154 - Evil Husband (15th Anniversary Edition) Chapter 154
154
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Cesare silently closed the car window again. The driver, who had been watching with great tension, immediately sped up.
The vehicle passed through the main gate, traversed the long driveway and garden, and arrived at the mansion's entrance. Even there, the atmosphere was just as chaotic. Cesare got out of the car and called out in a loud voice.
"Sonio!"
The employees flinched at their master's shout, something he never did. Sonio rushed out, his face already covered in sweat. He looked at Cesare with a bewildered expression.
"Your Grace..."
His voice, filled with dismay, conveyed a multitude of unspoken words. Cesare strode into the Grand Duke's Residence and asked.
"A kidnapping?"
"No, sir."
Cesare stopped in his tracks. Sonio swallowed hard at the sight of those turning red eyes. He knew the weight of the words he was about to utter. Sonio spoke the unbelievable words.
"It appears she left the Grand Duke's Residence of her own volition."
Though he heard it clearly, Cesare couldn't comprehend Sonio's words.
Aileen left me?
She was always eager to be by his side. She constantly sought his attention, always thinking of how she could be of help to him. It was a blind affection, even willing to sacrifice her life.
There was no way Aileen would leave on her own. Cesare turned his back on Sonio and headed for the bedroom. He strode up the stairs and threw open the bedroom door, but only felt the coldness unique to an empty space.
The one who would greet him with a bright smile, reading a book on the bed and saying, "Cesare," was nowhere to be found. Cesare searched every corner of the bedroom, even rummaging through the bathroom. But he found nothing.
He immediately headed to the study. It was just as empty. Only traces of Aileen's experiments remained. A faint fragrance lingered in the air, as if to prove she had been there.
Cesare inhaled Aileen's scent deep into his lungs and slowly turned around. Sonio, who had followed Cesare, presented a small piece of paper.
"This is a letter left by the Lady."
Cesare stared down at what was more of a note than a letter for a moment before taking it and unfolding it. The round, neat handwriting was Aileen's, as he knew it.
After reading the entire letter, Cesare let out a twisted laugh. And he gave a short command.
"Find her."
Aileen's urging made the knights reveal everything they knew. They told her what they had heard and seen by Cesare's side, and Aileen stored it all in her mind without missing a detail.
"...Therefore, we suspect that Your Grace has returned from a reversed timeline."
As Rohan finished speaking, Aileen shared her own speculations. After much deliberation, she decided not to mention the Dream of Sacrifice. Even if it was just a dream, or even if it might be true. She didn't want to say that Cesare had killed an innocent person.
"I can't believe Cesare became like this because of me..."
In fact, that was the most difficult part to accept. She could sacrifice herself for Cesare, but Cesare shouldn't. Aileen belonged to Cesare, but the reverse was not true.
However, the problem she was currently facing was too enormous to delve into and worry about.
"I don't know what the price will be, but it's clear that it won't end with just this. We need to find a way to turn Cesare back as soon as possible."
Aileen, who had been speaking anxiously, suddenly stopped. The knights, who would normally have readily agreed with her, were silent. Rohan cautiously asked.
"Wouldn't Your Grace... have a reason for this?"
Aileen, who was about to retort that they couldn't just stand by, slowly closed her lips. She had clearly realized the difference between the knights and herself.
Cesare might not want to return to normal. Rohan, who pointed out that fact, was calm.
"...That's right. He must have had something in mind."
Instead of arguing, Aileen nodded in agreement and lowered her head. It was to hide her feelings, even if just a little.
"We will also start investigating based on what you have told us, Aileen."
Aileen thanked them. She said she was very grateful that they had come, but that she was very tired today and wanted to rest early, and sent them away.
The knights had forced themselves to make time in their busy schedules to come, so they couldn't stay long either. They all said goodbye with regret and concern.
"We'll come again soon."
Diego said goodbye in a particularly tearful voice. Aileen smiled at them.
In the drawing room, after the knights had left, Aileen sat alone for a while. She recalled the conversation she had with them and quietly pondered.
