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69.
The sun was gradually sinking toward the horizon.
Silence settled over the Reception Room, bathed in the crimson glow of the sunset.
Rebecca, who had been gazing quietly at Julian, spoke first.
"How have ‌‌‌you been? I heard you were ill."
"Ah, I'm fine now. You must have been waiting for my reply without knowing what happened. I'm sorry."
"I waited a bit, but I understand since you were sick."
"If you're not angry, then why won't you meet my eyes?"
"What?"
At his words, Rebecca looked toward Julian.
Unlike the modest appearance she had glimpsed through the window, he ‌was dressed to perfection.
Julian had swept his hair back, revealing a perfectly straight forehead.
He wore a ‌tailored suit that accentuated his elegant frame.
Rebecca's gaze traced down his long legs.
While his calves were sleek, his thighs boasted muscles that seemed ready to burst through the fabric.
She found herself swallowing involuntarily.
"Ah, so you're not avoiding me—you simply don't know where to look because I'm too handsome?"
"What!"
At his words, Rebecca stared at him in bewilderment.
His golden eyes sparkled as they gazed at her.
"Then I'll give you time to appreciate the view. Feel free to look your fill."
Julian smoothed out the wrinkles in his vest and settled into a proper posture.
He seemed to genuinely enjoy her gaze.
Rebecca, feeling her true feelings exposed, deliberately narrowed her eyes and shot him a glare.
"Excessive confidence becomes poison, Julian."
"It's ‌‌‌‌strange to hide confidence when one possesses it."
Seeing Rebecca's bewildered expression and her ‌‌‌pouting lips, Julian inwardly exulted.
Her reaction confirmed that his hasty grooming had been worthwhile.
Since childhood, his mother had always told him this.
'Julian, a man's beauty is everything. I endure your father because of his handsome appearance. Fortunately, you've inherited his beautiful features perfectly. Still, never let your guard down—dedicate yourself ‌‌‌to constant self-improvement.'
As she ‌‌‌‌‌spoke these words, his mother had placed a hand mirror in Julian's possession.
Though he didn't particularly miss his mother, Julian always carried that mirror with him.
His dedication to grooming himself stemmed not only from his mother's unwavering philosophy. ‌‌
The House of Johannes was as much a symbol ‌‌of the Temple and the Empire as any institution could be.
He frequently appeared at official ceremonies and had to present himself beautifully at all times and places.
Thus, adorning himself meticulously, like a peacock preening its feathers, was as natural to him as breathing.
Rather, ‌‌‌revealing himself in his raw state felt uncomfortable.
Moreover, if Rebecca would only steal glances at him like this, he felt he could sleep fully groomed ‌‌from head to toe for the rest of his life.
Watching him ‌‌carry himself with such confident pride, Rebecca found laughter continually escaping her.
He still made her smile.
"Well, he is handsome, I'll give him that."
"Hmm?"
Julian blinked at Rebecca's candid response.
"You're attractive. Every time you pass by, everyone—men and women ‌‌‌alike—stares only at you. ‌‌And it seems you use that advantage quite well, which is rather impressive."
"Impressive...?"
"Yes."
Rebecca finished speaking and noisily sipped her tea.
She glanced sideways at Julian, who was covering his flushed face with the back of his hand.
An impulse to tease him stirred within her.
But Rebecca restrained herself. She needed to maintain proper distance between them.
"So, shall we discuss our plans moving forward?"
Rebecca shifted her gaze to the document case she had brought.
She retrieved it and placed it before her, then drew out a rolled sheet of paper.
Julian ‌‌gazed at the scroll with a somewhat deflated ‌‌expression.
"What is that?"
Instead of answering, Rebecca transferred all the teacups and saucers from the tea table onto a trolley.
Then she ‌‌‌unrolled ‌the scroll across the tea table. It was a large sheet of paper that filled the entire expansive surface.
"It's a floor plan. I've sketched the structure of Devon Mansion based on what I know. There may be secret passages beyond what ‌‌‌‌I've documented, though."
"How does that relate to our plans?"
"Of course it does. We need to uncover the secrets of House of Devon. We absolutely must infiltrate this location."
Rebecca tapped her finger repeatedly on the area ‌near the Study.
"Zeppelin's Study is off-limits to anyone without permission—even the Hounds cannot enter. So there must be something hidden there."
Julian examined the floor plan meticulously. While imperfect, it demonstrated the skill level of a master craftsman's apprentice.
He nearly let out an exclamation of admiration.
'What on earth can this woman not do?'
She was ‌‌‌someone who would have succeeded at anything.
Fresh anger surged toward Zeppelin for having confined her.
'Perhaps I should have crushed his face entirely back then...'
Julian recalled the memory of infiltrating the Emperor's Villa and striking Zeppelin's face.
No matter how he thought about it, he felt he had been far ‌‌‌too restrained at that moment.
As Julian clenched ‌‌and unclenched his fist with the resolve to show no mercy next time, Rebecca produced another rolled ‌‌sheet of paper.
"This is a floor plan from the entrance to the Garden. I've marked the dog holes and secret passages that the Hounds I've bribed informed me about. And here—the Hall of Light. This location is the most crucial."
