Chapter 138
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139.
'What on earth have you been doing! You're so busy you barely have time to breathe!'
Rebecca smiled, recalling Danae's delighted exclamation.
She had worried that it was too early for the Salon to become fashionable.
But in the end, what was meant to happen always did.
Everything was flowing according to her plan in a way that was almost unsettling.
Had Julian's fortune somehow transferred to her?
Rebecca glided through the silent corridors of the Manor, her footsteps barely audible.
Her quiet steps halted before the Office, where light still spilled from beneath the door deep into the night.
Rebecca opened the door without a sound.
Julian sat with his head wrapped in concentration, pouring all his effort into sketching designs.
I observed him quietly, unaware of my arrival, completely absorbed in his work.
His sleeves were rolled up, leaving his wrists fully exposed.
Each time Julian moved his pencil-holding hand, thick tendons flexed beneath his skin.
The crisp sound of pencil gliding against the ruler grazed my ears.
A shiver ran through me, and I felt my lower abdomen tighten as I traced the lines of his forearms.
I wanted to dive into the deep furrow between his furrowed brows.
I had always found Julian most attractive when he opened his eyes lazily, like a satisfied cat.
But watching him concentrate on his work was equally, if not more, seductive.
"Sigh..."
When his work hit a snag, Julian exhaled a long breath and rubbed his face.
As he stretched, he noticed Rebecca standing in the doorway.
For a moment, he wondered if he was seeing things and rubbed his eyes.
But when he opened them again and confirmed Rebecca was still there, he broke into a radiant smile.
"Rebecca! When did you arrive?"
Despite the exhaustion etched on his face just moments before, he now smiled at me like the sun itself, and my heart raced wildly.
'This is dangerous. So dangerous. Absolutely terrible for my heart.'
Rebecca pressed her lips firmly together and struggled to regain her composure.
"How's the work going? Making progress?"
"There's a lot of it, but it's manageable. It's actually quite rewarding."
"You seem to be mulling over something right now. Would you mind if I took a look?"
Julian considered his work garbage until he achieved results he was satisfied with.
So he instinctively pulled the design toward himself.
But seeing Rebecca's curious expression, he couldn't bring himself to refuse and moved it back to its original position.
"You can look, but keep in mind it's still just a sketch."
"Of course!"
Rebecca quickly approached the desk, and when her arm brushed against Julian's, he flinched slightly.
"This is... a room for Princess Catherine?"
"Yes. It's the first VIP room you requested. I'm thinking of naming it the Catherine Room."
"Just looking at the design, I can already imagine how beautiful it will be."
"I'm thinking of decorating with red as the primary color to match Princess Catherine's hair. And in this space...."
Rebecca regarded Julian, who had transformed back into an enthusiastic spatial designer, with an inscrutable gaze.
Though she had been the one to request this work, the thought of him designing a room for another woman suddenly twisted something inside her.
After all, hadn't he and Princess Catherine nearly become an item?
Rebecca mentally arranged Catherine and Julian side by side in her mind.
Catherine was indeed a beauty worthy of being counted among the finest.
Unlike herself with her cold features, Catherine radiated a fierce vitality.
Perhaps the two of them would suit each other quite well....
'What on earth am I thinking!'
Rebecca knew that what occupied her mind was nothing but vain fantasy, yet she couldn't help her discomfort.
She let his explanation go in one ear and out the other, pouting her lips.
"So I was thinking of placing a vase with rose patterns here. What do you think?"
Rebecca found herself grumbling in a sharp tone.
"How do you know Princess Catherine's tastes so well? It seems you have more of a connection than I realized."
"I met her for the first time at the Ballroom. The client's preferences are being researched and sent to me by the Salon. But you...."
Julian studied the bridge of Rebecca's furrowed nose carefully before breaking into a pleased smile.
"Don't tell me you're jealous?"
"Me? Absolutely not!"
Rebecca flared up defensively, like a child caught misbehaving.
"If you're going to spout such nonsense, I'm going to bed."
"Oh no you're not."
Julian caught Rebecca's waist as she tried to flee toward the door.
When his fingers brushed her ribs, Rebecca couldn't help but laugh at the ticklish sensation.
Julian lifted Rebecca effortlessly and set her on his lap. Then, cradling her head, he pressed his forehead against hers.
His eyes, gazing at me with such affection, met mine directly.
"I'm not such a worthless man as to turn my gaze away from such a lovely wife."
Rebecca exerted all her strength trying to free herself from his hands, which clung to her like woody vines.
But each time she did, Julian only pulled her closer with a sly smile.
Heat surged up from deep within.
Ever since they began sharing a bed, Julian's physical affection had grown increasingly intense.
He gradually increased the intensity of his touch like a gentle drizzle.
By the time Rebecca regained her senses, she was already half-drenched.
'Perhaps he's a natural at romance after all.'
Had it not been for the curse, he might have become a legendary philanderer, captivating countless noblewomen.
