Wicked Husband-Chapter 69 - 68

The reason was that Cesare was wasting precious time on a mere child.

Of course, the child was undeniably cute. The unique combination of green and gold in her eyes was almost mystical, and her chattering voice was as pleasant as a lark’s song.

But she was just a child. No matter how charming she was, it was difficult to understand why Cesare was so attentive to her, especially given that she was the daughter of a mere nanny from a family of little consequence.

Cesare was destined for a glorious path. The thought that this child might become a hindrance to him stirred an impulse to remove her like a weed.

Even Lotan and Diego, who generally liked children, shared similar sentiments. They found Eileen cute but agreed with Senon’s view that Cesare was unnecessarily preoccupied with her.

Days were spent contemplating how to remove the bothersome child from Cesare’s life.

"How many times have I told you that the Fifth Prince is a lost cause!"

His father threw the documents he was holding at Senon. As the papers fluttered and scattered, his father, with a frustrated expression, pounded his chest and said, "The throne will be claimed by another prince. To think that you actually became that fool’s knight. What an idiot."

As the second son, Senon would never inherit a title. The solution he found to secure his future was Cesare. After swearing allegiance and becoming a knight, Senon had never regretted his choice. The more he trusted and followed Cesare, the stronger his conviction grew.

However, his parents vehemently criticized Senon. They were repeatedly angry that he had not made a choice that would benefit the family but had instead acted foolishly.

Senon had hoped that presenting a neatly organized report on Cesare’s recent monumental victory might soften their hearts, but it had the opposite effect.

Feeling dejected, Senon entered the Imperial Palace. The moment he stepped into the prince’s residence, tears suddenly welled up in his eyes. Tilting his head back, he dashed into the garden to avoid being seen. Once he reached a secluded spot, free from prying eyes, he collapsed onto the ground, and the tears he had been holding back burst forth uncontrollably.

"Ugh, sob... sniff..."

He had convinced himself that it was acceptable if his parents didn’t understand, that he could believe in his own choices and move forward. Yet, a childlike part of him still craved recognition and praise. Even a small reprimand could bring him to tears.

Disgusted by his own weakness, Senon didn’t know how to stop the tears. Huddled in a corner of the garden, he cried silently, feeling utterly pitiable. It was at this moment, while he was sobbing, that he heard a rustling among the leaves. Hastily wiping his tears with the back of his hand and turning sharply, he saw a small child standing with wide eyes. The child’s hair and clothes were covered in leaves, as if she had been running around the garden moments ago.

Of all people, it was the annoying little girl who had caught him crying. As he looked at her golden-green eyes shining in the sunlight, Senon averted his gaze in silence.

Though relieved it wasn’t Cesare or his fellow knights who had seen him, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of discomfort. He silently hoped she would say nothing and quickly leave, and continued to stare at the grass.

Sensing someone approaching, he ignored it until a white handkerchief fluttered down like a butterfly onto his lap.

That was all. Eileen said nothing, simply placing the handkerchief and then quietly disappearing among the bushes. Senon stared at the handkerchief on his lap.

The cheap, poorly made handkerchief had frayed edges and no embroidery, resembling more a scrap of cloth than a proper handkerchief. As Senon stared at the old but clean handkerchief, he blew his nose in a fit of childish spite, wiping his tears with it.

That day, Senon washed the child’s handkerchief and bought a new one. He also purchased a box of cookies, wrapping them up nicely with the handkerchief.

A few days later, when Eileen visited the Prince’s residence, he handed her the handkerchief and cookies. With a deliberately cold tone, he asked, "Why did you give me the handkerchief?"

Eileen looked up at Senon with slightly parted lips. Confused, she muttered, "I didn’t know... You’ve always been so kind to me..."

Kind to you? Senon, who only remembered mocking the little girl, was taken aback. Despite his sarcastic and mocking behavior, Eileen had been oblivious to it.

Eileen smiled brightly as she hugged the gifts Senon had given her. "So now you like me, don’t you? You’ve given me so many gifts."

Her innocent smile radiated pure affection towards Senon. For Eileen, what was most special was not her rare eye color but the genuine goodwill that was hard to find in the palace, high society, or on the battlefield.

Senon began to understand, if only a little, why Cesare held this child in such high regard. When Eileen was next invited to the Prince’s residence, she sought out Senon first before meeting Cesare.

As soon as she spotted Senon in the corridor, she beamed and ran toward him with her small feet. Holding something in her hand, Eileen shouted from afar:

"Sir Senon! This is dried flowers I made... oh!"

But before Eileen could reach Senon, she stumbled and fell. Senon rushed to help her, but Eileen was already on the verge of tears.

Around her were scattered pieces of dried flowers, with only a single stem remaining in her small hand. Eileen’s big eyes shifted between the stem and the broken flower fragments, and she soon began to cry uncontrollably out of frustration.

"I, I tried to repay the gift you gave me... but..."

Holding only the bare stem, Eileen slapped her cheek in frustration and clung to Senon. As he held the small, sobbing figure in his arms, he couldn’t help but burst into laughter. Despite being there to comfort her, he found himself laughing uncontrollably.

After laughing for a long time, to the point where tears formed in his own eyes, Senon had to admit that the emotional barrier he had built to keep the child at a distance had completely crumbled.

From that moment on, he treated Eileen with the utmost respect, using formal language and honoring her as a noble lady. He eagerly anticipated the days she visited the palace, pretending it was no big deal while giving her small gifts.

Every time he saw Eileen’s smiling face, he felt as if he had the whole world. By the time his heart started racing at her cuteness, he was deeply in love with her.

Senon became a knight who cherished and esteemed Eileen more than anyone else.

"It feels like just yesterday when you were crying with only a flower stem in your hand."

Senon, lost in memory, glanced at Lotan. Having finished his cigarette and tidied up, Lotan smiled faintly and added, "Now she’s the Grand Duchess, isn’t she?"

Senon, having finished half of his cigarette, brushed the smoke-stained ash from his clothes and asked, "So, have you figured anything out?"

"Not a chance."

The two knights exchanged bitter smiles. Recent observations of Cesare’s strange behavior had made them acutely aware of the situation’s gravity. Despite their attempts to resolve it, they felt like they were floundering in what seemed to be mere illusions.

However, they had reached a troubling conclusion about the current situation: it seemed that Cesare was operating with a different set of memories.

If someone else had acted like Cesare, they might have suspected mental illness. But knowing Cesare so well, the knights were convinced that their judgment was more than mere delusion.

"It’s definitely related to Lady Eileen."

Senon paused, shuddering briefly. The vivid memory of Cesare’s red eyes when he spoke of the execution and the tavern still haunted him, sending chills down his spine whenever he recalled it.

As they speculated on the reasons behind Cesare’s change, they couldn’t ignore the possibility of supernatural influences like witchcraft. Yet, this seemed far removed from Cesare’s usual demeanor.

Given that Cesare despised anything unscientific due to his mother’s obsession with occult practices, it was hard to believe he would have dabbled in such trivial superstitions. Unless something significant had happened to dramatically alter his life.

The aversion to witchcraft was profound. As Senon pondered the subject, he suddenly recalled Cesare’s deceased mother.

After falling out of favor with the Emperor, she had succumbed to madness, resorting to various forms of witchcraft in a desperate attempt to regain his affection. When all her efforts failed and her irritability grew each day, she began a new romance with a younger lover, a palace knight fifteen years her junior.

The knight, who admired Cesare, approached the mother with ulterior motives. By becoming her lover, he also gained closer access to Cesare.

Though the relationship was far from ideal, it was a significant improvement over the previous total lack of contact. The knight’s objective was achieved.

***