A Change of Husband - Chapter 62

Back in that cabin, she hadn’t seemed to be in such bad shape.
He had expected that she might be in shock, or have invisible wounds, but he never imagined she wouldn’t wake for four days.
Even the personal physician of the House of Camédici couldn’t explain the situation.

“There are no external injuries. There are some light bruises, but those should disappear without a trace in a few days.”
“Then why hasn’t she woken up?”
“It’s difficult to say at the moment, Your Grace. Forgive me. The only possible explanation is that the duchess suffered great emotional trauma—but even that isn’t certain.”
“…Haa.”

After sending the physician out, Esperad looked down at Asilie, his brow deeply furrowed.
Her cheeks were sunken from going days without food while unconscious.
He felt utterly powerless. The woman he loved lay motionless, and there was nothing he could do. It was agonizing.
It was a feeling he’d experienced before—
When his fiancées had died, one after another.

“…Please.”
Please wake up.
If this desperate wish could reach her… would she open her eyes?

He was angry.
If he’d known this would happen, he wouldn’t have let Joseph off so lightly.
Maybe I should’ve just killed him.
He’d spared the man because of the complications it would bring later.

Esperad gently brushed back Asilie’s now-dry, once-lustrous golden hair, then took a deep breath and walked out.
As he exited the bedroom, he saw Lydia and Sophia waiting outside.

“How is she…?”

Before the question was finished, Esperad shook his head.
Sophia, eyes already red, burst into tears again.
She had blamed herself for Asilie’s kidnapping, saying it was her fault for going out that day. She had begged Esperad several times to punish her.

At first, Esperad had no intention of taking his anger out on the innocent. He’d even given specific instructions for her to continue her tasks, believing Asilie would wake soon and be pleased.
But now…

To others, four days might seem short.
To him, it felt like he was reaching his limit.

Staring emotionlessly at the two women, he turned and headed for his office.
He had to at least pretend to work—if not, he might go mad.

“Esperad.”

At the sound of his name, Esperad turned around. It was Edgar.

“What is it?”
“The Royal Elders sent a letter to Baron Werther. I didn’t get to see what it said, but judging by his reaction, it looks like young Thomas will be officially registered soon.”
“…Thanks for paying such close attention.”
“Don’t mention it. Given your situation, I want to help however I can. Hang in there.”

Edgar patted him on the shoulder and walked away. Esperad turned back and continued on.
His office was empty—and that alone felt strange.
After they’d combined their workspaces for safety, she had always been there when he entered.
Especially during working hours like now.

It had only been four days, yet a deep unease settled over his chest.
That unease was pushing him to the edge.

Through her absence, Esperad was starting to realize something.
He had always lived without relying on others—but not anymore.
Without Asilie, he was no longer functional.
She had already become essential to him.

Sitting at his desk, Esperad began checking the papers, though there weren’t many left—he’d kept up with work despite everything.
It was strange, even to him, that he was still managing to work.
But he’d wanted things to be at least slightly better for Asilie when she woke, compared to when she had collapsed.

Still… could this state continue?
What if she didn’t wake for much longer?

He couldn’t be sure.

Knock knock.

“Come in.”

At this time of day, it was usually Madame Marce bringing him tea.
Answering automatically as always, Esperad stood in surprise when Lydia rushed in.

She was so out of breath she could barely speak, yet she didn’t even try to calm herself before shouting—

“She’s awake!”

It had been a long dream.
Or… was it a dream?

Asilie blinked slowly, eyes fixed blankly on the ceiling.
Her body felt weak, like the air itself was pressing down on her.
It felt similar to before.
Yes… the same suffocating pressure she had felt right before the night with Esperad.

“Asilie!”

She recognized the voice calling her name.
So, forcing her stiff lips into a smile, she slowly turned her head.

“Esperad.”
“Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere? Do you feel unwell?”
“…My head’s ringing.”
“What?”
“Your voice is too loud.”

At her teasing reply, Esperad’s face briefly twisted with emotion before he couldn’t hold back anymore—he pulled her into a tight embrace.

“Were you very worried?”
“…Do you even know…?”
“I heard I was asleep for a long time. Maybe that’s why…”

She paused for a moment, then smiled faintly and added—

“…I think I’m hungry.”
“Oh, right.”

He had forgotten she hadn’t eaten in days.
Fortunately, others hadn’t. Not long after, Madame Marce arrived with soft foods suitable for someone recovering.

When Asilie tried to pick up her utensils, Esperad stopped her and picked up the spoon and bowl himself.

She gave him a puzzled look.

“What are you doing?”
“I’ll feed you.”
“…What?”

Asilie also knew very well how deeply he loved her.
However, she hadn’t expected him to act this way in front of the attendants, and she couldn’t hide her shocked expression.
Noticing her reaction a moment too late, Esperad dismissed all the attendants.

“Was I the only one you could see?”
Only then did Asilie ask playfully.
Esperad blew on the spoonful of hot soup to cool it and carefully fed it to her before nodding.
“I completely forgot that anyone else existed.”
“You can’t just do that, no matter how worried you are.”
“You can’t imagine it. How crazy I was while you weren’t waking up.”
“……”
“I’ve realized something for sure. I can’t do anything without you.”

