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17.
Zeppelin's lips curled upward. In his own mind, he was rewarding Rebecca for relieving his foul mood.
Carrot and whip.
It was a method Zeppelin frequently employed with Rebecca.
But now Zeppelin's affection toward Rebecca was anything but ‌‌‌a reward. Torture would ‌‌have been preferable.
'It's fine, Rebecca. You've done this countless times before.'
Even as I steeled myself with ‌‌‌‌this thought, I couldn't stop my entire body from trembling.
Unaware of how I'd managed to eat dinner, Rebecca prayed for this hour to pass quickly.
"You should eat a bit more to have energy for the evening, shouldn't you? No, wait—you might develop a belly. I misspoke."
As Rebecca fidgeted, Zeppelin spoke with eyes brimming with temptation.
Because of this, Rebecca had to keep her fists clenched so tightly throughout the meal that her knuckles turned white.
* * *
The moment dinner ended, the maids rushed in eagerly.
The maids meticulously washed Rebecca in bathwater infused with fragrant oils.
The warm bathwater felt inexplicably cold, like ice.
"How is it? Isn't it perfect?"
Grace, who had finished adorning Rebecca, held ‌‌‌‌up a large full-length mirror for her.
The pure white silk dress revealed Rebecca's flawless figure in all its glory.
The pearl dust sprinkled in her hair shimmered softly beneath the brilliant lighting.
As Rebecca surveyed herself, a faint laugh escaped her lips.
It was a self-deprecating laugh.
"Damn. Absolutely beautiful."
"Pardon?"
"Never mind."
It would all ‌come off anyway, yet Zeppelin was always like this. Perfection in every detail. Even within the bedroom, there were no exceptions.
The corset that compressed my ribs felt like Zeppelin's very grip.
Rebecca forced her reluctant feet forward, breathing in shallow gasps.
* * *
Rebecca moved toward the staircase leading to the Third Floor with the sensation of being dragged into hell.
"Are you going to the Earl's chambers?"
Just then, Alicia ‌‌‌blocked her ‌‌path.
Alicia scrutinized the elaborately adorned Rebecca from head to toe.
"Truly, you are beautiful."
In that moment, seeing Alicia's eyes burning with jealousy, Rebecca's mind suddenly cleared.
A glimmer of hope found her.
Rebecca smiled genuinely ‌‌‌and brightly at Alicia.
"Is that so? Thank ‌‌‌‌‌you for saying so."
At Rebecca's graceful smile, Alicia faltered.
Since the victory banquet, Alicia had been confined to her room, pondering how her circumstances had come to this.
And she had finally realized that Rebecca had ‌‌‌‌been toying with her all along.
Displaying the heirloom had all been part of a calculated scheme.
'I let myself be blinded by the jewels and dropped my guard.'
Alicia decided that, given this turn of events, she would abandon all pretense before Rebecca and face her head-on.
The Rebecca before her now was not the Rebecca ‌‌of old who had cherished her.
Alicia let out a derisive laugh as she replied.
"But that's only temporary, isn't it? Have you forgotten that ‌‌‌‌I'm far younger than you, Rebecca? Time conquers all, they say. The Earl's affections will soon turn toward me."
Now?
Rebecca glanced down at the maids and servants bustling about on the lower floor.
Now might be quite opportune, she thought.
Rebecca deliberately climbed one more step.
Then, twisting her mouth into a ‌‌‌sneer, she looked down at Alicia with contempt.
"Fine. Cling to that affection all you like. But you will never be the first wife. If I bear ‌‌‌the Earl's child today, your child will remain forever second, just as you are." ‌‌‌
At Rebecca's provocation, Alicia's shoulders trembled violently.
Let's see how long that arrogant smile lasts.
Alicia let out a soft laugh and took several steps backward.
"You'll regret those words!"
Alicia seized Rebecca's hand and pressed it against her own chest. Then she let out a piercing scream, throwing her head back.
