I’m Going to Change My Husband With a Predatory Marriage - Chapter 111

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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 111

Hillia’s mouth fell open in shock.
There was no need to ask a question to confirm what I already knew.
Arpard’s expression made it perfectly clear that he was guilty as charged.
His eyes gleaming with delight, he pressed his lips lightly against the back of my hand.
“This brings me more joy than a victor’s laurel wreath.”
‘What? Did he just toy with me?’
….
I was so exasperated that I lost even the will to respond.
‘How did he slip past that so smoothly!’
The only consolation was that I’d gotten my revenge by tying a cute pale pink ribbon on his chest.
But soon I realized that wasn’t revenge at all.
Revenge only had meaning if the other person felt some shame about it.
Arpard was instead proudly puffing out his chest, showing off the ribbon I’d tied on him.
A servant brought his coat, but he waved it away.
‘Why, how is it that every time, the embarrassment falls on me?’
It was the same with that squirrel incident last time, and I felt I had to bear this kind of feeling far too often.

* * *

It was an extraordinary duel—the kind every Knight dreams of witnessing, even in their sleep.
Yet what left the deepest impression on the spectators wasn’t the swordplay of the two men or their dazzling techniques.
‘Their chests…’
‘Both of them were absolutely magnificent.’
‘The buttons, the buttons were…!’
Most of the women present understood perfectly why Hillia had rushed away the moment the duel ended.
‘Right. I’d do the same.’
‘I’d never want to be seen like that in front of other women.’
‘Exactly. Absolutely.’
It was the Countess who restored order to the atmosphere.
“Thank you, Your Highness the Prince. For personally instructing my inadequate son.”
The Duchess of Muzen neatly set aside her regret over her son’s complete defeat.
After all, losing to the Imperial Family could never be considered shameful.
Rather, it would have been impossible for anyone but her son to stand against him to this degree.
‘And he even used his aura at the end.’
That meant her son was strong enough that victory would have been impossible otherwise.
The Duchess of Muzen decided to think of it that way.
What actually happened didn’t matter. What mattered was how others perceived it.
She reframed the duel sparked by her son’s impulsive action as evidence of how intimate the Muzen Family and Prince Arpard’s couple had become.
Since this was what both Hillia and Arpard desired, she faced no particular objection.
As a maid brought cold tea and handed it to Arpard, Hillia whispered softly.
“That was originally mine. Accept it graciously.”
“I shall drink it with gratitude.”
Arpard chuckled softly.
It was different from moments ago when Hillia had reacted without thinking and rushed toward him.
Now, offering him the drink was an act meant to display to those around them: ‘We get along well.’
Even knowing this, it felt wonderful that Hillia was looking after him.
‘Come to think of it, it seems like it’s been this way from the start.’
Her actions had the pretext of acting as a harmonious couple.
Yet knowing the reason behind Hillia’s behavior, I found it strangely delightful and joyful.
The reason I teased Hillia was ultimately rooted in the same feeling.
That was when it happened.
I saw Hillia turning toward Aaron Muzen.
I decided to conduct myself with a bit more restraint. My good mood made me capable of magnanimity.
‘After all, the Muzen Family is the principal guest in this situation…’
And my newfound confidence played no small part.
It was the composure granted by the pink lace ribbon dangling across my chest.
Had I known what would unfold shortly after, I likely wouldn’t have indulged in such composure.

* * *

I handed the towel Anny had given me to Aaron.
“Impressive for one so young, Lord Aaron.”
Within three years of my memories, he would be called a Sword Master.
It was advantageous to make a good impression, however slight.
And there was another reason—something I remembered in connection with him.
I had once overheard a conversation between Evangeline and Aaron.

“Aaron truly is remarkable. You’ve achieved a realm others could never even dream of at such a young age.”
“In truth, I once hit a great wall. With the realm of Sword Master within reach, I felt that barrier for the first time and suffered much frustration.”
“Really? Then please tell me how you overcame that crisis. It would be such a tremendous help to the knights.”

Just as Evangeline said, the knights showed great interest. Their eyes gleamed as they crowded closer, leaning in to listen.
They thought that hearing this advice would allow them to ascend to greater heights immediately.

“Well, it’s not such a noteworthy story. To use an analogy, the problem was that with such a high wall before me, I could only think of ways to jump over it.”

Dashing everyone’s expectations, Aaron said something unexpected.

