I’m Going to Change My Husband With a Predatory Marriage - Chapter 80

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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 80

The vast hall fell into a silence so complete it seemed the world itself had stopped breathing.
The Grand Duchess was the first to shatter that quiet.
She conducted herself as though her recent quarrel with the Empress—and the insult she’d received—had never occurred at all.
With a radiant smile, she approached me and offered her congratulations.
“My congratulations, Your Highness.”
“Thank you, Grand Duchess.”
Her convincing performance had proven invaluable.
‘Thanks to her, I successfully baited the Empress.’
Naturally, as the leader of the Western nobility, she had personally overseen the preparation of entry permits and conducted the body searches beforehand.
Yet the reason I had orchestrated the Empress’s outburst—prompting her to question my legitimacy as Crown Princess—was simple.
‘The Empress needed to overreact to provide me with undeniable justification.’
Treason is as dangerous as it is powerful a charge.
Should it fail, the one who raises it suffers equally devastating consequences.
The Empress had attempted to paint me as a traitor, only to have her accusation proven false—and now she would bear the full force of that backlash.
Following her lead, the Western nobles streamed forward in a cascade of formal greetings.
It was, in essence, a celebration of my victory.
“My congratulations, Your Highness.”
“Congratulations to you.”
“I do hope my daughter might prove useful to Your Highness.”
The last was Count Sollenus.
Now that I had assumed control of the Palace household, he was clearly hoping I would look favorably upon his granddaughter.
‘I’m sorry, Count. Isephin already has other duties assigned to her.’
But I could hardly say such a thing, so I merely offered an ambiguous smile in response.
The Empress and Evangeline watched my congratulations with vacant expressions.
The Western nobles who had rushed forward to offer their felicitations now stood between them and me.
Soon, even the central faction—those who had wavered at the Empress’s words—came fluttering back with renewed clamor, drawn toward my side.
“Your Highness! My congratulations. I am from the House of Milkena….”
“What an honor to meet Your Highness, blessed by Artanus himself!”
“Please, allow me to offer my respects!”
Swept along by the tide of people pressing forward, the figures of the Empress and Evangeline vanished from my sight.
This was hardly their complete withdrawal.
‘I have no intention of ending things here.’
My revenge was only just beginning.

* * *

It was clear that Hillia, now recognized as the Crown Princess, had become the true power of the Imperial Palace.
The nobles flipped their allegiances as easily as turning over their palms.
The Empress, who had been watching with a dazed expression, slowly turned her head.
There stood the Emperor with an impassive face.
She saw the seal stamped upon the crumpled documents in her hand.
The Emperor’s seal—a golden dragon with wings spread wide, unmistakably clear.
The very same seal now adorning the Emperor’s finger.
One of the Imperial treasures, enchanted with magic that only the Emperor himself could use.
The presence of the Emperor’s seal meant only one thing.
The Empress approached the Emperor and spoke. Or rather, she confirmed.
“…You knew all along. Your Majesty approved this from the very beginning.”
The Emperor had known about this matter beforehand and had even given his approval.
And he had hidden it from the Empress.
The Empress was pointing out that very fact.
‘No, before that—he lied to me, and from the moment he attended this banquet, he already….’
The Emperor nodded at the Empress’s question.
“Indeed.”
“What is that woman to you that you would go this far?”
“If you hadn’t rushed at your young daughter-in-law so eagerly to cast her out, none of this would have happened.”
And with that, he turned away coldly and commanded.
“Return to your quarters and remain confined until further orders.”
“….”
“It would be better for your honor to walk out on your own rather than be dragged away.”
The Emperor walked away without looking back, growing ever more distant.
Just as it had been when Isabel first entered the hall.
He had gone to stand beside the lovely pink-haired girl.
And his eyes held a tenderness he had never once shown to Isabel or her daughter.
About twenty years ago, when she first saw that man and fell in love.
When she desired to possess him, Isabel learned malice along with love.
A jealousy black and viscous as lava.
That very man had taught it to her.
After Roxellin’s death, and after she ascended to the position of Empress, that malice, which had subsided somewhat, began to boil up fiercely once more.
‘So even after standing by your side for over a decade, I was never truly your wife. Not for a single moment.’
Even knowing how this would unfold, Isabel had not been able to let go of her lingering attachment.
But now, the lingering attachment that remained within her transformed entirely into hatred and vengeance.
‘I will make you regret this. I will take everything from you.’
Isabel cast down the crumpled documents and stared at her empty hands.
Her fingernails had pierced her flesh, leaving her hands covered in blood.
Hands that grasped nothing, now utterly ruined and broken.
It was the same as her own reflection.
Behind her, I heard Evangeline calling out to her.
“Mother. You must withdraw now.”
Evangeline carefully pulled at Empress Isabel’s wrist.
In the end, grasping only empty air, Empress Isabel was led out of the hall by her daughter.
It was a pitiful procession, followed by none save her daughter and attendants.
Yet she still possessed hands.
Even if they held nothing, her nails remained sharp enough to claw at enemies.
They would need to remember that.

