A Change of Husband - Chapter 108

“Hoo.”

 

It had been an excessively tense meeting.

 

Duke Grandier had attended the meeting thinking that all the nobles had already agreed to ease the royal marriage requirements.

 

However, the opposition from the progressive faction, which he thought supported the king, was unexpectedly strong.

 

At first, he wondered if there was some issue or if they were just trying to buy time, or maybe it was part of a plan to suppress the conservative faction. But there was no reason to delay something that had already been agreed upon.

 

It seemed that internal conflict had broken out among the progressives due to suspicion of the late queen being considered a strong candidate.

 

“This is troubling, really.”

 

Duke Grandier wiped his sweat and murmured to himself.

 

Even Esperad, who had appeared indifferent and merely observed the situation, only began to act once a chamberlain whispered something in his ear. That must have been when he realized how much time had passed.

 

He managed to calm the progressives while siding with the conservatives, which temporarily resolved the situation…

 

“We’ve arrived, Master.”

 

Only when the coachman’s voice reached him did Duke Grandier get up.

 

Exhausted and wanting to relax as soon as possible, he stepped down from the carriage to head into his mansion — and froze on the spot.

 

“What in the world…”

 

It was such a bewildering sight that he doubted his own eyes, staring blankly at the manor for a long while.

 

As if waiting for him, the butler rushed over and spoke urgently when he saw the duke.

 

“Master, a royal envoy sent by His Majesty has arrived.”

 

“An envoy? What for…?”

 

The usually peaceful Grandier estate was surrounded as if under siege by knights bearing the royal crest.

 

It was enough to unsettle Duke Grandier.

 

“I don’t know the full details either, but His Majesty said he had something to deliver. They’ve been waiting for about an hour now.”

 

“An hour ago…?”

 

That was before the meeting even ended.

 

If there was an issue, Esperad could have called him separately afterward to explain. But even though they made eye contact before leaving the hall, Esperad hadn’t said a word.

 

That made the whole situation even more confusing. He had no idea what the king intended.

 

Regardless, he needed to go inside quickly and understand what was happening. His wife and children might be scared.

 

Duke Grandier hurried into the mansion, following the butler.

 

“I’ve been waiting for you, Duke.”

 

The envoy turned out to be none other than Sir Edgar Villian, a knight of the royal order and known to be very close to the king.

 

Seeing his wife, children, and even Asilie gathered there helped calm his nerves a little.

 

Duke Grandier asked as calmly as possible,
“What is going on, Sir Edgar?”

 

Just as Edgar was about to explain, he seemed to change his mind. Instead, he silently handed the duke a royal decree from Esperad.

 

With trembling hands, Duke Grandier accepted the letter and read it. His eyes widened in shock. Even after seeing it, he couldn’t believe it.

 

“…Is, is this real?”

 

“Yes, it is. His Majesty wishes to take Lady Grandier as the Queen of Astel.”

 

It was a marriage proposal.

 

And not long after her divorce from Prince Bonaparte — to Asilie.

 

“What on earth…”

 

Duke Grandier let out a troubled sigh.

 

Now that the law easing marriage requirements for royals had passed, there was no legal issue with Asilie marrying again.

 

Still, if Esperad had given some kind of hint beforehand, it would’ve been easier to accept. Despite having had private meetings with the king for political reasons, he had never mentioned this once. That made it even more shocking.

 

Of course, his opinion wasn’t the most important thing now.

 

“My lady.”

 

He turned to look at Asilie.

 

He wondered if she had known something, but her surprised face showed she hadn’t expected this either.

 

Esperad had made it clear that no matter what the world said, he wanted her by his side. So it wasn’t completely unexpected that a moment like this would come — just not this soon.

 

The royal ball had only just ended, and the news of her formal divorce from Joseph had just been made public.

 

‘I expected him not to back down, but still…’

 

Esperad was someone who had waited decades just to meet her again.

 

That longing was probably so deep it couldn’t even be described. But Asilie wasn’t sure if now was truly the right time for either of them.

 

She wasn’t even sure if this proposal was something that had been discussed among the king’s advisors. In fact, it felt so sudden she wondered if they even knew about it.

 

“The decision is yours, my lady.”

