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

34.
"...."
"...."
Silence hung heavy in ‌‌the spacious carriage as ‌‌‌I adjusted my disguise.
'Thank goodness I thought to bring my cosmetics.'
I found Julian's unwavering gaze ‌‌‌somewhat unsettling—he had been watching me without uttering a word.
Whenever our eyes met, Julian would deliberately look away.
Yet the moment I averted my gaze, his eyes returned to me.
"Do you have something to say?"
"No."
"Then stop staring so intently. If you have something on your mind, speak it, Duke."
"It's nothing. Continue with what you were doing."
Julian turned his gaze back toward the window.
My curious eyes lingered on his face for a moment.
Julian found himself unable to voice what he truly wished to say to me.
'What is wrong with me....'
Initially, he had intended merely to follow quietly from the shadows.
He was curious about what could possibly be occupying this woman's mind.
Her first destination was, as expected, the Tanisha Trading Company.
As Tanisha ushered me inside, she glanced ‌‌‌toward where Julian and Croa were concealed.
It seemed she had noticed them despite their efforts to remain hidden.
Julian had heard she had ‌‌caused quite a commotion after being installed as a figurehead manager, and he felt a subtle concern.
He worried that Tanisha's aggressive demeanor might wound me.
But that concern proved unnecessary.
When the company's door opened again, Tanisha wore an expression of perfect loyalty—one Julian had never witnessed from her before.
It was as though he could see her tail wagging enthusiastically in greeting.
I regarded Tanisha with evident affection.
"There's no way she could make such an expression. What on earth did you do?"
Croa, who knew her younger sister's ferocious nature better than anyone, stared at ‌‌the scene with her mouth agape.
Julian was equally astonished.
The investigation into ‌‌my past had already been completed.
The reports submitted by his attendants contained nothing that differed significantly from what Julian already knew about me.
What had ‌‌changed her? Or had she always been this way?
Questions multiplied endlessly.
While he remained lost in thought, I had already moved toward my second destination.
It was a bakery with a ‌‌‌weathered sign swaying in the breeze.
'A place she favors?'
Julian committed the bakery's name to memory.
He planned to enter later and ascertain what she had purchased.
How long had he waited.
Rebecca emerged from the bakery, cradling an armful ‌‌‌of bread bags.
Her steps were so light that Julian couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle at the sight.
She was intently watching the cream bread she was biting into when I suddenly felt an ominous presence.
And that's when the trouble started.
Even now, the mere thought of it made my blood boil.
From the moment ‌‌‌‌that man seized ‌Rebecca's wrist, I was already tearing him apart in ‌‌my mind.
But I hesitated and didn't rush in ‌‌immediately.
Watching Rebecca stand unflinching against the ‌‌‌‌man without so much as a blink, I felt it would be presumptuous of me to intervene.
It was also embarrassing to reveal that I had been following her.
When I thought about it, I was no different from that man—both of us had been ‌‌‌trailing her in secret.
Moreover, how could I explain why I had been following her? I didn't even know the exact reason myself.
But the moment he shoved Rebecca, all reason shut down and my body moved on its own.
As I struck the man down, I noticed the long, ‌‌‌sharp hairpin Rebecca had been gripping firmly, and I felt a pang of regret.
I'd heard that more women these days were using pointed hairpins as self-defense weapons.
It seemed Rebecca had been about to subdue the man herself.
'I made a mistake.'
Rebecca's eyes still held a murderous glint as she looked at me.
I had an instinctive sense that Rebecca would have overpowered that wretch even ‌‌without my intervention.
That realization was both bewildering and amusing, yet it made me think of Rebecca once more.
What was it about this woman that ‌‌had me whimpering like a lost puppy?
And from the moment our eyes met—those soft blue eyes bending gently as she recognized me—a cascade of thoughts followed that left me flustered.
'I want to be praised.'
What proposal I had made to the Emperor to secure Zeppelin, how I had disposed of that man without leaving loose ends, how brilliantly I had accomplished all the tasks Rebecca had entrusted ‌‌‌‌to me.
I wanted to lay it all bare.
So like last night, I was secretly hoping she would stroke my ‌head and thank me.
I wanted to ‌‌feel ‌‌‌that tingling sensation once more, painful as it was.
It hurt—it hurt so much—yet I didn't hate the heartache that came with Rebecca.
Unable to accept this truth, Julian let out ‌‌‌‌a hollow laugh.
'I'm no better than a dog.'
For the House of Johannes, who served cats, that was a grave insult.
* * *
"Thank you. I'm alive because of you."
Rebecca said as she handed back the mirror after finishing her grooming.
Julian's eyes flickered at her words, but his face soon fell into disappointment as he looked away.
'Is there something that displeases him?'
Rebecca ‌‌‌had never found ‌Julian entirely normal, but today he was acting especially strange, and it was difficult to adapt to.
Just then, Croa's voice came from outside the carriage.
"My ‌‌Lord, I've brought the items you requested."
"Ah, bring them in."
At Julian's response, the carriage door swung open, and the ‌‌coachman and Croa began arranging various foods neatly on a large table. ‌‌
Rebecca's eyes widened as she beheld the spectacle before her.
Julian's carriage appeared no different from the ordinary conveyances favored by nobility at first glance.
