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18. "Did you truly have to go to such lengths?" Kanna rewrapped ‌‌‌Rebecca's bandages as she spoke. The physicians had said that the ligaments in her arm and ankle had suffered considerable damage from yesterday's fall down the stairs. She was forbidden from any strenuous activity for at least two months or more. Marital ‌‌relations fell within the category of strenuous activity. Given how meticulously Zeppelin tended to Rebecca's well-being, he would never force intimacy if it meant compromising her health. "Compared to what I've gained, this price is remarkably cheap." Rebecca smiled with satisfaction. In her previous life, Alicia had tumbled down the stairs in precisely the same manner yesterday. And the jealousy-blinded Rebecca had falsely accused her of pushing her down. The scheme had been orchestrated with such cunning that there were numerous witnesses. From that day forward, Rebecca had been assigned more than double her usual attendants. And as punishment, she had been forbidden from visiting the Liberta Orphanage. 'So she repeats the same actions.' People truly did not change. But circumstances could be altered. "So, what became of Alicia?" "She's been assigned a pack of watchdogs. The Count was quite furious. Thanks to that, only Robert remains among the hounds watching over you now." "Excellent. By the way, what of the guest I requested?" "Yes. Once I sent the scorpion, she said she would come this very day." "And Zeppelin had no objections?" "Quite the opposite—he said it was a good idea and to invite her frequently. He expressed concern that you might suffer emotional trauma from this incident." "How uncharacteristic of him to worry about my mental state." Whatever his true intentions, it was a fortunate turn of events. Rebecca began preparing to receive her guest. * * * "Rebecca! What on earth has happened! No, don't try to sit up." "Mother, it's been so long." Rebecca greeted Danae with a warm smile. Danae's heart ached at the sight of her eldest daughter lying there, her arms and legs swathed in ‌‌‌bandages. ‌‌‌"I heard that woman Alicia pushed you! I told you to be careful, didn't I!" "No, Mother. It was an accident. I was trying ‌‌to catch her as she fell..." "How can you be so naive and expect to survive in this place!" "Why? What kind of place is this?" Rebecca found herself staring at Danae with wide eyes. She knew her mother ‌‌‌possessed no real power, yet resentment still stirred within her. From what I had witnessed in the Study that night, House of Obelia's fortunes had already begun to decline before my marriage to Zeppelin. The sum Zeppelin had offered as a ‌‌condition for taking me as his bride was substantial. 'Rebecca, never bear the Count's child. And if you do, don't give it your heart. The moment a woman has a child, she becomes shackled.' On the day of the wedding, Danae placed a tiara upon Rebecca's head, her voice trembling as she spoke. It ‌was hardly the counsel a mother should offer to a daughter embarking upon a happy marriage. Mother knew everything. Because ‌‌‌‌of this, ‌‌Rebecca could not shake the thought that her parents had sold her to this place for the sake of the family. Danae read the wound in Rebecca's eyes, and her heart sank with a heavy thud. She despised herself for being such an incompetent mother and did not know what to do. Upon hearing that Rebecca had been injured, she had rushed to the Count's House intending to confront Zeppelin at once. But Zeppelin had used the excuse of being busy and had not even come outside to greet her. Only the butler guided her with an awkward smile. He handed her a thick envelope of ‌‌‌money, as though he had been hired to console Rebecca. "The Count said to ensure you receive compensation for your troubles." Danae could not bring herself to refuse the envelope the butler offered with embarrassment. Her concern for her family's welfare ‌‌‌outweighed her pride. She had two young daughters who had not yet made their debutante presentations. The fate of the family rested entirely upon Rebecca's shoulders. Yet seeing Rebecca wounded like this, she found herself questioning what importance the family name truly held. Danae's eyes grew red with tears. She grasped Rebecca's hand and wept tears of remorse. "I will not make excuses. Rebecca, this is a dreadful place. Shall we simply flee? Let us do so, Rebecca. We can go somewhere and live by farming. Surely that would be better than this life?" Rebecca gazed intently at ‌‌‌Danae's hand. Many emotions welled up within her. But Rebecca deliberately suppressed those feelings and spoke calmly. "Truly? Could you really abandon everything you have enjoyed until now and live as a commoner? Perhaps you could, Mother, ‌‌but Father? And my siblings? Can you demand ‌‌‌such sacrifice from those three people for my sake alone?" "Becky...." Danae ‌‌‌called Rebecca by her pet name, her voice trembling. Becky. It was the name ‌‌her family had called her when she was young. Hearing that name, Rebecca could not hold back and tears streamed down her face. She had ‌thought herself sufficiently strong by now, but she was wrong. Before her mother, she always wished to be that foolish girl again. But such a thing could not be allowed. Kanna silently brought a handkerchief. Rebecca wiped away her tears with the handkerchief, pressing firmly. Danae started ‌‌in surprise, having forgotten Kanna's presence, and looked toward her. She seemed concerned that word of their conversation might reach Zeppelin's ears. "Do not worry. Kanna is my person." Danae looked between Rebecca and Kanna in turn. The corners of Kanna's mouth twitched upward in a smile. 