173 - Evil Husband (15th Anniversary Edition) Chapter 173
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All sorts of rumors circulated about Archduke Erzeht, who had thrown away all his power for just one woman. Most of the countless rumors were absurd. This was probably because the current situation was impossible to understand with common sense.
It was already well-known that the Grand Duke had no interest in power. He had chosen to make his twin brother the Emperor and become a Grand Duke himself. However, no one had expected him to even give up his status as a soldier.
From a boy soldier to the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Army, Archduke Erzeht had lived his entire life as the sword of Traon. Yet, he had abandoned even the knights and soldiers who followed him and holed himself up in an old Brick house.
People couldn't easily believe the Grand Duke's seclusion. There were many who thought that Archduke Erzeht had hidden himself to aim for a dramatic reversal.
However, Cesare had truly abandoned everything. For Aileen, and for himself.
Originally, Cesare did not know what happiness was. But in the days spent in the Brick house, he came to suspect that this was the happiness that people often talked about.
Just small, continuous routines, moments that might be boring and tedious to someone else, were truly comfortable times for him. It was a peacefulness like a quiet sleep that nothing disturbed.
A soft breeze blew. The sound of gently swaying leaves brushed his ears like gentle waves. Cesare slowly opened his eyes.
The sunlight seeping through the leaves of the orange tree flickered erratically. Cesare, who had been lazily looking up at the sky, suddenly frowned. At the same time, a golden fruit hanging from the orange tree fell to the ground with a thud.
He stared blankly at the orange buried in the grass. Then, the door of the Brick house opened.
"Cesare!"
Aileen, who was now quite used to calling him by his name, ran over with freshly baked bread. She showed off the steaming ciabatta with pride.
"Look at this. It's baked so well."
Aileen's face, proud of how delicious it looked, was flawlessly bright. Cesare smiled as he accepted the bread from Aileen.
After almost being executed for making medicine from drugs, Aileen had completely quit her job as a pharmacist. There were customers who desperately sought the medicine Aileen made, but there was nothing she could do.
The customers also knew that Aileen had barely survived after being on the Guillotine. So, they couldn't bring themselves to ask Aileen to make medicine.
Cesare and Aileen had both abandoned everything and buried themselves in the Brick house. Fortunately, there was no need to worry about making a living. The wealth he had accumulated as Archduke Erzeht was so abundant that the two of them could not spend it all even if they lived a life of luxury.
However, if there was a minor problem with their comfortable life, it was that there were quite a few people who had not forgotten 'Archduke Erzeht'.
"Go inside first."
There was a visitor to the Brick house again today. Cesare handed the bread back to Aileen and sent her inside.
Aileen hid in the Brick house, looking very anxious. She locked the door tightly and covered all the windows with curtains.
When the ciabatta she was holding in her arms had cooled down, there was a light knock. Aileen cautiously opened the door.
"Shall we have lunch now?"
Cesare, covered in blood that did not match the dazzling midday sunlight, smiled with an unconcerned expression. Aileen looked up at Cesare with a very tearful face.
Cesare habitually reached out to stroke her hair, but stopped and lowered his hand. Blood dripped from his fingertips.
Instead, he pressed his lips firmly on her round forehead, and Aileen's face finally relaxed a little. Her cheeks flushed red, and she babbled, "I'll make sandwiches." Cesare smiled silently and headed to the bathroom.
Their quiet life continued smoothly like flowing water. Even as the seasons changed and the years passed, Cesare and Aileen did not leave the Brick house.
Occasionally, knights and soldiers came to the Brick house. Leone or other nobles had also come. They wanted Cesare to return and hoped that Aileen would persuade him.
However, Cesare refused all of it.
The first ripple in their calm daily life was caused by Aileen. One night, Aileen came to Cesare's bedroom.
They were officially married, but they were a couple who had never shared the same bed. Cesare had chosen marriage as a means to protect Aileen.
However, there was a misjudgment in the means he thought was perfect. He did not realize that Aileen could not remain a child forever.
Aileen, wearing a thin Night Robe, was already trembling. She hunched her shoulders and whispered in a voice that crept in.
"Cesare..."
She had only called his name, but Cesare knew what she wanted. Aileen carefully climbed onto Cesare's bed. She looked at Cesare, who was sitting against the headboard, for a moment, then dropped her gaze and mumbled.
"I'm... I'm also, a, a wife..."
"Did someone tell you that you have to bear an heir?"
Aileen was startled and met Cesare's eyes. Cesare sighed softly and placed the book he was holding on the bedside table next to the bed.
"You don't have to do that if you don't want to..."
"I, I want to."
Aileen interrupted Cesare for the first time. It was something she had never done before. Aileen looked at Cesare with desperate and pleading eyes.
Cesare reached out without realizing it and took off Aileen's glasses. Her gold-green eyes, hidden behind her glasses, sparkled like stars in the lamplight. Her eyes, filled with moisture, looked as if tears would fall at any moment.
"I... I want Cesare."
The child had become an adult. No, she had already finished growing up a long time ago, but Cesare was the only one who saw her as a child. Aileen wanted Cesare to treat her as his wife.
Cesare found it difficult to clearly judge what he was feeling now. He stared at Aileen for a while. Then Aileen averted her gaze. Aileen, with a flushed face, hurriedly tried to leave the bedroom.
"I'm, I'm sorry..., ah!"
He grabbed the wrist of the child who was trying to run away and pulled her. Aileen, who had lost her balance and fallen onto the bed, looked up in surprise. Cesare looked down at Aileen with a blank expression.
Aileen's breathing gradually became erratic. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, and just as her trembling lips were about to call Cesare again.
Cesare climbed on top of Aileen and kissed her. It was a completely different kiss from the light presses on the forehead or cheek as a sign of affection. The sound of their tongues intertwining wetly echoed erotically in the dark room.
When their lips parted, Aileen's face was so red that it was impossible to get any redder. Cesare examined every detail of the child's, no, his wife's face. Then he asked.
"Do you really want to?"
The heat of his flushed crimson eyes was frightening to Aileen. However, Cesare knew it and deliberately did not hide it. Aileen's eyelashes fluttered. And then she nodded slightly.
The relationship that began for the first time continued until the morning sun rose. Aileen cried a lot. She cried that she couldn't stand it, that it hurt and was scary. Then she cried because she felt so good.
Cesare mostly followed Aileen's words. He slowed down when it was hard, and waited when she said she couldn't do it.
But Aileen liked a little forceful behavior. She trembled with the greatest pleasure when he entangled her whole body and explored her deepest parts.
As they indulged in lust without realizing it, it was already dawn. Cesare cleaned up the messy Aileen, changed her clothes,
And when Aileen opened her eyes, he fed her a meal and mixed bodies with her again. He repeatedly tormented her until Aileen fainted while wetting herself.
They mixed bodies everywhere in the Brick house. In the bed, the kitchen, the living room, the study, the stairs, even on the carpet on the floor. In less than a week, Cesare learned everything about Aileen. He also realized in detail how much Aileen, whom he thought was a child, had grown into a mature woman.
Cesare hugged Aileen's sweat-soaked body and leisurely rubbed his face against her straight neck. It was a perfect day. Cesare sincerely hoped that this time would last forever.
Until he felt a sense of incongruity.