"Ahhhhh! R-Rebecca, what are you doing to me!"
Behind ‌‌‌Alicia stretched a long staircase that descended all the way to the ‌‌Lobby.
Every eye turned upward. Alicia released her ‌‌‌footing from the stairs.
It was truly a masterful performance.
Joy bloomed across Rebecca's face as she watched Alicia tumble backward.
Rebecca immediately threw herself forward, caught Alicia's hand, and wrapped her in her arms.
Alicia, who had ‌‌‌squeezed her eyes shut expecting pain, suddenly opened them wide against Rebecca's soft bosom.
And she stared at Rebecca with shock written across her face.
Rebecca's head struck the edge of the stair, and she furrowed her brow against the mounting pain.
Yet ‌‌Rebecca's lips continued to smile. ‌‌‌She cradled Alicia's head as though it were a precious treasure.
This was not what Alicia had planned at all. ‌‌
The two women of the Count's House tumbled down the stairs locked in each other's embrace.
At the sound of the heavy impact, the servants came running.
Alicia emerged from Rebecca's arms without a single scratch. ‌‌‌
"Ahhh!"
Searing pain flooded through her. Rebecca cried out. The arm that had held Alicia would not move.
Blood streaming from Rebecca's head stained her pristine white dress crimson.
"What happened!"
Zeppelin, who had ‌‌been waiting in his room for Rebecca, rushed out. He discovered Rebecca on the stairs, crying out in agony.
Zeppelin's eyes widened enormously, then began to tremble. In his gaze, Alicia sprawled on the ‌‌‌floor simply did not exist.
"Rebecca!"
The sound of Zeppelin hurrying down the stairs ‌‌reached her ears.
Rebecca, unable to speak, whispered into Alicia's ear as her lips moved silently.
"You must guard the small secret in your belly well. It's your only asset."
At those words, ‌‌‌Alicia's face drained of color as she stared at Rebecca.
Rebecca laughed meaningfully at the trembling Alicia.
Just then, Zeppelin came rushing in and, upon seeing Rebecca's blood-soaked face, screamed like a madman.
Zeppelin glared at the hapless servants with murderous eyes.
"If a single scar appears on Rebecca's face, you're all dead men!"
Rebecca spoke in a frail voice.
"Zeppelin, Alicia did nothing wrong. Please forgive her...."
I ‌‌‌‌‌closed my eyes. Feigning unconsciousness was easy.
Zeppelin ‌‌‌shook me violently awake.
"Rebecca! Rebecca! No! Absolutely... absolutely not!"
Zeppelin let out a cry that was almost a ‌‌‌‌wail. He could not bear to imagine a world without me.
I was his dream, his hope, his everything. The masterpiece ‌he had devoted his youth to creating.
Kanna stopped the distraught Zeppelin with an urgent expression.
"She has not yet departed. Please take her to her room at once and summon a physician."
"Wh-what...."
"Hurry!"
Kanna cried ‌‌‌‌out. Her eyes were rimmed with red. She hastily lifted me into her arms.
Zeppelin snapped back to his senses at Kanna's shout.
"Yes, yes. Bring the physician at once." ‌‌‌
Zeppelin stared ‌blankly at Kanna's retreating figure as she rushed toward ‌‌‌‌‌my room.
Then he wiped his face. Wet tears seeped into his palm.
Zeppelin once again confirmed his affection ‌for me.
How precious I was to him.
"M-my lord...."
Alicia instinctively clutched her belly and called out to him.
Zeppelin shot her a look burning with rage.
"Alicia. How dare you commit such an act without knowing your place?"
Alicia had ‌‌‌‌never seen Zeppelin so furious before.
Like a rabbit ‌‌‌‌before a beast of prey, Alicia's shoulders trembled uncontrollably.
"Th-that's not it, th-this was an accident...."
Though she mustered the courage to attempt an excuse, before Zeppelin's murderous intent steeped in hatred, Alicia could not find her voice.
Zeppelin stared coldly ‌‌at Rebecca's blood on his hand, then gestured to the servants.
"Take her away."
The servants seized Alicia's arms.
