Wicked Husband-Chapter 37 - 36

The softly whispered voice was exquisite, sending shivers deep into her being. Eileen felt a tingling sensation in her stomach. She didn’t understand the connection between singing and kissing, but blushing, she earnestly replied to the question.

"I’m tone-deaf..."

In response, Cesare chuckled and lightly kissed her forehead.

"Shall we go for a walk in the garden? There won’t be many visitors this way."

Visiting the Imperial Palace, where the Emperor resided, was rare, and even if they did, there would hardly be time to leisurely stroll through the gardens. Eileen agreed to Cesare’s suggestion to visit the garden.

Her face remained exposed. Cesare had directly requested her to stay this way since there were hardly any people passing by at this time. He said he wanted to talk while looking into her eyes.

Despite finding his unsettling gaze uncomfortable, for the sake of Cesare, who always spoke kindly, Eileen decided to show her face for a while.

’If he shows even the slightest sign of displeasure, I can cover it up immediately.’

She quickly grabbed her glasses to wear them when needed, then walked alongside him down the hallway. As they headed toward the garden, Eileen hesitated for a moment, then opened her lips.

"Well, um... to be honest..."

If she couldn’t open the closed door to her lab, there was no way she could come up with the dowry. She didn’t want to sell the brick house if possible; it was her mother’s legacy, and she also wanted to protect the orange trees in the garden.

Therefore, she had no choice but to honestly reveal her predicament. With a feeling of wanting to hide in a mouse hole, Eileen confessed her circumstances.

"I need to open the lab to arrange the dowry."

The moment Cesare stopped in his tracks, Eileen, who had been walking ahead without thinking, took a few steps forward before returning to him.

Cesare had his face covered with his hand. His hand was large, and his face was comparatively small, so it seemed like his face was completely covered by one hand.

After a moment of doing so, Cesare took a deep breath and then exhaled before lowering his hand.

Eileen, who was looking at Cesare, became flustered. It was because his face was still filled with a smile that she hadn’t managed to erase. Cesare, with a smiling face, asked, "Who said such unnecessary things to you? Was it Ornella?"

There was no point in denying it here. Eileen hesitated and replied, "I had forgotten about it, and she reminded me. So I’m starting to prepare from today."

Cesare responded as if he found the story amusing. "How much are you planning to bring?"

Although she had a specific amount in mind, when it came time to say it to Cesare, it felt too modest. Eileen mumbled vaguely, "Um, as much as possible...."

"Are you planning to sell op!um or something?"

"No! No, not at all! It’s definitely not that. There are just some expensive tools used for research, so I thought of organizing them."

Eileen replied in a fluster while keeping an eye on Cesare’s reaction. She couldn’t understand the reason behind Cesare’s constant chuckles. Cesare chuckled softly and said something Eileen didn’t understand.

"I’ve already received the dowry."

It was something Eileen had no idea about. She briefly thought if her father had paid the dowry in advance, but it seemed unlikely. It was far more convincing to think that a passing fairy cat had given the dowry instead.

"I’m sorry, Your Grace. May I ask who gave Your Grace the dowry?"

When she cautiously asked, Cesare suddenly reached out his hand. Startled by the hand reaching towards her chest, Eileen flinched, but Cesare put his hand into the pocket of his coat. Cesare showed Eileen a silver pocket watch with a mischievous grin.

"From Lady Elrod."

"Your Grace..."

Eileen called him softly. Just a platinum pocket watch as the dowry for Grand Duke Erszet’s marriage proposal. He seemed to overlook it out of pity, but it wasn’t nothing.

"But, Your Grace, that’s..."

"Should I change my name to ’Your Grace’?"

"Ce... Cesare."

She awkwardly moved her tongue to pronounce his name. Speaking names in broad daylight felt embarrassing for some reason. Eileen brushed off the strange thoughts in her head and continued.

"It’s too little to consider as a dowry."

Cesare didn’t respond. The sun hid behind clouds, dimming the surroundings. In the midday shadow, the man wore a mysterious smile. At the sight of his beautiful smile, Eileen remembered the first time she realized his danger.

"Eileen."

He opened his mouth with a slow tone.

"Before... I had the same watch. It was a keepsake of a death row inmate."

Just the fact that Cesare had a pinstripe platinum pocket watch was surprising, but to think it belonged to a convict...

Many sought the belongings of convicts because they believed they brought luck. However, Cesare was never such a person. He despised unscientific things like superstition, astrology, and old legends.

"It was broken, the hands didn’t move, but I treasured it..."

His tone was light, as if it were nothing, yet it felt like he was carrying something heavy.

"I had to use it to come back."

He chuckled deeply.

"So, I destroyed it with my own hands, Eileen."

As if he had destroyed himself rather than the watch, Cesare grabbed Eileen’s wrist and pulled her into his embrace. His coat fell to the ground unnoticed by both.

He lowered his head and whispered into Eileen’s ear.

"But since you gave me the same watch as a gift, wouldn’t it be more precious than gold?"

Eileen, who had been just listening, barely parted her lips to call his name.

"Cesare..."

"You don’t need to give a dowry anymore."

His grip tightened around Eileen. She felt a suffocating pain, unable to say anything. Despite the strong grip, Cesare spoke tenderly.

"You’ve already given me too much."

***

With a sigh, Ornella sank onto the sofa, nervously shaking her foot. Immediately, a maid hurried over, lifting the hem of her dress and removing her shoes.

Carefully placing the shoes aside, she firmly massaged Ornella’s foot clad in silk stockings.

As Ornella extended her hand, another maid nearby removed her gloves, then handed her a lit cigarette prepared in advance.

Ornella deeply inhaled the smoke, causing her cheeks to hollow out. Leaning back against the sofa’s backrest, she exhaled with a sigh, letting the smoke disperse.

Normally, Ornella preferred thick cigars.

However, smoking such thick cigars was considered unladylike behavior. Thus, she only smoked thin cigarettes outdoors.

When the delicate-looking Ornella lightly exhaled smoke from her thin cigarette, men praised her for its unique charm, leaving them enchanted. Even she found it quite alluring.

However, as the noble lady of the family, excessive smoking was not seen in a positive light, so she only smoked when she wanted to tempt someone.

Upon hearing that Cesare had arrived, Ornella thought it was a good opportunity and hurriedly went over.

"Hah!"

Ornella let out a snort as she recalled her misfortune. She just couldn’t understand it logically.

Ornella had known about Eileen Elrod for a long time.

The daughter of the nanny who raised Cesare.

Eileen, who was adored for her cuteness as a child while accompanying Cesare to the palace.

Cesare’s biological mother was originally a palace maid. She spent a night with the Emperor but received no favor afterwards. However, by some stroke of luck, she became pregnant and gave birth to twin princes from that one night.

Despite her admiration for Leon, Cesare’s striking features – raven hair and fiery eyes some found unsettling – held a magnetism for Ornella. It wasn’t a mere physical attraction, but a hidden allure that simmered beneath the surface. However, this fascination remained unrequited. In fact, Cesare deeply loathed Ornella.

His biological mother never nursed him once, so it was no exaggeration to say that the nanny raised Cesare.

Perhaps that’s why his current interest in the nanny’s daughter wasn’t considered unusual. Lineage, after all, remained paramount.

But elevating a childhood companion, raised on kindness, to the position of Grand Duchess?

Ornella couldn’t make sense of Cesare’s intentions at all. No, she didn’t even want to understand them.

***