A Change of Husband - Chapter 47

The morning sunlight tickled her eyes as usual, and Asilie woke up with a yawn.

Blinking her blurry eyes to clear her vision, she turned to the side out of habit.

She expected to see Esperad lying next to her, but contrary to her expectations, he wasn’t there.

Asilie looked at him for a moment, sitting on the edge of the bed with his back turned to her.

“Esperad…?”

She slowly sat up, calling his name.

But Esperad didn’t move. It was as if he hadn’t heard her.

It didn’t make sense that he would choose to sit rather than lie down comfortably. Was he lost in deep thought?

There had been no sign of this when he came home last night, so Asilie began to feel concerned.

Not wanting to disturb him if he was deep in thought, she quietly got out of bed and drank some water from the table, all the while watching him.

He didn’t seem to notice that she had woken up.

‘Is something wrong?’

As Asilie tried to silently head to the washroom, Esperad finally sensed movement and turned around. She stopped walking.

“Ah, sorry. I didn’t mean to bother you.”

“You’re awake? Why didn’t you let me know?”

She couldn’t bring herself to say that she’d called his name, but he hadn’t responded.

Asilie gave him an awkward smile and answered,

“You looked like you were deep in thought. I didn’t want to interrupt you.”

“Is that so…”

“I woke up for a bit at dawn and saw you weren’t next to me. Did you go to the office again?”

With the Council of Nobles approaching, Esperad had been busy and had quietly left their bedroom a few times at night to work in his office without telling her.

Asilie knew how much work he had, so she never scolded him, but she had already told him that she wished he could at least rest properly when he slept.

Knowing how much Asilie cared about his health, Esperad shook his head.

“That’s not it.”

He gave a faint smile and shook his head, and after hesitating, Asilie asked bravely,

“…Did something happen?”

“To me?”

“Yes. You look really troubled. Are you worried about something?”

When he returned from his outing last night, he had seemed perfectly normal.

What could have happened during the night?

“If it’s something hard to think through on your own, tell me, Esperad. Maybe it’ll feel easier if we think about it together.”

Normally, her words would’ve made him happy.

Whenever she showed care, even though he knew it wasn’t because she had feelings for him, he still allowed himself to hope.

But today, seeing her face, his feelings were different.

‘I can’t tell her…’

They had promised to be honest with each other, so he felt guilty.

He knew keeping secrets was wrong, but Esperad couldn’t bring himself to tell Asilie the truth.

Last night, in the secret room, he had found that.

And that was something he didn’t want anyone to know.

It was, without a doubt, the key to answering every question they’d struggled with:

Why King Brium III had put the “Contradictory Succession” system in place.

Why his father had suddenly cut ties with a friend of decades.

Why Count Mirk couldn’t claim the throne, even though he had exposed Hort’s condition.

Just one truth had tied everything together.

So maybe Asilie should know, too. But…

‘No.’

He needed more time to think.

On the outside, Esperad appeared calm, but inside, he was anything but stable.

He couldn’t control himself.

Just thinking of that paper made the hatred for Count Mirk surge through him again.

He wanted to find him and kill him right away.

Esperad clenched his fists tightly, out of sight from Asilie.

“There’s something I forgot to tell you yesterday.”

Asilie thinking he felt uncomfortable with the silence, changed the subject.

“I asked Lady Marce if she knew what happened between your late father and Count Mirk.
She seemed like she knew, but she didn’t want to talk about it.”

“She seemed like she knew?”

“Yes. I’m not sure, but her expression changed…”

As he listened to her, Esperad realized Asilie was trailing off and waiting for his response.

He quickly nodded.

“I see. Then maybe we shouldn’t press her. Lady Marce is a stubborn person. It might be better to look for another way.”

“Yes, I’ll think about it, too.”

He might need to talk to Lady Marce himself.

Esperad decided to organize what he needed to do today and stood up from the bed.

His back felt stiff after sitting and thinking all night without sleep.

He already felt that today’s fatigue would be hard to deal with.

“You look tired. Did you not sleep well?”

“I was a bit restless. But I’m not so tired that you need to worry.”

“You don’t really look okay. You’re pale.”

“There’s just been a lot of work lately…”

“Then you should rest even more.”

They had planned to go out together today to buy a gift for the Duke of Grandier.

But there was no reason to drag a tired Esperad along for something so minor.

“I’ll go buy the birthday gift by myself.”

