A Change of Husband - Chapter 116

 

The vile voice was full of murderous intent.

 

Just one sentence was enough to realize that he was trying to kill her.

 

But why? Just because she abandoned her husband who had become disabled and ran back to her family?

 

“Why are you doing this?”

 

If the roles were reversed, Joseph would have done the same.

 

Not long ago, the fact that she had an affair with him had been revealed, and her reputation within the Bonaparte family had crumbled.

 

Even the head maid, who was reinstated the moment Asilie returned to the Grandier family, gave her contemptuous looks every time they crossed paths in the hallway.

 

And now that Geoffrey had fallen from his horse and couldn’t secure his position anymore, wasn’t it natural for Monica to pull away quickly?

 

They hadn’t even married for love. Their marriage had a purpose beyond romance. Now that purpose was gone. Even if she had been married to Geoffrey for seven years, there was no reason for her to die just for changing her mind.

 

That’s why Monica felt wronged.

 

“Why are you doing this? You’re asking because you really don’t know?!”

 

Joseph’s face twisted when he realized the resentment in his voice. As he thought again about the reason behind everything he had planned, anger surged within him.

 

He had lived without a care in the world. As the heir of the prestigious Bonaparte family and a social darling, he had been admired by all.

 

But look at him now.

 

“Answer me! Are you asking because you really don’t know?!”

 

He had lost all sexual function, planned to kill his own younger brother, and now, he was standing in front of a woman he had once slept with, trying to kill her.

 

Who had made him this way?

 

Why did he have to go this far?

 

“If it weren’t for you filthy worms, my life wouldn’t have been ruined! Aaaagh!”

 

Monica looked at Joseph with terrified eyes.

 

“What… what are you even talking about…?”

 

“Why did I tell you to kill that woman?”

 

“…What?”

 

“Even if that woman had filthy, dirty blood mixed in, the child from her would’ve secured my place as heir. That’s why I told you to kill her and pushed the daughter of the Count of Bourbon onto me. Isn’t that right?”

 

“What?! What are you talking about? You also wanted the Count of Bourbon’s daughter!”

 

“That’s because I didn’t know she became infertile due to her promiscuous behavior! At least her blood wasn’t dirty!”

 

Very few people knew that the Count of Bourbon’s daughter had become infertile from an abortion she had while still a virgin. If someone knew this much, there was a high chance they had discovered other past schemes too.

 

Even so, Monica feigned ignorance.

 

“…I don’t know anything about that.”

 

“You don’t? Ha!”

 

Joseph glared at her like he was about to kill her, then sneered.

 

He didn’t need to explain why she had to die. He could just kill her.

 

“That’s not really the important part.”

 

“What… do you mean?”

 

“A wife must take responsibility for her husband’s actions. Don’t tell me you didn’t know what that bastard did to me?”

 

Monica’s face turned pale.

 

He had been wounded far from any vital area and yet suddenly lost his sexual function—it was suspicious. But Joseph was so dumb that she never imagined he’d find out the truth.

 

But once he knew, it wouldn’t have been hard for him to want revenge.

 

“That was him! I found out way later!”

 

“Shut up. That’s why that bastard is now a cripple lying in bed, isn’t he?”

 

“Are you saying… you’re the one who did that to him?”

 

“Who else? Heh heh heh…”

 

Joseph giggled without a trace of guilt on his face.

 

She could feel it—he wouldn’t hesitate to act.

 

But Monica truly felt wronged. At the very least, she didn’t know that Joseph would end up impotent. She only found out after everything was already done.

 

‘Of course, even if I had known, I probably wouldn’t have stopped it.’

 

Still, dying for something unrelated was too much. Wasn’t it unfair to her?

 

She hadn’t sneaked into the stables this late at night, leaving her injured husband behind, just to be treated this way.

 

“P-Please spare me. I really didn’t do anything! I only introduced the Count of Bourbon’s daughter because he told me to. How could I have known? What could I have known?!”

 

“Shut up. Even if you didn’t do anything, you have to die here.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Why? Because you married that bastard—ugh!”

 

As Joseph spoke with a creepy grin and tried to threaten Monica—

 

She found her chance, kicked him hard between the legs, then struck his knee with another kick and knocked him down.

 

“Aaagh!”

 

Then she slapped him hard across the face.

 

Slap—

 

“Ugh!”

 

His head snapped to the side from the force.

 

But she wasn’t finished. Monica raised her hand again and struck him across the other cheek.

