularly, but I've been rather neglectful of late."
"Is ‌‌‌that why you're dressed in such peculiar attire?"
"Yes. Does it displease you? I thought there was no need to dress elaborately for such a visit."
"Quite right. It's better to look like a pauper than to draw unwanted attention. Very well, go and return."
Alicia watched Rebecca's every movement with eyes wide in disbelief. ‌‌‌
Those gestures were precisely what she herself had employed as a waitress to earn an extra coin in ‌tips.
It appeared different when Rebecca performed them, yet the essence ‌remained vulgar and base.
'I knew it. She was a fox pretending to be a lamb all along.'
Rebecca left the Dining Hall. Before departing, she didn't forget to cast a subtle sneer in Alicia's direction.
Soon after, the sound of dishes shattering violently echoed from the Dining Hall. Alicia must have hurled them.
Rebecca's ‌‌‌face bloomed with a smile of quiet triumph.
'Now it's your turn to play, Zeppelin Devonshire.'
* * *
"Duke! ‌‌‌Which of these robes appeals to you more? Don't you think this brooch would suit you better?"
Croa ‌‌‌laid out robes and ornaments before Julian, speaking to him.
Julian kept ‌his eyes fixed on the book he was reading, answering dismissively.
"I told you to keep it simple. A plain robe with no adornments is sufficient."
"Even so, there are limits. The House of Johannes has its dignity. Besides, when did you start listening to others so obediently? To capitulate so easily to that woman's coercion..."
"Don't speak carelessly. She will be the Duchess."
Croa's jaw fell ‌‌slack, her mouth opening and closing soundlessly.
Ever since returning from the ‌‌banquet, Julian had treated Rebecca as though she were already the Duchess.
Yesterday alone, he had searched the entire sprawling Duke's Castle for the former Duchess's wedding veil.
"Still, ‌‌it would be better to have your hair groomed before you go."
Julian closed his book with a decisive snap and rose from his ‌seat. He moved to the mirror, running his fingers through his hair this way and that.
Seeing him appear quite delighted, Croa found herself at a loss for words. Until now, he ‌‌had been an innocent Duke who had never experienced love.
Rebecca, on the other hand, was a beautiful woman skilled in handling men.
Croa could not shake the feeling that Julian was being manipulated.
"Is that lady truly so beautiful? ‌‌‌‌‌Really? To fall so completely for such absurd words!"
Julian paused in his grooming.
As he stared intently at Croa's face, a playful smile suddenly spread across his lips.
"Are you jealous right now? I suspected your tastes ‌‌ran that way, but I'm afraid I'm a taken man now. Besides, isn't there quite an age gap between us?"
"What are you saying! I am merely a loyal retainer concerned for my innocent Duke day and night! That Rebecca or whatever her name is—that lady seems suspicious. She must have some hidden agenda."
Julian burst into hearty laughter, then fixed his gaze upon Croa.
"Do you really think I'm that naive?"
Croa flinched, looking up at Julian as he gazed down at her with ‌‌‌dignified composure.
Unlike the weak-willed and temperamental Dukes of old, Julian possessed a boldness about him.
It seemed innate—he had been taciturn since childhood.
Unbecoming of a child, he never cried nor threw tantrums.
He only ever clenched his jaw with an angry expression, his piercing eyes narrowed in intensity.
Yet to Croa's eyes, he appeared as fragile as a pane ‌‌of glass on the verge of shattering.
She had always been concerned for him.
Because of this, she could not help but be wary of Rebecca.
'If that woman hurts the ‌‌Duke, I won't forgive her.'
* * *
Croa was, strictly speaking, a distant relative of Julian's.
However, the noble ‌‌name of Johannes could only be inherited by a ‌‌successor chosen ‌‌‌by the Goddess.
In exchange for not inheriting the name of Johannes, Croa's ancestors had chosen to become stewards of the Duke of Johannes.
For generations, Croa's family had sought a way to ‌‌break the curse that had befallen the House of Johannes.
Croa ‌‌could not believe that a complete outsider—someone she had never seen before—knew what her ancestors had failed to discover.
Especially not that Rebecca Devonshire, who seemed as though she had never known hardship in her entire ‌‌‌‌life.
Her circumstances were indeed pitiful.
But why did you have to seduce our Duke of all people?
Croa wanted to talk Julian out of this unsettling contract marriage, but once he had made ‌‌‌‌up his mind, there was no way to dissuade him.
"I'll accompany you as well."
"Why ‌‌‌would you?"
"To be the Duke's cool head."
"Are you saying you're cleverer than me right now? Croa, ‌‌‌you're being particularly irritating today."
"You know perfectly well that your body acts before your mind, my lord. Last time you were so angry you broke a merchant's arm. I'm going because I'm concerned about that Countess—no, Rebecca's safety."
With brazen composure, Croa donned the same dull brown robe that Julian wore.
Julian clicked his tongue in exasperation but made no move to stop her.
He had no intention of laying a hand on Rebecca, yet somehow he found himself worrying anyway.
'The nanny was always telling me to control my temper.'
Instead of answering, Julian granted Croa permission to ‌‌‌accompany him with his silence.
Croa watched Julian standing before the mirror, carefully applying wax to his hair.
It was pointless—the robe would ruin it anyway—yet there he was, applying it with ‌such diligence.
'Now that things have come to this, I need to ‌‌‌‌figure out exactly what that woman is after.'
* * *
Inside the carriage heading to the Orphanage, Rebecca pondered the ‌‌curse that had fallen upon the House of Johannes.
Rebecca had learned of the House of Johannes's curse purely by chance.
In her previous life, she had hidden in the Orphanage for a time right after fleeing the Count's House. And there, she had met Croa.
The runaway Countess returns
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
---------------