72
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Aileen slowly opened and closed her eyes. Leone didn't seem to expect an answer, as he turned his gaze back to Cesare and continued speaking.
"I was jealous when we were young. But later, I realized even that was meaningless. Humans can't follow gods, can they?"
Leone smiled gently, his face full of pride for his only twin brother.
"I'm proud that Cesare is my brother."
His whisper quickly dissipated beyond the piano melody. Aileen forcibly tore her gaze away from Leone and looked at Cesare again.
However, she could no longer fully concentrate on the performance. She had glimpsed someone extremely familiar in Leone.
Her dead mother had the same eyes as Leone. Her mother regarded Cesare as her god and worshiped him.
The people of the Empire also called him the God of War and revered him like a god. Aileen also thought Cesare was as great as a god.
But in the end, Cesare was human. Not a god.
Suddenly, an inexplicable chill ran down her spine. Just as Aileen quietly gripped her dress with her hand, the performance stopped. Cesare stopped playing even though the piece wasn't finished. He looked at Aileen with red eyes.
Having asked him to play, Aileen hadn't been able to concentrate on him, and she flinched like a student caught not paying attention.
Without a word, Cesare closed the piano lid and stood up. Leone applauded, but looked rather disappointed.
"Why didn't you finish it?"
Cesare, who had already approached Leone and Aileen, replied in a calm voice.
"I have something urgent to do."
The only thing on the schedule afterward was returning home. Knowing what Cesare's answer meant, Aileen tried not to show any suspicious reaction. Like blushing, or flinching.
Cesare, who had been smiling faintly as he watched Aileen trying so hard, turned to Leone. When their eyes met, Leone smiled brightly. Cesare also smiled, but for some reason, he didn't say anything.
The brothers looked at each other in silence. The time they spent making eye contact grew longer. Just before a slight discomfort began to set in, Cesare's lips drew a deep curve.
"Brother."
He said, looking into blue eyes.
"Next time, you play for me."
Aileen held the envelope tightly in her hand as she got into the car. Until they left the Imperial Palace, Cesare didn't say a word to Aileen. He only held her hand and played light finger games.
Aileen sat quietly, offering him her hand. Then, she suddenly opened her mouth first.
"His Majesty..."
She impulsively started to speak, but hesitated to continue, carefully choosing her words.
"He's proud of Cesare."
It was something that would be obvious to Cesare. Countless people regarded Cesare as an honor.
Aileen couldn't bring herself to say that Leone felt like her dead mother. Cesare probably knew it much better than she did anyway. They were twin brothers, after all.
"Leone is especially like that."
Cesare replied briefly, then looked at Aileen for a moment before shifting his gaze outside.
"I see an orange tree."
Indeed, an orange tree in a brick house and garden could be seen far away. Aileen quickly pressed her face against the car window and checked the orange tree.
Fortunately, there were still unripe oranges hanging in clusters. Aileen, who had been worried that someone might have stolen them or damaged the tree, finally felt relieved.
When she thought about it, who would dare to invade the Archduchess of Erzeht's family home? Cesare had publicly executed an orange thief before.
The people of the Empire knew that the Grand Duke of Erzeht was not merciful. They praised him as a hero, but also feared his cruelty. Cesare was not one to let anyone who rebelled against him live.
Even if they were blood relatives...
Aileen banished the ominous thought and began to worry about more practical matters.
'Come to think of it, what about dinner?'
There wouldn't be anything left in the brick house. It didn't matter if she skipped a meal, but she couldn't let Cesare go hungry.
Aileen, who had been seriously worrying alone, was startled when she entered the house. A warm dinner was already set on the table. As if it had been prepared to coincide with Aileen and Cesare's arrival home, steam was rising from the food.
"What to do, I couldn't eat a sandwich today."
Cesare naturally teased Aileen, taking off his uniform jacket and hanging it on the chair next to him. That action was also very natural. Cesare had visited the brick house so few times that she could count them on her fingers, but he looked as familiar as someone who had lived here for years.
This was the second time she had dined with him at the brick house. As before, Aileen felt an indescribable, bubbly feeling whenever she spent such simple time with him.
She liked him melting into the brick house. It felt like she was living the honeymoon she had dreamed of, as if she had fallen into an impossible fantasy. Trying to regain her sense of reality, Aileen sat across from him and mumbled in reply.
"If you want, I can buy the ingredients now and make one for you..."
Fortunately, Cesare only laughed and didn't actually ask her to make one. After the meal, the Grand Duke himself graciously took care of the cleanup. It was because Aileen, still in her dress, was uncomfortable moving around.
Cesare skillfully moved the dishes from the table to the kitchen and cleaned up neatly. Aileen could only hover behind him, not knowing what to do.
She wanted to help in any way she could, but he wouldn't let her, so there was nothing she could do. It was also true that she couldn't be of much help in her uncomfortable dress.
In the meantime, Cesare, who had finished cleaning up, approached Aileen. He swept back his slightly disheveled hair, pushing up the sleeves of his shirt, and asked.
"Shouldn't I help?"
When Aileen tilted her head slightly, Cesare reached out and pulled on the ribbon of her dress instead of answering. One of the ribbons that had been tying the sleeves came loose with his touch.
Aileen parted her lips. She had been thinking about changing her clothes, and as he said, it was a dress that was difficult to take off by herself.
But she didn't have the confidence to take off her dress in front of Cesare. Even though she had spent the night with him, she was still embarrassed. Aileen hesitated and asked for help with only the most difficult part.
"If you could just untie the ribbons on my back..."
At the same time as she whispered the words, he turned Aileen around. Then, he immediately began to untie the intricately tangled ribbons on her back.
The fingers that had been playing the piano keys effortlessly unraveled the ribbon knots. As the ribbons that had been tightly constricting her were loosened, Aileen inhaled without realizing it.
Then, she belatedly realized that her chest, swelling above the loosened corset, might look lewd. As she hunched her shoulders, hot breath poured over her bare nape.
A faint chill ran down her spine at Cesare's low breath. At the moment she froze at the sensation of her fine hairs standing on end, Aileen was hugged as she was.
"Ah..."
Aileen let out a small sound. He pressed his lips to her neck as he wrapped his arms around her waist. She squeezed her eyes shut at the lips that were caressing her soft flesh.
Her body had been heating up and cooling down for several days, and had even been thoroughly heated this morning. As Cesare kissed her neck a few times, her whole body quickly heated up. The tingling sensation in her lower abdomen was now familiar.
Aileen grabbed the arms wrapped around her waist with her hands and twisted her shoulders. As she let out a small moan, he licked her straight neck with his tongue and whispered.
"Aileen."
The low voice was so wonderful that her tailbone tingled. Aileen turned her head to the side and looked at him. Cesare held Aileen tightly in his arms, trapping her, and called her name again.
"Aileen, Aileen..."
For some reason, she felt strange at the name he called out so many times. Perhaps it was because his low voice was penetrating deep into her eardrums.
He slowly caressed Aileen's body with his large hands. His fingers dug between the loosened corset. He grasped her soft flesh and said softly.
"I had a dream."
A dream. The word that came out of Cesare's mouth, who didn't talk about vain subjects, was unfamiliar.
"You were here with me then too. I thought it was a very wonderful dream..."
Cesare stopped speaking for a moment and bit Aileen's neck. Only after leaving a clear bite mark did he continue.
"But anything is inferior to reality."
