A Change of Husband - Chapter 61

Her whole body ached.

She wanted to check exactly where she was hurt, but her body felt tied down and she couldn’t move.

The pain coming up from her bare, cold feet was also serious—she must have injured the soles while running.

Asilie, who had been frowning in pain, quickly realized she shouldn’t show that she was awake. So, she kept her eyes closed and hid her expression.

“Open your eyes. I know you’re awake.”

Up until she heard that voice, it had been possible.

The moment she heard that disgusting voice—the one that made her clench her fists in revulsion—Asilie’s eyes flew open.

And she glared at the man standing before her as if she wanted to kill him.

“…Ha.”

“What? ‘Ha’? That’s quite an attitude for a woman who’s about to die.”

“If you’re going to kill me anyway, there’s no reason to grovel.”

Joseph’s face twisted at her bold answer.

Most women in her situation would be crying and begging for their lives, but this woman acted like she had no fear at all.

He was dumbfounded. He’d even killed all the witnesses, so it would take over a day before anyone realized it was a kidnapping rather than a simple disappearance. What was she so confident about?

‘Does she really believe her husband will come rescue her, so she’s acting all tough?’

Joseph sneered and mocked her, thinking he’d figured her out.

“Well, if you’d just submitted right away, it wouldn’t have been nearly as fun.”

“Fun?”

Asilie felt her nerves fraying.

To treat someone’s life like it was a game—this inhuman behavior made her feel even more disgusted with the person she used to be.

At the same time, the man she had once considered a devil and hated so deeply might actually be even more terrible and vile than she had ever imagined. A chill ran through her entire body.

“So now people risk their lives for fun?”

“My life? Are you saying my life is in danger? Hahaha!”

“Don’t you think so? You seem awfully confident.”

“Sure, I’d like to believe that too…”

Joseph chuckled darkly.

He could already imagine the thrill of watching her reaction when she realized that no one would ever find this place.

“There’s no way anyone can find this place.”

“There’s no such thing as a perfect secret in this world.”

“No, I made it possible.”

His confident tone shook her slightly, but Asilie kept a cold face and forced herself to stay calm.

“People always believe what they want to believe.”

“Hahaha! Funny. Even the guys who helped kidnap you are dead—how’s anyone supposed to find you? Not even the Duke of Medici could manage that.”

But her face soon stiffened.

It wasn’t because she believed Joseph’s claim that no one could find her.

It was because she now realized again just how cruel he truly was—he had even killed the people who had helped him kidnap her.

She couldn’t understand how she had ever believed she loved someone like him.

Now that she had seen the beast inside him, even his handsome face looked disgusting and hideous.

In that way, the world was fair.

He had the kind of looks that could fool everyone, but on the inside, he was nothing but repulsive trash.

“Are you finally starting to understand your situation?”

“So what?”

“What?”

“So what is it that you want from me?”

Asilie looked at him coldly, raising one corner of her mouth as he laughed crudely.

“Did you think I’d fall to my knees and beg for my life just because you told me how hopeless my situation is?”

“Have you gone mad from fear? Ha!”

“I already told you. If I’m going to die either way, I’ll keep my pride and die with it.”

Joseph stared at her and then suddenly burst into choking laughter, clutching his stomach.

Even that laughter looked disgusting.

Asilie, overwhelmed by nausea, raised her hand to cover her mouth.

Joseph, unaware, muttered in a low voice.

“Fine, good. This is even more fun. Watching a woman who tries to keep her pride break down piece by piece—that’s way more entertaining, don’t you think?”

“…”

“How should I destroy you, one piece at a time?”

Joseph began humming as he took off his jacket.

In a way, it was a relief that he wasn’t trying to kill her immediately.

The longer he delayed, the more time it gave Esperad to find her.

Lydia probably didn’t take long to reach the Medici mansion, and the knights of the mansion would be searching for her by now.

Joseph was sure that no one could find this place, but Asilie believed otherwise.

She was sure Esperad would come for her.

‘But I broke my promise again.’

She had told him not to wait because she’d return soon. But she ended up making him wait—and worse, making him search for her.

All because of the vile demon standing in front of her.

It wasn’t enough that he had killed their child—now he was trying to kill her too.

Asilie felt a wave of uncontrollable rage.

“…You really are a coward.”

She spat the words with contempt.

