I’m Going to Change My Husband With a Predatory Marriage - Chapter 101

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 101

Information about this ruin had reached the Black Mercenary Company approximately a month ago.
During that time, Arpard had been tracking the whereabouts of the jewel blessed by the gods through various means, and had also issued orders to the mercenary company.
However, a month prior, Arpard—or rather, Gerald—had been indifferent to the information his adjutant brought with unbridled enthusiasm.

“We’ve found information about the location where the divine artifact is sealed!”
“Never mind.”
“…Pardon?”
“It’s no longer necessary.”
“But sir, you’ve been pressing us for years to uncover this information. Think of all the money and time we’ve invested, and now you’re saying—”
“A necessity that has ceased to exist for you cannot return into existence.”
“Then, then what am I supposed to do?!”
“Figure it out yourself. Sell it at a reasonable price.”

The adjutant’s despair had been immense.
The company members, accustomed to their commander’s tyranny, had even sympathized with him.
The adjutant couldn’t bring himself to sell the information after all the hardship he’d endured obtaining it.
And when the commander suddenly reversed course by 180 degrees and demanded information about the precious jewel, he immediately brought this very intelligence.

“This is that information you said you no longer needed back then, sir!!”

The adjutant felt elation.
Arpard swiftly shifted his stance and accepted the information.

“Well done.”

Upon hearing these words, every member of the Black Mercenary Company doubted their own hearing.
This was the first time they’d ever heard Gerald praise a subordinate.
There was no room for their amazement to linger, for Gerald suddenly spoke.

“An expedition. Assemble seventy thousand of our finest.”
“Pardon? What expedition?”
“We’re going here.”

When Gerald laid down the map of the ruin where the divine artifact was sealed, which the adjutant had presented, the mercenaries’ faces turned pale.
The map bore a predicted danger rank.

-Danger Level S++

And now, the unlucky mercenaries found themselves dragged along by their commander on an unexpected adventure.
Monster shrieks echoed from all directions, and countless traps sprung to life.
This was a true “ruin”—one that had devoured countless adventurers and never allowed anyone inside to escape.
The adjutant, forced to devise a plan to conquer the ruin within a week and arrange supplies and equipment, shed tears.
‘What on earth is this madness?!’
No one dared voice a single objection before the commander, who charged ahead with a terrifying aura, unleashing crimson sword energy.
Crash! Boom!
The gargoyles shattered under the blade wielded by Gerald.
Gerald charged forward like a rhinoceros, unstoppable.
As a result, the party accomplished the feat of conquering the ruin a full day ahead of the absurd schedule Gerald had set.

* * *

That night when Arpard suddenly left a message with Yulken and disappeared.
I found myself alone in the bedroom for the first time in quite a while.
I was claiming the enormous bed all to myself for the first time.
“Hooray!”
I cheered and threw myself onto the bed with its wonderfully plush cushioning.
Then, hugging a pillow, I rolled across the bed and savored my freedom.
Since the marriage, whenever I fell asleep, woke briefly, or stirred in the morning, Arpard was almost always in my line of sight.
Every time, Arpard watched me with his eyes wide open.
‘No matter how much dragon blood allows him to sleep less, that was excessive.’
At first, I thought he was monitoring me.
So I even said this to him.

“Please sleep more comfortably.”
“I am sleeping comfortably.”
“You’re not sleeping properly because you’re keeping watch over me, are you? Even if I were completely defenseless, I couldn’t harm you anyway, so please rest assured.”

Then Arpard gave me an exasperated expression.

“I know. With those delicate wrists of yours, you couldn’t kill me even if I offered my neck. Unlike ordinary people, I don’t die easily even when stabbed with a blade.”
“Then why do you do it?”
“I don’t sleep naturally. And….”

Arpard’s words trailed off in a peculiar manner.
His expression was so strange that I pressed him relentlessly until I extracted an answer.

“It felt strange.”
“Pardon?”
“I’ve never imagined anyone lying beside me before. It was so unfamiliar, so odd, and so… fascinating that I found myself watching.”

