123 - Evil Husband (15th Anniversary Edition) Chapter 123
123
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Aileen was also surprised by the sudden mention of Aspilia. Because she had no medicine left.
Due to the shortage, even the Erzeht Grand Ducal family had run out of Aspilia. Aileen had a few pills in her lab, but those were specially made to take care of Luca, the watch merchant on Venue Street.
Cesare should also know that Aspilia was all gone, but he said he would give her some without batting an eye.
Aileen looked at Cesare with unfamiliar eyes. She was estranged by the fact that he was so casually telling a lie. Because he had never lied to Aileen before.
'He would rather just not say anything...'
She had never seen him lie to knights or soldiers either, so this was the first time Aileen had witnessed him lying.
While Aileen was shocked by Cesare's first lie, Ornella slowly lowered her hand from her forehead and replied.
"Thank you for your consideration, but unfortunately, it was not an effective medicine for me. Which is to be expected. It can't be effective for everyone."
Ornella took a shallow breath in and out. Her chest rose and fell slightly. Ornella, who had a lonely expression for a moment, soon raised the corners of her mouth and smiled.
"But I heard that Aspilia is very popular in The Capital. How did you come up with the idea of putting the Grand Duke's crest on the medicine bottle? Everyone is clamoring to have Aspilia."
She showered him with compliments in a cheerful voice, but it was not a well-intentioned remark. She subtly covered up the fact that Aspilia's popularity was due to its pretty packaging, not its medicinal effects.
Cesare's lips twisted. Ornella just smiled as if she had no bad intentions at all.
But Aileen, the person in question, did not recognize the knife in Ornella's words. Her thoughts were completely focused on something else. Aileen widened her eyes and asked.
"Have you ever taken Aspilia?"
Ornella, who had been relaxed until just now, slightly distorted her eyes. She replied in a voice with a hint of reluctance.
"...Yes. Since it's a medicine made by the Grand Duchess, of course, I bought it and tried it as a family member. I suffer from chronic headaches, so I hoped it would be effective this time, but it was still ineffective."
Aileen questioned her with a serious expression.
"Did you still have pain about 2 hours after taking it?"
"Well, maybe..."
Ornella trailed off. She was clearly eager to get out of this topic, but Aileen was already thinking about all kinds of headache remedies in her head.
"In that case, a different ingredient painkiller would be better. Aspilia does have anti-inflammatory properties, but if there is no inflammation, there is no reason to insist on it. Especially if it has no analgesic effect. What kind of headache remedy do you usually take? If the medicine you were taking before had little effect, it is likely to have similar ingredients to Aspilia. Because Aspilia is made by processing salicylic acid extracted from willow trees. This has actually been used for a very long time..."
Aileen, who was explaining enthusiastically, stopped talking belatedly, saying, "Ah." She checked Leone's embarrassed expression, Cesare who was already smiling, and Ornella who was staring at her with an absurd look, and hurriedly finished the story.
"...Anyway, if it's not effective, it's better to take a painkiller with different ingredients. If you tell me the painkiller you used to take, I can recommend one for you."
She had no intention of making medicine for Ornella. But she had enough heart to recommend other medicine. It was a small sense of responsibility as a pharmacist selling Aspilia.
'I should have said less.'
She should have summarized only the key points and spoke in an elegant and smooth tone, as befits a noble lady of society. She was quite embarrassed because she had spoken as if she was excited about the medicine.
While the discouraged Aileen was regretting it inwardly, Ornella stared at Aileen intently for a moment.
"......"
She still had an annoyingly beautiful face. Her cheeks, as clean as water-soaked lily petals, shone softly in the sunlight.
But right now, more than that great appearance, something else was making Ornella's insides boil.
Ornella gnashed her teeth imperceptibly. She didn't want to think about it, but she kept thinking about it.
"Are you the only person in the world who knows how to make medicine? There are plenty of pharmacists and scientists. Those people can replace Aileen enough..."
"No. There is no one who can replace the topic I am researching now."
When she belittled her by saying that she was just another common pharmacist, her resolute rebuttal. Her confidence in herself and her unwavering beliefs were still there.
'It's really disgusting.'
Ornella smiled at the nausea-inducing hatred. She wanted to gouge out the big eyes that contained her. She wanted to cut off her tongue so she could never say such arrogant things again.
She wanted to throw her into the same situation as her, or rather, into a much worse quagmire. So that she wouldn't be reminded of the things she had already thrown away.
"Thank you for your concern, Aileen."
Emotions like seizures welled up. Ornella forced the corners of her mouth up into a smile. She knew that retreating like this would make her look like she was running away, but she couldn't stand it any longer.
"I need to... rest a little. Your Majesty, will you help me?"
Ornella headed to the barracks with Leone's help. Then, suddenly, she looked back. But the moment her eyes met the golden-green eyes, she immediately turned her gaze away again.
While Ornella was resting, preparations were underway to begin the Hunting Festival. It should have started a long time ago, but it was inevitably delayed due to the sudden accident that damaged the altar.
Before building a new altar, the priests had a heated debate over whether to move the location of the altar.
Opinions were sharply divided between the opinion that the location should be moved because animal blood had seeped into the dirt floor, and the opinion that it should be installed in the same place in order to perform the ritual according to the long-standing tradition.
After arguing no less fiercely than if they had been shouting, the priests eventually decided to build a new altar in the existing location.
However, several processes were added, such as digging up the soil stained with animal blood, bringing in new soil to fill it, and laying clean silk cloth.
As a result, the Hunting Festival started considerably later than scheduled.
With all the nobles gathered, Leone received a torch from the priest. In solemn silence, Leone moved towards the altar.
The priests sprinkled flowers and holy water under the Emperor's feet. It was meant to purify the altar so that no evil could reach it.
When the Emperor lit the altar and declared the start of the Hunting Festival, the flame was kept burning until the last day of the burnt offering.
Leone stared at the torch for a moment and then gently placed it on the lower part of the altar. The flames spread in an instant on the altar, which had been oiled in advance.
Aileen flinched slightly. She could feel the scorching heat even though she was quite far from the altar. The shape of the huge, flickering flames was like dancing.
She looked at Cesare as she watched the flames licking and devouring the flowers and trees. He was also looking at the flames of the altar.
Before Cesare turned to look at her, Aileen quickly turned her gaze back to the altar. Soon, Leone turned back to the nobles. It was the moment he was about to open his lips to declare the start of the Hunting Festival.
Bang!
A thunderous gunshot rang out. The loud noise that echoed through the forest made people unable to judge the situation for a moment. They just looked around, wondering if another beast had appeared. Then, they belatedly discovered a noble bleeding and collapsing.
The scent of human blood, not animal blood, spread. Screams erupted and everyone sat down on the floor. If there were objects nearby, they crawled behind them. But Aileen did not hide.
Without even thinking, her body moved before her head. Aileen immediately tried to hug Cesare. It was to protect Cesare from being shot.
But before she could reach him, a rough hand pushed Aileen away. Pushed away, Aileen looked up at Cesare with wide eyes. He was smiling.
Bang!
Another gunshot rang out. The second bullet was aimed at Cesare.
