A Change of Husband - Chapter 46

There wasn’t much time left before the Noble Council.

Esperad also had many things to prepare, but there were too many tasks for him to focus on just that.

Even though he knew Asilie was waiting for him, he couldn’t return to the Medici Mansion. That was why.

After riding for a long time and reaching the outskirts of the capital, he pulled the reins of his horse in front of a mansion with a blue roof.

Esperad tied the horse tightly to a tree, looked around, and quickly entered the mansion.

This area, called the “villa village,” was filled with homes used as vacation houses by the nobles of the capital. The house he entered was one of them.

Of course, it didn’t belong to the House of Medici. The family that owned this mansion was—

“You’re here.”

—The House of Count Gariburn.

“Albert.”

Esperad walked toward him.

In the time they hadn’t seen each other, Albert had grown very thin.

After Violeta’s death, Count Gariburn’s health worsened badly.

His wife, who had already been in poor health, requested to go somewhere for rest and healing.

In the end, the couple left everything to Albert and returned to their estate.

Since he hadn’t received the responsibilities in a prepared state, Albert had a hard time managing everything. That’s why he kept getting thinner.

If only his busy schedule could have helped him forget the sorrow of Violeta’s death, it would’ve been better.

But looking at his face, that didn’t seem to be the case.

“First, let me thank you. For making such a difficult decision.”

“I agreed to meet you, but it doesn’t mean I’ve fully forgiven you.”

“I know. I didn’t even dare hope to be forgiven. I didn’t ask to meet so I could ask for forgiveness.”

“Then speak your purpose. Even spending time with you is painful for me.”

As Albert answered coldly, Esperad looked at him with sad eyes and handed him an envelope.

“What is this?”

“Read it yourself.”

Albert looked displeased, but took the letter from the already-opened envelope and started reading.

It was a letter the Duke of Grandier had sent to Asilie

.
It contained details about the poison used in the third attack against her.

After finishing the letter, Albert looked back at Esperad with a hardened expression.

From that reaction, Esperad realized that the poison that killed Violeta had also been phenom.

“…So the Count of Bellucci was behind it.”

His chilling voice was full of the rage of someone who had lost a loved one forever.

Esperad shook his head.

“No, he wasn’t.”

“Then what do you mean? If not the Count of Bellucci, then who else would try to harm that girl?!”

“As far as I’ve found out… it’s Count Mirk. And several families representing the conservative nobles are supporting him.”

Seeing the blank expression on Albert’s face—not one of anger, but of emptiness—Esperad realized that he already knew about the king’s condition.

“Count Mirk has a high chance of becoming the next king. You know that too.”

“Hah…”

Silence followed.

After letting out a sigh, Albert said nothing.

It was not a situation where he could give an easy answer.

From this short conversation alone, he had likely figured out why Esperad gave him this information.

In the past, Albert would have immediately set out to punish those behind Violeta’s death.
But now, his situation had changed.

Esperad understood better than anyone what kind of responsibility came with leading a huge family with hundreds of members.

So he had decided to understand, no matter what choice Albert made.

“…Do you plan to become king?”

After a long silence, Albert asked with a serious tone.

“What if I do?”

“As far as I know, that’s not like you.”

“That was in the past.”

“You’re saying you’ve changed now.”

“I don’t want to lose anything more.”

Esperad knew Albert wouldn’t be happy to hear that.

But he didn’t hide it, because giving a false reason would only make their relationship worse.

Albert stared at Esperad without saying anything, and Esperad didn’t avoid his gaze either.

“If I support you, what will I gain?”

“I will fix everything that is unfair.”

“Specifically, like what?”

“For example, I’ll change the closed foreign policy, which will stop the conservative nobles who got the trade rights first from gaining unfair profit through monopolies.”

“That’s it?”

Esperad replied firmly.

“To gain the most just ruler in history—it’s not something that can be summed up with ‘that’s it.’ It’s an honor beyond words.”

“How arrogant.”

But Albert’s expression didn’t look bad.

