A Change of Husband - Chapter 75

The previous Duke of Grandier was someone everyone acknowledged.

Even when Astel’s economy was struggling, he managed his territory well and made the Grandier family wealthy—a remarkable achievement that other family heads could not accomplish.

But more than anything, he was highly respected for leading the neutral nobles and keeping their power strong, even while the conservative and progressive factions were fiercely fighting.

Not only that, he also gained more benefits by negotiating with both factions during their conflict.

It was true that the polarized politics of Astel made it harder for the neutral group to maintain their place, but even in such a situation, the Duke of Grandier remained a veteran who could not be ignored.

The current Duke of Grandier, who succeeded him, couldn’t avoid being compared to his great father, who had ruled the family for a long time.

Because of public opinion, he had always felt pressure to prove himself by achieving something.

That was one of the reasons why Asilie reunited with Jonathan much sooner than she expected.

“He’s the real designer, so it must not have been easy to get him out…”

She quietly looked down at Jonathan’s face, thinking that because the Duke was impatient, he might be easier to handle—but also harder to soothe.

It had been six and a half years since she last saw Jonathan. Although he had grown noticeably, the boy who once looked young and soft had now become a full-grown man with broad shoulders.

On top of that, it seemed many things had happened during that time—his gaze was completely different.

Even when they first met, he had looked at her with caution, but now his eyes looked cold—far colder than before.

It was like he didn’t trust the world anymore, as if he had grown numb to everything.

Considering how long his uncle had likely been using him, it made sense that he would be full of distrust.

Honestly, Asilie felt lucky to find him alive. She had feared that he might have died because of the so-called weapon inventor who wanted all the profit for himself.

She was happy to see him. But it also felt a little lonely, being the only one who remembered him now.

“I’m the one who came to find you.”

But Asilie pushed down her personal feelings and spoke to him like she was meeting him for the first time.

“I don’t know why someone from such a powerful noble family came to look for me. I’m just a nobody.”

“Normally, ‘nobodies’ don’t invent weapons.”

“I only help with small tasks. I don’t actually do anything important.”

“Oh no, did I come to the wrong place? I thought you were the only one in this country who truly understood how guns work.”

When he was younger, Jonathan would have lit up when someone recognized his value.

But now, he seemed more cautious, even suspicious, of someone who claimed to understand him.

“I don’t know what you think you know, but you won’t gain anything from me. I’m just a powerless man who knows nothing.”

“That doesn’t matter.”

“…Excuse me?”

“If you have no power now, you can gain it later. I want to make a deal with you. At the same time, I want to work together.”

Jonathan scoffed at her words.

“Work together? A noble girl who gets excited over false information wants to work with someone who knows nothing? I’d love to know how that would work.”

“Unlike the early versions, I know the guns are more complete now, but the range hasn’t really improved, right?”

“I already told you I don’t know anything.”

Even though Jonathan firmly denied it, Asilie continued speaking calmly.

“So far, you’ve probably tried to increase the range by making the barrel longer. But unfortunately, if it gets too long, the range actually shortens, so you were forced to stick to the current length.”

In Astel, gender roles were clear, especially among the nobility.

A noblewoman known for drinking tea and chatting knowing so much about dangerous weapons was quite surprising, and Jonathan’s expression changed.

He didn’t think she only knew surface-level information.

Even among gun technicians, many didn’t know how barrel length affected range and just built guns the way they were told.

“I know a different way to increase the range. That’s why I want to work with you on this.”

“Ha, I said I don’t know anything.”

“You’re the one who made the first gun. How could you not know anything?”

“…!”

Jonathan’s eyes widened.

Only his uncle and a few others knew that he was the true inventor of the gun.

His cold-blooded uncle had threatened that if the truth came out, he would lose all his investors and would kill Jonathan out of rage.

Jonathan knew from experience that his uncle was not someone who made empty threats.

So how did this woman know a secret that neither he nor his uncle had ever spoken aloud?

“I’m not here to threaten you or control you with a weakness. I want us to make a deal that allows both of us to survive. A fair and reasonable deal.”

“I don’t understand how a fair deal is possible when you already know so much and I don’t know anything.”

“………”

“You’re a noble who lives in a huge mansion. I’m sure you’ve never had to worry. But for me, this is about life and death. I’m not stupid enough to risk my life for a noble’s game.”

Jonathan truly believed that Asilie was putting his life in danger just to satisfy her curiosity or personal interests.

Being looked at with such contempt and threat by a grown man was hard for a delicate noblewoman.

But Asilie didn’t back down. She met his eyes directly without flinching.

“This is life or death for me too. I wouldn’t bother dragging you here to do this just out of curiosity.”

“If it’s so important to you, then why don’t you build it yourself?”

“Why should I waste my time making something myself when a true expert who wants freedom is standing right in front of me?”

“What…?”

“I know you were never properly paid for your work. You were cruelly exploited.”

Jonathan’s eyes widened again at how well she knew his situation.

Even though she was being watched with suspicion, she didn’t stop speaking.

“This is the Grandier estate. As long as you’re under its protection, no one can harm you. And if you act a little smarter, you could become someone who stands equal to the Duke of Grandier.”

“How can I believe that?”

