Chapter 121
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122.
Petunia mentally reviewed the guest list for the tea party she would be hosting soon.
Nearly all of them were ladies and young noblewomen loyal to her.
Yet anxiety gnawed at her. Rebecca had always effortlessly obtained whatever she desired without lifting a finger.
The gazes of those who watched Rebecca at the wedding ceremony could not be ignored.
If Rebecca so much as wished it, the formidable palace I had painstakingly constructed could crumble like a sandcastle overnight.
"That simply cannot happen!"
Petunia snapped irritably, then caught herself and quickly reached for her hand mirror.
They said wrinkles deepened faster the more one lost one's temper.
In the mirror's reflection, Petunia's gaze shifted from her eyes to her ears.
Ruby earrings, gleaming as crimson as her own hair, dangled delicately.
Since the autumn ball, Petunia had indulged Alicia on several occasions.
In response, Alicia had behaved as though she owed Petunia her very life.
A commoner by birth, her conduct was precisely that of a servant girl.
Even the earrings now casting their luminous glow from her ears—Alicia had presented them unprompted, though Petunia had merely mentioned them in passing.
"Yes. Alicia—she was useful, wasn't she?"
Petunia's crimson lips curved into a dark smile.
She reached for the pale lavender stationery she had set aside.
The letter destined for Devon Mansion was completed in less than ten minutes.
"This should paint quite an amusing picture."
Satisfied, Petunia held the two letters and summoned a servant.
* * *
"How quickly it arrived."
Rebecca laughed upon seeing the letter the maid brought.
As expected, Petunia had taken the bait immediately.
Whether she liked it or not, Petunia had been her companion since childhood.
They had been quite close in those early years, but became rivals after their debutante balls.
To be precise, it was Petunia who had unilaterally turned hostile toward Rebecca.
"We've confirmed that Marchioness Petunia has been spreading unfavorable rumors about the Labonne Salon," Kanna said, approaching Rebecca as she examined the letter.
Rebecca read the rest of the letter without any sign of disturbance, as though she had already anticipated this.
"Her methods haven't changed since we were children. What exactly did she say?"
"That it's a place fit only for ladies too preoccupied to manage their own households, or so it's been reported."
"She's not entirely wrong."
"Will you leave it as is?"
"Hmm..."
Rebecca's brow furrowed slightly.
Petunia's letter was composed entirely of carefully selected barbs designed to provoke her.
She repeatedly invoked the fate of disreputable ladies, the cautionary tales of women of poor virtue who chased only wealth, before concluding with a wish that Rebecca might find happiness without such an ending.
It was a veiled warning: she would accept the invitation to the tea party, but if Rebecca intended to attend, she should be prepared for precisely this sort of conversation.
The message was unmistakable.
"These power struggles are exhausting."
Rebecca preferred to avoid conflict rather than provoke it.
Yet the fate of the Labonne Salon rested entirely in the hands of Petunia, the current queen of high society.
She couldn't simply dodge the matter indefinitely.
"So I have no choice but to lose?"
"I was taught that stepping back one pace can become the foundation for advancing a hundred paces."
"You're right, Kanna. Pointless pride won't buy even a single loaf of bread."
If Rebecca appealed to her, Petunia might grant her request under the guise of mercy.
In any case, what mattered now was reviving the Labonne Salon and drawing in Zeppelin's retainers.
More precisely, she needed to make the wives of his retainers regular patrons of the salon.
Rebecca recalled the faces of the ladies who had personally seen her off on the day of Alicia and Zeppelin's wedding.
Like her former self, they harbored unvented fury buried deep within their hearts.
Rebecca wanted to make them unleash that anger.
"For that, I can certainly manage to please Petunia."
Rebecca spoke with composure.
Yet Kanna anticipated that by the time the tea party—a veritable battlefield—ended, Rebecca would be seething with frustration.
So she resolved to prepare a suitable punching bag and a calming tea before Rebecca returned.
* * *
On the morning of Petunia's tea party, the Devonshire Estate was more chaotic than usual.
"This won't do! Bring me that one!"
Alicia had cast all the dresses and accessories the maids hurriedly brought to the floor.
The dress she had adored last night now seemed utterly dreadful.
This was her first time being invited to a tea party.
Though Petunia had complied without protest to her invitations, she had never formally invited Alicia to the Lanchester Mansion.
Alicia knew well that Petunia's tea parties were not open to just anyone, yet she still felt slighted.
The gifts she had lavished upon that woman exceeded a month's worth of her living expenses.
Just as she was stamping her feet, wondering if she would only receive crumbs and nothing more, Petunia finally sent her a tea party invitation.
And on purple stationery dyed with Demon's Claw, no less!
That was stationery only Petunia's inner circle could receive.
"So it's true that the Marquis of Lancaster's family has profited from the mines."
Even Zeppelin had praised the stationery.
Alicia read and reread the letter from Petunia until the lilac fragrance faded from the paper.
