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89.
"Camaraderie. Yes, I suppose that could be it."
Lost in thought, Julian and I climbed the hill in silence for a moment.
The whisper of grass brushing against the wind created an odd tension.
Though I heard this sound every day, tonight the meadow's song felt somehow different. ‌‌‌
Was ‌‌‌it because of Julian walking beside me?
Rebecca found herself unable to stop watching him as he fell silent.
He kept clenching and unclenching his fists, tendons rising and falling with each movement. ‌‌‌‌
Even his deeply furrowed brow was absurdly beautiful.
Rebecca recalled the moment she had leaped from the balcony earlier that evening.
It ‌‌‌‌could have meant death, but the instant I heard Julian's voice, an inexplicable certainty bloomed—that I could escape this place.
And when I saw his firm arms and sturdy shoulders reaching up from below, all doubt vanished.
Without hesitation, my feet carried ‌‌‌me forward, rushing toward him.
It was foolish and reckless, like a moth drawn to flame.
Yet once again, he saved me.
It was like magic.
The relief that flooded through me when I buried my face against his solid chest kept echoing in my mind.
I could still hear the rapid beating of his heart.
'A sorcerer...'
In the fairy tales I loved as a child, there was always a sorcerer beside the hero.
The sorcerer would lift the fallen hero to his feet and rescue him from traps.
Without the sorcerer, the hero could never have slain the dragon or saved the princess locked in the tower. ‌‌
As these thoughts occupied me, I noticed a soft glow materializing around him.
A beautiful cascade of light enveloped Julian in an instant.
Rebecca rubbed her eyes.
Could he really be casting magic?
"Fireflies. They appear around here this time of year—they've arrived right on cue."
Rebecca lowered her hands from her eyes.
Julian stood with a gentle smile, a blinking firefly resting in his palm.
"Yes. Perhaps now is not a bad time after all."
Rebecca tilted her head at his cryptic words, but her eyes widened in shock at what came next.
Julian dropped to one knee.
Then he reached into his coat and withdrew a small box.
Julian carefully opened the box.
Upon seeing what lay inside, Rebecca's breath caught.
A diamond ring, cut into a teardrop shape, gleamed brilliantly among the fireflies, its radiance undiminished.
"Rebecca Obelia. Will you become my wife?"
Feeling unmoored from reality, Rebecca slowly closed her ‌‌‌‌eyes, then opened them again.
The beautiful night sky scattered with pearl dust, fireflies dancing between them as if offering their blessing.
And the quiet meadow, where Julian's breath came in tense, audible waves.
It felt like a dream.
The moment I realized this was meant for me alone, my heart began to race.
Save for one thing, it was a proposal romantic enough to treasure and revisit ‌‌countless times.
Rebecca's joy quickly faded from her eyes.
'But this is all pretense.'
The excitement that had swelled in my chest vanished in an instant.
Rebecca gently took Julian's hand and gazed at him with serene eyes.
"Thank you, Julian. I will. I'll be your wife."
Taken aback by Rebecca's unexpectedly composed demeanor, Julian looked up at her with an awkward expression.
"What are you doing? I need to put the ring on the bride's finger."
Rebecca extended her slender hand.
Julian picked up the ring and slipped it onto her left ring finger.
Rebecca gazed at the ring and spoke.
"I've never seen a diamond this large ‌‌before."
"I heard that the larger it is, the better. Do you like it?"
"Yes. I like it."
Rebecca paused for a moment, then opened her arms ‌‌‌wide.
"Normally, after a proposal, a couple would share a passionate kiss of love."
Julian, who had been straightening from his knee, hesitated at her words and looked at her.
A new wave of anticipation filled his eyes. Rebecca smiled softly.
"But since we're friends, let's share a hug of friendship instead."
Then she embraced Julian warmly.
This was the best ‌‌‌I could express right now.
"You're truly kind. To care ‌‌so much even though this is just a contract marriage."
"That's not it...."
It wasn't. ‌‌I wanted to cry out that it wasn't mere kindness or goodwill.
But Julian swallowed his words as doubt crept ‌‌into his mind.
If it wasn't kindness or goodwill, then what was it?
Why had I spent weeks carefully selecting a ring and scouting locations?
The reason of simply wanting to see Rebecca smile was insufficient.
"Thank you, Julian. I'm truly happy."
Yet ‌‌‌seeing Rebecca genuinely joyful made such questions seem ‌‌irrelevant.
It was enough that the warm person in my arms was happy.
That alone was a success.
Julian tightened ‌‌‌his ‌embrace around Rebecca.
Rebecca lifted her head.
I couldn't say anything. If I spoke further, he would surely notice that I was crying.
I had sworn never to cry again, yet he kept making me weep.
He made me want to be honest.
But the reality that I couldn't be honest despite my heart's desire was what made Rebecca cry.
Such anguish consumed her that she vowed never ‌‌‌to meet him again in any future life.
Rebecca's lips trembled pitifully.
Yet ‌when this prolonged embrace ended and she faced him, she had to smile.
She had to smile so it wouldn't hurt him.
"Shall we head inside now?"
Rebecca spoke in a noticeably calmer tone.
Julian nodded and released her from his embrace.
The warmth that had filled him vanished in an instant.
Regretting that moment's passing, Julian gently brushed his chest.
In doing ‌‌‌so, he failed to notice Rebecca hastily wiping away her tears.
"Sister!" ‌‌
As the bright lights of the Obelia House drew near, Livia came sprinting from the distance like an arrow.
"Your Grace!"
