A Change of Husband - Chapter 45

The sound of gunfire outside the window could have been considered noise, but Asilie found it rather cheerful.

Perhaps it was because her heart felt lighter now.

Of course, nothing had been resolved yet. The future was still unclear, as if shrouded in fog.

Even so, the fact that she and Esperad had come to an agreement about the “child”—something she had once hesitated to even bring up—gave her peace of mind.

After stamping the approval form for additional household supplies with ease, Asilie slowly looked up at the sound of a knock.

“Ma’am, it’s Rosetta.”

Today was Monday, the day of the noble council meeting.

With Esperad having headed to the palace early in the morning, Asilie was the one keeping watch over the office in his place.

“Come in.”

Asilie reviewed the stamped documents one more time before pushing them to the corner of her desk.

At this hour every Monday, Madam Marce always brought her the letters that had arrived at the Medici Mansion.

She would likely have to go through another mountain of invitations.

As expected, when Madam Marce entered with difficulty, her arms were full of invitations that had come flooding in ever since Countess Proud had taken Asilie’s side.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Not at all, ma’am. Please let me know if there’s anything I can help with.”

“Hmm, could I ask for another cup of tea?”

“Of course, ma’am.”

While Madam Marce prepared her tea, Asilie carefully read through the letters that had arrived.

As expected, most were invitations from progressive nobles.

As she continued reading and flipping through them, her eyes widened in surprise when she saw an unexpected sender’s name. She quickly tore open the envelope.

“Is something wrong, ma’am?”

Startled by her sudden action, Madam Marce asked with concern.

After quickly scanning the letter, Asilie shook her head.

“It’s nothing. I was just surprised to receive a letter from my foster father after so long and thought something might have happened.”

“Ah, I should have mentioned it earlier. I forgot. While sorting the letters, I noticed there was an invitation from the Grandier Duchy mixed in……”

Although she had opened the letter anxiously, its contents were not particularly special.

It was an invitation to a small family dinner to celebrate a birthday.

Since the Camédici Duke was now considered part of the family, he hoped she would come if circumstances allowed.

They were waiting for her reply.

Even before her return to the past, she had occasionally received similar letters.

Joseph would always refuse to accompany her, so either she didn’t go at all, or she went alone.

But unlike Joseph, Esperad wouldn’t want her to attend the Grand Duke of Grandier’s birthday dinner alone.

Asilie thought she should ask him first if his schedule was free before replying, and she set the letter down.

If things were as usual, Esperad’s schedule might have been clear, but lately, things had changed.

He spent late hours in the office, and whenever he had free time, he was busy meeting nobles.

Unless he was in the office, he barely had any time to spend with her at all.

When Asilie wordlessly set the letter down, Madam Marce looked at her curiously and asked,
“Aren’t you going to reply right away? If you write it now, I can send it to the Grandier Duchy immediately……”

“I should ask the Duke first.”

“I see.”

After replying briefly, Madam Marce began to neatly clear away the dishes Asilie had used earlier that morning.

Watching her work, Asilie suddenly called her name.

“…Rosetta.”

At the sound of her name, Madam Marce looked up.

“Yes, ma’am?”

“I have something I want to ask you.”

“Please go ahead. If it’s something I can answer, I’ll do so with all my heart.”

Asilie didn’t speak right away.

From her experience, she knew that Madam Marce was extremely loyal to her master.

Though she had been standoffish at first, once she accepted Asilie as her mistress, she served her with silent but clear devotion.

‘She was probably devoted to the previous master, too.’

That loyalty made Asilie hesitate to ask.

Madam Marce had worked at the Medici Mansion since she was very young, and her mother had also been the head maid there.

That meant she was very likely to know what had happened between the previous Camédici Duke and the Count of Mirk.

Still, if their close relationship had broken off so suddenly, it meant one of them had struck a devastating blow to the other.

‘If Count Mirk was the offender, she might have to reveal a dark secret of the previous Camédici Duke. She wouldn’t want that.’

And if the Camédici Duke had been the offender, that wouldn’t be any better.

Madam Marce clearly wouldn’t want to speak ill of him either.

So either way, it was a difficult situation.

Esperad hadn’t asked her directly either—for the same reason.

Before bringing up the real question, Asilie decided to try persuading Madam Marce.

“To be honest, I didn’t like you at first. No matter how diligent and loyal you were, you weren’t ‘my person,’ so I had to be cautious.”