At those words, Esperad finally remembered their plan to go out together.

“We promised to go together. I can’t let you go alone.”

“I really want you to rest.”

“Still…”

“I can go with Lydia. I have something I need to talk to her about anyway.”

“Asilie…”

“I want to spend some time with my sister. We haven’t had a deep conversation in a while.”

As Asilie strongly stated her opinion, Esperad had no choice but to accept that he couldn’t change her mind.

“…Alright. Then I’ll assign a knight to escort you so you can return safely.”

“Of course. I won’t give you anything to worry about.”

“You’re promising me.”

“Yes. And you get plenty of rest today.”

“I will.”

“You promised, too.”

Only after getting his answer did Asilie leave the bedroom to call for Lydia.
Esperad quietly watched her leave, then let out a long sigh.

The mess in his head still showed no signs of clearing.

It had been a long time since Asilie spent time alone with Lydia.

As soon as the sisters, wearing matching sun hats, got into the carriage, they took their hats off.

Asilie quietly looked at Lydia, who was sitting across from her.

Dark brown hair and amber-colored eyes.

In the past, she had thought they didn’t look alike at all except for their similar eye color, but as Lydia grew older, Asilie could see more resemblance in their features.

Maybe it was because her face had slimmed down and she had grown taller, but Lydia now looked like a proper young lady.

No one would think of her as just a girl anymore.

While observing her sister, Asilie noticed Lydia didn’t seem excited about their rare outing—instead, she looked a little bored.

“Am I bothering you?” Asilie asked.

“Huh?”

“You seem bored.”

Only then did Lydia realize what kind of expression she had on her face, and she quickly shook her head.

“No, it’s not that. I was just thinking.”

“Thinking? About what?”

“Just… well, lately, nothing really excites me.”

“That’s strange. I thought you were enjoying all the new things after coming to the capital. Come to think of it, I think I heard you’ve been staying in your room and avoiding going out.”

“It’s nothing serious. There’s just something I’ve been focusing on lately, so I haven’t been interested in other things.”

“Something you’ve been focusing on?”

Curious, Asilie shifted her posture, ready to listen.

Lydia nodded without hesitation, as if she had no intention of hiding it.

“Yeah, it’s been a while, but the more I think about it, the more it bothers me.”

“Is it about your power?”

“Something like that. Honestly, I keep thinking about what happened the night of the intruder attack.”

“Did something go wrong that night?”

“Not exactly… but did you see what kind of magic I used?”

“Hmm, I was drugged, so I couldn’t see it clearly. I just remember it was some really powerful magic.”

“How strong did it seem? Was it stronger than the weapon that boy made?”

Asilie tried to recall that night.

Even in her drugged state, Lydia’s power had left a strong impression. It had been truly overwhelming.

“It wasn’t even close. Your power was far superior.”

“It’s not usually like that. I can’t normally use that kind of magic.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Big sister, I’m just a beginner. I only recently awakened my powers. But that night, I used magic I had only read about in theory as if it was nothing.”

That was impossible.

Even if she had been desperate to save her sister, some things were simply not doable. Like water flowing uphill—it just doesn’t happen.

After that night, Lydia had tried to use the same magic again, but it never worked.

“Magic only becomes yours when you fully understand it. But that night, I used a spell I had never learned myself. Like a miracle.”

Asilie didn’t know much about magic, so she couldn’t offer advice. Still, she felt a strange sense of familiarity.

It was a field that had nothing to do with her, yet something about it felt oddly familiar.

“Anyway, that’s why I’ve been so distracted. But I’m coming to accept that it was a one-time thing, so I’m okay now.”

“…I see. But Lydia, if you can use that kind of magic, does that mean I could too?”

Asilie asked, and Lydia firmly shook her head.

“No. Just because I’m a mage doesn’t mean you can be one too.”

“So it’s completely unrelated?”

“Well, there is something. When I use healing magic, it works better and faster on you than on others. Maybe because we’re blood-related? It’s hard to explain, but that’s how it feels.”

Asilie didn’t fully understand, but she nodded anyway. She figured a longer explanation wouldn’t change much.

She was about to end the conversation when a sudden thought made her speak again.

“Are you sure there’s nothing else bothering you?”

“No, nothing else.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, why?”

Normally, Asilie would’ve let it go, but something made her suspicious.

Lydia looked confused and a little alarmed.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Are you sure everything’s okay?”

