I’m Going to Change My Husband With a Predatory Marriage - Chapter 97

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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 97

‘This is incredible!’
Melissa Kemel suppressed the trembling caused by joy and tension, struggling to maintain her composure.
Of all people, it was one of the three ducal houses known to be second only to the Imperial Family.
The Countess and the Young Count from that duchy had come to the Imperial Capital and chosen her atelier as their first destination.
This was an opportunity she absolutely could not miss.
Melissa Kemel cleared out her entire atelier to receive the Countess and the Young Count.
The displaced customers voiced their complaints, but they all fell silent at the mention of the Muzen ducal house.
Melissa approached with a radiant smile, personally carrying tea as she inquired.
“It is an honor to receive the Countess and Young Count. What sort of dress have you come seeking?”
Beside her, Melissa Kemel’s Daughter quickly presented a catalog.
The Young Count accepted the booklet and opened it before his mother.
When their fingertips brushed as Muzen, the Young Count, handed it over, Melissa Kemel’s Daughter could not help but blush deeply.
No one in this room paid attention to that. Not even her mother.
The Young Count’s attention was fixed solely upon his mother.
“What do you think, Mother?”
“Hmm.”
The Countess, who had been studying the catalog intently, frowned slightly.
“Could we see dress samples? The finest ones from this atelier.”
At that, Melissa exclaimed with delight.
“Of course!”
Staff members rushed out and arranged dozens of dress samples draped over small mannequins in rows.
The Countess’s expression upon reviewing them was far from satisfied.
She fingered the amethyst earrings dangling at her ear and murmured.
“…It’s not here. I heard this was the place.”
Then her son asked directly on the Countess’s behalf.
“I would like to see the fabric and design samples for the blue-violet dress that Her Highness the Crown Princess wore at the banquet in Artanus Hall.”
“…I beg your pardon?”
Melissa Kemel’s face went rigid.
She had heard this same question countless times before.
Each time, she had deflected the question ambiguously.
But the customer standing before her now was someone she absolutely could not afford to lose.
“That is….”
What on earth could I say?
That we did not make that dress, so we have no fabric or samples in that color?
If I said that, all the lies I have told until now would be exposed.
‘What… what do I do?’
Cold sweat trickled down her spine.
It was then.
A commotion erupted from the entrance of the closed shop.
“What’s happening?”
A customer had arrived at precisely the right moment, as if to rescue Melissa Kemel.
“A maid sent by Her Highness the Crown Princess has arrived!”
“What?”
Melissa Kemel’s face brightened as though she had found her savior.

