Chapter 65

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Letters and Legends
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He didn't tell Aileen what had happened that day. He had also instructed Baroness Elorde not to reveal the truth to her daughter.
If she heard that he had deserted his post to save her, and had been whipped by the emperor as a result, Aileen would surely burst into tears.
The girl, who had been a mess of tears since they first met, would cry at the drop of a hat. Mostly for reasons Cesare couldn't comprehend.
Trivial things, like a cherished plant dying or Cesare getting a scratch.
To him, they were so insignificant they failed to stir even a flicker of emotion, yet Aileen would weep as if her world had ended.
Unable to understand the child, Cesare chose to simply accept it and memorize the situations. It was a small effort to preserve the little girl's fantasy of him being an angel.
As a result, he naturally began to hide many things. In the past, and even now. Cesare was always shielding Aileen's eyes.
Cesare looked down at Aileen, who seemed on the verge of tears. Though she was desperately holding them back, her golden-green eyes were already moist.
*She would be quite surprised if I licked her eyelids…* Unlike the deadly serious Aileen, Cesare entertained such useless thoughts as he gently stroked her wet eyelashes with his finger.
Aileen trembled but didn't pull away. Watching her force back her sobs, he wondered if he had tormented her too much, but it couldn't be helped.
He had to get her used to it, little by little, starting now. It was the only way to lessen the shock when she eventually learned the whole truth.
His secret had a time limit from the very beginning.
“Aileen.”
Cesare caressed Aileen with a smooth, unscarred hand. Feeling the warmth of her skin against his palm, he whispered.
“Put the ointment on for me.”
As he softly urged her to hurry, Aileen's plump lips parted slightly. Her large eyes darted about before she mumbled.
“But you don’t have any scars or wounds…”
It must have taken all her courage to object. Cesare raised an eyebrow and replied immediately.
“Then I’ll just have to make one now.”
As he glanced around the laboratory for a suitable knife, Aileen flapped her arms like a little bird.
“No! I’ll put the ointment on! Please don’t.”
A faint smile touched his lips at the sight of her hopping in alarm. Aileen quickly washed her hands, came back, and carefully dabbed the ointment onto Cesare's palm.
The ointment was rubbed over his smooth skin. He watched Aileen intently as she focused on spreading the opaque, milky-white cream.
While applying the pointless ointment, Aileen felt his gaze and slowly lifted her eyes. The moment they met, Cesare asked as if he had been waiting.
“Should your husband put some ointment on you, too?”
Aileen's eyes widened as she asked.
“Where…?”
Like a boy teasing a girl he liked, Cesare answered with a mischievous grin.
“Down there.”

