Chapter 59
Julian sat before her, waiting for her sobs to subside.
It was a painful time, but he could endure it as much as necessary.
After a while, Rebecca, who had been crying for some time, haltingly began to speak to Julian, who was still waiting for her.
"That's enough for now. I must smell awful. You don't have to force yourself to stay, Julian. I'm not fit for you right now."
"Well, I don't have a very good sense of smell, so I wouldn't know."
"Stop joking and just leave. This is a matter of my pride."
"That's an honor. To be considered someone who can touch your pride."
"Even if you say that, you'll be startled and run away when you see my face. Leave before I show you my truly hideous face."
Julian frowned at Rebecca's self-deprecating words.
He was angry because he couldn't understand why she was saying such things.
He had known about Rebecca's appearance since reading Leo's memories.
But so what?
She was just hurting.
Did she think so little of him that she thought he would say such terrible things to someone who was hurting?
He felt a little wronged by this treatment, considering how much he had done.
Julian retorted, bristling, "I'll only know if you show me. Why are you judging me as you please without even trying?"
"There are things you know without trying."
"No, there's no such thing in the world."
"Yes, there is."
A childish argument ensued for a while.
Then Rebecca burst into laughter first.
"At this rate, we're no different from the twins in my family."
Julian smiled gently, following her lead.
Had she relaxed a little?
A faint hope sprang up.
He hesitated for a moment before continuing.
"No matter what you look like, you're Rebecca."
"……."
"You, you're the one who dared to ask Duke Johannes for a dance. And you boldly proposed a contract marriage, and you willingly threw yourself from the high stairs. You're the amazing person who escaped from the clutches of that terrible Zeppelin Devonshire on your own. And……."
Julian took a breath.
"The woman I'm going to marry. The woman I chose. That's you. Rebecca."
He could hear Rebecca gasp.
As the silence grew longer, Julian lowered his head.
It seemed like he should stop here for today. Any more and she might get hurt.
Julian couldn't bear to watch Rebecca get hurt by him.
"Julian."
Just as he was about to get up from his seat in despair, Rebecca's tearful voice was heard.
Julian raised his head sharply and looked at Rebecca.
Rebecca slowly rose from her seat.
Julian sat blankly on the floor, looking up at Rebecca. It was still midday, but the room was dark because the sky was cloudy.
In the darkness, her blue eyes sparkled like stars.
"Am I... hideous?"
Rebecca still didn't have the confidence to reveal her face under the full light.
But she wanted to know.
Whether she, who had lost her beauty and was no longer valuable as a doll, could still live as Rebecca.
The reactions people showed to her changed face had been varied.
Some, like Zeppelin, loathed it, others, like Octavio and Alicia, enjoyed it, and still others, like Canna and her family, grieved.
At such times, Rebecca felt like she was losing herself.
She wondered if it was such a big deal to be so upset about losing her beauty.
I'm still me. I'm still…….
Rebecca's eyes trembled as she met Julian's gaze.
Julian blinked his dark eyes without moving.
"No. You're still Rebecca."
Julian stood up from his seat.
And he reached out his hand to Rebecca's face, which was crying without him even realizing it.
Rebecca saw herself reflected in Julian's approaching eyes.
She looked terribly frightened.
The next action was something Julian himself had not expected at all.
Only one thought came to his mind.
He wanted to stop her tears.
Julian slowly pulled Rebecca's neck and head towards him.
Soon, Julian's lips met Rebecca's trembling lips.
Rebecca blinked rapidly in confusion.
She knew she should push him away.
But her cool-headed reason was briefly pushed aside by his persistent kiss that soon entangled with hers.
'Where did he learn this…….'
Before she knew it, all her senses were focused on her mouth, and she began to pant.
Nothing came to mind except the sensation of touching him.
Rebecca reached out and wrapped her arms around Julian's neck. Her neck ached because he was so much taller than her.
Julian tirelessly explored the ecstatic kiss he had tasted for the first time, completely out of his mind.
But it wasn't rough at all. Rather, he was as careful as if he were caressing a young chick.
He tilted his head to the other side and pulled Rebecca's waist close to him.
The two people's dense flesh intertwined passionately in the darkness.
His heart, beating hotly, was transmitted directly to Rebecca's chest.
At this moment, Rebecca forgot everything for a moment.
Zeppelin, the Obelia family, her hideously changed face, and even revenge.
The cycle of thoughts that had been endlessly confusing her mind came to a halt.
It was as if they were the only two people in a world where time had stopped.
* * *
"Yes, it's going well……."
Zeppelin leaned back in his chair with a tired face.
A heavy rain was pouring outside, making him feel even more depressed.
