I’m Going to Change My Husband With a Predatory Marriage - Chapter 65
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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 65
Evangeline exhaled a sigh of exasperation.
“You don’t recognize me and you’re blocking my way? Do you not know who I am?”
The Knight blocking her path responded with an utterly impassive expression, unwavering.
“I do know you well. Lady Evangeline of House Ruse.”
Only then did Evangeline realize the Knight’s face looked familiar.
‘I’ve seen this Knight before in Delphin.’
Indeed.
The one blocking Evangeline’s path was none other than Count Beltane himself.
He had received strict orders from Hillia this very morning to guard the entrance.
“Please guard the entrance closest to Artanus Hall from the Empress Palace yourself, Count.”
“Yes, I shall ensure no one breaches it….”
“No, you see, this is a reception. We cannot have everyone turned away.”
“Then what shall I do?”
“Verify the invitations thoroughly. Allow no one without an invitation to enter, but permit anyone who possesses one to pass through.”
As she spoke, Hillia smiled enigmatically.
As though she had foreseen this very moment.
Count Beltane simply obeyed her command to the letter.
“Step aside at once!”
“I’m afraid I cannot. Only those with invitations may enter.”
Their quarrel was about to escalate.
The doors to Artanus Hall opened from within.
A woman in a deep emerald dress slipped out.
The moment Evangeline saw her, her face contorted.
“Does a mere servant truly believe she can survive treating her mistress this way?”
Each word dripped with the grinding of teeth.
Evangeline looked ready to hurl herself forward and seize Anny by the hair.
But Count Beltane stood in her way, making it impossible.
Then Anny, as if to flaunt or provoke, twirled in a full circle, displaying her dress.
A strikingly beautiful gown—a deep emerald velvet skirt embroidered with elaborate golden rose vines, with cream-colored sheer chiffon pleats cascading from the shoulders to the floor.
To anyone’s eye, it was far too ornate and luxurious for a servant to wear, with an unusual and exquisite design.
It was the sort of dress befitting the guest of honor at a reception.
In fact, it was meant for Evangeline herself, and since she needed to deceive Hillia successfully, she had naturally prepared a dress of such caliber.
Yet now a mere servant wore that exquisite dress, and Evangeline found herself being compared unfavorably to her own maid.
Her eyes could only roll with fury.
Moreover, there was yet another reason for her rage to ignite.
‘What? They’re clearly the same design, so why do they look so different?’
Madame Fileren was equally shocked.
‘I deliberately made it sloppier and uglier than Evangeline’s dress, but how…?’
She had witnessed Hillia’s sabotage firsthand during the dress fitting, which only deepened her astonishment.
‘Same design, yet somehow the maid’s dress looks far more beautiful and refined?’
The other attendants didn’t voice it, but they harbored similar thoughts.
And for good reason—the dress Anny now wore had been meticulously refined over the past four days by Frida Wes, none other than Princess Solenu herself.
Princess Solenu’s particular gift as a designer lay in her mastery of intricate details.
That brilliance was now on full display.
Four days ago, after the final fitting, Hillia hadn’t discarded the dress.
Instead, that evening when Princess Solenu arrived, she had asked her directly.
“Could you use your skill to make this dress more elegant and refined?”
Upon learning the reason, Princess Solenu’s eyes gleamed with determination.
“I swear, I’ll make it more exquisite and beautiful than that woman’s dress!”
And after volunteering to work through four sleepless nights.
Her bold promise had been realized.
Anny watched the frenzied Evangeline and let out a scoff.
‘She tried to insult our Empress with a dress, and now that it’s backfired, she’s throwing a tantrum. How pathetic.’
Though Anny’s dress was nearly identical in design, it was unmistakably more beautiful than Evangeline’s.
Her shoulders lifted with pride of their own accord.
At the same time, Anny held her head high.
She wanted a clear view of Evangeline’s indignant expression at being outwitted.
Evangeline shrieked savagely.
“Get out of the way this instant! Or punish that insolent maid yourself!”
“I merely obey my mistress’s commands.”
The loyal Knight remained unmoved, as expected.
Anny calmly observed Evangeline’s outburst before retrieving an invitation from her pouch—distinctive with its golden embossing and pink ribbon.
Madame Fileren recognized it immediately.
“An… an invitation?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Anny smiled brightly and waved the invitation.
