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

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

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

6. "My lady, the Earl awaits you." At the maid's insistent voice, Rebecca snapped back to reality. Rebecca opened the door and walked slowly ‌‌‌down the corridor. With each step, the rustle of her dress hem whispered against the floor. Across the way, Alicia's door cracked open slightly. Alicia peered through the gap, scrutinizing Rebecca ‌from head to toe with meticulous attention. Her gaze burned with unmistakable covetousness. Rebecca met Alicia's eyes and offered a subtle smile. At Rebecca's triumphant smirk, sparks of fury ignited in Alicia's eyes. 'Yes, let it dawn on ‌‌‌you—your place. And let you hunger for what you can never ‌‌possess.' Though I had always dreaded these galas, tonight I ‌‌‌‌could attend this ballroom with genuine anticipation. I had ‌‌a clear purpose. This was my opportunity to fasten the first button of my ‌‌‌revenge. * * * "Croa, don't you have anything more useful to report?" Julian examined the reports Croa had compiled with meticulous care. As always, ‌‌‌there was not a single worthwhile clue related to the ‌‌‌curse. The quality of the intelligence seemed to be declining steadily. Julian irritably slammed his hand against the desk. The impact caused the wine glass sitting atop it to topple over. Crimson droplets splattered across Julian's broad, bare chest. "Lately, storytellers chasing the scent of coin have been flooding ‌in. It takes days just to filter out the frauds. In any case, you should change clothes at once." Croa hurried forward ‌‌‌‌with a handkerchief, dabbing away ‌‌the wine that trickled down Julian's chest. Behind him, servants stood holding a black tailcoat. Julian irritably swept back his dark hair. "If I'd known it would be like this, I wouldn't have gone ‌‌to war at all." "And who insisted on going, complaining that their body was restless?" "It's called war in name only—there wasn't a shred of actual combat. The moment I drew my blade, they ‌‌surrendered. It's obvious the Emperor orchestrated the whole thing. Something felt off from the start. There's no way rebels exist in this day and age." "Regardless, given the effort invested in you, Duke, please attend at least once. If you keep testing the Emperor's patience like this, it could spell real trouble." "Real trouble? What trouble? As long as that damned goddess stands above our house, the ‌Emperor can't lay a finger on us." Julian's eyes gleamed with an eerie golden light. ‌‌The three black cats sitting at his feet simultaneously pricked up their ears and yowled. The servants flinched ‌‌‌at the unsettling atmosphere. Croa, accustomed to such moments, snatched the shirt from the servant's hands and approached Julian. "No more talk—put it on at once!" "Sigh. Just thinking about another dreadful performance is giving me a headache already." "Then tonight, simply go through the motions and return. The rumors that you're a depraved, filthy scoundrel have already spread far and wide as planned. I hear they've procured Lengerus wine at tonight's ‌‌‌ballroom—the kind you favor." "Now that's something I can appreciate." Julian glanced at the clock and rose from his chair ‌‌with a reluctant groan. Croa snapped her fingers twice. Only then did the frozen servants begin bustling about, preparing Julian for the occasion. The House of Johannes, as known ‌to the world, was a noble family blessed by the goddess Defria. But the truth was somewhat different. The ‌‌‌‌ancestor of House of Johannes, once merely an unremarkable nobleman, received a revelation from Defria, the goddess ‌‌‌of fortune, one fateful day. "If you ensure that I and my children receive the most honored treatment, I shall grant your house eternal wealth and glory." Not long after, a rebellion erupted. The ancestor, who allied with the rebels, achieved a great victory ‌under the goddess's ‌‌‌protection. The newly crowned emperor bestowed upon Johannes, the greatest contributor, the title of Duke. And at ‌‌Duke Johannes's suggestion, the Defrian Church was established as the state religion. Temples praising the goddess Defria were erected throughout the realm. The cat, once considered an ill-omened creature, became a ‌‌symbol of the goddess Defria and was now regarded as a harbinger of ‌‌good fortune. Thus, House of Johannes became a noble family as the goddess had promised, lacking neither wealth nor honor. ‌But as generations passed, the descendants forgot their gratitude to the goddess. Then one foolish descendant dallied with a concubine within the temple itself. The enraged goddess cast down a curse. "Your child shall serve the one I have sent and regard ‌‌‌‌them as one body. You shall pay the price for the blessings you enjoyed so cheaply." Months later, the concubine gave birth to a son—the sole heir. The child was healthy, but on the day of his birth, a black cat appeared from nowhere. When they tried to drive the cat away, the child wailed inconsolably. When the cat's paw was injured, the child's foot was injured as well. Not long after, House of Johannes came to ‌‌understand the nature of the curse. Their heir's soul had been bound to the cat sent by the goddess at birth. The son designated as heir possessed golden eyes that shifted with his emotions—a divine gift by nature. The cat sent by the goddess required neither water nor food. It ‌‌sustained itself solely on the innate divine power of the heir. Because of this, every heir of House of Johannes died young. To ensure succession by any means, House of Johannes arranged child betrothals for their heirs from infancy. If the first wife bore no heir within a year, another wife was taken. There was no ‌‌‌knowing when the heir would die. Only the Pope and a select few within House of ‌‌‌‌Johannes knew this