44
===
At his mention of a scent, Aileen initially flinched, wondering if she smelled bad. But as her gaze lingered on his crimson eyes, a strange feeling crept in.
They were exactly like that night…
She worried she was misinterpreting, unable to distinguish between jest and sincerity, and felt a blush creep up her neck. Aileen avoided Cesare's gaze.
Meanwhile, Cesare slowly walked into the room. Standing in the center of the small bedroom, he finally set Aileen down.
Then, he carefully examined the bedroom again, not just looking, but touching things here and there. He pressed down on the back of the small, one-person sofa that Aileen often used.
The sofa, perfectly sized for Aileen, seemed incredibly petite to Cesare. It was too small to properly support his back.
Aileen quietly watched him explore, but when he approached the bookshelf where her diary was kept, she hurriedly exclaimed,
"Um, Your Excellency, no, Cesare. Would you like to see this? Sir Diego gave me this stuffed rabbit as a gift."
She picked up the doll from the bedside and shook it vigorously. Fortunately, Aileen's desperate actions caught Cesare's attention, or perhaps he was just pretending to be interested, but she was relieved to have successfully diverted his gaze.
"Would you like to see the bathroom too? There are many interesting things."
It was a small bathroom attached to the bedroom. There was no way there would be anything interesting, but Aileen, desperate to distract him, babbled and led Cesare inside. Cesare chuckled and followed Aileen.
But once she had lured him into the bathroom, she was at a loss for words. As she pondered what to do, Aileen suddenly showed him the toothpaste.
"I made this. Well, I didn't make it from scratch…"
It was a commercially available powdered toothpaste mixed with several herbs. Everyone liked it when she gave it as a gift because of the refreshing feeling.
With her audience in place, Aileen strained her brain as much as possible, trying not to explain the types, appearances, ingredients, and effects of the herbs she put in the toothpaste.
While Aileen fought against her impulses, Cesare wore a smiling face for some reason.
"How do you use it?"
"Uh, just like regular toothpaste…"
"Show me."
At his urging, Aileen blurted out,
"Then, would you like to use it together, Cesare?"
She didn't expect him to agree, but Cesare readily accepted.
They stood side by side at the small sink and used the toothpaste. Like the kitchen, everything here was sized for Aileen. It must be uncomfortable, but Cesare followed Aileen's lead without complaint.
The muscles in his forearm, exposed beneath his rolled-up shirt, rippled. Splashes of water landed on his forearm before falling. Washing his hands under the stream of water, a truly trivial action, was something she couldn't take her eyes off of.
Cesare, who had taken an unusually long time to wash his hands thoroughly, turned to look at Aileen. Aileen, who had been diligently stealing glances at him, flinched in surprise at the direct eye contact.
As the saying goes, a guilty conscience needs no accuser. Cesare hadn't said anything, but she felt guilty and quickly fled the bathroom. In her haste, she didn't look where she was going and tripped over the sofa.
Aileen fell onto the sofa with a thud, one leg on the floor and the other on the armrest, in a ridiculous position. She tried to get up quickly, but she couldn't move due to the steady pressure on her back.
Cesare was gently pressing down on Aileen's back with his hand. It wasn't a strong force, but it was enough to immobilize Aileen.
At first, she thought he was joking. But for some reason, he didn't move away easily. The pressure on her back increased slightly, making it a little hard to breathe, so Aileen carefully called out to him.
"Ce, Cesare…?"
But Cesare didn't answer. He remained still for a moment before letting out a long sigh. Just as Aileen was about to call out again, he spoke first.
"...From now on."
He spoke as if scolding a child.
"Don't let anyone into your bedroom, even if they ask to see it."
His low, subdued voice sounded ominous. Aileen quickly replied,
"No one has ever been in my bedroom except for you, Cesare. Not even my father."
It wasn't so much that she didn't let them in, but rather that her father had no interest in his child's bedroom.
"So you don't have to worry."
She thought he would praise her for doing well, like he was dealing with a child again. But that wasn't the case. After hearing her answer, Cesare silently extended his other arm.
He leaned over, bracing himself on the back of the sofa with his arm. As his large body approached from behind, the light was blocked, casting a dark shadow. Almost completely covering Aileen, he brought his lips to her ear and asked in a low voice.
"Aren't you worried about what I might do?"
Aileen tried to turn around, but a firm command immediately followed.
"Don't turn your head, Aileen."
She quickly turned her head back to face forward. Aileen, with her eyes fixed on the sofa fabric, opened her lips.
"But you're okay, Cesare."
She had let him into her bedroom because it was Cesare. He was someone who would never treat Aileen badly.
Even if he did treat her badly, it would be okay. The bad things he had warned her about before. Even if she were killed or suffered irreparable physical harm, she could accept it if it came from Cesare.
'My life belongs to Cesare.'
Just like her mother, Aileen was prepared to give everything for him. Of course, Cesare didn't really need Aileen's life, so she was only prepared…
"You don't have to take my place. Understand?"
When the assassin had burst into the greenhouse, Cesare had told Aileen not to take his place. But if such a moment ever came, Aileen wanted to die for Cesare.
'It's unlikely.'
Cesare was a strong and beautiful being. He had the power to protect himself, and he had countless soldiers to assist him.
There was nothing Aileen could do for him…
Even the Morpheus she had ambitiously prepared had completely gone wrong and ended up ruining Cesare instead.
"It's okay if you kill me or cause irreparable physical harm. You would never harm me without a reason, Cesare. If something like that happened, it would definitely be my fault."
She calmly conveyed her thoughts to him. At this point, he should know that she hadn't thoughtlessly let him into her bedroom. She had also shown her trust and loyalty towards Cesare, so she felt somewhat proud.
But Aileen soon realized that she had completely misinterpreted his intentions.
Cesare slowly lowered himself. As his solid chest pressed against her back, something heavy and hot pressed against her buttocks. Aileen's eyes widened as she fully felt the man's weight and warmth.
Too flustered, she could only utter short sounds of "Uh, uh," when he brought his lips to her ear.
"Then is this also something you did wrong?"
He lightly bit Aileen's earlobe with his firm teeth, then slid his tongue along the curve.
Aileen, who had been frozen, belatedly struggled to escape from under him. Then, Cesare thrust his hips up with a thud. With just one simple hip movement, Aileen's body and the sofa shook violently. He bit her earlobe tightly as if punishing her.
"Ah…!"
It hurt enough to bring tears to her eyes. Aileen, who had been thrashing, immediately lay still on the sofa again. Then, in a trembling voice, she made excuses to him.
"Th, that's not what I meant. I don't think this is something I did wrong, hng, don't lick there…!"
He inserted his tongue into her ear. The wet sound filled her eardrum. The sticky sound echoed lewdly, making her lose her mind.
