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67.
Rebecca examined the figures in the portrait with deliberate care.
The family depicted shared the same raven-black ‌‌‌hair as the night sky and pallid complexion.
The ‌‌‌‌Previous Duke possessed golden eyes similar to Julian's, while his mother, the Duchess, bore eyes of silver-gray transparent as glass beads.
The Duke and Duchess appeared dignified, yet their gazes fixed upon empty space with a hollow, vacant light.
But unlike them, young Julian standing ‌‌‌between the ducal couple blazed with eyes ablaze with fury.
The boy's gaze was sharp, his small hands folded neatly before him.
From him emanated an ambition to one day bring ‌‌‌ruin upon ‌‌the Duke's Residence.
It was a look no child should possess.
Rebecca deliberately averted her eyes.
It felt as though she had witnessed something she ought not to have seen.
Rebecca spoke, concealing her heavy heart.
"Julian bears a striking resemblance to his ‌‌‌mother."
"Is that so? Most say he resembles the Previous Duke, so the Duke would be delighted to hear it."
Croa smiled faintly, and something bittersweet lingered in that expression.
Upon arriving before a door, Croa turned the silver handle.
The door opened, revealing a beautiful Reception Room bathed in the brilliant afternoon sunlight.
"Please wait here a moment, and the Duke shall arrive shortly. Since he has only recently risen from his sickbed, it may take some time, ‌so I ask for your patience."
At those words, Rebecca flinched.
"Was Julian ill?"
"Ah, nothing serious. A few days ago he was caught in the rain and contracted ‌a cold. That is why he was unable to reply to your letters. I apologize for not informing you beforehand. But he is well now, so please do not worry."
Caught in the rain....
That day was unmistakable. Rebecca regretted having resented him for his silence all this while.
She sighed, wishing she had visited sooner.
"If there is anything that displeases you...."
At her sigh, Croa's face darkened at once.
Rebecca shook her head.
Croa's formal deference felt strangely unfamiliar to her.
Rebecca ‌‌‌wished he would treat her as freely as he had in her previous life, as ‌‌‌‌‌he did with Julian now.
But that too would ‌‌be asking too much.
To Croa, I was nothing but a stranger.
Worse still, I likely appeared to him as an unscrupulous woman who would shamelessly exploit the innocent Duke.
Rebecca, fully aware of her position, matched Croa's courtesy with equal propriety.
"Not at all. I am grateful for your hospitality. But before that, I have a favor to ask—would you be ‌‌willing to grant it?"
Croa brightened ‌‌and spoke.
"Please, ask anything at all."
"Eustaf Macfin. I wish to meet with him. ‌‌Isn't it about time he ‌‌‌arrives to report his research findings?"
"Pardon? How did you...."
"I calculated roughly, and it seemed about right. Please summon him. He is the one who knows my physical condition most accurately."
"But he is a botanist, is he not? If you wish to have your condition examined, I shall summon the attending physician instead."
"No, he's quite ‌‌a ‌‌‌skilled physician as well."
As Rebecca ‌‌‌smiled brightly, Croa tilted her head and replied.
"I understand. Since I received word that he would visit today as you mentioned, I'll have him sent here upon arrival."
"Thank you, Croa. Really."
Her gratitude was brimming with sincerity.
Had it ‌‌not been for the Duke's story that Croa had casually mentioned in my previous life, I might still be trapped in a dreadful marriage with Zeppelin even after my regression.
Croa stared blankly at Rebecca's gentle smile for a moment.
Though it was merely a greeting acknowledging his efforts, he had the strange feeling that Rebecca was expressing something more profound ‌‌‌than simple thanks.
But that ‌couldn't be right.
Croa and Rebecca had first met at the Liberta Orphanage.
Though he had done much since then, there was no way Rebecca could know the details of his actions.
Assuming it was ‌‌merely a formal ‌‌commendation, Croa smiled faintly and spoke.
"Then I shall take my leave for now. Should you need anything, simply call for the maid waiting outside the door."
Croa bowed respectfully and left the room, taking with him the maid who had brought the refreshments.
It was a considerate gesture, ‌‌allowing her to ‌‌rest without her veil.
"Quite a decent fellow, unlike his master."
Kanna removed her mask as she spoke. Julian certainly seemed to have earned her lasting displeasure.
Rebecca removed her veil temporarily and surveyed the Reception Room.
The Reception Room, adorned with blooming summer flowers, exuded a warmth that contrasted sharply with the desolate atmosphere ‌‌‌pervading the Duke's Castle.
It seemed to be thanks to the bright sunlight streaming through the expansive windows on all sides.
Rebecca approached the window and tapped the glass gently.
The glass rippled once before returning to ‌‌its original state.
After uttering ‌‌‌a brief exclamation of wonder, Rebecca tapped the window repeatedly.
Her eyes sparkled with curiosity.
This was the legendary mana glass—a window through which the outside could be seen from within, but the inside could not be seen from without. ‌‌‌
Moreover, it possessed the function of blocking heat and cold, and was said to command a price worthy of its name.
It was the very glass that even Zeppelin had marveled at—so expensive that only the Balcony of the Study could barely afford it.
"He must be extraordinarily wealthy."
Rebecca marveled at the mana glass that surrounded a space three times the size of the Devonshire Family's Reception Room.
"Wealth is not everything for a man."
