Wicked Husband-Chapter 179 - 178

Senon didn’t understand Cesare’s words. But one thing was certain... Senon, too, was gripped by an endless fear in this moment.

Cesare was the central pillar of the Traon Imperial Army. Because of him, they had won wars that should have been impossible.

Even when Senon, Diego, Michele, and even Lotan wavered, Cesare remained unwavering, an unshakable core. The soldiers’ faith in him bordered on fanaticism.

And yet, for the first time, Cesare was breaking. His shattered gaze mirrored the ruins of the collapsed Grand Shrine.

He was contemplating Eileen’s death.

Senon, who had been staring blankly at Cesare, slowly turned his gaze away. The shrine was in ruins, its original form nearly unrecognizable.

To survive that collapse? It was nearly impossible. In fact, they would be lucky even to retrieve an intact body. A thought crept into Senon’s mind, one he had never considered before.

What if Lady Eileen dies?

On the battlefield, the death of comrades and subordinates was commonplace. Senon always accounted for death when planning his strategies.

But Eileen had been an exception.

He had always believed that as long as he fought hard on the battlefield, Eileen would remain safe in the capital.

The thought that they might part this suddenly, this meaninglessly, he had never even imagined it.

Senon covered his mouth with his hand. His heart was pounding too fast. His breath came in short gasps, dizziness washing over him. He forced himself to breathe slowly, counting in his head–nhale deeply, then exhale even more slowly.

Once he had calmed himself, he tried to think as the Grand Duke’s adjutant. He struggled to regain his composure, focusing only on the immediate situation.

Officially, Grand Duke Erzet was still recuperating at the ducal residence. The entire empire knew about the gunshot wound to his shoulder.

For him to be seen moving his arm so freely was not ideal.

"Your Excellency, we should step outside first."

Cesare didn’t respond, even though he had clearly heard him. He only spoke after a long, long silence.

"...Alright."

His face, which had been trembling in anguish, was now eerily calm.

"We don’t know yet."

Whether the deal was over, or if this was just a warning... 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Muttering under his breath, he staggered to his feet. Blood dripped steadily from his hands, torn open from clawing through the debris.

Senon swallowed dryly. It was clearly Cesare’s own blood, yet it felt as if it belonged to someone else.

His eyes, fixed on the ruined shrine, burned coldly, like embers smoldering in the depths of hell. For a long time, he simply stared at the wreckage before finally stepping back.

Senon quickly moved to support him, his gaze lingering on the collapsed shrine. Once again, the word death carved itself into his mind. He shook it off.

For now, all they could do was pray for a miracle.

***

At some point, the sound of commotion reached them. It seemed they had begun clearing away the debris.

With each tremor, dust and small stones rained down from above. Eileen flinched and shifted her position. Thankfully, none of the debris fell near Ornella.

"They must be removing the rubble."

She spoke to Ornella, but there was no response. Eileen checked her condition. Her face was drenched in cold sweat. She was shivering from blood loss-induced chills. The bleeding had stopped, but she wouldn’t last much longer.

Eileen glanced up anxiously. The gaps between the fallen stones showed nothing but darkness.

Hurry...

Cesare had seen the collapse, surely, he would be organizing a rescue operation. She just had to trust and wait. But even so, her impatience grew.

To share body heat, Eileen sat closer to Ornella. If she had been conscious, she would have protested, but in her current semi-unconscious state, it didn’t matter. Even if Ornella tried to push her away, Eileen had no intention of moving.

Sensing movement, Ornella weakly opened her eyes. Their gazes met, and Eileen flinched.

"I-it’s for body heat... because of the blood loss...."

She stammered, hastily explaining. Ornella merely stared at her for a moment before closing her eyes again. Eileen pressed closer and continued waiting for Cesare.

The tremors and noise grew nearer. The flickering candlelight cast shifting shadows around them. Eileen kept her eyes fixed upward.

How long had they waited?

With a loud crash, a beam of light pierced through the darkness. The dim, suffocating space was suddenly flooded with brilliant white light.

Eileen’s eyes widened, and she quickly sat up.

"Cesare!"

She shouted to make her presence known.

And the moment she called his name, a response came immediately.

"Eileen!"

Relief washed over her like a tidal wave. She couldn’t help but smile brightly. Then, she quickly shouted again,

"I’m here! I’m completely fine, not hurt at all. But Lady Farbellini is severely injured. Her condition is critical, so please–"

Before she could finish her sentence, the largest piece of rubble was lifted away. The single beam of light expanded, flooding the space with brightness.

The abrupt burst of daylight, after being trapped in the dark for so long, was almost blinding. Eileen instinctively squinted but struggled to keep her eyes open, trying to see above.

Silhouetted against the light stood a figure.

Just like that day, when she had been kidnapped as a child, he had come for her again.

Eileen’s lips parted unconsciously. Cesare extended his hand. She almost reached for it instinctively but quickly caught herself.

"Ah, please, take Ornella first–"

"Eileen."

His voice was cold. Cesare repeated his command.

"Take my hand."

Eileen obediently grasped his outstretched hand with both of hers.

After all, Ornella was too injured to be pulled out this way. They would need a stretcher, ropes, and proper support. It made sense for her to go first.

As soon as Eileen took his hand, she gasped. His palm was damp. A glance revealed it was slick with blood. His hands were so slippery with it that she feared losing her grip, but Cesare didn’t let go. He lowered another hand, gripping her wrist tightly, and pulled her upward.

Her feet lifted off the ground.

The moment she was high enough, Cesare didn’t just pull her out, he immediately wrapped her in his arms.