"The Hall of Light? Ah, I've visited that ‌‌‌‌place once. It seemed like just an ‌‌‌ordinary exhibition hall. Is there something more to it?"
"There's a torture chamber in its underground level."
"What?" ‌
"Why ‌are you surprised? You know well enough that most nobles maintain private dungeons or torture chambers. But that's not the real issue. According to Robert, there's another door deeper inside."
"Rebecca. I'm telling you this to prevent misunderstanding, but the ‌‌‌‌Duke's Castle has no torture chamber. ‌‌I have no interest in such things."
Julian spoke with a stern expression.
As rumors of his romantic exploits spread, strange tales had been added suggesting he harbored sadistic tendencies.
Because of this, clubs catering to such interests had even secretly contacted him before.
Even now, the thought of those persistent men who clung ‌‌to me no matter ‌how many times I refused made my skin crawl.
Rebecca watched Julian, who waited for my reaction with visible tension, and offered a faint smile.
"Didn't I mention this before? I know better than anyone that you're more chaste than a single lily. There's nothing to worry about. I won't harbor such strange misunderstandings. And I have no intention of learning about your preferences going forward."
"How can you be so certain of that...?"
"Now I'll tell you the real plan."
Rebecca hastily cut off Julian's words.
Julian fell silent ‌‌and stared at Rebecca intently.
Until now, I had dismissed it as mere feeling, but now it was certain. Rebecca was avoiding me.
My mood sank into a murky gloom.
Regardless of the reason, the mere fact that ‌‌she was avoiding me made my heart clench painfully.
'Damn it.'
Whenever I spoke with her, it felt as though an invisible wall stood before me.
Rebecca's eyes held the gaze of a distant future I could never decipher.
And I had an instinctive premonition that I would have no place in that future.
Though I desperately wanted to ask why, I did not speak rashly.
I would wait.
I resolved to wait until Rebecca herself chose to tell me the truth.
A mere question could shatter someone's heart.
I had endured such questions my entire life.
It was an inevitable burden of standing where all eyes converged.
Rude questions that dredged up forgotten memories and unwanted thoughts assailed me daily.
After mending ‌‌my shattered heart again and again, it had grown ‌‌impenetrably hard. ‌‌
I sensed that Rebecca ‌‌was no different.
So I would wait—just ‌‌as she had ‌done for me, I would knock upon her door until one day her heart opened to me. That was my vague hope.
"Let's get engaged."
Rebecca blinked and spoke ‌‌‌with firm resolve.
Despite the romantic words that left her lips, her expression was one of unwavering determination.
"What...?" ‌‌‌
"You heard me correctly, didn't you? ‌Let's get engaged."
"Yes."
I quickly grasped Rebecca's hand. For some reason, it felt ‌‌‌as though ‌‌‌‌I ‌couldn't let go.
Rebecca frowned as if exasperated and withdrew her hand from mine.
I stared at my empty hand with bewildered eyes.
"You weren't listening properly. Pay attention. We'll ‌‌attend ‌‌‌‌‌the autumn ballroom at House of ‌‌‌‌Devon and announce our engagement there. And we'll hold the wedding a few weeks later."
"The autumn ballroom?"
"Yes. House of Devon has held an autumn ballroom every year for generations to showcase the treasures of the Hall of Light. It's Zeppelin's favorite event since he loves being the center of attention. So we need to go there and steal everyone's gaze."
"A ballroom...."
I had attended the Devonshire autumn ballroom several times before.
The autumn ballroom was always conducted as a masquerade.
Because of that, troublesome ‌‌‌acquaintances ‌‌‌‌‌didn't approach me, making it a social gathering where I could enjoy wine at my leisure.
"Ah. So that's why you said your body needed ‌‌to recover by autumn."
"Exactly. There's no better opportunity for infiltration than the autumn Ballroom. All personnel will be concentrated in the Ballroom."
"Speaking of which, I heard the Earl of Devonshire lost his memory. Amusingly, on the day of your divorce, he crashed ‌‌‌his head into my ‌castle gate searching for you. Apparently his mind is sharp enough that he quickly deduced the relationship ‌‌between you and me."
"I'm aware."
Rebecca lifted the corners of her mouth with ease.
"I suspected as much, but how did you know?"
"It's all thanks to you. Because you created the opportunity, most of the Hounds fell into my hands. The fact that I safely divorced the Earl seems to have solidified their resolve. Oh, and that boy Colin—he's one of your people, isn't he?" ‌‌‌‌
At Rebecca's sharp observation, Julian shrugged his shoulders.
"I ‌‌can't help it."
"An unknown newly arrived Hound. He doesn't seem entirely on Zeppelin's side, nor has he taken my ‌‌‌‌hand. Yet looking at what he does, he subtly seems to be helping my plans. So what's the remaining answer? Julian, it's you."
"Now I'm starting to feel a chill. I should make sure nothing appears wrong to you."
"Good thinking. I'm meticulous about repaying what I've received in equal measure."
"I'll keep that close to heart."
Julian traced an X mark across his chest as he spoke. It was a gesture signifying he would remember until this heart ceased to beat.
The Runaway Countess Returns
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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