Translator: Nox

8

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"I apologize."

"From now on, even if there's alcohol, say there isn't."

"Yes, Your Excellency."

Diego cautiously observed Cesare's mood. Fortunately, Cesare seemed to be in good spirits, likely enjoying his conversation with Aileen.

His master rarely revealed his personal feelings, but he became surprisingly gentle when he was with Aileen. Diego glanced at Lord Elrod.

Now, if only we could take care of that one.

As he licked his lips and stared, the Baron, catching his gaze, flinched. The Baron tried to force a servile smile, but his entire body trembled, making it difficult.

Seeing this, a slow smile spread across Cesare's lips. He smiled with a beautiful face that inevitably drew the eye of anyone who could see.

"Come to think of it, I've been remiss in entertaining our guest."

Cesare spoke lightly, as if offering tea.

"Shall we sit and talk?"

The soldiers dragged the mangled lump of flesh off the chair and seated Lord Elrod in its place.

"Kkyaaaak!"

The Baron screamed like a stuck pig, drooling and weeping. However, as soon as Cesare approached him, he clamped his mouth shut. The Baron's crotch began to dampen again. Looking down at the Baron, who was wetting himself, Cesare opened his lips.

"So."

He asked, smiling as if amused.

"Do you still have anything left to sell, Baron?"

The bell tolled from the highest steeple in the capital. The sound, spreading throughout the city, signaled the start of the Triumphal March.

"Ugh, excuse me, just a moment...!"

Aileen was jostled and pushed as she struggled to make her way through the crowd. She barely managed to secure a spot a little closer to the front, but she was surrounded by tall men. She could only peek through the gaps between their shoulders.

Just as she was stamping her feet in frustration, the man in front of her offered Aileen his spot. Aileen smiled brightly and bowed to him.

"Thank you!"

Thanks to him, she was able to watch the march from behind the women and children. It wasn't the very front, but it was still a good enough position to see the procession.

To think so many people would gather... She had known that Cesare was quite popular within the Traon Empire, but it was beyond what she had vaguely imagined. Everyone gathered here was waiting for Cesare.

The murmuring crowd suddenly erupted into cheers. The shouts, starting from far away, quickly grew louder. The sound of the military band's trumpets filled the air. The sound of marching boots echoed in time with the beating drums.

People waved the Imperial Flag and chanted Cesare's name. The poor scattered colorful paper scraps they had brought in baskets, while the wealthy threw fresh flowers and petals.

Amidst the flowers and paper scraps filling the air, soldiers in uniform began to appear. Marching in formation, they were the glory of the Traon Empire.

As the crowd's excitement reached a fever pitch at the awe-inspiring sight, the master of the Triumphal March finally appeared.

Cesare, riding in a chariot pulled by six black horses, was dressed in uniform. Beneath the Dress Cap, the various medals on his uniform gleamed dazzlingly in the sunlight.

A long red cape billowed behind him. On the cape, a winged lion, the symbol of the Traon Imperial Family, was embroidered in large gold thread. Each time the cape fluttered, the lion seemed to twitch and flap its wings.

And Cesare was the pinnacle of all that splendor. The man with the chilling yet dangerous crimson eyes was nothing short of the god of war incarnate on earth.

Even normally, his appearance was beautiful enough to leave one speechless, but today, deliberately adorned, he was almost frightening. He more than satisfied the expectations of the gathered crowd. Some even fainted from the intense excitement of chanting Cesare's name.

Everyone looked at him, called his name, and desperately craved a single glance from him. Aileen, buried like an ant among the countless people, also stared at Cesare as if possessed.

He was truly a being like a distant star.

To think that such a being was with me just last night. Talking together, laughing, and doing strange things.

It was hard to believe. It would be much more plausible that it was all just her vain delusion.

She suddenly lacked the confidence to attend tonight's Imperial Palace banquet. How could she, who would only be a blemish on such a radiant being, dare...?

Aileen unconsciously took a step back. However, she couldn't retreat any further. Her back immediately bumped into the chest of the man who had given her his spot.

