126 - Evil Husband (15th Anniversary Edition) Chapter 126
126
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I first met Aileen when I was seventeen.
I was on the cusp of adulthood, but at the time, Cesare was in a precarious position in many ways. My completely insane mother was doing bizarre things to resurrect her dead lover.
Born as twins, Leone was the only child my mother loved. She dragged the twins into the sorcery she was performing. However, she only used Cesare for the sorcery that required a painful price.
This was due to the unfounded belief that Cesare's body, which inherited the blood of the Traon Imperial Family, would be effective for sorcery.
Taking hair or fresh blood was simple. She often did disgusting things that made the knights try to stop her and get angry.
Cesare simply did as his mother wished. It was the last courtesy to the being who gave birth to me.
However, the extreme fatigue was unavoidable. It was difficult to endure wasting time on an act that yielded no results.
The day I first met Aileen was also on the way back from indulging my mother. On days like these, I tended to be on edge, so Cesare was careful not to say or do anything unnecessary.
Since I chose this myself, I had to bear the consequences. There was no reason to affect innocent subordinates.
I was taking a walk through the Imperial Palace to calm my mood when a small child suddenly caught my eye.
The little child looked like she was about to burst into tears at any moment. It was clear she was lost, but she bravely held back her tears and carefully moved forward step by step.
She clenched her small hands into fists, furrowing her brows with all her might as she searched for the way. Her steps passing through the Lily flower garden were quite determined.
The Imperial Palace and a child. It was a truly mismatched combination. When Cesare stopped, Rohan and Diego, who were following behind, naturally noticed the child as well.
"Oh, there's a little kid wandering around."
Diego muttered in surprise. She looked to be eight or nine years old, but Cesare didn't bother to correct Diego.
I was unknowingly watching her intently when the child found Cesare. Cesare felt a slight sense of dismay inside.
Perhaps because of the traces of spending time on the battlefield from a young age, children tended to be afraid of Cesare. It would only make the already frightened child even more intimidated.
But the child was not afraid. The moment she found Cesare, she widened her already large eyes even more.
Her eyes, with a mysterious mix of gold and green, were filled with light. With the wind carrying the scent of lilies, the child immediately ran to Cesare.
Cesare unconsciously lowered himself and caught the child running towards him. The child hugged him with all her might and burst into tears.
Even while crying sadly, she seemed relieved, wriggling her small body and burrowing into Cesare's arms. The light weight felt in the arms holding the child, the unique warmth of a young child, and the faint scent of sweets mixed with the scent of lilies.
Cesare slightly frowned. He felt a strange and unfamiliar feeling. It was a feeling he didn't know because he had never felt it before.
After holding her for a while, the child quietly stopped crying. Still sniffling and wiping away tears, she looked at the person holding her.
Cesare stared strangely at his reflection in her clear eyes. He felt as if the person reflected in her innocent eyes was a stranger.
The child had eyes as if she were looking at an angel fallen from the sky. As he met her admiring eyes, Cesare suddenly smiled, raising the corners of his lips.
"You must be Lily."
She was the young daughter of his nanny, Baroness Elrod, who often talked about her. I heard she was ten years old, but she felt a little smaller than that.
Baroness Elrod was a woman who regarded the fact that she was Cesare's nanny as the greatest achievement of her life. She felt great pride in being able to enter and leave the Imperial Palace as a nanny.
But the Baroness had very little to survive in the glamorous Imperial Palace. So, Baroness Elrod embellished herself with a few lies.
A harmonious family, though the family circumstances were a bit difficult. A kind and domestic husband who loved only her. A cute and kind daughter who loved her mother so much and was so intelligent that she sometimes felt like a genius.
She boasted about abstract things that were not easily obtained, no matter how noble one's status or how great one's wealth.
Baroness Elrod mainly boasted about her daughter. She said that the child's appearance was so lovely that she gave her the nickname Lily because she was as pretty as the lilies she liked.
She especially mentioned that her eyes were very unique and beautiful, and that she was worried because they were so special.
Cesare tended to ignore her exaggerated lies. But it seemed there were some stories that weren't lies.
The gold-green eyes that sparkled like gold dust sprinkled on greenery were something Cesare had never seen before.
Cesare, who was stroking her soft hair, thought it wouldn't be bad to take care of this child a little. It would be a good way to naturally give the recognition that Baroness Elrod was thirsty for.
A light thought that it would be okay to formally invite the nanny's daughter to the Imperial Palace once in a while. That was all.
So, I called the child to the Imperial Palace. But for some reason, the meeting didn't end with just one time. Cesare kept inviting the child to the Imperial Palace.
When the child fluttered around in front of me, chattering about everything she was curious about, and smiling brightly as if I were the only person in the world... I felt like the fatigue and boredom that had been tormenting me were fading away.
As Baroness Elrod said, the child was truly intelligent. She was smart and quickly learned anything I taught her.
It was quite fun to watch her absorb everything she was taught. Only then did I understand why the teachers who taught me various subjects and bayonet skills in the past were so happy.
As I became interested in the child's life and delved into it, the child also gradually permeated Cesare's life. Cesare recognized his change but didn't take it seriously.
It wasn't a pouring rain, but just a small drop of water. It wouldn't have a big impact on me.
But the drop of water kept dripping steadily and eventually soaked Cesare completely.
Cesare learned affection from the child. It was an emotion that only the child could teach Cesare in his life.
When he recognized that affection, Cesare thought about it. What if he hadn't stopped in the Lily flower garden that day and looked at the child? What if he had just called a Chamberlain and ordered them to guide her?
But it was a meaningless assumption. No matter how Cesare acted, it probably wouldn't have mattered. That day, at that moment, the young Aileen would have surely run to me and hugged me.
To me, and no one else.
So, Cesare had to take responsibility as the one who was chosen by the child, and the one who chose the child.
"We are concentrating our forces on the plains near The Capital. However, there are those who have already noticed our movements."
After Aileen was executed on the Guillotine, and after reading Aileen's diary alone in the empty house.
Cesare ordered all troops to be concentrated in The Capital. Cesare's knights immediately obeyed. They were knights who had been with Cesare on the battlefield for a long time. Even though they knew what he was thinking, the knights said nothing.
"It doesn't seem like we can hold out for very long."
While listening to Rohan's report, Cesare looked at his Pocket watch. He stared blankly at the broken watch, where even the hands didn't move, and then put it in his pocket.
"It doesn't seem like it will take too long to make a decision."
Four knights followed Cesare, who was wearing his uniform. Nobles, maids, and servants alike could not easily approach them as they walked through the Imperial Palace.
"Archduke Erzeht..."
The Chamberlain looked at him with an astonished expression at the sudden visit. It was only natural, as he had appeared at the Imperial Palace with four armed knights without any prior notice or appointment. The Chamberlain was flustered, not knowing what to do.
"Cesare."
Leone appeared first. He looked haggard, as if he had been through a lot of mental distress, but Cesare did not ask after his brother's well-being.
"Imperator."
"...Archduke Erzeht."
Leone looked at his brother, who called him Imperator, with a pale face. He asked his brother, who treated him as if he were a stranger rather than his twin sibling, in a trembling voice.
"What do you want?"
Cesare replied expressionlessly.
"I want the last will of the death row inmate, Aileen Elrod."
