I’m Going to Change My Husband With a Predatory Marriage - Chapter 51

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 51

Evangeline, the Possessed, had read the original work beforehand.
Naturally, she knew several critically important secrets, and among them, the most secretive and dangerous fact was this.
‘The Former Empress’s madness outbreak is connected to the Empress.’
This very fact.
Originally, the cause of the madness that ran through the Imperial Family remained unknown.
Only that the purer the Imperial blood, the higher the probability of suffering from madness.
The Former Empress was the Emperor’s cousin, an Imperial Family member born with considerably pure bloodline.
Because of this, no one found it strange that she died from madness.
Nor did they find it strange that Arpard, her son, showed faint signs of madness in his childhood.
In contrast, the Emperor had never suffered greatly from madness.
Ludwig showed no signs of madness whatsoever.
This was also why the Emperor had taken particular notice of Ludwig.
Looking at this alone, the Imperial Family’s madness seemed merely the result of misfortune.
But Evangeline alone knew it wasn’t purely coincidence.
‘The Empress knows how to trigger or worsen the madness of the Imperial bloodline.’
Then… perhaps she might also know how to weaken it.
The Possessed hadn’t given this possibility much thought.
Partly because she didn’t enjoy taxing her mind with such complexity.
And above all…
‘If I’d known this, I would have read the original work to the end!’
Besides, since it wasn’t even a work she particularly enjoyed, she’d read it carelessly.
The weakness of not knowing all the information from the original work had limited her actions in many ways.
Choosing Ludwig while loving Arpard and despising Ludwig stemmed from this very reason.
Because Ludwig was the original work’s male protagonist.
She wanted to move only within the information she possessed.
‘But Ludwig is not the one.’
Moreover, seeing Hillia at Arpard’s side drove her nearly mad with jealousy.
It would be fine if, like in the original work, Arpard ended up dying mad with no one at his side.
But seeing another woman beside him made her stomach turn.
‘Of all people, why does it have to be that fool Hillia!’
She absolutely, absolutely could not accept it.
The question she posed to the Empress—something she would never normally ask—stemmed from this.
The Empress was a character whose inner thoughts were difficult to discern.
She harbored many secrets.
Because of this, she hadn’t wanted to provoke her.
But now, the Possessed found herself unbearably anxious.
So she attempted the gamble of asking directly.
“…You know how to worsen or alleviate the Imperial Family’s madness, don’t you, Mother?”
The Empress’s expression, which had been roiling with resentment, jealousy, and frenzy all along, froze rigid.
Empress Isabel, regarding her daughter with the blank face of a mannequin, asked a question.
“…Why would you ask such a thing?”
“….”
The Possessed within Evangeline tensed. Had she, in her anxiety, asked the Empress something she shouldn’t have?
“Who fed you such absurd nonsense?”
The fingernails at the tips of Empress Isabel’s hands, which gripped Evangeline’s hand, were broken from her earlier rampage.
The jagged edges of her nails pricked the skin, causing a sharp sting.
Evangeline made an effort to appear unbothered as she answered.
“I’m your daughter, after all. So I came to know it naturally.”
“….”
Empress Isabel scrutinized her daughter with an inscrutable expression.
Yet she did not reveal the information her daughter so desperately sought.
She merely said this:
“Yes. You are my daughter. My only blood.”
“Yes, Mother. I am the only child you can trust.”
Evangeline grasped her mother’s withered hands with both of hers as she spoke.
“Please tell me as well. So that I may be of help to you….”
But in that moment, Empress Isabel wrenched her hands away from her daughter.
“Forget whatever notion you’ve taken into your head.”
“Mother!”
“If such a thing were possible, would the Imperial Court have simply allowed countless members of the Imperial Family to perish all this time? Your delusions have gone too far.”
Empress Isabel had completely regained her composure.
She calmly summoned her attendants to tidy the ransacked chamber and adjusted her appearance.
And she spoke to her daughter with unprecedented coldness.
“You shall depart now. Give my regards to your grandfather as well.”
“…Yes.”
This meant she was not to sleep in Evangeline’s chamber at the Empress Palace tonight.
It meant to return to her own chamber at the Roux Mansion.
Evangeline despised her own chamber at the Roux Mansion most of all.
Her favorite place was her chamber in the Imperial Palace, and second to that was her chamber at Delphin.
But in the years since the possession, Evangeline had observed the Empress’s temperament from right beside her.
Now the Empress was in a most foul mood.
And she was regarding her daughter with an unprecedented wariness in her eyes.
Evangeline swallowed her humiliation and bowed her head.
“Yes, I shall take my leave.”
‘Acting as if you’re truly my mother, when you’re nothing but a book character….’
But for now, there was nothing she could do.

