I’m Going to Change My Husband With a Predatory Marriage - Chapter 105

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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 105

Arpard casually pointed to the amethyst set.
“So that’s the gift Muzen, the Young Count, presented to you?”
“Oh, you heard about it? The Countess and the Young Count came together.”
It was exactly as Yulken had told me upon my return.
Yulken had clearly said that the Countess and the Young Count had presented it together, but somewhere in Arpard’s mind, it had transformed into “a gift from the Young Count.”
Arpard subtly belittled the gift from the other man.
“The Young Count’s taste doesn’t seem particularly refined. You deserve something far more exquisite.”
But Hillia failed to catch Arpard’s true intention.
“He said it was a token of gratitude. I helped the Countess quite a bit, you see.”
“Helped?”
“Yes. I saved her life.”
Hillia puffed out her chest and spoke with pride.
“I even accepted the position of Head Maid. While you were away, I finished winning over House of Muzen.”
She looked so adorable that Arpard had to restrain himself from kissing her, instead speaking with admiration.
“Impressive. That’s so like you.”
At Arpard’s praise, Hillia’s expression became strange again.
“Are you sure you didn’t eat something bad?”
“No. My eyes are perfectly fine.”
His vision may have been clouded by infatuation, but his eyesight itself was unaffected, so it wasn’t a lie.
Yet Hillia’s suspicious expression remained unchanged.
Arpard decided it was best to change the subject.
“By the way, do you like it? My gift.”
Only then did Hillia’s eyes widen as she remembered the ring’s existence.
“That’s right! How did you even get this? This is it! The ‘Star of Starthilia’!”
“I’m glad you recognize it.”
The smile on Arpard’s face deepened.
No matter how many amethysts there were, the Star of Starthilia was objectively worth several times more.
It was absolutely not because he was trying to compete with some Young Count whose face he didn’t even know.

* * *

Arpard slipped a silver ring with a vivid pale violet gemstone onto my finger.
I knew exactly what this was.
‘The Star of Starthilia!’
One of five sacred jewels blessed by the goddess herself.
It was similar to Agrippina’s Tear, which I had given to Arpard.
And it was one of the treasures that Evangeline would later obtain and cherish most dearly.
Aaron Muzen, the greatest knight on the continent, had risked his life to obtain it for her.
This wasn’t the right time for it to be discovered, and it certainly shouldn’t have come to me.
Arpard shouldn’t have possessed it either.
Yet the ring now adorning my finger was unmistakably the Star of Starthilia.
The pale violet gemstone, no larger than my thumbnail, gleamed with an almost burdensome brilliance.
Like the jewel’s namesake, it seemed to cradle a star shining within its depths.
This wasn’t my first time receiving a wedding ring.
That ring—the one I suspected had caused my regression—had always been mine in every timeline.
‘Wait, now that I think about it, didn’t Arpard take that ring from me just a moment ago?’
This question faded momentarily before the goddess’s star glimmering on my finger.
Arpard spoke with an expression that seemed oddly displeased.
“I obtained it myself.”
“This? I’ve never heard rumors of it being discovered.”
“The Black Mercenary Corps obtained information a week ago. As you know, I’ve been searching for the goddess’s sacred relics.”
“Ah.”
Agrippina’s Tear now adorning Arpard’s wrist was proof of that.
He wore the pearl necklace I’d given him as an advance payment wrapped twice around his wrist.
When I touched Arpard’s wrist with the hand bearing the ring, Agrippina’s Tear shimmered.
A resonance hummed through the air as the two sacred relics each emanated their distinct divine power.
Undeniable proof that the Star of Starthilia was genuine.
“You spent a week away searching for this?”
“That’s right.”
I tilted my head in confusion.
“Hmm? But I thought you already knew these relics are useless for your condition now. So why did you go?”
I could imagine how dangerous retrieving this must have been.
But I couldn’t understand why Arpard would suddenly volunteer to undertake such a perilous journey just to give this to me.
Of course, Arpard was several times stronger than Aaron Muzen would be in the future, so perhaps it wasn’t actually dangerous for him.
Arpard, who had been standing with his mouth agape at my question, hesitated briefly before answering.
“Because I… wanted to give it to you.”
As if he were slightly embarrassed.
An absurd thought. I rejected it inwardly and deliberately asked with cheerful indifference.
“Hmm, why?”
“….”
Arpard’s crimson eyes flooded with unmistakable bewilderment.