Rebecca traced her finger along Julian's lips, which were like a perfectly ripe cherry.
The glossy sheen on his lips was something she couldn't bear not to touch.
At her careful touch, Julian's eyes curved like arches.
'I should stop....'
She didn't dislike the way he was acting.
In fact, there had been several times when the unfamiliar flutter in her heart nearly made her lose her reason.
Yet every time I faced his beautifully smiling countenance, a fierce resolve to protect him surged through me.
Knowing that once I started, I couldn't stop, Rebecca steeled herself and pulled back.
*Smack*
Rebecca planted a brief kiss on Julian's forehead before hastily sliding off his lap.
Julian stared at her with a bewildered expression.
"That's it?"
He looked like someone who'd had a tantalizing morsel snatched away from right before his eyes.
Rebecca tapped the tip of his nose lightly and spoke.
"That should be enough. Don't waste your energy on unnecessary things—let's go to bed now."
"If we go to bed... will you finish what we started?"
Julian asked with an earnest gaze.
Rebecca nearly answered yes, but managed to narrowly escape the trap.
She scurried to the entrance of the Office, then poked her head out from behind the door and issued a warning.
"If you keep this up, I'm sleeping in a separate room!"
"Then I suppose I have no choice but to obey my wife's words."
As if accustomed to this, Julian shrugged once and quickly resigned himself to his fate.
He tidied up the Office and followed after Rebecca.
As soft mage-stone lamps gently dispelled the darkness of the Corridor, Julian persistently clung to Rebecca and spoke.
"But you'll at least allow me an arm pillow, won't you?"
A sound like air escaping leaked from between Rebecca's tightly pressed teeth as she suppressed her true nature.
Rebecca feigned a sullen expression and spoke.
"Fine, I'll allow that much."
It was a night when the scent of ripening autumn hung thick in the air.
From the Duke and Duchess's Bedroom, intimate words flowed that the cool night couldn't chill.
The whispered affections of Julian and Rebecca in the darkness set the cold dawn ablaze.
* * *
Charlotte gazed blankly at the Sugarcane Field where acrid smoke billowed upward.
A few workers sprayed water to prevent the fire from spreading sideways.
Once the fire burned out, commoner hostages and native workers would use long blades to cut down the sugarcane stalks.
Lower-ranking noble hostages primarily handled the task of feeding sugarcane into the extractor.
Charlotte shuddered at the fact that even here, the intensity of labor varied according to one's birth.
"Miss, you don't have to work, yet you keep coming out here."
Teddy, the overseer, approached Charlotte's side with a heavy pistol clattering at his waist.
He raked his eyes over the haughtily standing Charlotte and licked his lips.
"You were just a little thing when we brought you here, but you've grown into quite the beauty."
Teddy grinned lecherously and reached toward the distinctive Devonshire gold hair braided to one side.
Charlotte struck his hand away sharply, her keen green eyes flashing with intelligence.
"Though I'm held captive, what I do is none of your concern. Besides, I won't be leaving this Island until I'm dead anyway."
Charlotte lifted her aristocratic chin and gripped a machete threateningly.
Teddy took a step back.
"Fine. If you insist on suffering through this, do as you wish. But if someone from the Count's Mansion criticizes the young lady's hands for being in such poor condition, you must make it clear that it is not my responsibility."
Charlotte knew that even if someone came from the Count's Mansion, she would never be able to meet them.
Yet Teddy treated Charlotte with special consideration.
He seemed to believe without a doubt that when he finally escaped this wretched Island, Charlotte would open the door to his future.
"Ptui!"
Charlotte spat sharply toward Teddy's back as he quarreled with a laborer.
Then, deftly grasping the machete, she slowly made her way toward the Sugarcane Field where the suppression had ended.
She had been exempted from all labor because she was Zeppelin's cousin.
But Charlotte voluntarily took on the most grueling work. When her hands were occupied, her idle thoughts vanished.
Charlotte slashed through the sugarcane, her cheeks smudged with soot.
As the cane stalks fell away with each stroke, she imagined them to be Zeppelin's neck, and she swung the machete without mercy.
When sweat began to drip from her forehead, Charlotte paused and straightened her back.
Through the dense trees, the spires of the Resort jutted out conspicuously.
She had heard that multiple spires were constructed so that the Resort would resemble a crown when viewed from a distance.
The Resort's very design served as grand publicity and drew many tourists, or so she had heard, but to Charlotte's eyes it was nothing but an eyesore.
Charlotte stared coldly at the golden spires glinting brilliantly in the harsh sunlight.
Every time she looked at them, they seemed to mock her circumstances with their blinding radiance.
Charlotte turned her gaze back to the ground and resumed her work in silence.
The Runaway Countess Returns
E-book Publication
January 12, 2022
Author
Ginnamilgahneul
Publisher
Samakyeowu
Published by
Woongjin ThinkBig Co., Ltd.
Submission Received
naver.me/54VzzLSn
Blog
blog.naver.com/wj_fennecfox
@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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