Wicked Husband-Chapter 43 - 42

Somehow, the voice sounded angry.

Could it be that, for the first time in her life, Cesare was angry with Eileen today?

Feeling thoroughly intimidated, Eileen replied softly, "No..."

She hunched her body slightly, biting her lip in apprehension. Then, Cesare reached out and tenderly wiped Eileen’s eyes.

"Is it the Baroness Elrod?"

Eileen neither confirmed nor denied his words.

In truth, she knew. Her mother loved her, but she bestowed an even greater affection upon the Prince. The gap between her mother’s love for her and her love for the Prince widened ever more.

As that distance gradually widened, her mother grew increasingly distant. Eileen was aware of her own abnormal condition and made constant efforts to overcome it.

But when she could no longer contain it, she completely lost control. The first time her mother exploded was when Eileen was twelve.

It occurred a few days after Eileen had been abducted and subsequently rescued, thanks to Cesare. Her mother mercilessly berated Eileen, likely having heard some rumors or stories.

"Because of you, just because of you!!!"

That was also the first time she screamed not to be looked at with those disgusting eyes. When her mother’s anger subsided, Eileen cried with her, apologizing and embracing her tightly, even though her calves were swollen and bleeding.

From that day on, her mother couldn’t contain her bursts of anger. She even attempted to stab Eileen’s eyes with scissors and unleashed the anger she received from her father onto Eileen.

But it wasn’t always like that. There were affectionate moments, joyful moments.

Memories of cooking together, doing dishes side by side, and sharing laughter.

Memories of making flower bracelets with the flowers Eileen had picked.

Memories of her mother gently stroking her hair before falling asleep...

Even if it was just a small amount of love from her mother, those memories lingered.

Even if it was just the remnants of her love towards the Prince, if she could receive her mother’s affection, Eileen could endure it all.

As she bit her lip, recalling her mother, Cesare frowned. He pressed his lips together with his fingers, then removed them and spoke.

"Your mother is not everything in the world."

"But still, my mother wouldn’t say such things without any reason."

"So, my words have no reason?"

"Oh, no, Your Grace, I mean... Cesare, you too..."

The more she spoke, the more she felt like digging her own grave. Eileen uttered the safest words she could think of.

"I’m sorry," she apologized, not knowing exactly why, but apologizing nonetheless. But Cesare was not an easy opponent.

"Why?"

At his short question, Eileen fell into contemplation again. And she came up with the safest answer.

"I think you were angry because of me..."

"Because of you?" Cesare’s incredulous response indicated he had never even considered such a thought.

He chuckled dryly and pinched Eileen’s cheek. Feeling guilty, Eileen didn’t protest and obediently let him pinch her cheek.

Fortunately, he released her cheek after a short moment. As Eileen gently rubbed her slightly sore cheek, he murmured softly.

"You can’t dig up the dead from their graves."

"What?" Mishearing, Eileen asked, but Cesare dismissed it and helped her up.

"It’s time to go home."

Already, it time to go home. Time had passed too quickly. Even though she knew she had to leave so as not to inconvenience Cesare, she hesitated to leave.

She wanted to spend a little more time with him.

As Eileen hesitated, he offered another option.

"Or you could just stay and sleep again today."

"I-I’ll go home since you must be busy!"

A response that didn’t come out smoothly until just now suddenly popped out. Cesare smoothly guided Eileen to the front door. At first, she thought he was seeing her off, but that wasn’t the case.

He opened the door of the waiting car, ushered Eileen inside, and then got into the driver’s seat himself.

"Are you coming with me?"

Seeing Eileen’s eyes widen in surprise, Cesare narrowed his eyes slightly as he responded.

"Are you going alone then?"

He started the car and continued, "Since your husband will drive you there, let’s go together."

***

It had been a very long time since he visited a brick house.

Eileen secretly hoped that Cesare would mention some subtle changes in the brick house, like the growth of the orange tree, for example.

But Cesare’s eyes were indifferent. He seemed to be treating the overly familiar place as if he had visited it countless times before. He paused briefly in front of the orange tree, but that was all.

