Wicked Husband-Chapter 24 - 23

Exhausted from a long day, Eileen found herself restless after Marlena’s departure.

As the people gathered outside scattered following Michele’s second gunshot, she, still clutching a few unripe oranges she had shot off the trees, grinned.

"From now on, if anyone comes here, they’ll think twice about it, knowing they might get shot."

After dispersing the soldiers, Michele had dinner with Eileen, not forgetting to complicate Eileen’s thoughts.

"But, Madame, when will the Grand Duchess arrive at the palace?"

"Well... I’m not the Grand Duchess...."

"Well, good is good, isn’t it? I’ll practice in advance. Madame, Madame."

After dinner, drawing on his experience as a former palace servant, Michele swiftly tidied the house and departed.

Left alone in the sparkling house, Eileen sank onto the sofa for a moment. Each of the Grand Duke’s knights was valuable manpower, and squandering their time on trivial chores was truly inefficient.

’That’s what His Highness hates the most.’

Cesare considered wasting time on unnecessary tasks the height of folly. Yet, already, such inefficiencies were occurring because of him. With her confidence dwindling, Eileen shook her head.

She rose from the sofa and made her way to her father’s bedroom. After taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door.

"Come out. How long are you going to stay inside?"

There was a rustle from behind the door. Creak, her father finally opened the door and emerged.

He was truly unimpressive. The image of his fleshy, corpulent body immediately came to mind, but she pushed it away.

"It seems the guests have left."

Her father attempted to act nonchalant, as if nothing had transpired between them.

In the past, she might have accepted the olive branch her father extended. But today, she didn’t want to. Eileen confronted him head-on.

"Why did you do that?"

Her father’s eyebrows twitched. Unable to conceal his discomfort from his bold daughter, he burst out angrily.

"I never intended to sell you off!"

Eileen flinched back. Then she steadied herself, planting her feet firmly. Even in this situation, her father remained defiant.

"I just wanted to solve the urgent matter a bit. Of course, I expected His Highness to assist you, so it was a calculated action. Ultimately, isn’t everything going splendidly now?"

Ahem, her father coughed lightly and gave Eileen a disdainful look.

"Because you will become the Grand Duchess..."

It was already apparent from the way his eyes rolled. The inflated expectations that his daughter would enjoy immense wealth and glory as a Duchess.

’This is why I didn’t want to get married.’

A future where her father would tarnish Cesare’s name with all sorts of scandalous accusations loomed ahead. Perhaps it wouldn’t matter much to Cesare. But for Eileen, the fact that she would be a stain on him was agonizing.

"I’ll be out for a bit. Just going to have a beer."

Her father grabbed his hat and coat and left. Avoiding uncomfortable topics and conversations by leaving was his way of dealing with it.

It was always like this. Even when her mother was alive, if they had a fight, he would just shout and leave. Then Eileen had to bear her mother’s anger alone.

’But he won’t gamble for a while now, right...’

The money he got from selling her off seemed to have been almost entirely spent in that expensive-looking bar.

Eileen, continuing her thoughts alone, slumped her shoulders in the face of the overwhelming frustration. If she continued like this, she felt like her mood would sour, so she decided to seek solace in the garden and catch some night breeze. Sitting under the orange tree, she hoped her mind would ease there.

Wrapping the shawl around her shoulders, Eileen ventured out into the garden. Settling onto a wooden chair, she gazed down at the lawn with a sense of melancholy.

Her marriage was real, and there was nothing wrong with that. Yet, she had no idea how to deal with her father. It was even more challenging because it wasn’t a problem that could be solved with money.

Originally, the Baron of Elrod was wealthy, but her father squandered all their riches with his gambling. The ideal solution would be for her father to change his ways, but that seemed nearly impossible.

Her worries mounted until they converged on the conversation she had with Marlena earlier that day.

"..."

Eileen stretched out her left hand and looked at her empty fourth finger.

She gritted her teeth, feeling the humiliation of not even having an engagement ring when the marriage was announced. Marlena had cursed the Grand Duke for his indifference, even cruelty.

Eileen was going to get married, so she expected to receive a ring from Cesare someday. But that was not the reality now.

’I can’t ask him to buy it right away.’

Although the marriage was a transaction, the scales were heavily tilted to one side. She already owed Cesare countless debts, yet she couldn’t even bring up the ring. That would be shameless. She was right to trust Cesare and wait.

As she thought about Cesare, another idea suddenly occurred to her. It was the smoke from the club where she had gone to find her father.

The Empire strictly enforced drug control, but it mostly focused on opium distribution. Substances like hashish weren’t much of a concern.

Since Cesare had taken on the task of smoking, he hadn’t mentioned much about it, so it was probably a combination of various legal substances...

Lost in thought, Eileen suddenly spotted a flash of light in the dark garden. It was the headlights of a vehicle.

Soldiers in uniform emerged from a familiar military vehicle.

Normally, people might feel apprehensive when soldiers arrived. However, Eileen, who was more familiar with soldiers than anyone else, rose from her chair with a smile. The soldiers greeted Eileen respectfully as they entered the garden.

"Lady Elrod."

Upon hearing the greeting, Eileen hesitated for a moment, but she responded without betraying any emotion.

"Good evening."

"His Excellency requests your presence."

"Now?"

"Yes. We’ll escort you."

Eileen nodded subtly to conceal her feelings. Then, she slowly clenched her fist to hide her trembling hand.

After her kidnapping at the age of twelve, Eileen underwent intensive training from Cesare. Among the lessons imparted was a saying:

"I won’t send just anyone to retrieve you. I will send people whose faces you know."

But most of the soldiers who came to see Eileen now were unfamiliar to her. There was only one person she recognized, and he stood alone at the far back.

He, too, had been bestowed a title. Typically, soldiers addressed her as ’Eileen,’ but it was rare for someone to address her as Lady Elrod with proper respect.

’That’s odd.’

Becoming a Grand Duchess also meant becoming a target for Cesare’s enemies. But who would dare?

No, now is not the time to speculate about such things. Eileen quickly shook her head.

"Then I’ll just get dressed and come back. Please wait a moment."

She thought it would be better to return home first. As Eileen turned to leave, she was abruptly halted.

"Wait a moment."

Her wrist was suddenly grasped. Startled, Eileen shook off the hand with all her might. The soldier, caught off guard and evidently not expecting resistance, released her hand.

Eileen dashed into the house, slamming the door shut and bolting it. Outside, the soldier pounded on the door with such force it seemed it might shatter. Anxious, she stumbled, nearly falling over herself. Regaining her composure, Eileen hurriedly rose from the table and fled.

Spotting a small gap in the backyard, Eileen saw her chance to escape.

Clink!

The sound of a window shattering filled her with dread. Soldiers in uniform burst into the house, their military boots thundering on the floor.

The soldier whose face Eileen recognized was the first to leap in, seizing her by the back of her neck. Dragging her away, her back collided with the soldier’s chest. He gripped her waist with one hand and her neck with the other.

"Huh!"

His grip was unyielding. As pressure bore down on both carotid arteries in her neck, Eileen’s body went limp. Her hand, which had been struggling, fell slack. With oxygen cut off, consciousness slipped away. Her vision faded to black.

’I need to escape...’

In a flurry of disjointed thoughts, Eileen succumbed to unconsciousness.

***