19
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Naturally, Aileen, who was about to be sold off to a foreign country by her father, came to Cesare for help. However, Cesare refused to see her.
According to the original plan, Cesare was going to step in personally only when the old pig came to the brick house to take Aileen away.
"Seeing her face made me weak."
Cesare held a pocket watch in one hand and playfully twirled Aileen's hair with the other. Rohan swallowed a sigh at the sight of him running his fingers through her hair, which was mixed with various colors and had a mysterious glow.
"While you were feeling weak, wouldn't it have been better if you hadn't let her see Lord Elrod either?"
"Well, that was what Aileen wanted."
He replied nonchalantly, but Rohan knew his master well. Even though he could have chosen a more moderate method, he must have deliberately shown her a disgusting sight to make Aileen distance herself from her father.
Although blood ties were tenacious, Aileen especially couldn't let go of the idea of family. The late Baroness was not normal either. Mentally unstable, she had abused Aileen for a long time. Nevertheless, Aileen sincerely loved her mother.
Rohan liked Aileen's innocence, but he was tormented by ambivalent feelings whenever he saw her get hurt because of it. The desire to protect Aileen's innocence and the thought that it might be okay for her to be a little more wicked crossed his mind every time.
Especially when he saw her unknowingly getting caught up in things by Cesare's side, the latter feeling became even stronger.
But in the end, Rohan also wanted Aileen to become the Grand Duchess, so he didn't mention this matter any further and brought up another topic.
"What are you going to do about Malena? She doesn't seem like she'll back down easily."
When the laboratory was closed, Aileen asked the innkeeper to take care of her guests. She told them to tell them not to worry because she was closing temporarily, but the medicine would continue to be sold through the inn.
However, there was something Aileen had overlooked: her guests liked her very much. When she suddenly closed and disappeared, they were all worried that something might have happened to her and were busy investigating.
The guests had no idea that Aileen was the daughter of the Elrod Baron and a child cherished by Archduke Erzeht. They only knew her as a smart but poor pharmacist with a quirky side who loved plants.
As soon as Aileen suddenly disappeared, Malena was the first to request an investigation. So she knew that she thought of her as special, but she didn't know that she would dare to stand up to Cesare.
In the past, she had been forced to have an abortion after becoming pregnant with a noble's child and was kicked out of Fiore Street. Cesare was the one who reached out to Malena, offering her a chance to take revenge for her miserable life.
Malena made a splendid comeback with Cesare's help, and in return, she became the Grand Duke's eyes and ears.
"Just let her meet Aileen. Malena is useful in many ways."
The easy permission was unexpected. Sensing his doubt, Cesare added a simple explanation.
"Aileen will have to make her debut in society soon, won't she?"
As the most famous dancer in Fiore, she now had so much influence that she could lead the nightlife of the capital's high society, beyond being a flower in the shadows.
Malena was often invited to noble balls and treated as a valued guest. As her influence grew, she would surely be helpful to Aileen, who was about to make her debut in society.
"I will inform Malena that you have allowed her to meet Aileen."
Malena would be satisfied with this much. Thinking it was fortunate that it was resolved in a good direction, Rohan replied promptly.
Cesare caressed Aileen's slightly parted lips. Aileen, who was sound asleep, would probably not wake up until tomorrow morning.
It was because of the smoke she had inhaled today. That much was nothing in Fiore, but it was a potent drug for Aileen, who had no tolerance.
Rohan couldn't help but think that he had deliberately made her inhale the smoke. But he stopped suspecting because it seemed like he was making Cesare out to be too much of a scumbag.
"Oh, and..."
Cesare ordered leisurely.
"Put the news of the marriage in the newspaper tomorrow morning."
It was a declaration to the entire Traon Empire to prevent Aileen from changing her mind.
Whether she wanted it or not, Aileen would become a storm raging through the Traon Empire from tomorrow.
"Yes, Your Excellency."
But what could he do when that was his master's will? Rohan could only obey silently, hoping that Aileen wouldn't have too hard a time.
