I’m Going to Change My Husband With a Predatory Marriage - Chapter 19

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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 19

Reading Arpard’s emotions was never an easy task.
He had been the Crown Prince since birth, learning political maneuvering as naturally as breathing.
Yet for some reason, in my presence, he often behaved like a child who hadn’t yet mastered the art of concealing his feelings.
‘Did we develop some sense of intimacy just from spending a few days alone together at the Palace?’
Or perhaps there was another reason entirely.
Either way, it wasn’t unwelcome.
Until Arpard found a woman he loved and demanded a divorce, we were bound together by fate.
Husband and wife in name, but truly nothing more than a client and a mercenary.
In any case, his expression now seemed… somehow pleased, though he was clearly trying not to show it.
Truly, he was an unpredictable man—not some adolescent boy.
How could a sane person ever understand a madman?
If one could, then that person would be equally mad.
I swallowed my various complaints and approached Arpard to make a request.
“Would you do me one favor?”
“Why so suddenly?”
I winked and whispered.
“I’ll need it when we have an audience with His Majesty.”

* * *

At this moment, the Prince’s Palace was undoubtedly the center of attention throughout the Imperial Palace.
After all, they were the principals in a bride-theft that hadn’t occurred in three hundred years.
No one had anticipated they would brazenly enter the palace together in broad daylight.
Everyone viewed this negatively.
“Isn’t that far too shameless?”
“Poor Ludwig, the Grand Duke. His bride was stolen, his honor dragged through the mud….”
“It’s truly outrageous.”
Yet no one dared speak of it openly before the Crown Prince.
Everyone valued their own lives too much.
All they could do was whisper and gossip behind closed doors.
This had been an ongoing phenomenon ever since Arpard showed signs of madness as a child not yet ten years old.
Aside from a few fanatical loyalists, no one dared openly oppose him.
No one wished to become a victim of his violent outbursts.
Even the current Empress had been gravely injured during one of the Crown Prince’s episodes, leaving her arm permanently impaired.
Yet she could not punish him for it.
The signs of madness were proof of his pure dragon bloodline—evidence of his status as Imperial Family.
Proof that he bore Artanus’s blessing alone.
Arpard’s eyes, with their vertically elongated pupils beyond human measure, were the very manifestation of this.
The eyes of a dragon.
In the House of Istrid, dragon blood was paramount above all else.
Even the Emperor could not easily strip Arpard of his position as Crown Prince.
Because of this, Arpard was treated as an untouchable bomb.
Don’t touch it, for who knows when it might detonate—this was the shared thought of all who dealt with him.
Even his only blood relative, the Emperor himself.
When Arpard emerged from the Prince’s Palace with his notorious wife.
Gazes filled with fear and curiosity converged from all directions.
Yet no one stepped forward or dared address them.
They merely observed from a distance, as though witnessing something ominous.
“….”
“….”
It felt as though thorns of silence were scattered along their path.
Hillia trampled through that uncomfortable silence with a suppressed bitter smile.
‘Let them talk all they want. It’s not as though their gossip guarantees my survival.’
Sharp gazes fixed upon Hillia as she walked beside Arpard.
Had those stares been arrows, she would have become a pincushion in an instant.
She dismissed that piercing, uncomfortable attention with a scoff.
As a result, Hillia, smiling softly alone amid the silence, stood out and shone brighter than anyone else.
Having distanced herself from the source of stress that was Ludwig and Evangeline, Hillia’s skin was like a freshly peeled egg.
Her luminous complexion showed not a single pore, and a cherry blossom blush delicately tinted both her cheeks.
Each time her large eyes blinked, long pink lashes concealed and revealed her deep violet irises.
Her shy coral lips curved into a smile tinged with subtle tension.
Her innocent cherry-blossom-pink hair, cascading softly, looked impossibly sweet.
A tiara adorned her head, its acanthus flowers woven from amethyst and transparent crystal, pink diamonds and lavender diamonds, making her rosy hair shimmer with exceptional radiance.
Her dress, layered with cream-colored silk and cherry-blossom lace stacked in abundant, frothy waves, only enhanced her innocent beauty.
It seemed to emphasize the deep-hued tiara anchored in amethyst tones.
Spring had arrived, and the Central Garden of the Imperial Palace through which Arpard and I passed was ablaze with cherry blossoms in full bloom.
As the wind picked up at that perfect moment, countless petals cascaded down upon our heads.
It was as though nature itself blessed these two souls.
Someone lost themselves in an unconscious murmur.
“She looks just like a cherry blossom fairy.”
The moment the words left their lips, they were startled. They hadn’t meant to speak aloud, and with everyone else silent, the voice rang far too loudly.
Feeling the sharp gazes from all directions, the one who had mentioned the fairy hung their head in shame.
Though no one openly agreed or voiced their approval, everyone harbored similar thoughts.
‘I wondered why the Crown Prince resorted to an abduction marriage, but now I understand.’
‘She’s truly breathtaking.’
‘No wonder Ludwig, the Grand Duke, is losing his mind over losing such a bride.’
‘And she comes with the House of Delphin as her dowry too….’
While everyone was overwhelmed by my appearance—the most stunning I had ever crafted across all four of my lives.
I approached Arpard without hesitation, linking my arm through his and leaning against him. Tenderly and naturally, as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
Simultaneously, gasps of astonishment rippled through the crowd.
“Gasp!”
“How audacious!”
“No matter that she’s an abducted bride, will the Crown Prince truly tolerate such behavior?”
“He’s not the type to permit such liberties….”
Aware of the attention, I opened my mouth as though compelled by anxiety and worry, my voice trembling pitifully.
“What if Your Majesty doesn’t approve of me?”
Then something occurred that plunged the onlookers into even greater shock.
Arpard responded with remarkable tenderness.
“There is no reason for such concern.”
This time, the gasps of astonishment grew even louder.
“Cough!”
“His Highness is smiling! Heavens! I’ve never witnessed such a sight!”
“With such a tender smile… he’s absolutely magnificent. If only he would smile at me like that… no, wait!”
Given Arpard’s beauty and station, it would be natural for women to flock to him.
Yet no one dared approach him carelessly, and for good reason—the sinister rumors that surrounded him and his own sharp, intimidating presence.
But witnessing him smile so tenderly at his new bride, those dark rumors and whispers of madness seemed to evaporate entirely.
The crowd regarded the Crown Prince anew.
Just how beautiful a man he truly was.
This realization caused even those who had never harbored desires for Arpard to envy me standing beside him.
‘Her fortune is remarkable. Even if she was abducted, with such a partner….’
‘But isn’t the Crown Prince’s madness well-known? Who knows what might happen to that woman because of it?’
‘No, before that—will the Emperor even approve of it?’
This was currently the hottest issue.
Arpard’s abduction marriage.
And whether the Emperor would recognize it or not.
Everyone knew that the Emperor had summoned both the Crown Prince and Hillia to make that decision.
Most watched with curiosity, some cheered as if entranced, while many others regarded the two entering the Palace with skeptical eyes.