 

Only when Duke Grandier spoke did she snap out of her daze.

 

Now that she thought about it, Asilie had always doubted whether her presence was truly helpful to Esperad.

 

Even when she recalled the alternate timeline, there had only been one moment when she was certain she could be of help to him:

 

When she turned down marriage with Joseph and chose Esperad instead.

 

‘Back then, I knew. That if we got married, it would somehow help him secure the throne.’

 

But the current Asilie couldn’t see the future. She didn’t know what would happen.

 

And neither did Esperad. Considering the timeline, even if he had traveled from the future, it was likely a future without Asilie.

 

The future with her in it — that might change everything. So even for him, this was a gamble.

 

“I…”

 

Still, even if the future was completely dark and uncertain—

 

“I’ll accept it.”

 

There was only one person she could trust no matter what: Esperad.

 

If she couldn’t trust the man who endured a lifetime just to find her again, then who could she trust?

 

There had to be a good reason for Esperad’s choice.

 

Asilie pushed aside all the complicated thoughts that rushed in and focused solely on the man she loved. The decision wasn’t even that difficult.

 

“If the lady is willing, then I suppose it’s a good thing… Sir Villian, did His Majesty say anything about the engagement period?”

 

Shaken by the sudden proposal and immediate acceptance, Duke Grandier tried to compose himself and asked Edgar.

 

Even though the feelings of the couple were the most important part of a marriage, the proper steps couldn’t be ignored.

 

As Asilie’s guardian and head of the Grandier family, he had to confirm the procedure.

 

“His Majesty will inform you of the engagement period later. However, Lady Grandier must now be protected as a member of the royal family, starting today. So we must escort her to the palace immediately.”

 

“Right now?”

 

“Yes, that’s correct.”

 

“But she hasn’t even packed…”

 

“Someone will be sent later to gather her things. What matters most right now is ensuring Lady Grandier’s safety.”

 

It was all happening so suddenly that he couldn’t even think straight.

 

Still, he could understand why Esperad was so intent on protecting Asilie.

 

The conservative nobles had only agreed to loosen the royal marriage rules to tie Esperad down by attaching their candidate, the former queen Cordelia, to him.

 

Now, if they found out Asilie had suddenly taken that place…

 

‘They’ll always attack the easiest target first.’

 

And in Astel, divorced women were seen as disgraced.

 

Even some friendly nobles had once cautiously asked him what he planned to do with Asilie whom they viewed as the family’s “shame.”

 

The conservatives likely believed Duke Grandier had no intention of protecting her. They wouldn’t hesitate to strike at her, even if it meant opposing him.

 

‘Wait… is that why they kept stalling the meeting today…?’

 

He didn’t know why he was thinking about her so much, but a sudden thought crossed his mind—that he might have already instructed the progressive nobles to safely escort Asilie.

 

“For now… understood. My lady, would you be alright going straight to the palace?”

 

“Yes, that’s fine. I’ll also send a message through someone separately.”

 

As soon as Asilie replied, Edgar began moving the knights.

 

And so, less than ten minutes after Duke Grandier arrived at the mansion, the carriage carrying Asilie was already on its way to the royal palace.

 

“When you arrive at the palace, Madam Marce, the head lady-in-waiting, will be attending to you. I’ve also heard that preparations for the royal wedding will begin immediately starting tomorrow. That’s all I’ve heard, and I don’t know anything about the engagement period. Madam Marce will probably explain more details.”

 

“Thank you, Sir Villian.”

 

“…You know who I am? Come to think of it, I’ve been so distracted I forgot to properly greet you…”

 

At Edgar’s words, Asilie suddenly realized that in this world, the two of them were supposed to be complete strangers.

 

But there was no need to feel awkward. Since Esperad’s rise to the throne, many nobles had taken an interest in those close to him.

 

Among them, Edgar—known to be one of his closest—was someone it wouldn’t be strange for her to recognize.

 

“I know your face, at least.”

 

At Asilie’s response, Edgar nodded as if it made sense.

 

“I see. In any case, let me introduce myself again. I’m Edgar Villian.”

 

“I’m Asilie of House Grandier. It’s a pleasure to meet you like this.”

