I’m Going to Change My Husband With a Predatory Marriage - Chapter 42

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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 42

When Hillia called for me, I thought the moment had finally arrived.
For better or worse.
So I steeled myself and made my way to the Prince Consort’s Study.
But when I actually faced her, something seemed off about Hillia’s expression.
She gazed at me with a subtle smile that radiated an almost uncanny warmth.
And not just anyone—me, Felix Yulken, the man they say has a hedgehog’s tongue!
I was confident and well-practiced at making others uncomfortable and uneasy.
But when I myself felt uncomfortable, I was hopelessly weak.
Moreover, there was something distinctly strange about the gleam in Hillia’s eyes.
‘This is the first time I’ve properly met her, and isn’t this excessive… goodwill?’
The lavish refreshments, the tea she’d personally handed me—everything pointed to it.
Yulken was genuinely concerned enough to worry.
‘Surely… she didn’t fall for me at first sight because of my appearance?’
If so, that would be a serious problem.
Of course, I had considerable confidence in my own looks.
But I was aware of the gap between myself and my master, who possessed an almost inhuman beauty.
‘Still, people can have different tastes, can’t they?’
That was logical.
And above all, this was our first proper introduction, yet Hillia was regarding me with an overwhelmingly affectionate gaze.
‘Could it be… could I possibly be the type of person the Delphin lady prefers?!’
If she heard that thought, she’d laugh until she rolled on the floor.
But I didn’t know that before my regression, I had attempted to assassinate Ludwig and failed.
I had no idea that my scathing curses about Ludwig and Evangeline had earned me Hillia’s favor—she’d been my cellmate (?) in the prison next door.
I couldn’t possibly know that this lavish spread was the result of that.
Knowing nothing, I could find no compelling reason other than “love at first sight.”
As a result, I found myself breaking into a cold sweat, overwhelmed with tension.
‘No, this won’t do! No matter how beautiful she looks, like sweet cotton candy!’
I made a firm resolution to myself.
‘I can’t let her push her sudden affection on me so aggressively!’
There were plenty of reasons why not.
‘Even if she’s not officially recognized as the Prince Consort, she’s still the woman who married Prince Arpard!’
The conclusion was simple.
‘An affair is absolutely forbidden!’
Coming from a minor noble house and having witnessed my mother’s suffering due to my father’s infidelity, I despised affairs deeply.
‘What His Highness says about marrying for love must be a lie, but still—it’s not allowed!’
I didn’t yet notice that my last thought sounded suspiciously like an excuse.
As I wavered between awkwardness and strange emotions, Hillia pointed out something I hadn’t anticipated at all.

“Why don’t you use the title ‘Your Highness, the Prince Consort’ when addressing me?”
“You think I’m not suited for the position of Prince Consort, don’t you? That I’ll be a hindrance to Prince Arpard.”

Yulken, who had been lost in idle thoughts until moments before, suddenly snapped back to attention.
‘Ah, that’s right. I came here to make a declaration of sorts, didn’t I?’
Only then did he recall his original purpose.
Felix Yulken opened his eyes wide and resumed his engagement with the woman before him.

Yulken, who had been unable to hide his discomfort and bewilderment all along, soon reverted to his usual demeanor as a secretary.
And he smoothly deflected Hillia’s attack.
“I’m not sure what you mean. We’ve only exchanged a few words….”
Hillia chuckled and replied.
“Yet you still haven’t called me ‘Your Highness, the Prince Consort’ even once.”
“…Did I not? I hadn’t realized. Thank you for pointing it out.”
Yulken answered with a flawless smile.
And yet, he still refrained from using the title “Your Highness, the Prince Consort” to the end.
That was simply Yulken’s stubbornness.
‘No matter what they say about how Prince Arpard suddenly took ill and abducted me as a bride, I still need to demonstrate the capability befitting a Prince Consort!’
That was Yulken’s creed.
And Hillia struck precisely at this conviction of his, as if peering into the palm of her hand.
“It’s because I haven’t yet demonstrated the abilities befitting a Prince Consort, isn’t it?”
“….”
At this point, Yulken asked frankly.
“Do you perhaps possess mind-reading abilities?”
Hillia laughed brightly.
“No. It’s just… the secretary’s meritocracy is quite well-known. And your own abilities are exceptional.”
Yulken nodded shamelessly.
“That’s a fair assessment.”
Never offering false modesty was another of Yulken’s creeds.
‘That’s not proper etiquette for someone of ability!’
This was Yulken’s philosophy.
At the same time.
‘If I feign modesty I don’t feel, how insulted would truly incompetent people feel!’
He held this belief as well.
As if understanding even this about him, Hillia spoke gently.
“I’m not trying to force anything. It’s only natural that one must demonstrate sufficient ability to rise to such a noble position.”
And the fact that Ludwig and Evangeline fell short of this standard was something Yulken and Hillia shared in common.
That alone was enough for Hillia to view Yulken favorably.
“Then you understand that I cannot follow your orders either.”
But Hillia wiped her mouth clean of the matter.
“That’s beside the point. Whether you acknowledge me as Prince Consort or not, you must follow my commands.”
“….”
Felix Yulken. For the first time in his twenty-seven years of life, he experienced being at a loss for words.

