I’m Going to Change My Husband With a Predatory Marriage - Chapter 31

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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 31

I sent the maidservant Eshia back to Arpard by my command.
For hours after I told her to return to the Prince, she knelt before me begging for forgiveness, but I did not grant it.

“My thoughts were too shallow. Please forgive me, Your Highness.”
“Is that also the Prince’s wish?”
“…!”
“…Absolutely not!”

Eshia’s face had gone pale, and she seemed to belatedly realize that her desperate attempts to earn my forgiveness were only further displeasing me.
Eventually, after my rebuke, Eshia bowed her head in apology once more and disappeared from my sight.

“I am truly, truly sorry. My thoughts were far too shallow.”

After that, the news spread rapidly. Eshia appeared to hold a considerable position among the attendants of the Prince’s Palace.
Eshia had been dismissed for prioritizing Arpard over me, and Arpard said nothing about it.
This had the effect of making clear to the Prince’s Palace attendants an important truth.
‘Arpard is not my master.’
And.
‘At least those who serve me directly must prioritize my commands above all else.’
I had been stabbed in the back by subordinates more than once or twice before.
Before I even had people truly loyal to me, I could not afford for everyone around me to prioritize Arpard’s orders.

* * *

“You’re simply going to leave it as is?”
Arpard tilted his head at his secretary’s question.
“Why shouldn’t I leave it as is?”
Yulken answered while glancing toward Ivory’s Bedroom, his eyes brimming with suspicion.
“Well, she openly dismissed your people and raised a banner of rebellion against you. How could you possibly trust someone like that?”
Arpard was aware that Yulken had been about to say “such a person” but had quickly corrected himself to “such a lady” upon catching his gaze.
He chuckled softly and offered his suspicious aide the answer he desired.
“If one cannot properly cultivate even a single retainer, there’s no way they can manage their own affairs. With such a narrow capacity, they hardly deserve to be called a Crown Princess.”
Arpard murmured while gazing at the pearl necklace resting on his desk.
“…Much less the Empress’s seat.”
“….”
The secretary’s face remained filled with concern and doubt.
Without a decisive incident, I could never dispel the veil of suspicion clouding Yulken’s eyes.
‘And that’s something she must accomplish through her own strength for it to hold meaning.’
If I helped, it would be meaningless. In that sense, the mere fact that she hadn’t asked me to help her control her retainers could be considered passing the first stage.
‘Of course, the second stage hasn’t even begun, and it won’t end with just the second stage either.’
I truly wondered if my beloved wife could pass through all the ‘tests.’
I was genuinely curious whether she could prove to herself that she was worthy of the Empress’s throne.

* * *

And the day after I sent Eshia away.
I received news that was absurd and infuriating, yet precisely what I had anticipated.
A pale and flustered palace attendant relayed the message to me, carefully gauging my reaction.
It was the response from Delphin’s Chamberlain to the command I had sent.
“What? The two people I ordered to be sent—he said he cannot provide them?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Fury surged from the crown of my head.
‘I anticipated this. But…!’
At a point when Ludwig was still firmly entrenched in Delphin, I hadn’t expected the chamberlain to obey my orders without question.
For me to have justification to move in anger, an outright act of insubordination that made no sense had to occur.
I had hoped for this, calculated for this when I issued the command.
But that didn’t mean the anger wouldn’t come.
My hand trembled as it rested upon the vanity, and the attendants who sensed the shift immediately knelt.
“We beg your forgiveness, Your Highness!”
“Our abilities are insufficient!”
It was worth sending Eshia away yesterday.
At least they wouldn’t openly refuse my orders or disregard my wishes in my presence.
But it wasn’t the palace attendants or other nobles who had disrespected me—it was Delphin’s own retainers.
In truth, this was utterly unreasonable.
I am the sole heir to House Delphin.
‘Therefore, under any circumstance, Delphin’s retainers must prioritize my commands.’
Yet they had not.
Because they were watching Ludwig’s reaction.
This was how Delphin’s Chamberlain had responded, it was said.

“I cannot provide those two individuals.”
“Pardon? This is a command from Her Highness.”
“Ludwig, the Grand Duke, has not given his consent, so there is nothing I can do.”

