I’m Going to Change My Husband With a Predatory Marriage - Chapter 106

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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 106

Chapter 12. The Husband’s Temptation

Yulken narrowed his eyes and glared at his master.
“As if being away for an entire week weren’t enough, now you’re neglecting your duties?”
He seemed ready to launch a scathing critique of Arpard’s qualifications as Crown Prince at any moment.
“And all this time, Her Highness has suffered alone! To return and then be lazy! I cannot help but grieve that Her Highness’s fortune in husbands extends only this far…!”
“…Enough, Yulken.”
Yulken was sharp-witted, and his perceptiveness was sharper still.
He sensed that if he continued as usual, Arpard would not let it slide.
Yulken puffed out his cheeks with a pouty “hmph,” stacked the documents high, and vanished.
Fled would be the more accurate description.
Arpard’s mood was that poor.
After all, what man rejected by his wife before even confessing his feelings would be in a good mood?
Arpard half-glanced at the documents Yulken had left behind, then retrieved the object that had been gnawing at his peace of mind all along.
The ring he had carelessly obtained (or rather, taken) from Hillia.
‘I never imagined she would still possess the wedding ring from her marriage to Ludwig….’
Moreover, when he had entered the bedroom last night, Hillia had been gazing at this ring with a complicated expression.
‘As if she harbored lingering affection for whoever gave her this ring….’
Crack! The edge of the solid ebony desk shattered under the force of his grip.
As if that someone were the desk itself.
It was at that moment.
Arpard thought he saw one of the three jewels on the ring glimmer.
“?”
Simultaneously, darkness rushed toward him.
In an instant, the sensation beneath his feet changed, and the air’s movement and temperature shifted. A thick, acrid stench of blood pierced his nostrils. In the black sky where even the stars had hidden, an ominously crimson moon hung suspended.
Gazing up at it, his lips moved of their own accord.
Looking up at it, my lips moved on their own.

“I was always afraid of when I might lose my mind. Especially on the crimson moon when my mother passed away.”

These were not words he had spoken in his current state. Words he had no memory of uttering even in the past.
Yet they were words he might have said.
To whom was he speaking these words right now?
As if answering this question, his vision shifted. His eyes met a pair of violet irises stained with fear and tears.
A face that appeared far more gaunt and haggard than it was now.
‘Hillia!’
It was unmistakably her.
And he… was holding a blade to her throat.

“…Gasp!”
When Arpard regained consciousness, he was still in his study.
Ludwig’s wedding ring remained in his hand, and the shattered edge of the ebony desk was exactly as he remembered it.
Profound bewilderment and questions dominated his mind.
Once, when he had fallen asleep lying beside Hillia.
And now, while holding the ring given to him by her former betrothed.
In both visions, Hillia had gazed at him with eyes filled with fear or anguish.
A terrible confusion descended upon Arpard’s mind like dark clouds.
‘What is this, exactly?’
His mood was utterly foul. Anxious, uneasy, and dreadful.
Unable to bear wrestling with documents any longer, he bolted from his study.
He paid no heed to Yulken’s pitiful cries from the adjacent room, where he had been waiting for the documents to be processed.
When he arrived at Hillia’s bedroom, it was empty.
“…”
It seemed a similar situation had occurred before.
Arpard felt his mood sink further as he called out to a passing maid and asked her a question.
“Where is the Crown Princess right now?”
“She is taking tea with guests at the Crystal Pavilion in the Eastern Garden.”
It was not far. A location he could reach in moments.
“What guests?”
Regardless of who they were, no one could prevent or refuse Arpard’s intrusion.
At the maid’s answer, Arpard could not conceal the hardening of his expression.
“She is receiving the Duchess of Muzen and the Young Count.”
“…”
The Young Count of Muzen—that man.
The one who had dared to present Hillia with an amethyst jewel set.
‘He was already irritating, but now he is even more disagreeable.’
Anxiety seized him, and Arpard’s pace quickened further.