Perhaps it was because she was tense and tired. Aileen, who was in Cesare's arms, fell asleep without realizing it.
Looking back, it had been a day of too many events. She had already exhausted herself crying in the Grand Duke's Residence, and then she was shocked by her father's actions and almost fainted.
When she opened her eyes, she was in the second-floor bedroom of the brick house. Aileen breathed a sigh of relief at the coziness she felt in the familiar space. Cesare must have moved her home while she was asleep.
Still covered with a blanket, Aileen only opened her eyes and looked up at the ceiling.
Although it was blurry, she remembered Cesare laying her down while she was dozing off. She seemed to have fallen asleep on his lap.
'I used to do that when I was a kid...'
Lap pillows were not something she would do now that she was an adult. Overwhelmed by embarrassment, she pulled the blanket over her face.
'That's why I'm still treated like a child.'
Still, she felt clear-headed after sleeping soundly. Aileen slowly recalled what had happened yesterday.
She had seen her father having relations with a woman, but she felt better than she had expected. It seemed that she had already taken all the shock she needed to yesterday and let it go. Aileen calmly retraced the situation yesterday.
Perhaps because she was too shocked, her memory was fragmented. But one thing was clear.
"I didn't know you'd be selling your daughter off and playing around here, Baron."
It was such vulgar language that Aileen couldn't believe it had come from Cesare's mouth. It was the first time she had seen him curse.
But Cesare was a soldier. It was only natural that he would utter harsh words on the battlefield, where he was on the verge of life and death.
Cesare's knights, except for Senon, were all foul-mouthed. Diego and Michele were not to mention, and Rohan sometimes used swear words. Of course, they all tried not to show it in front of Aileen.
Aileen slyly imitated the vulgar words that Cesare had said to her father.
Then she quickly closed her lips and looked around for no reason. When it came from Cesare's mouth, even the curse words sounded elegant, but when it came from her mouth, it just sounded like a curse.
Aileen pressed her lips with her hands as if to punish them for saying bad words and got out of bed. When she went down to the first floor, the door to her father's bedroom was tightly closed. It seemed that he had come home.
'Is he still sleeping?'
To have a conversation right away, both Aileen and her father needed time to sort out the events of yesterday. Aileen, looking at the closed door, sighed softly and headed to the kitchen.
"...?"
Then she suddenly turned to the window. It was because she felt that something was noisy outside. But the curtains were drawn on the window, so she couldn't see outside.
First, she drank some water to quench her dry throat and took out some bread from the cupboard. As she was slicing a large loaf of bread with a bread knife, she realized that there was nothing else to eat in the house. It was because she hadn't had the mind to go grocery shopping for the past few days.
Not wanting to starve to death, she put the corner of the sliced bread in her mouth and chewed it. After covering her face well with her glasses and bangs, she finished preparing to go grocery shopping. It was the moment she opened the door with a large shopping basket in her hand.
Aileen froze with her hand on the door.
"She's finally out! Elrod! Lady Elrod!"
"Miss Aileen! Please look here!"
"Please say a word about your marriage to Archduke Erzeht!"
"Is it true that you threatened Grand Duke Erzeht that you would commit suicide if he didn't marry you?"
"Don't push!"
"Get out of the way, I was here first!"
As if they had been waiting for the door to open, the gathered people started shouting like crazy. They rushed in like a swarm of bees, throwing questions. But unlike their fierce momentum, they couldn't lay a finger on Aileen.
This was because the Grand Duke's soldiers were surrounding the entire brick house. The soldiers, armed with guns, mercilessly pushed back reporters and onlookers who approached beyond a certain line.
'What's going on?'
She couldn't believe it even as she saw it with her own eyes. As Aileen took a step back, the reporters became even more agitated. It was when they were about to push the soldiers and rush in.
Bang!
A thunderous gunshot rang out. Those who had been seething like demons from hell became quiet as if they had been exorcised in an instant. A low voice spread through the silence.
"Everyone. Would you please shut up?"
Michele, who had fired a shot into the air, raised one eyebrow and said.
"Our mistress is startled."
