Translator: Nox

Chapter 50

‘Are you awake?’

She was beautiful.

Alicia always admired her own beauty in the mirror, but she was nothing more than a pretty girl in front of Rebecca.

Her marble-like skin was so smooth that it seemed like even a prick wouldn't leave a mark, and her thick blonde hair, as if woven from a ray of sunlight, was dazzling.

Especially her eyes.

When her blue eyes, as if she had plunged into the deep sea and the color had dyed her pupils, gently folded into a smile, Alicia wanted to hide somewhere.

Alicia stared blankly at Rebecca's red lips, like biting into a fresh rose, and burst into tears.

Was it because she realized that she could never possess what Rebecca had, no matter how much she desired it?

Or was it because of the shame that she was trying to harm her kind voice?

Rebecca hugged the crying Alicia.

‘It’s okay. A lot must have happened, but I’ll save you. Don’t worry about anything.’

Even her embrace was warm.

‘Alicia! The dessert that came in today is so delicious. I wanted to share it with you, so I brought some.’

Warm memories stabbed at her heart like shards of glass.

It wasn't that Alicia disliked Rebecca, who was kind to her from the beginning.

No, rather, she wanted to be by her side forever.

‘You can become like that too.’

But Octavio was persistent. He constantly whispered to Alicia.

Eventually, her affection for Rebecca turned into admiration, and admiration turned into envy.

And as Zeppelin began to look at her with subtle glances, Alicia's desire slowly began to stir.

I can become Rebecca too.

And that feeling has been Alicia's driving force until now.

Alicia shed tears as she raised the poison-laced dagger.

“So please, just die now. Saintess Rebecca.”

Alicia squeezed her eyes shut and tried to plunge the dagger down.

At that moment, Rebecca's eyes flashed open.

Rebecca slowly blinked and looked at Alicia.

“Can you handle it?”

Surprised, Alicia trembled and dropped the dagger.

Rebecca quickly caught the falling dagger.

“Oh dear, you have to be careful. There’s a deadly poison on here, you know?”

“H, how did you….”

“Well, it’s obvious. But were you really trying to kill me? Alicia?”

Rebecca carefully placed the dagger on the bedside table next to the bed. And she looked straight at Alicia.

Although her entire face was covered in red and blotchy Pustules, her eyes were sparkling as beautifully as before, or even more so.

Alicia paled, wondering if the word 'beautiful' could fully capture Rebecca.

“Alicia, why are you silent? I’m asking if you were really trying to kill me?”

Alicia bit her lip and said.

“That’s right. I was trying to kill you.”

“Why? What did I do wrong, being so weak and pitiful?”

Rebecca covered her mouth with her hand as if she really didn't know, making an innocent expression.

Alicia realized that she was imitating her.

“Rebecca…”

Alicia clenched her fists, trembling.

And she opened her mouth venomously.

“Yes! You did something very wrong. The wrong of having everything I want. I’m going to take everything you have without leaving anything behind. I won’t stop, no matter the cost.”

Alicia looked at Rebecca triumphantly.

Rebecca chuckled.

“You’re finally being honest.”

“What?”

“I’ve been waiting. For the day you’d bare those adorable little fangs.”

Rebecca caressed the handle of the dagger on the bedside table.

“Well, let’s hear who said what to make you make such a terrible decision.”

“Aren’t you… angry? I betrayed you. I repaid your kindness with malice!”

Rebecca's eyes turned cold.

“I didn’t know you knew your faults so accurately.”

“Just slap me! No, kill me with that knife instead!”

Alicia lunged at the knife.

Rebecca lifted the cane that was hanging on the head of the bed and struck the back of Alicia's hand.

“Where do you think you’re going.”

“Ah! What are you doing!”

“I don’t want to see blood. Besides, it’s a problem if you die already.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means what it says.”

Rebecca glanced at Alicia's stomach for a moment.

She thought of the child. Her own child, who didn't even exist, came to mind dozens of times a day.

Sensing her gaze, Alicia covered her stomach with both hands.

“I don’t need your shallow mercy, Rebecca.”

“Oh dear, I wasn’t planning on showing mercy. Did I look that kind?

Rebecca made a face like frost flowers had bloomed and urged Alicia.

“So, tell me? Why did you try to kill me? What made you so anxious?”

“Because I realized that the Count has no intention of making me the Countess.”

“Why?”

“I overheard it. He said he’d get an heir from you. Saying that you can still have children even with Divine Affliction. Grace is already preparing. How is it, are you satisfied now? Are you happy to death?”

“Ha!”

Rebecca laughed briefly.

The short laugh soon turned into a long one. She tilted her head back like a madwoman and laughed loudly.

It was such a bizarre sight that Alicia stepped away in fear.

‘Zeppelin, you finally….’

