Chapter 142
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143.
Alicia stared blankly out the carriage window.
The carriage had already left Irencia behind and was passing through the Castle Gate of the Duchy of Johannes.
'I wish I had brought Arthur with me....'
Alicia wanted to show Arthur to Rebecca.
She longed to let her touch the boy's handsome nose and his soft hair, delicate as dandelion seeds.
She wanted to boast of her son, a child whom anyone couldn't help but love.
She wanted Rebecca to acknowledge that the life she had cast away was actually brilliant, that she had been wrong and Alicia had been right.
"Hic...."
Alicia, who had drawn the carriage curtains closed, swallowed her sobs in the silence that settled around her.
Against her wishes, Alicia was forced to admit that Rebecca had been right all along.
Even at a glance, the Duchy of Johannes appeared far more prosperous than Irencia.
But Alicia's despair stemmed not from Rebecca living better than she did.
Even after bearing a child, Alicia's position at the Devonshire Estate had not improved.
Octavio protected Arthur as though he were his own son.
He wouldn't even let Alicia touch the boy, claiming she was incompetent.
Zeppelin, his memories restored, had become colder than ever before.
She almost preferred the Head Maid's unchanged, indifferent gaze to his.
The place she had thought was heaven was transforming into hell.
Was Devonshire truly a cesspool, as Rebecca had said?
But then Alicia shook her head.
No. Even so, this place was far better than my homeland.
"Give me the mirror."
At Alicia's words, Catherine, who had been sitting across from her gazing out the window, slowly turned her attention back.
She was the maid who had come along as a chaperone. Alicia had become someone who could no longer move about freely anywhere.
Catherine sighed heavily as though annoyed, then rummaged through her bag and handed over a large hand mirror.
Alicia glanced at her briefly before becoming absorbed in her reflection.
'With beauty like this....'
Why did no one love her?
After giving birth, her skin had become rough and her pores had begun to enlarge.
So Alicia had desperately employed every beauty treatment available to restore her former appearance.
She could never allow herself to become ugly if she wished to maintain any foothold in the Devonshire Estate.
Alicia knew well that Zeppelin tolerated her only because of this golden hair and blue eyes that resembled Rebecca's.
In bed, he sometimes even called her by Rebecca's name.
It was pathetic, yet it brought her joy.
She found solace in the fact that Zeppelin still had reason to keep her.
As Alicia examined her face in the mirror from various angles, she noticed her eye color had shifted to a pale sky blue.
She frowned slightly, then rummaged through her pocket and withdrew eye drops.
As she let several drops fall into her eyes, a searing pain shot through them as though they were being torn open.
It was agonizing, yet a pain she had grown accustomed to.
By now, Alicia could endure the pain by gritting her teeth rather than crying out.
As the ache gradually subsided, Alicia cautiously opened her eyes.
Her blurred vision sent a spike of fear through her.
Blinking rapidly in panic, she was relieved when the disgruntled face of the Maid came into sharp focus.
Alicia exhaled in relief and tucked the eye drops back into her pocket.
The carriage came to a halt.
It appeared we had arrived at the Duke of Johannes Castle.
"Who goes there?"
"I am Alicia Devonshire of House of Devon. I have come to see the Duchess, so please announce my arrival."
The gatekeeper peered into the carriage, then spoke with a somewhat displeased expression.
"Please wait a moment."
Alicia watched the situation anxiously, half-expecting to be turned away at the gate.
But contrary to her fears, the sturdy gates opened readily.
Descending from the carriage, Alicia gazed wide-eyed at the vast forest stretching out on either side.
At the end of the white gravel path cutting through the forest stood the Duke's Castle, its grandeur overwhelming even from a distance, looking down upon her.
Compared to the Duke of Johannes Castle, the Devonshire Estate was little more than a villa.
Alicia swallowed hard and took a step forward.
In that instant, sharp cat cries echoed from all directions.
They were eerie, almost like screams.
Alicia started in alarm and looked around.
Wild-eyed cats peered at her from between the trees and bushes on either side.
With the desolate wind adding to their cries, it felt as though they were ordering her to leave this place.
As Alicia hesitated and began backing away, a carriage drawn by a white horse approached leisurely from afar.
"You must transfer to this carriage from here."
A somewhat cold-mannered Servant opened the door of the white carriage.
Alicia climbed in as though meeting a savior.
Catherine, too, sensing the ominous atmosphere as a threat, forgot her complaints and followed close behind.
Before Alicia could calm her racing heart, the carriage stopped.
"Alight here."
"This is not the Duke's Castle, is it?"
"The Duchess ordered me to bring you here."
Alicia frowned at the Servant's insolent manner but said nothing.
The Duke's Castle emanated an authority that even its servants could not fully comprehend.
"This place is..."