The many changes in his old friend, who once had no ambition, felt unfamiliar.

Still, seeing him understand what he could be trusted with—and using that—was not unpleasant.

So Albert nodded.

“I hope you’re truly desperate.”

“If I weren’t ready to risk everything, I wouldn’t have started.”

It was true.

To start something that could put Asilie in more danger than now, he had to be ready to lose everything.

“…I have one question.”

“What is it?”

“I could’ve chosen to side with Count Mirk. Why did you contact me?”

“Because I thought you deserved to know.”

“That’s the only reason?”

“No.”

Esperad looked at Albert meaningfully, then slowly shook his head.

Asilie’s life was at stake. He couldn’t act recklessly out of duty toward an old friend who disliked him.

“Then what made you think you could contact me? Did you believe I’d be kind to you out of old friendship?”

“Relying on old ties to push something forward is the way of a failure.”

Esperad felt his throat tighten with rising emotion but didn’t stop speaking.

“I believed in your conscience and guilt. You wouldn’t be able to throw away what I also have to carry for life.”

“You’re clever.”

“No. This is being disgraceful.”

A wave of self-loathing rose inside him.

But Esperad didn’t let his face show it.

Unlike in the past, when he could freely show his feelings, now he couldn’t.

There was only one person left to whom he could show his true self and receive comfort.

Feeling that longing again, Esperad left the Gariburn family’s villa.

It was already late at night when Esperad arrived at the Medici Mansion.

He entered the bedroom quietly, thinking Asilie must be asleep by now.

But to his surprise, she was sitting against a pile of pillows at the head of the bed, reading a book.

Sensing his presence, Asilie looked up.

Esperad, looking more tired than usual, was entering the room.

“You’re back? You must’ve had a busy day.”

“A little. Were you waiting for me?”

It was a question asked with quiet hope, but Asilie didn’t seem to notice what he truly wanted to hear and nodded as usual.

“I thought I should see you return before sleeping. I also have a few things to ask.”

Esperad felt a tiny bit disappointed, but he hid it and asked casually.

“What is it?”

“My foster father invited us to his birthday dinner. I think all the close relatives of the Duke of Grandier will be there. Will you be okay with that?”

“When is it?”

“This Thursday.”

“I don’t think I have anything scheduled. I suppose I should prepare a gift for the Duke.”

“I was planning to go out sometime tomorrow, actually.”

“Hm, how about we go together?”

“Together?”

Asilie’s eyes widened, clearly surprised by the unexpected suggestion.

Esperad, while taking off his tight shirt, replied,

“Yes, together. Hasn’t it been hard for us to go out for personal reasons until now?”

“Well, yes, but…”

Asilie noticed her gaze drifting toward his exposed body and quickly dropped her head back to the book, trailing off at the end of her sentence.

“If time isn’t too tight, visiting the Britium Theater to watch a play we haven’t seen before might be nice.”

“That’s not necessary.”

“Ah, you haven’t been feeling well lately. I forgot. How are you feeling today?”

At Esperad’s question, Asilie blushed.

It was true that she hadn’t been feeling well recently, but that wasn’t the reason she turned down the idea of going to the theater.

In fact, even she couldn’t quite understand it, but lately, Asilie had started to feel uncomfortable being alone with him for long periods of time.

It was especially so when Esperad acted warm—so warm he couldn’t possibly be any warmer—and kind.

Whenever he behaved like that, Asilie’s heart would pound wildly, her face would heat up, and depending on her mood, she would end up making irrational decisions.

It wasn’t good.

She didn’t welcome this strange change, this change that was happening regardless of her will.

Rather, she felt a strong sense of rejection toward it.

“Asilie?”

When she didn’t answer for a long time, Esperad gently called her name.

Only then did Asilie realize she had left him waiting too long and hurried to reply.

“Sorry, I was just thinking. I felt fine today. Thank you for worrying about me.”

“Of course I worry about you. It’s only natural for me. …Then, shall we go out tomorrow?”

