109 - The Evil Husband (15th Anniversary Edition) Chapter 109
109
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Michele and Aileen stared at each other for a moment. Aileen couldn't hide her surprised expression.
She knew that Michele, being a soldier, wasn't exactly of a docile nature. However, she had always maintained a respectful attitude in front of Aileen, using honorifics and a gentle tone.
But for the first time, she was seeing Michele act like a street thug.
"..."
Aileen didn't know how to react and just stood there with her mouth open. Michele, who had been working so hard to maintain a facade in front of Aileen, instinctively knew she had completely failed. She glared at Senon next to Aileen, silently cursing him with her eyes.
Senon quietly covered his mouth with his hand. As he struggled to suppress his laughter, Rohan and Diego, who belatedly grasped the situation, also bit their lips tightly.
While they were each enduring the ordeal of holding back laughter, Michele approached Aileen like a broken toy soldier, stiffly.
"Oh, Madam, no, I mean, to see you here, what a, what a coincidence."
Michele was sweating profusely. Aileen, who had been in shock until then, finally opened her lips.
"Sir Michele..."
"That... just now! I was a little surprised, so just for a moment! I made a mistake. As Madam knows, when people are surprised, they might, you know, say something a little rough, yeah, something like that might slip out, right?"
Then, Michele suddenly elbowed Senon in the side.
"Senon, Brother! If you were going to bring Madam, you should have told me."
Senon, who was dumbfounded by the "Brother" remark, groaned in pain as if his side had been pierced the moment he was hit, and he crouched down on the ground.
Leaving the groaning Senon behind, Michele diligently fawned over Aileen. She lowered her waist to meet Aileen's gaze and made pitiful cat-like eyes.
"I'm not usually like this. Today, I was just angry and surprised that you might not be able to buy the medicine."
Like a cat gently tapping with its soft paws, she carefully tugged at Aileen's sleeve, gauging her reaction. Meanwhile, Rohan and Diego, who had barely managed to swallow their laughter, approached and greeted her.
"Congratulations."
Rohan only gave a polite greeting, but Diego grinned, pretending to stand in line.
"I was just planning to stand in line quietly and buy just one bottle of medicine as a souvenir. Just one bottle."
At Diego's remark, Michele's eyes and mouth widened in disbelief as she looked at him.
"Is this bastard trying to make only me look like trash?"
Unable to suppress her temper, Michele burst out in anger, then realized she had made another mistake and slapped her own mouth.
"Ah, I'm going crazy. Please forget it, Madam..."
She once again put on her pitiful cat eyes, but Aileen had already seen everything. Aileen, whose eyes had become round, soon let out a small laugh.
She had been startled at first, but after realizing how hard Michele had been trying to impress her, she just found it cute. She knew that Michele wasn't a frightening presence to her, so she wasn't scared.
Michele visibly relaxed at Aileen's laughter. She looked like she had been brought back from the dead and became proud again. She even boasted that Madam liked her after all.
"It would be best to move to another place."
Rohan took a step forward, blocking Aileen's path as he spoke. Aileen belatedly realized the gazes that had gathered in this direction.
The soldiers had already realized Aileen's identity, but they couldn't approach recklessly because of the knights and were just cautiously watching from a distance, while the people in line were wondering what all the commotion was about.
Aileen fiddled with the glasses she had put on after a long time. The knights were tall and had a unique aura, making them stand out wherever they went. Even if she could blend into the crowd, she wouldn't be able to avoid attention if she was with them.
At Rohan's suggestion to move to another place, the knights decided that one of them would escort Madam while the rest would stand in line.
"Don't bother standing in line when you're busy. I'll gift you the medicine."
"No, Madam. Buying it yourself is more meaningful and memorable."
Michele said enthusiastically and quickly stuck close to Aileen.
"So, you got that, Brothers? Buy my share too."
"Aren't we drawing lots?"
Diego protested, but Michele pretended to hide behind Aileen, bending her tall frame, and said,
"Cut me some slack, I need to score points with Madam today. Or you can also swear in front of Madam like trash."
No one could refute her logical argument. In the end, it was decided that Michele would escort Aileen. Leaving the knights in line behind, Michele grinned and left with Aileen.
"Let's get out of here first."
While being led away by Michele, Aileen glanced back. She had seen the people lining up to buy the medicine she had made several times, but she still couldn't believe it. It was a sight she had never imagined when she was making and selling medicine in a corner room on the second floor of the inn.
Still feeling unreal, Aileen even pinched her arm slightly. Then, Michele caught her. Michele grinned as if she found it incredibly cute.
"Madam, I knew this day would come someday."
Unlike Aileen, who felt like everything was just a dream, Michele acted as if this moment had finally arrived.
As they moved away from the crowded pharmacy area and entered a slightly quieter zone, people who had bought the medicine were gathered in groups of three or five, clutching paper bags and chatting.
Among those gathered were soldiers, who immediately saluted Michele in horror as soon as they saw her. Michele smiled broadly and encouraged the soldiers.
"Oh, yeah, you're working hard. Play moderately and go in?"
The soldiers, who were momentarily bewildered by her friendly attitude, discovered Aileen peeking out from behind Michele and had a deeply enlightened expression.
Even though it had been a while since they had seen her wearing glasses, the soldiers immediately recognized Aileen. In fact, this was probably the most familiar appearance to them. They had been seeing her like this for years. Conversely, Aileen, who now felt awkward with her glasses on, fiddled with her bothersome bangs.
"Shall we have coffee at a cafe?"
Michele hummed as she led Aileen. It was when they were walking side by side.
"...Ah."
Suddenly, Michele made a short sound. Her face instantly turned expressionless as she stared at something, then furrowed her brow deeply. Freckles wriggled and distorted along with her scowling face.
"Ugh, seriously."
Michele, who uttered a simple exclamation that sounded like a vulgar curse, looked around. And she waved her hand after discovering other soldiers standing a short distance away.
At her annoyed face, the soldiers ran over as if flying and saluted. They were also all holding paper bags from the pharmacy in their hands.
Michele nudged the soldier's arm and gave some kind of hand signal. Aileen carefully watched her gestures, but it was an unfamiliar hand movement.
Michele, who had ordered something with the hand signal, completely changed her face, which had been overflowing with annoyance, and turned to Aileen with a soft gaze.
"Madam, would you mind waiting here with these guys for a moment?"
"Is something wrong?"
"Haha, it's nothing to call something wrong."
Michele soothed the uneasy Aileen and moved her feet. At first, she walked calmly, one step at a time, but after she was out of Aileen's sight, she ran quickly.
As she ran through the alleys, she pulled out a gun from her waist. She quickly released the safety and put her finger on the trigger, then grabbed the fence with one hand and jumped over it. Michele's eyes flashed.
"You bastards! I'm telling you nicely to stop? I'm really busy today?"
They were quite skilled. It seemed they had followed her after hearing that the Archduchess of Erzeht was going out, but she was going to give them a proper lesson today. Of course, since she was busy, it would be short, thick, and fast.
Michele, who was running out like a colt, stopped when she saw a group of black robes appear in the middle of the alley.
"You should have stopped earlier. Now, quickly take a hit each..."
"Sir Michele."
The man at the front of the group pulled down his robe hood and called out to Michele.
"...Gasp."
Michele almost dropped her gun. The dirty blonde man gave a somewhat awkward smile at the sight of her hastily lowering the muzzle. Michele, who was so surprised that her heart almost stopped, greeted him in a trembling voice.
"I greet the Imperator."
He was Leone, the Emperor of Traon.