truth. To protect the cat sent by the ‌‌‌goddess, the ‌‌Temple treated Duke Johannes like a breeding stallion. Thus, the children of House of Johannes were born alongside the curse. Wealth and glory continued, but so did the curse. Julian was no exception. But Julian possessed the strongest divine power of any heir in the family's history. The Pope ‌‌‌had foreseen that Julian would live longer ‌‌than other Dukes of Johannes. Thanks to this, Julian had managed to avoid the child betrothal he so ‌‌‌‌‌despised—for now. But that reprieve would not last much longer. Soon I would enter my mid-twenties. My retainers and the Temple would begin applying pressure. I despised it. I could not bear to drag an ‌‌innocent woman into my family's curse. The wives of House of Johannes had never met good ends across the generations. My mother wasted away from heartbreak when I was young and died. The other three wives went mad after my ‌‌father's death and took their own lives. I could not simply accept that terrible fate. I lifted my eyes and gazed out the window. Beyond the window, I could see light spilling from the East Annex where Lily resided. Even if Julian were ‌to die without leaving an heir, any son born to Lily would inherit the curse. I could not burden that small child with such a terrible fate. "I must end this curse in my lifetime, no matter what...." Julian had yearned for a miracle his entire life. Yet he had never once prayed to God. * * * "Mind your step, Rebecca." Zeppelin, who had descended from the carriage first, extended his hand to Rebecca. Zeppelin gazed at Rebecca's figure for a moment, utterly entranced. Adorned with ornaments he had personally selected, she was breathtakingly beautiful beyond measure. Rebecca, who had been studying Zeppelin in his pristine white tailcoat, gracefully placed her hand upon his arm. Zeppelin caught sight ‌‌‌‌‌of the wedding ring adorning her slender fingers and fell into a reverie. On ‌‌‌Zeppelin's seventeenth birthday, a grand celebration had been held at House of Devon. It was a day when snow ‌‌‌fell in abundance. Slipping away from the tedious gathering onto the balcony, Zeppelin had laid eyes upon Rebecca for the first time. The eleven-year-old Rebecca was frolicking joyfully in ‌‌the snow, her cheeks flushed ‌‌crimson. As Rebecca, who had been building a snowman, met Zeppelin's gaze, she broke into a radiant smile. In that ‌‌‌moment, Zeppelin fell hopelessly in love with her. More precisely, he was captivated by Rebecca's face—a face that ‌‌‌resembled his own. 'How beautiful a child would be born if I married that girl.' Zeppelin had been raised with the education that beauty was the very meaning of life. For the first time ‌‌‌‌in his monotonous existence, he had found a purpose. From that moment onward, Zeppelin began to devise a plan to make Rebecca entirely his own. And after considerable effort, he had succeeded in marrying Rebecca. Yet molding Rebecca into the form he desired proved far more difficult than anticipated. Rebecca was far more intelligent and stubborn than he had expected. But Zeppelin possessed patience in equal measure. Over nearly a decade, he had meticulously isolated her, making her depend entirely upon him. Bringing Alicia into their lives had served a similar purpose. He ‌‌wanted Rebecca to despair further as she compared herself to the young and beautiful Alicia. He wished for her to doubt herself ever more and cling ever more desperately to beauty. 'Now I only need her to bear a child. A child who resembles me.' He felt the gazes of those entranced by Rebecca's beauty, stealing glances at her. Zeppelin smiled with satisfaction and stepped into the Ballroom, where the ornate chandeliers glittered brilliantly. He had no idea what thoughts ‌‌occupied Rebecca's mind in this very moment. * * * "I have heard much of your reputation, Duke of Johannes." Julian, who had been conversing beside Emperor Zahidra, turned his head at the melodious voice. A young woman with her red hair pinned ‌‌‌‌‌up was smiling toward him. The Emperor, delighted, introduced the woman to him. "Ah, Julian. You haven't met her before, have you? This is Princess Catherine." A princess? Julian's gaze swept indifferently over Catherine, whose face had flushed crimson. Then he turned to look at Zahidra. Zahidra was observing Julian and Catherine in ‌turn, his eyes gleaming with unmistakable anticipation. Julian swallowed a hollow laugh internally. 'Ha, the old man. His intentions are transparent as glass.' Over the long centuries, the ecclesiastical authority of the Rotandus Empire had grown to an overwhelming degree of power. The majority of high nobility were the Pope's people, and the common sentiment was no different. It ‌‌‌‌had become such an established custom that policies decided in the State Council were reviewed by the Cardinal or the Pope. Originally, the Johannes Duchy had sided with the Temple. But since Julian became Duke, the Duchy had maintained an ambiguous neutrality between the Emperor and the Temple. The previous Emperor had helplessly played the role of the Temple's puppet. Emperor Zahidra, who had grown up watching that spectacle, had methodically laid plans to strengthen imperial authority since childhood. It was only natural that Julian appeared to him like a goose that laid golden eggs. The Temple could not stand against the Duke of Johannes, who received the Goddess's blessing directly. Therefore, if he could only draw Julian to his side, Julian would become an excellent tool to check the Temple's power. There was nothing better than a political marriage to bring Julian into his camp. The Runaway Countess Returns 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

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

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

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