* * *

Princess Solenu didn’t give me a definitive answer about holding my hand right away.
I didn’t press her or force the matter either.
I simply showed her a way to contact me discreetly, away from prying eyes, and she listened quietly.
And once I confirmed the desire flickering in her eyes….
‘It’s only a matter of time.’
Fortunately, my contact with Princess Solenu raised no suspicion whatsoever.
Her disappearance during the Empress’s reception was merely attributed to her withdrawing after being insulted with hot tea.
With such a massive and shocking incident unfolding, few people paid it any mind.
That absurd man took full credit for it.
“It’s all thanks to my sacrifice. Isn’t it?”
Remarkably, Arpard’s smooth face bore not a single blemish.
Of course he’d be unblemished—no one could forcibly drag him out even if he caused a commotion in the Empress’s Palace….
But his skin was unusually smooth and gleaming with an almost unnatural luster.
‘Could it be… that he relieved so much stress his complexion actually improved? Or am I imagining things?’
Arpard began humming a tune, unfortunately proving my suspicion correct.
“Ah, I haven’t had that much fun in ages.”
“…I didn’t find it very amusing.”
Arpard’s eyes widened.
“Why? Didn’t you say your conversation with Princess Solenu went well? You wouldn’t have been interrupted either.”
“Well, that’s true.”
“Then who deserves all the credit? Do you know how hard I worked? I did everything in my power to ensure no one’s attention turned to you or that you’d be discovered!”
He certainly did work hard.
So hard that he kept all the enjoyment for himself and left only the shame for me.
I finally had no choice but to ask directly.
“Did you really… really have to use that particular expression?”
“What expression?”
His feigned innocence and pretense of ignorance were absolutely infuriating.
“That… that word! That animal!”
“I truly don’t recall what expression you’re referring to.”
Arpard grinned widely.
“If you say it yourself, perhaps I’ll remember.”
He absolutely knew! One hundred percent!
In the end, I could only cry out as my face and hair turned the same shade of red from humiliation.
“That… that squirrel comment!”
Then Arpard laughed brightly and repeated the words that had shocked everyone listening in the Empress’s Garden.
“Ah, my
Baby Squirrel
that’s what he said.”
He just emphasized ‘Baby Squirrel’ so loudly, this man!
S
On purpose! This had to be on purpose!
Arpard continued to smile softly and responded with infuriating nonchalance.
“What do you mean? Wasn’t the effect quite certain?”
Too certain—that was the problem.
‘I’m convinced that by tomorrow morning, everyone in the Imperial Palace will think of a baby squirrel whenever they see me.’
Rumors in high society have always traveled fast.
Especially something like this.
Just imagining the looks in people’s eyes when they saw me after tomorrow made me so embarrassed I felt my limbs curling inward.
“You didn’t have to use such an expression! Something more ordinary… no, you didn’t even need to mention me at all!”
That’s right. All I had asked Arpard to do was draw attention away from me.
There was no need for him to attach that embarrassing nickname to me and broadcast it in all directions!
As I cried out again in distress, Arpard clutched his stomach and laughed.
“Ahahaha! You know what? Your expression right now is absolutely adorable!”
Arpard, laughing like that, was… infuriatingly handsome and utterly insufferable.
So irritated by this man rolling around on Ivory’s Bedroom bed, I approached him intending to pinch his side.
But Arpard moved first.
His thickly muscled arm stretched out and wrapped around my waist, pulling me in with a swift motion.
“Oof!”
My body was helplessly drawn into Arpard’s embrace.
Quite literally swept up into his arms.
My head collided with his broad, firm chest. The man’s pectoral muscles cushioned the impact, so it didn’t hurt much.
Actually, the cushioning felt quite pleasant.
Moreover, whether it was because the Dragon Bloodline affected body temperature or not, he was warm throughout his entire body.
For someone like me with perpetually cold hands and feet, his warmth was perfectly comforting.
Combined with the slow heartbeat echoing in my ears, it was truly an excellent pillow in every way—the sensation, the temperature, the sound all together.
‘No, this isn’t right!’
I barely regained my senses and tried to continue my interrogation of Arpard.
“This time I’m not letting you brush this off with your pretty-boy charm!”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————