* * *

Arpard was consumed by serious contemplation.
So serious, in fact, that he had made no progress on his documents for over thirty minutes.
Yulken watched with an expression full of displeasure, timing his moment.
‘Just one more minute of this negligence, and he won’t have reviewed a single document in thirty minutes.’
He had no intention of staying silent.
He was planning to strike with all his might at precisely the right moment.
Just as Yulken was about to open his mouth, Arpard beat him to it.
“Felix.”
“…Huh? Yes?!”
Yulken was startled.
It was the first time Arpard had ever called him by his name.
Yulken glanced outside for a moment, then spoke.
“The moon isn’t hanging in the sky in place of the sun, yet I find myself doubting my own hearing. Did you just call me Felix?”
“Yes.”
“Really? You truly did?!”
Had Arpard given him even the slightest opening, Yulken would have cried out in madness and summoned the palace servants.
“…It’s a story about a friend I know.”
Yulken’s expression grew even more bewildered.
“Your Highness, you don’t have any friends, do you?”
Arpard’s crimson eyes pierced through Yulken with a glare.
But Yulken remained unfazed.
Arpard having a friend? That would be as likely as the moon hanging in the sky during the day.
“Let’s just say it’s an acquaintance’s matter.”
“Very well.”
He wanted to press further, but he held back.
‘Usually, when someone says something like this, it’s always a prelude to their own affairs.’
It was intriguing.
And what followed matched Yulken’s expectations perfectly.
“Well, an acquaintance of mine… got married not long ago.”
…said the newlywed who had married about a month prior.
“Apparently, the marriage happened rather suddenly and in quite an unusual manner.”
…said the man himself, who had married through abduction.
Yulken wore a lukewarm smile.
“Yes, Your Highness, what of this acquaintance of yours?”
“Because of the circumstances, he apparently only just realized he never gave his wife a betrothal gift or proposal present. In such a case… what do you think his wife would feel?”
Yulken’s answer came out faster than thought, a spinal reflex.
“Who is this shameless thief?”
“…!”
Upon hearing through the subsequent conversation that this shameless thief had actually received a betrothal gift from his wife, Yulken’s assessment became even more scathing.
“Brazen, unprincipled, and utterly devoid of conscience—a man who brings shame to all men. I didn’t know there was another human like Grand Duke Kieran.”
“….”
“Thank goodness he’s merely an acquaintance and not a close friend of yours. Never associate with such a wretch.”
Arpard’s expression grew serious.
“…Is it really that bad?”
Yulken nodded firmly without mercy.
“Yes. If my sister had married such a scoundrel…”
“Then what?”
“I’m certain not just I, but everyone around us would be carrying tea sets and doing everything possible to get them divorced!”
Yulken’s fist cut through the air.
“I suspect his wife is probably contemplating divorce right about now.”
“…!”
Lately, Yulken had witnessed many strange sights, but this was among the rarest of situations.
‘My word. The Crown Prince’s face turning pale. It’s worth living long to see such a thing.’
Arpard rushed out in silence, leaving Yulken behind with a heart pounding with intrigue and amusement.
Where Arpard was going was obvious without even looking.
‘He’s rushing to Her Highness.’
Yulken felt slightly disappointed in his master.
‘Even though he was smitten at first sight and bewildered by the abduction, he didn’t even give her a wedding ring. I didn’t expect that… tsk tsk.’
Yet Yulken was thrilled with anticipation about how events would unfold afterward.
Contrary to expectations, the conclusion could not be known quickly.
Arpard, who had rushed to Hillia’s bedroom, found her absent and ended up looking like a dog chasing chickens.

* * *

It was Anny who visited the Kemel Atelier.
She stood before the shop, brimming with cold fury.
Noticing there were more people outside than inside the store, she deliberately chose this spot. She needed as many witnesses as possible.
‘They tried to humiliate Her Highness, and now they dare to profit using her name?’
The maids immediately urged her to expose the truth and punish the Kemel Atelier.
But Hillia merely smiled with unwavering confidence.

“Not yet. Wait a little longer.”

And today, Hillia’s permission and command finally came down.
Anny was brimming with enthusiasm.
Melisha Kemeul’s reaction was strange—she had naturally expected to tremble and face punishment.
“Welcome, Maid!”
Didn’t she look as though she were greeting a savior?
Melissa Kemel opened her mouth, her voice carefully lowered.
“I was thinking of the gifts I presented to Her Highness the Crown Princess….”
Anny cut her off coldly.
“That’s exactly why I’m here.”
“Pardon?”
As Anny nodded, palace servants rushed forward and set items down on the ground.
Melissa recognized what they were.
‘These are the gifts I sent!’
A jeweled box and a torso draped in a glittering dress.
Hillia had sent them back as they were. Melissa’s complexion turned deathly pale.
‘Wait, she sent the gifts back, which means…!’
That was when Anny spoke, her tone dripping with hostility.
“Her Highness says she cannot accept the gifts you sent and is returning them. I’m sure you understand why.”
“This is… merely an expression of my loyalty…!”
“By the way, there’s been a strange rumor going around lately?”
“A strange rumor, you say?”
“That you made the dress Her Highness wore at the Artanus Hall banquet.”
“What, what?!”
Anny spoke loudly, ensuring as many people as possible would hear.
“Ridiculous. The dress you made, copying Evangeline Roux, the Viscountess—I wore that instead of Her Highness.”
“…!”
Shocked realization and contempt for Melissa began to spread through the crowd.

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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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