Chapter 6
"Madam, the Earl is waiting for you."
Rebecca snapped back to reality at the maid's urging voice.
Rebecca opened the door and walked slowly down the hallway.
The rustling sound of her dress brushing against the floor echoed with each step.
Across the hall, Alicia's door cracked open.
Alicia scrutinized Rebecca from head to toe through the narrow opening.
Her gaze was intensely covetous.
Rebecca met Alicia's eyes and offered a faint smile.
Alicia's eyes flashed with anger at Rebecca's triumphant smile.
'Yes, realize your place there. And desire what you can't have.'
It was always unpleasant to attend parties, but she was happy to attend this banquet.
Rebecca had a clear purpose.
It was an opportunity to fasten the first button for revenge.
* * *
"Croa, don't you have anything more useful to say?"
Julian examined the report Croa had collected in detail.
As always, there was not a single useful clue related to the curse.
The quality of information seemed to be getting worse.
Julian slammed the desk nervously.
The wine glass on the desk overturned.
Red wine droplets splashed on Julian's large bare chest.
"These days, storytellers who smell money are flocking in indiscriminately. It takes days just to filter out the weird ones. Anyway, you should change your clothes quickly."
Croa fidgeted and brought a handkerchief to wipe the wine running down Julian's chest.
Behind him, servants stood holding a black tailcoat.
Julian nervously swept back his black hair.
"If I had known it would be like this, I wouldn't have gone to war."
"Who was it that insisted on going because they were itching for action?"
"It was just a war in name only, there was no hand-to-hand combat at all. They surrendered as soon as I drew my sword. It's obvious that the Emperor planned it. Something was strange from the beginning. There's no way there could be rebels in this day and age."
"What does it matter? Please attend once, if only for the sake of the effort you've put into the Duke. If you continue to provoke His Majesty's patience like this, something terrible might happen."
"Terrible? What terrible thing? As long as that damn Goddess is above our family, even the Emperor can't touch us."
Julian's eyes flashed bright yellow. The three black cats sitting at his feet simultaneously widened their eyes and cried.
The servants hesitated at the eerie atmosphere.
Croa, as if familiar with this situation, snatched the shirt from the servant's hand and approached Julian.
"Stop talking nonsense and put it on!"
"Haa. Just thinking about acting out that terrible role again already gives me a headache."
"Then just make an appearance today and come back. As planned, the rumor that the Duke has very messy and dirty tastes has already spread. I heard that they brought in Lengersan wine, which the Duke likes, for today's banquet."
"That's the only thing I like."
Julian glanced at his watch and got up from his chair with a displeased sound.
Croa snapped his fingers a couple of times.
Only then did the frozen servants busily begin to adorn Julian.
The Johannes Dukedom, as known to the world, was a noble family blessed by the Dephria Goddess.
But the reality was slightly different.
The ancestor of the Johannes Dukedom, who had been just another aristocrat, one day received a revelation from the goddess of fortune, Dephria.
<If you treat me and my children with the utmost respect, I will give your family eternal wealth and honor.>
Soon after, a rebellion broke out. The ancestor, who joined hands with the rebels, achieved a great victory under the protection of the goddess of fortune.
The newly enthroned Emperor bestowed the title of Duke upon Johannes, the first contributor.
And at the suggestion of Duke Johannes, he established the Dephria Order as the state religion.
Temples praising the Dephria Goddess were built throughout the country.
Cats, which had been considered ominous animals, became symbols of the Dephria Goddess and were now considered lucky animals.
In this way, the Johannes family became a noble family as promised by the Goddess. They lacked nothing in wealth or honor.
However, as the generations continued, the descendants forgot the Goddess's gratitude.
Then one foolish descendant played with his concubine in the temple. The enraged Goddess cast a curse.
<Your child must serve and cherish the child I send as if it were one body. You will pay the price for the blessings you have enjoyed at a cheap price.>
A few months later, the concubine gave birth to a boy. He was the only heir.
The child was healthy, but on the day the child was born, a black cat appeared from somewhere.
When they tried to drive the cat away, the child cried loudly. When the cat hurt its foot, the child's foot was also injured.
Soon after, the Dukedom learned the identity of the curse.
Their heir was born with his soul bound to the cat sent by the Goddess.
The son of the Dukedom, designated as the heir, was born with golden eyes that changed according to his emotions.
The cat sent by God needed neither water nor food. It only grew by consuming the heir's innate Divine Power.
Perhaps because of this, all the heirs of the Dukedom died early.
The Dukedom arranged early marriages for the heirs from a very young age in order to continue the lineage in any way possible.
If the first wife failed to produce an heir after a year, they brought in another wife. They never knew when the heir would die.
