Chapter 36
'Who went in...?'
If it were an employee, they would have greeted him first.
Zeppelin moved with suspicious steps.
And the moment he opened the door.
"Zeppelin!"
Rebecca, in a thin chemise, rushed to hug him.
Rebecca pushed him out of the doorway, making sure the closet door closed.
The hem of a sky-blue dress stuck out, but Canna stood in front of it, quick-witted.
"Rebecca? Can you walk now?"
Zeppelin, seeing Rebecca walking on her own two feet and hugging him, was overcome with emotion.
Rebecca smiled shyly.
"Don't look at me like that. I just took off my makeup, so I'm not very pretty."
"Are you overdoing it? Since when could you walk?"
"Not long ago. I've been secretly practicing walking to surprise you."
"Ah, lovely Rebecca. Seeing you makes all the fatigue of the day disappear."
Zeppelin hugged Rebecca tightly.
Rebecca counted down in her mind, enduring the moment.
"Do you know how beautiful you are?"
Zeppelin pulled his face away from Rebecca's shoulder. He took out gloves from his inside pocket and put them on.
Soon, Zeppelin began to gently caress her face.
His hands traced down Rebecca's eyes and nose.
His fingers soon gently teased and toyed with her lips.
Rebecca, watching his lips become moist, quickly turned her head.
She couldn't hide the hardening expression on her face that would soon follow his actions.
"People are all watching. I'm embarrassed."
Zeppelin paused at the averted gaze.
A look of bewilderment flickered in his eyes, but it was only for a moment.
The corners of Zeppelin's eyes drew a beautiful arc.
"Yes. Shyness is a virtue in a woman."
Zeppelin stared at Rebecca again, his gaze sticky.
Rebecca changed the subject to break the atmosphere.
"You said you'd be out for a long time, but you came back early."
"Does my wife's tone imply that she's not happy I came back so soon?"
Rebecca flinched at his sharp gaze that scanned her face.
He had always had an uncanny knack for sensing things.
But without showing any signs of panic, Rebecca twisted her lips into an even bigger smile and said,
"How could that be? I was just so happy."
Zeppelin gazed at Rebecca's smile, which he loved so much.
Rebecca was a perfect woman who pleased him even without makeup.
Zeppelin chuckled and shook his head.
"I knew it. I was just joking. But it's true that I'll be gone for a long time. I just came to pack my things. I have to leave early tomorrow morning."
So he was leaving the house.
Rebecca was relieved.
"So, Rebecca..."
Zeppelin pulled Rebecca by the waist, drawing her close to his body.
"Let's be together tonight. I'll come to you tonight so the same thing doesn't happen as last time."
Rebecca shuddered at his sweet breath.
"Achoo!"
The moment Zeppelin inhaled Rebecca's scent, he suddenly sneezed.
He was momentarily bewildered and wiped his nose for a moment.
"Then, wait for me."
Zeppelin left the room with a meaningful smile.
"Lady Rebecca!"
As soon as Zeppelin disappeared from sight, Rebecca's legs gave way, and she briefly sank to the floor.
Canna rushed towards Rebecca with a worried expression.
Rebecca gave Canna a faint smile.
"I'm fine. By the way, were you worried because I was late? I'm sorry, Canna."
"It's nothing. More than that, what about your plan being ruined? What if you really end up with the Count..."
"Canna! What's wrong with your hand!"
Ignoring Canna's worried voice, Rebecca screamed.
She had clenched her fist so tightly that blood dripped down the nail marks imprinted on Canna's palm.
Only then did Canna realize she had hurt her hand and quickly pulled it away from Rebecca.
"It's nothing. It's best not to touch me in case you get blood on you."
"Canna, you're really..."
Canna's smiling face, saying it was nothing, looked unbelievably kind.
Just as Rebecca was about to say something, a faint voice came from the closet.
"U-Um..."
At Susan's dying voice, Rebecca jumped up and hurriedly threw open the closet door.
Susan, buried in the dress, smiled awkwardly.
"Oh, Susan. I'm sorry. I forgot about you because things got messed up."
"It's okay. By the way, did things not go wrong...?"
Rebecca smiled at her cautious question.
"Don't worry. It went very well."
It really did. She had achieved everything she had aimed for today.
'Besides, I also met Julian...'
Rebecca recalled Julian's lips as he munched on the food.
Unlike his hasty personality, he wasn't one to eat greedily.
Rather, he ate relatively quietly without making a single chewing sound.
Moreover, he was surprisingly talkative.
He analyzed each dish, excitedly chattering about which part was used and which region the spices came from.
Thanks to that, the short dinner with him, which she thought would be awkward, was quite enjoyable.
'How long has it been since I had such an enjoyable meal?'
