Translator: Nox

79 - The Evil Husband (15th Anniversary Edition) Chapter 79

79

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When Aileen first entered university, she suffered severe bullying. Having entered at a young age with a recommendation from the prince, it would have been strange if she hadn't been disliked by the students and professors.

Although she accepted it as unavoidable, it was sometimes difficult. After not being able to talk to anyone all day, she would hole herself up in her dorm room and write about the day in her diary, thinking of Cesare and the knights back in the capital.

How nice it would be to have someone to talk to and laugh with.

But Aileen knew very well that coming to university was more than she deserved. She wasn't in a position to complain about being lonely and struggling. She had to get excellent grades at university to repay Cesare, who had helped her in every way.

Whenever she felt exhausted, she thought of Cesare. She read the few letters she had received from him over and over again, steadying her wavering heart.

She devoted herself to studying every day, and fortunately, there was a reward. The university classes, which had seemed daunting and difficult at first, became understandable, and she got a sense of how to take notes, do assignments, experiments, and exams, which she was doing for the first time in her life.

Aileen met Lucio when her grades were starting to improve little by little.

One day, Aileen saw a large man in the library. With shaggy hair and large glasses, he was holding a note and hesitating in front of the librarian. The man hesitated for a long time before finally summoning the courage to squeeze out a voice.

"Excuse me... uh, when will it be... coming in...?"

"It'll come in when it comes in."

It seemed he wanted to borrow a book that someone else had already checked out. The librarian replied with an indifferent expression, not even glancing at him.

The man turned around dejectedly and bumped into Aileen, startled. His gaze was fixed on the book Aileen was holding. Aileen widened her eyes and asked.

"Are you trying to borrow this book? I'll return it now."

She said with a smile that he could borrow it right away and that there wouldn't be a waiting list, but there was no response. Aileen, who had been smiling brightly, paused and hardened her face when she saw the other person's silence. Then, she said dejectedly.

"Ah... I'm sorry if I made you feel bad."

She had been too friendly to someone who didn't like her. She was secretly regretting it when the man trembled greatly and stammered a reply.

"N-no, I'm not upset. I-it's just, it's the first time s-someone has spoken to me first."

Aileen felt a great sense of kinship at the man's words, his face flushed red. It was the same for Aileen.

At the time, no one spoke to Aileen. Even when she tried to start a conversation, everyone ignored her. Most people gave her a look of contempt, saying they felt bad even when Aileen was being kind.

So, she was regretting that she had been nosy again and only made someone else feel bad, but for the first time, she got a response. Aileen smiled brightly without realizing it. She answered cheerfully, not even noticing that the man in front of her was staring intently.

"I've never had anyone answer me either!"

That's how Aileen and Lucio formed a bond. Many people laughed when they saw them hanging out together. They often openly heard jeers that gloomy kids were sticking together.

But Aileen didn't care. She was too busy studying. She was just happy to have someone to talk to who she could share her daily life with.

Lucio was a really kind and good senior. As it turned out, he was studying the same field as her, and he helped Aileen adapt to university life in many ways.

He took the time to teach her, and from one day on, he readily lent her his things when Aileen kept losing things strangely. When Aileen lost her handkerchief, he gave her a new one as a gift.

"This is too expensive..."

"B-because I'm grateful."

The handkerchief was obviously a luxury item. When Aileen was surprised and declined, Lucio stammered with a face redder than ever.

"I-I'd be happy if you would, use it, personally..."

In the end, Aileen scraped together what little money she had and gave him a similar gift. Unfortunately, she lost the handkerchief again shortly after using it for a while. When she apologized to Lucio, he gave her a new handkerchief again.

Besides that, Lucio enjoyed giving Aileen various gifts. A pretty water bottle to carry water in, a small plate and fork for eating snacks, and pens and notebooks for taking notes were all small things.

When she refused because it was difficult to repay him for everything, Lucio was very sad. He was so depressed, begging her to just accept them, that Aileen had no choice but to accept his gifts. Even though she repeated the unfortunate process of using them for a while and then losing them soon after.

In any case, she was able to adapt well to university thanks to Lucio. As Aileen got high grades and started to get noticed by the professors, other students slowly started talking to Aileen.

She naturally made many friends, but Aileen always considered Lucio her closest friend and stayed close to him. The relationship with Lucio, which had been going smoothly, suddenly ended one day.

"I-I'm sorry. I, I'm a bad, g-guy..."

Lucio suddenly came to her in the middle of the night and babbled incomprehensible words, then returned the things Aileen had lost and ran away as if fleeing.

There was no time to properly ask what was going on. The next day, Aileen only heard that Lucio had taken a leave of absence.

A few months after Lucio suddenly disappeared, Aileen also received a letter from her mother and stopped all her studies and returned to the capital. In the process, she forgot about Lucio...

"I didn't know you were a senior."

He had appeared with a completely different appearance. Just as Aileen had taken off her glasses and cut her bangs, Lucio had also cut his shaggy hair and taken off his glasses. He had completely corrected his habit of stuttering and not making eye contact, so she really thought he was a different person.

As Aileen looked at him with admiring eyes, Lucio rubbed his cheek with his hand as if he was slightly embarrassed. It was a habit he had whenever he was awkward in the past.

His face was faintly blushing, just like before. The fresh memories came flooding back, and Aileen couldn't stop smiling.

"Lady Aileen has... really changed a lot as well."

But Lucio had changed in many ways besides his appearance. As Aileen examined him with unfamiliar eyes, the professors spoke to Aileen.

"Aileen, nim. Congratulations on your marriage."

It seemed they were awkward using honorifics, creaking like broken clockwork dolls. They handed over thick documents, glancing at the eyes of the employees around them.

"This is... the research paper that was published in the journal this time... and, thanks to the Grand Duke's generous permission..."

As the professors couldn't get their words in order, Aileen cut them off, taking a slight liberty.

"Professor."

"..."

"Please treat me comfortably. I still have a lot to learn from you."

They looked at Aileen for a while, then looked at each other. Then, with a clear look of nervousness, they opened their lips.

"Actually, the reason we came is..."

And they said something unexpected.

"With the permission of the Grand Duke, we would like to help the Grand Duchess with her ongoing research."

---

The man desperately rolled his eyes. It was one of the few parts of his body that a man with severed limbs could move freely. Rohan stared at the man with an indifferent face and exhaled cigarette smoke.

After continuing to smoke for a while, he shoved the cigarette he was smoking into the man's mouth. The man writhed in pain as his flesh was burned by the cigarette.

"Heok, keueue..."

The man, thrashing in pain, desperately swallowed his groans. It was because the being in front of him didn't like noise very much.

The sound of turning pages flowed into the place where the stench of blood and groans vibrated. The owner of the sound, which didn't quite fit, was Cesare. Cesare, who was sitting loosely in a chair and leisurely turning the pages of a book, suddenly opened his mouth.

"Where is Aileen?"

"She is meeting with a scheduled guest who arrived early. However, an uninvited guest has joined. It is Lucio Gaetani."

There was no need to explain in detail what kind of person he was. Cesare remembered everything clearly when it came to Aileen.

"The guest's visit was permitted, but."

Cesare closed the book he was reading.

"I never said to let bugs into the house."