Translator: Nox

Chapter 60

Zeppelin found the increasingly strong fragrance irritating and hastily extinguished the scented candle.

The silently dying flame sent up a final wisp of smoke.

Zeppelin touched his forehead.

He felt a little clearer than before.

With trembling hands, Zeppelin pieced together the scattered fragments of his past.

Rebecca dancing with Julian at the victory banquet, Rebecca tumbling down the stairs on the day she had to spend the night with him, Rebecca asking if he looked happy, Rebecca with the subtle scent of sweat, and the cat.

“The black cat!”

Zeppelin jumped up from his seat.

The day he went to inform Rebecca of their divorce, she was holding a black cat in her arms, talking to it affectionately.

Come to think of it, the day before, Rebecca had a cat in her arms in the garden as well.

It was a cat that looked exactly like the black cat Julian always carried around.

He remembered that he always felt a tickle in his nose or sneezed when he was near Julian.

He had similar symptoms on the day he smelled sweat on Rebecca's body, in the garden, and in Rebecca's room.

“No way.”

An impossible hypothesis swirled in his head.

Even as he thought it was absurd, his legs moved on their own.

He had a bad feeling.

Goosebumps erupted on his arms.

What if she didn't leave me, but ran away on her own? And ran away into the arms of another man?

The door to the study was thrown open roughly.

A passing maid was startled and looked at Zeppelin, who had suddenly appeared.

Zeppelin grabbed the maid's shoulders and shook her.

“Canna! Where is Canna right now?”

Canna, who had watched Rebecca's every move, might have noticed something strange.

Rebecca seemed to rely on her quite a bit.

The maid stammered with a terrified expression.

“Well, she hasn't been seen since this morning. All her luggage is gone, too. The head maid was furious about it.”

“What? Why didn't I know about this?”

“Is something the matter?”

Octavio slowly approached Zeppelin.

Zeppelin shouted at Octavio.

“Why didn't you report that Canna was missing?”

“I did report it. You told me to ignore it, saying it didn't matter. I thought you were forgetting things these days, and it seems you've forgotten. You'll have your memory back if you get a good night's sleep. There's an old saying that sleep is a cure-all.”

Octavio smiled brightly and subtly pulled Zeppelin toward the bedroom.

Zeppelin roughly shook off his arm.

“The divorce… what happened to the divorce papers?”

“I told you that too. I sent them this afternoon. I thought they would arrive at the Imperial Palace tomorrow, but for some reason, Colin brought the divorce confirmation papers in the evening. He said a kind gentleman gave him a ride in his carriage. He said it was the fastest carriage he had ever seen…”

“Lies. You never told me!”

Zeppelin grabbed Octavio by the collar and shook him.

‘Ah, I'm starting to get a little annoyed now.’

Octavio showed a displeased expression.

This was the second time he had grabbed his collar.

He thought he could manipulate him as much as he wanted, just like before, if Rebecca was gone.

But he was getting on his nerves again like this.

Thunder crashed violently, shaking the mansion.

“Agh!”

Zeppelin startled and released Octavio's collar.

He trembled, covered his head with both hands, and slumped down on the spot.

The day Jakim first imprisoned him, there was a violent thunderstorm like today.

Since then, Zeppelin had been pathologically afraid of thunder.

Octavio looked down at Zeppelin with pity, then gently grabbed his shoulder.

“Come now, don't stay here like this, you should go back to your comfortable bedroom. A hot bath and a sweet snack will make you feel much better.”

Zeppelin trembled without answering.

Octavio felt his patience reaching its limit and swept back his hair.

He lowered his voice so that no one around him could hear and quickly whispered into Zeppelin's ear.

His usually narrow eyes widened for a moment.

“Are you going to keep acting like a fool? Go back to your place before I break even the other things you have.”

“Reb…”

“What?”

“I have to go see Rebecca. I have to get her back!”

“Argh!”

Zeppelin suddenly raised his head and stood up, his head hitting Octavio's nose.

Octavio clutched his nose.

And he stared blankly at Zeppelin, who was standing in the middle of a deafening thunderclap.

Zeppelin shouted Rebecca's name loudly and ran.

“Zeppel…”

Octavio hurriedly reached out to grab Zeppelin's collar as he went down the stairs.

But with a slight gap, his hand flailed in the air without grabbing anything.

“Prepare the horses!”

Zeppelin shouted as he ran to the front door.

The servants, who had just woken up from the commotion, froze on the spot at the sight they had never seen before.

He was crying.

Zeppelin Devonshire, who didn't seem to have a drop of blood in him even if he was stabbed hundreds of times with a needle, was weeping and calling out the name of the former Countess.

Zeppelin threw open the front door. Heavy rain poured into the mansion.

But he didn't care about the pouring rain and went straight to the stables.