Joseph, who had been looking for something in the dark, froze and turned to her.

“Coward?”

“Do you disagree?”

“I guess you’re not scared anymore since you think you’re about to die.”

“Look who’s talking. You must have felt the same way when you ran off to the countryside for three years. Now I’m curious.”

Asilie sneered and continued.

“My husband was the one who drove you away—so why did you come after me?”

“Because if it hadn’t been for you, I—!”

“Stop lying to yourself. You just didn’t have the guts to go up against my husband, who’s far stronger than you.”

“What?”

His face twisted with rage.

Asilie knew that provoking him was dangerous, but she wanted to show Joseph just how pathetic he really was.

“That’s why you kidnapped me instead—because you thought I was weaker. It makes sense, really. It fits your dirty, cowardly personality.”

“You crazy bitch…!”

Smack!

Joseph’s eyes went wide with rage as he rushed at her and slapped her hard across the face.

Her head snapped to the side from the impact, but Asilie didn’t give in. She turned her head back and stared him down.

“Do you know what people call someone like you?”

She asked him, then spat at him with all the fury she had—straight into the face of the man who looked like he might strangle her any second.

Blood-mixed spit from her split lip smeared his cheek.

“They call you human trash.”

Joseph wiped the spit off his cheek with his sleeve without breaking eye contact.

The blood-stained spit smeared his white shirt, and his face contorted in pure rage.

“…If dying is what you want so badly, then fine! I’ll make that wish come true right now! Right now!”

When he first captured her, he had planned to torture her slowly before killing her.

But her constant defiance changed his mind.

Now, even breathing the same air as her was unbearable.

He hated her from the bottom of his heart.

No woman had ever made him feel this way.

Which was why—more than ever—he wanted to kill her with his own hands.

Joseph reached out with trembling hands and grabbed her pale neck.

Her thin neck looked like it might snap with just a bit of pressure. Asilie likely knew she would die the moment he tightened his grip.

Yet her expression didn’t change. Her calm amber eyes only enraged him more.

“You’re finished.”

Just as Joseph started to squeeze—

Bang!

At first, he couldn’t understand what had happened.

But the burning pain shooting through his shoulder and the physical shock he had never felt before made Joseph scream.

“AAAAAGH!”

But it wasn’t over.

Bang!

Another shot rang out, and this time, pain exploded in his ankle.

He had never felt pain like this in his life—he hadn’t even known pain like this existed.

Joseph couldn’t figure out what was happening.

He collapsed completely, barely holding himself up with the arm opposite his wounded shoulder, his body trembling.

He struggled to lift his head.

And what he saw—was the one man he least wanted to face.

The one man he was sure he’d never see again.

“You… it’s you…!”

Lydia arrived at the Medici Mansion around the time Esperad had expected Asilie to return.
Esperad, who had been sitting by the window overlooking the front of the mansion, noticed something was wrong when he saw Lydia riding alone on horseback and stood up.
Asilie had definitely gone out in a carriage with Sophia and Lydia.
So there was no reason for Lydia to return alone—especially not on a horse without even a saddle.

“My sister was kidnapped!”
That was the first thing Esperad heard when he came downstairs.
His mind went blank, but he forced himself to stay calm as he approached her.

“Where was she kidnapped?”
“I can’t explain. We have to go there—right now. As fast as possible…”

But before Lydia could even finish, Esperad was already giving orders to the knights standing guard at the mansion gate.

Following Lydia’s lead, Esperad arrived at the scene of the kidnapping—only to find a pile of bodies.

“The people who kidnapped my sister… why are they…”

Esperad stayed surprisingly calm, even to himself.
He didn’t believe someone else had rescued Asilie. If that had happened, the Medici Mansion would’ve received news by now.
That meant the attackers were meant to be discarded from the start—and that whoever was behind this had sent “his own knights” to destroy the evidence.

“Edgar, check immediately for any signs that the knights of Count Mirk or Count Bonaparte were here. Everyone else, search the area! They wouldn’t have killed everyone in one place. Look for blood trails and track their movements!”

Just as he finished giving orders and was about to head deeper into the forest, Lydia suddenly grabbed his wrist.

“Forgive my rudeness.”
“What are you…”
“I think I know where my sister is.”
“…What?”

Lydia was crying so hard she looked ready to collapse, but she gripped his wrist tightly, as if to prove she was telling the truth.