And without even listening to the palace attendants’ response, she shut the door.
I could not restrain myself and slammed my hand on the reception room table.
“What utter nonsense!”
This too was a performance meant to be witnessed.
That I was angry enough to act like this, and had every right to be.
I needed to settle matters at Delphin as quickly as possible.
The fact that Ludwig was still holding out at Delphin was absurd.
‘And while I’m driving Ludwig out, I should strip away Evangeline’s room as well!’
Evangeline frequented Delphin often, using the finest guest room as though it were her own.
Naturally, there were many of Evangeline’s agents within the manor.
If word of Delphin’s situation spread, there was a high chance I would face criticism.
‘How can she manage the position of Crown Princess when she cannot even properly control her own household?’
I could already envision them tearing into me like piranhas.
So I had to strike first.
I rose to my feet and issued orders to the attendants.
“Change my clothes and have me freshly groomed. I must visit the Prince.”

* * *

When Hillia visited Arpard’s office, radiant and beautifully adorned.
Yulken naturally regarded her with suspicion gleaming in both eyes.
Moreover, Yulken already knew the response that had come to Hillia from Delphin.
All those at Hillia’s side were still Arpard’s people.
Naturally, all relevant reports had come up, and they had passed through Yulken’s hands.
Arpard was aware of it as well.
‘Could she have rushed here to ask our Prince to handle her household affairs?’
The moment she heard the news, she had dressed beautifully and hurried straight to Arpard.
Naturally, to any third party, it could only appear this way.
‘Just let her dare to cling to the Prince asking him to handle Delphin’s matters instead. I won’t hold back what I have to say.’
Yulken was a man who did not restrain his words even before Arpard.
Much less before Hillia.
He was fully prepared to speak, when Hillia’s pale pink lips parted.
“I came because there is one thing I wished to ask of you, Your Highness.”
“What is it?”
Yulken, who had been watching the two of them, was just about to furrow his brow and open his mouth.
Hillia spoke with an apologetic and bashful expression.
“It seems Your Highness will have to sleep alone tonight, so I came to inform you in advance.”
“…?”
Even Arpard tilted his head in momentary confusion.
He quickly recovered from his bewilderment and responded.
“It’s unfortunate for me, certainly, but what’s the occasion?”
“I need to visit my family home.”
“Your family home? You mean Delphin?”
“Yes. I intend to return briefly to manage some household matters.”
Hillia caught sight of Agrippina’s tears rolling across Arpard’s table and smiled faintly.
“I’m overwhelmed by how dearly you treasure my gift and keep it always at your side.”
Arpard let out a hollow laugh as he watched the earnest money transform into a token of affection.
“It’s the first thing I’ve ever received from you, after all. I can’t help but keep it close and admire it always.”
“I still remember vividly the day I gave you that pearl.”
To any listener, it was an affectionate exchange between newlyweds.
But the true meaning beneath was entirely different.
‘You’re keeping the contract payment safe? You haven’t forgotten you’re employed by me, Mercenary King?’
‘How could I forget? It was such an absurd experience that forgetting would be impossible even if I tried.’
Hillia approached with a radiant smile and whispered near Arpard’s ear—in a voice so soft that even Yulken couldn’t hear.
Arpard’s crimson eyes widened with surprise.
Then, as if launching a surprise attack, Hillia planted a light kiss on Arpard’s cheek.
So naturally, as though she had approached not merely to whisper but to kiss.
Yulken watched with his mouth agape as Hillia, her cheeks flushed with apparent shyness, fled the office.
‘What was that? Just now? Is this actually a love match? Surely not? That can’t be right? But she didn’t even ask for help with Delphin matters…?’
Leaving his bewildered secretary behind, Arpard rose from his seat.
“W-where are you going, Your Highness?”
“Must I report my whereabouts to you in detail?”
“…!”
Yulken, who had been momentarily dazed, realized his mistake. He dropped to one knee and apologized to his master.
“My apologies. I spoke out of turn.”
Arpard left without offering any response.
From the beginning, his master was someone who harbored many secrets even from his closest retainer.
After Arpard disappeared, seemingly following in Hillia’s wake.
Only then did Yulken arrive at this thought.
‘Surely… he didn’t follow the Delphin princess, did he?’
No, that couldn’t be.
Could it really be a love match? Had the Crown Prince, who became utterly devoted in an instant, actually gone to help his wife manage her family affairs?
The very thought sent shivers down his spine.
Yet Yulken recalled the conversation he had just witnessed.
That chicken-skin couple’s exchange.
‘It couldn’t be… right? It must be, right?’
Such suspicion itself was something he could never have imagined before Hillia’s arrival.

* * *

I boarded the Carriage with the Seal of the Crown Princess to travel to Delphin.
And upon seeing the person who had already set up camp and was waiting there, I broke into a radiant smile.
It was the person I had been waiting for, after 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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