He had sent a fast Hounds, so the documents would be delivered without any problems by tomorrow morning.
But why did he feel so uneasy?
Zeppelin took a long breath in and out, staring blankly at the flame of the scented candle.
Octavio had lit the scented candle because he thought there would be thunder.
The scent of this scented candle calmed his confused thoughts and made him sleepy.
However, it also tended to make his head feel dull, so his father had banned it.
Zeppelin didn't use it often either, but he couldn't sleep without this scented candle since Rebecca had become like that.
He might have gone crazy if he hadn't had this.
Rumble- Crash-
Lightning flashed behind him, and a loud thunderclap was heard.
Zeppelin shuddered and hurriedly closed the wide-open curtains.
He fumbled and turned on the music on the phonograph as loudly as possible.
As the Magic Stone storing the music spun around, a thin diamond read the vibrations of the Magic Stone.
He deliberately played a grand song instead of the calm music he usually enjoyed to drown out the thunder.
The dramatic melody of the orchestra pounded in Zeppelin's eardrums.
"Much better."
He had nightmares every night when it thundered.
The memory of the first day he was locked in a room was distorted in a bizarre way and tormented him all night long.
His father, Jakim, would take him to the room where he kept his toys whenever Zeppelin did something he didn't like.
And in front of Zeppelin's eyes, he would mercilessly tear, trample, and smash the toys he cherished.
'Look closely! Weak humans don't deserve to have anything.'
After a round of brutal butchery, Jakim would lock Zeppelin in the wreckage of the toys.
All night long, young Zeppelin would cry himself to sleep in the fragments of his precious things.
And every time, it was Octavio who opened the door and took him out.
'Young Master, are you alright?'
Octavio would wash Zeppelin, who was shivering with a cold body, in warm bathwater, dress him in fluffy new clothes, and feed him sweet snacks.
And he would put a new toy in his sullen hand.
'They're just old things anyway. You can always get better things than discarded things. Don't be discouraged.'
Octavio's words were a great comfort to Zeppelin.
Thanks to that, Zeppelin didn't suffer much damage even when Jakim locked him up.
As he grew up, Zeppelin felt pleasure in butchering torn dolls during the time he was locked in the room.
Octavio showed Zeppelin a new definition of life.
Zeppelin knew that Octavio wasn't a very good person.
There was a cruel side to Octavio that even he would frown at when Octavio used the Hounds.
But he was one of the few people he could trust, along with the head maid, Grace.
He recalled Octavio's words.
'You can just buy a new one anyway.'
Yes, people are the same. Rebecca is the same.
Zeppelin muttered as if making a resolution, and waved his hand as if conducting the music that was just reaching its climax.
A pleasant humming flowed from his mouth involuntarily.
It'll be alright. My life is planned that way.
'I heard you got divorced.'
Zeppelin stopped his hand at the memory that came to him like a stab in the back.
It was what Julian had said to him with a bitter smile at the cabinet meeting he had attended yesterday.
Julian opened the floodgates to the topic that everyone wanted to ask about but couldn't bring themselves to say.
Numerous questions followed, and Zeppelin had no choice but to admit the divorce after seeing the Emperor's interested face.
'That's good. I guess you weren't meant to be in the first place.'
Julian's review was extremely rude.
But none of the nobles gathered there pointed out his rudeness.
"Still a snot-nosed brat who carries cats around……."
There were always black cats next to him, his bright yellow eyes twinkling.
It was too much fate for a young boy like Julian to have the messenger of God with him.
Even in front of the Emperor, the three cats were always with him.
Even though it was a childish sight, he was even more twisted by the sight of them praising him for adding to his holiness.
Zeppelin slammed his fist on the desk.
The pile of documents stacked on the desk slid down and collapsed in front of him.
He stopped, nervously sweeping his hair back.
One of the documents that had fallen in front of him caught his eye.
Zeppelin blinked, unable to believe the contents of the document, and picked it up.
It was a debt repayment receipt.
The Devonshire family seal was stamped on it.
"The Obelia family paid off all their debts?"
It was a fact he had no recollection of at all.
Zeppelin hurriedly searched for more related documents.
The date was today.
The desperately poor Obelia family had paid off all that money at once today.
All of it, including the interest, without leaving anything behind.
It must have been among the documents he had stamped haphazardly in his hazy mind this morning.
"What the……."
He had heard that Catherine had been kicked out of the Obelia family, but there was no point in monitoring them since Rebecca was gone.
So Zeppelin didn't attach another Hounds to the Obelia family.
The Obelia family had no chance of rehabilitation anyway.
He had heard that Danae's side job had improved their situation recently, but it was clear that they wouldn't be able to pay off their debts, let alone the interest, with that much money.
But how…….
