135 - Evil Husband (15th Anniversary Edition) Chapter 135
135
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Rohan felt a chill run down his spine. It was as if Cesare already knew everything and was asking anyway.
"Don't be so nervous, Rohan."
Cesare, speaking leisurely, took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth. Rohan tried to light it for him, but Cesare lightly waved his hand in refusal. He struck a match, lit the cigarette, and then threw the still-burning match onto the altar.
"Michele didn't say anything. Nor did I place you under surveillance."
"..."
"Aileen tends to rely on you, doesn't she? Especially since Michele played the gunslinger this time, she probably wanted to confirm her own deductions."
He was implying that Aileen had naturally asked Michele to investigate and then posed the question.
The heat from the burning altar reached his skin, but Rohan didn't really feel the warmth. Rohan's silence stretched on.
Cesare put one hand in his pocket, and with the other, smoking his cigarette, he spoke again.
"So, do you agree with my assessment?"
"...Your Highness."
"Aileen wants to know why I'm doing all this."
"Yes, that's right."
"Hmm," Cesare hummed briefly, exhaling smoke. Rohan felt a crushing pressure on his heart and swallowed hard. Instead of giving Cesare the answer he wanted, he asked a question.
"Why did you destroy the altar?"
As the sandalwood and flowers burned, a pleasant scent spread from the hazy smoke. It was a fragrance that didn't suit the greedy flames.
"We... we will follow you no matter what."
Cesare quietly gazed at Rohan. He had eyes that seemed to know that Rohan, and the other knights, would offer him blind loyalty.
"We will help you achieve what you desire. So please share your thoughts with us as well. And if you tell Aileen, she will have a hard time at first, but she will surely overcome it..."
"Rohan."
Cesare even threw the cigarette he was holding onto the altar. The cigarette disappeared without a trace in the large flames. He gave a twisted smile.
"You think I've become an immortal being, but that's not the case."
Rohan didn't know how to react and simply stared at Cesare with trembling eyes.
"Only the time of my body is fixed. At a certain moment."
Even if he was damaged, he would return to the moment when time was fixed, so he only appeared to have an immortal body. Cesare continued, sounding very amused, with a smile full of mirth.
"I asked God for a deal to revive Aileen, and this is what I got in return. But turning back time and bringing the dead back to life isn't so simple, is it?"
It was not an equal exchange. To turn back the clock, Cesare had to offer so many sacrifices that the weight on the scales was clearly tilted to one side.
"My time is limited. And when that time is up..."
The altar, devoured by the flames, collapsed. The sound of the collapsing wood swallowed Cesare's last words.
But it was enough for Rohan to hear. Immediately, Rohan's face turned white, making the heat of the flames surging from all directions seem insignificant.
"What do you think, Rohan?"
His eyes, filled with crimson pupils, curved into a smile. Cesare asked with a smiling face.
"Do you still think Aileen can overcome the truth?"
[I am simply overwhelmed that the Grand Duchess remembers and cares for me so meticulously. However, I have realized that the time has come to let go. Because of my stubbornness, I was holding my beloved in even greater pain.]
As soon as Aileen saw the reply from Count Domenico, she immediately went to his residence. The Count Domenico's Residence, which she visited for the first time, was neat and clean.
Despite her sudden visit without any prior notice, Count Domenico happily greeted Aileen. He, who had originally been somewhat thin and nervous, was now so gaunt that his cheeks were sunken.
And Aileen met the Countess Domenico for the first time. The woman, as thin as a bare winter branch, was heavily shadowed by death. Her lifeless eyes had even a faint breath. Groans of pain mournfully enveloped the mansion.
It was the first time she had encountered such a severe patient in person. Count Domenico took the frozen Aileen to the drawing room and offered her tea. The servants quickly brought tea, but no one touched it.
"No medicine is effective anymore."
The Countess was suffering from chronic pain. So, Aileen had been manufacturing painkillers tailored to her needs, but even those were losing their effectiveness.
Aileen bit her lip tightly. Count Domenico smiled with a gaunt face and said that she didn't need to worry anymore, and simply thanked her.
As he had written in his letter, Count Domenico seemed to have already given up on everything. Aileen, looking at him with a hollow smile, opened her mouth.
"...No."
At the small, negative word, the Count looked puzzled. Aileen jumped up from her seat and said firmly.
"Not yet. Please wait a little longer."
Aileen handed the Count the existing painkillers she had brought with her. She added that he should take these for now, but double the existing dosage.
Then, she said that she would come again tomorrow and hurriedly ran out of the Count's Residence. The driver who had brought Aileen here was surprised to see the Grand Duchess rushing out like a bullet. Aileen urged him to return home quickly.
Throughout the journey back to the Grand Duke's Residence, the image of the Countess Domenico groaning in pain kept circling in her mind.
How did she become interested in pharmacy?
The root was undoubtedly clear. She liked plants, and she became interested in herbal medicine using plants because she wanted to do something that would help The Prince.
When she returned to The Capital without finishing her studies at the university and created a laboratory, she simply sold medicine to make money.
In the process of choosing pharmacy and starting to sell medicine as a pharmacist, there was no altruistic desire to help others. At first, it was a path she chose for The Prince, and later for herself.
But as she met the customers who came to the second-floor laboratory of the old inn, Aileen gradually changed.
She felt proud when she saw people whose conditions improved with the medicine she made. She also felt a sense of accomplishment in being able to help someone.
So, she came to have the idea of making medicine that would benefit the people of the empire.
Of course, Morpheus was a medicine she started researching because she wanted to help Cesare. But that wasn't the only reason. She dreamed that this medicine would be helpful to people and worked even harder.
When Aileen arrived at the Grand Duke's Residence, she went straight to the laboratory. Sonio, who came out to greet Aileen, called out in surprise, but she quickly gave him instructions.
"I'll be in the lab until dinner! I'll have dinner later, maybe late at night. You don't have to take care of me!"
She quickly said the words and ran to the laboratory. She quickly changed into comfortable clothes that she had left in the laboratory and tied her hair up tightly. After hurriedly putting on an apron and gloves, she took out Morpheus, which she had put in the safe.
The red poppy pot by the window caught her eye. Aileen stared at the crimson petals, like Cesare's eyes, for a moment and then tightly closed her eyes. Then, she checked the previously divided dosage again.
"A little smaller..."
Aileen muttered to herself and tried to divide it into a little less than 30mg. She stared blankly at the sparkling white powder and then made up her mind firmly.
There was no time to hesitate. Even as she was worrying like this, Countess Domenico would be suffering in pain.
Aileen poured the medicine she had made into her mouth. It was the first dose of Morpheus.