Remarkably, what Arpard and I felt in the early days of our marriage—though admittedly, we were still in that phase—was similar.
No matter the dragon’s bloodline, in the end, a person is simply a person.
Recently, Arpard had grown somewhat accustomed, occasionally showing me glimpses of himself sleeping.
It felt rather like gradually taming a fierce beast, and I found it quite… no, rather satisfying.
Perhaps that was why. Having grown so accustomed over time.
This vast bed now felt empty.
‘Hmm. I never anticipated this drawback. Even after years of marriage with Ludwig, I never felt this way.’
A sensation like butterflies fluttering within my chest arose.
Finding the feeling unfamiliar, I shook my head, hugged my pillow, and continued rolling across the bed.
But then I miscalculated and tumbled right onto the floor.
“Ow!”
Only then did I realize it.
All this time, I hadn’t fallen out of bed because Arpard had been there—a solid wall beside me.
My sleep habits were never good; I’d frequently fallen out of bed since childhood.
Because of that, my bed in Delphin had railings, but there was no such thing here.
‘Yet I haven’t fallen once while sleeping all this time.’
For the first time, it occurred to me that this might have been thanks to Arpard.
“….”
I fell asleep late that night, cradling an undeniable loneliness.
Throughout the entirety of Arpard’s absence.

* * *

Whether Arpard was by my side or not, time continued its relentless march.
Everything I had planned unfolded without exception.
Three days after I helped the Duchess of Muzen.
I received a request for an audience with the Duchess of Muzen and her young son.
Thanks to that, I was able to meet the Duchess of Muzen in good health, along with her son.
“Ioline Muzen pays her respects to Her Highness the Crown Princess.”
“Aaron Muzen is honored to meet Your Highness.”
They were remarkably courteous, far more so than their station and power would suggest.
Moreover, the Duchess of Muzen seemed startled upon seeing the Duchess of Axion standing beside me as my lady-in-waiting.
After offering a simple bow to greet the Grand Duchess, the Duchess gazed at me with admiring eyes.
She must have assumed that given the Duchess of Axion’s reputation, the title of lady-in-waiting was merely nominal.
But seeing the Grand Duchess personally guard my side forced a different interpretation of the situation.
And regardless of the Grand Duchess, these two had every reason to show me deference.
“Without Your Highness’s help that day, my mother would have suffered greatly. I offer my formal gratitude.”
“Thank you so much, Your Highness.”
They had already come knowing that I was the one who had helped them.
“Please, it was fortunate that the timing worked out.”
I asked Aaron Muzen something that had been on my mind.
“Did Evangeline Roux, the Viscountess, happen to tell you who I was?”
At that, Aaron chuckled and shook his head.
“No. Evangeline simply disappeared without saying a word, her face completely drained of color. It was quite rude, actually.”
The Duchess sighed beside him.
“I’ve heard about the situation between Evangeline and Your Highness. But to refuse to speak as if hiding something… she truly is as the rumors suggest—a young lady with poor character.”
Thanks to this, the mother and son’s impression of Evangeline had been thoroughly tarnished.
Unlike before my return.
‘Back then, this pair were typical followers of Evangeline.’
That was why the Duchess of Muzen had been furious about never obtaining the dress dyed with Sharingas petals, which suited her tastes perfectly.
Rita Morgan—Josephine—never made dresses for those close to Evangeline.
‘But this time, for the first time besides me, Josephine’s dress has fallen into someone else’s hands.’
Perhaps because of that, or perhaps because she had nearly died and been given a second chance, the Duchess appeared to be in excellent spirits.
She stared at me with eyes that sparkled like stars.
“…?”
But it was a bit excessive.
So excessive that I found myself breaking into a cold sweat from the pressure.
She did not tear her gaze from my eyes.
“Madam?”
“….”
“Is something the matter, Madam?”
Even after calling out to her several more times, the Duchess of Muzen continued to stare into my eyes as if entranced.
Aaron cleared his throat and nudged her side, and she finally came to her senses.
“Oh my, I’m so sorry! I seem to have gotten lost in thought.”
“Not at all. Is there something on my face?”
The Duchess of Muzen’s pale complexion flushed a delicate rose.
She gazed at me with the dreamy expression of a young girl in love.
“Your Highness is exactly my type.”
“…Pardon?”
I was so startled I nearly spilled my tea.
Even Aaron stared at his mother in shock and exclaimed.
“M-Mother?!”
I responded dumbly.
“Well… I’m already married, madam.”
Besides, you’re already married yourself, and you have your son right here beside you.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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