* * *

The transparent glass from Mount Oscen was an extraordinarily precious material.
Clear as water, yet as hard as steel despite being glass, it was treasured all the more for these qualities.
The structure in the eastern garden, constructed entirely from Oscen glass, bore the nickname Crystal Pergola.
Rare flowers and trees were planted around it, and within that setting, the pergola gleamed like an enormous jewel.
The Duchess of Muzen gazed at the pergola and its surroundings with an enchanted expression as she spoke.
“This is my first time being invited to this place. It is truly an honor, Your Highness.”
Hillia smiled gently.
“Soon enough, you’ll be visiting as often as you like, I’m sure.”
She felt satisfied upon noticing that Hillia had worn the amethyst necklace and brooch.
‘She’s openly displaying her favor toward me.’
Yet something unusual caught her eye about the Crown Princess.
The Duchess of Muzen asked carefully. As she was, she simply could not refrain from asking.
“But Your Highness, that beautiful ring—what is it? It seems to be no ordinary object.”
The Countess’s eyes gleamed with interest.
Hillia suddenly understood.
‘Ah, since Statillia’s star shines in a pale violet hue, the Duchess would certainly admire it.’
The Duchess had opened the conversation first, and around her were four well-disposed noblewomen she had brought along.
The perfect situation for spreading rumors.
Hillia covered her mouth with her left hand, ensuring the ring was particularly visible.
“Oh, he gave it to me as a gift yesterday.”
“My goodness!”
“Indeed, it certainly seems to be a remarkable object.”
Then, a sudden voice echoed from the corner of the garden.
“Pardon me, Your Highness the Crown Princess. Is that jewel perhaps not a sacred relic?”
A male voice, yet distinctly youthful.
Nevertheless, Hillia felt the fine hairs across her entire body stand on end.
‘That voice….’
Her heart pounded ominously, and her mouth went dry.
But she could not turn away. Hillia turned her head.
Long black hair, dark as chestnuts, was neatly tied to one side, and serene gray eyes shone with composure.
A sacred white vestment and the golden emblem of the Temple of the Divine shimmered at his shoulders.
He was exactly as she remembered.
Count Beltane and the Imperial Knights were startled, moving to block the front of the pergola.
“Who goes there?!”
“Is this an intruder?!”
They were taken aback.
I could not sense his presence at all until the man spoke.
The Duchess of Muzen and the other noblewomen let out small exclamations of delight. Their eyes sparkled with interest.
“My goodness! Archbishop Pio!”
Only then did the knights understand why they had failed to detect this man’s presence.
For one who possessed holy power strong enough to ascend to the position of Archbishop, such a thing was only natural.
The noblewomen chattered away without a trace of caution.
“Archbishop, how did you come to be here?”
“I had heard that you were traveling eastward on your sabbatical.”
“My faith has grown lax of late, but now that you have graced us with your presence, I feel my devotion returning.”
Archbishop Pio responded to the noblewomen’s fuss with composure and courtesy. It was a manner most practiced.
“I returned not long ago. After paying my respects to His Imperial Majesty, I was admiring the garden on my way back when I lost my way and found myself here by chance.”
He bowed lightly in apology to Hillia, the mistress of this gathering.
“I hope my sudden intrusion has not startled you. My sincerest apologies, Your Highness the Crown Princess.”
Everyone looked back and forth between Hillia and the Archbishop with keen interest.
“But you mentioned a sacred artifact just now, did you not?”
“Is that truly the case, Archbishop Pio?”
“Does Her Highness the Crown Princess possess a sacred artifact?”
As a priest awakened to holy power, it was hardly strange that he would recognize a sacred artifact at once.
Hillia accepted his greeting with composure, as though nothing were amiss.
“A pleasure to meet you, Archbishop Pio. May the justice of the Celestial Deity be with you.”
“The honor is mine, Your Highness. May the radiance of the Celestial Deity shine upon your shoulders.”
Though they acted as though meeting for the first time, Hillia knew of this man.
He was the youngest to ever ascend to the position of Archbishop across all temples on the continent, and destined to become the highest authority, surpassing all previous records.
‘He is also one of Evangeline’s most powerful allies.’
At the same time, he was the one who had aided her when she fled to the temple to escape marriage after her first regression.
Hillia had trusted and relied upon him with all her heart, only to be betrayed most brutally.
Archbishop Pio had brought her before a sacred tribunal on a false pretext, and this had resulted in her being stripped of everything in her second life and imprisoned in a small provincial convent.

“This sinful woman drew numerous men under the guise of seeking refuge in the temple, and even attempted to seduce me.”

That terrible sense of betrayal and pain from back then threatened to surge up anew.
With considerable experience, I could hide it well enough. But I could not suppress the turbulent unease in my heart.
It was then that someone I had neither expected nor anticipated appeared, sweeping away Hillia’s anxiety entirely.
“A man who calls himself Archbishop, yet loses his way in the Imperial Palace? It seems the Main Temple neglects the proper education of its priests.”
“Your Highness the Crown Prince!”
“Your… Your Highness!”
As everyone rose in surprise, Arpard strode forward and took his place beside Hillia.
Then, as though offering a natural greeting to his wife, he brushed a kiss against her cheek while asking in a low voice meant only for her ears.
“You can answer with just a nod. Do you need my help, Hillia?”
“…!”

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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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