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26. "Poor thing. Men are all like ‌‌‌‌that, aren't they? We must be understanding. But don't worry. You are the only true Countess. I guarantee it." Rebecca's brow furrowed at the clammy feel of Fabiola's hand grasping hers. But she quickly composed her expression into something harmless. "It's reassuring to hear Mother say such things. By the way, what is this tea? Drinking it puts my mind at ease—you brought it, didn't you?" ‌‌The moment Rebecca brought up the tea, Fabiola's face brightened. ‌‌‌‌"That's right! It's a tea I blended specially. If you ‌‌‌‌like it, shall I give you some? I still have plenty." ‌‌‌‌Rebecca smiled broadly. "Please give me as much as you can." * * * Alone in my room, I turned the glass bottle of tea Fabiola had given ‌‌‌me over in my hands. Fabiola had even thoughtfully written ‌‌‌‌instructions on a note about how to best extract the tea's flavor. I let out a soft laugh as I read the note, then folded it carefully. I placed both the bottle and the note neatly in a drawer. 'I hope I never ‌have to use this.' My entire body felt stiff and sore. It was likely from the strain I'd endured this afternoon. I rubbed ‌‌my shoulders and made my way toward the bed. That's when I spotted Leo standing by the window. "Leo!" I quickly opened the window, and Leo slipped inside as if he'd been waiting. I'd been curious ‌‌about the Trading Company's affairs, so I moved about eagerly. "I prepared some milk in case you came by. Kanna mentioned it's the kind of milk cats love. I hope you'll like it." I turned with a small dish of milk in hand, ‌then froze in absolute shock. "Re... Rebecca?" Julian stood before me, his eyes half-lidded. * * * 【 Happy birthday, Brother! 】 Julian stared at the birthday card written in crooked handwriting for a long time. Despite saying he disliked birthdays, Lily never tired of celebrating his each year. ‌Croa spoke to Julian carefully. "Shall we return the gift again ‌‌this time?" The gift was a painting she had drawn herself. It depicted a peaceful moment of Lily and me ‌‌enjoying a picnic with the cats. Normally, I would have sent it back without even looking, but this time, I found I didn't want to. It was all because of that woman, Rebecca, ‌‌‌who had given me such pointless hope. Excessive hope was poison. ‌I knew that, ‌‌‌‌‌yet I couldn't control my own heart as it continued to change. "Never mind. You can go now." Croa was secretly delighted. Every year on Julian's birthday, it was a burden to tell Lily that her older brother had returned her gift. 'So that's how it was...' Whenever I saw a cute girl with tears glistening in her eyes, bowing her head deeply, my heart always felt like it was being torn apart. Croa hurried out the door, eager to share this joyful news with Lily. Lily's nursemaid, who had been lingering in front of the room, stopped Croa and asked. "How did it go?" "The Duke received a gift!" ‌‌‌"Ah, so this time ‌‌‌too..., wait? Really?" "Yes! He seemed quite pleased with it. He even took the time to rewrap it carefully." "My goodness. Miss Lily will be absolutely delighted to hear this." "Indeed. But what on earth made him have a change of heart?" "Perhaps the Duke is finally feeling sorry toward Miss Lily? Every birthday has been like ‌‌‌a funeral, after all...." "In any case, let's hurry before the Duke changes his mind again." ‌Leo had been listening to their ‌‌‌conversation from the corner for a moment before ‌‌‌entering Julian's room. Upon seeing several empty bottles scattered at his feet, he let out a sigh. "Ah, Leo. Come in. Want a ‌‌drink too? Oh, you don't eat anything else, do you? Just my divine essence. Sorry, I wish I could feed you something this delicious." 'He's completely lost it. He needs to stop this self-pity on his birthday.' "Self-pity? That hurts. You should ‌‌understand my feelings. You ‌should comfort me. My soul's counterpart." Leo gazed quietly at the drunk Julian. Of course ‌‌‌he understood his feelings. He understood them whether he wanted to or not. Ever since Julian had come to understand his fate, a massive stone had constantly weighed ‌‌upon his chest. And on his birthday, that weight grew heavier. A child born for the sole purpose of bearing descendants. And an immortal being forced to eternally watch those children wither away. The gods were truly cruel. Leo had witnessed the birth and death of every Duke of Johannes throughout history. Each had lived a tragic life. Watching the Duke ‌‌of Johannes die, Leo ‌‌‌could never shake the thought that he was a parasite feeding off their lives. The way they treated him reflected this as well—either fearful or disgusted, nothing in between. But Julian was different. 'You too have lived such a pitiful life.' He despised his own fate, yet he never blamed Leo for it. Into Leo's complicated mind came Julian's slurred voice. "Leo. If this curse ‌‌‌were ever broken, what would I become? Nothing I possess was built by my own hands. If I'm not the sacred Duke of Johannes, then what am I?" Leo glanced at Julian, who laughed hollowly. He could ‌‌‌feel the full weight of the terrible emotions he was experiencing. And the lingering afterimage ‌of someone that continued to flicker. 