134 - Evil Husband (15th Anniversary Edition) Chapter 134
Chapter 134
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Leone and Ornella's visit was unexpected news. Leone would naturally come to see his injured twin brother, but Aileen didn't expect Ornella to visit as well. It was an unusual situation, as the two of them had rarely been seen together.
'Come to think of it, they came together during the Hunting Festival too.'
Aileen guessed that they intended to publicly display that their engagement was not merely formal, but she didn't expect them to attend private events like hospital visits together.
As Aileen was lost in thought and hadn't replied yet, Cesare, still focused on the Morpheus, asked, "Are you still angry?"
"Huh? It's not that."
Aileen was about to raise her head and answer when a large hand grabbed her chin. There was no pain, but the touch was somewhat forceful. As the leather-gloved hand pressed against both sides of her chin, her lips naturally parted.
Cesare lowered his gaze and examined the inside of Aileen's mouth. Aileen, exposing her innermost self to him, felt an inexplicable shame and her face flushed. Just as she was about to subtly curl her tongue to hide it, a low voice fell.
"You must stay still."
It was as if he was scolding a child who had done something wrong. In the end, Aileen had no choice but to obediently keep her mouth open and wait.
She couldn't figure out what he was trying to confirm. She was too embarrassed to meet his eyes, so she shifted her gaze here and there. Then, she cautiously glanced at him, and their eyes met as if he had been waiting for it.
"Ah..."
A faint moan escaped her lips involuntarily, and Cesare kissed her. Aileen's eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected kiss. He was still looking at Aileen.
He pushed his tongue in and licked deeply, all the way to the back. The wet sound was erotic, and her whole body burned. Cesare licked every corner before finally pulling away.
Unlike Aileen, whose breathing was already completely disordered, Cesare was composed. Only his lips, which had been showering her with kisses until just now, were slightly reddened. He gave Aileen, who was half dazed, a quick, audible kiss as a finishing touch and asked, "How far has the Morpheus Research progressed?"
Aileen, suddenly kissed, snapped back to her senses. Her cheeks were hot from experiencing such a thing in broad daylight. She couldn't understand why he had suddenly kissed her. But now was not the time to dwell on the reason for his kiss.
Cesare was the biggest sponsor of Morpheus Research. Yet, she had never explained the progress to him. Even though Cesare had allowed her to do as she pleased, it was presumptuous considering the enormous support he had poured into Aileen. Aileen stammered, "W-Well, I've succeeded in extracting the pain-relieving component! The crystals you see here are Morpheus. Ah, it's in powder form now, but when it's first extracted, it originally has a crystal-like shape. And now it's time for human trials."
While Aileen was explaining, Cesare, who had been listening quietly, asked, "Are you going to eat it yourself?"
His voice was calm as he asked the question. So Aileen innocently answered, "Yes! First, I'll eat it and observe the effects..."
Aileen clamped her mouth shut. She belatedly realized that she shouldn't have said such a thing in front of Cesare. But Cesare asked gently, no differently from his previous question, "You don't have any pain, so what effects can you observe by eating Morpheus?"
That was exactly what Aileen had been worried about. As Aileen hesitated to answer, Cesare rubbed the corner of Aileen's drooping eyes with his finger.
"I'm not trying to scold you. I'm just saying that there are probably many people who desperately need Morpheus, so there's no need to experiment on your own body. For example..."
Cesare stared intently at Aileen and continued, "The Speaker of the Upper House, for instance."
"Count Domenico?"
Count Domenico, the Speaker of the Upper House, had been a customer since Aileen was making and selling medicine at the inn. He had been steadily buying painkillers for his wife, who was suffering from an incurable disease.
Come to think of it, it was about time for him to get a new batch of medicine, but she hadn't heard from him. His wife's condition had worsened, so she had arranged for him to contact the Grand Duke's Residence directly instead of going through the inn, but still nothing.
A sense of unease washed over her. Even if it wasn't because of Morpheus, she felt she should contact the Count first.
"What did you talk about with the knights?"
Aileen was thinking that she should send a letter as soon as she finished talking with Cesare. Aileen was startled as if she had been pricked by a thorn.
Cesare was well aware that Aileen faithfully commemorated the child's death anniversary for Rohan. He generally didn't care about her meeting with the knights. But it was the first time he had specifically asked 'what' they had talked about.
'Could Lord Michele have told him everything?'
She was nervous, wondering if he had told Cesare everything she had asked for help with. Aileen suppressed her pounding heart and examined Cesare. Fortunately, he didn't say anything else.
'Maybe he was just asking...'
Aileen, filled with hope, told Cesare about the trivial things she had talked about with the knights. Listening to the empty shell of a story, Cesare smiled quietly.
The Hunting Festival was abruptly suspended due to an unfortunate incident. The forest where the ritual had been held was not properly cleaned up, and the traces of that day remained intact.
Cesare looked down at the ruined altar. The altar, which had been elaborately built with sandalwood and flowers, had not even been lit once.
It was the first year in the Empire's history that the Hunting Festival had not been held. The priests said they would hold a burnt offering at the temple, but it was an act that had already lost its meaning.
Originally, the process was important for acts meant for the gods. Everything had been twisted from the moment the scheduled burnt offering was not held.
Cesare picked up a flower from the altar. The flower, already withered, drooped its head powerlessly. He looked at the dry lily petal and then tossed it back onto the altar.
"Rohan."
Rohan, who was standing behind him, immediately opened the lid of the liquor bottle he was holding and handed it to Cesare. Cesare poured the liquor onto the altar, bottle and all. The strong smell of alcohol rose from the pouring liquor.
The act of pouring strong liquor looked like an offering to the gods. But Cesare had no intention of offering anything to the gods. He had already offered too many sacrifices.
Cesare lit a match and threw it. The altar burst into flames, and the fire that began to burn quickly grew in size. Cesare, watching the large, surging flames, asked in an indifferent tone, "The anniversary?"
"Thanks to Aileen's visit, I had a good time again this year."
Rohan forcibly turned his gaze away from the flames. Then, he gave Cesare a polite bow.
"Always... thank you, Your Grace."
It was Cesare who had saved Rohan from the house engulfed in flames.
He had jumped into the burning house and rescued Rohan, who was trapped under a pillar, and the child who was hiding in the closet. However, the child had inhaled too much smoke and died shortly after being rescued.
Rohan lived with the guilt that Cesare had been put in danger because of him. He also felt contempt for his foolish self, who had failed to protect his precious daughter and the master who was more important than his own life.
Every time he saw the scars on his face and every time he saw the burning flames, he recalled and ruminated on those feelings.
Cesare also knew this, so he didn't bother to show up on the anniversary. He only sent Sonio to deliver cute dolls and such that Rohan's daughter had liked. This year, too, Rohan had given the teddy bear that Cesare had sent to his dead child.
Cesare, who had been following the sparks scattering in the wind with his eyes, turned to look at Rohan. His red eyes, holding the flickering flames, were always difficult to look at directly. Cesare continued in a leisurely manner, as if mentioning everyday life.
"It seems Aileen asked something of Michele."
Cesare asked with a faint smile.
"Do you know what it is?"