His well-ironed pants were splattered with mud, but Zeppelin didn't care.

The stableman was asleep in his quarters, so there was no one in the stables.

Zeppelin mounted the fastest white horse among them.

The horse, disturbed from its sweet sleep, neighed loudly and raised its front hooves.

Zeppelin hesitated for a moment on the bucking horse, then skillfully grabbed the reins and spurred the horse on.

The rough sound of hooves mingled with the sound of rain.

Lightning flashed behind him as he passed straight through the gate.

“Count! Devonshire Earl!”

Grace, who came out late, called out to Zeppelin, but he didn't look back.

The servants were busy cleaning up the mess.

Alicia went outside with a stiff face and stood there as if rooted to the spot.

Her newly tailored dress was helplessly soaked in the rain.

It was the dress that Zeppelin had said was pretty.

Water droplets, whether rain or tears, flowed endlessly down her cheeks.

It was all an illusion.

The expectation that she could take Rebecca's place was just a futile hope.

She just wanted everyday happiness.

Like any noble lady, she just wanted a caring husband and a lovely child.

But even that wish was a luxury for someone like her.

It was hard to open her eyes properly in the fierce rain, but Alicia stared for a long time in the direction Zeppelin had disappeared.

Octavio clicked his tongue and put an umbrella over her.

“I've never seen him like this before. He seems to be quite attached to this toy. Surely he's not planning to get back together with Rebecca.”

At his words, Alicia clenched her fists tightly.

“Octavio.”

Octavio looked down at Alicia with a questioning face.

“I heard you're looking for a new Rebecca.”

He looked startled, but Alicia quietly recited without a hint of expression.

“Please let me meet the black market merchant you introduced me to last time again.”

“It's not difficult, but what's the reason?”

“I… I'll become Rebecca. When he comes back after confirming that he's lost his doll, I'll be a new doll to comfort him.”

Alicia twisted the corners of her lips too much. It was a bizarre expression because water droplets were still pouring from her eyes.

She was crying, but she was smiling.

Octavio stared at Alicia for a moment.

But only for a moment, he also raised his eyes in the direction Zeppelin had disappeared.

“We'll see.”

* * *

Zeppelin headed straight to the Obelia mansion in his territory.

He had only one thought in his head.

He had to meet Rebecca.

Whether he coaxed her or dragged her by force, he had to have her sit next to him.

It didn't matter how Rebecca's face had changed now.

She was his. Even if she was broken, she had to be broken in his grasp.

The gate of the Obelia mansion was wide open.

Zeppelin passed through the gate, past the messy garden, and stood in front of the mansion.

The mansion was dark.

It was natural given the late hour, but somehow it sent a chill down his spine. He couldn't feel any sign of people.

Zeppelin got off his horse and knocked on the front door.

His terribly wet shirt clung to his bare skin.

His pants were a mess with mud caked on them. He was in no shape to meet anyone.

But he was half out of his mind.

Zeppelin Devonshire, who wouldn't even tolerate a single strand of hair out of place, had disappeared for a while.

“Rebecca! Theo Obelia! Danae Obelia!”

When no answer came, Zeppelin roughly turned the doorknob.

The locked door shook as if it would break soon.

“Who is it!”

How long had he been doing that?

An old man opened the door with a grumbling voice.

Zeppelin grabbed his arm and shouted.

“Rebecca! Where's Rebecca?”

“Wh-what are you doing!”

“Isn't Rebecca Obelia here?”

“Obelia? Ah, they moved out a long time ago, and the owner of this place changed this morning.”

“What? Then tell me where they went!”

“Ah! How would I know! I'm just a caretaker. You must have drunk a lot of alcohol, but if you're going to get drunk, get drunk nicely!”

“Ha…”

Zeppelin dropped his hand weakly.

His lost eyes scanned the floor blankly.

Why was this happening?

The caretaker looked at him pitifully.

“I don't know what the situation is, but if you don't have a place to stay tonight, I can let you stay for one night. The Duke told me to manage this place at my discretion for the time being.”

“Duke?”

A gleam suddenly returned to his empty eyes.

“Yes. Duke Johannes. He bought this place.”

“Johannes…”

Zeppelin blinked his blue eyes blankly.

“Ha… Ha, so… so that's what happened.”

Zeppelin let out a hollow laugh.

His eyes flashed with madness.

The caretaker's trembling eyes met his.

“So… so that's what it was! Julian Johannes stole my Rebecca!”

“Wh-what are you saying?”

“That's right. Rebecca, my Rebecca, would never leave me. This is all a trick planned by that bastard Julian. Then everything makes sense. He's a man who controls the temple, so it wouldn't have been hard for him to disguise Rebecca as a Saintess.”

Zeppelin looked at his hands and laughed loudly.