The knights and Sonio all cherished Aileen sincerely. Once again, Aileen deeply felt the affection that the people of the Grand Duke's family had for her. It was an affection that was too much for Aileen.
However, no one in this mansion would help Aileen in her efforts to turn Cesare back.
Because they cherished Aileen and were loyal to Cesare. The limit of what they could do was only to the extent that it did not go against Cesare. The knights were soldiers who followed orders, and Sonio was a butler who had served his master for a long time, so it was only natural.
If she continued to stay in the Grand Duke's Residence, Aileen would not be able to do anything. Because that's what Cesare would want. So, in order to do anything, she had to break free from Cesare's fence.
'I have to leave the Grand Duke's Residence.'
Aileen paced anxiously around the room. She walked back and forth, sat down on a chair, and then suddenly got up again and spun around. Many thoughts raced through her mind.
How could she leave the Grand Duke's Residence?
The thought of opposing Cesare was completely new to her. It was something she had never even imagined, but Aileen knew the future well. No matter how much she resisted, Cesare and his knights would easily restrain Aileen.
'First of all, I mustn't let anyone in the Grand Duke's Residence know.'
The moment they caught even a slight hint, the path to leave would be completely blocked.
'A way to move quietly without being noticed...'
Aileen quickly rewound her memories from the time she entered the Grand Duke's Residence until now. In the memories that flashed by, there was a part that suddenly caught her attention.
The secret passage that Rohan had told her about before the wedding, in preparation for an emergency.
She had never been there since, and she had never even heard it mentioned. But Aileen remembered everything she had learned from Rohan that day.
'If I leave the mansion using the secret passage, what's next?'
Aileen pondered again. Objectively speaking, it was impossible for Aileen to escape Cesare's eyes alone. Especially within the Traon Empire.
There might be a slight chance if she went abroad, but it would not be easy to leave the country, and she might not be able to return quickly if she found out a way to save Cesare.
'I also have to consider that time is limited.'
She had to find a helper within the Traon Empire who would hide Aileen. Aileen thought of her father first. Then she immediately shook her head.
If Cesare came to her father and offered him a wad of money, he would sell Aileen without hesitation.
Thinking and thinking, Aileen recalled a very distant memory, a soft voice that had whispered to her.
"If you change your mind, tell me anytime. I think I can do something about it at least once."
"Why is it raining so much!"
Malena swept back her luscious blonde hair and complained. The bodyguard who was carrying her luggage told her to go inside.
"I was thinking of doing that anyway."
Malena, carrying only one shopping bag containing her favorite item, walked away haughtily. People's eyes followed her.
Malena, the most popular dancer in The Capital, had been a rare sight on Fiore Street lately. Nobles lined up to decorate their banquets with her, so her schedule was tight.
Malena's popularity grew day by day, and now she commanded such a high price that most nobles couldn't even dream of hiring her.
'Everything went as that person wanted.'
Malena, recalling the blood-red eyes, felt unpleasant. It was because she thought of her lovely friend who had been snatched away by that person.
Now she could only hear news of her through newspapers and magazines...
Because she bought every article about her, Malena's house had recently been overflowing with newspapers and magazines.
She had been frantically working to chase away the thought of being lonely, but she often missed the small, cozy tea time she had in the old inn on the second floor. Even though she knew she wouldn't be able to do that in the future, her heart felt depressed on its own.
"Men are the problem."
Even at the words she spat out, the bodyguard only tilted the umbrella without answering. It was around the time Malena arrived in front of her house with a frown.
Malena found a woman soaked like a drowned rat. Malena's eyes widened as if she couldn't believe it.
The person who was trembling, not even thinking of avoiding the pouring rain, adjusted her glasses, which were covered in rainwater. A very small voice was heard through the rain.
"Malena..."
Malena, who was so surprised that she stood still, mumbled blankly.
"...God, oh my God."
She immediately threw the shopping bag she was holding to the bodyguard and ran out from under the umbrella, hugging the soaked person tightly.
"Aileen!"
