171 - Evil Husband (15th Anniversary Edition) Chapter 171
Chapter 171
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Cesare gazed at Aileen, whom he had killed. He embraced her limp corpse and waited silently. With Aileen's death, the world shattered. Aileen's corpse, too, scattered into fragments along with the collapsing world.
Then, a sight he had never seen before unfolded. It was a space filled entirely with darkness. As he stood blankly in the pitch-black void, a golden light descended. Cesare reached out and grasped it as it rushed towards him like a falling star.
He felt the hard texture of metal in his hand. What had appeared as a meteor shower was a platinum pocket watch. Aileen's keepsake, offered as a Burnt offering.
Cesare wordlessly opened the watch. He saw the hands neatly overlapping at 12 o'clock. The moment Cesare checked the time, the hour hand clicked and pointed to 1 o'clock.
Simultaneously, light pierced through the darkness, and a new world appeared. Cesare wore a twisted smile at the sight unfolding before him.
"...Ha."
A hollow laugh involuntarily escaped his lips. It was because Aileen had appeared once again. And once again, it was a moment he knew well.
Aileen, with a mountain of books piled high in her arms, was carefully taking steps. Her large glasses were sliding down her nose, and unable to use her hands, she wrinkled her nose and tried to push them up.
But as it didn't work as she wished, she sighed deeply and tilted her head back slightly. Then, she moved her feet a little faster.
It was Aileen from her university days.
At that time, Cesare had briefly visited Aileen. He had business in the region where Palerchia University was located, so he had gone to see her on the side.
However, he hadn't told Aileen. He thought it would interfere with her studies, so he had quietly gone to see her face briefly by himself.
At that time, Cesare had deeply pulled down the hood of his robe and passed by Aileen, who was walking towards him. Aileen, carrying a mountain of books and struggling to walk, stopped abruptly and turned to look at Cesare.
She didn't seem to imagine that the hooded man was Cesare, but she just stared at his back endlessly. He still remembered the sensation of her gaze on him.
And the memory of that moment was now being replayed before his eyes. Cesare stopped in the middle of the road and stared at Aileen, who was walking towards him with a pile of books.
Aileen, noticing the man standing tall in the middle of the road, wore an uneasy expression. But the moment Cesare took off his hood, Aileen's eyes and mouth widened.
"Grand Duke!"
As she exclaimed like a gasp, Aileen dropped the books she was holding with a clatter. Although she loved and cherished books so much, she didn't even glance at the books scattered on the dirt floor and ran towards Cesare.
She ran to him in one breath, but in the end, she couldn't say anything and just looked up at Cesare. Aileen's face, filled with joy, was flushed red.
"Aileen."
As he called her name, Aileen smiled brightly, like a flower bud bursting open. Her pure smile, unmixed with any impurities, was chillingly clear. Before her chattering voice could continue, Cesare grabbed Aileen's neck.
At that moment, what appeared on Aileen's face was not fear or dread, but surprise and bewilderment. Because she had a firm belief that Cesare would never harm her, she wasn't surprised even when he grabbed her neck. Cesare whispered lowly.
"It won't hurt."
As he tightened his grip, the eyes that had been filled with trust until just now wavered. But he couldn't face those eyes for long. Cesare killed Aileen once again. Aileen, whose life had been extinguished, collapsed into his arms as if falling.
He held Aileen's corpse for a while. Until the world shattered once again, continuously.
Was killing Aileen for the second time a little easier than the first, or more difficult? Cesare couldn't tell.
The hour hand of the watch moved. It pointed to 2 o'clock, and when he killed Aileen for the third time, it pointed to 3 o'clock. When he reached the fourth world, Cesare recognized something strange.
The more times he repeated it, the harder it became to kill Aileen. Even though he knew so clearly that all of this was a lie.
"Hic, hic, Your Highness..."
Aileen cried from outside the door with a blood-soaked voice. Her small hands, repeatedly striking the wooden door, were desperate. It was Aileen, 18 years old, who had come to see him right before he departed for Kalpen.
After listening to the sobbing for a while, Cesare rose from his chair. And he opened the door that he couldn't open back then.
