Chapter 136
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137.
If my opponent came at me this aggressively, I had no intention of backing down gracefully either.
Besides, no matter how brazenly I behaved, I knew Catherine would ultimately stand by my side.
Catherine was in a state that desperately needed a shock.
"So you did sabotage the Salon business."
"Why would I bother with something so trivial?"
"Are you claiming Petunia orchestrated everything alone? I've already extracted a confession from her own lips that you gave the orders."
In truth, Petunia had never spoken of Catherine's machinations.
It was merely a deduction I had made after hearing Catherine's name slip from Petunia's lips at the tea party.
Since my wedding, the Lavonne Salon had become the talk of high society.
Yet the Rental Salon remained empty, with not even a curious visitor to be found.
Something didn't add up.
No matter how influential Petunia was, she alone could never have dampened the wildfire of curiosity that swept through society.
I believed someone far more capable than Petunia had orchestrated this situation.
And Catherine's ensuing sigh proved my deduction was correct.
"Sigh... I knew Petunia had a loose tongue, but I didn't expect her to betray me so quickly."
Yet Catherine, unbefitting someone caught in her own scheme, lifted her chin with brazen defiance.
"So what? As I said, I dislike you. Is it so wrong to interfere with someone I dislike? I intend to continue obstructing your happiness."
At Catherine's words, I let out a soft laugh. Catherine bristled and cried out.
"You're laughing? Are you mocking me right now?"
"How can I help but laugh? Your Highness venting your frustrations on an innocent person looks exactly like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum over a stolen toy."
"What did you say?"
"Place your hand on your heart and think carefully. Have you ever truly harbored romantic feelings for Julian, Duke of Johannes? Enough to commit such sordid acts?"
"It would be stranger not to like a man with such a face. You of all people should know that better than anyone."
"You must distinguish between mere attraction and true love. You have never loved the Duke."
"Now you mock even my sincerity. How utterly presumptuous. I met with you out of respect for my mother, yet you grow so arrogant. I am the Princess of this Empire, Rebecca."
"Do you treasure that position?"
"Of course I do. It's the most noble station in the Empire."
"Is that so? Then might I be permitted to foresee your future? As you know, I once nearly became a Saint."
Catherine listened in a daze to the words pouring from my lips.
"By the Emperor's decree, you will be married to an aging prince of the Caribana Kingdom. The Caribana Kingdom is wealthy, but its power structure is unstable due to numerous princes. Not long after you arrive there, a great civil war will erupt."
I paused to take a sip of tea before continuing.
"You will be swept about by the civil war, and eventually you will decide to flee to the Rotandus Empire. But during the long voyage, you will fall ill. You will draw your final breath upon the vast sea, never setting foot on your homeland again. Your life will be recorded in history books as nothing more than a single pitiful line."
"Watch your tongue!"
Catherine shot up from her seat. Her face had flushed crimson with rage.
"What you're saying is outright treason against the Imperial Family!"
"Why? Does such a plausible future make your skin crawl? Even the mice in the kitchen know the Emperor is negotiating your marriage with various nations. Don't you know that the Caribana Kingdom can offer the most gold among them?"
"What... what are you..."
"Your anger isn't directed at me—it's directed at your own helplessness, being raised and sold like livestock. You're venting your rage on me because you're furious at a future where if the Duke won't have you, you'll be given to a prince, and if that fails, you'll be handed over to whatever man proves profitable."
Catherine fell silent, collapsing back onto the sofa as if she'd been struck across the head.
Rebecca seized the opening and pressed forward relentlessly without pause.
"Your Highness is hardly naive enough to harbor romantic feelings for a man with whom you've danced merely once. Your late father would never have raised you so carelessly. Do not squander your anger on the wrong target. Your fury should be directed where it truly belongs—at your own captive circumstance, at the Emperor who confines you, and at this very nation."
The future Rebecca had foretold to Catherine had actually come to pass in her previous life.
A funeral for the young princess who had met a tragic death in a foreign land stretched on for days.
After the civil war that had ravaged Caribana Kingdom for years finally ended, the newly crowned king sent Catherine's belongings to the Rotandus Empire along with substantial compensation.
Once the belongings were made public, the Empire was thrown into upheaval.
The majority of Catherine's possessions were related to alchemy.
It was the first anyone had heard that the princess possessed alchemical abilities.
Apparently, during her tedious time in Caribana Kingdom, Catherine had cultivated her talents.