Zeppelin wiped the blood away with a ‌‌handkerchief.
"To the Hall of Light."
In that instant, the hounds who knew the true nature ‌‌of that place flinched and looked at Zeppelin in alarm.
But none dared to raise objection, and they lowered their heads once more.
A hound need only do a hound's work.
* * *
Danae of House of Obellia pressed her forehead, holding the tightly constrained budget.
At this ‌‌rate, she couldn't afford even the desserts reserved for special occasions, let alone new dresses for her daughters.
At least recently, her husband ‌‌Theo's investment fever seemed to have subsided—a small mercy.
'I wish I could go out and ‌‌earn some money myself.'
But that was impossible.
In the Rotandus Empire, women earning money was something only commoners ‌‌did.
She didn't care what people said about her, but if she did that, her twin daughters Livia and Helena would face ridicule too.
And her eldest daughter Rebecca was a countess. What shame would it bring if rumors spread that her mother was working?
"Sigh."
Her chest felt suffocating.
The laughter of her daughters playing in the Garden and Theo's voice echoed without end. Theo was a devoted father and husband.
She had married him precisely because of those qualities.
But a good father and a good provider were different things.
Theo was not a good provider.
He was far too kind and easily swayed, prone to the chronic habit ‌‌‌‌of investing without proper investigation whenever someone convinced him.
As a result, their once-prosperous household was steadily sinking.
They barely scraped by, living hand to mouth.
Danae couldn't shake the feeling that none of this was coincidence.
'I wish to marry Rebecca.'
Danae recalled Zeppelin. He had come seeking Rebecca as though retrieving a misplaced possession, declaring his intention to ‌‌‌‌‌marry her.
She had disliked him from the start. That's why she initially rejected his proposal.
After all, the House of Devon and House of Obellia were not of equal standing. Such a marriage was bound to be unhappy. ‌‌‌‌
Danae had thought Zeppelin merely one of many ‌‌‌‌suitors dazzled by Rebecca's beautiful face.
She believed his interest would fade quickly.
But unexpectedly, Zeppelin proved persistent.
He came calling every day, knocking at the door.
And around that time, Danae learned of Theo's investment failure.
He had poured nearly the entire family fortune into it—the House ‌‌of Obellia was on the brink of bankruptcy.
Then Zeppelin arrived with a vast sum of money, as though he had known of ‌this situation beforehand.
He ‌‍said he wouldn't even accept a dowry.
For her, it was a marriage she couldn't refuse. Even Rebecca said she was fond of Zeppelin.
So it was fine, she told herself—just needless worry. Even as she sold her daughter, Danae cast incantations upon her own heart. ‌
'I was mad. Danae, you don't deserve to be a mother.'
After Rebecca became a countess, Danae lived in regret every single day.
True to her instincts, Rebecca grew thinner with each passing day.
Her outward beauty remained unchanged. In fact, it grew more radiant with time.
But what use was beauty when she was trapped in a prison where she couldn't even visit her own family freely?
"Madam! An urgent letter has—!"
Her only maidservant knocked at the door. She wondered if she'd soon have to let her go as well.
Danae exhaled a long, weary sigh and accepted the letter from the maid's outstretched hands.
The envelope bore the seal of House of Devon.
Her heart hammered against her ribs. The premonition was ominous.
The Countess who had fled had returned.
E-book Publication

January 12, 2022
Author

Long night sky
Publisher

Desert fox
Published ‌by

Woongjin ThinkBig Co., Ltd.
Submission Reception

naver.me/54VzzLSn
Blog

blog.naver.com/wj_fennecfox
Twitter

@wjt_fennecfox

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