“She’s that way.”
“That way is…”

Lydia was pointing toward a cliff.
Esperad looked at her silently, then asked in a trembling voice,

“Are you saying… Asilie is dead?”
“No. She’s not dead. She’s alive. But we don’t have much time.”

The whole situation was confusing.
But even if she had gone mad from the shock, Esperad didn’t think she was lying—especially not about her sister being kidnapped.
Besides, Lydia had remembered the exact location where the kidnapping happened, and she had survived even after the kidnappers were killed.

Esperad still had many questions, but in a situation like this, any lead was worth following.
That’s why he chose to trust Lydia.

Because he didn’t hesitate, Esperad quickly found the hidden, filthy, and gloomy hut around the cliff’s edge.

He looked down at Joseph, who had laid his filthy hands on Asilie, with a look of pure contempt.

“N-No…”

Esperad didn’t say a word, but Joseph knew, just by seeing those blazing blue eyes, that Esperad intended to kill him.
It felt so unfair!
He hadn’t even done anything yet—so how had they found him this quickly?

Joseph wanted to scream or resist somehow. But the pain made it impossible to move his right ankle or his left arm.

Then, Esperad began to walk.
Dealing with this man was important, but checking on Asilie’s condition came first.

“Asilie!”
“Esperad…”

Though she’d only been strangled for a moment, the pain was still clear.
Her voice was completely hoarse, but she lifted her head to show she was okay.
But what Esperad saw was a red handprint on her pale cheek—where even a kiss would’ve seemed too harsh.

“That bastard…”
“I’m fine.”

He didn’t believe her.
Without saying anything, he gestured to one of the knights behind him, then cut the thick rope binding her to the post with his sword and lifted her into his arms.

“Edgar will take you back to the mansion right away. Your sister is waiting outside.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll take care of him and follow you.”

Esperad knew she was worried. But he pretended not to notice and handed her to the knight.

“I’ll see you at the mansion. I’ll be there soon.”

He kissed her forehead gently and didn’t turn back until she had completely left the hut.
Then Esperad walked back toward Joseph.

When the knights lit torches to illuminate the hut, the scene inside was revealed.
On the worn-out table lay torture devices—clearly recognizable even to someone unfamiliar with them.
Some were sexual torture devices, which were strictly forbidden in Astel.

Esperad’s face hardened.

“I-I didn’t do anything!”

Joseph shouted, trying to defend himself, but Esperad didn’t even hear him.
What mattered more than this worthless man’s excuses was what Esperad had seen with his own eyes.

No matter what had happened, this disgusting man had intended to use those horrible tools on the precious Asilie—someone too valuable to even be touched carelessly.
That alone was reason enough to punish him.

“If you lay a hand on me, Count Bonaparte will—”

Smack!

Before Joseph could finish his threat, Esperad punched him in the face.
Joseph collapsed, powerless.
Even after seeing Joseph completely lose the will to fight, Esperad’s clenched fist didn’t relax.

This level of rage and disgust was something Esperad had never felt before.
He had always considered fistfights barbaric and detested them—but this man made him want to throw all that aside.
He wanted to punish him. No, he wanted to kill him.

But Esperad also knew something.
If he killed Joseph, things would become complicated.

“As long as I don’t kill you…”

At those chilling words, Joseph felt goosebumps all over his body.
Trembling in fear, he looked up at Esperad, who muttered just loud enough for him to hear,

“Be grateful I don’t have time right now, young master.”
“W-What do you mean?”

“Take off his pants.”
“What?”

Joseph’s eyes widened, but before he could resist, the knights came over and stripped off his pants.

Joseph instinctively knew what was coming. He wet himself in fear, but Esperad didn’t flinch.

With a look of pure disgust, Esperad glared at Joseph’s groin.
Then, without hesitation, he raised his sword—and slashed.

“Aaaaghhh!”

Joseph let out a scream of agony.
But Esperad didn’t even blink. He turned to the knights and gave a cold order:

“Dump him in front of Count Bonaparte’s estate. I don’t care if they find out it was our family.”

This was the best revenge Esperad could give—and a way to repay Geoffrey for supporting them in the recent trial.

Without looking back, Esperad headed straight for the Medici Mansion.
He couldn’t leave Asilie alone any longer.

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