84 - The Evil Husband (15th Anniversary Edition) Chapter 84
84
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Aileen pondered his question for a moment. Was there a need to tell Cesare about the confession? Especially since it was a feeling from so long ago.
The soldier who drove the car had heard everything, so he might have already finished reporting it. If she brought it up again herself, it might sound like she was trying to show off.
'This kind of thing happened in my life.'
Receiving a confession would probably be the first and last time in Aileen's life. Aileen was good at objectifying herself.
Although her appearance had changed a little after taking off her glasses, her gloomy and boring personality remained the same. There was no way men would find her attractive.
After a moment of useless thoughts, she realized that her reply to Cesare was taking too long. Aileen, who belatedly opened her mouth, didn't mention the confession and only brought up appropriate stories.
"Senior Lucio might become a professor in the Department of Pharmacy. He seems to be a strong candidate. He's been consistently publishing papers. He's changed a lot, both externally and internally, since I last saw him, he's really amazing..."
Her chattering lips were blocked. Aileen's eyes widened, then she shrugged her shoulders and slightly parted her lips. A soft tongue burrowed inside.
The kiss, which didn't ask for permission, was soft yet somehow oppressive. It seemed even more so because his large hands were freely touching various parts of Aileen's body. The force of his hand, which slid down her spine and then gripped her waist, was quite strong.
The kiss lasted for a long time. Only after quite a while did their lips part. Aileen, who exhaled a sweetly heated breath, cooled her burning cheeks with the back of her hand. As she bit her slightly swollen and plump lips, he said in a low voice.
"I want to kiss you."
Aileen mumbled, pursing her lips.
"...You already did."
"Hmm, I guess so."
He gave Aileen another kiss, a light peck, with a faint smile. Aileen swallowed a small groan.
Something was embarrassing, yet the inside of her chest was ticklish and unbearable. Aileen hugged him tightly, fidgeting her hands and muttering.
"Anyway, I didn't say anything special..."
Instead of answering, Cesare kissed Aileen's neck. His lips lightly touched and then fell away, and soon he finished undressing her.
Was it because she had met people from the past? She couldn't believe this moment, being so close to Cesare.
Because it felt so unreal, Aileen unknowingly stared up at Cesare. His vivid crimson eyes completely absorbed Aileen's gaze.
At some point, his eyes curved. A large hand landed on Aileen's head with a thud. Her eyes naturally squinted at the touch that stroked her hair as if she were cute.
As she received his touch, she suddenly remembered when she had given up university and returned to the Imperial Palace.
As soon as she received her mother's letter, she quit everything and returned. To the Brick house where the orange tree waved its green leaves.
However, Aileen couldn't readily go inside and stood blankly in front of it for a while. She dazedly listened to the sound of the leaves rustling in the wind, and finally moved her feet. The moment she opened the closed door, dark gloom crushed Aileen.
"Lily..."
A gloomy voice flowed from the dark house. In the house where even the lights weren't properly turned on, her mother looked at Aileen with bloodshot eyes.
Aileen put down the bag she was holding next to her and approached her mother. As she carefully hugged her, her mother poured out all sorts of negative emotions to Aileen as if she had been waiting for it.
She spewed out resentment and curses towards her father, and lamented her own miserable situation. She sobbed, saying that if it weren't for her, she would have hanged herself long ago.
Aileen fully accepted the emotions that her mother poured out like filth, and once again realized the reality. The time she had spent studying to her heart's content at university felt like a dream. The reality she faced after waking up from the sweet dream was chillingly cold.
Feeling a chill for some reason, Aileen hugged her mother in her arms a little tighter. It was an act of hoping to share a little body heat, but she didn't feel warmer. Rather, she only felt colder, as if she was being deprived of warmth.
Afterwards, instead of her bedridden mother, Aileen did what she could one by one.
She visited each of the people who had lent them money and asked them to postpone the repayment date even a little. It was something her mother, who still had the pride of being Lord Elrod's wife and The Prince's nanny, couldn't do.
Then, she sold all the valuable items. There was nothing left in the house that could be sold for a high price, so she sold the books that were worth some money. It was the collection of books that Aileen had cherished and the textbooks she used at university.
She sold everything except the gifts she had received from Cesare, but it was still woefully insufficient. She needed a lot of money to pay off the debt. It was difficult to even pay the interest, so she kept having bad thoughts, but she tried to shake them off.
The bleak reality that she couldn't easily solve was piled up like a tower, but returning to the Imperial Palace wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
It was because she was able to meet Cesare after a very long time.
It was an emptiness that couldn't be filled by the pursuit of learning or new relationships. The moment she entered the Imperial Palace and met him, Aileen felt a sense of fullness that filled her empty heart.
"The Prince."
During the time they were apart, Cesare seemed to have grown even bigger. The man who had become a complete man perfectly harmonized with the words that the people of the empire praised as the God of War. Aileen blankly looked up at him in his uniform, and suddenly realized.
That her feelings for Cesare had grown even bigger while they were apart, and that they had also changed from before.
From the moment they first met until now, Aileen had liked Cesare. However, in the past, it was a feeling close to admiration, but now it had changed.
Aileen dared to want to hold his hand. She wanted to kiss his cheek. She wanted to be the only one who could be held in his arms and receive his affectionate gaze.
The moment she realized her perverted infatuation, she felt miserable. It was because she knew that it was a wish that could never be fulfilled.
Aileen was just his child, not a woman.
She knew very well that if she acted without knowing her place, she wouldn't even be able to remain a child. As she struggled to suppress her pounding heart, she belatedly came to her senses at Cesare's words, who smiled slightly.
"So you've finally entered the Imperial Palace."
It had been half a month since she returned to the Imperial Palace before she came to see Cesare. Time had passed quickly because she had to take care of various household matters. Aileen apologized to him with a reddened face.
"I'm sorry..."
In fact, the reason for being late wasn't just because of household matters. She hesitated to have an audience because she was too embarrassed to meet Cesare.
He had gone to the trouble of sponsoring her and helping her enter the university, but she had returned to the Imperial Palace without any success. Aileen was ashamed of herself for not meeting his expectations.
Moreover, now that even making a living had become difficult, she had become even worse off than before she went to university. It was too difficult to be confident in front of the person she liked.
"Did you grow a little taller?"
Cesare muttered to himself and placed his hand on Aileen's head with a thud. The moment his touch reached her, Aileen stiffened her body.
Having her head touched was something that had happened frequently in the meantime. It was an insignificant action, but her changed heart from the past created awkwardness.
There was no way Cesare wouldn't know the subtle atmosphere. He stared at Aileen for a moment and then smiled. Then, instead of withdrawing his hand, he stroked her hair instead. Aileen was helplessly stroked by him.
"It seems you've lost interest in me."
Aileen, who was receiving his touch, was startled and denied it.
"No, that's absolutely not true!"
"Then?"
"It's just... it's been a while since I've seen you, so..."
How could she say that it was because she was excited and her heart was pounding? Cesare tilted his head slightly to the side as she mumbled the end of her words. He whispered as if it were an order, or perhaps a request.
"Don't avoid me, Aileen."
