I’m Going to Change My Husband With a Predatory Marriage - Chapter 69

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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 69

The moment I felt Arpard flinch at my words.
Evangeline sensed victory.
‘The Empress is Arpard’s greatest enemy. He must have chosen Hillia to eliminate Ludwig and confront the Empress in the first place.’
If she, his own daughter, helped him eliminate the Empress, there was nothing more advantageous for Arpard than that.
Arpard was a man who had been the Crown Prince since birth.
And he lived to become Emperor.
‘If he had to choose between Hillia and me, it would naturally have to be me!’
By obtaining her, Arpard could compensate for all his weaknesses.
Moreover, if she could seize the information about the imperial family’s madness that the Empress possessed, then….
‘That’s right. If the heroine changes, the hero must change too.’
She could obtain an ideal world for herself.
Lost in flights of imagination, Evangeline failed to hear Arpard’s response.
“…No.”
“Pardon?”
Eyes that looked down upon the most trivial and meaningless thing in the world.
And a small whisper of exasperation.
“Why would I need something like that?”
“…!”
Arpard grasped her wrist with such force it seemed he might break it, then tore his hand away.
She didn’t cry out—not because of the pain, but because what Arpard had said was far more shocking.
After casting her aside without a second thought.
Arpard untied his cravat, which bore the traces of her tears.
“I have no intention of allowing anyone but my wife to touch me.”
And as his secretary presented a fresh cravat, he handed it to Hillia with a tender request.
“Tie it for me, Hillia.”
A warmth that seemed to melt away.
Those eyes belonged to only one woman.
The two exchanged tender glances and whispers as though they were the only two souls in the world.
The moment Hillia thought their eyes had met through the space between them, she kissed Arpard brazenly.
“…!”
A vicious sense of humiliation and black jealousy blazed through Evangeline’s body and soul like consuming flames.

* * *

When the Prince and Princess—the stars of tonight’s banquet—displayed their affection, whispered conversations rippled through the hall.
“I had my doubts when rumors reached even the western territories… but it seems to be true.”
“My, how passionate they are.”
“It reminds me of when we saw the Emperor and the Former Empress together…”
“Hush. The Grand Duchess might hear.”
Admiration and envy circulated quietly among them.
A commotion erupted outside the banquet hall.
“―!”
The western nobles inside the hall exchanged puzzled glances.
But the murmur from outside soon spilled inward, answering their questions.
The servants had begun announcing the arrivals.
“Count Colmen and his wife, their daughter, Baroness Isid, and Lady Krang enter.”
This was merely the beginning.
“Marquis Robelin’s son, Count Canelian and his wife with their daughter, Baron Sovereign, and…”
These were names unfamiliar to the western nobles.
All of them were court aristocrats active in the social circles centered around the Capital City.
They should have been attending Lady Quinifel’s banquet at the Empress’s Palace at this very moment.
Yet they all appeared in the hall with embarrassed expressions, slipping in cautiously.
“This… this is Artanus Hall, isn’t it?”
“How magnificent.”
“It feels like a dream, stepping into Artanus Hall.”
“Goodness! Wait, isn’t that the Dowager Duchess of Axion?”
“…All the influential western nobles are here…!”
“Ahem. I’ve always wanted to visit this place.”
They all shared one thing in common—each held an invitation card that Hillia had arranged to be distributed beforehand by the Prince’s Palace attendants.
The western nobles spoke with indignation, raising their voices.
“How dare they show their faces here so suddenly?”
“Right? Wasn’t the Empress’s Palace banquet in full swing?”
“Hmph. They must have seen it with their own eyes—the miracle of Dragon Artanus that darkened the very sky just moments ago!”
“Indeed, our Princess received the blessing of none other than Artanus himself…!”
They were savoring the rewards of their connection to the Grand Duchess.
They had been forced to enter the palace in secret, transported like cargo aboard magically-altered ships and carriages.
Even within the Imperial Palace, they had to move like thieves.
The western nobles began to boast freely to those who had arrived so belatedly, as if in surrender.
“They certainly have thick faces.”
“Indeed they do.”
The hall was divided as if someone had drawn a line straight down the middle.
On one side: Arpard and Hillia, surrounded by the western nobles and the Grand Duchess.
On the other: the central aristocrats who had arrived late but were numerous, forming their own faction.
A subtle tension hung between the two groups.
“….”
“….”
Evangeline’s allies sought help from the central nobles who had arrived late.
It was the Countess of Fileren who spoke first.
She had already openly betrayed Hillia, leaving her with no other choice.
If Evangeline fell—or even if she didn’t—her own downfall was already sealed.
‘If I bring down Hillia Delphin now, there might be a chance for me!’
Even as she sensed the impossibility of such a thing, Madame Fileren could not give up.
“Look at this! Isn’t it strange that Evangeline’s dress and that insignificant maid’s dress are identical?”
“I, I suppose so?”
Seizing upon the hesitant noble, Madame Fileren pressed her argument further.
Nearly beside herself, she pointed an accusing finger at Hillia.
“She threatened me! She demanded I steal the design of Evangeline’s dress. She said she would dress this maid in the same gown to humiliate her! Is that not outrageous?”
Those who had witnessed the dragon’s eclipse and slipped away from the Empress’s Palace to gauge the atmosphere were like bats in the darkness.
Such people could not possibly miss the subtle tension between Arpard, Hillia, and Evangeline.
Two people clinging together like an affectionate couple, obvious to all eyes.
And Evangeline, standing alone with a vacant expression.
No one was ignorant of how the situation had unfolded.
They withdrew, watching Madame Fileren’s desperate flailing.
“W-well, are they really that similar? I can’t tell.”
“Green dresses aren’t uncommon, are they?”
“R-right. I’m wearing green myself.”
They made desperate efforts to take no one’s side.
‘I’ve already shown my face at Lady Quinifel’s gathering, so I should keep my distance here too.’
‘So what happens now? Which side should I align with?’
It was the moment when the central nobles hesitated, gauging both sides.
Hillia stepped forward.
Toward the innermost part of Artanus Hall, where the golden sculpture of Dragon Artanus was displayed.
She opened her mouth toward the Throne, which sat upon twenty-four steps.
“Your Majesty.”
The passage leading to the Throne was shrouded by silk curtains.
Gasps of shock echoed throughout the hall.
“Y-Your Majesty?”
“Could he have already arrived?”
“Then the rumor about the Emperor attending was true?”
As exclamations of astonishment passed between them, Hillia pulled Arpard forward toward the Throne.
She bowed deeply and spoke.
“I pay my respects to the regent of the great Artanus, the sovereign of the earth, and the sole master of the Istrid Empire.”
Arpard simply inclined his head appropriately without further words.
With that, the curtains that had concealed the Throne swept open dramatically.
And upon the throne, beneath the gaze of the Dragon Artanus, sat its master.
“It truly is His Majesty!”
“The Emperor!”
“We are honored to behold the representative of the great Dragon Artanus!”
Following in the wake of Hillia and Arpard, everyone in the banquet hall prostrated themselves in unison.
And all of them understood.
‘The outcome had been decided from the very beginning!’
Hillia’s victory.

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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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