23
===
It had truly been an exhausting day. After Malena left, Aileen spent a hectic time.
The people who had gathered outside all ran away when Michele fired the second shot. Michele, who had shot an orange off a tree with his gun, grinned, holding the unripe orange.
"Now, the rumor will spread that you'll get shot if you come here, so no one will bother you."
Michele dismissed the soldiers and got dinner from Aileen. He didn't forget to complicate Aileen's mind while doing so.
"But Madam, when are you moving into the Grand Duke's Residence?"
"I'm not... Madam yet..."
"The more the merrier, isn't it? I'll practice in advance. Madam, Madam."
"......"
After dinner, Michele, drawing on his experience as a former maid in the Imperial Palace, quickly cleaned the house and left.
Aileen, left alone in the sparkling clean house, sat on the sofa for a moment. The Grand Duke's knights were valuable personnel. To waste their time on such trivial tasks was truly inefficient.
'His Excellency hates that the most.'
Cesare considered wasting time on unnecessary things the most foolish thing. But this was already happening because of her. Aileen shook her head, feeling her confidence plummeting endlessly.
She got up from the sofa and headed to her father's bedroom. After taking a moment to catch her breath, she knocked on the door.
"Come out. How long are you going to stay inside?"
Then, she heard a noise from beyond the door. Creak, her father finally opened the door and came out.
He was a sorry sight. As soon as Aileen saw her father, she immediately thought of his naked, fleshy skin, but she tried hard to shake it off.
"It seems the guests have left."
Her father tried to act normal, as if nothing had happened between them.
In the past, she would have accepted her father's signal of reconciliation. But not today. Aileen confronted him head-on.
"Why did you do that?"
Her father's eyebrows twitched. Unable to hide his displeasure at his defiant daughter, he shouted.
"I never intended to sell you off!"
Aileen flinched and stepped back. Then, she braced herself and stood firm. Even in this situation, her father was brazen.
"I was just trying to solve some urgent problems. His Excellency would naturally help you, so it was all calculated. As a result, it's all working out wonderfully now, isn't it?"
Ahem, her father cleared his throat awkwardly and glanced at Aileen.
"Because you're going to be the Grand Duchess now."
It was already evident from the way his eyes were rolling. The inflated expectation that his daughter had become the Grand Duchess and might enjoy enormous wealth and glory in the future.
'This is why I didn't want to get married.'
She pictured a future where her father would cause all sorts of trouble and tarnish Cesare's name. Perhaps it wouldn't matter to Cesare. But Aileen was distressed by the fact that she was becoming a flaw to him.
"I'm going out for a bit. I'm just going to have a beer."
Her father grabbed his hat and coat and left. He was avoiding the conversation about an uncomfortable topic.
It was always like this. Even when her mother was alive, he would just shout and leave when there was a fight. Then Aileen, who was left behind, had to deal with her mother's anger.
'Still, he probably won't gamble for a while...'
He seemed to have spent almost all the money he got from selling her off at that expensive-looking bar.
Aileen, continuing her thoughts alone, drooped her shoulders at the overwhelming frustration. She felt like she would continue to feel down if she stayed like this, so she decided to get some night air in the garden. Sitting under the orange tree would soothe her mind.
Aileen put a shawl over her shoulders and went out to the garden. She sat crouched on a wooden chair, looking gloomily at the grass.
Marriage is reality, and there was nothing wrong with that saying. She didn't even know what to do with her father. It was even more difficult because it wasn't a problem that could be solved with money.
Originally, the Elrod barony was wealthy, but her father had gambled away all the assets. The best way was for her father to turn over a new leaf, but that was close to impossible.
Aileen's thoughts, piling up with worries, reached the conversation she had with Malena today.
"......"
Aileen stretched out her left hand and stared at her empty fourth finger.
Malena had gritted her teeth, saying how much she would be looked down upon if she didn't even have a proposal ring when the marriage was already announced. She also poured out a torrent of abuse, calling His Excellency heartless and cruel.
Since they had to get married, Cesare would eventually give her a ring. It's just that it wasn't now.
'I can't ask him to buy it right away.'
Although it was a marriage made through a deal, the scales were heavily tilted to one side. She already owed Cesare countless debts, and she couldn't even bring up the ring. That was too brazen. It was right to trust Cesare and wait.
As she thought of Cesare, another thought suddenly intruded. It was the smoke he was smoking at the bar when he went to find her father.
The Empire strictly cracked down on drugs, but mainly on opium distribution. Consenting Harmony Herb like that wasn't a big problem.
Since Cesare didn't say anything after smelling the smoke, it seemed to be a drug that combined various types within a non-illegal range...
She was lost in thought when suddenly, light entered the dark garden. It was the light emitted by the headlights of a vehicle.
Soldiers in uniform got out of a familiar military vehicle.
Ordinary people were usually frightened when soldiers came, but Aileen, who was more familiar with soldiers than anyone else, happily got up from her chair. The soldiers who entered the garden greeted Aileen politely.
"Lady Elrod."
At the greeting, Aileen paused for a moment. But she didn't show it and spoke.
"Good evening."
"His Excellency the Grand Duke is calling for you."
"Now?"
"Yes. We will escort you."
Aileen lowered her head to hide her expression. Then, she slowly clenched her trembling hands so that they wouldn't be seen.
After the kidnapping at the age of twelve, Aileen received intensive training from Cesare. Among them was this saying.
"When I tell you to come with me, I won't send just anyone. I'll send at least those whose faces you know."
But most of the soldiers who came to find Aileen now were faces she had never seen before. Only one person had a familiar face, and he was standing far back by himself.
The title was also suspicious. Usually, soldiers called her 'Aileen-nim'. It was rare for them to call her Lady Elrod and follow the etiquette.
'This is strange.'
Becoming the Grand Duchess also meant becoming a target for Cesare's enemies. But who would dare?
No, now was not the time to speculate about such things. Aileen quickly turned her head.
"Then I'll just get dressed and come. Please wait a moment."
It seemed best to run away into the house first. Aileen was about to turn around and take a step when.
"Wait."
Her wrist was suddenly grabbed. Aileen was startled and shook off the hand that was holding her. The soldier, caught off guard, released Aileen's hand.
As soon as she ran into the house, slammed the door shut, and locked it, they knocked on the door roughly as if they were going to smash it. In her haste, her feet got tangled and she almost fell. Aileen grabbed the table and ran.
If she went to the backyard, there was a small dog hole. If she escaped through there...
Clang!
Aileen trembled greatly at the sound of the window breaking. Soldiers in uniform burst into the house with their military boots.
The soldier with a familiar face was the first to jump in and grab her by the scruff of her neck and pull her. Aileen was dragged away and her back hit the soldier's chest. The soldier hugged Aileen's waist with one hand and grabbed her neck with the other.
"Heuk!"
The grip that grabbed her tightly was rough. When he accurately pressed and compressed both carotid arteries in her neck, she immediately lost strength in her body.
The hands that were struggling to get out soon drooped. As oxygen was cut off, her consciousness faded. Her vision turned black.
'I have to run away...'
With meaningless thoughts, Aileen lost consciousness.