“It seems the uninvited guests here might need one, wouldn’t you say?”
Evangeline ground her teeth as she retorted.
“Your mistress must have ordered you to hand it over, so give it here and disappear. Before I tear that dress to shreds.”
At that, Anny’s mouth fell open.
“My, how frightening. And actually, our Empress gave no such command regarding the invitation. This is terrifying, so perhaps I should take my leave?”
Anny turned away without hesitation.
In that moment, Evangeline could no longer contain herself and cried out.
“You can’t stand there!”
Anny turned around with a soft laugh.
“Whatever do you mean, Miss Evangeline? Is there something you need?”
“….”
Yet Evangeline, though her lips twisted, could never bring herself to plead with a mere servant.
But she absolutely had to enter Artanus Hall.
And to go inside, an invitation was absolutely necessary.
Especially now that Evangeline had secured Madame Fileren as a perfect witness.
‘I need to get inside to humiliate Hillia before Arpard.’
She glared at Madame Fileren with a terrifying gaze.
At that, Madame Fileren approached Anny slowly, though aggrieved.
“You remember me, don’t you?”
Anny’s expression turned utterly cold.
“Of course. You were fawning beside the Protagonist, and now you’re an opportunist clinging to Miss Evangeline. How predictable.”
Madame Fileren’s complexion turned ashen from the insult delivered by a servant.
But she couldn’t retreat now, not after being insulted.
“The invitation… will you give it to me?”
“Oh my, but didn’t you already receive several invitations?”
“That is….”
She could never admit that she had torn them all up, having mocked the very idea of attending.
“Ah, did you perhaps forget to bring it?”
“Y-yes, that’s it.”
“How unfortunate. I had no idea your memory was so poor. This is quite the predicament.”
Anny went on at length, expressing concern for Madame Fileren’s memory.
Then, as she was about to hand over the invitation, she accidentally dropped it.
Fluttering down, the invitation fell right at Count Beltane’s feet.
“!”
Anny turned around with a bright smile.
“Well then, since I’ve given you the invitation, I’ll be on my way.”
As Anny vanished in a flash, Madame Fileren ground her teeth and reluctantly bent her knees.
Evangeline snatched the invitation she had painstakingly retrieved with rough hands.
Holding it, she strode forward before Count Beltane with swagger.
“Here, this is that precious invitation. Now step aside at once.”
Count Beltane, having witnessed Anny tease Madame Fileren thoroughly before handing over the invitation, stood rigid as if he had seen nothing.
Only after opening the invitation and verifying every single character did he step aside.
He was a true stickler for protocol.
Clang!
At last, the spear that had been blocking the doorway was withdrawn.
Evangeline glared at Count Beltane as she spoke.
“I’ll remember that face of yours.”
“Do as you wish.”
He remained utterly indifferent.
Evangeline deliberately tried to brush past Count Beltane’s shoulder, but the sturdy knight, armored from head to toe, didn’t budge an inch.
“Tch!”
Her insides felt as though they were burning to ash.
Ever since earlier, her plans and expectations kept unraveling.
As if this world itself were mocking her.
Just then, a servant stationed at the entrance began announcing with great fanfare.
“The Countess of Kesling. The Countess of Morel. The Countess of Fileren. The Princess of Isilia….”
He deliberately paused for a moment before calling out the last name.
“…And, the Princess of Rus. They are entering!”
“…!”
Evangeline glared at the servant, her face flushed with humiliation.
That announcement felt like mockery directed at her.
Or as if it were broadcasting her defeat to all.
Evangeline steadied herself.
‘It’s fine. I’m still fine. I haven’t lost. I can still turn this around.’
She still had many cards left to play.
‘I’ll seize on the dress issue to humiliate her and ruin the entire ball!’
And before that, she could even mock the very atmosphere of the gathering itself.
There was no way Hillia could properly host a ball.
‘Besides, the hall will be completely empty anyway.’
All the invitations Hillia had distributed through Madame Fileren had been burned in her fireplace.
The prominent figures of the Capital City’s high society were currently attending the ball at the Empress Palace.
Naturally, Artanus Hall would be completely empty.
Even if what appeared in the sky earlier was truly a dragon, that fact wouldn’t change….
The moment the doors opened and Evangeline stepped inside, her eyes widened in shock.
“What, what is this?”
The hall was teeming with people.
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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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