A Change of Husband - Chapter 123

Time—especially peaceful time—always passes in the blink of an eye.
Just a few years ago, Catherine wasn’t even allowed to appear in public, let alone attend social gatherings. But now, as Astel’s only princess, she was active in many areas.
Of course, that didn’t mean her mischievous nature had disappeared.

“Princess! If Her Majesty the Queen finds out, she’ll be furious!”

“Elena.”
Catherine turned around gracefully and called her nanny’s name.

“When have I ever stopped doing something just because I was scared of Mother?”

“Oh dear, Princess…”

“Don’t worry. I’ll make up a good excuse myself.”

As the mother of the nation’s society, Asilie often led meaningful projects to unite the nobles and help the people.
Whenever there was damage from natural disasters, she would hold charity auctions and donate the proceeds. Like the conservative noble families that used to run businesses in the past, she would invite commoners with good ideas or groundbreaking inventions to hear their proposals, support them, and contribute to the nation’s growth.

Both Esperad and Asilie were taking a different path from previous rulers of Astel.
Even so, Catherine often felt suffocated by the virtues they expected of her—especially those expected by Asilie.

‘At least I can talk things through with Father…’

Asilie was quite progressive in her own way.
She was the one who had brought real change to Astel, challenging norms about women working and changing how divorced women were viewed.
But Asilie worried about Catherine too much and wanted her daughter to grow up the proper, traditional way.

For example, she wanted Catherine to master all the traditional customs and etiquette—even those that weren’t practical—to maintain dignity. She also wanted her to frequently meet with other noble ladies and build connections in high society.

Unfortunately, none of that interested Catherine.

“So when will you be back?”

“Before sunset.”

“Oh no! That’s way too late…!”

Elena let out a shocked cry, but Catherine calmly threw on a cloak and stepped outside.
Her outfit was, of course, far from what a graceful and elegant princess would wear.
She wore a comfortable shirt and pants, the kind men usually wore, a worn-out cloak, and even a belt with a pocket for a gun.

Elena sighed deeply as she watched Catherine walk away.

“How am I going to explain this to Her Majesty again…”

Elena was a veteran nanny who had taken care of many noble children. Catherine was the last child she cared for, and she had looked after her since she was a newborn, now nineteen years old.
Catherine had always been different from the others.
Since she was little, she had been especially curious, noisy, and full of trouble. Even though she had matured somewhat, her way of causing trouble hadn’t disappeared—it had just changed form.

“It really is amazing.”

A tomboy like her—born from the strong and steady King Esperad and the endlessly graceful and refined Queen Asilie—was hard to believe.

Elena felt heavy just thinking about reporting today’s incident to Asilie, but truthfully, she didn’t think Catherine was wrong. She was just different.

Catherine had no interest in building a place for herself in high society. She wasn’t interested in becoming the kind of lady Asilie wanted her to be.
Instead, Catherine enjoyed helping Esperad with his duties, learning why he made certain policies, and understanding the effects they would have.
She clearly understood the importance of tea time with other ladies, but she believed attending gatherings where young lords discussed politics and diplomacy in depth was far more worthwhile.

“She may have been born a woman, but she’s clearly meant to be a ruler.”

Of course, much of that came from following the Duke of Camédici around and being influenced by him.
The reason Catherine skipped today’s social gathering hosted by Asilie was to attend shooting lessons.
She claimed it was so she could protect herself—but that wasn’t the only reason.
The real reason she started learning to shoot was because she found out the Duke of Camédici was learning too.

“Still… what is she thinking…”

Though she was unlike other noble girls in almost every way, in one thing Catherine was just like them: her feelings of affection toward a man.

But Elena couldn’t support Catherine’s love. The person she had feelings for was none other than the Duke of Camédici.
Even if they didn’t share a drop of blood, and even if the Duke hadn’t been given Astel’s royal name, he was still legally the adopted son of Esperad and Asilie.

“What’s so wrong with it? We’re not real siblings anyway!”

“Princess, Their Majesties the King and Queen surely won’t approve.”

“They’re not living my life for me, so why should I care what they think?”

“You’re still young. You can’t fully understand your parents’ feelings yet.”

“Nanny, if I go around thinking about everyone else’s feelings, I’ll shrivel up and die from the stress.”

Elena recalled this past conversation with Catherine and sighed again.

It might not be completely impossible, but Catherine’s love would definitely draw criticism.
Maybe all mothers are the same—Asilie had also sensed Catherine’s feelings and clearly expressed her concern about it.

Elena stopped thinking about the issue that gave her such a headache and stood up.
Better to get it over with—time to report to Asilie that Catherine had once again snuck out of the palace.

Bang! Bang!

Even though she had rushed, Catherine was still late for her shooting lesson.
She practically jumped off the horse and, before even entering the shooting range, ran into Jonathan.

“Princess, you can’t just keep coming here like this. And what if you got hurt jumping off like that?”

“Oh, Sir Jonathan! What brings you here?”

To avoid being scolded for jumping off her horse, Catherine deliberately ignored the question and asked one of her own.
Jonathan shook his head in disbelief at her behavior.

“I was supposed to inspect the weapons since we received a request, but Austin’s side asked for people, so all the technicians were sent there. That’s why I had to come myself.”
“A skilled man like you handling things personally? Is your business not doing well these days?”
“Unfortunately for you, there’s nothing to worry about. It’s going very well.”
“Really? That’s such a shame. I missed my chance to nationalize your business…”
“I never gave you that chance to begin with, Princess.”