Only the Pope and a few people in the Johannes Dukedom knew this fact.
In order to protect the cat sent by the Goddess, the temple treated the Johannes Duke like a stud.
In this way, the children of the Johannes Dukedom were born with a curse.
Wealth and glory continued, but so did the curse.
Julian was no exception.
However, Julian was born with the most powerful Divine Power of any heir.
The Pope predicted that Julian would live longer than other Johannes Dukes.
Thanks to this, Julian was able to avoid the hated early marriage for a while.
But that was not long.
Soon he would be in his mid-twenties. Vassals and the temple would begin to pressure him.
Julian hated it. He could not tolerate dragging an innocent woman into the family's curse.
The wives of the Johannes Dukedom had never had a good end.
His mother had died of illness when he was young.
The remaining three wives went crazy after his father died and took their own lives.
Julian did not want to accept that terrible fate willingly.
Julian looked up at the window.
Through the window, he could see the light coming from the east annex where Lily was.
Even if Julian died without leaving an heir, the boy Lily bore would inherit the curse.
He could not let that little child bear such a terrible fate.
"I have to end it in my generation somehow..."
Julian had hoped for a miracle his entire life.
But he never prayed to God.
* * *
"Watch your step, Rebecca."
Zeppelin, who got out of the carriage first, held out his hand to Rebecca.
Zeppelin stared at Rebecca's figure for a moment, mesmerized.
She was so beautiful, adorned with ornaments that Zeppelin had personally chosen, that praise was not enough.
Rebecca, who had been gazing silently at Zeppelin in his pure white tailcoat, obediently placed her hand on his arm.
Zeppelin looked at the wedding ring on her long finger and was lost in memories for a moment.
On Zeppelin's seventeenth birthday, a grand party was held at the Devonshire Earl's estate.
It was a day when snow was falling heavily.
Zeppelin, who had briefly stepped out onto the balcony from the boring party, saw Rebecca for the first time.
Eleven-year-old Rebecca was gleefully frolicking in the snow, her cheeks flushed red.
Rebecca, who was building a snowman, smiled brightly when she met Zeppelin's eyes.
At that moment, Zeppelin fell in love with her at first sight. To be precise, he was captivated by Rebecca's face, which resembled his own.
'How beautiful a child would be born if I married that girl.'
Zeppelin had been raised with the belief that beauty was the meaning of life.
For the first time in his monotonous life, he had a goal.
From then on, Zeppelin began to make plans to make Rebecca entirely his own.
And after much effort, he finally succeeded in marrying Rebecca.
But making Rebecca the way he wanted was not easy.
Rebecca was smarter and more stubborn than he had expected.
But Zeppelin was as patient as she was.
He had painstakingly isolated her for nearly ten years. And he made her rely entirely on him.
Bringing Alicia was in a similar vein.
He wanted Rebecca to compare herself to the young and beautiful Alicia and fall into even greater despair.
He wanted her to doubt herself and become even more obsessed with beauty.
'Now all that's left is to have a child. A child who looks like me.'
He could feel the gazes of people glancing at Rebecca, captivated by her face.
Zeppelin smiled contentedly and stepped into the ballroom where the splendid chandeliers sparkled.
He had no idea what Rebecca was thinking at this moment.
* * *
"I've heard a lot about you, Duke Johannes."
Julian, who was chatting with Emperor Zahida from his side, turned his head at the clear voice.
A young woman with her red hair updo was smiling at him.
The Emperor beamed and introduced the woman to him.
"Ah, Julian. You haven't met her yet, have you? This is Princess Catherine."
A princess?
Julian indifferently scanned Catherine, who was blushing. And he looked at Zahida.
Zahida was looking back and forth between himself and Catherine with quite expectant eyes.
Julian chuckled inwardly.
'Ha, you old geezer. Your intentions are so transparent.'
Over the years, the Rotandus Empire's theocracy had become so powerful that it was beyond control.
Most of the high-ranking nobles were people of the Pope, and the public sentiment was no different.
It had become common practice for cardinals or the Pope to review policies decided in the State Council.
Originally, the Johannes Dukedom was on the side of the temple.
But since Julian became Duke, the Dukedom had maintained an ambiguous neutrality between the Emperor and the temple.
The previous Emperor had helplessly acted as a puppet of the temple.
Having grown up watching this, Emperor Zahida had been carefully planning to strengthen the imperial authority since he was young.
It was only natural that Julian looked like a goose that laid golden eggs in his eyes.
The temple was powerless in front of Duke Johannes, who directly received the Goddess's blessing.
Therefore, if he could bring Julian to his side, he would be an excellent tool to check the temple.
There was nothing better than a political marriage to bring Julian to his side.
