163 - Evil Husband (15th Anniversary Edition) Chapter 163
163
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[…She was rescued unharmed, without even a scratch, so there is no other way to express it but as a miracle. It is clear that the hand of God protected the Archduchess of Erzeht.]
Parbellini Duke, Asef, put down the newspaper with a cold face. He was in a foul mood because of the trashy article <The Truth> had scribbled out with such glee.
Ornella, who had been buried under the collapsed Pantheon, suffered serious injuries. Asef took his daughter to the Duke's residence as soon as she was rescued and showed her to the family doctor, but he was told that she might limp for the rest of her life.
Asef roared, asking if he dared to make the Parbellini family's only daughter a cripple, and the family doctor swore to heal Ornella by any means possible.
What angered Asef was not just Ornella's injury. Unlike Ornella, who was battered and bruised, the Archduchess, who had been trapped with her, was perfectly fine. It was as if God had really protected the Archduchess.
The Archduchess even gave first aid to Ornella, who was seriously injured. The Erzeht Grand Ducal family would not have missed that fact, and they made sure to spread articles praising her medical knowledge, widely publicizing the Archduchess's good deeds.
Ornella was used to enhance the Archduchess's reputation.
Asef narrowed his eyes unhappily and raised his gaze. His daughter, lying in bed, was reading the newspaper just like him.
Other newspapers and magazines, not just <The Truth>, were making a fuss about the miracle at the Pantheon. The Archduchess was the center of attention. Asef thought Ornella would be quite upset, so he offered a word of comfort.
"Don't worry. I'll make sure you don't have a single scar on your body."
But Ornella showed no reaction. She just kept reading the article with a blank face. Usually, she would have thrown the newspaper away and shouted a long time ago.
Asef stared at Ornella, wondering why she was being so quiet. Ornella, who had been reading the newspaper with her eyes downcast, suddenly opened her lips.
"Father."
Ornella asked, still keeping her eyes fixed on the newspaper.
"Am I a more proud daughter than a son?"
"Of course, Ornella. Aren't you destined to become the Empress of the Traon Empire?"
Asef smiled as he put the cigar he had put down back in his mouth.
"Later, even this father will have to treat you with respect. Everyone will be at your feet."
It was the moment that his proud daughter, who couldn't stand anyone being above her, longed for the most. But the smile on Asef's lips was washed away by Ornella's next words.
"The New medicine release date is soon, right? Please postpone it."
It was a word that he never expected to hear from his daughter's mouth. Ornella had clashed with the Archduchess of Erzeht several times.
When Aspilia was released this time, she had been so excited to crush the Archduchess, who was playing the ridiculous role of a pharmacist, that he had helped her manufacture and distribute similar drugs in the name of the Parbellini family.
He had been looking forward to the release of the New medicine, but he couldn't understand why she was suddenly changing her mind. Ornella's personality was capricious, but she had never acted like this before. Asef, who was swirling cigar smoke in his mouth, slowly spat out his words.
"Yes, we'll proceed with that after your body has recovered."
But Ornella didn't seem particularly pleased. She just quietly turned the page of the newspaper. Only the sound of rustling paper continued, and then a quiet question was heard.
"If I had written poetry, would I have been a shameful daughter to you?"
Asef put down the cigar he was holding.
"Ornella."
Finally, Ornella raised her eyes, which had been fixed on the newspaper, and looked at Asef. It was when the father and daughter were looking at each other. An employee hurriedly came to find Asef.
"His Majesty has arrived."
Asef immediately got up from his seat at the words, spoken in a low voice.
"You must be having strange thoughts because you're sick. Let's talk again later."
Asef felt a sense of foreboding at the Emperor's sudden visit. He would visit Leone whenever he needed to, but the opposite was rare. But for Leone to come without notice, it must be something serious.
The moment Asef saw Leone standing blankly in the drawing room, he realized that his hunch was right.
"...Parbellini Duke."
Leone, pale and ghastly, began to ramble incoherently.
"In the end, Cesare... found out everything. What should I do? Cesare never forgives..."
"Your Majesty."
Asef grabbed Leone's shoulders tightly. Only then did Leone come to his senses. Asef stared at the Emperor's eyes, which were shaking in a mess.
As the Parbellini Duke, choosing Leone as a partner instead of Cesare was half intentional. At the time, Cesare was outstanding, but he had no desire for power. Rather, it was Leone who had the desire to become the number one.
Ultimately, Cesare was not someone Asef could handle. He was someone who would devour him if he tried to use him. So Asef chose Leone, and since they were in the same boat, he intended to push him so that he would not regret his choice.
"The Grand Duke is not the Imperator."
"......"
"What nobleman in the world is above the Emperor?"
Leone, who had been gasping for breath, slowly calmed down. What a weak figure. Asef clicked his tongue inwardly as he watched Leone. Leone wiped his face, which was wet with cold sweat, with his hand and said.
"It seems... that my relationship with the Grand Duke of Erzeht has soured."
Unlike Leone, who was despairing as if the world had collapsed, Asef was calm. This was also a moment he had expected might come someday.
It was the last card he wanted to save, but it seemed like it was time to take it out. Asef slowly opened his mouth.
"There is a story that the Archduchess is making drugs with Opium."
Leone's eyes widened. Looking into his eyes, which were completely lost and shaking, Asef told him a very obvious common sense.
"Even if they are brothers, shouldn't those who break the national law be held accountable and punished?"
Even after waking up, Aileen couldn't shake off the strange energy for a long time. She kept thinking about the contact from last night, and she felt so strange that she even felt a bit lewd.
It was a dream, but it seemed to be because she had been touched by Cesare after a long time and heard his voice calling her name. Aileen was immersed in the afterglow of the dream for quite a while.
She deliberately moved her body busily to shake off her thoughts. She rolled up her sleeves to clean the room, but there wasn't much to clean in the small space. Aileen, who was tidying up the papers and books scattered on the table, read the contents she had organized again.
As is the case with old myths, the founding myth was also told in various forms. The most basic form of the myth, which is also included in the textbooks of the Traon Empire school, is the story of the First Emperor sacrificing the Winged Lion, undergoing seven trials, and then reviving the woman he loved.
However, the founding myth recorded in unofficial history contained many terrible things. There was also a theory that the First Emperor sacrificed not only the Winged Lion but also the humans loved by God, that is, the imperial people, as Sacrificial offering.
It was the content most similar to Aileen's dream.
Unofficial history is not a myth officially recognized by the Traon Empire, and there is not much data left because it contains negative content that degrades the status of the founding Emperor.
However, there was an even more difficult point than the lack of data. It was that the myth was too difficult for Aileen.
Mythology research was as far apart as heaven and earth from the empirical research that Aileen did best and was most interested in. She had to read the stories that felt like grasping at straws and understand the hidden meanings, so the speed was too slow.
There were still mountains of parts that she didn't understand. Turning back time, having an immortal body... If she did it like studying pharmacy, she would never know anything, so she was just memorizing it and putting it in her head for now.
'Isn't there a faster way?'
