55
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Aileen stared blankly at the newspaper. She squeezed her eyes shut and opened them, but the newspaper headline didn't suddenly change. The full-page photo on the front page was the wedding picture taken yesterday.
'Is that me?'
It was hard to believe. Aileen stared at the newspaper with wide eyes. Cesare, who was sipping strongly brewed tea and checking the newspaper headlines one by one, glanced at Aileen, picked up <The Truth> on the table, and handed it to her.
Aileen couldn't readily accept the newspaper he offered and just stared at it. Cesare didn't rush Aileen and waited patiently.
Looking at his waiting hand, she felt that she shouldn't take up Cesare's busy time. Aileen shook off the fear that enveloped her and took the newspaper.
Perhaps because she put too much strength into it without realizing it, the newspaper in her hand rustled and crumpled. Aileen held the newspaper with trembling hands and checked the photo.
Cesare was captured in the photo as he had appeared at the wedding. To be honest, it wasn't exactly the same. It was much worse than the real thing.
Cesare in the photo was also a handsome man, but it didn't capture his unique dangerous and captivating atmosphere at all. The photo was only in black and white, so the color of Cesare's crimson eyes wasn't visible, which seemed to be the reason.
'It would have been nice if the red color had been expressed.'
Aileen was sorry that the citizens of the Traon Empire couldn't see Cesare's beautiful eyes. Aileen slowly shifted her gaze.
She stared at the unfamiliar woman's face standing next to Cesare. The woman, wearing a pure white wedding dress with delicate embroidery, had wavy hair cascading down and was smiling slightly.
She carefully examined the face of the bride, who smiled shyly. Large eyes, a small nose, and plump lips... Her delicate features were lovely like an elf. Anyone could see that she was an undeniably perfect beauty.
She couldn't tell the color of her hair or eyes, but they must have been very pretty colors. After examining the woman for a while, Aileen came to a clear conclusion.
'It's someone else.'
There must have been some mistake in the printing process, and someone else's face that was filmed earlier must have been superimposed on her face.
At first, she was surprised and upset, but when she thought about it, it seemed like a good thing. It was much better for a strange beauty to be known as the Archduchess of Erzeht than for her hideous self. The woman in the photo looked like she was made for Cesare.
However, she was just sad that she couldn't record her commemorative memories with him. Thinking that she had taken so many pictures, wouldn't there be at least one that turned out right, Aileen put the newspaper down weakly.
Cesare, who had been standing in front of the table, drinking tea and reading the newspaper, came right next to her.
"Why?"
She tried to hide her dejected look, but he seemed to see everything.
"That's, the wedding photo."
Aileen handed him the newspaper. And she tried not to look too gloomy as she said, "I think the photo was printed wrong."
Cesare looked down at the newspaper and raised one eyebrow. He stared at Aileen for a moment, then made a short sound and said, "It's inferior to the real thing. Your eyes are especially pretty."
Cesare said that the photo wasn't good because the color wasn't visible, and handed the newspaper back to Aileen. Aileen, who had taken the newspaper without realizing it, looked back and forth between the newspaper and Cesare in confusion.
"Uh, the photo is weird..."
"Are you upset because you look too ugly?"
"Yes? Ugly! She's as beautiful as an elf. No, that's not it."
Aileen bit her lip slightly and hid her upset feelings. Why doesn't Cesare know? This woman in the photo isn't me... Or is he not interested at all?
She was already upset that she couldn't take a wedding photo, but Cesare was saying strange things, so she felt distressed. Aileen unfolded the crumpled newspaper again and showed it to him.
"If you look... it's not my face. It looks like the face of the person before was printed over it."
She carefully stated only the objective facts, worried that she might look like she was complaining. Cesare stared at Aileen silently for a moment.
"Aileen."
"Yes..."
When she answered in a subdued voice, he sat down next to Aileen. The loosely draped gown opened, revealing his chest. Just as she was captivated by the all-too-revealing sight in the middle of the day, Cesare put his hand on Aileen's cheek. He said in a low, firm voice.
"You are my wife now."
She didn't know why he was confirming the obvious. Aileen nodded slightly to him.
"At the wedding, you swore to obey your husband, and I also said that I would give you true trust. Right?"
