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Only then did Eileen remember why she had come here in the first place.
Her mind, which had been entirely consumed by Cesare, slowly began to return to her.
She gradually realized what she had just been through.
"It’s time to go.
I am expected elsewhere."
Cesare briefly shifted his gaze toward the door.
Frowning for a moment, he slowly massaged Eileen’s wrist, stroking the marks he had left there as if soothing a child.
"Go to bed early, Eileen."
Eileen nodded again.
But she already knew—she wouldn’t be sleeping early tonight.
***
Diego watched the carriage as it pulled away.
It was a luxurious carriage, the kind they used when they didn't want to draw attention to themselves.
In his heart, he had wanted to personally escort the lady home, but he had business to attend to.
He had been forced to entrust the task to his most reliable subordinate.
Diego sighed, keeping his eyes on the carriage until it disappeared from sight.
"Damn it."
Of all times, they had run into the lady while he was on duty here.
Talk about bad luck.
"I wish it had been Rotan instead."
No matter how you looked at it, Rotan always ended up being the "good guy." Now, in the lady's eyes, I’m probably lower than dirt.
He planned to make up for it soon by bringing her that rabbit toy.
Musing on how he might earn some points back, Diego re-entered the building.
Walking slowly inside, he pressed a spot on the wall near the stairs.
The smooth surface cracked, forming a square opening—a door.
Behind it was another set of stairs leading down into a basement.
A chill hung over the dimly lit staircase.
The place was so grim it inspired revulsion, but Diego went down whistling.
The lower he descended, the stronger the scent of blood became.
The stairs ended, revealing a vast underground space.
The high-ceilinged basement was divided into sections by iron bars.
Heading toward the farthest corner, Diego thought about Eileen’s research.
He himself wasn't good with books, so even though he’d seen the pages she had written, he had no idea what they were about.
But Senon, having read all the materials seized from Eileen’s lab, had firmly stated:
"Morpheus has the potential to change the course of history."
A medicine that extracted only the analgesic component from opium, maximizing its effect.
Despite the side effect of addiction, its painkilling action was undeniable.
For those wounded on the battlefield or patients in their final death throes, Morpheus would be their final salvation.
Senon, arguing that isolating a single component from the plant was also of immense significance, had made many points that Diego didn't understand and insisted:
"Your Grace.
This medicine will bring new glory to the Empire.
Please, support Eileen’s research."
However, because the raw material was a narcotic, its effectiveness had to be proven to avoid punishment.
If Cesare could secretly protect Eileen until the research was completed, and then support her as Duchess while demonstrating the product's efficacy, it could be done.
*‘Besides, once she’s the Duchess, no one will dare lay a finger on her.’*
No matter how much the Duke favored her, she was still just a young lady from a minor house.
Diego and the Duke's other knights passionately desired for Eileen to become the Duchess.
Then, they could truly protect her.
Since she was a child, Eileen had a strange way of getting into trouble.
She seemed especially drawn to dangerous people.
Take Cesare’s attention, for example.
He, who had never shown interest in others, had taken an interest in Eileen and even developed feelings for her.
As she grew, she was constantly coming across strange types.
If it weren't for the knights clearing her surroundings on Cesare’s orders, a tragedy would have occurred long ago.
Over the years of watching Eileen, the Duke’s subordinates had grown genuinely fond of her.
So, when Cesare publicly declared he would take Eileen as his wife, they had all been delighted.
In any case, Eileen would have to marry someday.
And it was better she marry Cesare than some other strange fellow.
*‘But... it is a bit sudden.’*
Although his master had pampered Eileen for a long time, it hadn't seemed to be romantic feelings.
To him, she had only ever been a child.
Until the day of the victory in the war against the Kingdom of Calpen.
From that day on, Cesare had changed.
Diego first noticed something was wrong when the Duke had made the King of Calpen kneel.
Normally, Cesare rarely showed emotion.
He remained cold and rational in any situation.
But on that day, Diego had seen something he had never witnessed in all his years of service.
Cesare had stared down at the kneeling king.
After a long silence, he had unexpectedly murmured something unintelligible.
"Seven years ago."
Slowly closing and opening his eyes, he had suddenly laughed.
That mad laughter had awakened a chilling fear in Diego.
After laughing, Cesare had let out a long breath.
"Ah..."
His scarlet eyes had flashed, and his lips had curled into a smile.
"Finally."
And, drawing his sword, he had decapitated the King of Calpen.
It had happened too fast for anyone to intervene.
By the time the blade flashed, the head was already gone.
The severed head had rolled away, and a fountain of blood had erupted from the neck.
The Duke's knights had looked at the severed king in undisguised astonishment.
This wasn't like Cesare.
The real Cesare would have spared the King of Calpen.
He would have kept him alive as long as he was useful.
It was unthinkable for him to commit such an impulsive murder.
And why use a sword when he had a pistol right there?
Afterward, Cesare had regained his composure.
As if the mad laughter and the murder had never happened, he had acted with complete calm and reason.
But everyone felt it: from the moment of the king’s execution, Cesare had changed.
Objectively, he had become much wiser.
It was as if he had aged in an instant, acquiring worldly wisdom and looking into the future.
It was as if he had stolen the wisdom of the heavens.
However, impulsiveness had also appeared.
Sometimes he acted as if he were damaged, and all those instances were connected to Eileen Elodd.
"I must marry Eileen."
Cesare had unexpectedly announced this when he gathered the knights before returning to the Empire.
While everyone stood in shock, Rotan had spoken up directly.
"Lady Eileen will likely be against it."
"Even if she doesn’t want to, it can't be helped.
It’s better than losing her head on the guillotine."
Smirking, Cesare had again said something mysterious.
"I... it won't happen twice."
What did that mean?
He wasn't one to throw words to the wind, so it had to have a meaning...
Trying to understand Cesare’s hints, Diego pushed the thoughts aside.
He pulled at the massive iron door in front of him.
The door opened silently, without so much as a creak.
Upon entering, Diego stepped into something sticky and clicked his tongue.
"Ugh."
He had stepped into a pool of blood.
Wrinkling his nose, he scanned the room.
In the middle, on a chair, was tied a shapeless mass of flesh.
The blood dripping from it already covered the floor.
From a corner, trembling and not daring to breathe, a man crawled out.
"Hic, huff, S-Sir Diego!"
As if seeing a savior, he rushed forward.
It was Eileen’s father, Baron Elodd.
The Baron's trousers were soaked.
Diego recoiled from the sour smell of urine, and Baron Elodd, who had been about to clutch at his legs, hastily retreated.
Diego first saluted his master.
Receiving the response, the soldiers immediately lowered their torture implements and stood at attention.
Unlike the blood-soaked room, Cesare was impeccably clean, without a single spot on him.
Crossing his arms, he said casually:
"Don't drink, Diego."