Chapter 45
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46.
Danae smiled gently.
"See? You have your strengths too. So just stay put. I'll bring in the money."
"I understand... but please don't overexert yourself."
"Don't worry. I'm brimming with energy like never before."
As she spoke, her eyes sparkled with vitality.
Theo stared at her in a daze before his face flushed red.
"Um, Danae... if it's not urgent, could we go upstairs for a moment...?"
Danae shot him a sidelong glance and smacked his back.
"You have no shame in front of the children! I'm busy, so don't even dream about it."
Danae pushed him away and opened the front door.
As Livia dragged Theo off, Helena scurried over to Danae and whispered.
"Mother, leave Catherine to us and go with peace of mind."
"...!"
Danae's eyes stung as she looked at Helena's bright smile. Though she had never spoken of it, her daughters knew everything.
When had they grown so much?
To her eyes, her three daughters still looked like mere children.
Yet they had grown steadily and were now working to rebuild the household their parents had ruined.
She felt both pride in how much they had matured and an ache of guilt.
'They are daughters far too good for me.'
And so Danae stepped forward with renewed determination.
* * *
"The abnormal form of the pustules is unusual, and this is a disease I've never encountered before. I can prescribe a fever-reducing medication, but it will only provide temporary relief."
The physician who had come from the southern reaches finished his examination and shook his head.
Zeppelin, now too exhausted even for anger, slumped into a chair and buried his face in his hands.
'This makes twenty...'
Over the past week, the Empire's most renowned physicians had examined Rebecca's condition.
And most had only repeated that there was no hope.
A few had boasted they could treat her, but when exposed as frauds, they were beaten soundly and cast out.
'Of course. This isn't a disease—it's Demon's Claw poisoning.'
Rebecca gasped for breath.
The withdrawal symptoms were more agonizing than she had remembered.
It felt as though millions of insects crawled across her body from head to toe.
And if she scratched carelessly, the pustules would burst, unleashing unbearable pain.
Yet she harbored no regrets.
Seeing the hollow despair in Zeppelin's eyes as he looked upon her near-corpse gave her strength she didn't know she possessed.
Zeppelin trembled with fear of losing her, yet whenever he saw her pustule-covered form, he would retch repeatedly.
Rebecca forced her lips open toward him.
"Zeppelin, please give up on me. I'm fine. You have Alicia, after all."
"No. I have only one wife, Rebecca."
"Alicia would be hurt if she heard you say such things."
"I don't care. Rebecca, how on earth did things come to this? My precious Rebecca...."
It was a pitiful sight, yet somehow amusing.
Here sat a man in an ornate chair, positioned far from the bed, his nose wrapped in a handkerchief, expressing his concern.
Knock, knock.
A cautious knock sounded at the door.
Since I had thrown open every window and door to air out the foul stench emanating from my body, I could immediately identify who was knocking.
"Pardon my intrusion."
Octavio approached Zeppelin and whispered something to him.
Zeppelin listened to his words with a grave expression, then suddenly cried out in alarm.
"What? At the Grape Farm?"
"It seems you should go at once."
"Damn it. Of all times...."
"Leave this place to me and go with peace of mind. And there has been contact from the Temple."
"The Temple? Didn't I tell you it was a waste of effort?"
"Still, it is our last hope. There is no harm in trying once more."
"That's enough. I don't need it."
Octavio's persistent persuasion seemed to have failed, as Zeppelin waved his hand dismissively.
A flash of irritation crossed Octavio's face before vanishing.
Zeppelin looked at me and spoke gently. His eyes were heavy with exhaustion.
"Rebecca, I need to step out for a while. Octavio will look after you in the meantime, so behave yourself."
Behave myself—as if I could possibly behave any better than this.
It seemed that word had become a habit of his.
I gave a small nod.
Once Zeppelin left, Octavio took the seat he had vacated.
He wore his usual smile on his lips, his narrow eyes scrutinizing me thoroughly.
"Is there anything that troubles you?"
I gazed at Octavio, who smiled sweetly.
I had known since before that Zeppelin relied on him.
But I had always believed that the trust Zeppelin placed in him was nothing more than faith in a servant who had been with him since childhood.
Zeppelin was not the sort to open his heart to anyone.
Yet after observing Octavio's recent conduct, I began to reconsider.
He possessed an exceptional talent for disarming people's defenses.
With just a few questions, the servants would spill their secrets, most of them unaware they were even doing so.
After witnessing this scene several times, a reasonable suspicion took root.
Was Zeppelin's twisted nature truly born only from his father?
Octavio was the serpent of this mansion.
A dangerous serpent that coiled around his master's neck while pouring forth honeyed words.
I did not wish to contemplate how many had been bitten by him, slowly dying from his venom.
