139 - Evil Husband (15th Anniversary Edition) Chapter 139
139
Aileen looked at Cesare with unfamiliar eyes. The man leaning against the wall beside the window was barely touched by the moonlight.
The room, not properly lit, was dim, making it difficult to see Cesare's face clearly. She could only guess it was him from the vaguely visible outline.
The situation was very different from usual. Cesare usually tried not to reveal unnecessary aspects of himself to Aileen.
Of course, he often came home with the lingering smell of blood and gunpowder that he hadn't managed to wash off. But it was the first time he had so blatantly displayed the evidence like this.
Just as when she had seen Cesare smoking before, Aileen found the smell of tobacco on him very awkward. The situation of Cesare waiting for her to return home was also very unfamiliar. She was always the one waiting for him to come home late.
Looking at him with slightly parted lips, Aileen recalled that she had acted arbitrarily without any explanation to Cesare. It was the first time she had acted so arbitrarily since becoming the Grand Duchess.
'But Count Domenico's news was something Cesare told me first...'
So, with a naive thought that it might be okay, she looked at Cesare cautiously. But it was not okay at all.
Even though he was hidden in the darkness, his expressionless face seemed clearly visible. The air in the unheated bedroom was chilly. Aileen, intimidated, greeted him.
"I'm home."
For some reason, the moment he heard her greeting, Cesare's eyes seemed to soften a little. As Aileen peered at him, Cesare straightened up from the wall. He strode over and looked down at Aileen.
"Shall we go for a walk together?"
He asked as if suggesting, but they both knew she wouldn't refuse. Aileen nodded, saying yes to the late-night walk, but her eyes widened at his subsequent action.
Cesare took out his car keys from his pocket. She had thought they would just take a walk in the garden.
Before she could say anything, Aileen was led back outside by Cesare. A regular car, not a military vehicle, was waiting in front of the Grand Duke's Residence.
After opening the passenger door and letting Aileen in first, Cesare sat in the driver's seat himself. He skillfully started the engine and took the steering wheel in his hands.
Her heart was pounding. The Archduke Erzeht, who was known to be recuperating from a gunshot wound, was driving himself around so freely. She worried about what would happen if this was discovered.
'Cesare must have thought everything through.'
She couldn't help but feel anxious. But even so, Aileen couldn't take her eyes off Cesare. It was very rare for Cesare to drive himself.
That was because Cesare was in a position to give instructions to others rather than doing things himself. He always had a driver, so he usually sat in the back seat with him when he rode in a car.
Cesare, who was turning the steering wheel to leave the Grand Duke's Residence, glanced at Aileen. Aileen, who had been observing him without blinking, flinched when their eyes met.
"Ah, I'm sorry..."
"For what?"
"For staring so intently. It must be distracting while you're driving."
Aileen forcibly averted her gaze and looked out the window. Cesare reached out and gently touched Aileen's cheek.
"Am I that untrustworthy?"
"That's definitely not it. Then..."
Aileen tentatively suggested her own compromise.
"I'll just look a little bit."
And she shifted her gaze, dividing it between the scenery outside and Cesare. Cesare simply chuckled at her diligent eye movements.
The car passed through the gates of the Grand Duke's Residence. The colorful flowers placed in front of the Grand Duke's Residence were splendid. They were flowers brought by the citizens of the Empire, wishing for the Grand Duke's recovery. It was a sight she hadn't properly seen earlier because she had been preoccupied with Morpheus and Count Domenico.
The car quickly passed the flowers. Aileen, who had unknowingly turned her head to look back, looked forward again.
'The shooting incident was a staged act by Cesare...'
What would happen to Count Bonepar, who had been named as the culprit? She read the newspaper every day, but there was no information other than articles saying he was under investigation.
The car headed down a secluded road, not a main street. There were no signs of people because it was the Grand Duke's private property. Aileen, who had been listening to the engine, hesitated and opened her lips.
"Um, Count Bonepar..."
She didn't know what to ask, so she couldn't continue her sentence. She was worried that asking him such a question would be presumptuous.
But Cesare readily told her about the Count's recent situation.
"The article will say that the Count committed suicide with a pistol during interrogation. It will be in tomorrow's morning paper."
As soon as she heard his words, she knew. The Count had been dealt with 'as if' he had committed suicide. Aileen tightly clasped her hands, which had been neatly folded on her lap.
She felt strange. Even though she knew very well that Cesare was not a saint...
She felt a strange sense of unease that while she was trying to help someone's life, he was getting his hands dirty with blood. Aileen desperately hoped that Cesare would be safe, but he was always walking on a knife's edge.
The car had already entered deep into the forest, and soon stopped in the middle of the forest path. The headlights of the car brightly illuminated the forest, which was dyed black with darkness. Cesare was silent for a while before opening his mouth.
"Aileen."
"...Yes."
"You can do whatever you want. But I hope you don't do anything too dangerous."
Her heart dropped. Aileen hurriedly apologized.
"I didn't think it was dangerous... I'm sorry. But I felt like I needed to experience it myself to know exactly about the drug..."
"There was no reason for you to go and find Count Domenico yourself."
Cesare cut off Aileen's words in a soft but cold tone.
"Aren't there many people who can be used in your place?"
"..."
Aileen parted her lips slightly and then slowly closed them. Cesare had already given her a light warning when Aileen had directly administered Morpheus.
But today, by personally taking the drug to Count Domenico, she had completely offended Cesare. He was scolding her for the dangerous things she had done outside of his control.
But even though she knew the reason, Aileen's heart stung. Cesare had said that she could do whatever she wanted, but only within the range he allowed. But what Aileen wanted was beyond Cesare's fence.
As a pharmacist, she couldn't hand over drugs that she hadn't even administered to people. Count Domenico also thought it was right for Aileen to personally examine his wife's condition and explain the drug. Especially since it was an unverified new drug...
"What did you ask Lord Michele to do?"
Aileen stopped thinking abruptly. Cesare turned his body completely towards Aileen. Then he asked gently.
"What is it that you want to know so much, Aileen?"
Aileen realized that her actions were like sticking her head out from outside the fence he had built. Normally, she would have quietly hidden back inside. But this time, she carefully met Cesare's eyes.
"...I wanted to know more about Cesare."
It wasn't a big request. She simply asked him to tell her everything about Cesare's words and actions from a time she didn't know. It was a sensitive request because there might be military information mixed in.
But she asked him to tell her only what was possible, even if it was just a small part, and Michele, after much deliberation, finally agreed.
She was going to collect as much information about Cesare as possible and try to deduce the facts she didn't know. She wanted to reach the truth herself.
Because she couldn't just wait for him to allow it.
"I, I...Aileen tried to calm her breath, which was constantly shaking anxiously.
"I... I like Cesare."
She confessed the obvious fact that he already knew.
"No matter what Cesare does... even if he's a villain to others..."
The moment she revealed her long-held feelings for the first time was very clumsy. Aileen stammered on.
"Even if Cesare comes to hate me... even if I'm no longer the Grand Duchess and we get divorced and I'm abandoned, I'll still like Cesare."
The more she spoke her mind, the less she knew how to say it. Aileen confessed with a desire to cry.
"I only have Cesare."
She paused to catch her breath. The red gaze that had been binding her was waiting for her to continue.
"So I want to be helpful to Cesare, and I want to look cool too. I also try to find ways to help Cesare escape from his nightmares... I say this is for Cesare, but actually..."
Her face gradually flushed. Aileen was now trembling almost as if she was about to cry. But she didn't avoid Cesare's eyes and said.
"I think it's for me."
