131 - Evil Husband (15th Anniversary Edition) Chapter 131
131
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The moment she heard those words, Aileen felt her heart truly sink. It was something she had never imagined hearing from Cesare's lips.
Cesare was a man who had never had to ask for forgiveness from anyone in his life. Perhaps it was because she was hearing words that were akin to the first time. Her already pounding heart beat even more fiercely.
To dare to make His Grace the Grand Duke utter such words. Aileen felt like she should immediately get off the bed, kneel down, and beg for forgiveness, saying it was her fault.
"Y-You shouldn't say things like that to me."
"Why?"
When Aileen stammered and tried to stop him, Cesare asked back, as if he were the one who was puzzled.
"Well, of course, Cesare is His Grace the Grand Duke..."
"And you are the Grand Duchess."
Aileen, who was fumbling to explain why he shouldn't apologize, was at a loss for words. It was considered a virtue for nobles not to apologize easily. The higher one's status, the less reason there was to apologize to those of lower status, and one should not ask for forgiveness.
But Cesare was saying that he and Aileen were the same. As Grand Duke and Grand Duchess, his words were correct, at least on the surface.
It was when Aileen couldn't find words to refute and only moved her lips.
"I would like the Grand Duchess to kiss me."
Cesare tilted his chin slightly. As his head lifted, his eyes naturally narrowed. His subdued voice flowed out softly.
"I can't do it, can I?"
Aileen, who was looking down at Cesare from above, regretted it. She should have pretended not to notice and left the bedroom from the moment he brought up the story of the flowers.
But from the moment she corrected Cesare, who mentioned rosemary, to orange jasmine, it was already too late. Like the young days when she brought flowers to The Prince, who had fallen asleep exhausted from bloodletting, Aileen couldn't leave him.
In the end, she carefully placed her hand on Cesare's chest and lowered her head. Her lips lightly touched his and then parted.
Although their lips parted, their intertwined gazes remained. She looked at him from a distance so close that she could even count the streaks drawn in his red irises.
Cesare, who had been gazing at Aileen intently, now initiated the kiss first. Aileen had no choice but to accept him as his tongue gently tickled over her closed lips.
His kiss was much longer and more intense than Aileen's. When the kiss finally ended, Aileen curled her wet lips and tried to get up.
But a large hand pressed down on her lower back, and Aileen ended up lying flat on top of him. Aileen's chest was pressed against his hard chest. Aileen blinked her eyes rapidly, her eyelashes fluttering.
It had been quite a while since Aileen had been intimate with Cesare. It was because Aileen had been avoiding him. The heat she felt was awkward yet familiar.
Cesare brought his lips to her neck. Aileen trembled slightly at the long, licking movement and swallowed a moan. When a very small moan escaped from between her lips, Cesare frowned.
The hand that was pressing down on Aileen exerted a little more force. As soon as Aileen slightly shook her body, he dug into the gap and tried to unbutton her clothes. It was an action that showed no awareness that he was injured.
Aileen gently pushed his hand away and straightened her back. She sat on his stomach and unbuttoned the buttons herself. As she unbuttoned each one, the color of her eyes deepened.
Cesare chose skinship as a way to soothe the adult Aileen. Now that she knew that it was his own way of comforting her, she was going to try to communicate in Cesare's way as well.
"I'll stay by Cesare's side."
Aileen moved her lips as she gazed at the slowly sinking red color.
"Instead... I hope you promise me. That you won't get hurt."
Cesare frowned and smiled faintly at her determined words. Aileen blinked in surprise at his sudden smile.
'Is he laughing because my words don't fit the situation?'
But if not now, when else would she be able to talk? She thought that now, when she was having the most intimate conversation with him, was the most appropriate time to say difficult things...
She had opened her mouth after much deliberation, but something seemed to be wrong. Cesare, who had been enjoying himself for a while, reached out to Aileen.
"I'm sure you're not doing it on purpose."
He lightly rubbed the back of Aileen's hand with his finger. Aileen, who was holding onto the button, flinched. Cesare didn't miss even the smallest reaction and took it all in with his eyes as if he were licking it.
