Wicked Husband-Chapter 189 - 188

What had driven Eileen to be out in such weather?

Marlena fixed her gaze on her, eyes sharp.

"Uh... Marlena," Eileen hesitated, sensing the weight of Marlena’s stare. She removed her fogged-up glasses and met her gaze.

"...Could you hide me for a while?"

"That depends," Marlena replied curtly. "Tell me why."

A shadow crossed Eileen’s gold-green eyes. She lowered her gaze.

"I’m... about to do something Cesare doesn’t want. I need a place to stay until it’s done."

Hearing that, Marlena had to force herself to keep her temper in check.

Eileen is so capable. If she hadn’t become the Grand Duchess, she could have lived a happy life doing what she wanted. And now she has to run away just to make her own choices?

She was furious.

But she swallowed it down and spoke evenly.

"Of course, I can hide you. But if you stay in the capital, you’ll get caught in no time."

She suggested leaving the country entirely, but Eileen immediately dismissed the idea.

"I can’t go too far from the capital..."

Marlena’s eyes narrowed. Then, she let out a long sigh.

Eileen was still an idiot. And she herself was just as much of a fool for always wanting to help her.

"Fine. I’ll do my best."

Eileen’s face brightened instantly.

Marlena, feeling a bit mischievous, added, "But you have to do exactly as I say. Got it?"

***

Before escaping the grand ducal estate, Eileen had carefully prepared.

She sent the headache medicine she had promised Ornella, along with an ointment for scars. She also organized her laboratory, ensuring that she could resume her research on Morpheus whenever she returned.

She left a letter behind, to prevent her sudden disappearance from being mistaken for a kidnapping.

As she wrote, her hands trembled. She kept imagining Cesare’s fury. But she forced herself to keep writing.

Escaping through the secret passage was surprisingly easy. She had memorized the servants’ schedules and movements, slipping away undetected.

Inside the passage, she retrieved the small stash of money hidden there and changed her clothes. With glasses and bangs as a crude disguise, she stepped out into the world.

The journey from the outskirts of the capital to Marlena’s home was long, but she managed to walk the distance. That much had gone well.

The problem was what came next.

Marlena hadn’t been home, leaving Eileen waiting in the rain.

Still, it all worked out in the end.

Sniffling from the aftermath of last night’s exposure, Eileen picked up the morning newspaper Marlena had left on the table. Among the various publications, including La Verita, none mentioned the Grand Duchess’s disappearance.

They’re keeping it quiet.

She chewed her lip, her mind drifting back to Cesare.

He must be furious...

Nibbling on a cream-filled cornetto, Eileen’s mood sank.

She was used to sleeping alone. Even in the grand ducal estate, Cesare rarely shared a bed with her.

But last night had felt different.

For the first time, she had truly left him.

Not even in her old brick house with the orange tree had she felt this way.

Maybe she had simply grown too accustomed to life at the grand ducal estate. The way she now found it strange to wear glasses again.

Her throat tightened with emotion. She reached for her milk and gulped it down.

If I could drink, wouldn’t this be the time for it?

Shaking off the useless thought, she glanced at the items Marlena had prepared for her.

A short wig. Glasses in a style she had never worn before. Baggy men’s clothing.

From today, Eileen would be working in a tavern on Fiore Street, doing odd jobs for the dancers.

***

Marlena had known from the start that she wouldn’t be able to hide Eileen perfectly, and she was honest about it.

"If it were anyone else, I might have been able to do something. But not the Grand Duke."

It was only a matter of time before they were discovered, but her goal was to delay that moment as much as possible. That’s why she had devised a plan–hiding Eileen in plain sight, within Fiore Street.

Cesare would assume that Eileen had gone into deep hiding. So, by turning that assumption against him and placing her in a busy, crowded place like Fiore Street, they could buy some time.

If Eileen stayed at Marlena’s house, she would be found too quickly. Instead, they decided to move her lodgings to a place within Fiore Street. To ensure her safety, Marlena assigned her personal bodyguard, Alessia, to accompany Eileen.

The scale of the situation had grown much larger than Eileen had initially imagined, and she was increasingly anxious. She worried that she was placing too much of a burden on Marlena. But Marlena simply smiled in that peculiar way of hers.

"Don’t worry. I’m Eileen’s friend."

As if that alone was justification enough to forgive any wrongdoing. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

that was the end of their conversation. Marlena had a performance scheduled outside the capital and had to leave early at dawn.

Marlena was the most popular dancer in the capital. The only reason Eileen had been able to meet her at all was that their encounter happened to coincide with Marlena’s rare day off. Otherwise, Eileen might have been left standing in the rain in front of an empty house all night.

Fortunately, luck seemed to be on her side. Hoping that her streak of fortune would continue just a little longer, Eileen pulled a pocket watch from her coat. She stared at the hands ticking smoothly, showing no signs of anything unusual, before setting it on the table and changing into her disguise.

She tightly bound her chest to obscure her feminine figure, put on men’s clothing, and donned a wig. She adjusted the unfamiliar weight of the glasses on her nose as she fiddled awkwardly with her hair. That was when Alessia descended from the second floor.

She was dressed in muted, practical clothes suited for movement, her steps light and quiet. Tall and slender, with jet-black hair, she had the air of a sleek, black cat.