Kanna found fault with every remark Rebecca made as she surveyed the room.
Kanna, who ordinarily ‌‌never spoke a harsh word, became sharp-tongued whenever Julian became the topic of conversation.
Julian was no different.
Though it seemed Julian's defensive attitude stemmed from the fact that Kanna disliked him.
Rebecca contemplated how to reconcile the two.
Just then, through the window, she saw someone running toward the entrance.
It was Julian.
Unlike usual, his bangs hung down over his forehead.
Rebecca found herself captivated by his somewhat disheveled appearance ‌‌‌‌in casual attire.
His peach-colored lips glistened with moisture as he breathed heavily, ‌‌and his flushed neck glistened with perspiration.
And through the slightly unbuttoned gap of his shirt, the thick expanse of his chest and the bead of sweat trickling down ‌‌the valley between his pectoral muscles sent Rebecca's heart into a violent frenzy.
Julian rolled up his sleeves and began issuing instructions to the servant.
The taut sinews running from the back of his hand to his wrist rippled with tension.
The clean lines were beautiful.
Rebecca swallowed hard.
She gazed blankly at Julian's lips, which moved ceaselessly.
The sudden realization that those sculpted lips had touched hers sent her fingers trembling to her own mouth.
Lost in her observation of him, Rebecca's eyes suddenly met his gaze.
The moment their eyes locked, Rebecca startled and ducked her body beneath the window sill. ‌
"Rebecca!"
Kanna set down her teacup and rose abruptly, moving toward her.
Rebecca waved a hand at Kanna to stop.
She ‌‌‌pressed a hand to her racing ‌‌‌heart and settled back into the chair by the window.
'There was no reason to hide....'
I had merely been watching.
Besides, this window was designed so that the outside could not see in, so there was no way he could have ‌‌noticed my gaze.
Rebecca steadied her breathing and lifted her head.
Julian was laughing heartily at something the servant ‌‌‌‌had said. ‌‌
His eyes curved into those beautifully folded crescents that she adored, and he smiled with radiant brilliance.
Rebecca blinked at the piercing sight.
His youth shone with such dazzling splendor.
Suddenly, the memory of him in his previous life—dying weakly on a sickbed—surfaced in her mind.
Rebecca's flushed face grew cold ‌‌‌‌in an instant.
In that moment when Julian had kissed her, Rebecca had felt the warmth of affection radiating from him.
Rebecca was no fool.
She knew the eyes of ‌‌‌‌one in love better than anyone.
She had grown weary of seeing that same look in the eyes of countless suitors who had yearned for her affection.
Julian bore that same ‌‌‌‌look in his eyes.
Though his feelings might not be a profound love, they were nonetheless a childish emotion that would ultimately cause him pain.
I was ‌destined never to be with him.
For a moment, she recalled those foolish suitors who had threatened suicide when she rejected them. ‌‌‌‌
But Rebecca quickly shook her head.
Julian was not the sort of man to commit such a despicable act.
He was well aware that such an action would wound Rebecca, so he would certainly never even ‌‌consider it.
He was kind and tender-hearted.
Despite his pretense of having weathered every storm the world could offer, Julian was, in truth, the Duke of Johannes—a man raised in a greenhouse.
The thought of driving a nail through such a gentle heart made her feel like a demon.
But it had to be done.
The moment I ‌‌‌‌‌‌lifted the curse, I would have to leave him.
Perhaps Julian would resent me for a time.
Or perhaps he would long for me far longer than I'd anticipated.
But he was young.
In the vast expanse of time that lay ahead, Julian would eventually forget me.
He would remember me as nothing more than a bittersweet memory of first love.
And he would find a partner as kind and beautiful as himself, building a happy home together.
He would father several adorable children who resembled him and become a wonderful father.
That would be enough for me, I thought.
Of course, there might be a period of suffering for him after I left.
But it would only be temporary. Eventually, he would live happily and die in peace.
He deserved nothing less.
Conversely, from the moment I was reborn, my fate was already sealed.
I was ‌‌‌the one who dragged Julian into my revenge without his consent.
So I steeled myself—I would think of nothing but revenge, dedicating myself entirely to breaking Julian's curse.
'But can I truly do this?'
Every time I saw him, I became anxious like a child caught doing something wrong. Could I really hide this feeling?
'No, I must.'
I could not give him any false hope.
Only then could he recover from the wound of heartbreak more quickly.
Yet the more I deliberated, the less certain I became.
Rebecca quietly clenched her fist as if making a vow.
* * *
Though he surely knew I had arrived, Julian did not appear despite the passage of time.
As Rebecca waited anxiously for ‌‌‌‌him, a soft knock made her spring to her feet.
The door opened, and Croa entered with a smile.
"Miss Rebecca, Eustaf Macfin has arrived." ‌
"Ah...."
Disappointment flickered across Rebecca's face for a ‌moment.
She composed herself and ‌‌‌‌spoke.
"You've come sooner than expected."
Rebecca turned her gaze toward Eustaf, who observed her intently through the gleam of his spectacles.
Eustaf quickly offered her a greeting.
The runaway countess has returned.
E-book publication.

January 12, 2022
The author.

Long night sky
Publisher. ‌‌‌

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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