"It's even scarier because you're doing it without knowing."
"Why, why?"
She was still puzzled because she couldn't understand, but she felt a dull volume under her buttocks. Aileen's eyes widened at the feeling of increasing heat and stiffness.
Cesare smiled silently and rubbed the back of her hand with his finger again. At his silent urging, Aileen continued to speak as she unbuttoned the buttons.
"But if I don't get a promise now... I don't have many opportunities to talk to Cesare... and you don't answer me..."
"I promise."
The hand that had been fumbling to unbutton each button stopped on its own. Aileen looked at him with surprised eyes. At that moment, Cesare lifted Aileen's body up. He leaned back against the head of the bed and sat Aileen on his crotch.
Aileen had to spread her legs wide and press her body tightly against his.
While Aileen froze at the blatant sensation, Cesare unbuttoned the buttons for Aileen. Unlike Aileen, who hesitated, his hands accurately unbuttoned the buttons.
"I won't get hurt carelessly without your permission."
After uttering only those words, Cesare immediately buried his face in Aileen's chest.
When she woke up, her surroundings and body had been neatly cleaned up. Aileen was lying down in a clean Night Robe with a clean body without any fluids.
When Aileen came to her senses, she felt a warm body temperature touching her cheek. Cesare was reading a book with Aileen's head resting on his lap.
The dim light of the deep dawn sank and lingered in the room. Aileen looked up at Cesare dazedly, thinking it was like a dream. He, who had been looking at the book, lowered his eyes to Aileen. Cesare and Aileen looked at each other in silence for a while.
It had been so long since she had been in bed with him. The space that had only felt wide when she was alone felt full for some reason. It was a suspicious sense of fullness, but she felt good.
Thinking it was like a dream, Aileen looked at Cesare dazedly. Perhaps because of the aftermath of their intense intimacy, her body was tired and her mind did not clear easily. Cesare reached out and stroked Aileen's forehead.
"You told me to give you a day."
His long fingers lightly touched her cheek. The touch of tapping was as soft as newly sprouted buds.
"Have you decided what you want to do?"
His affectionate voice made this moment feel even more like a dream. Aileen slowly shook her head.
Cesare silently ruffled Aileen's hair for a while. The mysterious color of her hair was twisted around his fingers and then released. He, who had been playing with his hands, asked casually.
"Shall we go on a trip? For a day or two."
Aileen, who had been drowsing, opened her eyes wide. She wanted to open her eyes wide, but her eyelids were too heavy to do so.
"A trip...?"
The voice that came out of her hoarse throat was rough. Thinking it was an unpleasant sound, she quickly closed her mouth, and the hand that had been touching her hair came down to her lips. He pressed the center of her plump lips and whispered softly.
"If you want to."
"When Cesare is all better..."
She didn't want to use the time he had created because of his injury. Cesare chuckled at her immediate refusal. Aileen, who had been watching his lips faintly rise, opened her lips again.
"...Cesare."
Her tongue touched the tip of his finger as she spoke, tickling her. A faint shiver ran down her body and then disappeared.
"I want to ask you something I've been curious about... now..."
Cesare only smiled silently. As if he had already guessed that Aileen would ask him a question as soon as she opened her eyes.
Was it because of the way he looked at her? A strange thought that she had felt before kept poking at Aileen.
That couldn't be. It was a thought that was not only presumptuous but arrogant...
It was the thought that everything Cesare did seemed to be only for her. Even the fact that he had become immortal.
Her brain, which would have stopped Aileen's wild thoughts in the past, was now in a mushy state. The dreamlike atmosphere also loosened Aileen's lips. Aileen blurted out the thoughts that came to her mind.
"It's not because of me, is it? That Cesare... became like this..."
The answer did not come back immediately. The silence was very long. Aileen, who was waiting, had to struggle with the drowsiness that was washing over her. Just before she fell asleep again, a quiet answer fell.
"Of course not."
It was the first lie Cesare had ever told Aileen.