Moreover, most of what she had created through alchemy were weapons of destruction.
Scholars speculated she had crafted them to aid her husband during the civil war.
Alchemy was legitimate labor.
Since it was a hobby that could obstruct marriage prospects, Catherine had concealed her talents throughout her time in the Rotandus Empire.
The items Catherine had created through alchemy were extraordinary achievements that no one had ever discovered before.
Her alchemy shook the Empire.
Through the dead princess's alchemical achievements, the Empire's alchemy advanced considerably, and it became the catalyst for women to venture into business.
'But what does it matter? She was only revered after she was already dead.'
Rebecca intended to let Catherine enjoy that glory while still alive.
And once her attention turned elsewhere, the salon business would flourish on its own.
While Rebecca was calculating in her mind, Catherine spoke with trembling hands.
"Do you think that's easy? Do you believe my anger will change anything? Do you even know what kind of man my father is? You're right. Your words are correct. I am livestock—precious livestock that my late father has raised for this nation, no different from cattle or swine. What good does it do for livestock to struggle? It only hastens the slaughter, doesn't it?"
"Then you need only prove you are not livestock."
Catherine raised one eyebrow.
Curious about Rebecca's next words, Catherine leaned her posture slightly forward, her spine relaxing from the rigid tension of her guard.
"You've heard the tale of the goose that laid the golden egg, haven't you?"
"That's a fairy tale children read."
"Since you must be livestock regardless, become the goose that lays golden eggs. Then no one will sell you, nor will you ever become merely a meal."
"I have no gold to produce. I lack the artistic sensibilities of the Second Princess, nor am I a prince. All I possess is the refinement I've cultivated since childhood and this appearance."
"I doubt that's all. Isn't there one more thing? For instance, that necklace might serve the purpose—that necklace which proves so useful at night."
Rebecca raised her finger, pointing to the necklace hanging around Catherine's neck.
It was a coral necklace the color of Catherine's own hair.
At first glance, it appeared to be nothing more than an exquisitely crafted, valuable necklace.
But the coral necklace possessed a special power capable of illuminating darkness with brilliant light.
In her previous life, the Imperial Family had put some of Catherine's belongings up for auction.
Among them, the coral necklace was what Zeppelin had obtained.
When one pressed the button on the back of the necklace, light as bright as the sun would spill forth, banishing the darkness.
"Do you... know what this object is?"
Catherine unconsciously grasped the necklace.
A flicker of fear crossed her alarmed face.
She seemed worried that Rebecca might report to the Emperor that she practiced alchemy.
Rebecca spoke in a gentle voice, as if to reassure her.
"Don't worry. His Majesty knows nothing of this, and I have no intention of telling him."
"Then what do you want? Are you planning to blackmail me with this?"
"Of course not. I intend to nurture your talent."
"Nurture it?"
"Yes. Alchemists are in short supply these days. Your talent would be far too precious to waste on mere hobbies."
Catherine's sharp gaze gradually softened.
Rebecca was the first person to call her passion for alchemy a talent.
The day Belona discovered her practicing alchemy, she had been scolded harshly.
'If you wish to survive, you must gain the Emperor's favor. A princess practicing alchemy? You could be cast out immediately.'
Her sisters had rushed over to dissuade her as well.
'Our only value lies in marriage. So abandon any hobbies that might tarnish us.'
Young Catherine had lacked the courage to overcome her family's objections.
She had grown into an obedient princess.
Yet the ember hidden within her heart would not extinguish.
Catherine had secretly taught herself alchemy by poring over alchemical texts.
And the first thing she had created was this very necklace.
It was a hobby she had kept hidden even from Callista.
But how had Rebecca discovered it?
Yet the manner in which Rebecca had learned her secret mattered far less than what came next.
Catherine's mouth fell open at Rebecca's next words.
"I can arrange for you to conduct research at the Alchemy Tower of Duke Johannes."
She had heard it was a place like a palace of dreams for all alchemists.
Just imagining herself among the swirling reports, books that reached the ceiling, and brilliant alchemists made Catherine's heart race.
Catherine envisioned a bright future for a moment, but her expression soon darkened.
"But I cannot freely come and go from such a place, can I?"
"Don't concern yourself with that. All you need do is become my friend."
"You're asking me to be your friend right now...?"
The Runaway Countess Returns
E-book Publication
January 12, 2022
Author
Ginbamhaneul
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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