 

Although they formally exchanged greetings, in truth, there wasn’t much else to talk about between them.

 

Asilie was the only one who remembered anything about Edgar, and even back then, they hadn’t been particularly close. So there wasn’t much to continue the conversation with.

 

“I… have a question.”

 

Just as she was thinking that, Edgar suddenly spoke to her.

 

Asilie had assumed the conversation was over and had been looking out the window, so she turned toward him with a puzzled expression.

 

“To me?”

 

“I happened to find out that the mage—Lydia—is your sister.”

 

Asilie nodded immediately at those words.

 

Since Lydia was currently under Esperad’s protection, Edgar was probably aware of her.

 

“Yes, that’s right. Is something wrong?”

 

“It’s not exactly a problem…”

 

“But?”

 

A brief silence followed.

 

At that moment, an image flashed in Asilie’s mind—the odd atmosphere she had sensed between Lydia and Edgar the last time she saw them in the other world.

 

“…I’m in charge of guarding her.”

 

“Oh, I see.”

 

“So I thought I should know what kind of food she likes…”

 

Asilie couldn’t understand what liking certain foods had to do with guarding someone.

 

“Food…?”

 

At her confused response, Edgar suddenly realized what he had just said, and his face turned bright red.

 

“Ah—n-no, never mind! Just in case! In case it might be poisoned or something!”

 

“What poison?”

 

“Well, you know, poison is… in dangerous situations, sometimes…”

 

He tried to make up an excuse, but it was clear he was struggling to find the right words, as his thoughts became jumbled.

 

In the end, as he stammered through a string of awkward explanations, he ended up practically shouting.

 

“Forget it!”

 

Then he turned away.

 

Asilie stared at his back with a dumbfounded expression.

 

She kept watching him like that until they arrived at the palace. For quite a while.

 

 

After guns became a stable invention and their deadly power was recognized, the gun industry continued to advance.

 

Because of that, large-scale facilities—ones you could call factories—had been built in great numbers on the outskirts of Astel’s capital.

 

However, even these factories, built for productivity, became silent and empty at night.

 

Due to the guns’ overwhelming destructive power, nighttime manufacturing was prohibited. In the dark, workers might lose focus, and it would be hard to monitor the process.

 

‘I think I should put it here.’

 

Inside one of those factories, where no one should’ve been, a figure moved in secret.

 

‘Or maybe over there would be better?’

 

Jonathan looked around, but sensing movement nearby, he quickly ducked down.

 

They were mercenaries hired to guard the factory.

 

“Why do we have to keep doing these stupid patrols?”

 

“They’re probably just trying to make sure we’re earning our pay. Like anyone’s really going to come here.”

 

“Exactly. I’m so tired. Let’s just hang around here and kill some time.”

 

“What if the supervisor suddenly shows up…?”

 

“He wouldn’t bother. Too lazy to come all the way out here.”

 

But perhaps because guns were such deadly weapons, or maybe because small-time thieves were too scared, not a single incident had ever happened since the factory was built.

 

The mercenaries who had guarded the place since its opening knew that better than anyone.

 

Even during this eerie pre-dawn hour, they chatted casually, confident that nothing would happen. That belief was built from experience.

 

After a long while, the group sitting on the floor finally stood and began walking toward another area.

 

Only then could Jonathan, who had been crouching behind a crate for over an hour, finally straighten up.

 

‘This should be good enough.’

 

Jonathan was very familiar with the gun factory.

 

Before coming here, he had already figured out where the bomb would be most effective.

 

Some machines had been rearranged since the last time he was here, but not enough to ruin his plan. So, he quickly planted the bomb and scanned his surroundings.

 

‘There shouldn’t be any problems.’

 

The bomb wouldn’t go off unless ignited.

 

While it could be seen as an advantage that this deadly weapon could be tested on such a large scale, sometimes Jonathan found himself overwhelmed by the power of the weapons he had created.

 

‘This isn’t the time to get sentimental.’

 

Hearing faint movement in the distance, Jonathan hurriedly ducked behind a pillar and lay flat on the ground.

 

He planned to use a secret passage that workers used to avoid the supervisor’s eyes.

 

And to avoid being caught, he had to move quickly.

 

After all, dawn was already breaking.