Catherine puffed out her cheeks and pouted at Jonathan’s unyielding response.
Jonathan, in turn, looked at her as if he was tired of her antics.
Though young, the clever princess always reminded him of how Esperad had missed the opportunity to nationalize the firearms business during a battle with the conservative nobles twenty years ago. She often tried to seize any chance to get involved in his business.

Jonathan knew she was half-joking, but since half a joke still meant half was serious, he always felt more tense facing Catherine than when he was alone with Esperad.

“By the way, were you given permission to leave the palace dressed like that?”
“Of course not. But I hope you, as a gentleman, can quietly keep that to yourself.”
“It’s already public knowledge.”
“There’s a big difference between saying it out loud and keeping it to yourself.”
“I understand what you’re saying. Then please be careful and return before it gets too late. If you need help, don’t hesitate to ask.”
“That’s very reassuring!”

Catherine laughed brightly and ran into the shooting range.

Inside, a few people were practicing with serious expressions. She was the only woman there, but she confidently went to find her gun without a hint of hesitation.
While doing so, her eyes scanned the faces around her.
‘Where is Lord Medici?’
She had signed up for today’s session after hearing that he would be at the range.

But no matter how much she looked around, Thomas was nowhere to be seen.
‘I even risked getting scolded by Mother to come here, so why…?’

Catherine’s lips jutted out in a sulky pout.

“Princess? Are you looking for the Duke again?”
At the words of Sir Abraham, who was in charge of teaching her shooting, Catherine nodded silently.

She already looked downcast, and Sir Abraham gazed at her with a sympathetic expression.
“The Duke went out for outdoor training today. He said the range felt too stuffy.”
“Then I want to train outdoors too.”
“I’m afraid that’s not allowed, Princess.”
“Why not?”
“First, your skills aren’t at that level yet. And for safety reasons, only a limited number of people can use the outdoor area. If there are too many people, there’s a risk of injury.”

With that much explanation, even Catherine couldn’t argue further.
In the end, she quietly began her practice at the range.

“Take a deep breath and hold it for three seconds. Then, fire.”
Bang!
Sir Abraham corrected her posture and gave the instruction again.
“Hold it for three seconds. Then, fire.”
Bang!

Even though she lacked physical strength, Catherine’s strong focus usually brought her good scores. But today, perhaps because her mind wasn’t calm, her scores were much lower than usual.

Sir Abraham gave the instruction once more.
“Hold it for three seconds. Then, fire.”
Bang!

This time, the bullet missed the target completely, and he let out a sigh.

Since she always asked about Lord Medici as soon as practice began, it was clear who was affecting her performance.

People still dismissed Catherine’s interest in Thomas as a sibling-like affection due to her age, but among those in the know, it was an open secret.

“I think continuing today’s session could be dangerous, Princess. Let’s stop here.”
“But…”
“The Duke’s reserved time is almost up, so he’ll be back soon to return his guns. Why don’t you wait for him, greet him, and then return to the palace? For safety reasons, I’m sure the Duke will escort you back himself.”
“Oh.”

Realizing Sir Abraham was trying to help her, Catherine’s face finally brightened.
“Thank you, Sir!”

She quickly returned the gun and asked the stable hand at the range to look after her horse for a few days, then waited for Thomas in front of the armory.

Before long, Thomas arrived with several guns slung over his shoulder. When he saw Catherine, he stopped walking.
“…Princess?”
“It’s been a while, Lord. How have you been?”

Thomas looked quite displeased.
He said, “Excuse me,” and went inside to return the guns, then came back out.

“You’re not at the palace? I heard Her Majesty the Queen is hosting a book discussion today, and most of the noblewomen are attending.”
“Protecting myself is more important. But…”

Catherine’s eyes narrowed as a sudden question came to her mind.
“Where did you hear that?”

Just like women didn’t pay much attention to men’s social gatherings, men also didn’t usually know the details of women’s events.
Especially since Thomas lived alone, who could have told him about a noblewomen’s social gathering?
Something felt off.

“…I’ll escort you to the palace. The sun is setting, and it’s dangerous for you to go alone. Is that all right?”
“I’ll accept.”

Catherine realized he was trying to change the subject, but she didn’t show it and got into his carriage.

Even after quite a while on the road, Thomas didn’t say a word to her.

Most noble ladies would have stayed silent out of pride, but Catherine was far from a typical noble lady. She couldn’t hold back and asked again.

“How did you know?”
“Sorry?”
“That my mother hosted a book discussion today. I don’t think you would’ve received an invitation, so I’m asking.”
“That’s…”

It wasn’t hard to guess where this question might lead. But Catherine’s persistent tone showed she was determined to find out.

In the end, Thomas sighed inwardly and answered.
“I heard it from Lady Proud.”
“You mean Count Proud’s daughter?”
“Yes.”

Briana Proud.
She always acted snobbishly with her chin in the air and hung around in cliques, whispering among themselves—exactly the kind of behavior Catherine hated.

“May I ask how that lady came to tell you such a thing?”

Her voice cracked in surprise, but she forced herself to act calm as she asked again.
“We’ve met privately a few times.”
“…Are the two of you in a relationship?”

At the sharp question, discomfort appeared on Thomas’s face.
But judging by Catherine’s expression, she wasn’t going to let the conversation go until he answered.

“A relationship… Are you two in a romantic relationship?”

Growing anxious from the silence, Catherine asked again. Her voice trembled, but Thomas couldn’t avoid answering.

“We’re not in a relationship, but…”

She felt relieved—only for a moment.

“There have been talks of an engagement between Lady Proud and me, Princess.”

It felt like a bomb had exploded in her heart.

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