124 - Evil Husband (15th Anniversary Edition) Chapter 124
124
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Count Bonepar was quite impeccable. Of course, there were minor flaws, but there were no major scandals that would render the Count beyond recovery.
It was still too early to bring up the reason that he was Kalpen's spy. The moment Count Bonepar was executed on that charge, the remaining bastards would all run away. However, there wasn't much time allowed to proceed with things step by step.
Therefore, to execute Count Bonepar, Cesare offered himself as a sacrifice.
"I can't do it."
Michele's face immediately turned pale upon hearing the plan. He turned as white as a sheet of paper and immediately knelt before Cesare.
"I can't do it, Your Excellency. I absolutely cannot. Just kill me instead."
While he was begging in a half-crazed state, the other knights also vehemently protested. Rohan spoke with a stiff face.
"It's dangerous. There are too many variables that can arise from a gunshot wound."
Even if Michele managed to hit him while avoiding a fatal injury, there was no guarantee that the gunshot wound would heal completely. If luck wasn't on their side, there was a possibility of permanent damage to the body due to problems such as infection.
Diego and Senon also vehemently protested. Meanwhile, Michele was kneeling on the floor, listening to his comrades' words with a blank expression.
Cesare waited until the knights had expressed their opinions sufficiently before taking out his pistol. He removed one of his leather gloves, aimed the muzzle at his palm, and pulled the trigger.
What followed was something that could not be explained by common sense. Cesare remained calm in front of the dazed knights. He looked down at Michele and called his name.
"Michele."
The low voice instantly drew Michele in. Michele snapped out of it at the calm calling of his name. Ironically, Cesare wore a faint smile.
"Who else would shoot me if not you?"
The moment he heard those words, Michele tightly shut his eyes. It was because he saw his future, where he would be holding a gun for him.
"Haa, shit, shiiit..."
Michele trembled as he put a cigarette in his mouth. It might be the last cigarette of his life. He muttered curse words incessantly while holding the cigarette between his teeth and lighting a match.
Michele smoked while checking his gun again. He had already checked it countless times, but he repeated the same action like a broken record, shouting 'last, last, last' over and over again.
As Michele was about to throw the finished cigarette into his portable ashtray to avoid leaving any traces, he cursed again.
"Ah, shit!"
It was because the ashtray was already full of cigarette butts. After forcibly stuffing it in, he took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. The dark clouds that had been far away were now approaching, and a gloomy atmosphere hung over the forest.
Count Bonepar had procured a useful guy from abroad in the name of Count Bonepar. He was a well-known mercenary who was famous for handling guns well. He had ordered the man to assassinate Cesare, but Michele was planning to step in first.
If Michele staged a self-inflicted incident, the mercenary who was preparing for the assassination would be arrested at the scene instead and take the blame for the 'attempted assassination of Archduke Erzeht'.
Count Bonepar would naturally be pointed out as the mastermind behind the assassination attempt and would go up to the Guillotine.
Since the Grand Duke had been shot, someone had to take responsibility. The nobles would not hesitate to push Count Bonepar away and cut off his tail.
It was the best way to completely oust Count Bonepar. Except for the fatal flaw that Cesare had to be shot.
Michele recalled the sight he had seen. The sight of flesh pierced by a bullet healing in an instant, a sight too bizarre to be called a miracle.
Even if he made a mistake, Cesare would not die. For now, he had no choice but to keep that one thing firmly in his mind.
Michele rubbed his sweaty hands on his clothes. After roughly wiping the sweat on the camouflage dark green cloth, he lay prone on the tree trunk and grabbed his gun.
He slowly inhaled and exhaled to calm his heart rate. The body that had been convulsing with anxiety until just now gradually regained a quiet stillness. Michele calmly stared at his target.
While looking at the brightly burning altar fire and the overflowing flames, he caught sight of Aileen secretly watching Cesare. His lips loosened for a moment at the cute sight, but he soon hardened his face completely.
Michele stopped breathing and counted numbers in his head. And at the most perfect moment. He pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Bang!
The first gunshot rang out.
In an instant, everything flowed slowly. The sight of his shoulder being pierced by a bullet, the scent of blood spreading, and Cesare's body falling to the ground were all engraved on Aileen's retina without missing a single detail.
