I’m Going to Change My Husband With a Predatory Marriage - Chapter 77

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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 77

I understood perfectly well what the Empress was demanding of me.
‘She wants me to bow first.’
Of course, that was the proper protocol according to Imperial etiquette.
In fact, I had wielded that very rule to bring the Duchess of Axion to heel.
‘But right now, I cannot bow before the Empress, nor can I kneel.’
As I’ve said repeatedly, today was an extraordinarily important day.
I had become the Empress through a marriage by abduction—a weakness I carried with me.
Because of that, for more than a month after my wedding to Arpard, I had not been properly recognized as the Empress.
Only after the Dragon’s Eclipse and everything that followed had I finally been acknowledged as the Empress.
‘I cannot allow myself to bow before anyone else. Not even if that person is the Empress.’
The situation now was different from when I had shown respect upon the Emperor’s arrival.
That had been borrowing the Emperor’s authority and prestige.
But if I bowed to the Empress now, it would have the opposite effect.
It would align perfectly with what Evangeline had been trying to accomplish—tarnishing my reputation today.
‘They really are mother and daughter, after all.’
So I had deliberately ignored the Empress’s command to kneel, pretending not to understand.
I continued to smile sweetly while needling her further.
“Since His Majesty the Emperor has already acknowledged me, my position as the Empress is now beyond question… but still, having the mistress of the Palace recognize and congratulate me feels quite different. It truly delights me.”
The Empress barely maintained her composure.
But far behind her, Evangeline’s expression had twisted into something ugly.
It was as though Evangeline were reflecting the Empress’s true feelings.
And no wonder—what I had just said was bound to be deeply humiliating to the Empress.
‘I need nothing but the Emperor’s recognition, nor do I have use for anything else. But since your recognition and congratulations please me, I shall accept them graciously.’
That was essentially what I had conveyed.
The Empress then replied in a voice that had grown noticeably colder, her anger barely concealed.
“…It seems you are in dire need of proper instruction. Every noblewoman in the Empire must offer her respects first when meeting the Empress.”
The Empress lifted her chin sharply and issued me a command.
“Do it now.”
I could feel her teeth grinding, her frustration palpable.
I continued to smile brightly as I responded.
“I had understood you would not be attending tonight’s banquet, so I was quite surprised. To think you rushed here so eagerly to receive my respects! You must have been looking forward to meeting me so very much. I am truly honored.”
I was being openly sarcastic.
‘You did nothing but try to sabotage the banquet, and now you rush here demanding my respect? How shameless can you be?’
Anyone who wasn’t completely dull would have understood my meaning.
Throughout my cutting remarks, my face remained the picture of a tender and joyful new bride.
The Empress’s face flushed slightly with anger and shame, but she did not retreat easily.
“Yes. I have been looking forward to it. Very, very much indeed.”
Her obsession with extracting a bow from me at any cost was almost repulsive.
That was when it happened.
A voice interjected, as if it had been waiting for this very moment.
“Enough.”
Few could interrupt a conversation between the Empress and the Crown Princess, especially during such a vicious clash of wills.
Among those few, only one person could speak to the Empress in such a manner.
“…Your Majesty?”
The Emperor had positioned himself between me and the Empress.
He faced the Empress directly, with Arpard and me at his back.
‘To anyone watching, it looks as though he’s confronting the Empress while protecting me.’
It was perfect.
Exactly as I had anticipated.
When I had previously asked the Emperor to host a banquet at Artanus Hall.
I had also arranged for this moment in advance.

“And there is one more thing I wish to request of you, Your Majesty.”
“You certainly have many desires.”
“I am greedy by nature. That is precisely why I intend to protect my husband at all costs.”
“…And what is it that you want?”
“If I successfully host the banquet and complete my proof… then I ask that you take my side once.”
“Take your side? Is someone going to quarrel with you?”
“Yes, so no matter who my opponent is, you must stand with me.”

The Emperor’s expression was bewildered.

“You speak only in riddles.”
“When that time comes, Your Majesty will understand why I said this, and about whom.”

I finished speaking with absolute conviction in my eyes.

“Only then… will Your Majesty be able to save your son.”

The Emperor did not provide a definitive answer on that matter.
However, he clearly remembered what I had said back then.
Moreover, it seemed evident that my accomplishments thus far had moved the Emperor’s heart.
‘So he intervened at precisely the right moment.’
Under normal circumstances, the Emperor would not have involved himself in this dispute between the Empress and me.
That was precisely why the Empress now gazed at him with such a wounded and betrayed expression.
The Emperor had not elevated Isabel to Empress out of love.
Yet having chosen her as Empress, he believed she deserved the corresponding treatment and authority that came with the position.
In particular, he entrusted her entirely with matters of High Society and the Palace.
‘She is the Empress, after all.’
That was why he had not directly intervened even during the disputes between the Grand Duchess and the Empress.
Considering the Emperor’s nature, this intervention was decidedly unprecedented.
The Empress stared at the Emperor with a face full of rage, grievance, and betrayal.
“Your Majesty!”
How could he do such a thing?
But the Emperor remained resolute.
“On a fine day such as this, to intimidate a child? That is hardly a pleasant sight to behold.”
The Empress’s lips trembled violently.
She barely managed to steady her voice enough to pose her question.
Had she lost control of her emotions even slightly, she might have screamed.
“…As Empress and as your superior, I merely sought to instruct her in her shortcomings. Is this not rightfully the Empress’s duty and prerogative?”
At this, the Emperor’s brow furrowed.
“If you insist so much on propriety and etiquette, then the Empress has forgotten something.”
“Pardon?”
The Emperor’s voice was utterly frigid—colder even than when he had intervened between the Empress and me.
“In this place, who should receive respect before all others?”
“…!”
If one were to invoke rank and authority, the Emperor came first.
Unless Arpard were to appear, this was an immutable principle.
“And unless you entered alongside me, the Empress should have shown respect to me first. Yet I did not see fit to emphasize or demand it.”
“…Your Majesty!”
The Empress cried out as though wronged, but his words were true.
Though they were husband and wife, there existed a hierarchy even between the Emperor and Empress.
Of course, this was the protocol when emphasizing the relationship of sovereign and subject over that of spouses.
Therefore, the Emperor invoking this to suppress the Empress meant the conflict between them was severe.
So the Emperor was issuing a warning.
‘Unless you wish to become my enemy, cease this at once.’
To anyone watching, it was clear the Emperor had taken my side before the Empress.
I heard Arpard mutter softly.
“Is he really using some kind of brainwashing magic?”
I smiled and shook my head.
“That’s hardly the case.”
And I whispered the truth to Arpard alone.
“It’s simply because His Majesty cherishes his one and only son.”
Arpard’s smooth brow furrowed sharply.
“…You lack talent for jest, Ana.”
“It’s not a jest.”
But Arpard showed no sign of believing me whatsoever.
Regardless, this situation alone was as good as announcing it to everyone present.
That the Emperor intended to empower me, not the Empress.
That was when it happened.
The Empress, looking thoroughly wounded, fixed me with a savage glare.
Wait—the Emperor was the one who fought, so why is she directing her anger at me?
And she cried out.
“I have come to this place to denounce a heinous crime committed by that child’s audacious actions, Your Majesty!”
“A heinous crime? What are you talking about?”
The Empress paused deliberately before responding, amplifying the destructive impact of the words to follow.
“…Treason.”
The final keyword that would prove catastrophic for her own position.
The Empress herself had spoken the word ‘treason’ aloud.
I lifted the corners of my mouth into a smile.
‘I knew this would happen.’
Naturally, I had already anticipated this situation and completed all necessary preparations.

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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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