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37.
"Will you let your child hear ‌‌‌‌his father's voice?"
Alicia lifted her face.
Her ‌violet eyes sparkled like amethysts.
'I'm carrying your ‌‌‌‌‌child. I'll give you the finest. So you must give me only the finest ‌‌‌as well.'
Zeppelin's decision to embrace Alicia had been thoroughly impulsive.
He had met her in a remote rural village on the outskirts of civilization.
He had visited the village to verify rumors that a ‌‌painter he sought was residing there.
When he descended from his resplendent carriage—utterly incongruous with the humble surroundings—Alicia, who had been ‌‌‌drawing water from the well, dropped her bucket.
And she stared directly at him.
In her gaze that did not shy away from his, there was neither shame nor bashfulness to be found.
Alicia regarded him with the same fervent desire burning in her eyes as any other woman, as though she meant to devour him whole with her stare.
Without hesitation, she approached him boldly.
From her emanated a certain ambition—that she would possess him without fail.
Zeppelin found her audacious manner momentarily refreshing, yet it did not kindle any sustained interest.
Though Alicia possessed beauty too ‌‌‌exquisite to waste away in such a provincial town, she was not captivating enough to truly capture his attention.
Moreover, he was eager to ‌‌conclude his business and return to Rebecca at the earliest opportunity.
A rural woman could hardly command his notice.
But Alicia was relentless.
During the brief period of his stay in the village, she visited his lodgings every ‌‌single day. ‌‌‌
And eventually, ‌‌at the Village Festival, she even danced with him.
Throughout that tedious journey searching for the painter, Alicia had offered him small moments of levity.
Since something was better than nothing, Zeppelin allowed her to remain by his side for a time.
But that was all.
He neither brought her to the Mansion nor ‌‌‌made any promises of a ‌‌‌paramour's bond.
To Zeppelin, Alicia was merely a fleeting diversion—nothing more.
So it was only ‌‌‌natural that he was taken aback when Rebecca brought Alicia to the Mansion.
At first, he could only laugh bitterly, but later, curiosity stirred within him.
'Am I not beautiful to you?'
Yes, it was merely curiosity.
What form might his heart take if he gave to another woman what he had devoted solely to Rebecca?
And so he embraced Alicia, and the child he had so desperately desired came into being.
Every time Zeppelin saw her swollen belly, he lamented that this young life had not grown within Rebecca's womb instead.
And so Alicia became repugnant to him.
It felt as though she had stolen the child that should have been his and Rebecca's.
Yet in this very moment, Alicia was quite pleasing to behold.
He found himself under the delusion that ‌‌‌perhaps he could even love the child born between this woman and himself.
Zeppelin recalled Rebecca, who would be waiting for him, adorned in all her finery according to ‌‌‌his command.
The desire that had churned within him mere hours ago to hold Rebecca had, for some reason, settled into a deceptive calm.
And now his lust had turned toward Alicia, ‌‌‍who stood before him cloaked in sanctity, cradling his own blood. ‌‌‌‌
Was it because Rebecca had rejected his kiss during the day?
Was ‌‌it the persistent sense of déjà vu that ‌had been needling him?
Or did he simply need to confirm that Rebecca would ‌‌‌‌wait for him?
Perhaps he wanted to see Rebecca waiting for ‌‌‌‌him through ‌‌‌‌the night, tears streaming down her ‌‌face, drowning in regret.
Perhaps he wanted to ensure beyond doubt that she would never leave him.
It was absurd.
She was already his—the very fact that I entertained such thoughts was a contradiction in itself.
Yet my footsteps ultimately turned toward Alicia.
The moment Alicia saw Zeppelin approaching her, she could not hide her overwhelming joy.
'It really works, doesn't it?'
Rebecca had come seeking Alicia under the pretense of worrying about the burns she had sustained because of her.
Alicia had braced herself, wondering what cutting words Rebecca would use to wound her this time.
But as Rebecca examined her carefully, the words that emerged were entirely unexpected.
'You want what's mine? Then seize it more aggressively. I rather welcome a worthy rival.'
'What did you say?'
'Hmm, you ‌‌‌seem to adorn yourself excessively. Though it suits your face well enough, perhaps you should try restraint occasionally? Men are always seeking something new, after all.'
'....'
'And ‌‌make full use of what you possess. What do ‌‌‌you have that I lack?'
She had dismissed it as nonsense, suspecting Rebecca of scheming yet again, and tried to let it pass.
But somehow, Rebecca's advice kept echoing in her mind.
And tonight, she had heard that Zeppelin would visit Rebecca's chambers.
Alicia decided to play the fool and act according to Rebecca's counsel.
Yet she never expected Zeppelin would actually turn away from Rebecca and come to her instead.
She was delighted, but the reason Rebecca had taught her this ‌stratagem remained a mystery, leaving her with an unsettling feeling.
"What are you doing, Alicia? Won't you come inside?"
But that question was soon pushed from Alicia's mind.
Zeppelin had called her name in a voice far softer than usual.
Alicia's ‌‌‌eyes ‌‌fluttered open as if she were dreaming.
Even as the second wife, the radiant man before her was still her husband.
Though time had passed, Zeppelin remained unchanged from the day she first saw him at the well.