At those words, Asilie’s expression stiffened slightly.
Normally, she would’ve welcomed those words happily, but perhaps because of the ominous dream, she couldn’t respond like she usually did.
After a brief hesitation, she asked carefully,
“What if something happens to me and I die before you?”
“What do you mean?”
“It could happen, right? I could die from an illness or an accident. No one knows what the future holds.”
“…Then I’d probably follow you. A world without you would be meaningless.”
“There’s that saying. People who die before their time are punished in the afterlife. What if that punishment means I don’t get to see you again?”

Esperad let out a long sigh.
Even imagining it was horrifying and frustrating.
And now that she had only just woken up, having such a conversation felt even worse.
But if an answer was what Asilie wanted, then he would give it without hesitation.
Fulfilling her wishes was far more important than his own discomfort.

“Then even if my remaining time feels like hell, I’d endure it while thinking of the moment I can see you again. And I’ll find you, no matter what it takes.”
“No matter what it takes?”

Instead of answering, Esperad kissed Asilie’s forehead and fed her another spoonful of soup that had gone cold while they talked.
Her pale, dry lips made his heart ache.

“Aren’t you tired?”
“My body feels a little heavy.”
“That’s concerning. It looks like we’ll have to return to the royal palace soon…”
“Has that much time already passed?”
“All that’s left is the approval of the Royal Council. According to Edgar, a letter from the Council arrived today for Baron Werther. We think it might be related.”

Asilie nodded.
It didn’t seem like her body would recover Asilie.
There hadn’t been any major trauma, but she could feel it — this was her body, after all.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Will you be alright?”
“If I’m with you, yes.”

With that reply, she stopped eating and gently leaned into Esperad’s chest.
The sound of his strong heartbeat seemed to give her strength.
Asilie closed her eyes completely, hoping this heavy feeling was just from having woken up.

Count Bonaparte couldn’t accept what had happened.
His eldest son had said there was one last thing he needed to do before leaving the capital, then went out.
But in the early hours of that same day, he returned covered in blood.
No — it wasn’t even a proper return. He had been abandoned right in front of the estate.

The Bonaparte household was thrown into chaos when they examined the injury.
It was in a place too embarrassing to speak of.
Just in case, they showed the area to the family doctor, but he shook his head.

“Maybe a wizard could do something, but I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do. I’m sorry.”

They knew Count Mirk employed a dark wizard, but this wasn’t something they could ask him for help with.
Especially since it hadn’t been long since Joseph and Monica had both been humiliated at the Nobles’ Ethics Committee trial.

“Why does this boy always—! Every single time! Ugh!”

If Monica gave birth to a boy, there might still be hope.
But if she had a girl, Joseph could never become the Bonaparte heir.
Count Bonaparte looked down at Joseph, who was groaning in bed, the injured area tightly bandaged.

Monica, her face pale, was biting her fingernails while staring at Joseph.
The sight only made his frustration grow.
How could he explain this to Count Bellucci? No — just explaining the situation itself was ridiculous.

“What were you thinking, doing something so reckless!”
“I—I just wanted to punish that filthy wench who had no sense of her place…”

His rage flared again.
Sure, the woman came from a low background, but was it really necessary to punish the Count’s son like this?
Still, they couldn’t make this matter public. In fact, they had to be careful to avoid rumors.

Joseph had already caused enough problems.
If word spread that he’d lost his manhood because he tried to attack the Duchess of Camédici after losing the trial, it would be a disaster.

“But, Father… is there really no other way?”
“A way? What kind of way are you talking about?”
“I mean… is there any way to reattach what was… cut off…?”

Count Bonaparte did love his son in his own way.
He had done everything he could for Joseph so far.
But he couldn’t bring himself to go ask Count Mirk to lend him a wizard just to fix that.
Besides, even if he did show it to a wizard, there was no guarantee it could be healed.
The doctor had just muttered that out of hopelessness.

“…Unless it grows back, it’s impossible.”
“So I’m… I have to live as a eunuch forever?”

When Count Bonaparte couldn’t answer and fell silent, the room was filled with heavy silence.
Joseph buried his face in his hands.

“Nooo! I—I’m a eunuch?! Me, a eunuch…!”

He couldn’t believe it.
Wasn’t he once the darling of high society?
To lose everything just for trying to kill a mere woman — wasn’t this too harsh a punishment?

“Waaah! Father, please get revenge. I can’t live like this! Why should I be the only one…!”

But Joseph didn’t even get the chance to finish crying.
Geoffrey came rushing into the bedroom.

“Father!”

As he suddenly entered, Count Bonaparte looked at him with confusion.
They had warned Geoffrey not to show his face around Joseph anymore, since it was clear now that the heirship would go to Geoffrey.
So the fact that he was here now meant it was something truly urgent.

“Geoffrey?”
“There’s trouble.”
“What’s so important that you dare barge into my room? Am I a joke to you now?”

Joseph shouted like a madman, but Geoffrey didn’t want to mock someone who had lost everything.
He simply ignored him.

“It’s urgent, Father.”
“What is it?”
“Well…”
“Why aren’t you speaking?”

Even as Count Bonaparte pressed him, Geoffrey hesitated, clearly troubled.
But as he noticed Joseph’s face turning red with rage, he quickly got to the point before being interrupted.

“Esperad Camédici has received the Royal Council’s approval and has been granted the right of succession to the throne.”

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