Chapter 60

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: A Dog for the House
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Count Domenico held his breath. Cesare added with a smile.

“A jest, Count.”

But in his blood-red eyes, a killing intent he couldn’t quite conceal still flickered. No, he was showing it on purpose.

Count Domenico recalled the events of the previous night.

He had attended the Grand Duke of Erzet’s wedding yesterday and enjoyed the banquet until late into the night. Just as he was about to head home, pleasantly drunk, a problem arose. The carriage that was supposed to be waiting for him was gone.

As the Count looked around, a black car pulled up and stopped before him. A knight of immense stature stepped out of the vehicle, which bore the Grand Ducal crest.

The man, half of his face covered in burn scars, looked down at Count Domenico with a blank expression and spoke.

“I will escort you.”

The Count swallowed dryly. The knight’s sheer size and deep voice made his very presence threatening.

“I will find my own way.”

“Get in.”

He tried a feeble protest, but the knight immediately dismissed it and opened the car door. The look in the knight’s eyes suggested he would be forcibly shoved inside if he refused, so the Count meekly settled himself into the military vehicle.

The car departed in silence. The Count felt his drunkenness evaporate completely. He glanced sideways at the knight seated beside him.

The Grand Duke’s knight said nothing, staring straight ahead. The Count endured the silence that pricked his skin like thorns, desperately waiting to arrive at his estate.

And when they finally reached the Count’s residence, he hastily tried to offer his thanks and exit the car.

“Thank you. Well then, I’ll be on my…”

“Count.”

The knight, whose hands were as large as plates, handed him a sealed envelope.

“His Excellency the Grand Duke asked me to deliver this to you.”

Having finally gotten out of the car, Count Domenico watched the military vehicle drive away before slowly opening the envelope with trembling hands. A thick stack of papers slid out. As he flipped through them, one by one, Count Domenico’s eyes shook uncontrollably.

The documents detailed precisely how Cesare had dealt with Marquess Meneguin and his son-in-law. The Count held his breath when he read the sentence stating that Marquess Meneguin had plucked out his remaining eye with his own hands.

No matter the Marquess’s crimes, this was crossing a line. If he had done wrong, it was right for him to stand trial and pay for his sins.

But to eliminate a political rival in such a cruel manner… As the Speaker of the Upper House, whose role was to mediate between the nobility and the Imperial Family, Count Domenico found this utterly unacceptable.

He had spent the entire night wide awake, and as soon as dawn broke, he had rushed to the Grand Duke of Erzet’s estate. But now, sitting face to face with Cesare, the words he had planned to say were all stuck in his throat. Count Domenico muttered, his spirit broken.

“…What is it that you desire?”

Why else would the Grand Duke show him something that could become his own weakness? It was proof that he could take the Count’s life with ease.

He couldn’t fathom why Cesare, who had previously shown little interest in politics, was suddenly eliminating his rivals. What on earth was the Grand Duke thinking, committing such acts?

While Count Domenico’s mind raced with all sorts of speculations, Cesare silently gestured with his chin toward the table.

Another document lay there. Instinctively sensing it concerned him, Count Domenico struggled to maintain his composure and began to read. But with each page he turned, his face grew paler.

It contained a neatly organized record of Count Domenico’s collusion with Kalpen. More than enough to send him to the guillotine.

Only once in his life had the Count acted against his own convictions. He had become a spy for Kalpen to save his wife, who had long suffered from illness.

As the war dragged on, Kalpen sought to incite internal strife by winning over the Empire’s nobles. They had approached Count Domenico first, informing him that they possessed a medicine that could cure the Countess. It was a remedy passed down in secret only within the Kalpen royal family.

Unable to turn his back on his only hope, Count Domenico ultimately became a spy for Kalpen. For his beloved wife.

The Count stared blankly at the papers that recorded his deeds. Cesare sipped the tea a servant had brought and spoke nonchalantly.

“You must already know why I have kept you alive.”

The King of Kalpen, upon the death of his cherished youngest son on the battlefield, had wanted Cesare to suffer the same pain. Thus, he had plotted to frame a noble lady whom the Grand Duke was said to favor and have her executed. He tried to incite the nobles of Traon to carry out his plan, and Count Domenico was among them.

After receiving the King of Kalpen’s order, Count Domenico had agonized over it for a long time before refusing. Though he had done things he shouldn’t have, he could not bring himself to harm an innocent young woman.

The medicine from Kalpen his wife had been taking was also becoming less effective, which made the decision to refuse a little easier. He had heard of a skilled pharmacist in the capital and was thinking of seeking them out.

The Count had refused the king’s order and quit his espionage. He had been prepared to pay the price, but fortunately, Cesare’s great victory soon after had severed all ties with Kalpen.

