“He acts just like your companion.”
Meow.
“By the way, why did Yulian lie to me?”
Rebecca calculated roughly—he’d been here for barely an hour.
Yulian had said he could only teleport after three hours.
“Ugh, I don’t know!”
She hugged Leo and flopped onto the bed.
Leo, startled briefly, settled into her embrace.
“I feel a bit feverish…”
A warmth spread across her forehead. The Devil’s Claw was taking effect.
In her fading consciousness, she recalled Yulian vanishing like a mirage.
“Pat me.”
His hair was as soft as Leo’s fur, releasing a pleasant scent with each stroke.
Ahh…
Rebecca dreamed.
She was alone in a dark tunnel, endless blackness tormenting her.
Yet, she wasn’t afraid.
She pressed forward.
Despite the oppressive darkness, she sensed the tunnel would end.
At its close, a heavy iron door awaited.
Looking down, a key with the Johannes crest appeared in her hand.
She inserted it and turned.
Pushing the door, it creaked open with a grotesque sound.
Blinding light poured in, and she shielded her eyes.
Someone called her.
“Rebecca.”
A familiar, tender voice.
He extended his hand.
Grasping it, she thought, Can I be happy?
She stepped through the door.
His radiant smile matched the dazzling light.
Softly, she whispered his name.
“Yulian.”
* * *
As the balcony door opened, a cool breeze tousled golden hair.
Even the jealous moonlight couldn’t wake the sleeping angel.
Yulian stood tall, glaring down at the slumbering Zeppelin.
In his mind, he ran through every cruel torture he knew, punishing Zeppelin.
“I’m sorry! I was wrong! Stop… Argh!”
Imagining his screams briefly lifted Yulian’s mood.
His eyes blazed like hellfire.
How dare he…
Seeing Rebecca in cuffs at the banquet, Yulian had cursed Zeppelin countless times.
He avoided mentioning it, fearing she’d feel ashamed.
But watching her swallow Devil’s Claw to avoid Zeppelin’s bed snapped his restraint.
Yulian drew his sword.
The blade caught the eerie night air.
Raising it with both hands, he aimed for Zeppelin’s neck.
Just as steel neared fragile skin, he stopped.
Killing him now would simplify everything.
Rebecca could escape that wretched estate, and as a widow, they could marry swiftly.
But Yulian didn’t—couldn’t.
Zeppelin’s sins were too great for a quick death.
Even if killed, that right belonged to Rebecca.
Yulian had no claim to deliver his punishment.
His role was to help her crush him soon.
Shing—
The sword slid back into its sheath with a reluctant sound.
Yulian glanced at the oblivious Zeppelin, then turned away.
Waiting wasn’t his strength, but he had no choice.
“Rebecca…”
Zeppelin murmured her name in his sleep.
Yulian, about to leave, froze at the sound.
Turning, his eyes flared with murderous intent.
That voice, calling her while committing vile acts.
Uncontrollable rage erupted from deep within.
She’d understand this much.
His eyes blazing, hellfire turned to volcanic lava.
He swung his clenched fist at Zeppelin’s face.
Crack!
A bone-shattering sound rang out.
“Argh!”
Zeppelin woke, screaming, clutching his eye in pain, searching for the intruder.
But the room was empty, save for the white curtains fluttering in the night breeze on the open balcony.
* * *
In the rattling carriage, Zeppelin held a mirror, inspecting where the bruise had faded.
He should’ve returned home a week ago, but the lingering bruise delayed him.
He didn’t want Rebecca to see him married.
A hound’s secretly delivered ointment worked faster than expected.
Who was it…?
He recalled that night.
Waking in agony, the bedroom door was still locked.
The only changes were the open balcony window and the massive bruise on his left eye.
His room was high up, inaccessible to most.
The intruder had to be highly skilled.
But why spare me?
With that skill, they could’ve killed him.
A fatal wound would’ve been less unsettling.
The precise injury—enough to hurt but not break bones—left him uneasy.
Was this the emperor’s doing?
Zeppelin decided to reassess Zahidra.
The emperor might be shrewder than he thought.
The carriage lurched violently.
Zeppelin snapped at the driver.
“Can’t you drive properly?!”
“S-sorry, sir. The road’s rough…”
It was the middle of nowhere.
Zeppelin could hardly believe he’d spent over a month in such a place.
At least the estate had been quiet in his absence.
He’d ordered the hounds to report any issues.
For a month, their letters reported nothing but peace.
Yearning for his well-ordered Devonshire world, he gazed anxiously out the window.
Returning would resolve everything.
His baseless unease, he told himself, stemmed from being away too long.
* * *
“My lord!”
As Zeppelin stepped from the carriage, Grace and Octavio rushed out.
Alicia followed slowly behind.
Zeppelin nodded lightly to Grace and Octavio, then kissed Alicia’s cheek.
“You look worn, Alicia.”
“I missed you.”
“Where’s Rebecca?”
Exhausted, he ran a hand through his hair.
She, whom he most wanted to greet him, was absent.
Octavio asked, flustered.
“Didn’t you get our messages?”
“What messages?”
“Lady Rebecca…”
“What about her?”
Zeppelin’s eyes narrowed.
Octavio continued calmly.
“She’s ill. Last week, she had a high fever, and three days ago, blisters appeared…”
“What? Why tell me now? You said everything was fine!”
Octavio replied, uneasy.
“No, we sent updates on her condition. Collin handled the letters—he’d know.”
“Collin!”
At his name, Collin, among the servants, jumped and approached.
Zeppelin, exuding heavy menace, demanded.
“Explain.”
“I-I placed the letters in the garden wall’s bricks, as you instructed.”
“And they got switched? That makes sense?”
Zeppelin grabbed Collin’s collar, lifting him effortlessly.
Collin, a recent hound, was quick and clever, often tasked with secret letters.
Tears streaming, he stammered.
“It’s true! Oh—last week, when I delivered a letter, I saw a big man with red hair and a cross-shaped scar on his left cheek lurking nearby.”
“A big man?”
“Yes! Red hair, scar on his cheek.”
Zeppelin dropped Collin roughly.
“Even my secret letters are being intercepted?”
He’d clearly fallen out of the emperor’s favor.
Zahidra, daring to play me like this?
Vowing revenge, he hurried to Rebecca’s room.
“Ugh.”
Nearing her door, a foul stench hit him, and he covered his nose.
A bad omen.
His heart pounded with dread.
After an eternity, he opened the door and staggered at Rebecca’s appearance.
Unable to speak, he let out an anguished gasp.
“Ahh…”
“Zeppelin…”
Supported by Kanna, Rebecca struggled to rise from the bed.
Her beautiful eyes remained, but her body was covered in grotesque blisters.
Her once-smooth skin was gone, her hands and feet swollen.
The unbearable stench filling the room made Zeppelin hesitate.
The radiant Rebecca he loved was nowhere to be found.
He collapsed to his knees.
“Why… Why!”
His wail echoed through the estate, stifling everyone’s breath.
In his desperate grief, he staggered up.
“There must be a way. Get the doctors!”
Grace had already summoned the physicians.
Zeppelin slapped the eldest doctor’s cheek hard.
“What were you doing while my wife became like this?!”
