176 - Evil Husband (15th Anniversary Edition) Chapter 176
176
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Cesare was standing alone in the darkness before he knew it. He stood still, staring into the black darkness. Then, he slowly reached into his pocket. He touched a small, round Pocket watch he had forgotten even existed.
He took out the broken platinum Pocket watch and checked the time. The hands pointed to the number 7. Cesare, who was checking the numbers, quietly let go of the watch. Instead of falling, the watch floated in the air. And soon, it turned into light and disappeared.
Fragments of light scattered, transforming the space that had been filled with only black. The darkness was now filled with pure white lilies.
The intense fragrance rising from the endless Lily flower garden was suffocating. The petals, moist with water, were fresh. Cesare, looking down at the lilies, murmured in a low voice.
"...Is this the end?"
His voice scattered with the wind that shook the lilies. No answer came, but Cesare knew. He had been given what he wanted, so now it was God's turn to pay the price.
The breeze that seemed to embrace the flower garden gradually intensified. The flower stalks, which had been quietly bowing their heads, began to sway in the wind that seemed to bring a storm. The fragrance that wrapped around the flower garden also covered the surroundings more richly with the wind.
Cesare clenched his fist tightly. Veins bulged on the back of his hand, and his fingernails dug into his palm. But this pain could not erase the sensation left on his hand. It was a sensation that could not be forgotten by anything.
White petals were reflected in his blood-red eyes. The infidel prayed to the being he did not believe in.
"Resurrect Aileen Elrod."
He offered seven trials and asked God for a single wish. A violent wind like a storm shook the flower garden. Soon, the Lily flower garden crumbled and Cesare fell. Mixed with hundreds and thousands of flowers, he sank into an endless abyss.
And he heard the voice of God.
"Cesare Traon Cal Ergette."
The moment a human touched God was truly bizarre. An eerie sensation that was difficult to express in words shook his insides.
God's voice was intangible, so it conveyed its meaning as if carving it into flesh with a knife. Each syllable burned his skin with a hot, searing pain.
Cesare was an infidel who wanted to achieve his desires by offering the human God loved as a sacrifice. The seven trials were also God's anger towards the infidel.
Nevertheless, since he had overcome all the trials, God had no choice but to grant the infidel's wish. It was a rule that had been passed down since the beginning.
However, God and humans were not equal beings, and they could not be equal trading partners. Therefore, instead of granting only one wish, God demanded an even greater price.
The price for saving one person was another life.
Cesare laughed at God's demand. Aileen had died seven times for him. There was no reason why he could not pay the price of just one death. Rather, wasn't it a very cheap price?
Aileen would never want Cesare's sacrifice. She would hate it. It was natural for her to die for Cesare, but she couldn't even imagine the opposite.
But even knowing that Aileen didn't want it, Cesare sacrificed himself and tried to revive the dead as he pleased. He thought of Aileen ascending the Guillotine and replied happily.
"Willingly."
At the same time as the unequal transaction was concluded, Cesare felt his body and soul being bound.
The body, fixed in the gap of time, would no longer suffer from any diseases or poisons. It would not age beyond time, and even if it was injured, it would return to a fixed time.
Cesare received the opportunity to save Aileen by sacrificing himself.
But unlike mythology, a happy ending could not be achieved. Cesare's death was predetermined, and he was only allowed a little time by God after reviving Aileen.
But that was enough. Enough to revive Aileen and create a safe fence so that Aileen could live alone.
Seeing the rejoicing infidel, God did not hide his anger. But since the transaction had already been made, there was no longer any justification for intervening with humans.
He could only watch until the time given to Cesare was over.
The lilies that had been swirling around Cesare quickly disappeared. The moment darkness covered his eyes, his consciousness was cut off, and he soon regained consciousness.
Cesare checked the new world unfolding before his eyes. An old man was kneeling in front of him, and his knights and soldiers were standing around him, armed.
Cesare stared at the kneeling man's face for a while. He observed the man in front of him to distinguish whether this was an illusion or reality.
His brain, which had been trapped in a dream for a long time, gradually accepted reality. Only after observing for quite some time did Cesare realize what moment he had returned to.
"Seven years ago."
God had sent Cesare back seven years.
Cesare slowly closed and opened his eyes. This was reality, and it was a world where Aileen existed. The emotions that surged as he fully realized this were unbearable.
Laughter burst out like a seizure. Cesare, who had been laughing madly, took a languid sigh with a smile. And he whispered softly.
"Finally."
Cesare drew his sword without hesitation and cut off King Kalpen's head. Cesare smiled happily as he watched the fountain of blood gushing from the severed head.
It was a reality he had returned to after a long and grueling time.
He had to create a world for Aileen. A world where Aileen could live in peace and tranquility on her own, even without him.
To do so, there were many things to do. It would be quite a tight task since he had to solve them before his given time ran out. Starting with the death of King Kalpen, Cesare began to ferret out those among the spies in Traon who had cooperated with the King and sent Aileen to the Guillotine.
At the same time as creating a list of those to be killed, he sent soldiers to Fiore Street and destroyed the Tavern where Aileen's head was hung overnight.
Since he had already experienced it, it was not difficult to deal with the Kalpen resistance. Cesare quickly conquered Kalpen without leaving anything behind and returned to the Empire with a great victory.
But unlike in the past, he did not return to The Capital immediately. Cesare stirred up the parliament, demanding an Arch of Triumph to commemorate Archduke Erzeht's victory.
There were three reasons for demanding the Arch of Triumph. The first was to clearly identify the forces opposing Archduke Erzeht, and the second was to create something that Aileen could not help but remember him by, even if he disappeared.
The last reason was... he wanted to leave Aileen's name in history. Unlike the past, when she ended up as a female noble sentenced to death on the Guillotine, he wanted the Traon Empire, and the entire continent, to know Aileen.
To create a safer fence, he also began preparations to welcome Aileen as the Archduchess of Erzeht.
But even while carrying out all these things, Cesare did not go to see Aileen. Even though he knew it was a world where Aileen existed, he did not confirm it and instead devoted himself to other things.
He missed Aileen.
If his mind was even slightly relaxed, he would have immediately headed to the Brick house where Aileen was waiting. But Cesare persevered. It was because he was suffering from terrible nightmares every night in which he broke Aileen's neck with his own hands. He needed to make sure he was in a state where he could think properly.
This was the first and last opportunity given to Cesare.
It was a unique opportunity, but if he could not distinguish between illusion and reality and harmed Aileen... He did not dismiss the suspicion that God might have given him another trial.
He persevered and persevered until he was sure that he would not do so.
And on the day the Arch of Triumph was approved by the parliament. Cesare finally went to see Aileen.
It was not the Brick house, but the second floor of an old inn. He deliberately chose the time when Aileen would be here. If he met Aileen at the Brick house, it would be even more difficult to endure.
The innkeeper, who saw the soldiers who had suddenly rushed in, emptied the inn, trembling in fear that he had committed a crime. Cesare, who entered the empty inn, headed to the second-floor room used by Aileen.
The room, cluttered with various research tools, books, and papers, contained Aileen's time. Cesare, who was taking it all in, approached the window.
The poppy pot placed on the windowsill showed signs of being cherished. The bright red petals resembled Cesare's eyes. It was when he reached out and stroked the petals that he felt a presence.
A small footstep entered the room, but Cesare did not look back. No, he couldn't look back. After a moment that felt like an eternity, he finally turned around and faced her.
"Aileen Elrod."
The being he had killed, and the being he had revived. It was finally the real Aileen.