He had believed that with the King of Kalpen dead, his own past would be quietly buried. He had vowed to dedicate the rest of his life to Traon…

After a long silence, staring down at the documents, Count Domenico slowly opened his mouth.

“Are you asking for my cooperation?”

At his words, Cesare laughed with delight. He laughed so low, as if he had heard a truly amusing story, that for a moment Count Domenico forgot the situation and was captivated. The Grand Duke was that mesmerizing of a man.

Cesare spoke, his voice tinged with amusement.

“Now that I have a new mistress for the house, wouldn’t I need a dog to guard it?”

It was a humiliating remark, but Count Domenico could not offer any rebuttal. Cesare had presented him with a choice.

To die as a man, or live as a dog.

To the count, who had frozen stiff, Cesare continued at a leisurely pace.

“The Grand Duchess will soon be unveiling a new medicine.”

“…!”

At the word “medicine,” Count Domenico’s eyes widened. Cesare rested his chin on one hand and gazed steadily at the Count’s face.

“It’s a remarkable drug. I, too, have high expectations. But it has one minor problem.”

“A minor problem, you say…”

“It’s nothing compared to its efficacy, and it’s too precious a medicine to be buried like this. So, how about you, as the Speaker of the Upper House, protect the Grand Duchess?”

Cesare’s long eyes crinkled as he smiled and said.

“As a dog of the Grand Duchy of Erzet, of course.”

***

He had said he would be back soon, but it took Cesare longer than expected to return. Aileen ate breakfast alone, after which she glanced at the newspaper she had folded and pushed far away.

She hesitated for a long while but couldn’t bring herself to open it again and got out of bed. She didn’t want to be a lazy wife who lounged in bed until noon on the first day of her marriage.

But the moment she stood, she had to swallow a short scream and collapsed back onto the bed. She had thought she was feeling a bit better, but that wasn’t the case at all. The instant she got up, her whole body felt like it was splitting apart.

Aileen lay face down on the bed for a moment, then called a servant for help to finally sit up. Limping to the bathroom, she soaked herself in a tub filled with hot water and at last felt human again.

As she submerged herself in the warm water, all the thoughts she had been putting off came rushing in. She decided not to think about their first night. The more she thought about it, the more embarrassed and ashamed she felt, making her want to run away to her brick house. Instead, she focused on other things.

“…”

Aileen looked at the wedding ring on the fourth finger of her left hand. She had felt a strange sense from Cesare several times now. The many ways he had changed felt unfamiliar, but she had assumed it was all because of the war. Yet even his own brother, Leone, didn’t know the clear reason for the change.

Aileen’s questions grew stronger every time she looked at her wedding ring. How could the wedding ring, which had only existed in her diary, become a reality? During the wedding, she had been so swept up in the flow of events that she hadn’t thought about it in detail, but the more she mulled it over, the stranger it seemed.

‘Should I ask Cesare?’

But given his personality, if it were something he would have told her, he would have done so already. Asking would likely yield no answer. She pondered it alone but reached no conclusion by the time she finished her bath.

After getting dressed, she groaned as she made her way out of the bedroom and found Michele waiting in the drawing room.

“Sir Michele!”

“Congratulations on your marriage.”

After congratulating Aileen with a bright smile, she delivered some good news.

“His Excellency the Grand Duke has granted permission to open the laboratory.”

It felt like a wedding gift, and she was overjoyed. As Aileen reveled in her happiness, momentarily forgetting her pain, Michele smiled warmly but did not forget her duty.

“However, it cannot be in the previous location. A new one will be built within the Grand Duke’s estate, so how about visiting your laboratory sometime today?”

She advised that while she would have people move the items from the lab, it would be best if Aileen packed anything important herself.

Aileen had to go there anyway to ask the innkeeper to handle the sale of her medicines. It would also be good to take a painkiller while she was at the lab.

“And His Excellency the Grand Duke?”

“An urgent matter came up, so he has gone to the Imperial Palace.”

Cesare had originally planned to go with her, but he had sent Michele instead. Aileen had expected to spend the day with him and felt a little lonely, but she swallowed her disappointment without showing it.

And so, Aileen set off for the inn with Michele. It would have been a peaceful outing, had she not run into an unexpected person.

Spotting a man loitering in front of the inn, Michele scowled deeply. She moved Aileen behind her and called out to the man.

“Count Domenico?”

The man flinched at the sound of Michele’s voice and hastily turned around. He started upon seeing Michele, and then was utterly flabbergasted when he noticed Aileen.

Count Domenico asked in a dazed voice.

“Why is the Grand Duchess here…?”