Chapter 8

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: It's All Yours
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“I apologize.”

“From now on, if there's liquor, you're to say there isn't.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

Diego cautiously observed him. Fortunately, Cesare seemed to be in a good mood. It appeared his conversation with Aileen had been pleasant.

His master rarely showed his personal feelings, but whenever he was with Aileen, he would become surprisingly gentle. Diego glanced at Baron Elorde.

*Now, I just have to figure out what to do with that guy.*

As he licked his lips and stared, the baron, who caught his gaze, flinched. The baron tried to force a servile smile, but it seemed difficult as his entire body was trembling.

Watching the spectacle, a slow smile spread across Cesare's lips. He smiled with a face so beautiful that anyone with eyes couldn't help but be captivated.

“Come to think of it, my hospitality has been lacking.”

Cesare said lightly, as if offering tea.

“Shall we sit and talk?”

The soldiers dragged the lump of meat slumped in the chair away and sat Baron Elorde down in its place.

“Aaaargh!”

The baron drooled and cried, squealing like a stuck pig. But as soon as Cesare approached him, he snapped his mouth shut. The baron's crotch began to grow damp again. Looking down at the incontinent man, Cesare parted his lips.

“So.”

He asked with an amused smile.

“Do you still have anything left to sell off, Baron?”

***

A bell rang from the capital's tallest bell tower. The sound, spreading throughout the city, announced the start of the triumphal march.

“Ugh, excuse me, just a moment…!”

Aileen was jostled this way and that as she struggled to push her way through the crowd. She finally managed to secure a spot a little closer to the front, but she was surrounded by tall men. The best she could do was peek through the gaps between their shoulders.

As she was anxiously shifting on her feet, a man in front of her offered her his spot. Aileen beamed and thanked him.

“Thank you!”

Thanks to him, she was able to watch the procession from behind the women and children. It wasn't the very front, but it was still a good enough position to see the march without issue.

To think so many people had gathered… She had long known of Cesare's immense popularity within the empire, but this was beyond anything she had vaguely imagined. Everyone gathered here was waiting for Cesare.

The murmuring crowd suddenly erupted into cheers. The roar, which began in the distance, quickly grew louder. The sound of the military band's trumpets could be heard. The thud of marching boots spread in time with the beating of the drums.

People waved imperial flags and chanted Cesare's name. The poor scattered colorful scraps of paper from their baskets, while the wealthy threw fresh flowers and petals.

Amid the flowers and paper scraps filling the air, uniformed soldiers began to appear. Marching in formation, they were the glory of the Traon Empire.

Just as the crowd's excitement reached a fever pitch at the thrilling sight, the star of the triumphal march finally appeared.

Cesare stood in a chariot drawn by six black horses, dressed in his military uniform. Beneath his formal cap, the various medals pinned to his uniform glinted dazzlingly in the sunlight.

A long red cape billowed behind him. Embroidered on the cape in gold thread was a large winged lion, the symbol of the Traon imperial family. Each time the cape fluttered, the lion seemed to stir and flap its wings.

And Cesare was the pinnacle of all that splendor. It would be no exaggeration to say that the man with cool yet dangerous red eyes was the god of war incarnate on earth.

His looks were stunning enough on a normal day, but today, dressed to the nines, he was terrifyingly beautiful. He more than fulfilled the expectations of the gathered crowd. Some people, chanting Cesare's name, were so overcome with excitement that they fainted.

Everyone watched him, called his name, and desperately yearned for even a sliver of his attention. Aileen, buried like an ant in the massive crowd, also stared at Cesare as if mesmerized.

He was truly like a distant star.

*To think such a being had been with me just last night. We talked, laughed, and did… other strange things.*

It was utterly unbelievable. It would have been far more plausible to think it was all just her own vain delusion.

Suddenly, she lost the confidence to attend the palace banquet that evening. How could someone like me, who would only be a stain on such a radiant being, dare to…?

Aileen unconsciously took a hesitant step back. But she couldn't retreat. Her back immediately bumped into the chest of the man who had given her his spot.