“As far as I know, there’s nothing wrong. Is there something I should be worried about?”

“It’s not exactly a problem… but I saw you with Sir Villian, Lydia.”

“So?”

Asilie had expected her to be flustered, but Lydia looked completely calm.

“Is there something wrong with being with Sir Villian? Did he do something?”

Asilie was thrown off by the unexpected reaction.

‘Did I misjudge the situation? But…’

Yesterday afternoon, after her conversation with Madame Marce, Asilie had looked out the window and saw Lydia meeting with Edgar.

The mood between them had seemed quite tender, and Asilie had wondered if their relationship had turned romantic.

After all, Edgar and Lydia often ran into each other or were seen together.

Edgar had personally brought Lydia to the capital, and afterward, he frequently stayed near her while serving as Asilie’s guard.

Frequent encounters like that often led to deeper feelings.

They had spent more than enough time for a relationship to develop.

“Sis?”

But Lydia still seemed completely unfazed.

Even though she wasn’t the type to hide her feelings well.

“…Never mind.”

“What? Seriously, what is it? Now I have to know.”

“Well, it’s just…”

“Wait, did you think I had some kind of thing going on with Sir Villian?”

Lydia, now realizing what her sister was getting at, widened her eyes.

She was never good at lying, so Asilie’s thoughts were written all over her face.

“You really thought that?”

“…Yeah, I did.”

“Not at all. Sir Villian actually came to check and make sure there wasn’t any misunderstanding.”

“What happened between you two that made him feel the need to do that?”

“It was nothing big. When the gunshot surprised us, he protected me, and there was some physical contact.”

“Oh, I see…”

“Yeah. He’s such an upright guy, I guess he got worried. But I told him it was fine, and that was it.”

Asilie had actually seen Sir Villian watch Lydia walk away, standing still and staring for a long time.

But judging by Lydia’s reaction, his feelings didn’t seem to be mutual—or at least not clearly shared.

Asilie concluded that if she pointed it out, she might ruin Sir Villian’s chance.

Just then, their carriage arrived in front of a shop, and the sisters naturally ended the conversation and went inside the luxury store.

“Welcome, ladies. What are you looking for?”

“I’d like to see some fountain pens. Something older people might like.”

“Ah, fountain pens. They’ve been popular as gifts lately. I’ll bring some out right away.”

While the clerk went to get the pens, Asilie and Lydia browsed the shop.

“There’s a lot of stuff here. Doesn’t seem very practical, though.”

Asilie responded in a quiet voice to Lydia’s whisper.

“This place sells luxury goods. Value here isn’t based on practicality.”

“Really? That seems kind of… wasteful.”

Before her return to the past, Asilie would’ve strongly agreed with Lydia.

Back then, she prided herself on her frugal lifestyle, unlike Monica, who spent freely.

But now she realized that her past behavior came from a lack of understanding about noble life. It hadn’t been wise at all.

“I know what you’re thinking. But even this kind of spending can be necessary.”

“Spending money wastefully is necessary?”

“More precisely, buying expensive, rare items can be necessary. It’s the easiest way to show off both wealth and power.”

“…I don’t really get it.”

Asilie realized she needed to explain it more simply.

“Nobles already have everything they need. You know that, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Why do most people buy things?”

“Um… because they need them?”

“Exactly. So what does it mean if someone can afford to buy things they don’t need?”

“…That they have enough money to buy unnecessary stuff?”

Asilie nodded.

“There’s more. It also shows that the buyer has the taste to recognize luxury goods. And if sellers only offer them to a few people, it shows the buyer’s high social status too.”

“All that from buying just one thing?”

“Exactly.”

“Hmm… I think I get it. Though honestly, it still feels weird to me.”

Asilie could have explained more, but she didn’t.

She believed that Lydia would understand in time, even if she didn’t now.

But then, a surprising thought came to Asilie.

Would I have met Esperad if I hadn’t chosen this path?

Asilie’s face stiffened, not hearing what Lydia was saying anymore.

Until now, she had always believed that if given the choice between living a peaceful life as a commoner or a glamorous one as a noble, she would choose the common life without hesitation.

But when she added Esperad to that choice, her once unshakable belief started to waver.

I…

Asilie froze from the shock.

She no longer wanted to live as a commoner.

More precisely, she didn’t want to live as a commoner without him.

The realization hit her hard, and her face turned pale.