Chapter 88

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: An Unwelcome Guest
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When she first entered university, Aileen was severely bullied. Having entered at a young age with a recommendation from the Prince, it would have been stranger if she hadn't been disliked by students and professors alike.
She told herself it couldn't be helped, but it was still difficult at times. After a full day of not speaking to anyone, she would hole up in her dormitory room and write about her day in her journal, her thoughts turning to Cesare and the knights back in the capital.
How wonderful it would be to have someone to talk and laugh with.
But Aileen was well aware that attending university was a privilege she hardly deserved. She was in no position to complain about being lonely or struggling. She had to earn excellent grades to repay Cesare, who had supported her in every way imaginable.
Whenever she felt exhausted, she thought of Cesare. She would read the few letters she had received from him over and over until they were worn, steadying her wavering heart.
Fortunately, her daily dedication to her studies paid off. The university classes that had once seemed daunting and difficult began to make sense, and she got the hang of taking notes, completing assignments, conducting experiments, and taking exams—all things she was doing for the first time in her life.
She met Lucio, her senior, around the time her grades began to improve.
One day, Aileen saw a large-statured man in the library. With shaggy hair and large glasses, he stood hesitantly before the librarian, a note clutched in his hand. After a long pause, the man finally mustered his courage and squeezed out a few words.
“Excuse me… uh, do you know when it might be… back in?”
“It'll be back when it's back.”
It seemed the book he wanted to borrow had already been checked out by someone else. The librarian answered with a listless expression, not even bothering to glance at him.
The man, turning away dejectedly, flinched in surprise when he came face-to-face with Aileen. His gaze was fixed on the book in her hands. Aileen's eyes widened as she asked.
“Were you trying to borrow this book? I'll return it right now.”
She told him with a smile that he could check it out immediately, as there probably wasn't a waiting list, but he didn't reply. Aileen's cheerful expression faltered, and her face stiffened at his silence. Then, she spoke, crestfallen.
“Oh… I'm sorry if I offended you.”
She had been too friendly to someone who likely found her disagreeable. Just as she was regretting it, the man gave a start and stammered a reply.
“I-I'm not offended. It's, it's just… you're the first person to t-talk to me first.”
Aileen felt a strong sense of kinship with the man, whose face was beet red. It was the same for her, after all.
At the time, no one ever spoke to Aileen. Even when she tried to start a conversation, she was usually ignored. Most people would respond to her kindness with looks of contempt, as if she had offended them.
So she had been regretting her nosiness, thinking she had only managed to upset someone else again, but for the first time, she got a response. Aileen broke into a bright smile without realizing it. Unaware that the man before her was staring intently, she replied cheerfully.
“You're the first person to answer me!”
And so, Aileen and Lucio began to form a bond. Many people scoffed at the sight of the two of them often together. They were often openly taunted for being a pair of gloomy kids who stuck together.
But Aileen didn't care. Her days were busy enough with just her studies. She was simply happy to have someone to share the small moments of her daily life with.
Lucio was a truly kind and good senior. It turned out they were studying the same subject, and he helped her in many ways to adjust to university life.
He took the time to tutor her, and when Aileen started strangely losing her belongings one day, he readily lent her his own. When Aileen lost her handkerchief, he gave her a new one as a gift.
“This is too expensive…”
“B-Because I'm grateful.”
The handkerchief was clearly a high-quality item. When Aileen, surprised, tried to refuse it, Lucio had stammered with a face redder than ever before.
“I'd… I'd r-really like it if you… used it…”
In the end, Aileen scraped together what little money she had and bought him a similar gift in return. Unfortunately, she lost the handkerchief again after using it for only a short while. When she told Lucio she was sorry, he gifted her another new one.
Besides that, Lucio enjoyed giving Aileen various other small gifts. They were all simple things, like a pretty water bottle she could carry around, a small plate and fork for snacks, and pens and notebooks for taking notes.
When she tried to refuse, finding it difficult to reciprocate each time, Lucio became very sad. He grew so dejected, begging her to just accept them, that Aileen had no choice but to take his gifts. Though she would always repeat the unfortunate process of using them for a bit before losing them.
In any case, thanks to Lucio, she was able to adjust well to university. As Aileen began to earn high marks and attract the attention of her professors, other students slowly started talking to her.
She naturally made many friends, but Aileen always considered Lucio her closest and stayed near him. Her smooth-sailing friendship with Lucio was severed abruptly one day.
“I-I'm sorry. I-I'm a… a bad… g-guy…”
Lucio had suddenly appeared late at night, rambling incoherently, and returned all the items Aileen had lost before vanishing as if fleeing.
She didn't even have a chance to ask what was going on. The next day, all she heard was the news that Lucio had taken a leave of absence.
A few months after Lucio's sudden disappearance, Aileen received a letter from her mother and had to suspend her studies to return to the capital. And in the process, she had forgotten all about Lucio…
“I didn't recognize you, senior.”
He had appeared looking almost unrecognizable. Just as Aileen had taken off her glasses and cut her bangs, Lucio had also cut his shaggy hair and removed his glasses. His habits of stuttering and avoiding eye contact were gone, too, making him seem like a completely different person.
As Aileen gazed at him in admiration, Lucio brushed a hand against his cheek, looking slightly embarrassed. It was a habit he'd had back then whenever he felt awkward.
The faint blush on his face was the same as before, too. Fresh memories of their youth came flooding back, and Aileen couldn't stop smiling.
“You're the one who's changed so much, Lady Aileen.”
But it wasn't just Lucio's appearance that had changed. Just as Aileen was observing him with unfamiliar eyes, her former professors spoke to her.
“Lady… Aileen. Congratulations… on your marriage.”
They were stiff and awkward, like malfunctioning wind-up dolls, clearly uncomfortable using the honorific. They glanced nervously at the servants stationed nearby as they held out a thick stack of documents.
“This… is the research paper that was recently published in the academic journal… Th-Thanks to His Excellency the Grand Duke's generous permission…”
Seeing her professors struggle to form a coherent sentence, Aileen risked a slight impoliteness and cut them off.
“Professors.”
“…”
“Please, speak to me comfortably. I am still a student with much to learn from you.”
They stared at Aileen for a moment before looking at each other. Then, with palpable tension, they spoke.
“The truth is, the reason we came…”
And they said something unexpected.
“With the Grand Duke's permission, we would like to assist with the research Her Excellency the Grand Duchess is conducting.”
***
The man's eyes darted around frantically. They were one of the few parts a man with severed limbs could still move freely. Rotan stared at the man with an indifferent expression and exhaled a cloud of smoke.
After taking a few more drags, he shoved the lit cigarette into the man's mouth. The man's body writhed in agony as the embers seared his flesh.
“Hngh, ghhh…”
Thrashing in pain, the man desperately swallowed his groans. The being before him was not fond of noise.
A rustle. The sound of a page turning cut through the air, thick with the smell of blood and whimpers. The source of the incongruous sound was Cesare. Lounging in his chair and leisurely flipping through a book, Cesare suddenly spoke.
“Where is Aileen?”
“She is meeting with her scheduled guests, who arrived early. However, an unwelcome guest has joined them. Lucio Gaetani.”
There was no need to explain who that man was. Cesare remembered everything related to Aileen with perfect clarity.
“I permitted the guests to visit.”
Cesare closed the book he was reading.
“But I never said to let insects into the house.”