I’m Going to Change My Husband With a Predatory Marriage - Chapter 37

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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 37

After Hillia dragged Ludwig’s Servant into the Guest Waiting Room.
Everyone outside pressed their ears against the door, straining to hear what was happening within.
Had Anny not been thoroughly guarding the entrance on Hillia’s orders, some would surely have attempted to peek inside.
A single question hung in every eye. Even Anny shared the same doubt.
‘Would Hillia truly cut out Ludwig’s Servant’s tongue?’
Then it came.
As if to mock their suspicions, a scream so bone-chilling erupted from the room.
“Aaaahhhhh!!!”
Those listening flinched in unison.
And the screaming didn’t stop at just one cry.
After several agonized shrieks—the kind that made it unmistakably clear something horrific was being done—the waiting room door finally opened.
Hillia emerged, her face drained of color.
She still looked delicate, almost fairy-like with her small features.
Nothing about her suggested she was the cruel person who’d just had someone’s tongue cut out.
But when they saw the mercenary dragging the servant behind her, no one dared entertain such thoughts.
The servant, his expression wild with terror, held a blood-soaked cloth between his teeth.
His face was a mess of blood from his nose as if he’d been beaten, and his entire body trembled like an aspen leaf.
Hillia issued a cold command to one of the mercenaries.
“Don’t let him die. Take him to a physician.”
Her tone was so frigid that even the battle-hardened mercenary flinched.
After the servant was dragged away, trembling uncontrollably.
Hillia regarded the kneeling employees with an expressionless gaze.
“If anyone else wishes to insult me or defy my orders, speak now.”
Not a single soul dared lift their head.
The fear they felt was written plainly across their faces.
Hillia exhaled softly, then issued an additional command to Gerald.
“You brought literate men from the Mercenary Corps who can handle administrative work?”
“Yes, my lady.”
Hillia’s brow furrowed.
That “my lady”—it sounded like Arpard had taken a liking to the sarcasm in it.
But now wasn’t the time to nitpick such things.
‘I need to complete the reorganization of the Manor tonight.’
I was already busy enough with preparations for the Artanus Hall banquet.
I couldn’t afford to waste time.
‘Besides, word of this will definitely spread. The faster and more decisively this is resolved, the better my reputation will become.’
Even reorganizing the Manor in just a few days would earn me considerable praise.
But I couldn’t settle for merely that.
‘I need to clean up the Delphin Family faster and root out Ludwig and Evangeline’s remnants.’
Only then would this direct intervention during such a critical time prove worthwhile.
Hillia, who had just finished administering a rather potent lashing, smiled brightly and dangled a sweet carrot before her employees.
“Submit statements to the mercenaries. Those who provide me with useful information may receive leniency.”
“…!”
Everyone’s heads snapped up in surprise, and they began eyeing one another with suspicion.
It was precisely the effect Hillia had calculated and desired.

* * *

A few hours later.
Dawn was approaching—only a little while remained.
When Arpard and I found ourselves alone in the Delphin Mansion’s office, I exhaled a long sigh.
Before he could speak first, I seized the initiative.
“Go ahead, mock me all you like.”
To my surprise, his response was quite unexpected.
“Why would I mock you?”
I shrugged.
“Well, obviously. You can’t even properly maintain discipline within your own family, and look at the state of things. Of course you’d mock me.”
Remarkably, Arpard did not mock me at all.
Since the door was locked, he removed his mask and revealed his true face.
The hair that had been darkened by magic returned to its brilliant golden hue, and his ordinary brown eyes took on a crimson tint—it was quite striking.
Arpard, having returned to his annoyingly handsome visage, said something unexpected.
“I’m not mocking you.”
I was somewhat taken aback.
I’d naturally assumed he would mock me.
There was a slight embarrassment at having volunteered my own self-criticism.
And yet, strangely enough, my mood seemed to lighten just a little.
“That’s unexpected. In any case, I’ve already given you one chance. I won’t tolerate any attempts to mock or jeer at me over this matter.”
Grumbling, I reviewed the statements regarding internal corruption within the Delphin organization piled before me.
These were all official documents prepared by the mercenary corps personnel according to my instructions.
Ready to be submitted to the Imperial Court whenever necessary.
Each statement bore the mercenary corps’ notarization, the signatures of the witnesses, and their fingerprints.
And naturally, the mountain of statements before me was evidence of just how poorly I had governed the Delphin Family all this time.
I hadn’t struck first with self-deprecating remarks before Arpard without reason.
‘It was a situation where anyone who didn’t embezzle or skim profits was a fool!’
I could only feel ashamed of my past self.
But I decided to think positively.
By cross-referencing my memories from my past life with these statements, I could excise every rotted part of Delphin.
‘That’s right. To save a person, you must drain the pus and cut away the infected wound!’
Now was the time for surgery.
I was passionately cross-checking the irregularities listed in the statements when—
A pale, elongated finger tapped against the documents with a soft sound.
“Hmm?”
I lifted my head in confusion to find Arpard leaning over the desk where I sat in my office.
His shadow fell across my upper body.
Arpard’s crimson eyes gleamed.
“What is it?”
“There’s something I want to ask you.”
“What? Oh, but I already told you—your chance to mock or sneer at me over this matter has already passed.”
“I’m not going to.”
He clicked his tongue softly before asking his real question.
“That magical artifact you used on Ludwig’s servant just now—can it really cast a curse?”
Ah, so that’s what he was genuinely curious about.
I recalled what had happened moments before—something only the servant, myself, and Arpard knew.

* * *

I activated the magical artifact against the servant’s tongue. An ominous crimson light blazed forth brilliantly, and the servant screamed as though his tongue were being severed on the spot.

“AAAAHHHHHHH!!!”

The sound was so loud it felt as though my eardrums would burst.
But his tongue was not actually cut.
So I gripped the shoulders of the man shrieking as if he were dying and shook him.

“It’s not cut. It’s not cut, I’m telling you.”
“Ahhh! Ahhhhh!! AAAAHHHHH!!!”

I whispered menacingly, as though blood might pour from my ears.

“Scream again. I’ll really cut your tongue off.”
“…Y-yes!”

The servant fell silent, his eyes darting about frantically. Then, as though struck by belated realization, understanding dawned on his face.
The magical artifact I’d inscribed hadn’t actually severed his tongue.
While relief washed over him, I watched confusion bloom across his features and spoke in a low, threatening voice.

“I didn’t cut your tongue just now. But what I inscribed moments ago is a magical artifact passed down through generations as a family heirloom of House Delphin.”

The servant’s eyes trembled with unease.
I smiled brightly and continued.

“With this artifact, I’ve placed a curse upon your tongue.”

At that, the servant’s eyes began to quiver as though an earthquake had struck.

* * *

With that threat, I’d effectively sealed the servant’s lips.

“If you breathe a single word of what happened here, your tongue will be severed immediately.”

Terrified, the servant nodded frantically, tears streaming down his face.

“Once you leave here, I’ll have you sent to the Black Mercenary Corps under the pretense of treatment. There, you’ll write down everything you know about how Ludwig has been embezzling the Delphin Family’s assets.”
“…!”

Yes. This troublesome scheme of mine had another purpose as well.
That servant, as one of Ludwig’s key confidants, knew the corruption intimately.

“You can refuse if you wish. Your tongue will simply be severed and that’s all. Don’t worry—I won’t kill you.”

At my magical words, the servant could only nod endlessly through his tears.

‘Excellent. One piece of evidence secured!’

Thanks to this, the statement from that servant sent by the Black Mercenary Corps moments earlier now lay before me.

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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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