Chapter 40
At Rebecca's nod, Canna quietly opened the door.
Rebecca greeted her guest with a chilling smile spreading across her face.
"Welcome, Rodrigo."
Candles softly illuminated the darkness within the room.
Rodrigo stared blankly at Rebecca, somewhat dazed by the dim atmosphere.
Wearing a seductive black dress that slightly revealed her skin and shaking her handcuffed hands, Rebecca had shed the image of the Saintess she had shown during the day.
Rodrigo flinched at her decadent and dangerous aura.
The back of his neck prickled.
"So, have you decided whom to pledge your allegiance to now?"
"I..."
The sound of the Hounds' leashes rattling reached her ears.
* * *
Barinika's secret workshop was one of the Emperor's villas located deep in a remote forest.
It was a grand mansion surrounded by lush greenery and beautiful scenery, but it was located in a remote area where a small village could only be reached after a long carriage ride.
Zeppelin watched Barinika paint for a while before heading to the garden for a stroll.
As soon as he stepped outside the door, three burly guards followed him.
"I'm just going for a walk, so don't bother following me."
Despite Zeppelin's threatening gaze, the guards repeated the same words without batting an eye.
"Imperial Order."
'Damn it.'
They were called guards, but they were nothing more than watchdogs monitoring Zeppelin.
They followed him even when he ate, and even when he went to the bathroom.
There was nothing he could do here in peace.
He thought he had been sent to watch the painter, but he felt like he had become a prisoner instead.
'Did I do something to displease the Emperor...?'
Zeppelin carefully retraced the Imperial Orders he had secretly evaded until now.
There was nothing that could be discovered, and even if it was, it was nothing that would cause a major problem.
To him, Emperor Zahida was a kind, doddering old man who avoided troublesome matters even at a loss.
This was no different from the image of Zahida known to the world.
It was an image Zahida had outwardly created out of concern that the temple would be wary of him.
However, the older nobles who remembered Zahida's days as a prince were aware of his hidden intentions and were cautious.
Zeppelin had little interest in anyone other than himself.
His weakness, if it could be called that, was that he sized up people based on first impressions and then dismissed them.
Jakim knew Zeppelin well.
He had planned to gradually educate Zeppelin about the dark secrets of Emperor Zahida and the high-ranking nobles when Zeppelin married and obtained the title of Count.
But before that, Zeppelin had driven Jakim to his death.
Zeppelin's inability to ever know Zahida's true nature was perhaps a self-inflicted result.
Zeppelin grumbled, unable to fathom Zahida's intentions towards him.
"At this rate, it's no different from exile."
Zeppelin, feeling the guards' fierce gazes, eventually returned to the mansion and lay down in the room connected to Barinika's workshop.
He repeatedly opened and closed the locket containing Rebecca's picture, and then suddenly overwhelmed with longing, he squeezed his eyes shut.
Even though Rebecca had recovered, he hadn't been able to hold her once.
He had to have a daughter with her as soon as possible, before he got any older.
Only then would the perfect kingdom he had planned be complete.
Zeppelin sat with an anxious expression, then chose a canvas of a suitable size from the spare ones and placed it on the easel.
And he waited for time to pass quickly.
He began to sketch, moving his hand without hesitation.
He was quite talented at painting, but because he pursued perfection, his paintings always ended up in the incinerator.
"You're painting the Countess, I see."
As Zeppelin was filling Rebecca's eyes with a deep blue color, a deep voice was heard.
Barinika, wearing an apron covered in paint, was stroking his rough stubble as he looked at Zeppelin's painting.
Zeppelin felt a sense of shame at his sharp, critical gaze, and hurriedly covered the canvas.
"I wasn't planning on showing it to anyone."
"A painting is as good as dead if there is no one to appreciate it. Hmm... it seems the Devonshire Earl is quite talented in this area?"
"Compared to your work, it's just trash. I'm not someone who's easily swayed by compliments, but your work has always left a good impression on me. I even have a few."
"That's very kind of you to say. And don't call a painting filled with affection trash. Even a child's scribble can become art."
"You feel affection in my painting... But how did you know I was painting Rebecca?"
Barinika smiled mockingly at his wary gaze.
"Is there any artist who doesn't know the Devonshire Countess? Do you know how many painters have wanted to use her as a muse since she was a child? Come to think of it..."