Aileen, who was about to knock on the door again, looked up at Cesare in surprise. He looked at her cheeks, where tears were rolling down, for a moment before checking her hands. Her small hands, covered in blood, were in a miserable state. To ruin the hands that should be making medicine like this. It was truly a foolish sight.
Cesare brought Aileen inside. And he wiped the face of the crying child, applied medicine to her hands, and wrapped them in bandages.
Aileen, even while sobbing, obediently entrusted her hands to Cesare. Aileen, who had been hesitating, carefully looked up at Cesare.
"Don't go..."
It was a small voice like a candle that would be extinguished by a single breath. But Aileen, even while panting, said again.
"Please don't go."
Instead of answering, Cesare looked at Aileen's face for a long time. The longer he hesitated, the more he would waste time unnecessarily. But even so, he couldn't easily reach out. Cesare slowly clenched and unclenched his hands repeatedly.
As Cesare didn't say anything, Aileen visibly became discouraged. If she were a puppy, her tail and ears would have drooped all the way down.
Just as Aileen opened her lips to say something, Cesare finally grabbed Aileen's neck. But he couldn't put proper strength into his hand.
His heart was beating violently. The pulsating sound rang like a drum in his ears, and he heard rough breathing. Cesare realized only belatedly that it was his own breathing.
It's just a lie. It's just an illusion created based on his memories. Cesare slowly put strength into his hand.
As he began to strangle her neck, Aileen let out a painful groan. He had to kill her quickly to avoid pain. He clenched his teeth tightly. Just as he was about to put his full strength, he heard a very small voice.
"I'm sorry..."
The child didn't ask to be saved. Even though she hadn't committed any sins, she died apologizing to Cesare. Since he, who was like her god, could not have committed a sin, she assumed that she must have sinned.
Cesare killed Aileen for the fourth time.
The strength left his hand, and Aileen's corpse collapsed to the floor.
"Haa, haa..."
Standing blankly and panting, Cesare shuddered and embraced the child's corpse. He trembled, holding the body that still had warmth left. His chest felt like it was breaking, and he had difficulty breathing.
The world collapsed. Cesare stared at the pocket watch with bloodshot eyes. The hands now pointed to 4 o'clock.
The fifth time was when Cesare had won the battle for the throne and received the title of Grand Duke. Aileen, who was of low status, couldn't attend the celebratory banquet.
It was only long after the banquet ended that he could meet Aileen. Aileen, who had entered the Imperial Palace before moving to the Grand Duke's Residence, handed him a small bouquet. It was a bouquet made by mixing flowers and small oranges from the orange tree in the Brick house.
The tips of the child's ears, who said she was congratulating him, were bright red, and she was embarrassed that her gift was shabby. In return, Cesare played the piano for the child, who loved it. He played all the songs she wanted to her heart's content and told her not to go home and to sleep in the Imperial Palace.
He forcibly held onto Aileen, who was trembling that a scandal might arise, and made her sleep in his bedroom in the Imperial Palace. That night, Cesare watched the sleeping Aileen for a long time. And before morning came, he killed Aileen.
The sixth Aileen was crying. When Cesare saw Aileen crying in front of the Brick house, he immediately headed to Fiore Street. He found Lord Elrod, who was drunk on alcohol and drugs and entangled with a woman, and beat him to death on the spot.
With blood on his hands, he headed to Aileen. He hugged the frozen Aileen and laughed, rubbing his face against her tear-soaked cheeks. Enjoying the warm warmth, he asked Aileen.
"Do you still like me even though I killed your father?"
Aileen was completely frozen. He asked Aileen, who couldn't answer, again.
"Even if I kill you?"
Aileen trembled so much that it was pitiful. But she finally managed to answer.
"...Yes."
Even while shedding tears, she didn't avoid Cesare's eyes.
"I like you..."
Cesare killed Aileen, who confessed that she liked him. He shrugged his shoulders and laughed as he watched the clock hands move to 6 o'clock.
Now, only one time remained. Cesare waited for the seventh world. But the last world was a moment Cesare didn't know.
The seventh Aileen was standing in front of the Guillotine.
