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91.
"So when ‌‌‌‌shall we begin preparations ‌‌for the wedding?"
Julian asked eagerly.
"I intend to start immediately, today. I thought it would be best to first show ‌‌‌you the existing Garden."
"Is that so? Well, I have a design I've conceived. Would you like to see it?"
"There's no reason we shouldn't."
Julian withdrew a single sheet of ‌‌‌paper from his breast pocket. It was worn and creased ‌‌‌‌from being folded and unfolded countless times.
Rebecca cast a glance at the design drawn upon it. It was a compilation of meticulous ‌sketches gathered from various documents.
"This is...."
Margaret's eyes widened as she examined the design ‌‌‌‌carefully.
Julian rolled up his sleeves and began explaining while pointing to various sections of the design with his ‌‌finger.
"The details of the vases to be placed atop the tables are crucial here."
"Indeed. It's truly magnificent."
Margaret had already assumed a serious demeanor, listening intently to Julian's explanation.
Observing the spark of admiration that flickered in Margaret's eyes, it seemed she was thoroughly impressed by Julian's design.
Rebecca felt a peculiar sense of pride at Margaret's reaction, as though she herself had been praised.
Rebecca gazed into Julian's luminous eyes.
He seemed to genuinely enjoy this work, his ‌‌‌‌face adorned with smiles rarely seen from him before.
'Hmm....' ‌‌‌
Rebecca fell into contemplation for a moment.
It would be a waste to let ‌‌‌such exceptional talent languish. After all, hadn't she declared that time was the one thing she had in abundance?
"Julian. Would you like to work?"
"Pardon?"
Julian lifted his gaze from the paper.
"You seem to have a talent for designing spaces. Margaret, I heard from Mother that the Salon is having difficulty finding a designer to oversee its interior design, is that not so?"
"Yes, that is correct."
Margaret regarded Rebecca with a puzzled expression.
Rebecca smiled softly ‌‌‌as she posed her question.
"Then, what if Julian were to become that designer?"
"You're asking me to do such work?"
"Yes."
Julian's mouth fell slightly open in astonishment.
He felt ashamed, as though his secret inclinations had been exposed.
Adorning oneself or sketching were hardly suitable pastimes for a man. ‌‌‌‌‌
A man of the Empire was meant to cultivate martial prowess and display muscular physique.
Hunching over a small desk to draw delicate illustrations was fodder for ridicule at drinking gatherings for years to come.
Because of this, even Zeppelin, who possessed such refined tastes, had endured mockery behind closed doors.
Seeing Julian's brow furrow deeply, Rebecca spoke.
"There's no need to be so averse to it. There's nothing strange about it at all. You're simply doing ‌‌what you excel at. If you're still concerned, I'll keep it confidential. You're a talent I truly need."
Julian's ‌‌‌eyes wavered intensely.
"Hmm. How should I persuade you? Fill the dozens of rooms here with your imagination."
"...."
"Money means little to you, so I'll offer you a sense of accomplishment instead. You'll never be bored again."
Those words struck deep into Julian's heart.
In truth, since ‌‌‌meeting Rebecca, he rarely felt boredom anymore.
But a sense of accomplishment.
That word resonated within him.
Julian dimly realized what thirst he had always carried.
Rebecca placed her hand on Julian's shoulder ‌‌and spoke.
"Not as the Duke of Johannes, but as Julian—the accomplishment you gain as yourself. If you still won't help...." ‌
Rebecca withdrew her hand from Julian's shoulder and extended it toward him. ‌‌
"I'll have no choice but to invoke that promise you made to grant my requests anytime. Help me, Julian. I need you."
"I will."
Gazing at Rebecca's outstretched hand, Julian had no choice but to accept her proposal.
It ‌‌was a cunning move. If Rebecca said she needed him, he could never refuse, even unto death.
But that wasn't the only reason he accepted this task.
Julian looked at the design sketches in his hands.
While drawing these, time had slipped away so pleasantly he hadn't noticed its passage.
And when Rebecca praised him, when Margaret acknowledged him, his chest had swelled with emotion.
For just a moment, it felt as though someone had drenched the thirst he'd carried his entire life with water.
"My arm hurts."
Rebecca laughed with her hand still ‌‌extended.
Julian chuckled along with her, grasped Rebecca's hand, and they shared a firm handshake.
"Then, I look forward to working with you, Designer."
Rebecca's playful remark made Julian burst into laughter.
Margaret, who had been quietly listening to their exchange, felt her lips part slightly. ‌‌‌‌
Her astonished gaze turned toward Rebecca.
It was surprising enough that she could manipulate the Duke, but what struck Margaret most was the transformed aura surrounding Rebecca.
The cold ‌‌‌‌woman from before had been eerily ‌‌similar to Zeppelin.
But now Rebecca overflowed with vitality, like a flower bud beginning to unfurl its petals.
Now it was difficult to find any trace of Zeppelin in her face.
Margaret looked at Julian.
His gaze toward Rebecca was infinitely warm and tender.
Had he transformed Rebecca? ‌‌
Had he thawed her frozen heart?
When ‌‌‌Margaret heard that Rebecca had divorced Zeppelin, she had been so startled she dropped the bowl in ‌‌her hands.
She had helped her with half-hearted doubt, never believing she could truly escape Zeppelin's grasp.
Just imagining how ‌‌desperately she must have struggled to flee that dreadful place made Margaret's heart ache.
Moreover, Rebecca was likely now holding the sword hilt toward a place similar to where Margaret herself had been.
Margaret regretted how she had reproached Rebecca in those past days, unaware of this truth.
So when ‌‌‌I saw Rebecca again, I couldn't even meet her eyes properly, weighed down by my remorse.