Barinika suddenly leaned close to Zeppelin's face, examining his features in detail.
Zeppelin was flustered and took a step back.
"What, what are you doing?"
"The Countess and the Earl look so much alike. A beautiful face that an artist like me would covet."
There were people who sent him admiring glances, but few people said it so openly, so Zeppelin frowned slightly in embarrassment.
"Even the wrinkles between your eyebrows are perfectly proportioned. Hmm, your eyes are as clear and transparent as the summer sea. And your nose, let's see, it's tall and straight without a single bend..."
"Stop it!"
Zeppelin recoiled in disgust, swatting away Barinika's hand that was caressing his face as if it were a magnificent sculpture.
Barinika, on the contrary, tilted his head as if his reaction was strange and said,
"Aren't you someone who loves art, Earl? It's an artist's instinct to look at and touch beautiful things, so why are you so shocked?"
"I'm not a work of art! What kind of rude behavior is this!"
Barinika took a step back, seeing that Zeppelin's anger was unusual.
"I understand. Instead, grant me one request. I've endured being trapped here and painting, so I should get something I want."
Zeppelin was still seething, so he hissed.
If it weren't for the Emperor's order, he would have gotten rid of that guy without a trace...
"Become my muse."
"What?"
"Don't you want to be the protagonist of a masterpiece?"
"Are you asking me to be a model for a blasphemous painting? Do I look like a fool to you?"
"How many people do you think will recognize that the protagonist of the painting resembles the Earl? And I don't really like painting things as they are."
"That's right. Subtly twisting things is the charm of your work."
"Then you agree?Zeppelin fell into contemplation after seeing Barinika's grinning expression.
To be honest, he was tempted by his offer.
Barinika was a painter whom Zeppelin had always admired.
Zeppelin had glimpsed the work he was currently painting.
Even considering that the work contained a shocking message, he instinctively felt that it was a great masterpiece.
What he was painting now was a beautiful work that would be talked about for generations to come.
To be included in a masterpiece?
Zeppelin was already desperate to show his beauty to the world in any way possible.
To him, Barinika's offer was very tempting.
After a moment's contemplation, Zeppelin couldn't resist his desire.
The Emperor had mentioned that the work would be released anonymously.
So even if someone said that the person in the work resembled him, he could just deny it.
"If it's just for a short time..."
Zeppelin reluctantly entered Barinika's workshop.
Barinika smiled leisurely, as if he had expected him to do so from the beginning.
* * *
"Even if I did the same thing, that guy didn't feel anything. That bastard."
Julian muttered as he neatly folded Barinika's letter.
"Well, even if he regrets it now, nothing will change."
He picked up a quill and began to write a letter to Barinika.
It said that he would allow him to live abroad with his fiancée as soon as the work was finished.
Julian had told Barinika only a small part of what Zeppelin had done and instructed him to act the same way towards him.
Barinika had said that he would do anything if it meant he could get his fiancée back.
He wanted to trap Zeppelin this time and make him feel even a little of the pain that Rebecca had suffered.
It was out of the expectation that if he showed even a hint of remorse, Rebecca might be able to act more freely.
But from what he could see, Zeppelin had not only not repented, but had also been furious.
And he had even greedily accepted Barinika's request to become his muse.
'He was a guy who couldn't even be recycled.'
Julian melted wax and poured it on the finished letter. The red wax dripped like blood.
He pressed a plain seal on the wax and then called Croa.
"Did you call?"
"Deliver this to Barinika. And it would be good to put more people on Zeppelin. To the point where even breathing there is disgusting."
"Understood."
Croa quietly left.
Julian picked up a cold wine glass and approached the window.
The wind was blowing unusually hard, as if a storm was about to break. The curtains on the window fluttered in the strong wind.
"I wonder what Rebecca is doing..."
Julian muttered, staring at the dark, cloudy forest.
He pictured Rebecca's room, which he had visited before, in his mind.
Was she sitting in front of her ornate dressing table, brushing her soft blonde hair?
Maybe she was buried in her fluffy bed, taking an early evening nap.
Or maybe she was leaning against the window, looking at the same sky as him...
Rebecca's deep, melancholic eyes stared straight at him in his imagination.
'Julian.'
Rebecca's eyes curved into a gentle crescent shape. And she called his name in a clear voice.
Again, a tickling pain came from near his chest.
