85 - Evil Husband (15th Anniversary Edition) Chapter 85
85
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Cesare pinched Aileen's cheek playfully after saying that. Aileen busily made excuses, saying she was nervous because it had been so long since she'd seen him. Only after a long explanation was she able to clear up the misunderstanding and have tea time.
Aileen chatted with Cesare over tea at her favorite outdoor table in the Imperial Palace garden.
While talking to him, she could forget about her debts and her parents for a while. At the end of their happy time, Cesare casually said,
"Making and selling medicine would be a good idea."
For Aileen, who was at a loss as to how to make money, it was like gold. When she said she wasn't sure if she could do it, not having even finished college, Cesare praised her, saying he had never seen a child as smart as her.
Before parting that day, Cesare gave Aileen a bouquet of lilies as a gift. Aileen, carrying an armful of pure white flowers, returned home and decorated them beautifully in a vase.
The white lily bouquet brightened up the dark and gloomy house. It was just a bouquet, but the gloom that had covered the Brick house was lifted. The dark clouds that had hung over Aileen's heart also faded a little.
After staring at the bouquet for a long time, she plucked up her courage. She decided to make medicine as Cesare had advised.
'It's all thanks to Cesare.'
Aileen, who had been reminiscing about the past, returned to the present and looked at Cesare in front of her. The man who had created everything that made her who she was.
Aileen took a deep breath as her heart tightened. Unspeakable emotions swirled inside her. She restrained herself several times, lest she accidentally blurt out her feelings for him or do anything presumptuous that would cross the line.
She would definitely become a useful person for Cesare. Repeating this to herself over and over, she opened her mouth.
"Seeing you today, I wanted to emulate you, senior. I thought I should work hard like Lucio, senior. Ugh."
Just as she was about to finish the story that had been cut off, Cesare kissed her again. She was swept away by the kiss for a long time, breathing heavily. Only after being kissed until her lips were swollen did Aileen finally realize.
'Could it be that he doesn't want to hear about Lucio?'
He had asked the question first, but he seemed displeased. She didn't know why, but since Cesare didn't want it, Aileen stopped talking about Lucio. Then Cesare finally stopped kissing her.
'I think I'm getting a little quicker on the uptake.'
Aileen couldn't hide her pride at the way things had gone as she had expected, and she couldn't help but look a little smug. Cesare, guessing what Aileen was thinking, smiled faintly, but Aileen didn't see it.
He gently licked Aileen's noticeably swollen lips and told her to have dinner with the professors tonight. He seemed to have unfinished business and didn't have time to eat with her.
So Aileen had dinner with the professors and Lucio. Glenda and Elio had secretly hoped to see Cesare again, so they were very disappointed, but on the other hand, they seemed relieved.
'After all, having dinner with the Grand Duke must be nerve-wracking and difficult.'
Aileen understood their feelings all too well. After dinner, she took them around the Grand Duke's Residence.
As they did so, they naturally passed by the laboratory, but she didn't show them the inside, saying that it wasn't ready yet, and just passed by.
She talked with the professors about commercializing the Headache remedy and went to bed early. Aileen, who fell asleep alone in the bedroom without Cesare, closed her eyes, feeling a little lonely.
She thought the day had ended peacefully like that. Until the sun rose the next morning.
Late at night, when everyone was asleep. The laboratory door, which should have been tightly closed, opened. A man slipped in quietly like a shadow and examined the inside of the laboratory.
He first found Aileen's research journal. As he quickly turned the pages, the man's breath grew rough as he checked the journal, which was neatly organized in a neat font.
The man ran his fingers over the writing, then grabbed the journal and scanned the laboratory with glistening eyes. His gaze turned to the laboratory equipment. He touched each of the tools that had been touched by the owner, and then found a neatly folded handkerchief on the desk.
The man grabbed the handkerchief as if snatching it away. He buried his nose in the handkerchief and rubbed his face wildly. His rib cage expanded and contracted rapidly, and rough breaths burst out repeatedly.
"Haa, haa... Shit..."
The man, grinding out curses, rubbed his face on the handkerchief and hurriedly loosened his waist with his other hand. The sound of the belt unbuckling was heard, and his stiff, swollen lower body popped out. The man made an animalistic sound and moved his hand.
A wet sound echoed in the quiet laboratory. Just before reaching the thrilling climax, the man called out a name with a rough groan.
"Aileen...!"
A sticky residue soaked his palm. Lucio, panting and catching his breath, turned on the faucet on one side of the laboratory and washed his hands.
He wanted to leave his mark on Aileen's chair, gloves, and laboratory equipment. But he couldn't act as he pleased. Unlike in the past, she had become an untouchable being.
Lucio clenched his teeth. His lower jaw twitched briefly. Even the afterglow of the climax couldn't stop the feeling of his stomach twisting.
He had changed. His appearance, his personality, and everything else. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he had completely changed his life. All for Aileen.
After being kicked out of college, he tried to return to Aileen's side. He resolved to become a man she wouldn't be ashamed of, and he tried to become someone that even Archduke Erzeht would be pleased with.
When he heard that the Grand Duke was going to war, he hoped that he would die in battle. If there was no one to protect her, it would be easier to take Aileen. But that stroke of luck didn't happen.
He was disappointed, but he still flattered himself that he had changed enough for the Grand Duke to recognize him as a husband.
Aileen was just the daughter of a humble Baron family. The Grand Duke would be pleased to accept him.
That's when he was waiting for a chance to contact Aileen again. Unbelievably, the news of Aileen and Archduke Erzeht's marriage was announced.
It was like a bolt from the blue for Lucio. He had been calling her his child, but in the end, that bastard was just another man who was excited by Aileen.
Even though he had changed so much, Aileen had become even more unattainable.
The inferiority complex towards someone he couldn't dare to approach became even more twisted after meeting Aileen. Aileen had even taken the lead in academics, which was the only achievement he could boast of.
To think that the pharmacist who made that Headache remedy was Aileen...
Lucio had experienced firsthand the efficacy of the Headache remedy that Glenda and Elio praised so highly. It was effective for reducing fever and inflammation, and it was a medicine that could be used in many ways.
If this medicine were commercialized, Aileen would even gain fame as a scholar.
He didn't want to see that. If he couldn't have her, he wanted her to fall to a lower level than him.
'If I have this.'
Recalling the nobleman who had given him the order, Lucio once again clutched Aileen's research journal, which he had thrown aside for a moment. To research opium was an outrageous act.
He put the research journal and the handkerchief in his arms and returned to the guest room that Aileen had given him. He opened the door carefully so as not to make a sound and quietly entered the room.
After closing the door, he took a sigh of relief that he had arrived safely and turned around.
"...!"
Thud, a loud noise rang out. Despite all his caution, Lucio bumped into the door.
But he had no time to worry about making noise. He pressed his back against the door and glared with his eyes popping out.
The guest room, which should have been empty, already had a guest. In front of the window where the moonlight streamed in, the owner of the Grand Duke's Residence, Archduke Erzeht, was sitting leisurely in an armchair.
Red eyes stared directly at Lucio. He placed a pistol on his thigh and opened his lips with a languid expression. A slow, low voice flowed out.
"Lucio Ghitani."
The moment his name was called, Lucio knelt on the floor before he could even think. Cold sweat flowed like rain, and his clothes were instantly soaked.
"Y-Your Grace, Grand Duke..."
As he uttered a strangled sound, Cesare lightly touched the pistol. With the sound of cocking, a refined voice spat out a curse.
"It smells like a dog."