He was the prince on a white horse she had dreamed of since childhood—the one who would lift ‌‌her from the gutter.
It mattered not if he were a beast.
A prince was a prince. A woman married to a prince could become a noble queen.
That was what Alicia desired.
Not the country girl Alicia, but an ‌‌exalted ‌‌Countess of Devonshire—someone no one would dare look upon or touch.
With that dream in her heart, Alicia smiled radiantly.
And she drew Zeppelin into her bedchamber.
That night, both wives of the Earl of ‌‌‌‌Devonshire obtained what they desired.
"As you ‌‌‌‌‌instructed, the Earl has entered Alicia's chambers."
"Good? Excellent."
Rebecca heard Alicia's delighted moans echoing throughout the estate.
Using those sounds as her symphony, Rebecca began peeling ‌‌‌away the garments that had been ‌‌‌suffocating her, one by one.
She wiped away the makeup that had been stifling her face.
The moment the crimson lipstick vanished from her visage, Rebecca burst into laughter.
"Puhaha."
How absurdly simple this ‌‌‌had all been. ‌‌‌
How could humans be so utterly foolish?
Rebecca couldn't contain herself and laughed even louder, clutching her belly as the mirth consumed her.
For the next month, she wouldn't have to see him.
And when he finally returned, the world he had known would already be crumbling into ruin.
* * *
From the break of dawn the next day, the servants of the Count's Mansion bustled about with purpose. Two large carriages were loaded with a month's worth of luggage.
Alicia emerged to bid farewell to Zeppelin, her eyes still heavy with sleep.
Rebecca descended the staircase at a leisurely pace, impeccably groomed from head to toe as always.
Zeppelin gazed at Rebecca ‌‌with a subtle smile playing at his lips.
Her eyes were ‌‌swollen. Though concealed by makeup, they were visibly flushed.
Zeppelin had heard that Rebecca had roused the maids at dawn searching for ice.
And this morning, Kanna had quietly informed him of the truth.
"She wept all night searching for you, my lord."
So that was it. Even my keen ‌‌instincts ‌‌can deceive me at times.
Yet he had no intention of abandoning his plan.
"Then you must take care on your journey," Alicia said.
Alicia gripped Zeppelin's hand firmly, ‌‌her eyes glistening with tears as she gazed up at him.
Rebecca also furrowed her brow slightly and offered ‌her farewell.
Zeppelin regarded both his wives in turn before gesturing toward Grace and speaking.
"Ah, before I go, I have something for my wives."
Click—
At Zeppelin's gesture, Grace fastened something around the wrists of both Rebecca and Alicia.
Alicia examined what encircled her wrist and gasped, her head snapping up in shock.
"E-Earl. This... this ‌‌‌‌is..."
Shackles.
Delicate iron shackles wrapped in soft black velvet cloth, adorned with elegant silver thread embroidery.
The shackles on both wrists were connected by a long ‌‌silver chain, allowing relatively greater freedom of movement than ordinary restraints.
Yet the meaning of bondage remained unchanged.
Zeppelin lifted one corner of his mouth in a crooked ‌‌smile.
"I'm simply worried something might happen while I'm away."
"Are you suggesting we might attempt to flee, ‌‌my lord?" Alicia demanded.
Alicia's eyes flashed with ‌‌‌‌‌indignation as she spoke.
Rebecca merely gazed at Zeppelin in silence.
She showed none of Alicia's passionate reaction, nor did she appear greatly disturbed.
Yet her eyes gleamed with a fierce intensity, concealing a molten fury in their depths.
Perhaps Rebecca's composed demeanor had struck a nerve, for Zeppelin seized her hand without warning.
The chain attached to the shackles rattled loudly.
"Why do you say nothing, madam? Has your escape plan been discovered?"
Ah, this man's instincts were infuriatingly sharp.
Rebecca smiled coldly at him as he leaned his face close to hers.
"Escape? Where would I go, leaving this place? I was merely captivated by the shackles' exquisite ‌beauty. If I regard them as nothing more than a ‌‌‌somewhat bothersome bracelet, there is no reason to refuse such a gift."
At those words, Alicia began stamping her feet in protest.
"Rebecca! This is absurd! How are you expected to live wearing shackles for over a month? How will you eat? How will you bathe?"
"Alicia, the maids will handle everything. Why worry? We need only remain in this mansion without lifting a finger, just as we always have. Where else could one find such touching luxury? Don't you agree, Zeppelin?"
Rebecca gazed at Zeppelin with an ambiguous smile—whether mocking or sincere, impossible to discern.
Before Zeppelin could gauge Rebecca's true intentions, Alicia stepped forward in protest.
"My lord, I can accept whatever you do to me, but this is too ‌‌‌‌much. I am your wife, not a prisoner!"
"Chatter, chatter—my head aches from your prattle. Has the lesson's effect already worn off, Alicia? Shall I remind you ‌‌‌of your place once more?"
His gaze turned so glacial that ‌‌he seemed nothing like the husband who had held me so tenderly last night.
The memory surfaced, and Alicia fell silent.
Her ‌‌shoulders began trembling uncontrollably.
Rebecca watched Alicia's quivering shoulders in quiet observation.
Zeppelin shouted irritably.
"The maids will handle everything as Rebecca said—so what's there to worry about? My wives need only obey my commands!"
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 received.

naver.me/54VzzLSn
Blog.

blog.naver.com/wj_fennecfox
Twitter.

@wjt_fennecfox

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