I gazed at him intently, then opened my mouth.
"That's fine. By the way, Octavio, what has Kanna been up to lately? The maids have changed so suddenly, and it's been inconvenient."
Octavio answered without a moment's hesitation.
"Kanna is performing her new duties admirably. It seems to be her true calling. From what I've observed, the Count determined that she was not suited to attend to your ladyship. The newly assigned maids are quite capable, so I hope you'll bear with them for a while longer."
After Robert's death, the personnel of the Hounds underwent a complete reorganization.
The Hounds' personnel management was Octavio's exclusive authority.
Apparently deeming Kanna deeply connected to Robert, he had sent the talented girl to the laundry room.
Octavio seemed to have also noticed that Rebecca was winning the favor of the household staff.
Rather than Emily and Susan, he assigned unfamiliar maids to Rebecca.
Confined as I was to my room, unable to move an inch, my hands and feet were effectively bound.
But now that waiting was all that remained, I didn't mind.
From the conversation between Zeppelin and Octavio, it seemed Julian had begun work on the rose grapes.
The only weakness of the rose grapes—improved to be hardier than the existing grape varieties—was the Sbana aphid.
The Sbana aphid blackened the leaves of the rose grapes and turned the flesh mushy.
Normally this would have occurred a month later, but Eustaf's interference had accelerated the timeline.
Killing the Sbana aphids required a specific pesticide.
However, that pesticide was a potent substance banned by law, so the only solution was the Tamara ladybug.
The Tamara ladybug had finicky breeding conditions and required artificially created environments.
And I had taught Tanisha this method.
Tanisha moved swiftly.
The moment I hinted that she should monopolize the ladybugs, she began purchasing them from across the nation.
Since demand for the insects was never particularly high, Tanisha had little difficulty securing a monopoly.
With the Tamara ladybug larvae having hatched, Zeppelin would have secured far more insects than he needed.
'Now all that's left is for Tanisha to rake in the profits on her own.'
I smiled faintly.
"It seems you were lost in pleasant thoughts."
Octavio asked, not missing a moment.
I gazed intently at Octavio, who maintained his smiling expression. Come to think of it, I could scarcely recall seeing him without a smile.
"Yes. I was reminiscing about memories with my husband."
"I see. The harmony between you two is always pleasant to witness."
"But I understand you have much to do. Is it alright for you to remain here?"
"I was just about to leave. I'll call for a maid. Please rest comfortably."
Octavio bowed with a sinister smile and departed.
The moment he left, the maids entered.
"We shall attend to you."
The new maids certainly had skilled hands, but something about them seemed devoid of spirit.
Cold ice packs pressed relentlessly against the blisters that radiated heat.
At the painfully frigid sensation, I squeezed my eyes shut.
If everything proceeded smoothly, waiting was no burden.
But the word "Temple" that I heard in the conversation between Octavio and Zeppelin troubled me.
Zeppelin was pro-Emperor. Because of this, he occupied a position where he had to be more cautious about contact with the Temple than anyone else.
Octavio surely wasn't unaware of that either.
Rebecca sank into thought.
What possible reason could there be to involve the Temple in this?
'He thinks I have a divine affliction.'
As that realization struck her, Octavio's intentions became even more puzzling.
Was he truly drawing the Temple into this solely to cure her illness?
Besides, a divine affliction would be immediately exposed as false if the Temple sent investigators.
A man of Octavio's caliber certainly wouldn't have believed the rumors that Rebecca was a saint.
Then was he putting on a show to divert Zeppelin's attention?
A performance to demonstrate his dedication to curing Rebecca's ailment?
'Besides, even if the Temple discovered she was a false saint, he wouldn't suffer greatly.'
Since Robert, the original speaker, was dead, they could pin everything on him and likely overlook the blasphemy charge.
But...
'Could I use this to my advantage?'
While her motionless limbs remained still, Rebecca's keen mind began to work with renewed vigor.
* * *
"This is a counterfeit. The petal pattern here is subtly different. I'd recommend ending business with this supplier."
Danae spoke to Tanisha while carefully examining the vase's design.
Tanisha's eyes widened as she inspected the section Danae had pointed out.
Indeed, the shape was subtly different from the genuine article in the catalog.
While the Salon building was under construction, Danae frequently visited Tanisha Company to select furnishings for the interior.
Danae had not revealed her full name to Tanisha.
However, from her hair color, blue eyes, and distinctive gaze, it was not difficult to deduce that she was Danae Obelia—Rebecca's mother.
'Like mother, like daughter.'
The Runaway Countess Returns
E-book Publication
January 12, 2022
Author
Ginbamhaneul
Publisher
Samakyeowoo
Published by
Woongjin ThinkBig Co., Ltd.
Submission Received
naver.me/54VzzLSn
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