The worst of the futures Rebecca had imagined had become a reality.

Not only was she treated like a doll, but Zeppelin had now decided to think of her as a baby-making machine.

Seeing that he had made the decision to be intimate with her despite his weak constitution, she thought he had shown great courage.

Love? No, he has never loved me.

A tear streamed down Rebecca's left eye.

Rebecca looked at Alicia with half-empty eyes.

“Alicia. Do you want it? If you like this sewer so much.”

Alicia flinched for a moment, then bit her lip and said.

“You don’t know what a sewer is.”

Alicia recalled all the pain she had experienced since birth, which Rebecca would never experience in her life.

Her mother's back as she was forcibly dragged away by a nobleman rumored to be a pervert because of her beautiful appearance, her poor and powerless father, and her mother who eventually returned as a cold corpse...

The days she had vowed not to live like her mother.

Yet, the reality that she had no choice but to live like her mother.

Alicia cried. Every time Rebecca's tears flowed, her stomach cried even louder.

Alicia grabbed Rebecca's collar and shook it.

“You! How do you know what a sewer is! Have you ever been touched by men you don't even know? How do you know the feeling of never being able to dream of a happy family! Rebecca, how dare you talk about a sewer?”

Rebecca wiped away her tears and silently stared at Alicia, who was grabbing her by the collar and shouting.

The deep purple eyes she had loved were now filled with sadness.

Rebecca suppressed the overwhelming emotions and got up from her seat.

“Still, you shouldn’t have done that to me.”

“D, don’t come closer!”

Rebecca slowly approached Alicia and cupped her cheeks.

Rebecca's hands, which had not yet cooled down, were hot. An unpleasant stench emanated from the burst Pustules.

Only now, as she faced Rebecca's empty eyes, could Alicia vaguely feel the weight of the reality she was bearing.

“I liked you, Alicia. That’s why it hurt.”

“……”

“It hurt. So much. That’s why I can’t forgive you. But….”

“Hic.”

Alicia hiccuped. She couldn't handle Rebecca's hot energy at all.

Rebecca took her hand away from Alicia and opened the drawer. And she took out a jar of tea leaves.

“Maybe we can walk the same path for a while.”

And she firmly placed the jar in Alicia's hand.

Rebecca smiled the smile that Alicia had admired so much.

“I’ll give you what you want. Will you give me what I want too?”

---

Returning to her room, Alicia threw herself on the bed, buried her face in the pillow, and cried for a long time.

“You bitch… Rebecca. You bad bitch…”

She was angry. That she had said everything inside her to that woman.

That she had failed to kill her and had been played with again.

‘I liked you, Alicia.’

Rebecca finally said those words.

Alicia had desperately closed the door that sealed her memories with her, but she had finally opened it.

Alicia, who was sobbing again, soon stopped crying.

And she slowly looked around at everything she had that filled the room.

A fluffy bed that could fit three or four people.

A canopy embroidered with her favorite pink roses.

Gorgeous dresses packed in an antique wardrobe. Shoes and jewelry custom-made to match the dresses.

It was the luxury she could enjoy if she became Zeppelin's.

Alicia stared blankly at the jar of tea leaves that Rebecca had given her.

Suddenly, her stomach twitched. The baby in her womb was growing well despite the rough waves.

Alicia gently stroked her stomach and said.

“Baby, it can’t be helped. Mommy… won’t give up.”

---

The next day, the Devonshire Earl's mansion was turned upside down.

“Infertility, you say!”

Grace exclaimed and shouted at the doctor.

The doctor shook the tea leaves with a troubled expression.

“This tea contains ingredients that cause infertility. It’s so toxic that the effects appear quickly after drinking it only ten times. But the Countess has been drinking this for over a month. In that case, it seems….”

“Ah…”

At the doctor's words, Grace staggered and leaned against the wall.

When she found out that Rebecca had Divine Affliction, she had hoped that Rebecca would become a Saintess instead.

Then she could become a fervent believer and visit her.

So when Zeppelin told her to help Rebecca get pregnant, Grace was happy.

As long as Rebecca could stay here, there would be plenty of opportunities to recover.

She tried to cure Rebecca somehow.

If she had time, what disease in the world couldn't be cured? She couldn't send Rebecca away like her daughter, Leila.

But now, even that last hope had disappeared.

Rebecca had given up on becoming a Saintess and had become unable to give Zeppelin the child he dreamed of.

The doll she had loved so much was now destined to be thrown away like trash.

While Grace was lost in sorrow, Octavio stood with his hands behind his back, silently watching the situation with a very interesting face.

He had expected to hear crying, but he hadn't counted on the fact that the cause was infertility rather than Rebecca's death.

Octavio glanced at Alicia.

Sensing his gaze, Alicia chuckled and whispered to him.

“This is my way. Octavio.”