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A huge crowd gathered at the execution site.
"After the gallows were replaced with the guillotine, the spectacle became not so entertaining."
"But it's the first nobleman executed in a long time."
"There he comes!"
People laughed and threw stones at Matio, tied to a post on a cart.
Numb, he accepted every flying stone.
Public execution was great entertainment for the crowd.
The assembled people talked animatedly in anticipation of the start of the spectacle.
The guillotine stood on an elevation so everyone could see well.
Matio, under guard of soldiers, ascended the scaffold.
Finding himself a hair's breadth from death, he sobbed in terror, but his cries were drowned out in the shouts of the crowd.
The resisting Matio was forcibly laid under the executioner's knife.
The execution went quickly.
The rope was cut, the heavy blade descended swiftly.
A thud—and the head flew off the shoulders, fountains of blood splashed into the air.
When the heavy smell of blood spread across the square, the people cheered.
A real celebration began.
Spectators rushed to the body of the executed man to tear it to pieces.
A fight broke out over the head; those who didn't get a place at the front tried at least to stain their hands with blood.
Superstition said that a part of an executed person's body brings luck.
Nobles and young girls' executions enjoyed special popularity.
Matio's execution was the first in a long time for a nobleman, so the crowd fell into a particular frenzy.
Soon, not a piece was left of Matio, the son-in-law of Senate Chairman Marquis Meneghin and a young, promising member of the lower house of parliament.
Only a dark red spot on the square remained to remind people that he once existed.
Cesare watched the entire spectacle from beginning to end.
Seeing how people rejoiced, having obtained a piece of the body, he smirked almost imperceptibly.
*‘Not a sight for the faint of heart.’*
Rotan looked askance at his master, who had dropped this phrase in a jocular tone.
Cesare's face remained calm.
In the war, he had seen far more horrifying scenes.
Moreover, he himself had done worse things.
A man who could imperturbably carve a steak and sleep calmly, drenched from head to toe in blood and flesh.
Not to mention that just the other day, he had ground into a bloody pulp all those involved in Eileen's kidnapping.
The traitors from the military command and all the men at the villa that day had died after terrible tortures.
Only one—Matio—had been left alive to compromise Marquis Meneghin, and only today had his head rolled off the scaffold.
And after all this, he habla of a healthy psyche.
Even in jest, Cesare had never before allowed himself such statements.
Rotan remembered a recent incident.
He had been secretly summoned to the Emperor.
The summons occurred without Cesare's knowledge.
The Emperor of the Traon Empire, Leone Traon Karl Emperor, was Cesare's full brother.
In the Imperial Palace, where blood ties meant nothing before power, it was surprising to see such an attachment between the twins.
The young Emperor took special care of his younger brother, whereas Cesare remained indifferent.
He never shared his thoughts with anyone.
Since Cesare rarely spoke about himself anyway, Leone often questioned Rotan about him.
The Emperor too had noticed the changes in Cesare, so Rotan expected to be summoned.
The main reason he was the one summoned was that all the other knights were problematic in one way or another.
Senon was smart but too timid to tell the truth to his superior's face.
Michele, a former maid of the Imperial Palace, went numb with nerves before the Emperor.
Diego was emotional and couldn't state his thoughts clearly, so Rotan was the best fit.
"I have appeared at your command, Your Majesty."
"Lord Rotan." Leone's face was clouded with concern.
He seated Rotan in the reception room and sighed heavily.
After a long pause, filled only with sighs, Rotan, realizing he was violating etiquette, still spoke first.
"Lately, His Grace has changed significantly."
"Exactly, hasn't he?
He was never interested in power, and now suddenly he demanded a triumphal arch..." Leone cut himself off mid-sentence and ran a hand over his face.
"He said something strange to me.
As an older brother, I can't help but worry."
"May I know exactly what His Grace said?"
Leone, with an expression of disbelief on his face, relayed Cesare's words to Rotan.
It was not at all like what Cesare usually said.
If Rotan hadn't heard it from the mouth of the Emperor himself, he wouldn't have believed it.
*"Maybe I should slaughter all the subjects of the Traon Empire."*
Cesare, at best, possessed an iron will; at worst, he was ruthlessly indifferent.
The only small exception to his coldness was Eileen.
He didn't waste words, so there was a weighty reason for those words.
But what that reason was was impossible to understand.
However, it was clear that Cesare had changed after he cut off the head of the King of Calpen.
As a twin, Leone felt that the changes in his brother boded no good.
"I have a request of you, Lord Rotan."
So, secretly from Cesare, he entrusted Rotan with a matter.
While the latter was puzzled by the imperial commission, Cesare still maintained an unperturbed expression.
"It seems that to preserve my sanity, I need to marry as soon as possible." Dropping this as if incidentally, he asked, looking at the crowd: "And Eileen?"
"Today she only went into a bookstore and the market briefly; the rest of the time she was at home."
Cesare nodded lightly.
To avoid drawing attention to Eileen, the kidnapping case had been hushed up.
If rumors spread that the young lady had been kidnapped by men, it would only cause dirty gossip.
In any case, since Matio's execution was inevitable, there was no need to add unnecessary charges.
"Also, Meneghin sent a gift for Lady Eileen, but I saw to it that it was not delivered."
Cesare laughed loudly.
"Am I really that unreliable?"
Although he had clearly said he would spare him, Meneghin, fearing Cesare would change his mind, had immediately sent a gift to Eileen to make a good impression.
Marquis Meneghin had paid in full.
He had personally appeared at the residence of Grand Duke Erzet and, before Cesare's eyes, had gouged out his remaining eye.
To the blinded Marquis, Cesare had magnanimously promised to spare his life, and indeed, the man had left the capital with his daughter.
Though he had lost honor and power, the remaining fortune would suffice for a comfortable life.
"I think Count Domenico would suit for the post of new Chairman of the Senate." Count Domenico was a neutral figure, belonging neither to the pro-imperial nor anti-imperial party.
Rotan cautiously expressed his opinion.
"I'm not sure he will cooperate."
The man was known for his stubborn and tough character.
If he became Chairman, although the opposition nobles wouldn't object, he could become a serious obstacle for the Imperial court.
"What cooperation..." But Cesare seemed to have already thought everything through.
He simply defined his relationship with Count Domenico.
"That is an order."
***
Eileen, having spent the night in the Grand Duke's residence, woke up and immediately looked around.
Convinced that Cesare was not nearby, she mentally thanked God, in whom she didn't even believe.
Then she asked Sonnyo, who had brought breakfast and new glasses, where Cesare was.
Hearing that he had left for the Imperial Palace, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Now she could leave the mansion without meeting him.
"Lady Eileen, about breakfast..."
"It's all right!
I'll just go home." She waved off Sonnyo, who was urging her to at least have a sandwich if she had no appetite, and hastily fled to the brick house.
All the way in the car she was nervous, and only when she was in her bedroom could she finally relax.
Eileen collapsed onto the small sofa like a heap of laundry.
And then she screamed, muffling the sound.
"Aaaaaa!.."
Not the most fitting behavior for a young lady, but she was in no mood for propriety.
She began to furiously torment the sofa cushions.
In her head, the events of the last night were spinning.
She had, of course, imagined that someday she would marry and be with a husband...
Though she hadn't received special instruction, she’d read biology books and roughly imagined how the sexual act occurred.
But what happened last night...
Before her eyes again appeared Cesare, looking at her with a smile with his scarlet eyes.
And his whisper:
*"Next time, I'll lick you myself."*