Translator: Nox

Chapter 11

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Aileen’s mother had never been fond of Aileen meeting Cesare. Upon hearing about the dance lessons, she exploded, screaming and throwing things around the house.

Aileen sobbed and begged, promising never to do it again. Only when her eyes were swollen did her mother's anger subside. Having lost her reason in a surge of fury, she regained her senses, embraced Aileen, and wept with her.

"I'm sorry, Lily. But you know, my life revolves around the Prince and you..."

She took great pride in the fact that she, a mere Baroness, was the Prince's governess, a Prince vying for the throne.

It was the pride that had sustained her mother's life. Her mother would have given her life for Cesare.

Aileen didn't want to hurt her beloved mother. Nor did she want to be an obstacle to the Prince.

So, she quit the dance lessons. When Aileen said she would stop, Cesare didn't ask for details. She never danced again after that.

'Now I'm dancing with His Excellency again.'

Aileen ran her fingertips over the edge of the dance card. She could feel the sharp corner through her silk gloves.

The ensuing silence was strangely unsettling. She even felt a faint shiver at the gaze fixed upon her. Aileen opened her lips to break the strange tension.

"Shouldn't you be going to the banquet hall? Everyone must be waiting for you, Your Excellency..."

"I have time to look at some plants."

Cesare scanned the greenhouse.

"I heard that some new flowering trees have been brought in from the East."

He came all this way because of me. Aileen sighed inwardly, realizing she was holding up the star of the banquet.

She used to think Cesare really liked plants. He listened to her plant stories without complaint, which others found tedious.

'I was such a fool. So clueless.'

Though she seemed to be still clueless now. Aileen cursed her past and present selves as she walked alongside Cesare into the greenhouse. She swallowed hard, trying not to be nervous, and diligently brought up the things she had planned to say today.

"Thank you for the lilies earlier. And the dress too. And I'm sorry I didn't dress up properly, even though Your Excellency was so considerate. I thought I was just coming to say hello. If I had known I would be dancing, I would have done my best to dress up..."

Aileen, who had been reciting the prepared lines in order, stopped abruptly. Aileen's eyes and mouth slowly widened.

"Goodness!"

Aileen rushed to the pot where the sapling was planted.

"This is a camellia tree! I've seen it in books, but this is the first time I've seen it in person."

It was a tree she had always wanted to see. She had become interested when she heard that the petals could be used as a hemostatic agent, but she had given up because it was difficult to obtain. But to think it would be brought into the Imperial Palace garden!

Aileen squatted down in front of the sapling and looked at it as if she were about to bury her nose in it.

"They say the leaves feel like thick leather, and they really do. The gloss is also clear... If you look here, the edges of the leaves are like tiny teeth. Isn't it unique? Ah, I wish it had bloomed. In the pictures in the book, the protruding stamens were so pretty that I wanted to see them in person."

Aileen tried not to look too greedy as she looked at the camellia tree, and continued to speak calmly.

"The flowers are also unique in that the corolla is all attached without a peduncle. So they say it falls off in clusters. They say it looks like a person's head being cut off, so in the East, it's a symbol of bad luck..."

Aileen, who had been enthusiastically chattering, stopped abruptly. She realized that she had been rambling on in front of someone who had as much interest in plants as he had in leaves.

"A flower that looks like a head being cut off."

A low voice echoed Aileen's words.

Aileen subtly turned her gaze away from the camellia tree. Cesare knelt down next to Aileen. He was looking only at Aileen, not even turning his head towards the camellia tree.

Aileen's eyelashes fluttered. A subtle current enveloped him and Aileen. The moment her eyes met his red eyes, her mind, which had been racing just a moment ago, broke down.

Was it because of the darkness that enveloped the greenhouse? His eyes had a particularly dark red glow.

"You like this kind of flower?"

"It's not that I like it, it's just that it's fascinating... Ack!"

Aileen screamed. Cesare had grabbed the camellia sapling with his hand. His large hand looked as if it would snap the sapling in two at any moment.

"Why, why, why are you doing this!"

Cesare smiled silently. Aileen, sweating profusely at his mischievous smile, pleaded with him.

"W-Why don't we put it down first and then talk? It's a sapling, so it can be easily damaged."

Then he readily let go. Her heart dropped at his unexpected rough behavior. Aileen examined his expression.

"Sorry, Aileen. I haven't been myself lately."

Cesare apologized with a face that showed no remorse. Aileen asked, shriveled up.

"Did something difficult happen?"

"I wonder. Is it because you almost got your head cut off at the Guillotine?"

"I'm sorry..."

Having nothing more to say, Aileen quietly closed her mouth with an apology. If Morpheus had been discovered by someone else, her head would have been cut off at the Guillotine, just as he said.

'But he wasn't like this before...'

If he didn't like the camellia tree, Cesare's original way was to have his subordinates quietly dispose of it where Aileen couldn't see it. It was strange and unfamiliar to see him acting so impulsively.

What on earth had happened in the past three years?

Aileen looked at him with unfamiliar eyes. Cesare leaned his head closer to Aileen. Then he announced in a low voice.

"The wedding is in a month. Sooner would be better, but we need at least minimal preparation."

Aileen slowly closed and opened her eyes. The stories she had neatly arranged to tell him were tangled inside. Aileen, who hadn't even been able to put up a proper fight, asked like a defeated soldier.

"It's no use if I say I don't want to, is it?"

"Now that you're an adult, you have to endure things you don't like."

Cesare slowly stood up. The man standing straight looked down at Aileen with the moonlight behind him. His bright red eyes stared directly at Aileen.

"What do you dislike so much..."

His lips twisted into a crooked smile.

"We have to get married anyway, isn't it better to marry me than an old pig?"

An old pig. Aileen's eyes widened in surprise at the harsh words that flowed from his mouth. Cesare turned his head to the side.

He frowned slightly and grabbed Aileen's arm to pull her up. Aileen staggered as she stood up from the force of being pulled.

Then, the shadows of uninvited guests fell on the quiet greenhouse. Covered in black from head to toe, there were more than five of them at first glance. Aileen asked with an incredulous face.

"Could it be... assassins...?"

"Isn't it?"

He replied in a leisurely voice. Aileen was so scared that she was about to cry.

Because it was the Imperial Palace, Cesare was completely unarmed. He didn't have a gun, let alone a ceremonial sword.

Fortunately, the assassins were also only carrying swords. Firearms have limited manufacturers, making them easy to track, and they are loud. To carry out the work quietly, the assassins seemed to have chosen swords, which were easier.

But even if it was a sword and not a gun, there was no way Cesare, without a weapon, could defeat an armed majority. Aileen clenched her fists tightly.

If even one person could survive, it should be Cesare. Aileen lowered her voice as much as possible and called Cesare in a whisper.

"Your Excellency."

She said to him, who was glancing at her, with a determined expression.

"I'll try to draw their attention."

"Draw their attention?"

"Why don't you run away in the meantime?"

He was agile, so if there was even a brief gap, he could escape on his own. She thought it was a very good idea, but Cesare started laughing.

"Aileen."

"Yes!"

"Shall we close our eyes for a moment?"

"...Yes?"

"It would be nice to sing a song too."

"S-Sing? How long...?"

Cesare replied in a gentle voice.

"One song should be enough."