I’m Going to Change My Husband With a Predatory Marriage - Chapter 102

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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 102

The Duchess of Muzen startled at my words.
“Oh! I misspoke! What I meant was, I was so enchanted by the beauty of Your Highness’s eye color that I couldn’t look away!”
Ah.
That’s right. The Duchess of Muzen’s obsession with violet was legendary.
And my eyes are violet too. I nearly fell into a dangerous misunderstanding.
I could laugh with relief.
“But the Duchess’s eye color is quite beautiful as well.”
The Duchess’s hair was also violet… ah, that’s right. She’d mentioned it was dyed.
At that, the Duchess sighed as if she’d been waiting for this moment.
“Blue isn’t bad, but violet truly cannot be compared to it.”
She gazed at her son’s eyes with a look overflowing with longing.
“In truth, when I had children, I hoped they would inherit their father’s eyes. He has such beautiful violet irises.”
Surely she didn’t choose her husband based on his eye color?
The Duchess spoke with a distant, wistful expression.
I remembered that look in her eyes.
‘Before my regression, whenever the Duchess saw me—someone she had little connection with—she always had that peculiar expression. Could it have been because of this?’
I had thought back then that she disliked me.
“So I do hope my daughter-in-law and grandchildren will have violet eyes.”
“Mother!”
Aaron’s face flushed at his mother’s excessive color preference.
‘Hmm, it seems Mother’s enthusiasm is rather embarrassing for him.’
Though he was called the continent’s greatest knight and a Sword Master, he was still only eighteen.
An age caught between youth and boyhood.
Perhaps that’s why he looked quite endearing.
I smiled warmly watching the mother and son banter affectionately.
“You two have a wonderful relationship. It’s lovely to see.”
At that, Aaron’s face grew even redder, nearly indistinguishable from his hair color.
In any case, the Duchess continued to gaze at me with that dreamy expression—more precisely, at my eyes.
“You truly have a beautiful eye color. I envy you. In my youth, I even searched for magic or procedures that could change eye color.”
“….”
Well, the Duchess of Muzen was far more extreme in her violet mania than I had realized.
In any case, beyond saving her life, the Duchess of Muzen had gained one more reason to favor me, which wasn’t bad.
But what I wanted didn’t end here.
I broached the main subject.
“Since the Prince’s Palace still isn’t fully organized, I’ve asked the Grand Duchess to lend me a maid, but I worry it might be too heavy a burden for someone of her age.”
The Grand Duchess, who had been standing beside me as my maid, showed no surprise.
Everything had already been arranged beforehand.
To begin with, the Duchess of Axion’s status was far too elevated, and her age too advanced, to serve as a mere maid.
‘That’s precisely why I made a point of specifying temporary maid in the first place.’
In truth, when I first proposed placing the Duchess of Axion in the position of maid, Arpard had harbored certain reservations.
It wasn’t concern that my elderly grandmother would be overworked.

“Isn’t this leaning far too heavily toward the West?”

The West had played a considerable role in establishing my authority and power. But in equal measure, I incurred a debt to them.
If it became excessive, the West’s influence over me could ultimately produce a countereffect that would undermine my own strength.
That was what Arpard was concerned about.
I had anticipated this.

“That’s why it’s temporary.”
“So you have someone else in mind for the actual position?”
“Care to guess?”
“To avoid excessive bias toward one faction, it would be either the North or the South. The North possesses excessive insularity, and considering the Teslan ducal house currently lacks both a proper mistress and suitable noble daughters, it must be the South.”
“Correct.”

Arpard regarded me with a smile brimming with curiosity.

“I’m quite curious what sort of magic you’ll employ this time to captivate people.”
“I’ve told you—I’m no sorceress.”
“Regardless, I look forward to witnessing your abilities once more.”
“You’re welcome to harbor such expectations.”