“To put it another way, I tried everything—even attempted to build a ladder or long pole to jump over it—but nothing worked. Then one day, I thought to change my perspective.”
“What sort of creative idea was that?”
“If the wall is too high to jump over, then I simply need to destroy it.”
“…What?”
“The result of removing the wall is the same either way.”

Evangeline was not alone in failing to understand what he meant.

“Once I realized it, I was amazed at how foolish my worries had been, keeping me stagnant for years. The day I grasped that truth, I became able to wield aura.”

After Aaron finished speaking, the knights’ eyes, which had been sparkling with anticipation, turned as lifeless as those of a dead fish.
No one had understood what Aaron said.
Yet none of them showed it.
Childish pleasantries poured forth—”We received excellent advice” or “Thank you for those inspiring words”—and so on.
Of course, not a single knight ever reached a higher realm based on Aaron’s counsel.
Instead, rumors began circulating that he was a genius who harbored such greed that he deliberately withheld his insights from others.
Through three cycles of regression, the Aaron Muzen I have come to know is not such a complicated person.
‘Rather… he’s almost excessively simple and straightforward.’
So what he said back then must have been a direct expression of his own enlightenment.
Come to think of it, around this time Aaron Muzen had come to the Imperial Capital with his mother and caused quite a stir.
Mostly by suddenly approaching outstanding knights and challenging them to sparring matches or duels.
Among them were Ludwig and Arpard.
‘A sparring match with the Imperial Family has never once taken place.’
This would be the first time.
In my three previous lives, Arpard ignored all of Aaron’s sparring requests.
Ludwig always avoided the matches, fearing defeat.
I’m not sure what wind blew this time, but….
I could understand why Aaron was pushing so hard to request a sparring match with Arpard.
‘This was precisely when he was hitting that wall and wandering in confusion.’
I couldn’t be certain whether simply relaying what he said back then would be of great help.
Even without my intervention, he would become a Sword Master within a few years.
‘But there’s no harm in trying, is there?’
For me, and for Aaron himself.
Aaron wiped the sweat from his face with a refreshed smile.
“I apologize, Your Highness. I’ve been feeling my limits lately, and I’m afraid I’ve been imposing on the Crown Prince.”
“Aaron, to trouble the Crown Prince for such a reason….”
The Duchess of Muzen called out to her son as if reproaching him.
“I’m sorry, Mother.”
“This child has no interest in anything but the sword, which worries me greatly.”
“He is a model for all knights.”
Even as I conversed with the Duchess of Muzen, I was recalling what Aaron had said moments before.
‘Yes, this is indeed when he encountered that wall.’
I could gain certainty. So I carefully broached the subject.
“But for a knight as outstanding as Sir Muzen to feel such limits… it seems you’ve encountered an enormous wall?”
Aaron’s eyes widened.
“Yes! Exactly. That’s precisely how it feels. Like standing before a wall I cannot overcome no matter what I do.”
“Hmm. Perhaps this is something I can only say because I know nothing about swords at all, but….”
I deliberately feigned ignorance and broached the subject with a bright demeanor.
“If the wall is too high to overcome, perhaps you don’t need to insist on climbing over it directly, do you?”
“…Pardon?”
Aaron’s mouth fell open as if he hadn’t imagined such a thing at all.
“There might be a way to circle around the wall entirely and avoid it, or we could dig beneath the ground and pass underneath.”
Before my regression, Aaron’s epiphany could be condensed roughly into the notion that ‘there is not just one predetermined path.’
‘It’s similar to Columbus’s egg, or cutting through a Gordian knot rather than untying it.’
The point was to change one’s perspective instead of insisting on going straight ahead.
The others looked bewildered at my words.
Aaron was different. Perhaps because it concerned something he had been pondering, he asked seriously.
“…But wouldn’t that be difficult to consider as properly scaling the wall?”
“The important thing is reaching the other side of the wall. It’s not about scaling the wall itself.”
“However, that is… or is it not?”
Aaron shook his head several times before falling into deep contemplation.
It was a reaction as if he had grasped some crucial thread.
‘Hmm. Is this enough?’
That was when Aaron’s deep blue eyes began to tremble as though shaken by an earthquake.
Simultaneously, I felt Arpard and the skilled knights tense.
Even someone ignorant like me could tell that something strange was happening to Aaron.
A murky light began to seep from Aaron’s body, which had gone rigid and vacant.
“!”
Arpard wrapped his arms around me as if to shield me from him.

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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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