If anything, its decorations were more austere than average, and its size rather ‌‌modest.
Yet upon opening the door, an entirely different world revealed itself.
The interior spanned the space ‌‌of three or four carriages combined.
The plush seats were wide enough for a man of Julian's build to recline comfortably, and a spacious table occupied the center.
From the embroidered cushions to the ‌‌‌storage chests, every object within the carriage proclaimed its ‌‌‌‌luxury at a glance.
However, the array of dishes arranged upon that artisan-crafted table held unexpected surprises.
"These are... market foods."
Rebecca's parents had never discriminated between common fare and noble cuisine. ‌‌‌
Consequently, she had grown familiar with regional ‌‌‌delicacies from childhood.
But since becoming the Countess, Zeppelin's distaste for common food had rendered them forbidden to her palate.
Rebecca's eyes brightened at the sight of these ‌‌‌cherished memories made tangible once more.
Noticing her interest, Julian smiled knowingly.
"I purchased these out of curiosity about the local fare, and now that I have, why not share them with me? ‌‌‌Food tastes dreadful eaten alone, and I've bought far too much."
Rebecca hesitated briefly before declining.
"I'm afraid I must return promptly. Perhaps we can ‌share a meal another time."
"Just a bite, then..."
A low rumble echoed through the ‌‌‌carriage.
It was unmistakably the sound of someone's stomach.
Rebecca's face flushed crimson.
Of all the inopportune moments for such a betrayal.
Julian chuckled softly and extended a skewer laden with alternating pieces of chicken and vegetables.
"Your stomach ‌seems to hold a different opinion. Take just this one before you go. I think this has the finest aroma."
Rebecca shot Julian a ‌‌reproachful glance at his teasing smile, then accepted the chicken skewer he offered.
The meat glistened with a lustrous glaze, marinated in a familiar fragrance.
As she inhaled the aroma, an irrepressible hunger surged within her.
"Then just one bite..."
And Rebecca momentarily surrendered to reason.
Only after sampling each of the dozens of dishes arrayed upon the table did Rebecca finally set down her utensils.
She wiped her mouth ‌‌‌with an embarrassed expression.
'They say the taste you know is ‌‌‌the most dangerous...'
Her stomach felt so full she could scarcely breathe.
She hadn't eaten nearly that much, yet already felt this uncomfortable.
It was the consequence of her prolonged accustoming to the Count's House diet.
Julian regarded her with a serious expression.
"Surely the Count doesn't starve you? You're already full from such a modest amount?"
"He's never starved me. Though I do eat only enough to survive. Maintaining this delicate ‌‌‌‌waist is no simple feat."
Julian's expression betrayed utter bewilderment. ‌‌‌‌
"The fact that your organs fit within that waist astounds me enough. What possible reason could you have for maintaining it?"
"A long face? You certainly don't mince words. Well, beauty is subjective, I suppose. Anyway, I really must be going now."
"I'll give you a ride."
"No need. If someone sees me ‌‌stepping out of this carriage, the entire plan falls apart."
"Then take a different carriage midway. I'll drop you off somewhere secluded so you can switch immediately. Let me put my abilities to use for once."
"If you're going to such lengths, I won't refuse."
In truth, I had been curious to experience riding in a carriage powered by magic stones, something Danae had raved about endlessly.
Her enthusiasm had piqued my interest more than ‌‌‌‌I cared to admit. ‌‌‌‌
When I gave ‌a small nod, the carriage immediately set off.
Julian gazed at me with evident pleasure, my eyes sparkling with curiosity.
He whispered softly to Croa, asking her to drive the carriage slowly.
Croa looked at him with an expression of disbelief.
Julian paid her no mind, stealing glances at my excited form throughout the journey.
* * *
"The dress isn't too tight, is it?"
Stepping down from the carriage, I sighed at the sight of my slightly swollen ‌‌belly. ‌‌‌‌‌
I needed to move quickly now. I was already long overdue for my appointment with Kanna.
Susan was likely pacing anxiously in the room by now.
So I had to cross the Garden and return to my room as swiftly as possible.
I couldn't afford to run into anyone or engage in conversation along the way.
As I calculated the shortest route, a white carriage adorned with gold trim thundered past me.
My face went pale as I recognized it.
Zeppelin had returned.
* * *
"Where is Rebecca?"
"The lady is resting in her room, sir. Shall I inform her of your arrival?" ‌‌‌
"No, never mind. I'll go up myself."
The moment Zeppelin entered the Mansion, he sought me out. It seemed he wouldn't be returning home for at least a month after today.
'Did you not pledge your loyalty to me?'
Zeppelin ground his teeth in frustration. He couldn't fathom what scheme the Emperor was employing to insist on him so relentlessly.
'And this painting that insults the Temple, no less...'
It was a reckless gamble.
He instinctively understood that should the Temple discover this, the Emperor would cut ties and pin everything on ‌‌him.
Not that he was afraid.
He was confident in conducting matters discreetly, yet something felt deeply unsettling about it all.
Click—
Lost in thought as he climbed the stairs, Zeppelin looked up at the sound ‌‌‌‌of ‌‌‌a door closing.
It came from Rebecca's room.
The runaway Countess had returned.
E-book publication.

January 12, 2022
Author.

Long Night Sky
Publisher.

Desert Fox
Published by.

Woongjin ThinkBig Co., Ltd.
Submission Portal.

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
---------------