But Arpard had left his seat.
For reasons I couldn’t quite understand, a wave of indignation and disappointment threatened to surge up within me.
‘He promised to watch over me from my side, so where on earth did he go?’
This was not the time to be lost in such thoughts.
The Countess immediately grasped what I was saying and asked.
“Surely you’re not proposing the position of Maid to me?”
I nodded.
“Yes. I hope you’ll stand beside me and teach me well.”
“It’s an honorable proposal, but it’s so sudden….”
The Countess, who had gazed at my violet eyes like a young girl, hardened her expression.
What remained in that moment was the mistress of a great house that ruled the South.
For her to become my Maid meant the entire House of Muzen would stand against the Empress’s faction.
From her perspective, she hadn’t even finished assessing the situation, so there was no reason for her to take my side alone.
‘Of course, I did save her life, but that alone wouldn’t be enough.’
I already possessed the leverage to drive that point home.
“When the Countess collapsed last time, I’m sure you’ve heard that Evangeline Roux, the Viscountess was there.”
“Yes. My son told me. I’m not sure how effective it is, but she apparently has a cure.”
I smiled gently and asked.
“Do you really think it was mere coincidence that she was there with a cure?”
“…!”
The Countess and Aaron’s expressions turned to stone.
I smiled brilliantly.
Victory had already been decided.

* * *

Arpard returned to the Prince’s Palace exactly one week later, just as he had instructed Yulken.
“Your Highness! You’ve returned!”
“You’re finally back!”
“We’ve been preparing for your arrival.”
In truth, it should have caused chaos when someone of the Prince’s station absented himself, but because Arpard frequently left under the pretense of his madness, the palace servants had grown accustomed to filling the void in his absence.
Yet even that had its limits.
No matter how capable his retainers and close advisors were, a situation without a final authority figure could only breed tension.
But the Prince’s Palace that greeted him after a week’s absence was remarkably peaceful.
The faces of the palace servants overflowed with composure.
What was the difference between then and now?
Arpard could immediately recall one thing.
‘Hillia.’
Her presence alone.
The existence of a steadfast mistress of the household had sustained the Prince’s Palace during his absence.
Arpard felt anxiety rising to his throat.
It resembled hunger or thirst, but far more intense than either.
Something gnawing at his very soul—a yearning for her that consumed him from within.
He wanted to rush to Ivory’s Bedroom immediately.
It was night now. Hillia would be in her chambers at this hour.
But Arpard could not simply dash off.
‘Not like this… it won’t do.’
He had just returned after a week of adventures worthy of a novel.
He was covered in dust and monster filth.
He needed to bathe first, dress properly, and then go to her.
Arpard smiled with satisfaction as he touched something in his pocket.
He could hardly present something so important while looking like a walking pile of dust.
Yulken, who must have been on duty, came rushing after hearing the news.
“You’re far too late! Did you slay a dragon or something?!”
At Yulken’s reproachful words, Arpard laughed with confidence.
“Never mind that. We’ll talk tomorrow. I’m busy.”
Arpard threw his dust-caked cloak at Yulken, cutting off further conversation.
“What in—cough! Hack! This dust—!”
Leaving the coughing Yulken behind, Arpard rushed to the bathhouse.
And about an hour later.
Yulken witnessed Arpard emerge freshly bathed, his hair combed elegantly, dressed in the most elaborate attire possible.
“This color doesn’t suit me. Where are the jewels? And those new lambskin boots I acquired recently?”
It was an unusually meticulous grooming session.
More fastidious and resplendent than even the banquet at Artanus Hall weeks prior, Arpard made his way toward Ivory’s Bedroom.
Yulken glanced out the window.
It was pitch black. It was certainly night.
‘The moon is in the sky, not the sun?’
He soon understood.
After all, love was a magic that made the moon rise during the day and summoned the sun at night.

* * *

Arpard opened the door to Ivory’s Bedroom, feeling an unfamiliar thrill.
“Hillia!”
There sat Hillia with quite a pleasant smile on her face.
“Oh, welcome, Arpard.”
Surprisingly, her greeting sounded far too sweet to his ears.
But the moment he saw the ‘something’ in Hillia’s hand, Arpard’s expression froze.
He knew what it was.
The ring the Emperor had given Ludwig as a wedding gift.
In other words, the wedding ring between Hillia and Ludwig.

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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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