Julian's face, smiling brightly when their eyes met, flickered in her mind.
His large, sharp eyes looked fierce, like those of a vicious beast when he was still.
But when he smiled, his eyes curved so beautifully that Rebecca would forget to chew the food in her mouth and stare blankly at him.
'Ah. This is a problem.'
Rebecca shook her head violently, trying to shake off the lingering images.
She knew exactly what state her heart was in now.
It was a path she had already walked once.
The only difference from before was that she knew exactly where the end of this path was leading.
So, she wouldn't be infiltrated before she even realized it, like before.
Once was enough for such a tragedy.
* * *
Zeppelin sat in the darkened study, lost in thought.
The moonlight, obscured by clouds, could not fully shine and only allowed a dim light to flow into the study.
Sitting with his back to even that faint light, Zeppelin thought of Rebecca.
He always thought of her, but today it felt different.
'Sweat smell...'
When Rebecca hugged him, there was a faint smell of sweat.
Until now, Rebecca had almost never exuded the smell of sweat in front of him.
Of course, he wasn't lost in thought because of the unpleasantness of the smell.
Rather, he was embarrassed that he didn't dislike it.
However, the puzzling thing was why she smelled of sweat when she wasn't even damp.
Living in this Count's Residence, there was no reason for her to sweat.
Moreover, the gaze that subtly avoided his, seeming shy but somehow cold.
Decisively, the smile of relief that crossed her lips when he said he was going away for a long time.
In the grand scheme of things, there was nothing different from usual.
He had not received any reports of anything strange from the Hounds who were watching her.
But this strange sense of déjà vu that he felt when he gathered the small pieces of doubt.
Then Zeppelin's eyes widened.
'That's right, it started from the victory banquet.'
From that day on, a strange question began to stir in his mind.
At first, it was a small thorn stuck under his fingernail.
But the thorn grew bigger and bigger, and before he knew it, it began to interfere with his daily life to the point where he could even feel the pain.
'Rebecca wants to leave me.'
There was no clear basis for his suspicion.
Rebecca was still standing by his side in the same radiant form as when he first fell in love.
There was no way she could escape from the Count's Residence he had painstakingly built.
'But why.'
Why did he keep feeling uneasy?
Perhaps it was because of the words Rebecca had said in passing.
'Do you really think I look happy?'
At first, he thought he had misheard, but the more he thought about it, the clearer it became.
Rebecca had definitely said that.
But he couldn't understand.
There was no reason for her not to be happy.
He had prepared everything for Rebecca. This perfect mansion and the employees just for her.
And above all, she had the perfect him as her husband.
There were countless women in the empire who would envy her for that alone.
Just look at Alicia.
Alicia always looked at Rebecca with eyes that said she would take everything Rebecca had.
Yes, Rebecca was a woman with happiness that everyone would envy.
But why...
Zeppelin rubbed his face wearily. Then, as if he had made up his mind, he glared into the darkness.
'It wouldn't hurt to prepare for the worst.'
He didn't want to use this, but he had no choice because he had to leave Rebecca's side for a long time.
Zeppelin always trusted his gut. And his gut had never been wrong.
He pulled the black tassel hanging on the wall of the study.
The string would immediately ring the bell connected to the head maid Grace's room.
Before long, the door to the study opened silently.
Grace quietly gathered the hem of her black dress, reminiscent of mourning clothes, and entered.
Zeppelin said.
"That thing we made before. I think I'll need it."
* * *
The bell signaling eleven o'clock at night rang with an eerie sound.
Zeppelin checked the grandfather clock and left the room.
Rebecca was waiting for him.
His footsteps lightened as he descended the stairs, but soon he stopped when he discovered a sight.
"Count..."
Alicia stood in front of him, her door wide open.
The dim candlelight barely illuminated the dark hallway, so the vivid and colorful light flowing from her room was enough to hold Zeppelin back.
Unlike the lighting in the room, Alicia was dressed plainly, without any adornment, and stroked her bulging belly.
And she said with a decidedly seductive smile.
"I missed you."
Alicia's smile was blatantly enticing, but there was something innocent about it.
Her disheveled lavender hair cascaded down to her waist.
It seemed that if he put his fingers through it, they would be instantly entangled and drawn into her.
"Why are you awake at this hour?"
"I felt the fetal movement. Maybe she knows her father has returned?"
Zeppelin flinched at the word fetal movement. His feet were still heading towards Rebecca's room.
Alicia drooped her ivory-white neck and rubbed her belly.
A deep, rich smile formed on her lips.
The image was exactly what Zeppelin thought of as the epitome of a benevolent mother.
Zeppelin thought for the first time that Alicia was beautiful.