* * *

Arpard doubted his own ears. What had he just heard?
His foolish repetition of her words stemmed from sheer bewilderment.
“Just now… you’re asking me why I’m giving this to you, correct?”
“Yes.”
Hillia’s tone suggested it was the most natural question in the world.
Arpard stared blankly at her for a moment before finally gathering his wits.
“It’s a wedding ring. I’m sorry I couldn’t give you a proper betrothal gift….”
Hillia’s confusion only deepened.
“Pardon? But I already have a wedding ring. I received it at the Palace.”
“That wasn’t a proper one. It was merely something hastily selected from the jewels kept at the Palace.”
“The Prince’s Palace already has more than enough jewels and accessories, doesn’t it?”
“….”
Arpard felt a pang of conscience and found himself at a loss for words.
In truth, from the moment of the abduction marriage through her entry into the palace until now, he too had considered that ring to be their wedding ring.
It would have been easier if Hillia had pointed this out with sarcasm or resentment.
But she hadn’t.
Her response was genuinely confused—she truly didn’t understand why he would give her such a thing.
It was as if Hillia were saying, “Aren’t we the kind of couple who wouldn’t exchange such things?”
Arpard gave a foolish answer in his daze.
“Because you’re my wife…?”
As he stood frozen in shock.
Hillia reached her own conclusion about why Arpard would present her with such a precious jewel.
It was a somewhat skewed interpretation.
‘Ah, I must have done my duties exceptionally well!’
For Arpard, who had only just realized his feelings, giving her a wedding ring was tantamount to a confession.
But Hillia interpreted it slightly differently.
In other words.

‘You are recognized as my Empress.’

As my partner and as the Empress, I had demonstrated sufficient capability.
I concluded that Arpard had given me this as compensation or a reward for that.
If Arpard knew, he would be so deflated that he’d collapse to the floor.
The two jewels resonated with each other, but their owners could not.
Hillia spoke as if she understood.
“Thank you.”
“…No. I should have paid attention sooner.”
Arpard felt somewhat relieved. A faint blush began to color his porcelain-white cheeks.
The atmosphere seemed to shift into something barely romantic.
But it shattered in an instant. Once again, by Hillia.
She, who had been gazing with a satisfied smile while wearing the ring on her hand, suddenly clenched both her fists tightly.
It was exactly as if she were cheering Arpard on.
“I’ll do my best!”
“…What?”
Was this really the response one gave after receiving a wedding ring?
Arpard fell into momentary confusion.
Hillia resolved his bewilderment.
“As your client and as your partner, this is me telling you to work harder, isn’t it?”
It was hardly a positive direction. Arpard’s expression grew even more vacant.
Hillia was utterly serious and delighted.
“Well, I did do quite well, didn’t I?”
“You did. You did far too well.”
In Arpard’s mind, still struggling to regain composure, only one thought remained.
‘Speak kindly! Kind words beget kind words in return!’
He had to keep his resolution not to accumulate more karmic debt through his words.
He gave the most gentle and positive response he could muster.
It was only much later that he realized he had essentially answered “yes” when Hillia asked, “Is this a bonus for doing my job well?”
Whether Arpard’s mind was present or not, Hillia was delighted.
She quite liked how the jewel that had once belonged to Evangeline sparkled on her finger.
Hillia laughed confidently.
“From now on, I’ll prove myself worth far more than this ring.”
“….”
The words “You don’t have to” simply would not leave his lips.
If he confessed properly now, Hillia would be overwhelmingly burdened.
And she might even try to flee. It was better to keep his mouth shut.

That night, Arpard lay in bed holding the sleeping Hillia, turning her words over in his mind.
‘I’ve been rejected.’
Rejected before I even had the chance to confess.
And the one who had tangled everything into this mess was none other than his foolish past self.
He had no intention of giving up like this.
Regardless, Hillia was now his wife, and she wore Starthilia’s star upon her finger.
Now that he understood, only one path remained.
‘I’ll seduce her with all my might.’
Truly, they were dreaming different dreams.

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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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