***

Aileen returned to the grand duke's residence, completely drained.
The memory of Cesare's inscrutable behavior in the laboratory had already faded. It was all because he had offered to apply ointment *down there*.
Of course, her private parts did sting a little—a tiny bit—after their intense first night. But it was nowhere near bad enough to need ointment, nor should it have been. The mere thought of him putting his fingers in that embarrassing place made her blush.
In the carriage on the way back, Aileen had fervently explained to Cesare all the reasons she didn't need any ointment. Thankfully, he stopped teasing her and readily gave up on the idea.
“Where is Senon?”
Upon arriving at the residence, the first person Cesare asked for was Senon. Sonio answered as he took the grand duke's outer coat.
“He has just left the palace, Your Excellency.”
“I see. It will take him some time to get here. I wanted to show him the new laboratory.”
When she looked at him quizzically, Cesare explained that he needed to hear a brief report from Senon before showing her the new laboratory. It was about Morpheus.
“We’ll wait a bit. Sonio.”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
He had merely said his name, but Sonio immediately understood what Cesare wanted. The old butler smiled gently and led Aileen away.
“My lady, might I have a moment of your time?”
Cesare went to his office to handle his remaining work, leaving Aileen to speak with Sonio until Senon arrived.
Sonio informed Aileen of several important matters.
“As you know, in a few days, you must go to the Imperial Palace to formally receive the Erzet name.”
Aileen was still ‘Aileen Elorde.’ According to imperial law, she would only formally take her husband's surname seven days after the wedding ceremony.
On the seventh day, Aileen was scheduled to go to the Imperial Palace and receive the name Erzet directly from the emperor, Leone.
The reason for this week-long interval, despite the wedding vows already having been exchanged, was tied to the founding myth of the Traon Empire.
According to the myth, the founding emperor of Traon was an abandoned prince.
Raised on the milk of a lioness in the grasslands, the prince resolved to found his own nation. The land where he first planted his flag is now the central plaza of the Traon capital.
God blessed the birth of the new king by sending a winged lion, which became the symbol of the Traon Empire.
The nation, blessed by God, prospered rapidly and was soon declared an empire. The emperor, who was endlessly expanding his territory, one day fell in love with a woman.
She was the woman who halted the emperor's ambition as he conquered the continent without pause. For her, the emperor laid down his blood-stained sword and remained in the capital.
The emperor wished to make her his empress at once, but an oracle was delivered. It was a message from God, telling him to wait seven years before taking her as his empress.
But the young emperor defied the oracle and held a grand wedding right away.
Their happiness was short-lived. The day after their wedding and their first night together, the empress died in the emperor's arms, coughing up blood.
The emperor carried the empress’s body to a temple. He offered the winged lion—the token God had sent him—as a burnt offering and prayed all night without eating or drinking. The content of his desperate prayer was clear.
A plea to return his beloved from death, for he repented his foolish sin.
And a threat that if his prayer was not answered, he would send all the humans God loved to their deaths.
On the seventh night, God answered the emperor. He would bring her back from death if the emperor overcame seven trials.
It took the emperor seven years to overcome the seven trials. But after much hardship, he finally completed them all and revived the empress. The emperor and empress lived happily and loved one another until the day they died at the very same time.
Since then, the people of the empire have observed the seven years of waiting commanded by God as seven days.
“The dress for your visit to the palace has already been prepared.”
Aileen, who had been recalling the founding myth, nodded as she listened to Sonio. Then, she hesitated before asking a question.
“Are there no duties I must perform as the grand duchess?”
There must have been a mountain of them, yet Sonio had mentioned no obligations. Sensing he wouldn't bring it up easily, she asked again, based on what little she had heard.
“Now that I am the grand duchess, I imagine there will be many invitations and such…”
A flicker of unease crossed Sonio's eyes. Just as she'd suspected, there were duties, but they were being kept from her. Aileen clenched her fists.
“I want to be of help as the grand duchess. His Excellency may not think so, but…”
“Not at all, my lady.”
She flinched slightly at the still-unfamiliar title, but waited for him to continue.
“His Excellency simply ordered me to inform you of your duties one by one, giving you time to adjust. I should have explained sooner, but this old man merely wished for you to be a little more comfortable…”
Knowing that Sonio cared for her like a granddaughter, Aileen thanked him for his consideration. Sonio looked at her with what seemed to be immense pride and said,
“There are some important letters that have arrived for you, my lady. Would you like to check them first?”
Sonio confessed that letters had, in fact, been pouring in since that morning. He added, his voice slightly excited, that an office for the grand duchess had also been prepared, should she wish to read them. Seeing Sonio unable to hide his delight, Aileen readily agreed.
“I’ll check them now.”
However, Aileen regretted her decision the moment she saw the first envelope. It was from Ornella. The daughter of Duke Parvellini and future empress of the Traon Empire was the person Aileen was most wary of at the moment.
With a sense of ‘the inevitable has arrived,’ she stared at Ornella's envelope, then decided to check the other letters first. Aileen picked up a thick envelope without much thought, but was startled when she saw the sender.
“My professors…?”
It was a letter from the professors at Palerchia University, where Aileen had studied.