Alicia hurried along in quick steps, pressed close to Catherine, following the Servant.
From various directions came the sound of martial shouts—it was a Training Ground.
Along with loud roars came the scent of sweat carried on the breeze.
Walking past the Training Ground where dust swirled thickly, Alicia tilted her head in confusion.
'Rebecca is in a place like this?'
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Suddenly, the sound of a gunshot rang out.
Alicia flinched and froze in place.
"There she is."
Following the Servant's gesture, Alicia turned her gaze—and for a moment, she doubted her own eyes.
Rebecca stood with her long blonde hair gathered and tied high, aiming a rifle at a target.
Alicia stared at her, utterly transfixed.
Rebecca wore riding breeches with a simple jacket draped over them.
Having only recently taken up shooting, she held the rifle in an awkward stance.
Yet to Alicia, who knew nothing of marksmanship, Rebecca looked like nothing less than a goddess of the hunt.
Rebecca pulled the trigger with confident momentum.
Bang!
The recoil sent her soft hair—as silken as a unicorn's tail—swaying.
Seeing the bullet miss the target cleanly, Rebecca's eyes narrowed.
She repositioned herself to fire another shot.
The Servant spoke to her cautiously.
"Madam. The guest you mentioned earlier has arrived."
At the Servant's words, Rebecca turned to face Alicia while still holding the rifle in firing position.
As Alicia met the gun barrel pointed directly at her, her face drained of all color.
Rebecca's eyes gleamed with lethal sharpness as she regarded Alicia, who trembled like a rabbit in a hunting ground.
'Should I just shoot her....'
Rebecca had not forgotten how, in her previous life, Alicia had given her child to Zeppelin.
The practice rifle was loaded with live ammunition.
One shot to Alicia's head.
Then a dash to the Devonshire Estate in the carriage she'd arrived in, and another shot to Zeppelin's head.
If that happened, this tiresome curse would finally end.
'But that would be far too merciful.'
Rebecca laughed hollowly and lowered the rifle. Then, removing her gloves, she spoke.
"Show our uninvited guest inside."
* * *
Alicia sat in the Reception Room, waiting for Rebecca to return after changing clothes.
Since a Maid could not remain in the Reception Room, she had to wait alone in this vast, luxurious space.
Catherine, whom she had despised so thoroughly, would have been a comfort even now.
Alicia anxiously picked at her nails while gazing at the autumn flowers blooming throughout the room.
Under normal circumstances, she would have eagerly explored the Reception Room, but today nothing captured her attention.
The autumn sunlight pouring relentlessly through the floor-to-ceiling windows felt suffocating.
She could not muster even a shred of envy for this beautiful scene.
Envy could only exist for things one might possess.
Alicia instinctively understood that even if she were to die and be reborn, she could never own a single thing from the Duke's Castle.
Her vessel extended only to the Count's Mansion—no further.
Knock, knock—
A rather rough knock sounded at the door, and Alicia answered softly.
"P-please come in."
The Maid brought in a refreshment tray.
As I took a sip of warm black tea, the tension seemed to ease slightly.
I reached for a fork to eat the lemon tart, then hesitated.
The sharp point of the fork reminded me of the gun barrel that had been aimed at me.
My appetite gone, I quietly set the fork back on the table.
The piercing gaze of Rebecca that had overwhelmed me flickered vividly in my mind.
'Rebecca's demeanor seems to have changed so much....'
The Rebecca I knew was kindness itself.
Her gentle smile was full of affection, and every word she spoke carried warmth.
But the Rebecca I had seen recently was as cold as a person carved from glacial ice.
'I heard the Duke treats her well, but what if it's all a lie?'
Perhaps she was actually being mistreated.
I secretly hoped that were true.
Seeing someone as unhappy as myself would make me feel a little better.
"Since you came uninvited, I won't apologize for making you wait."
Rebecca entered the Reception Room, wafting the scent of soap as if she had just bathed.
Kanna and Leo appeared following Rebecca.
"O-of course."
I forced dimples to appear on both cheeks.
And I glanced at Leo, who naturally settled onto Rebecca's lap.
At the Duke of Johannes Castle, there dwelled a black cat who was God's messenger.
To prevent people from identifying him, the Duke always traveled with three black cats, two of which were ordinary.
In reality, Leo remained at the Duke of Johannes Castle, while the Duke traveled with three ordinary black cats.
But there was no way Alicia could know this fact.
I opened my mouth, wondering if that cat yawning lazily on Rebecca's lap was Leo.
"I was grateful for your help before. Thanks to you, Arthur was born safely."
"Arthur? So you have a son."
"Yes.... Unfortunately...."
I trailed off.
The Duchess Who Fled Has Returned
E-book Publication
January 12, 2022
Author
Long night sky
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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