* * *

I walked toward the Palace while leaning against Arpard, concealing my anxiety.
No matter how much I tried to appear composed, negative gazes poured down from all directions, suffocating in their intensity.
Walking through them proved far more difficult than I had anticipated.
Fortunately, Arpard appeared unbothered, so I could lean on him.
Now, having entered the Palace and passed through the corridor, I arrived at the waiting area for the Emperor’s audience.
After the Chamberlain entered to see the Emperor first, we were left alone.
“Phew….”
I barely released a sigh of relief and tried to unclasp my arm.
“…?”
What? Why won’t it come loose?
Looking up in confusion, Arpard whispered with a serious expression.
“You need to keep holding on.”
“But no one’s watching anymore….”
Arpard’s whisper tickled my ear.
“No. There are. The Emperor’s eyes are watching us.”
“….”
He was right.
The Emperor was a man who suspected even his own son, and suspected himself as well.
To gain his approval of our marriage, I couldn’t afford to let my guard down for even a moment.
“I understand.”
I felt Arpard’s grip on my arm tighten noticeably.
‘Is he nervous about meeting his estranged father?’
In my previous life, it was the Emperor who had killed the maddened Arpard.
The relationship between the two seemed precarious, like standing on the edge of a blade.
I smiled softly and whispered to Arpard.
“Are you worried? Don’t worry—just trust me.”
Arpard’s face twisted as if bewildered.
But before he could respond, the Chamberlain opened the door and spoke to us.
“It is His Majesty’s command that you both dine.”
There was no time for further idle conversation.
We strode into the Audience Chamber with our arms deliberately crossed, making a statement.
And when the Emperor saw us—when he saw me—his eyes trembled ever so slightly, though unmistakably.
I understood the reason perfectly well.
‘Of course—the dress, the tiara, the necklace I’m wearing are all relics of the late Empress!’
And I knew all too well that the late Empress was the Emperor’s greatest weakness.

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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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