I’m Going to Change My Husband With a Predatory Marriage - Chapter 14

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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 14

Arpard is already twenty-three years old.
In truth, that’s rather late for marriage.
‘Nobles typically marry in their late teens or early twenties.’
The Emperor had never pushed for his son’s marriage because he didn’t trust him as a successor.
In fact, he’d even arranged for me—bearing the backing of House Delphin—to be paired with his nephew.
‘But a betrothal and romance are entirely different matters.’
I’d heard rumors across all three of my previous lives before this regression that Prince Arpard harbored a secret lover.
Though I couldn’t determine exactly who the woman was.
Vaguely, she was a forbidden love. After losing her or having her taken away, the prince went mad. And so on….
That was the extent of what I knew.
And.

“That child… it seems he had a woman he loved. I only learned of it after my son’s death, after I failed to protect him.”

The person who spoke those words was none other than Arpard’s father standing right before me—the current Emperor, Walter Istrid.
Was it during my second life?
Back then, I’d grown close to the Emperor who’d killed his own maddened son with his own hands and voluntarily confined himself in a remote temple.
At that time, the Emperor seemed like a hollow shell of a person.
His hair had turned completely white.
Even though it was only about two years from now in terms of timing.
Given who the source of information was, this carried considerable credibility.
That’s why I added the ‘right to free divorce’ out of consideration!
I really don’t understand why he’s angry!
‘If it doesn’t exist yet, it could develop later anyway!’
As I blinked, Arpard asked again.
“Why did you insist on including such a clause?”
“Because Your Highness might have someone you love, or could come to love someone?”
At that, Arpard tilted his head.
Then he spouted something absolutely ridiculous.
“Isn’t it rather that you’re setting up a safety mechanism so you can withdraw whenever you please?”
“What?!”
What nonsense is this?
Arpard treated me like a meticulous customer eyeing a prepared insurance fraudster, ready to make off with money at any moment.
And he went even further.
“You plan to take what you want from me and then flee whenever it suits you, like a scoundrel abandoning a delicate maiden!”
“Why have your expressions been so strange from the start?!”
Arpard’s eyes gleamed with intensity.
“So you were always planning to suck me dry and abandon me whenever you felt like it…!”
I couldn’t help myself and reached out with both hands to silence the man who had been spouting nonsense this entire time.
“…!”
“…”
I realized far too late that I had leaned forward first, pressing myself against him far too intimately.
As his breath touched me, the inside of my palm tingled.
Arpard’s lips were warmer than I expected, and surprisingly soft.
Just as they had been during that vow-taking kiss earlier…
No, this isn’t right!
I barely managed to gather my wits and cried out. Who would fall for a pretty face?
“…Still, this won’t work!”
“What won’t work?”
Arpard asked, while I still had my hand extended toward him.
As a result, his breath tickled my palm strongly.
“Hah!”
A shiver ran through me, my entire body’s hair standing on end.
I couldn’t hold back and finally withdrew my hand.
For some reason, it felt like I’d lost, and irritation flared within me.
It was unfair. This clause wasn’t for me—it was for Arpard.
‘By then, he’ll have already found a lover.’
That’s why I had declared it with a provocative smile.
“Later, don’t even bother thanking me for putting this clause in the contract.”
Back then, he’d probably bow and ask for a divorce while expressing gratitude.
At that, Arpard crossed his arms with clear displeasure.
“What if that’s not the case?”
“…Pardon?”
“What if, when that time comes, I’m not grateful for that clause, but rather dissatisfied with it?”
Both Arpard and I seemed to be the type who absolutely couldn’t tolerate being at a loss.
But the Prince, who didn’t know the future, was asking a foolish question.
“That’s impossible.”
“I don’t understand why you’re so certain about it.”
Being dissatisfied with the free divorce clause would mean he didn’t want a divorce.
That couldn’t be the case for Arpard. This was the confidence of someone who knew the future.
Arpard, who had been glaring at me with displeasure for a moment, suddenly made a proposal.
“Then what if we modify the clause slightly?”
“How so?”
“If I’m dissatisfied with the free divorce clause later, the clause will be deleted. But if, as you say, I’m pleased and grateful…”
Was it just my imagination that something sounded slightly off about his phrasing?
Arpard sounded as though he was certain he would later say he didn’t want a divorce.
That couldn’t possibly be the case.
I tilted my head in confusion.
“What if you’re grateful and delighted about the free divorce?”
“I’ll give you this Palace as alimony.”
“Wonderful!”
Done!
I chuckled to myself and made a few modifications to the contract terms.
‘Perfect! An increase in assets is always welcome!’
This wager was as good as already won for someone who knew the future.
That’s what I believed at the time.