Madam Marce looked surprised.

Asilie had never said anything like this to anyone at the mansion before—not even to Lydia.

She hadn’t felt the need to grow closer to any of the staff.

She gave Sofia a chance, and she showed Jonathan kindness, but that was only because she instinctively knew it would make them easier to use—not out of affection.

Asilie’s situation had never allowed for such feelings. Affection was a luxury she couldn’t afford.

And even without saying it, the people around her likely sensed that.

Madam Marce, too, had kept her distance from Asilie, respecting the line between servant and mistress.

“As time passed, you devoted yourself to me, but that uncomfortable feeling didn’t go away. I finally realized why.”

Asilie met Madam Marce’s eyes.

“It’s because your loyalty isn’t to ‘me.’”

Madam Marce stared at her, dumbfounded.

After a long silence, she finally shook her head, a deeply hurt expression on her face.

“No, ma’am. I am truly loyal to you, with not a hint of dishonesty. I mean it.”

“I know.”

“…Sorry?”

“But your loyalty is to the lady of the Medici Mansion—not to me, as a person.”

Madam Marce fell silent.

Though she was aging, her mind was still sharp, and she understood immediately.

After a moment of hesitation, she spoke defensively.

“Ma’am, you are the lady of the Medici Mansion. I don’t see how it’s wrong to give you my whole heart.”

“Let’s imagine something interesting.”

“Yes?”

“If someone tried to bring down me and the Duke, and they succeeded—because their true target was this household—what would you do then?”

The reason Madam Marce didn’t answer right away wasn’t because she’d never thought about it.

It was because the answer that came to her so quickly matched what Asilie had expected.

“You’d probably serve the new master. Out of duty.”

“……”

“I know you’re a deeply responsible person.”

Madam Marce realized Asilie was calling her out, but she couldn’t say anything back.

She had never really thought deeply about this before.

Her head felt blank, as if she’d been struck.

“Doing your best in the role you’re given isn’t wrong by your logic.

But I can’t trust someone who’s ‘blindly’ loyal.”

The air in the room grew heavy with silence.

While Madam Marce stared blankly into the distance, Asilie casually turned back to read through the stack of invitations.

“…You must have a reason for saying this, ma’am.”

By the time Asilie was nearly done reading, Madam Marce finally spoke again.

“But you’ve misunderstood.”

“What part is a misunderstanding?”

“I can’t deny it completely. As you said, at first, I obeyed the one who took over the mansion.
But over time, I realized that was wrong.”

“…Is that so.”

“I believe you brought this up because there’s something you truly want from me. May I ask what that is?”

Asilie didn’t show it, but she was honestly impressed.

Madam Marce was clearly more than just a blindly loyal servant.

“…Do you know why the previous Camédici Duke and Count Mirk fell out?”

The smile on Madam Marce’s face disappeared instantly, replaced by a hardened expression.
She hadn’t expected this question.

Asilie found her hesitation unexpected.

Until now, she had created a situation where Madam Marce had no choice but to answer any question.

And by asking what Asilie wanted first, Madam Marce had basically offered to fulfill that wish—whatever it was.

‘What’s this about?’

Raised by a head maid, Madam Marce had probably served the family all her life without question.

So Asilie had explained whom she should truly serve.

She thought that once Madam Marce understood this, she’d realize she had no right to create her own ‘taboos’ and hide secrets from her master.

But Madam Marce’s reaction was unexpected.

“I… I don’t know anything about that, ma’am.”

That couldn’t be true.

Her pale face, stiff expression, and trembling body all told the truth—she knew.

But still, she denied it.

“Think again. Are you truly saying you know nothing about it?”

Asilie asked again.

But despite the repeated questioning, Madam Marce shook her head.

“I don’t know, ma’am.”

“…I see.”

Asilie neither got angry nor kicked her out of the office.

She needed to think before reacting emotionally.

Even if Madam Marce had decided to keep quiet after much thought, what could make her go against her own decision?

‘It must be that sensitive.’

She couldn’t grasp it.

But then again, that made sense.

When the previous Camédici Duke was active, Asilie had been very young and hadn’t even come to the capital yet.

Aside from what Esperad had casually mentioned in the past, she knew nothing.

Sigh…

Asilie, feeling frustrated, stood up and walked over to the window.

As she looked outside, she spotted a familiar face.

It was Lydia.

Magic is a power based on the caster’s mental strength.

That means the stronger a caster’s mind, the more powerful their magic can be—almost limitless.

