Chapter 98

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 98
Chapter Title: The Condition
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Aileen tried to stop crying, the situation now a world away from the calm, coherent conversation she had planned.
But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop the tears. Her emotions were a tangled mess. She had barely mustered the courage to question him, only to be struck with fear the moment she reached his location.
This was the door that had refused to open, even when she had knocked until her hands were raw. She had been afraid he would turn her away for daring to ask such presumptuous questions.
But the door had opened. Cesare had appeared like a dream and immediately tended to her. His single question, asking if she had been crying, was so gentle it was agonizing.
As a wave of emotion made her sniffle, Cesare pulled her into his arms. Then, he gently cupped her chin, preventing her from hiding her face as he studied her quietly.
Her eyes, already red from sobbing in front of Senon, were beginning to swell. If she cried any more, her face would be a mess. But hearing Cesare's soft murmur, her tears, far from stopping, welled up even more.
“Who dared to upset my wife?”
Tears spilled out as if from an open faucet. He took out a handkerchief and gently dabbed at her flushed cheeks, speaking again.
“Tell your husband all about it.”
Aileen couldn't hold it in any longer and mumbled.
“It was you, Cesare…”
She caught herself before she could finish, but the beginning was enough for Cesare to guess the circumstances. A chill passed through his red eyes. He was silent for a moment before he spoke.
“Is this because of Lucio Gietani?”
Aileen shook her head. Lucio wasn't the root cause.
“We should talk inside.”
Cesare lifted Aileen into his arms with ease. Holding her as if she were a child, he gestured to Senon with his eyes.
Senon, who had been standing by with the most somber expression, gave a sharp salute. He then approached the soldiers who were standing guard around the house. Leaving Senon to speak with them, Cesare carried Aileen inside.
It was a place she never imagined she would enter. Aileen continued to wipe her tears with Cesare's handkerchief as she looked around.
The wooden house, not particularly large, was situated at the edge of the forest. It was far too modest to be called the Grand Duke of Erzet's villa.
The interior was sparse. There was no furniture like a bed—only a wide table, chairs, and a large chest of drawers and some boxes that seemed to hold miscellaneous items. It looked like a space used only occasionally, when needed.
She guessed it was probably used for hunting trips, given the various firearms hanging on the wall.
*‘But does Cesare even enjoy hunting?’*
Cesare wasn't one to talk much about himself. But having known him for so long, Aileen had a decent grasp of his likes, dislikes, and preferences.
While Cesare did sometimes mention his daily activities, his hunting excursions were always at the invitation of his brother, Leone, or other nobles. In the decade she had known him, she had never once heard him say he was going hunting on his own initiative.
Even the magazines that dissected every trivial detail about him never mentioned that he enjoyed hunting.
With a flicker of doubt, she glanced at the open back door. Unusually, it led directly into the forest. Most houses had at least a small clearing, if not a garden, behind the back door, but this one opened straight into the woods.
Judging by the scent of grass clinging to Cesare, he had just been in the forest. Aileen gazed at the dark woods stretching out beyond the wide-open door.
The vast, endless forest was dense with trees. The thick canopy blocked out the sun, leaving it dark even in the middle of the day.
A faint shiver ran down her spine as she looked at the black expanse of trees. Even though Cesare would protect her if a beast were to leap out, a sense of fear crept over her.
She even had the illusion that the wind blowing from the dark forest carried the faint scent of blood. The primal fear made her forget her tears for a moment.
“It’s a place I use for hunting sometimes.”
Cesare, who had been gazing at the forest along with her, turned his eyes away and spoke.
“This must be your first time inside.”
He, too, remembered what had happened before he left for the war. She wanted to ask why he hadn't opened the door for her then. But she knew this wasn't the time for that conversation.
Her tears had stopped while she was looking around. With cheeks still flushed from crying, Aileen opened her lips.
“You can put me down now…”
Even though they were inside, he was still holding her. He seemed to have no intention of putting her down.
But Aileen was determined to have a serious conversation with him, and that would be impossible while being held like this. Steeling herself, she spoke again.
“Please, put me down, Cesare.”
Her firm tone made Cesare raise an eyebrow. This time, he set her down without another word and closed the open door.
As the breeze from the forest ceased, the tension that had frozen her body seemed to melt away. Cesare pulled out a chair for Aileen to sit on. Then he brought another chair for himself, sitting close and directly across from her.
The chair was spacious enough for her, but it looked a bit uncomfortable for him. The tall man sat with his long legs slightly apart, his arms crossed as he watched her. When she struggled to speak, he broke the silence.
“Your senior is still alive, Aileen.”
“…”
“And I can keep him that way, if you wish.”
He sounded as if he were trying to placate a pouting child with a piece of candy. Aileen realized he still didn't understand what she truly wanted.
If she simply accepted the candy he was offering, the tension would dissolve. She wouldn't have to fear that he might get angry with her.
But if she did, their relationship would never change. She would continue to live inside his fence, ignorant, harboring the constant fear that she could be cast out at any moment.
“Cesare…”
Aileen forced the words out. She met his crimson eyes without flinching and asked cautiously.
“Do you… still see me as just a child?”
That wasn't the question he had been expecting. Cesare tilted his head slightly. He stared at her intently for a long moment, as if trying to decipher her thoughts. Then, he answered in a calm voice.
“If I did, I wouldn't have undressed you.”
Aileen curled her hands, which were clasped tightly on her lap, even smaller. She tried to cool her burning face as her lips trembled.
“I didn't come here to ask you to spare my senior's life.”
Cesare waited quietly for her to continue. He didn't rush her or question her sharply, simply waiting in silence. Aileen painstakingly gathered the courage that had dissipated into the air.
“How… did things end up like this…? I mean, I woke up, and all this had happened. And the newspaper articles suddenly appeared…”
She wanted to speak coherently, but her nerves made her words jumbled. Still, she trusted that Cesare would understand what she was trying to convey. He always listened to her. Aileen expressed her deepest desire.
“Since you've made me your Grand Duchess, I want to do my best. Not as a child who knows nothing and is merely protected.”
“I know.”
His cool reply made Aileen flinch in surprise.
“You've always done your best. To the point of throwing your life away for my honor.”
Cesare appeared calm on the surface. But contrary to his placid tone, his eyes were as deep and dark as the black forest beyond the door. An unknowable darkness shadowed his crimson irises.
“That is why, Aileen. Why I don't want to tell you anything.”
He commanded her.
“Promise me you won't die for me. Then I will tell you.”
His words, as deep and cool as the forest's darkness, wrapped around her.
“Anything you wish to know.”