Aileen nodded again and again. Looking at her nodding with cute eyes, he stroked Aileen's cheek with his large hand and asked.
"Then Aileen. Who should you believe, your husband or the words of a dead person?"
She hesitated for a moment, but soon gave the answer that Cesare wanted.
"My husband..."
Then Cesare gave a simple conclusion.
"The wedding photo in the newspaper now is your face, Aileen."
She wanted to argue with him. To say no, to look again, that the woman in the photo and her face were completely different.
But Aileen couldn't say anything. His crimson eyes, like poppy petals, had completely captivated Aileen. His pleasant baritone voice continued softly.
"You are beautiful. Even from the objective perspective of others, not just my personal opinion."
Cesare smiled faintly and added, "Didn't you also say it yourself? That she's like an elf."
Aileen's cheeks, who had somehow become the person who called herself an elf, were tinged with a faint red color.
"That's because, I thought it was someone else."
When she made an excuse timidly, he lightly pinched her cheek and let go, then got up from the bed again.
"Read the article. Your husband will be back in a moment."
Aileen greeted him, who said he would be back soon, and as soon as she was alone in the bedroom, she looked down at the newspaper again. She wasn't even interested in the breakfast that was cooling down next to her.
'Is this me?'
Cesare said so, so it must be her photo. Her head throbbed with confusion. Bearing the pain that felt like she was being poked in the head with a sharp awl, she first turned the newspaper over. The headache subsided a little when she couldn't see the wedding photo on the front page.
She was going to read the article as Cesare had told her to. Aileen carefully read the article on page 2.
[I dare say, it was a scene from the founding myth of Traon itself.
The Archduke and Archduchess of Erzeht captivated all the guests with a beauty that no one could have imagined...]
They compared the wedding to the founding myth of the Traon Empire. Her appearance was also described in great detail, and it was so full of praise that she wondered if she had attended a different wedding.
'Is it because it's a pro-imperial newspaper?'
But she had to believe Cesare's words. He never lied to Aileen. He had never hidden anything, even if he hadn't told the truth.
'Still, me... the woman in this photo...'
Aileen mustered up the courage to go back to page 1. But as soon as she saw the photo, she felt a headache again due to the sense of alienation that she couldn't narrow down. Her whole body ached as if she had been beaten because of the first night, and the headache made it even more painful.
In the end, she decided to stop thinking for a while and empty her head by finding and reading articles unrelated to the wedding. After searching for a long time, Aileen finally found a political article and slowly read the words.
[Count Domenico, as the new Speaker of the Senate, predicts changes in the Traon Parliament... Is he trying to mediate between the imperial family and the nobles...]
Although they had just had their wedding the day before, the Erzeht Grand Duke Residence was as quiet as usual. The only difference was that there were more fresh flower decorations everywhere.
The lilies that were used at the wedding yesterday showed off their splendid fragrance in the drawing room. However, Count Domenico couldn't even look at the flowers, let alone sit on the sofa, and was pacing around the drawing room with an anxious face. Cesare smiled crookedly as he watched him fidget like a rat with its tail on fire.
"Count Domenico."
"Your Grace!"
As soon as Cesare appeared, Count Domenico rushed over. Cesare lightly waved his hand to push him back and sat on the sofa. The Count sat on the sofa opposite him, following Cesare with an impatient face.
Cesare leaned loosely against the backrest and said, "Must I meet you on my first day of marriage? Leaving my bride alone in the bedroom."
Count Domenico's face stiffened at the joke-like words.
"Didn't Your Grace make it so?"
The Count, who had a lean and gaunt appearance, breathed heavily and continued quickly.
"Since when has Your Grace been so interested in politics? Are you even coveting the throne now that you have seized military power?"
Cesare only twisted his lips and smiled without responding to the rude remarks. The Count, who had finally run out of patience, trembled his beard and shouted angrily.
"Why don't you just kill them all! If you execute all the nobles, wouldn't you achieve what you want!"
Then Cesare replied in a relaxed tone.
"I think you're misunderstanding something, Count. I can have the throne even now. We are quite friendly brothers. And the nobles..."
The eyes containing red eyes curved into a line. As if it were a mischievous prank, Cesare countered the Count's words.
"Even if I kill them all, I can't achieve what I want, can I?"