* * *

Yulken appeared to have rarely been rendered speechless.
‘How unexpected. The man who wouldn’t stop talking right up until his head rolled from the guillotine.’
In any case, Hillia seized the opportunity without hesitation.
She slid the prepared documents across the table toward Yulken.
“Read it.”
“…I’m not sure why you’re suddenly doing this….”
Yulken seemed to be clinging to his last shred of pride, or perhaps mere habit.
He stubbornly held onto the thought that he couldn’t easily acknowledge Hillia.
The method to shatter that in one blow was simple.
She smiled and made her wager.
“Want to make a bet with me?”
“A bet? What do you mean all of a sudden?”
Despite his cute and timid appearance, Yulken’s tongue was sharper than a blade and his expression utterly vulgar.
Watching his face crumple, Hillia declared confidently.
“I’ll wager one million Castels that once you read those documents, you’ll call me ‘Your Highness.'”
One million Castels was roughly equivalent to Yulken’s monthly salary.
“But you haven’t yet obtained the authority to execute the Prince Consort’s budget, have you?”
In other words, ‘where would that money come from?’
It was also a warning not to squander the Prince’s Palace budget on such matters.
Understanding it all, Hillia laughed brightly.
“That’s because I’m the head of House Delphin.”
“Ah.”
Yulken nodded readily.
Word had already spread that Hillia had successfully brought Delphin under control.
Yulken, in particular, knew the details rather well.
‘Unlike what the rumors say, she resolved the matter without Prince Arpard’s help.’
Of course, this was a misunderstanding born from Yulken’s ignorance that Gerald, the Mercenary King, was actually Arpard.
Because of this, the Delphin affair appeared to Yulken to have been resolved solely through Hillia’s own power.
‘Gerald, the Mercenary King, is so ill-mannered he ignores all approaches from the Prince’s Palace. How on earth did she even hire him?’
Naturally, those outside viewed Yulken the same way. Just as Hillia had anticipated.
After the incident in Delphin, Yulken honestly found himself reassessing Hillia somewhat.
Had he not heard this news beforehand, he might have refused her summons with every excuse imaginable.
Or even if he’d come, he would have ignored her words or subtly disrespected her through passive resistance to her commands.
The fact that he was now taking her seriously was, in his own way, an acknowledgment of her capabilities.
Of course, Hillia could not be satisfied with merely that.
Hillia lifted her head and asked with a radiant smile.
“Would you like to make a wager, or would you prefer not to?”
Yulken stared blankly for a moment, admiring Hillia’s beauty while entertaining a foolish thought.
‘It’s truly difficult to look beautiful from every angle, even with one’s chin raised like that, yet her beauty really is….’
Then he suddenly startled and shook his head.
‘No, that’s not it!’
Unaware of Yulken’s foolish musings, Hillia attempted to pull the documents toward her.
“Well, if you don’t like it, there’s nothing I can do.”
But the documents didn’t budge.
Yulken was holding the other end.
“I never said I wouldn’t make the wager.”
‘A million Castels, no less. There’s no reason to turn down such public funds flowing in.’
Moreover, Hillia had staked the Delphin Family itself and guaranteed she could pay the wagered amount.
From Yulken’s perspective, this appeared to be a wager with victory already assured.
‘Documents I can look at once and immediately call “Your Highness”? There’s no way such a thing exists!’
Yulken genuinely believed this.
Hillia laughed pleasantly and released her grip on the documents she’d been pulling.
At that laugh, Yulken nearly lost himself again, staring at Hillia in a daze.
Barely regaining his senses, Yulken brought his eyes to the documents.
And in the next instant, his eyes widened so dramatically one might worry they’d snap backward if struck.
“This, this is…!”
Hillia wore a transparent smile, like spring sunlight dancing on cherry blossom petals.
And she added a helpful explanation.
“Of course, the secretaries will need to uncover the detailed evidence themselves. And there’s no guarantee these are everything.”
“But this…!”
Yulken’s hands trembled as the paper crumpled with a soft rustling sound.
Hillia asked with confident laughter.
“But it will be useful, won’t it?”
She was asking a question to which she already knew the answer.
And in the next moment, the answer Hillia desired came from Yulken’s lips.
“Of course, Your Highness!”
It was the moment when Felix Yulken, the most capable aide among Arpard’s close associates since the marriage pact was established, uttered the title “Your Highness” for the first time.
Hillia laughed with confidence.
‘Good. That settles the internal reorganization of the Prince’s Palace.’

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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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