I’m Going to Change My Husband With a Predatory Marriage - Chapter 68

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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 68

Evangeline found herself lost in thought.
‘Am I dreaming right now?’
The sight unfolding before her eyes was shocking enough to warrant such a question.
She had heard the Empress speak of the Duchess of Axion countless times.
Words that bordered on curses.

“That vile, dreadful old woman! If only she had followed her husband and children to the grave…!”

This was the first time she had witnessed it herself.
The elderly Duchess commanded such dignity that even Evangeline found herself momentarily stunned.
Yet this very woman had just lowered herself to one knee before Hillia.
She recognized the gesture well.
It was the same bow the noblewomen displayed before the Empress.
But the Duchess of Axion—who had never shown such deference even before Empress Isabel herself—had just offered it to someone like Hillia.
‘This makes no sense!’
Furthermore, the dress incident that Evangeline had considered her trump card was not taken seriously at all in a situation dominated by the Western Nobles.
Instead, they all sided with Hillia.
At that moment, Evangeline’s eyes caught sight of Arpard standing at a distance.
He wore a pristine white formal coat adorned with gold-trimmed epaulettes, and his cravat was a blue-violet shade that matched Hillia’s.
His cuffs were also amethyst, which looked different from his usual style.
Arpard’s expression remained unchanged from before.
Neither particularly favorable nor hostile toward anyone.
Simply a gaze that looked down from above, observing all with detachment.
Upon seeing that look in his eyes, Evangeline found reason to hope.
‘Yes, the Duchess and the Western Nobles must be acting this way for Arpard’s position.’
There was no way the Duchess or the great Western Nobles would genuinely kneel before someone like Hillia.
They were simply following Arpard’s will.
Evangeline sprang to her feet.
She ignored Hillia, whom she had tried to undermine, and the Duchess who had stood against her with criticism, as if they did not exist.
She paid no mind to her supporters who had taken her side, nor to Madame Fileren, who had engaged in espionage and given false testimony.
She had eyes only for Arpard.
Her eyes brimmed with transparent tears.
Her expression was utterly pitiful and forlorn.
“Brother!”
No one had anticipated such a development.
Not a soul dared to block her path.
Thus, Evangeline was able to throw herself against Arpard’s chest without any interference.
The texture of the blue-violet cravat caught between my fingertips felt irritating.
It was as though Evangeline were claiming that Arpard belonged to another woman.
But I couldn’t tear or crumple Arpard’s cravat in this moment.
Evangeline buried her face against it instead.
Tears began to slowly seep into the delicate fabric.
Evangeline wasn’t acting purely on emotion.
There was calculation behind it.
She whispered softly, ensuring only Arpard could hear.
“Choose me, brother. I’ll shield you from the Empress. The West is your domain, so I’ll deliver the Capital to you.”
When Arpard’s broad shoulders trembled, Evangeline smiled.

* * *

I had anticipated and prepared for every scheme and action Evangeline might orchestrate, from Plan A to Plan Z.
‘But this wasn’t among them….’
Evangeline crying out “Brother!” and nestling snugly against Arpard like that.
That moment.
The instant I witnessed it….
My chest felt as though it had suddenly seized.
‘What is this?’
My hand trembled without my realizing it.
I was confident.
Confident that I wouldn’t waver or become agitated in any situation.
I had already endured three regressions and experienced every conceivable ordeal.
Three miserable deaths alone. The other experiences were beyond description.
Evangeline’s theatrics before my eyes had grown tiresome.
Yet for some reason, I found myself quite shaken now.
As a result, I couldn’t respond at all, standing rigid like a pillar of salt.
And I felt my heart pounding with unease.
Not the racing of excitement or anticipation, but the anxious response of witnessing something I didn’t want to see and desperately hoped wouldn’t happen.
Then Arpard’s lips parted.
“…ma.”
But the sound was too faint to hear clearly.
“Yes, brother?”
Evangeline looked up at Arpard with tear-filled eyes and asked again.
In that instant, Arpard roughly seized Evangeline’s wrist and yanked her away.
Thud.
My anxiously racing heart felt as though it had plummeted below my ribs.
‘Could it be?’
But contrary to my anxiety, Arpard didn’t pull Evangeline back into his arms or do anything of the sort.
Using centrifugal force, he spun her around sharply.
Then he roughly untied the cravat she had dampened.
And after tossing it to the floor,
he spoke to his secretary Yulken, who stood behind him.
“It’s soiled. A spare.”
At that, Yulken produced an identical blue-violet cravat as if he’d been waiting for this moment.
The same question appeared on the faces of everyone around us, not just mine.
‘Why does he have that?’
But no one dared to open their mouth.
As Yulken moved to tie the cravat, Arpard shook his head.
And his crimson gaze turned toward me.
“…!”
His eyes were like spears, like blades.
They pierced through my chest and seemed to excavate everything hidden within.
I suppressed my shoulders from trembling.
Before him, I felt as though every secret I’d carefully concealed was laid bare.
My lips grew dry, as if he’d seen through my anxiety from moments before.
Then Arpard extended his hand toward me.
“I have no intention of allowing anyone but my wife to touch my body.”
It wasn’t quite at the level of a baby squirrel, but his words still made everyone lose their composure.
He approached me with a bright smile, speaking in a coaxing manner.
“You tie it for me, Hillia.”
I suppressed the strange shock and anxiety from moments before.
And I put on my familiar mask.
Feigning embarrassment.
“Really, you too….”
As I tied the cravat, he whispered so only my ears could hear.
“Won’t you praise me?”
“…What praise?”
Even as I responded, I couldn’t help but notice my voice had softened somewhat.
“You should praise my chastity.”
“…!”
Thank goodness I wasn’t eating anything. I would have spit it out.
“Your… chastity….”
“I avoided another woman’s touch and came to my wife’s side, didn’t I?”
My heart, which had dropped below my ribs moments before, seemed to return to its place.
The anxious pounding that had resonated through my entire body slowly subsided.
“Fine. I’ll praise you for it.”
Well, Evangeline’s face had turned ashen earlier, after all.
And I’ll admit, there was something satisfying about it.
So Arpard took another step forward.
He began whispering strange words into my ear.
“Just with words?”
“But you gave me the praise I asked for?”
“There should be a reward. That’s what makes praise proper.”
“A reward?”
What kind of reward?
My eyes widened, and Arpard tilted his head slightly.
As a result, his smooth, flawless cheek came into view before my eyes.
No matter how many times I see it, I’m always amazed.
‘Wow, not a single pore visible. Is this thanks to dragon bloodline?’
While I entertained such foolish thoughts, Arpard’s urging continued.
“…Won’t you give me a reward?”
I was escaping reality, truthfully.
I wasn’t so foolish as to not understand what Arpard meant by offering his cheek.
‘But we’re in the middle of a banquet right now! The Grand Duchess is here, and the hall is packed with nobility!’
Arpard showed no sign of withdrawing his face without his ‘reward.’
As I’ve said many times, displaying our marital harmony was politically advantageous.
But more than that… it was Evangeline’s expression visible beyond Arpard that moved me.
She wore an expression I had never seen before.
It was different from the glare she’d given when we entered the palace.
It was as though she’d been abandoned by the only being that mattered to her.
The Possessed’s truly wounded face—something I was seeing for the first time.
In that moment, I could not hold back.
Arpard had offered his cheek, but what I stole was his lips.
“…!”

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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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