“Be careful.”

The man steadied her. Aileen pushed up the glasses that had slid down to the tip of her nose and quickly apologized.

“Oh, I'm sorry.”

“Not at all. It's easy to get swept away in a crowd like this.”

He smiled and asked kindly.

“Would you like me to support you a little longer?”

She was just about to say she was fine. Suddenly, the people around her began to scream like mad. They were screaming so loudly it felt like her eardrums would burst, and wondering if there had been an accident, she hurriedly looked ahead. Aileen's lips parted on their own.

The procession had stopped.

Cesare had halted the horses and stepped down from his chariot. Even the soldiers were visibly flustered by the Grand Duke's unexpected action. Meanwhile, Cesare had picked up a flower that had been thrown at him and was walking over.

Directly toward where Aileen was standing.

Aileen stood frozen, watching him approach. The unrealistically beautiful man stopped in front of her and held out the flower.

It was a pure white lily.

The fresh scent of the flower wafted over her. As Aileen accepted the flower with a trembling hand, Cesare chuckled. He playfully tapped the tip of her nose.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

His red eyes, tinged with amusement, gazed at her.

“It's all yours.”

Clutching the flower, Aileen stared blankly at Cesare. The man who claimed all this glory was hers was perfectly composed. Aileen, on the other hand, was beyond shocked, trembling uncontrollably.

The lily petals quivered along with her shaking hand. Cesare's eyes crinkled slightly at the corners. Then, as if nothing had happened, he returned to the procession.

Aileen watched him walk away, still holding the lily. Then, she belatedly became aware of the countless stares directed at her.

“…”

Everyone gathered there was staring at Aileen. The shocked expressions and gazes were so overwhelming she felt like she would suffocate.

She could feel greedy eyes glancing at her flower. It was a flower personally bestowed by the Grand Duke during his triumphal march. It was impossible not to covet it.

Just as she began to think that something terrible might happen, the man standing behind her extended his arms, blocking people from getting too close to her. He whispered in a low voice.

“We will escort you to your residence.”

At the same time, several other men formed a circle around Aileen. Only then did Aileen realize that the kind man who had given her his spot, as well as the other tall men around her, were all Cesare's subordinates.

If not for the Grand Duke's spontaneous act, she probably would have believed until the very end that she had simply received a kind favor from a stranger.

Cesare's hand was present even in moments she hadn't expected. As she realized this, an intuition struck her.

*Was today really the first time?*

She suddenly felt a hint of suffocation, as if she were enclosed by an invisible fence.

***

Aileen returned home under heavy escort. Arriving home, her tense heart finally relaxed. Just in case, she checked the entire small two-story house, but her father had still not returned.

After looking around the house, Aileen plopped down on the living room sofa. She needed to start preparing for the palace banquet, but at the moment, she didn't feel like lifting a single finger.

“…”

*Why did he do that?*

He must have known it was an act that would cause a stir throughout the entire capital. And yet, Cesare deliberately stopped the procession, left it, and gave her the flower.

It was as if he wanted every citizen of the Traon Empire to be aware of Aileen's existence, and indeed, his wish had likely come true. All over the capital, people would be talking about who it was that Cesare had given the flower to.

She felt like she had fallen into a finely woven spiderweb. At this rate, she felt she would come to her senses only to find she had become the Grand Duchess of Erzet.

Aileen gazed blankly at the lily in her hand. She remembered the day she first met him in the lily field. No one called her Lily anymore. And yet, Cesare still saw her as a lily.

“The prince will surely become the light of the empire, dear.”

“Mommy is so proud to be his wet nurse.”

“You must also be of help to the prince. We belong to him, Lily.”

Recalling her mother's voice, Aileen closed her eyes. The Cesare who had kissed her last night and the Cesare from today's triumphal march swirled chaotically in her mind. The words he had spoken as he handed her the lily came back to her clearly.

“It's all yours.”

The unspoken premise before those words must have been, *'Once you become the Grand Duchess…'*