Rebecca's growth had been radiant.
I wanted to contribute to her growth. I wanted to cheer her on.
Perhaps that was why.
A gentle smile gradually spread across Margaret's face.
"Then I shall inform Danae of this matter."
At her noticeably ‌‌‌‌warmer tone, Rebecca looked up at Margaret in surprise.
A kind smile welcomed her—the sort of unguarded smile she had longed for since her previous life.
Rebecca's eyes reddened in an instant.
"Margaret..."
Overcome with ‌‌emotion, Rebecca found herself pulling Margaret into an embrace.
"I'll do well. I'll work hard. So please help me too. If you're just by my side, I feel like I can do anything."
It was a vow as innocent as a child's.
Margaret, bewildered, glanced toward Julian.
Julian's expression grew ‌‌peculiar. His eyes, contemplative and searching, fixed upon Rebecca's trembling shoulders.
"Yes. I believe you will succeed."
Margaret gently patted Rebecca's back. A warm, buttery scent emanated from her.
Rebecca lifted her face from Margaret's shoulder.
She offered ‌‌an embarrassed smile and wiped away her tears.
"I'm sorry. I must look pathetic."
"Not ‌‌‌‌at all. When one undertakes great things, emotions are often suppressed without one's awareness. In such moments, it is far better to release them as ‌you have just done. Suppressed emotions fester within the heart and may eventually sicken you, after all."
"Margaret too..."
Rebecca trailed off for a moment, then lifted her head and asked.
"Do you ever cry, Margaret?"
At this unexpected question, Margaret's eyes widened.
But soon, as if slightly embarrassed, ‌‌she touched her neck and spoke.
"I am human, after all. Before coming to the Liberta Orphanage, I wept ‌‌‌through every night. Even now, when I think of my late ‌father, the tears flow just the same. It is foolish of me."
Rebecca drew in a sharp breath of surprise.
In her previous life, she had never witnessed Margaret crumble. No matter what befell her, Margaret faced it with composure and ‌‌resolved matters somehow.
So Rebecca had sometimes wondered if Margaret were fashioned from iron itself.
The thought that such a Margaret could shed tears was unimaginable.
Rebecca gazed at Margaret.
Eyes brimming with goodwill met hers.
It suddenly struck Rebecca ‌‌‌‌‌that she had been so fixated on her idealization that she had ceased to see Margaret as human.
And she realized she had been forcing herself to live up to that very ideal.
"Is something troubling you..."
As her silence lengthened, Margaret inquired.
Rebecca shook ‌‌her head.
"No. But we'll be pressed for time if I'm to see the entire Salon today. Let us hurry."
"Yes. I shall do so."
"Julian, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to set up such an awkward situation. Let's go check on the dessert for the banquet now. Margaret made it, so it's bound to be delicious."
"Of course."
Watching ‌‌‌‌Rebecca's smile return, Julian couldn't help but smile along with her.
Yet something felt distinctly off. He'd understood that Rebecca had only met Margaret a few months ago.
If there had been an event significant enough to bring them to tears and forge such an intimate bond, he surely would have known about it.
Questions piled upon questions, churning through his mind.
Still, Julian silently followed in Rebecca's wake. Whatever it was, the tension that had lingered between the two ‌‌‌of them seemed to have dissolved.
If Rebecca was happy, that was all that mattered.
* * *
The banquet dessert proved most satisfying. I'd filled my stomach sufficiently, confident I'd have the energy to tour the entire Salon.
But the Salon's scale exceeded my expectations.
By the time I'd finished viewing all its facilities, I was utterly exhausted.
After receiving the Salon staff's gracious farewells, I trudged wearily ‌‌‌‌toward the comfortable carriage awaiting me.
"Rebecca!"
Kanna, who had been waiting in front of the carriage, waved toward me.
"Kanna! It took longer than expected. You're not tired, are you?"
"I'm ‌‌‌fine. It took a bit longer ‌‌‌because I had to shake off the surveillance that was following Susan."
"I see. What did Susan say?"
Kanna glanced around briefly before lowering her voice.
"The Knights of God took Zeppelin into custody."
"He went quietly?"
"Hardly. The Estate nearly fell apart from his resistance, or so I heard. But..."
"There's more?"
"He was released in less than three days. They settled it with a substantial compensation payment."
"Compensation... that's all?"
The Knights of God were notorious for their mercilessness. ‌‌‌
The Church selected children from the orphanages under its jurisdiction who showed superior physical conditions and subjected them ‌‌‌‌to military training.
Alongside the brutal military ‌‌regimen came religious indoctrination.
Thus was born an armed faction ‌‌‌that preached ‌‌‌blind devotion to the goddess Defria.
They were said to arrest and mercilessly punish believers who committed blasphemy or violated doctrine.
Regardless of rank or station, those who fell into their hands either emerged dead or broken in mind—there was no third option.
During the previous Emperor's reign, their ‌‌‌power had been ‌so formidable that even imperial princes were taken into custody.
Though their influence had waned somewhat in recent times, the Knights of God remained the primary pillar upholding the Defrian Church's spiritual authority.
Yet Zeppelin, who had publicly denounced the Church before all the nobility, was released without suffering any consequences?
My eyes narrowed.
The Runaway Countess Returns
E-book Publication

January 12, 2022
Author.

Long night sky
Publisher.

Desert fox
Published by.
‌
Woongjin ThinkBig Co., Ltd.
Submission.

naver.me/54VzzLSn
Blog.

blog.naver.com/wj_fennecfox
Twitter.

@wjt_fennecfox

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