“Let’s do that.”

Esperad looked at her, sensing something odd in how quickly she was answering, as if trying to rush through the conversation. Then he realized how late it was.

Maybe Asilie was just tired after a long day.

As her husband, he needed to be considerate.

“I should go wash up now.”

“…Yes.”

Asilie, seemingly ready for bed, closed the book she had been reading, blew out the candle next to the bed, and laid down.

Even though it wasn’t anything special, for some reason, the sight of her doing that seemed cute.

Esperad stood quietly watching her, then finally realized he had been lingering too long with his shirt still off. He quickly moved away.

He didn’t want to leave her side because every moment with her felt too precious.

It was a real problem.

No—now that he thought about it, it was a very serious problem.

After finishing his bath, Esperad returned to the bedroom. He tiptoed around, trying not to wake his sleeping wife as he went around the room extinguishing the candles.

Once only a small candle on the table remained, he finally sat on the sofa.

He didn’t want to lie down yet because of his wet hair.

His body felt heavy with fatigue, but his mind was still wide awake.

After a moment of thought, Esperad stood up from his seat and left the room.

As he stepped out of the bedroom, he saw a knight standing guard.

“Your Highness, is there anything you need?”

The knight approached quickly and asked.

“Could you keep watch outside the bedroom until I return?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

Esperad headed to the secret room.

It was the place he had shown Asilie on her first day at the Medici Mansion, where the Camedici family tree hung and all past documents were stored.

He had come here because of a letter he received not long ago.

It was from the late Benjamin, who must have arranged for it to be delivered to Esperad after his death.

Master,

By the time you read this letter, I will no longer be in this world.

It is disgraceful, but the guilt I feel toward you is so overwhelming that I have lived each day hoping only for the day this letter reaches you.

The promise I received—that you would not be harmed—has lessened my pain a little, and the fact that I acted only to protect my one and only family helped ease my conscience. But now even that strength is fading.

I do not dare ask for your forgiveness.

I only write this to tell you that you are not someone who deserved to be betrayed by someone you trusted.

And also, I feel a duty to tell you one crucial truth I could never say out loud. So I write it here, word by word.

Master, very few know this secret, because you and Madam tried to keep it buried.

I could not bring myself to write out the truth that you tried so hard to hide, so I left behind the evidence instead of destroying it.

It is in the secret room.

When you find it, do not forgive me. Please hate me for the rest of your life.

Thinking again about the letter, Esperad scanned the archives filled with documents and books.

It was an enormous amount—far too much to search even if he spent every day for a month. So it probably wasn’t here.

Esperad decided to check the keepsake box, which held items his father had used during his lifetime.

He first looked at the letterbox that the late Duke Camedici had kept.

Esperad examined each letter inside.

There were letters exchanged with King Ludwig II, King Brium III, and even with his father-in-law, the King of Descartes—but none from Count Mirk.

There wasn’t a single trace. It was as if they had been deliberately removed.

‘Father must’ve destroyed them himself.’

Esperad was sure of it. But he didn’t know why.

In the noble world, relationships often changed based on gain or loss, so falling out with someone wasn’t unusual.

However, memories were innocent. Even when nobles broke ties, they didn’t usually erase everything from the past.

‘Something like this usually happens when…’

When the other person was so horrible that you couldn’t even keep the memory.

‘What in the world happened to cause such a complete break?’

It clearly wasn’t normal.

“Haa…”

A sigh escaped without him realizing it.

Even the smallest things in this situation defied common sense. The more he found out, the more lost he felt.

Esperad closed the box—no, he tried to close it.

That’s when he noticed a small jewelry case, decorated in the Descartes style, the way his mother’s homeland did.

‘Is this Mother’s?’

If it was made in the Descartes style, it was likely his mother’s, since she died before his father.

He had planned to leave it alone, but Esperad suddenly changed his mind and reached for the jewelry case.

Not long after, as he set the case down, he found an old, worn piece of paper in his hand—something that hadn’t been there before.