Chapter 2.2

I believed he was an angel, not a demon.

No matter how young she was, and no matter how undiscerning she had been, she was way too guileless. At that time, Chezare was already a veteran soldier who had spent years on the battlefield, emanating an aura that kept ordinary people at bay.

I can’t believe I rushed straight into the embrace of this man, who was handsome yet cool, like a beautifully sharpened knife, and ignored all the other decent adults behind him. Ah, I should have let Captain Lotan hold me instead. If I had, today might have been different.

Eileen left dejectedly.

Parked at the entrance of the inn was an expensive black car that didn’t quite fit the downtrodden road. Lotan helped the staggering Eileen to the car.

“I’ll take you, Miss Eileen.”

She got into the car with Lotan. Once the door was closed, the soldier who was seated in the driver’s seat took the steering wheel.

Usually, Lotan would sit next to the driver, but this time, he sat next to Eileen. As he looked at the person seated next to him, he passed her a handkerchief and a lemon-flavoured candy.

“……”

Perhaps it was because she had been crying when they first met, Chezare and his men seemed to treat Eileen like a child who was a crybaby.

Now that Eileen was a mature woman, she certainly wouldn’t cry easily. As for the candy… she still indulged occasionally.

Since she couldn’t outrightly reject Lotan’s goodwill, she reluctantly accepted the candy and placed it on her lap. Then, she shared with him the mind-blowing piece of news.

“Captain Lotan, His Excellency proposed to me.”

“Oh, I see.”

It was a remarkably nonchalant response. Eileen clenched the candy and handkerchief tightly together. Unable to bring herself to mention the kiss, she emphasised the proposal a bit more.

“…He proposed, you know?”

Lotan raised his thick eyebrow, looking as though he didn’t know what to say. Even though His Excellency had suddenly proposed marriage to someone he had considered a child over the past decade, he still didn’t seem surprised at all.

“Aren’t you surprised?”

“Well, isn’t that obvious? Miss Eileen, you were about to be put to death after all.”

Lotan explained his theory in an extremely rational tone.

“No matter what, we have to save you, Miss Eileen, and since His Excellency coincidentally needed a duchess, this was the most efficient solution.”

“Efficient…”

Despite the faint murmur, Lotan’s expression remained unchanged. It seemed like Eileen was the only one who found this situation absurd.

For a moment, she thought back to the “proposal” that she had just received. It was either execution or marriage. There was no choice to speak of. She finally understood why Chezare was doing this.

Within the Traon Empire, Eileen’s family was seen as close allies to the Duke’s family. However, they had no wealth, power or honour to speak of. They really had nothing at all. The existence of the Eirod family did not benefit the Duke at all. However, if she were to be executed because of the drugs, the duke would suffer disgrace, as his adversaries would exploit any chance to smear his name. It seemed that he intended to use the victory ceremony and his marriage as a way to divert attention from her misdeeds.

Of course, it wasn’t solely for political reasons. Chezare regarded Eileen as a reliable ally. While her family lacked the power to support him, they were also people who wouldn’t stab him in the back.

Chezare’s trust in Eileen stemmed entirely from her mother.

Eileen was not the firstborn of the Eirod family. The first child her mother gave birth to died shortly after it was born.

Later, she went to the palace and became a nanny. The moment she saw Chezare, she believed that this was fate. She revered the child, treating him as the son whom God had sent to her.

In reality, it was rather ridiculous for the prince to have a nanny whose son had passed away. Yet, the reason Eileen’s mother was chosen was obvious. It meant that Chezare was an “abandoned” prince.

The late emperor had no dearth of children; just the legit ones numbered over a dozen. Born under such circumstances, Chezare was naturally not welcome.

In order to survive, Chezare betrayed countless people, and was in turn, betrayed by others too.

Amidst the endless betrayals, Eileen’s mother retained her almost frenetic faith in Chezare till the day she died.

She was one of the few people whom Chezare truly trusted. And for this reason, Eileen was considered part of his inner circle too.
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