26
===
Cesare kicked the bullet-riddled door open. Only two people were standing inside. Aileen and the Marquess's son-in-law, Mattio.
"Hah, fuck, fuck...!"
Mattio was holding a dagger to Aileen's neck. In his agitated state, he was highly likely to harm the hostage.
Diego and Michele exchanged glances. Michele, along with the snipers, waited for an opening.
Rohan was waiting in front of the villa in case of an emergency. Diego quietly went around to the back of the villa while Michele and the snipers exchanged fire. He climbed the building to the second floor, broke a window, and entered. He had just reached the first floor via the stairs.
"Grand Duke."
Mattio grinned, his eyes bloodshot.
"You were enjoying something pretty all alone."
Rohan moved behind Cesare and checked on Aileen. Aileen, held captive by Mattio, was trembling pitifully, but she was still acting calmly. In a hostage situation, the hostage's behavior was also important.
"I'm a condemned man! I'm going to be beheaded at the Guillotine anyway, so I have to see your face twisted before I die."
Diego, hidden in the shadows, aimed his gun at Mattio. He was too close to Aileen, making it difficult to get a clear shot. Diego silently mouthed a curse, narrowed his eyes, and waited, aiming.
As the encirclement gradually tightened, Cesare remained calm throughout. He did not react to Mattio's words at all. He simply stared at Aileen.
As their eyes met for longer, Aileen gradually regained her composure. The trembling of her body and her unstable breathing noticeably subsided. Only after Aileen had calmed down to some extent did Cesare speak.
"Good girl. Not even crying."
Aileen felt like she would burst into tears at his words.
"...Because you promised."
She stammered, her lips bleeding from being bitten too hard.
"You said you'd wait, sob, and, if I was, here, you'd come to save me..."
Tears welled up in her large eyes. Aileen pleaded with Cesare, her eyes brimming with tears.
"I, I want to go home."
"Not today. I'll have you sleep at the Grand Duke's Residence."
Instead, he would give her Amaretti brought from the Imperial Palace, Cesare soothed gently. Aileen finally answered, tears streaming down her face.
"That's good too..."
"Okay, Aileen. Shall we close our eyes?"
"Ugh, sniff, y-yes... H-how long? Do I have to sing too?"
When she asked if she had to sing like in the greenhouse, Cesare chuckled and replied.
"The national anthem is too long. I'll sing you a lullaby instead."
Aileen squeezed her eyes shut as tightly as she could. Tears streamed down her flushed cheeks. But she was no longer afraid. Aileen focused only on closing her eyes and singing.
"Damn it, what the hell are you doing...!"
The moment Mattio shouted, Cesare moved. He took a large step forward and shot Mattio in the foot. Bang! At the thunderous gunshot, Mattio reflexively swung his knife.
But before his knife could reach Aileen, a black leather glove snatched the blade. At the same time, Cesare hugged Aileen and immediately moved backward.
Gunshots rang out in succession. Mattio, shot in the limbs, screamed in shock as he convulsed.
Cesare threw the dagger to the floor and ordered.
"Keep him alive."
The dagger pierced the back of Mattio's hand, which was lying on the floor. Cesare took off his uniform jacket and draped it over Aileen's shoulders. Then, he lifted Aileen into his arms and whispered softly.
"Let's go home, Aileen."
Aileen, who hadn't even finished a verse of the lullaby, nodded and curled up in his arms. She tried to grab the hem of the uniform, but her trembling fingers kept missing.
Cesare readjusted Aileen in one arm and tried to hold her convulsing hand. But he stopped after looking at his own palm.
"Grand Duke! Archduke Erzeht...!"
Marquess Menegin hurriedly chased after Cesare, who was heading to the car. Cesare stopped for a moment and looked down at him. The Marquess was sweating profusely and pleaded.
"S-spare me. My daughter is innocent. I'm begging you on my knees like this."
Marquess Menegin threw away his cane and knelt on the ground. Senon had explained the current situation to him in great detail while the hostage situation was being suppressed.
Since the death of the late Emperor, drug trafficking in the Traon Empire is punished by the extermination of the family. Because of one wrong son-in-law, a historically significant Marquess family was about to be destroyed.
Cesare, watching the old Marquess's desperate plea, twisted his lips into a smile.
"Of course, I must spare you."
"...!"
The Marquess's face lit up with obvious relief when Cesare used polite language as usual and readily offered to save him. Cesare smiled and said to him, full of hope.
"If you pluck out the one remaining eyeball you have."
With those words, saying that he would spare the Marquess and his daughter if he did so, he turned and walked away. The Marquess couldn't even grab him and just stared blankly at his back.
"It would be interesting to see him as a blind man."
Senon, who had offered a brief comment, opened the car door for Cesare.
"To the Grand Duke's Residence."
With Cesare's command, the door closed. The military vehicle quietly sped through the darkness.
Aileen remained in Cesare's arms until they arrived at the Grand Duke's Residence. Cesare also quietly held Aileen.
He got out of the car with Aileen in his arms. It was possible because the body of the military vehicle was high.
Sonio was pacing anxiously in front of the entrance to the Grand Duke's Residence. Sonio breathed a sigh of relief as soon as he saw Cesare appear with Aileen in his arms.
"God, thank you."
The old butler looked ten years older. He tried to put the blanket he was holding over Aileen's shoulders, but when he saw the uniform jacket, he just hugged her. Aileen hugged the bundle of blankets and looked at Sonio.
"Lady Aileen. I have prepared a bath. And warm milk with honey. Would you like a glass of milk first?"
When Aileen nodded slightly, Cesare added a word.
"Amaretti in the milk too."
"I will prepare it together."
Cesare lowered Aileen to the ground. Aileen was helped by Sonio and entered the mansion.
In fact, she wanted to stay with Cesare. But she couldn't hold him back when he had to move busily to clean up.
Aileen drank a glass of milk and then ate two Amaretti. After regaining her energy with the sweets, she took a clean bath with the help of the servants and changed into a soft Night Robe.
Then, she entered the guest bedroom and was startled. Cesare was sitting on a chair next to the bed. Cesare tapped the bed with his hand.
"Come here and lie down."
Happy to see that Cesare was there, Aileen soon noticed the bandage on his hand.
"Your Excellency, your hand..."
She rushed to him. Cesare sat loosely in the chair and only raised his head slightly.
"You were cut by a, a knife, weren't you? What should I do..."
Cesare's hand was injured just to save her. She felt like she was going to cry again, so she bit her lip and paused at the stinging pain. Her lips were chapped from biting them too much earlier.
Cesare pressed Aileen's lips with his other hand to prevent her from biting them. Aileen slowly opened her mouth.
"You must have been waiting then too."
She couldn't answer because she didn't understand what he meant. But Cesare didn't seem to expect an answer.
"You must have been waiting because I promised to protect you."
Was he talking about the kidnapping when she was twelve? Aileen listened quietly to his words.
"You must have been scared, right? You're a scaredy-cat, so you must have cried a lot too."
Cesare chuckled. He pulled Aileen slightly between his legs, hugged her waist, and mumbled, making sure Aileen couldn't see his face.
"Sorry, Aileen."
Aileen was surprised by his apology. She carefully opened her mouth, placing her slightly trembling hand on Cesare's shoulder.
"Your Excellency has always saved me."
Why was he apologizing? He had always been her savior. Aileen told Cesare what she was thinking.
"You came today too. You always kept your promise."
After a brief silence, Cesare whispered as if confessing an old original sin.
"...I failed to keep it once."