"Be careful."

The man steadied Aileen. Aileen pushed up the glasses that had slipped down to the bridge of her nose and quickly apologized.

"Ah, I'm sorry."

"It's nothing. You can get swept away in an instant in a crowd like this."

He smiled and asked kindly.

"Shall I support you a little more?"

She was about to answer that she was fine when suddenly, the people around her began to scream like mad. They were shouting so loudly that she thought something had happened and hurriedly looked ahead. Aileen's lips parted involuntarily.

The march had stopped.

Cesare had stopped his horse and gotten out of the chariot. The soldiers were clearly flustered by the Grand Duke's sudden action. Meanwhile, Cesare was walking towards her, holding a flower that had been thrown to him.

Straight towards where Aileen was.

Aileen stood frozen, watching him approach. The unrealistically beautiful man stopped in front of Aileen and held out the flower.

It was a pure white lily.

The fresh fragrance of the flower filled the air. As Aileen accepted the flower with trembling hands, Cesare chuckled. He playfully tapped the tip of Aileen's nose.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

His crimson eyes looked at Aileen, filled with laughter.

"It's all yours."

Aileen stared blankly at Cesare, holding the flower. The man who said that all this glory was Aileen's was nonchalant. Only Aileen was so surprised that she was trembling.

The lily petals trembled delicately along with her shaking hands. Cesare slightly curved his eyes. Then, as if nothing had happened, he returned to the march.

Aileen watched him walk away, holding the lily. Then, she belatedly realized the gazes of those around her.

"..."

Everyone gathered here was looking at Aileen. The expressions and gazes of the shocked people were so burdensome that she felt suffocated.

She could feel the greedy eyes glancing at Aileen's flower. It was a flower personally bestowed by the Grand Duke at the Triumphal March. It was impossible not to covet it.

Just as she was thinking that something terrible might happen, the man standing behind her reached out his arm to prevent people from approaching Aileen. He whispered softly.

"I will escort you home."

At the same time, several men surrounded Aileen in a circle. Only then did Aileen realize that the tall men around her, including the kind man who had given her his spot, were all Cesare's subordinates.

If it hadn't been for the Grand Duke's sudden action, Aileen would probably have thought that she had received a kind favor from a stranger until the end.

Cesare's hand had reached her even in an unexpected moment. At the same time as she realized that fact, a certain intuition flashed through her mind.

Was today really the first time?

Suddenly, she felt a sense of oppression. It felt like she was surrounded by an invisible fence.

Aileen returned home under extremely gracious escort. She felt relieved when she got back to her house. Just in case, she looked around the small two-story house, but her father still hadn't returned.

After looking around the house, Aileen plopped down on the living room sofa. She had to prepare for the Imperial Palace banquet now, but she didn't feel like moving a single finger at the moment.

"..."

Why did he do that?

He must have known that it was an action that would make the entire capital buzz. Yet, Cesare deliberately stopped the march, deviated from the procession, and gave her the flower.

It was as if he wanted all the citizens of the Traon Empire to recognize Aileen's existence, and it would have turned out as he wished. People all over the capital would be talking about who the person Cesare gave the flower to was.

It felt like she had fallen onto a densely woven spider web. At this rate, she might wake up as the Archduchess of Erzeht.

Aileen stared blankly at the lily in her hand. She remembered the day she first met him in the lily field. Now, no one called Aileen Lily anymore. Yet, Cesare still regarded her as a lily.

"The Prince will surely become the light of the Empire."

"Your mother is so proud to be his nanny."

"You must also be of help to the Prince. We belong to the Prince, Lily."

Aileen closed her eyes, recalling her mother's voice. Cesare, who had kissed her last night, and Cesare, who had been in the Triumphal March this afternoon, were mixed up in her head in a dizzying way. The words he had said to her as he handed her the lily clearly came to mind.

"It's all yours."

The premise, if you become the Grand Duchess, must have been omitted before those words.