Chapter 36

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: More Precious Than Gold
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His low whisper was exquisite. It burrowed deep inside her, making her insides tingle. She didn't understand what singing had to do with kissing, but Aileen blushed and answered him earnestly.

“I’m tone-deaf…”

At that, Cesare let out a soft chuckle and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“Shall we go see the garden? You won’t have many chances to come this way.”

It was rare to visit the main palace, where the emperor resided. Even if she did, she would hardly have the leisure to admire the garden. Aileen agreed to his suggestion.

Her face was still completely uncovered. Cesare himself had asked her to keep it that way for a little while, saying no one would be passing by at this hour.

He said he wanted to talk while looking into her eyes.

Her eyes were hideous; there was no way he could want to look at them. But for Cesare, who was always so kind to her, Aileen decided to keep her face uncovered for a while longer.

*If he shows the slightest sign of discomfort, I can cover them right away.*

Clutching her spectacles so she could put them on in an instant, she walked beside him down the corridor. As they headed for the garden, Aileen hesitated, fidgeting, before finally speaking.

“Actually, um… to be honest.”

If she couldn't open the sealed laboratory, she had no other source of funds. She wanted to avoid selling the brick house if at all possible. It was her mother's inheritance, and she wanted to protect the orange tree in the garden.

So she had no choice but to be honest about her predicament. Feeling as though she wanted to crawl into a hole, Aileen confessed her situation.

“I need you to open the laboratory so I can prepare my dowry.”

At that moment, Cesare stopped walking. He came to such an abrupt halt that Aileen, lost in thought, took a few more steps before turning back to him.

Cesare was covering his face with his hand. His hands were so large and his face so small, she thought, that one hand could hide it completely.

After a moment, Cesare took a deep breath, exhaled, and lowered his hand.

Aileen stared at him, bewildered. His face was filled with a smile he hadn’t quite managed to suppress.

“Who put such a useless idea in your head?”

Cesare asked, his expression amused.

“Ornella?”

There was no point in denying it. Aileen hesitated before answering.

“I’d forgotten, and she reminded me. So I was planning to start preparing today.”

He asked, as if he’d just heard the most amusing story.

“How much are you planning to bring?”

She had a specific amount in mind, but it seemed too paltry to mention in front of Cesare. Aileen mumbled vaguely.

“Uh, as much as possible…”

“Are you planning to sell opium?”

“No! Not at all! Absolutely not. It’s just that some of the tools I use for my research are quite expensive. I was thinking of selling them.”

Aileen answered in a fluster, constantly trying to read his expression. He had been smiling for a while now, and she couldn’t understand why. Cesare chuckled softly and said something that baffled her.

“But I’ve already received the dowry.”

Aileen had no idea what he was talking about. For a fleeting moment, she wondered if her father had paid it in advance, but that was impossible. It was more plausible that a passing cat fairy had paid it for her.

“I’m sorry, Your Excellency. May I ask who gave you the dowry?”

When she asked cautiously, Cesare suddenly reached out. She flinched as his hand neared her chest, but he only slipped it into the inner pocket of her coat. He showed her the silver pocket watch, his eyes crinkling in a mischievous smile.

“From the young lady of Baron Elorde.”

“Your Excellency…”

Aileen said his name, dumbfounded. A single platinum pocket watch as the dowry for the Grand Duke of Erzet? It seemed he was trying to let it go out of pity for her, but that didn't make it right.

“But, Your Excellency, that’s…”

“Should I change my name to ‘Your Excellency’?”

“C-Cesare.”

Her tongue felt clumsy as she formed his name. For some reason, saying it in broad daylight felt strangely embarrassing. Aileen shook away the odd thoughts clouding her mind and spoke.

“That’s far too little to be considered a dowry.”

Cesare didn’t answer. The sun slipped behind a cloud, and the world around them dimmed. The man, bathed in the midday shadows, gave a strange smile. The moment she saw that beautiful smile, Aileen was reminded of the day she, as a child, had first sensed his danger.

“Aileen.”

He began, his tone deliberate.

“A long time ago… I had a watch just like this. It was a keepsake from a condemned man.”

It was startling enough that Cesare had owned a plain platinum pocket watch, but a keepsake from a condemned man?

Many people sought the corpses or belongings of the condemned, believing in the superstition that they brought good luck. But Cesare was not that kind of person. He despised all things unscientific—superstitions, astrology, ancient legends, and the like.

“It was broken, the hands wouldn’t even move, but I treasured it dearly…”

His tone was light, as if it were nothing, yet it felt heavy, as if weighted down by something immense.

“To return, I had to use it.”

He said, his smile deepening.

“So I broke it with my own hands, Aileen.”

He spoke as if he were describing not the destruction of a watch, but of himself. He pulled Aileen in by the wrist. Her coat slipped from her grasp and fell to the floor as he drew her into his embrace, but neither of them paid it any mind.

Cesare lowered his head and whispered in her ear.

“But then you gave me the very same watch as a gift. Wouldn’t that make it more precious than a thousand pieces of gold?”

Aileen, who had only been listening, barely managed to part her lips and call his name.

“Cesare…”

“I don’t need a dowry anymore.”

His arms around her tightened. Aileen felt a suffocating pressure, but she said nothing. In contrast to his fierce grip, Cesare’s voice was gentle.

“I’ve already received more than enough.”

***

Ornella plopped onto the sofa, irritably shaking her foot. A lady-in-waiting hurried over, lifted the hem of her dress, and removed her shoes. After setting the shoes carefully aside, she began to knead the silk-stockinged foot.

When Ornella held out her hand, another lady-in-waiting removed her glove. Then, she was handed a lit cigar that had been prepared in advance.

Ornella drew on the cigar so deeply her cheeks hollowed. She leaned back against the sofa, tilting her head back. Smoke billowed out with her exhale.

Ornella’s preference was usually for thick cigars.

But smoking such a thick cigar was considered unladylike. Thus, in public, she only smoked thin cigarettes.

When the elegant Ornella held a thin cigarette to her lips and languidly exhaled, men would swoon, praising her unique charm. Even she had to admit it created a rather sensual image.

However, there was nothing to be gained from a noble lady being known for enjoying tobacco too much, so she only ever revealed herself smoking when there was someone she particularly wanted to entice.

As soon as she heard Cesare had come to the palace today, she’d thought it a perfect opportunity and rushed to see him.

…Hah!

Recalling the humiliation she had suffered, Ornella scoffed. It made no sense whatsoever.

She had known of Aileen Elorde for a long time. The daughter of the wet nurse who had raised Cesare. The child he doted on, who had come and gone from the imperial palace since she was young.

Cesare’s birth mother had originally been a lady-in-waiting at the imperial palace. She had spent a single night with the emperor but received no favor from him afterward. As luck would have it, however, that one night was enough for her to conceive and give birth to twin princes.

She doted on Leone, who had the dirty-blond hair and blue eyes of the former emperor, but she despised Cesare with a passion. She considered his crow-black hair and blood-red eyes to be ominous.

His own mother had never once nursed him, so it was no exaggeration to say that his wet nurse had raised him.

So she had thought it only natural that Cesare paid special attention to the wet nurse’s daughter. It was always best to repay one’s debts, after all.

But to make a pet he was raising out of pity the mistress of the grand ducal house?

She couldn’t understand Cesare’s intentions in the slightest. No, she didn’t even want to.