 

Slap—

 

“You think I have to die because of him? Ha!”

 

Just like the doctor had said, Joseph’s body hadn’t recovered completely from the gunshot wound. If he had, Monica wouldn’t have been able to overpower him like this.

 

As he tried to get up, Monica pulled a small dagger from her clothes.

 

“Gasp!”

 

Joseph gasped and backed away when he saw the blade glinting in the light.

 

“If you come any closer, I’ll kill you. You know I’m serious, right?”

 

“F-Fine. I won’t do anything. D-Don’t hurt me.”

 

It was ridiculous for him to say that, considering he had just tried to kill her, but in a life-or-death moment, pride meant nothing.

 

Looking down on his pathetic state, Monica lifted her chin arrogantly and said,

 

“Then get on the ground.”

 

“What?”

 

“Hurry!”

 

At her firm command, Joseph flattened himself to the ground.

 

“Don’t raise your head until I’m gone. I won’t show mercy again.”

 

“Fine. Fine, I get it!”

 

Only after confirming this did Monica take the reins and quickly leave the stable.

 

Neigh!

 

The horse’s cry rang out, and within five minutes, the sound of galloping hooves echoed loudly.

 

Once he was sure she was truly gone, Joseph slowly lifted his head.

 

Strangely, there was a smile on his face.

 

“Heh…”

 

A breathy laugh escaped Joseph’s mouth.

 

Then he clutched his stomach and began laughing loudly.

 

“Kahahahaha! Stupid woman!”

 

Even long after, Joseph couldn’t stop laughing as he rolled on the floor.

 

Finally regaining control, he got up, staggering, and pulled out the dagger that had been pressed against his chest the whole time, then tossed it to the floor.

 

When Monica had drawn her dagger, he could have pulled out his own and threatened her back.

 

But he didn’t fight her physically because—

 

“I told her I crippled him, and she should’ve doubted me. Heh heh…”

 

He had already taken precautions. Just in case, he had done the exact same thing to Monica that she claimed had been done to Geoffrey.

 

Tonight, Monica wouldn’t reach the Bellucci family estate.

 

If she was lucky, maybe she’d arrive by morning. But there was no guarantee she’d be alive.

 

“Heh heh heh…”

 

Joseph’s eerie laughter echoed through the stable.

 

 

Bang!

 

With the sound of an explosion, the soldiers in that spot were lifted into the air and fell to the ground.

 

At the same time, screams filled with pain echoed.

 

“Aaagh!”

 

“Gyaaaaah!”

 

It wasn’t the first time this had happened, so the royal army wasn’t surprised. But for the enemies who were hit by the new weapon, even though they had experienced it before, it felt completely different.

 

“Kill them!”

 

“Chase them to the end!”

 

“Spare the ones who throw away their weapons, no—!”

 

“Aaaaagh!”

 

It was complete chaos.

 

While watching the situation, Esperad quickly struck down a knight who was charging at him with a raised sword.

 

As the sword cut through flesh, blood splattered onto his face, but he didn’t loosen his grip. He slashed all the way through, then pushed the knight back with his shield.

 

“Your Majesty!”

 

A knight who had just noticed the situation rode toward him on horseback, but Esperad shook his head faster than the knight could speak.

 

“I’m fine. No need to make a fuss. What about the enemies?”

 

“Most have either retreated or thrown down their weapons and surrendered. The situation should be under control soon.”

 

“Good.”

 

Esperad grabbed a nearby horse and mounted it. He raised his sword high toward the sky and shouted.

 

“You are still my people!”

 

At the sudden voice, the sound of clashing swords stopped for a moment.

 

“If you surrender, I will spare your lives! I don’t want a pointless fight, and I especially don’t want my people to shed more blood! I swear on my name—I will not take your lives!”

 

Just like him, his people were also covered in blood.

 

But among the soldiers fighting here with their lives, very few were directly involved in this conflict.

 

Since spilling more blood was meaningless, Esperad offered surrender.

 

The victory in this war was already clear, and both sides must have known it. Besides, the lower-ranked soldiers were likely the first to sense it.

 

Forcing a hopeless fight to continue would be nothing but cruelty.

 

“Drop your weapons! Kneel and show that you have no will to fight! If you do that, no more blood will be spilled here!”

 

Clang—

 

With the sound of one sword dropping to the ground, most soldiers began to throw down their swords and surrender.

