138 - The Evil Husband (15th Anniversary Edition) Chapter 138
138
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The moment he heard the question, Count Bonepar was momentarily stunned. It was a well-known secret that Archduke Erzeht cherished Aileen Elrod like his own child.
However, when King Kalpen was grinding his teeth, vowing revenge for his dead son, no nobleman had thought of ‘Aileen Elrod.’
She might be the Grand Duchess now, but back then, Aileen Elrod was nothing.
Even if she was favored, she was just a Baron's daughter. At best, she might become the Grand Duke's mistress, a daughter from an insignificant and humble family.
Even then, the Grand Duke didn't treat the Elrod girl as a woman, so she was someone who would be cast aside once the Grand Duke's strange affection ended.
She was completely out of the question as a target for King Kalpen to take revenge on Cesare.
But at some point, things had shifted to framing Aileen Elrod for violating drug laws to tarnish Archduke Erzeht's reputation.
Count Bonepar had willingly promised to cooperate, thinking it would be good to find fault with the child the Grand Duke cherished by claiming she was dealing with drugs.
If things had gone as planned, Aileen Elrod would have stood trial for violating drug laws.
As Archduke Erzeht's person, the Imperial Family might have stubbornly refused to admit guilt, but the nobles' fierce opposition would have quickly led to the Guillotine.
‘Why was Aileen Elrod chosen?’
Count Bonepar searched his memory, but he had only followed orders, so he had no idea. He only vaguely remembered thinking it would be quite amusing to see Aileen Elrod on the Guillotine. His mind went blank, and cold sweat poured down. The Grand Duke was waiting. He had to give a meaningful answer. He had to pick up anything, even crumbs, and offer it. Desperately searching his mind, the Count dredged up a fragment of a very old conversation.
"I, I heard! Someone who knows a lot about His Excellency the Grand Duke mentioned the Elrod girl. I don't know who it was. Just that they were a high-ranking person..."
"Aren't you in a high position as well, Count?"
That was true. In fact, if it was someone of higher status than Count Bonepar, the range narrowed considerably.
But Count Bonepar, sensing the situation, only gave an awkward smile instead of agreeing. The Grand Duke frowned and muttered something strange.
"You've come this far, and you're still like this."
Count Bonepar constantly watched the Grand Duke's face. If he asked about the shooting, he was going to beg and plead, revealing his innocence and the truth.
But the Grand Duke only asked about Kalpen, which had nothing to do with this incident, and then closed his mouth. He seemed uninterested in the shooting, which was the cause of the Count's ordeal.
It was as if Kalpen had been the goal from the beginning.
Why was he bringing up Kalpen, who had already disappeared into the annals of history? Count Bonepar trembled at the sense of incongruity he had felt since earlier. He opened his mouth with difficulty.
"Your Excellency, the Grand Duke..."
He was struggling to part his lips to talk about the shooting when he realized something strange. His bloodshot eyes turned to the Grand Duke's shoulder. Perhaps to avoid the gaze of others, the Grand Duke was wearing a suit instead of his usual uniform.
The suit, tailored perfectly to his body, was smooth without any bulges. As if he wasn't even wearing bandages.
Count Bonepar then remembered that the Grand Duke had been acting freely without any awkwardness. Even though a bullet had pierced his shoulder.
Even if he wasn't lying in bed because time had passed, he shouldn't have been able to move so comfortably. His lips moved involuntarily.
"Your shoulder."
The Grand Duke's eyes, which had been lowered for a moment while he was lost in thought, turned to the Count. His dazed face was reflected in the crimson eyes that stared straight at him. Even while instinctively knowing he shouldn't, his tongue moved on its own.
"Is your shoulder alright...?"
He realized as he asked. Why the Grand Duke, who had been announced to be recovering at the Grand Duke's Residence due to a gunshot wound, was showing a healthy appearance in front of him.
He had never intended to let him live from the beginning.
"Thanks to your concern."
The Grand Duke held out his hand to the side. Then, a knight standing behind him immediately approached and respectfully offered a pistol. The metallic sound of cocking the gun pierced his insides eerily.
"I've made a full recovery, Count."
The Grand Duke, gripping the pistol with his long fingers, spoke leisurely. The Count finally lost control of his bladder at the sight of the black gun muzzle pointed at him. A puddle formed under his naked body. Before the smell of urine could spread, a gunshot echoed through the basement.
Aileen watched Countess Domenico's condition for several hours. Fortunately, the Countess, who had been given Morpheus, was sleeping peacefully.
Seeing the Countess sleeping soundly for the first time in a long time without painful groans or moans, Count Domenico burst into tears again. Afraid that his crying would wake the Countess, he sobbed, suppressing his voice as much as possible.
"I am preparing for the funeral."
The Count said, seeing Aileen off with swollen eyes. Countess Domenico's condition was close to death, as even a three-year-old child could tell. Both the Count and Aileen knew that the given time had run out.
"But at least she can be a little comfortable until the day she leaves... It's a great comfort. Thank you so much."
Count Domenico repeatedly thanked her, saying that he would properly greet her again soon. Aileen somehow managed to offer words of comfort to the Count with her poor speaking skills and returned to the Grand Duke's Residence.
Her heart was heavy after hearing Count Domenico say that he was preparing for the funeral. It was the first time she had to say goodbye to someone since her mother's death.
Aileen recalled her mother's funeral. It was a funeral filled with lilies, which she had loved most when she was alive.
Expensive fresh flowers, which Aileen could not have afforded, filled the funeral hall. It was all thanks to Cesare's help.
The funeral, which she thought she would hold quietly with just her father, was filled with Cesare and his knights, and soldiers.
She wanted to repay the favor she had received, but Aileen could not do anything when Cesare's parents passed away.
Aileen was too young when Cesare's mother passed away. Moreover, Cesare did not even announce his mother's death. Only much later did she learn of his mother's death from others.
When his father, the late Emperor, passed away, it was held as a national funeral in Traon, so there was nothing Aileen could do. Cesare was also busy with the national funeral, so there was no time to meet. After that, the battle for the throne broke out, and the distance grew even further.
‘Back then, it was hard to even contact him, let alone meet him.’
The newspapers and magazines were noisy every day, broadcasting the fun games of the princes' civil war as if they were relaying a game. Only Aileen trembled, hoping for Cesare's safety.
After the civil war ended, she thought things would finally stabilize, but Cesare received the title of Grand Duke and soon set out to conquer Kalpen. Thus, the relationship became even more distant again.
That was why Aileen's memories with Cesare were concentrated in her childhood.
Aileen, who was retracing the past one by one, recalled her father, Baron Elrod. She had not seen his face since hearing the story that he had been confined to the ranch by Cesare. She had sent him letters a few times, but they were all ignored.
Even if she hated him, he was still her father. She still had to visit him.
‘I should check if he is doing well…’
As she thought of her father, her hand naturally went to her eyes. There were no more glasses or bangs to cover her face.
Her exposed face was no longer awkward. Rather, she felt strange when she briefly wore bangs and glasses the other day.
She was sometimes afraid of the world that had changed so much, but she would not go back to the past if she was told to. Now, living by Cesare's side had become natural.
It was when she entered the bedroom thinking of him.
"You're late, Aileen."
Cesare was waiting. Without erasing the smell of cigarette smoke and blood on him.