* * *

The banquet at Artanus Hall concluded with undeniable success.
I had not merely succeeded in the banquet and gained recognition as the Empress—I had accomplished far more.
I had ensnared Empress Isabel in a trap, forced her into confinement, and seized control of the Palace itself.
‘Once something falls into my hands, I will never let it be taken from me.’
It was likely the exact opposite of what the public had anticipated.
After the banquet ended, the Prince’s Palace erupted into a festival atmosphere.
The moment Arpard and I returned, congratulations poured in from all directions.
“Congratulations, Your Highness!”
“Goodness, I witnessed it myself. Artanus appeared in person to bestow his blessing.”
“News of the Empress spreads throughout the entire Empire!”
“It is too moving for words!”
Arm in arm with Arpard, I received the congratulations and greetings of the palace staff as we made our way to the bedroom.
I smiled and responded, though I retained not a single word of what was said.
My body felt as though it might dissolve from exhaustion.
It was only natural.
Since my return, I had not rested for a single moment.
All for this very instant.
And now that banquet had ended.
Throughout my departure from Artanus Hall and return to the Prince’s Palace, reality felt distant, as though I were walking upon clouds.
All strength drained from my body.
I had managed to endure only by clinging to Arpard.
Unable to collapse, I barely held on.
I forced myself to smile and succeeded in feigning composure before the nobles and palace staff.
Yet my limit was reached just before the Prince’s Palace Bedroom door.
The moment the bedroom door came into view, relief flooded through me, followed by a terrible wave of dizziness.
My legs buckled, and I nearly stumbled forward.
“…Ah!”
I didn’t fall only because of Arpard.
His strong arms wrapped around my waist, holding me steady.
“Are you alright?”
Arpard’s voice, rarely tinged with panic, sounded strangely distant to my ears.
My vision blurred, and I couldn’t see Arpard’s annoyingly handsome face clearly.
Only his deep crimson eyes remained vivid.
Like the monster formed from Arpard’s corpse that I had encountered in the Archmage’s Tower during my third life.
Yet something felt different.
Back then, those crimson eyes had terrified me so deeply….
But now, they brought me comfort instead.
Weakened, I reached out with trembling hands, trying to touch Arpard’s face.
But my hands kept missing their mark.
A feverish voice spilled from my lips.
“Why are you….”
Honestly, I had no idea what I was even saying.
Arpard called my name with an expression of genuine alarm—something so rare for him.
“Hillia?!”
‘Why do you look so anxious? It doesn’t suit you.’
My question never fully escaped my lips.
My consciousness simply cut off abruptly.
“Hillia!!!”
I seemed to hear Arpard’s voice crying out in alarm.
But my consciousness, plunged into deep darkness, perceived nothing more.

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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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