Chapter 18

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: The Last Chance
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She had no idea why the woman was looking right at her and singing such a song. Aileen blinked in confusion, then glanced back at Cesare.
Cesare was smiling in amusement. He wrapped an arm around Aileen's waist.
“Come here. You’ll get bumped into.”
He pulled Aileen flush against him and moved through the crowd. As they headed for a passage behind a thick curtain, Malena’s singing grew faint.
The passage wasn’t very wide, so they still had to walk pressed together. Cesare led her along, asking casually.
“Do you know her?”
Aileen answered, careful not to close her eyes.
“Oh, no.”
Malena used a pseudonym. She’d never mentioned her profession either, so she must have had her reasons for keeping things private. Aileen tried to lie to protect her, but it was uncertain whether she had been convincing.
Cesare looked at Aileen and let out a soft chuckle. He didn’t ask any more questions and continued walking.
There were doors on either side of the passage. From behind some of them, sounds like pained groans could be heard. She was curious what could be happening to cause such noises, but she didn't have the courage to ask.
How much longer did they walk, following Cesare through the increasingly complex passages? The man leading the way came to a stop. He looked back at Aileen, giving her one last chance.
“Are you sure you want to see him?”
If she asked him to send her father home, he would have done it. But Aileen wanted to see it with her own two eyes.
She had always known her father was out and about doing foolish things, but she had never confirmed exactly what he was up to.
But this time, Aileen couldn't stand it. Hadn't she almost been sold off to a foreign country because of him? She was determined to see exactly what he was doing and, this time, confront him once and for all.
“Yes.”
When she answered with a resolute expression, Cesare led her deeper inside.
The passages grew more and more complex. Just as she was thinking she would have gotten lost if she'd come alone, Cesare stopped. He gave her no time to prepare herself before flinging the door open.
Aileen flinched, her body stiffening at the scene that suddenly unfolded before her. Inside the room, translucent red fabrics were draped everywhere, from the ceiling to the floor.
There were several plush chaises, each already occupied. Naked men and women groped each other on them. Aileen stared blankly at the tangled, naked bodies before covering her nose and mouth with her hand.
“Ugh…”
A pungent incense, likely from some mixture of herbs being burned, filled the air. The air inside was so thick it seemed hazy. She had only taken a small breath, but her head was already spinning.
Trembling slightly, she looked at Cesare, who silently gestured with his head toward the back of the room. Aileen moved forward, one slow step at a time.
She tried not to look at the people around her, focusing only on moving forward. A sound came from behind a drape of red fabric.
“Hah, ugh, hah.”
Rough panting and the sound of slapping skin were interspersed with vulgar curses. Aileen reached out and clutched the red fabric. She hesitated for a brief moment, but finally pulled the curtain aside.
Her father was there. Her father, on top of a woman.
“Hah, I’m about to finish, ugh. You didn’t drug the drink, did you?”
Her father, his face flushed red, chuckled as he thrust his hips. He was panting so hard he didn't even notice her gaze as she stood watching, frozen like a statue.
A wave of visceral disgust made her want to vomit. But no sound escaped her parted lips. Her mother's wailing voice echoed in her ears.
Her ears rang with her mother's furious screams—how he smelled of another woman's perfume, how he wouldn't sleep with her, how she had no idea where he was spilling his seed.
Just then, an arm reached out from behind her. A hand in a leather glove slowly brushed over Aileen's fingers, which were gripping the fabric with all their might. The red curtain slid down, hiding her father from view.
“Aileen.”
“…”
Aileen couldn't answer, only gasp for breath. Cesare turned her around and swept her up into his arms.
In his arms, Aileen silently curled into herself. With a trembling hand, she clutched at his clothes.
Cesare adjusted his hold on her with one arm, let out a short sigh, and then tore down the red curtain in front of them. He threw the ripped fabric to the floor, strode inside, and picked up a water pitcher from a table. Then he poured it directly over her father's head.
“Ugh!”
Doused in the sudden torrent of water, her father flapped about like a fish. His partner screamed, disentangled herself, and fled. The others, who had been languidly copulating, sensed the unusual atmosphere and began to sneak out.
“What the—hah!”
Her father, about to spit out a curse, froze the moment he saw Cesare.
“I didn't expect to find you fucking around in here after selling off your daughter, Baron.”
The vulgar word flowed from his smooth voice and refined tone. It took a moment for both her father and Aileen to realize that Cesare had just cursed.
Her father immediately dropped to his knees on the floor. Cesare stared down impassively at the naked, middle-aged man who was bowing his head and trembling.
The moment Cesare's eyes narrowed, Aileen hastily grabbed onto him. Cesare raised an eyebrow, then nudged her father's head with the toe of his shoe.
Tap, tap. He tapped the man's head as a child might toy with an insect, and spoke softly.
“Behave yourself, hm? I've been very impulsive lately. I might accidentally cut your head off.”
A stifled sob escaped her father. He couldn't even cry loudly for fear that Cesare would slice his head off, and only managed to choke out pathetic whimpers.
“This is your last chance, Baron Elorde.”
Cesare turned away without waiting for a reply. There was no need to hear one. Her father would absolutely obey his command, after all.
Leaving her father's sobs behind her, Aileen squeezed her eyes shut. She buried her face in Cesare's broad chest, focusing only on breathing in and out, over and over.
As he walked, opened a door, and walked again, Aileen kept her eyes closed the entire time. Her mother's voice echoing in her head was too loud to bear.
Click. The sound of a door closing was heard. Cesare tried to set Aileen down on a plush sofa, but she clung to him, refusing to let go. No, she couldn't let go. She held onto him with a still-trembling hand.
Cesare sat down on the sofa, still holding Aileen as she clung to him. Aileen parted her parched lips.
“I’m sorry.”
The words, filled with belated regret, came out weakly.
“I should have… listened to what Your Excellency said…”
She thought she'd be able to face her father and rage at him with confidence. But the scene she had imagined was, at most, bursting in on him while he was gambling.
She knew her father was a womanizer, but seeing the act in person made her mind go blank. In the end, she couldn't even unleash her anger and simply froze, needing Cesare's help. Aileen pressed herself closer to him and whispered softly.
“I’m so sorry.”
Cesare said nothing. He simply held her in silence. Thanks to him, Aileen was able to hide quietly in his embrace and regain her composure.
Until her mother's voice stopped ringing in her ears.
***
A platinum watch chain dangled between his fingers. Cesare was caressing a plain, unadorned pocket watch as if it were the most precious thing in the world.
“Your Excellency. Baron Elorde has returned home.”
Rotan glanced at Aileen, who was asleep with her head on Cesare's lap, before continuing.
“Also, Malena has requested an audience with you.”
“That's a bit difficult right now.”
Cesare smiled pleasantly and stroked Aileen's hair.
“As you can see, I'm a little tied up.”
“…”
Rotan, watching the scene, briefly lowered his gaze. Just as he had when he opposed the marriage to Aileen, he once again spoke his mind frankly.
“That was too cruel.”
“I was going to be even crueler, but I restrained myself.”
Even before Baron Elorde had spouted that pathetic nonsense about selling Aileen off, Cesare had known everything.
Who the foreign noble the Baron was dealing with was, how much he was paid, and when he would come for Aileen.
Cesare could have easily taken measures to prevent the old pig from ever meeting Aileen. But he didn't. He let her be cornered.
All to make Aileen decide to marry him.