 

The only ones who didn’t surrender were a few nobles who had directly sided with the conservatives.

 

When they looked around with embarrassed faces, Esperad walked toward them himself.

 

With each step he took, their faces turned more and more pale with fear.

 

But when he finally stood before them, all Esperad did was tear off the end of the cape bearing the royal emblem and hand it to them.

 

“Even now, if you surrender, you may still have a chance.”

 

Truly, this was the last mercy Esperad could offer.

 

 

The second battle ended much faster than the first.

 

Of course, it was because of the first battle. The bombs had become familiar to the royal army, and to the enemy, they had become a terrifying fear based on experience. So the pace of the battle accelerated greatly.

 

Esperad entered the tent, slowly sorting through the tangled thoughts in his complicated mind.

 

The nobles who had been waiting for him stood up quickly and bowed their heads.

 

“Sit down, everyone.”

 

The nobles couldn’t hide their excitement even as they sat down.

 

With perfect victories in both the first and second battles, the losses on their side were so small they were barely worth mentioning.

 

For them, this war had basically been a gamble.

 

It was an open secret that the conservative nobles had close ties with the weapon developers, so they had believed those nobles would have the clear advantage in battle.

 

The nobles in this tent—and those who followed Esperad—had joined the royal army for one reason: “honor.” They didn’t expect that it would be a shield to protect their lives.

 

It was like exchanging their legitimacy for their lives, so the joy of victory was even greater.

 

A complete victory, no less! Unless something unexpected happened, this meant they had won the war.

 

“I heard that more than half of the enemy soldiers surrendered in this battle. The rest were either killed or ran away.”

 

It was Duke Triburn who spoke excitedly.

 

Since his daughter had been engaged to Esperad but then killed by Count Mirk, this war was his chance for revenge.

 

Even so, he hadn’t been sure of victory. But now, it seemed revenge was getting closer and closer.

 

“I also heard the same. The Viscount Estor and Lord Mackenzie, whom Your Majesty spared, will likely testify about the battle. The enemies will soon surrender.”

 

“Their weapon factory was completely destroyed, and they’ve suffered two big defeats in a row. There’s no way they can hold out now.”

 

“Soon, we won’t even need to come back to this tent. Hahaha!”

 

“Still, we can’t let our guard down. They might get desperate and try a surprise attack.”

 

Esperad nodded at Albert’s words.

 

Even if it was someone else, Count Mirk didn’t seem like the type to surrender just because he lost a battle. Not until his head was cut from his neck.

 

‘Strange.’

 

Actually, something had been bothering Esperad for a while.

 

It was Count Mirk’s suspicious and strange behavior.

 

‘In the past life, he tried not to hurt me. He wanted to keep me alive. But this time, he joined the war and openly desires the throne. What in the world…’

 

“Your Majesty, a messenger has come from the enemy!”

 

The voice of a knight who rushed into the tent broke Esperad’s thoughts and made everyone tense up with excitement.

 

Only Esperad stayed calm and asked the knight,

 

“Was he carrying a flag?”

 

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

 

“What color was it?”

 

At his question, the tent that had briefly become noisy fell silent again.

 

Everyone looked at the knight’s mouth. The answer he would give…

 

“It was white.”

 

They all hoped that would be the answer.

 

A cheer suddenly burst out among the nobles.

 

But even in that moment, Esperad’s face remained cold.

 

“Do not let the messenger enter. Just bring the surrender document.”

 

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

 

Everyone waited anxiously for the knight to return with the surrender document.

 

Soon after, Esperad took the surrender paper from the knight.

 

The first thing he checked was not the words they used to ask for surrender or how desperate they were to end the war.

 

“It’s not here.”

 

“…What do you mean, Your Majesty?”

 

Esperad remembered the names of every noble who had taken part in this war.

 

But—

 

“Count Mirk’s name is not on it.”

 

“Then… he hasn’t surrendered…?”

 

“Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!”

 

Before they could even be surprised at the fact that Count Mirk’s name was missing from the surrender document, another knight rushed into the tent.

 

Esperad immediately noticed that this knight was not wearing battle armor but the formal uniform of the Royal Guard.

 

He felt like his heart dropped with a heavy thud.

 

And then—

 

“Lady Grandier has been kidnapped…!”

 

It felt like everything stopped. As if darkness had suddenly fallen over the world.

 

Esperad had no choice but to grab the desk in front of him.

 

Otherwise, he would have shown everyone how badly he was shaking.