'A birthday gift. Little one.' Leo suddenly leaped toward the window where the night air was flowing in. Then he quietly slipped out of the room. * * * "Julian! How did you get here!" As if trying to grasp the situation, Julian slowly blinked his eyes. Rebecca grabbed his arm. Julian was startled by her warmth and stumbled backward. "Re, Rebecca...." Just as Julian was about ‌‌‌to cry out, Rebecca swiftly covered his mouth with her hand. A brief silence fell between them. Fortunately, no sound of movement came from beyond the door. Rebecca exhaled in relief and spoke in a hushed whisper. "How did you get here at this hour? And more importantly, Leo was just here...." "Leo was here?" Julian's intoxication evaporated in an instant. After a moment of contemplation, he laughed as if the situation were absurd. "Ah. So that's what happened. That bastard Leo...." "Keep your voice down. What will you do if someone comes?" "Fine. But what's that?" Julian gestured toward the glass sitting ‌on the table. "It's milk. ‌‌‌‌I was planning to give it to Leo." "Ah, I'm starting to feel better now." Without ‌‌even waiting for Rebecca's response, Julian gulped down the milk in the glass. Watching ‌‌his throat bob, Rebecca found herself at a loss for words. "Why? You said it was for Leo. What I drink, Leo drinks." "Well, I suppose that's one way to look at it. But seriously, how did you get in here?" "Ah, so our ‌all-powerful Rebecca doesn't know everything after all." "Are you being sarcastic right now?" Rebecca's eyes widened, and Julian hesitated for a moment. He sighed and collapsed onto the bed. "It's not like that. I don't know why I keep talking like this." 'Is he drunk?' Rebecca stared at him intently, finding it strange to see Julian rambling on with excuses—whether from intoxication or simply because he was naturally talkative. "What? That disrespectful look you're giving me. Though I suppose that's how I must appear to you." Rebecca gently sat beside Julian. With his large frame, the bed felt cramped with both of them on it. "Why would you think that? I was just looking at you." "Everyone looks at me that way. Not that I don't know propriety. I've just learned it's unnecessary. That's why formal speech and such are difficult for me. Maintaining courtesy requires me to ‌‌‌‌exert myself madly." 'But why ‌‌‌is he telling me all this in my room in the middle of the night?' Rebecca felt exhaustion wash over her and wanted nothing more than to throw him out. Yet something about him seemed lonely, so she remained silent and listened to his petulant words. "So the point is, I want you to do the same ‌with me." "Pardon?" "Just speak casually to me. We're going to be husband and wife anyway—shouldn't we be comfortable with each other? I don't understand all this respect for a wife nonsense." "Fine. Sure, why not." Rebecca answered ‌‌‌without a moment's hesitation. Before the regression, when she lived among commoners, she had varied her forms of address based on age. So this felt more natural to her. Julian stared blankly for a moment, then clutched his stomach and laughed. Rebecca looked at him with a puzzled expression. "You said to do it. But why are you laughing like that? Should I switch back to formal speech?" "It's just... quite different from the usual reaction. Don't most people panic or refuse?" "Would you prefer that?" "No. You're fascinating, as always." "Stop changing the subject. How did you even get into this room? Where is Leo?" "We can swap our bodies with each other." Rebecca's mouth fell open in a silent scream, her hand flying to cover it. Then she asked ‌‌‌‌‌carefully. "So... you're saying you're Leo?" Julian found ‌‌‌her expression so endearing that laughter kept threatening to spill out. He ‌‌‌‌paused, his cheeks twitching slightly, before speaking. "Not exactly. We can exchange our positions in space. Think of it as a form of spatial transposition." "How curious." "Your reaction is less intense than before. Aren't you surprised? ‌‌‌Only Leo and I know about this ability." "Living in this world long enough, you learn that anything can happen." Having died and come back to life, spatial transposition hardly seemed remarkable. Julian studied Rebecca intently, her expression utterly unmoved. "Sometimes you seem like someone who's already lived a lifetime." Struck ‌‌by his words, Rebecca quickly changed the subject. "If you can move through space freely, then go home immediately. This place is far too dangerous." "That's rather problematic." "Why?" "Spatial transposition consumes an ‌‌‌‌enormous amount of divine power. I need at least three hours to recover before I can use ‌it again." "Three hours?" Rebecca frowned, clearly troubled. Watching her, Julian smiled faintly. In truth, he could use the ability again in thirty minutes. But he had no desire to return to that lonely room. At least until today ended, he wanted to gaze into Rebecca's ‌‌‌‌eyes—those eyes like undulating waves. 'I don't want to go back?' The moment that ‌‌‌thought crossed his mind, Julian felt bewildered. This place was ‌‌‌‌unfamiliar to him. Worse still, it was the Estate of the Earl of Devonshire, whom he despised. Yet somehow, his heart felt more at peace than it ‌‌ever had. Moonlight streamed brilliantly through the dim room. Julian gazed at Rebecca's pale face, illuminated by that silver glow, as though etching it into his very soul. The Runaway Countess Returns ‍‌‌E-book Publication January 12, 2022 Author Long Night Sky Author. Desert Fox Publisher. Woongjin ThinkBig Co., Ltd. Submissions. 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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