'She ‌‌called me her person.' Kanna resolved that she ‌‌must write about today in her diary. Rebecca regained her composed expression and opened her mouth to speak. "Running away will not help. Once ‌‌‌‌I have built a proper foundation...." "Next?" "I'll leave on my own two feet. Mother, let's escape this suffocating shadow of Devonshire together. With me." "Leave? But how on earth would you manage that?" "I'm going to get a divorce." "A divorce...?" Danae's mouth fell open in shock, far more ‌‌than before. She couldn't help but wonder if the Rebecca standing before her was truly the same woman she had always known. "Yes, and I'm going to remarry. To the Duke of Johannes." "Child, child. Are you under a great deal of stress lately? The Duke of Johannes...?" "Please keep this to yourself for ‌now. Especially Father—he must never find out." Danae studied Rebecca's ‌face, which radiated unwavering conviction. Rebecca's eyes were narrowed with determination, her lips pressed into a firm line. It had been such a long time since she'd seen that expression. Before becoming a Countess, whenever Rebecca wore such a look, she accomplished anything she set her mind to. Danae pressed no ‌further. Her daughter was struggling to survive in the hell she herself had failed to escape. The least she could do was ‌‌‌not pull her down—she would be her rope, not her anchor. Danae nodded with solemn resolve. ‌‌‌"Very well. What would you have me do?" Rebecca smiled at last. Her deep blue eyes—inherited from Danae—sparkled with brilliance. "Would you be willing to start a business venture?" * ‌‌* * After Danae departed, I felt the loneliness settle even deeper. Memories of those carefree days spent with family came flooding back. That Rebecca—the girl I once was—could never have imagined such a future awaited her. "Are you feeling confined?" Kanna threw open the window. Cool night air swept in. I managed a smile. "A little. Being stuck in bed is rather suffocating." "Would you care for a walk, then?" I lifted my bandaged foot into view. "But I can't walk. And even if I could, Zeppelin would never allow it." "There is always a way. One ‌‌‌simply hasn't looked hard enough." Without another word, Kanna approached and lifted me effortlessly ‌‌‌into her arms. ‌‌‌"W-wait, Kanna?" Kanna's teeth clenched as she gauged my weight. "So light... Zeppelin, you wretched fool, I could devour you whole...." "Kanna. People are watching." "Don't worry. ‌‌‌At this hour, the hounds don't roam ‌‌‌‌these ‌halls. I've already confirmed there's no one in this ‌vicinity." Kanna hopped up ‌‌‌to the windowsill with surprising ease. "Oh!" ‌Rebecca, glancing down at the ground below, instinctively wrapped her arms around Kanna's neck. At the touch of Rebecca's hands around her neck, Kanna flinched for a moment before leaping straight down. Rebecca squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the impact, but felt no jolt whatsoever. ‌‌‌‌Kanna landed softly on the ground and stared blankly up at Rebecca. "Where would you like to go?" I ‌‌‌‌‌had always sensed ‌‌‍that Kanna's muscles were toned, ‌but I ‌‌‌never realized she possessed such strength. "For now, I shall be your legs, Rebecca. Please tell me where you wish to go." "Then... toward ‌‌the ‌‌‌‌Lilac Garden over there." The Lilac Garden had been the favorite ‌‌retreat ‌of the previous Count's wife. But because Zeppelin harbored a particular dislike for the place, few ventured there save the gardeners, making it a solitary sanctuary. The lilacs in full bloom displayed their fragrance without restraint. Rebecca strolled through the garden, cradled in Kanna's arms. Kanna moved faithfully in response to Rebecca's every gesture. The night was quiet, disturbed only by the occasional sound of Kanna's heartbeat. Cradled in Kanna's embrace, Rebecca spoke. "Kanna, why don't you ask me anything?" "What do you mean?" "About the conversation I had with Mother today." I kept replaying the expression on Kanna's face from yesterday when I had feigned ‌‌‌unconsciousness. In that moment, she had worn an expression as though the world itself was crumbling. With her keen senses, she should have detected that I was conscious, yet she had not. The mere fact of my injury had already stripped ‌‌‌‌Kanna of her reason. And ‌‌‌in ‌‌that instant, I became certain: Kanna was entirely mine. That is why ‌‌‌‌I did not send her away when I was with Mother. ‌‌Kanna slowly opened her mouth. "Because I trust you, Rebecca." "Hmm?" "Whatever choice you make, even if that ‌‌‌place is hell itself, I have sworn to follow you." Rebecca fell silent for a moment, looking up at Kanna while still cradled in her arms. Her deep brown eyes held no wavering. "Shall we rest here for a moment?" Rebecca sat down on a bench made of white marble. Just as Kanna was about to drape a shawl over Rebecca's shoulders, she lifted her head with a sharp gaze. "Someone is here, Rebecca." A dark silhouette moved behind the trees. * * * Robert Crowley stared at Rebecca's firmly closed door. Since she had said her limbs were injured, the door would likely remain shut until Kanna came back outside. Robert glanced around cautiously before slipping away into the Garden. Ordinarily, he should have continued monitoring Rebecca's movements, but today his mind was too unsettled to concentrate on anything. Being intimately familiar with the patrol ‌routes of most of the hunting dogs, Robert managed ‌to slip outside without being ‌‌‌‌‌noticed by anyone. 'I need fresh air.' Robert recalled the contents of his mother's letter from last night. The spark of wisdom has not yet been extinguished. 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

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

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