"Thank you for bringing me."

As Eileen greeted him at the door, Cesare looked down at her with his arms crossed. Eileen looked up at him, suddenly noticing the height difference.

"Just a greeting?"

"Well, then...?"

"I think I deserve at least a dinner in return."

"Oh..."

He leaned against the doorframe, lowering his head towards Eileen. His large hand came forward and lightly touched her short fringe. Eileen blinked rapidly.

"I helped you with your hair."

She had thought it was fine not to say anything until now, but apparently, he had been keeping track of the dinner she owed him. Feeling somewhat obliged due to her continuous concerns, Eileen decided to extend an invitation.

"Um, would you like to come in then? I haven’t prepared anything, so it might be a bit lacking."

As she spoke, opening the door, Cesare stepped inside without a word of refusal. Eileen looked at Cesare, who stood tall inside the house, with unfamiliar eyes.

The brick house had an overall cozy and quaint atmosphere. Cesare’s presence seemed rather alien amidst it.

Yet, Cesare, like a master of the house, casually surveyed the interior, his gaze eventually settling on her father’s bedroom.

Hurriedly, Eileen went to her father’s room, knocked on the door, and turned the doorknob. The door slid open smoothly, revealing an empty room

"He’s still roaming around outside, the baron, isn’t he?"

"Yes. But he doesn’t seem to go towards Piole Street these days."

"He probably can’t."

His smirk and added comment were spot on. Cesare casually looked around the kitchen as he passed the dining table.

"If you want the baron to stay at home, you should just say so. I’ll make it happen."

"Oh no, it’s really okay."

Eileen followed him into the kitchen. There, she rattled the pantry while Cesare observed her silently.

Luckily, she figured she could manage to make simple sandwiches. Since sandwiches only required assembling ingredients, even if they didn’t taste great, it wouldn’t be too noticeable.

Of course, compared to what she could have served him, it was quite inadequate...

’Should I quickly go out and buy something?’

With a package of baguettes in her hand, Eileen sneakily glanced at Cesare. He raised an eyebrow and asked casually,"Are you making sandwiches?"

"...How did you know?" She was startled, almost dropping the bread due to his accurate guess. Cesare took the baguette from her hand and placed it next to the cutting board.

"It’s written on your face...that it’s sandwiches."

"I’m not good at cooking. With the ingredients I have, I only have confidence in making sandwiches," she admitted. She instinctively tried to push up her glasses, but ended up touching her forehead instead. It still felt too early to adapt to a life without glasses and bangs.

"Would you have the confidence if you have ingredients?"

"No," she answered seriously, fearing he might ask her to do it. It was only after seeing him smile that she realized it was a joke.

’But it’s hard to tell the difference...’

She always struggled to distinguish between seriousness and joke. Thinking she should just continue living earnestly, she rolled up her sleeves to her elbows and began washing her hands. Cesare, too, took off his leather gloves, rolled up his sleeves, and naturally washed his hands with her. Then, he placed the baguette on the cutting board and effortlessly picked up the large bread knife.

"Can you pass that to me?"

"The knife?"

With a smirk, he swiftly sliced the baguette lengthwise. Despite everything in the kitchen being small and low for him, he handled the knife effortlessly.

Eileen widened her eyes at the neatly sliced bread as though she were measuring it with a ruler.

’It would be greatly appreciated if your Excellency could assist us in dividing the research materials into small portions.’

She harbored a primal greed for his talent, yet Cesare was too exceptional to handle a knife in the laboratory.

Regretting the missed opportunity for significant research assistance right before her, Eileen swallowed her disappointment and meticulously stacked the ingredients on the halved baguette to assemble the sandwich.

Salami, capicola, black olives, lettuce, red onions, tomatoes, various types of cheese, and then the bread as the lid again. It was an assembly that felt too clumsy to be called cooking.

Watching Cesare cut the long sandwich into bite-sized pieces, Eileen suddenly realized.

’This is the marriage I wanted.’

Simple, peaceful moments of sharing everyday life. However, once she decided to become the Grand Duchess, it was a wish that would never come true.