Helena followed close behind. The two girls in their nightclothes ‌ran barefoot across the meadow.
Had Danae witnessed this scene, she ‌surely would have seized them by the scruff of their necks.
"Still awake? What were you doing?"
Though her tone seemed reproachful, Rebecca's eyes gazing upon her younger sisters brimmed with affection.
"We were worried about you, so we couldn't sleep."
Livia giggled sheepishly.
"Oh! Sister, your finger..."

Helena's eyes widened like a rabbit's as she gazed at the ring adorning Rebecca's left hand.
Livia looked at Julian and spoke.
"Your Grace, you succeeded! Wow, Helena! Look at that diamond."
At Livia's words, Rebecca glanced at Julian. It seemed her younger sisters were indeed the ones who had advised that the larger the diamond, the better.
"Since ‌‌you're sisters, I thought it would help me understand you better..."
Julian awkwardly touched his earlobe.
Rebecca's next words were cut short by Helena's excited chatter.
"Does this mean you're getting married, Sister?"
"Are you?"
Livia also looked up at Rebecca ‌‌‌with sparkling, hopeful eyes.
Rebecca exchanged a glance with Julian for a moment.
Julian's eyes curved into a smile—the expression she adored.
Rebecca bent her knees slightly to match the eye ‌‌‌level of Livia and Helena.
"Yes. I'm going to get married. When the time comes, would you two be my bridesmaids?"
Helena and Livia looked at each other.
Soon after, a ‌‌‌great cheer burst from the sisters' lips ‌‌loud enough to wake Danae from her light sleep.
An animated discussion followed ‌‌‌about what wedding dress Rebecca should wear ‌‌‌and what dresses they themselves should wear.
Leaving her passionate sisters behind, Rebecca approached Julian.
"The wind is cold. We should head home now."
For a moment, Julian wished the house Rebecca spoke of were the Obelia Mansion where he now stood. ‌‌‌
But that was a hope that could never easily come to pass.
Julian smiled bitterly and offered his farewell.
"Yes. I'll take my leave now. I hope you have pleasant dreams."
* * *
Wedding preparations progressed swiftly.
Since Julian had been quietly preparing for the wedding all this time, the ‌preparation period did not take long.
Now the important matter was finding a grand venue for the ceremony. ‌
The place Julian and Rebecca were heading to was precisely the perfect wedding hall she had long envisioned.
"Nervous?"
Julian asked, watching Rebecca repeatedly ‍‌‌‌clench and unclench her fists.
Rebecca, who had been excited since this morning about finally ‌‌‌seeing the Labonne Salon, became noticeably subdued as they drew near.
"Don't worry. Mother will have finished everything beautifully."
Julian whispered gently.
He seemed to think Rebecca's anxious demeanor stemmed from concerns about the business.
Rebecca remained dazed for a moment before suddenly snapping back to attention.
Then she hastily grabbed the wedding list Julian had carefully prepared.
"Yes. Mother must have ‌‌‌done well...."
The paper fluttered in Rebecca's hands as she ‌‌‌‌forced a smile.
Julian glanced at the rapidly turning pages while feigning indifference.
"You know, you could easily transition into becoming a wedding planner full-time."
Rebecca marveled after skimming through the documents.
Julian released ‌‌‌a short sigh, apparently having been slightly tense, relieved by Rebecca's praise.
"I've never been one to fail at anything."
Julian observed Rebecca's reaction with a secretly pleased expression.
His words were no exaggeration.
Everything ‌from the wedding ceremony order to the orchestra and even the smallest decorative details had been meticulously planned without a single omission.
Moreover, I heard that this time Julian had personally done all the legwork to prepare it without Croa's assistance.
Rebecca was somewhat surprised by Julian's unexpectedly ‌‌‌‌meticulous nature.
"I had to prepare my own wedding myself, ‌‌didn't I?"
"I really did choose a good husband. I was racking my brains over wedding preparations. When did you secretly prepare all this?"
"You said it back then—that you wanted to marry me as quickly as possible. Since you're busy ‌‌‌and I have time and money to spare, it was more efficient for me to prepare it."
Julian added while sipping cool raspberry tea.
"Well, actually, preparing it was enjoyable too...."
"Hm?"
"Ah, I was just talking to myself. Never mind."
Rebecca's eyes widened as she ‌‌‌looked at Julian, and he quickly turned his head away. ‌‌‌
There was no event that required as much attention to presentation as a ‌‌‌‌wedding.
For Julian, who was genuinely devoted to adornment, wedding preparation was nothing ‌short of play.
And designing the wedding dress Rebecca would ‌‌‌‌‌wear was one of his greatest joys.
Julian thought he should meet with Sandra soon to show her the dress he had designed. ‌
"I truly adore it. It features embellishments you won't find anywhere else in the Empire. Yet it's neither excessive nor lacking in refinement."
Rebecca traced her finger along ‌‌‌the sketch of the wedding venue's design as she spoke.
"When you praise something so lavishly, I suppose you must mean it sincerely."

Julian gazed at Rebecca's sparkling eyes and offered a subtle smile.
Seeing her satisfaction brought him genuine joy. It seemed the ‌‌‌‌months of effort had not been in vain.
"While you're at it, take a look at the orchestra roster too. I had quite the time securing them."
Before long, Julian had drawn close beside Rebecca and begun ‌‌‌‌explaining the wedding arrangements in meticulous detail.
The sight of him—like a child proudly displaying paper crafts to his mother—drew an involuntary laugh from Rebecca.
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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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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