Aileen couldn't breathe. No, she completely forgot that she had to breathe. In the moment Cesare fell, she forced her unmoving body to move.
"Ce, Cesare-nim."
She wanted to scream, but her voice wouldn't come out properly. Only wheezing wind sounds mixed with her vocal cords as if they had been pierced by a bullet.
Her vision turned black and then bright again. Knights and soldiers surrounded and protected the Grand Duke and Duchess, but she didn't feel any of the commotion.
Aileen belatedly realized that she was trembling. Also the fact that she was shedding tears so that her whole face was wet.
Pale as a sheet, she first checked the area that had been hit. The color of the hunting suit was dark, so it wasn't obvious at first glance, but his left shoulder was quickly getting wet.
Aileen immediately took out a handkerchief. It was to stuff the cloth into the gunshot wound to stop the bleeding. But before she could do that, there was a hand holding Aileen back. Aileen looked at Cesare with trembling eyes.
Without a word, he only made her mimic pressing her shoulder with her hand. The small handkerchief was instantly dyed bright red. It was such a red and vivid color. Just like Cesare's eyes.
"Aileen."
"......"
"Are you still writing a diary these days?"
It was a question that didn't match the bloody smell that was stuck in her lungs at all. Because her voice wouldn't come out, Aileen only managed to nod her head. Then Cesare smiled, narrowing his eyes.
"That's a problem.... Today's events will all be recorded in the records..."
He stroked Aileen's cheek with his left hand and whispered.
"Don't cry, Aileen."
From then on, her consciousness was intermittent. She hadn't fainted. It was just that her memory was not properly connected and was cut off, perhaps because she was extremely nervous.
Despite being shot, Cesare didn't let out a single groan. With a calm face, he gave orders to the soldiers while directly applying pressure to his shoulder with his own hands, where blood was flowing down.
Following Cesare's instructions, the soldiers began to capture the shooter and conduct a full investigation of all the nobles' tents attending the Hunting Festival. In the unprecedented situation, the nobles could not resist and helplessly complied with the investigation.
After ordering them to surround the forest of the Hunting Festival so that no one could escape until the mastermind was revealed, Cesare announced that he would return to the Grand Duke's Residence for treatment.
The imperial physician, who had been waiting at the Hunting Festival in preparation for the risk of injury, tried to give Cesare first aid.
However, Cesare refused even that. After refusing Leone's earnest request, he immediately boarded the car with the knights and moved to the Grand Duke's Residence.
Aileen only came to her senses after arriving at the Grand Duke's Residence. As soon as she confirmed that it was a safe place, her strength gave out and she even felt chills.
They should start treatment right away, but Cesare didn't seem to be in a hurry at all. He ordered the knights and Sonio to seal off the Grand Duke's Residence.
The employees locked all the doors of the Grand Duke's Residence tightly, and the soldiers surrounded the Grand Duke's Residence and were on strict alert.
While giving all those orders, Cesare had been holding Aileen's hand all along. He didn't listen even when Aileen begged him to get treatment. After finishing his orders, he took only Aileen to the bedroom.
After dismissing all the subordinates and ordering no one to come upstairs, Cesare took off his blood-soaked top. The top, heavy with blood, fell to the floor with a thud.
"......"
Aileen slowly closed and opened her eyes after checking his shoulder. It was a penetrating wound pierced by a bullet, but the bleeding had already stopped. The wound was healing at an abnormal rate.
Aileen recalled the memory of him cutting his palm with a knife, yet not leaving a single scar. The reason was now unfolding before her eyes.
Cesare called Aileen in a gentle voice.
"Come here."
Aileen, who had been frozen, hesitated and approached him. Cesare muttered as if it were nothing.
"At this rate... a week, maybe."
He even added that it would take a week to fully recover. It was a body that could not be called human. Despite the unscientific situation, it did not arouse any curiosity, interest, or even astonishment in Aileen right now.
Her heart was pounding as if it would burst. Even feeling pain, Aileen opened her trembling lips.
"Cesare-nim..."
And she asked, hoping it wasn't true.
"Did you get shot on purpose?"
