15
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"Sonio!"
Aileen greeted him with pleasure, and Sonio gave a slight smile. With his graying hair and mustache, Sonio had a sharp and meticulous impression. However, he always acted like a warm spring breeze in front of Aileen.
He used to work as the Chamberlain of the Imperial Palace, and when Cesare became Grand Duke, he left the Imperial Palace with him. Naturally, he and Aileen knew each other well.
"I will escort you inside."
Sonio said politely, leading Aileen.
"Would you like some tea in the drawing room while you wait?"
"Yes, well, is His Excellency..."
As she carefully asked about Cesare, Sonio's expression clouded slightly. He replied in a polite and gentle tone.
"I'm sorry. I don't think he will be able to see you today."
"...Ah."
She could tell as soon as she saw his apologetic expression. Cesare had already conveyed his intention not to meet Aileen to Sonio.
She had imagined many things before coming to the Grand Duke's Residence. She had imagined all sorts of things, but not being able to meet Cesare was not one of them.
'I took it too much for granted.'
Cesare's affection and interest were not immutable. Like a candle, it could burn brightly, but it could be extinguished with a single breath at any time.
Cesare was not capricious, but it only took a small trigger for his heart to cool.
'Has he lost interest in me?'
The moment she assumed that, everything went dark. Her relationship with him was one-sided, and Aileen was the weaker one. If Cesare lost interest, Aileen would never be able to see him again.
'Come to think of it, it was like that during the war...'
When Cesare refused to contact her, there was nothing she could do but wait.
As Aileen's face darkened, Sonio quickly comforted her.
"I bought a cake from a new store. Please have it with your tea."
He took her coat and naturally led Aileen to the sofa in the drawing room. Aileen sat on the sofa, dejected, and placed the watch box she had been holding so dearly next to her.
She had clearly thought it was quite luxurious and nice when she bought it at the store, but when she placed it on the sofa at the Grand Duke's Residence, it felt shabby. Both she and the watch box seemed to have come to a place where they did not belong.
As Aileen swallowed a sigh, Sonio quickly brought tea and snacks. It was a tea set that completely understood Aileen's tastes.
Milky tea made soft and sweet with milk and sugar, cake with plenty of whipped cream, and various cookies.
All of them were Aileen's favorite desserts. Normally, she would have been delighted and happily picked up her fork, but today, even with the sweet desserts right in front of her, she didn't feel like eating.
Thinking of Sonio's efforts, she tore off a corner of the cake and ate it, but it tasted like she had lost her sense of taste. Aileen eventually put down her fork.
"..."
She couldn't manage her expression at all. She tried to smile somehow, but her lips felt completely frozen.
In fact, it was a relief that she wasn't crying right away. Aileen bit her lip tightly to swallow the rising tears.
Sonio, who was watching, placed a handkerchief on the table. And he quietly left the drawing room. His consideration made her tears well up even more. Her nose tingled, so Aileen squeezed the handkerchief tightly and tilted her head back.
She remembered the old man who called her his bride. The thought of having to kiss Cesare with that man made her vision darken.
If she wanted to have a child, she would have to do even worse things. The unpleasantness she felt when the man swept her bangs back as he pleased still remained vivid.
But more than anything, what was most painful was the fact that she might not be able to see Cesare anymore.
Since he had mentioned leaving the country, the man seemed to be a foreign aristocrat as expected. If she followed him abroad, it would be difficult to even hear news of Cesare in the future.
She would have to live in the Empire to hear news in the newspaper, or even meet him occasionally.
'If I had become the Grand Duchess.'
It would have been better than not even becoming his child. Suddenly, she wondered if Cesare's interest had disappeared because he hated her whining about not wanting to get married.
She regretted it too late, but she didn't know how to undo it. Aileen held back her tears and gradually organized her thoughts. Familiar resignation cast a shadow.
She smoothed out the crumpled handkerchief with her hands, folded it neatly again, and placed it on the table.
'But let's give him the gift and go back.'
Since she had come all the way here, she wanted to give him the watch. She had bought it from the beginning to be used as a work watch, so it would be okay even if it looked shabby.
If she was lucky, Cesare might change his mind a little after seeing the gift. He was a person who was precise in his endings, so that was unlikely.
Still, Aileen held onto a glimmer of hope. She thought that if she left it to Sonio, he would deliver it well, and she got up from the sofa and looked out the window.
The drawing room had a wide window so that you could see the scenery of the courtyard. An orange tree could be seen outside the window. Aileen was drawn to the tree with orange fruits as if possessed.
She didn't know that there would be an orange tree in his residence. Aileen naturally thought of the orange tree in the brick house garden.
The reason why he gave Aileen an orange tree was because of the kidnapping incident.
"There's no reason to be curious anymore, right?"
When she said that she was kidnapped because she was curious about orange-flavored candy, he planted an orange tree in the garden. The first orange that grew on the tree was shared equally by Cesare, his mother, and Aileen.
It was when she was thinking about Cesare while looking at the orange tree. She saw a man with a leisurely gait in the hallway across the street.
He appeared and disappeared intermittently because of the trees in the courtyard, but she recognized who it was at first sight. Aileen quickly opened the window and tried to call him.
"..."
But she only grabbed the latch and stopped. She couldn't open the window or call him.
Cesare had already told her that he didn't want to see her. If she bothered him here, it would be a childish act. She was afraid that he would hate her even more.
Just as she was about to quietly step away from the window, Cesare turned this way. A red gaze flew through the blue greenery. Eyes of vivid color stared at Aileen.
He was dressed in a suit with a coat, as if he was going out somewhere. Now that their eyes had met, she couldn't pretend not to notice and turn her head away. Aileen carefully bowed.
Cesare stared at Aileen silently, then smiled faintly. He twisted his lips and smiled, then crossed the courtyard. As she watched him get closer and closer, Aileen fidgeted with her hands, not knowing what to do, and stood still by the window.
Tap tap. Cesare, who had come right in front of the window, tapped lightly on the glass. The sound was muffled because he was wearing leather gloves.
Aileen hesitated, then released the latch and gently pushed the window open. As a slight gap was created, he immediately grabbed the window with his large hand and threw it open.
The sound of the outside wind pouring in and the leaves colliding tickled her ears like waves. The cool and heavy scent that came from Cesare enveloped Aileen. Aileen, who was looking up at him with wide eyes, carefully opened her lips.
"Grand Duke..."
Cesare looked down at Aileen and asked.
"What's wrong, Aileen?"
As soon as she heard his voice, she felt like she was going to burst into tears. She had been holding it in well, but it was difficult to hold on when she stood in front of Cesare. She tried her best to hold it back and opened her mouth.
"I wanted to give you a gift... It's nothing special, I just wanted to congratulate you on your victory..."
Aileen couldn't finish her sentence properly and held up the watch box, faltering. Because she had been holding it so tightly, small handprints were imprinted on the velvet. She rubbed it lightly to remove the marks and handed over the box.
Cesare immediately opened the box. His hand stopped as he checked the contents. Then he was silent for a long time.
What was he doing?
Just before Aileen bit her lip in anxiety, a low murmur was heard.
"...It was originally this shape."
It was a subtle tone. As if he already knew about the platinum pocket watch.