* * *

After quite a lengthy negotiation, I finished drafting the commission contract and even signed it.
I gazed at it with a satisfied expression.
“You’re that pleased with it?”
“Of course! Do you know how important this is!”
Then Arpard muttered in a disgruntled voice.
“You really have no awareness of what day this is.”
“What day! It’s an important day when the contract is finalized!”
Do you know how important this is!
I had secured Arpard as a powerful ally.
And I had bound him to me tightly through marriage.
‘This never happened in my previous life!’
This alone was a tremendous step forward.
“….”
For some reason, Arpard was rubbing the space between his brows with an exasperated expression.
“Fine. Since it’s the anniversary of that important contract, I’ll ask you just one thing.”
“Go ahead.”
Now that I had the contract secured, my heart felt quite content.
“How did you learn about the Mercenary King, and how is it possible for you to ensure I ascend the throne without going mad, and whether it’s truly possible….”
He looked at my expression and changed his words on his own.
“…you probably won’t tell me willingly anyway.”
“That’s right. No matter how important the contract anniversary is, I can’t tell you now.”
Between him and me, suspicion and wariness still outweighed trust.
If I started talking about regression, it would only happen.
It would only deepen Arpard’s suspicions about me.
‘Once I show results and evidence and he trusts me completely… do I even need to tell him then?’
By that time, Arpard would have found his lover anyway.
Wouldn’t I be a free woman after the divorce?
As long as I handle the possessor and Ludwig properly beforehand, nothing else matters.
Arpard furrowed his handsome eyes several times before finally seeming to settle on a question.
“What exactly is your relationship with him?”
“Pardon? Him? Who are you referring to?”
As I stared blankly at him, Arpard elaborated further.
“The one who drew his sword before me four days ago—the only one during the wedding procession.”
“Oh, Count Beltane!”
“Yes, him. What exactly is your relationship with him?”
I tilted my head.
“Simply a knight and his lady.”
Though perhaps this time things might be a little different.
After all, I received a heartfelt oath of loyalty from him on the first day of my regression.
So I corrected myself.
“Ah, rather—a liege and her knight? Well, he’s essentially my only knight, as you yourself pointed out.”
I still felt somewhat embarrassed about that situation.
That only one person among all those in the wedding procession had properly drawn his sword to protect the bride.
Count Beltane was not the only knight from House Delphin participating in the procession.
In the end, that very situation was proof of how little control I wielded over my own family.
But Arpard didn’t seem satisfied.
“Explain more thoroughly, would you?”
I answered with complete honesty.
“Well. Someone I’m very grateful to? Someone I want to protect?”
“I’ve already heard that much.”
“That’s all there is to it, really.”
I scratched my cheek. I couldn’t fathom what answer Arpard was looking for.
Then Arpard let out a long sigh and asked bluntly.
“Tell me honestly. Is he perhaps your lover?”
“…What?!”
I jumped up in surprise.
But Arpard’s strange suspicion didn’t stop.
“Why else would you insist on adding divorce terms? You use me to stop Ludwig, and then remarry him, isn’t that it?”
I was about to say how absurd this was when the memory surfaced—from my third life, the day Count Beltane took me and fled.
That day, he became a disgraced knight who ran away with the bride the day before the wedding.
And yet… and yet he still…

“Please don’t make such a sad expression. If I could be of even the slightest help to you, that would be enough for me…”

The moment his terrible fate flashed through my mind, my body stiffened without my realizing it.
As a result, I completely missed the timing to answer Arpard’s question.
Then Arpard laughed sharply.
“…Never mind. You don’t need to answer. Your expression and silence are answer enough.”
“….”
It seemed I had been misunderstood about something, but it didn’t matter.
After all, our relationship was built on a contract.
And since Arpard had opened the conversation first, I voiced the concern that had been weighing on me.
“From the fact that you prepared the Palace in advance, it seems you’re also keeping tabs on the situation in the Imperial Capital, aren’t you?”
“Should I thank you for trusting my abilities to that extent?”
Arpard, speaking with obvious sarcasm, didn’t seem to be in a good mood.
“Yes, and with those abilities I can trust so thoroughly, could you please check on the welfare of Count Beltane and the maid Anny?”
“…Isn’t it rather petty to slip in a maid’s welfare alongside inquiring about your lover’s condition?”
“Mistaking Count Beltane for my lover is an insult to an honorable knight. And this isn’t an excuse—it’s because these two are people within House Delphin who have shown me kindness.”
“….”
“Please, I’m asking you.”
I lowered my head.
“This request has nothing to do with our contract.”
For a moment, Arpard seemed to be contemplating, stroking his lips.
But he didn’t refuse outright.
“…I’ll look into it.”
“Thank you.”
This time, I could offer my gratitude without any ulterior motive.
Meanwhile, Arpard found it rather absurd.
‘Asking her husband to check on her lover’s welfare—isn’t that audacious?’
He didn’t believe Hillia’s protest at all.

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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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