Though, in the end, there is always a limit, because no one can endure their mental strength being drained forever.

Besides, not everyone could use magic.

You needed to be born with magical talent, and even with talent, if you couldn’t understand how magic worked, you couldn’t cast it.

Because of that, in this world where magic had nearly disappeared, guns might be the closest thing to replacing magic—or perhaps even surpassing it.

Lydia watched the knights practicing with guns, her face showing a mix of discomfort and wonder.

Bang!

Surprisingly, even though the gun training had started only a week ago, their progress was incredible.

Most of the knights who had decided to train with guns learned how to use them in just one day, and fully mastered their handling within three.

Bang! Bang!

These days, they were practicing how to switch between guns and swords in sudden situations.

Though it still looked a bit awkward, it seemed like they would get used to it quickly and show good results.

She was impressed.

Maybe, when Asilie was attacked for the third time, if they had guns back then, Lydia wouldn’t have needed to step in.

Still, danger could come again at any time. I need to think about how to protect my sister.

Lydia began absentmindedly scribbling on the ground with a tree branch she found lying nearby.

To a stranger, it would look like a child’s doodles.

“Isn’t the gunfire too loud?”

At the sudden voice, she looked up from the magical formula she had been staring at on the ground.

It was someone she had been running into quite often lately.

“I can bear it. Aren’t you taking part in the training, Sir?”

“I had office work to take care of today.”

“So, are you finished with your work now?”

“There was more than I expected. I came out to get some fresh air because my head was aching.”

“And that’s when you saw me?”

“Yes, by chance.”

Even though Edgar emphasized that it was by chance, Lydia didn’t think much of it and stood up from where she had been sitting.

She wanted to continue thinking in peace about what had been on her mind.

“You seem to like sitting under the tree.”

But Edgar spoke again, so she couldn’t leave right away.

“…Yes, I do.”

“Even in this hot weather?”

“I like summer weather. And you’re out here in the heat too, Sir.”

“I’m used to the heat, so it doesn’t bother me.”

“Still, it might be better to just open your office window.”

“I’ll do that next time. Though, if I hadn’t come out, I wouldn’t have met you, Miss Lydia.”

Lydia didn’t answer and just stared at him.

She had no idea what he meant by that.

 

What is with this guy?

They weren’t even that close, so she didn’t understand why he seemed so happy to see her.

He tried to hide it, but she could feel his excitement in his eyes, his tone, and even his voice.

Maybe noticing her confusion, Edgar quickly added.

“Anyway, meeting people is a good thing.”

“…Yes, that’s true.”

“There was something I wanted to ask you if I ran into you.”

“Ask me?”

“Yes. Uh, well… I’ve been a little worried.”

He paused for a moment.

Lydia was eager to get back to thinking about Asilie, but she decided to be patient for now.

“…About that time.”

“That time…?”

She wasn’t sure which time he meant.

But Edgar nodded like she understood.

“Yes, that time. I thought you must have been quite shocked. I worried it might be weighing on your mind…”

“What are you talking about?”

“We were very close… almost touching.”

His face turned red.

Seeing his shy expression, Lydia was even more confused.

What had been “almost touching”?

Fortunately, Edgar went on.

“I acted to protect you, but… I was worried that the contact might’ve been too much. You seemed really startled…”

Only then did she understand what he meant.

He was talking about the time when he had tried to shield her during Jonathan’s gunfire and had ended up knocking her down.

“You don’t have to worry about that.”

“Yes, I thought you’d say that, but…”

“No, I hadn’t even thought about it. I only remembered it just now because you brought it up.”

“…What?”

Apparently, Edgar was such an upright person that he had been troubled for a long time over something so minor.

Lydia waved her hand to reassure him.

“I’m really fine. I didn’t even think your actions were inappropriate.”

“But…”

“No buts. It couldn’t be helped, so don’t worry or dwell on it. I’m completely fine.”

After she spoke, he looked at her like he had nothing left to say.

Lydia figured that made sense.

Edgar probably hadn’t expected his worries to be brushed away so Asilie.

Feeling proud that she had eased someone’s mind, she gave him a polite farewell.

“Well then, I’ll be going. I hope you have a good day.”

She had done all the proper courtesies.

Now, it was time to return to thinking about Asilie.

Lydia gave a slight bow and walked past him.

Edgar, with a face like he had lost a country, stared after her for a long time, unable to hide his dismay.