No matter how many times she read it, she never tired of it.
"This one is perfect!"
Finally, Alicia had chosen her dress.
It was a pink satin gown with gathered fabric adorned with several large ribbons.
The delicate lace adorning the bodice gave it a lively quality that suited her quite well.
However, this was an autumn dress Alicia had commissioned before her pregnancy.
Though it had been made generously to accommodate her swollen belly, the problem was that her belly had grown larger than anticipated.
The maid looked up at Alicia with concern.
"Madam, this dress doesn't fit properly. You'll find it terribly uncomfortable. Please choose another."
"Just tighten the maternity corset to the maximum. I absolutely must wear this today."
"But that would be harmful to the baby inside...."
"I've told you repeatedly. Don't contradict me! Unlike Rebecca, I'm not such an easy master to deal with!"
Alicia raised her hand as though she might strike the Maid at any moment.
The Maid, shrinking back, ultimately obeyed her command.
If anything went wrong, the odds were high that Alicia would place the blame squarely on her shoulders.
The lives of the household staff hung upon Alicia's whims.
Zeppelin, robbed of his memories, had grown far too lenient with Alicia. Consequently, the servants of the Devonshire Family trudged through each day as though walking on thin ice.
They found themselves longing for the days when Zeppelin had been wild and reckless.
"By the way, where has he gone? He's supposed to help me choose a necklace!"
"The Earl stepped out briefly."
"Again? Surely not the ca...."
Alicia swallowed the rest of her words. If rumors spread that Zeppelin frequented the Casino, nothing good would come of it for her.
The retainers of the Emperor's Faction could not afford to show interest in anything connected to the Temple.
Zahidra was merciful in ordinary circumstances, but his punishment of traitors was merciless.
Moreover, Zeppelin did not visit the Casino merely to enjoy games.
Over time, Alicia had quietly won over one of Octavio's most capable Hounds to her side, evading his notice.
Colin was still a young boy, but he was quite endearing in his obedient nature and willingness to follow orders.
With Zeppelin's outings becoming frequent of late, she had him shadow the Earl, suspecting he might have taken a mistress.
Contrary to her worries, Zeppelin headed to the Casino without fail each time he ventured out.
Most of the Hounds already knew this much.
But the perceptive Colin had uncovered the true reason for Zeppelin's Casino visits over an extended period of observation.
On every day Zeppelin visited the Casino, Pope Deslatino invariably appeared there as well.
Since the Casino was owned by the Temple, there was no apparent impropriety on the surface.
Yet Zeppelin gambled only in the VIP room, and Deslatino would often join him there.
For whatever reason, he was meeting with the Pope on a regular basis.
Had some sudden piety seized him?
Something seemed amiss, yet she could find no way to uncover the truth.
Unsettled by the vague unease, Alicia sternly warned Colin not to breathe a word of this to Octavio either.
'Perhaps it would have been better if he were seeing another woman....'
Secrets she could not manage were already burden enough.
"Pull harder, Madam!"
"Huff!"
Her concerns about Zeppelin were momentarily eclipsed by the corset tightening relentlessly around her.
Alicia breathed heavily. Though she felt as though she might perish, she could endure this much for the sake of beauty.
Already, she seemed to hear phantom voices praising her appearance.
* * *
The Marquis of Lancaster's Mansion was not particularly grand, but like a house of ancient lineage, it bore the marks of refined elegance throughout.
The estate itself was valuable enough to be called a historical monument, yet to Alicia's eyes it was merely an old dwelling of little consequence.
'So much for her arrogance—the Marquis of Lancaster's estate is far smaller than the Devonshire Estate.'
Alicia stepped down from the carriage, savoring an inner sense of triumph.
The moment her feet touched the ground, she stumbled in her high heels.
A tall servant quickly approached and steadied her.
"Madam, are you quite all right?"
"Allow me to assist you as well."
Another servant came forward and took her other arm.
He too was a man whose smile was strikingly beautiful.
Looking around, I noticed that the majority of the Marquis of Lancaster's servants boasted above-average appearances.
Seeing them composed of similarly handsome men made it abundantly clear that Petunia's tastes were reflected in their selection.
Alicia let out a scoff.
'Petunia. What a wanton creature....'
Just as the Marquis of Lancaster lavished affection upon Petunia, so too did she devote herself entirely to him.
Typically, marriages with significant age gaps were prone to scandal.
But in Petunia's case, there was not a whisper of impropriety.
Petunia took meticulous care to ensure her background as a courtesan would not become a weakness.
Yet even such a cautious Petunia could not entirely conceal her youthful passions, and so she employed a considerable number of handsome servants.
While Petunia never drew them into her bed, they served as pleasant diversions. In this manner, she sated desires her aging husband could not fulfill.
Recognizing these intimate secrets, Alicia covered her mouth with her fan to hide the contempt rising within her.
Between the rustling folds of the fan, swan feathers fluttered most elegantly.
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
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Blog
blog.naver.com/wj_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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