“I’ll tell you how to increase the range. In return, make thirty guns and give them to the Duke of Grandier. But he has to believe you stole them.”

“You want to make me a thief?”

“Until now, even if you had the skills to make guns, your uncle controlled all the sales. You had no way to stand alone. But with money, everything changes. Mostly for the better.”

Asilie had no intention of letting the Duke of Grandier take Jonathan.

Besides, the Duke wasn’t even capable of guiding someone like Jonathan. Maybe a foster father would be different.

“I really don’t know what you’re talking about…”

“We don’t have time. And this is the only chance we have to help each other.”

There was no time to explain everything in detail.

The rest of the plan would come after their deal was fully made.

Asilie knew that a deal without trust was dangerous—but now, she had no choice but to trust him.

At the very least, her trust in him was very strong.

They had already officially announced Asilie Bonaparte’s disappearance and death.

Since she was already dead, and had only been temporarily adopted by the Grandier Duchy for a shallow alliance, they thought no one would care. That made the decision easier.

Some people might find the word “disappearance” suspicious, but who could say anything when the explanation was that she was attacked by a wild animal during an outing?

Thinking that way, Joseph was able to sleep peacefully after killing Asilie.

He had always been annoyed by the girl who constantly stared at him and smiled foolishly whenever their eyes met.

To him, Asilie was a disgrace. As the heir of a noble count family, it was ridiculous that he had married a strange girl with no known background.

Now that the woman who always irritated him was gone, he felt as if a bad tooth had been pulled out—relieved.

At least, until a letter came from the Grandier Duchy.

“Didn’t you say it was handled properly?”

Joseph flinched at the sharp voice of Count Bonaparte.

“Not only did you act on your own without permission, but now you’ve caused this situation because you didn’t clean things up properly? Are you out of your mind? You fool!”

“I swear… it was a situation where she couldn’t have survived. I had the soldiers block the area, so no one else could enter or help.”

“Did you confirm that she had stopped breathing?”

“That…”

Joseph couldn’t answer properly and looked nervous.

He had lived his whole life as a graceful noble, and the only dead bodies he had ever seen were wild animals from hunting.

He had no hesitation about killing someone, but he had never done it himself. On top of that, this was a woman who had carried his child and shared a bed with him. Watching her die had been too uncomfortable.

That’s why he turned away without confirming she was really dead.

“I… didn’t confirm it.”

“If you were going to kill her, you should have made sure she had stopped breathing. And if there was no time for that, you should have at least stabbed her in the heart before leaving! Ugh…”

Count Bonaparte pressed his aching head with one hand.

His eldest son was always like this. He would cause problems that were hard to fix and then leave it all to him.

But this time, it was even more troublesome. After all, Asilie was a noble.

What Joseph had done was murder.

And since the victim was both his wife and a noble, it made things even worse.

The strange thing was that the Grandier Duchy hadn’t sent a protest letter. Instead, they sent a message saying they had found their missing adopted daughter, were treating her, and would return her. They asked the Bonaparte family to correct the death announcement.

“Maybe she doesn’t remember what happened.”

“What do you mean?”

“When someone almost dies and comes back, their body often doesn’t function properly. It’s common for them not to remember what happened before they collapsed. Maybe that’s what happened to her.”

Count Bonaparte shook his head, thinking that might be their best hope.

For now, the Grandier Duchy didn’t seem to want to raise a problem with the Bonaparte family, which was lucky. Still, he didn’t want to see the son who had caused such a big mess.

“We’ll have to wait and see. Anyway, leave now. I don’t want to see your face!”

“Yes, sir.”

Joseph quickly left, knowing his father’s temper. Geoffrey and Monica followed behind him.

Once Geoffrey came out, Joseph lowered his voice and snapped at him.

“Geoffrey! This is all your fault!”

“What are you talking about, brother?”

“You were the one who said it was shameful for such a lowly woman to carry my child and pushed me to get rid of her! And now you say nothing in front of Father!”

Joseph yelled with an angry face, and Geoffrey looked at him with disbelief.

It wasn’t entirely wrong. Geoffrey was the one who had encouraged Joseph to get rid of Asilie.

If Asilie’s baby was a son, it would strengthen Joseph’s position as heir, so Geoffrey and Monica had even sent the daughter of Count Bourbon to push Joseph into action.

But even they hadn’t imagined that the foolish Joseph would mess things up like this.

“Father was right. You should have made sure she stopped breathing.”

“How could I do such a disgusting thing? If I couldn’t do it, you should have!”

Geoffrey felt a surge of anger at how Joseph treated him like a complete servant.

He managed to calm himself and asked quietly.

“So what are you going to do now?”

“What do you mean, what?”

Seeing Joseph flailing, not knowing what to do with the messed-up situation, Monica opened her mouth.

“You need to bring the daughter of Count Bourbon into the family. I don’t want to serve a brother-in-law with no proper background. That was something you agreed with too, didn’t you?”

“Then what do you want me to do?”

“You need to make her leave on her own. We’ve tried before, but this time we have to make it clear.”

“What do you mean, make it clear?”

“We need to make sure she understands she has no place here. You have to help us.”

Monica gave a relaxed smile, which didn’t match the situation, and gently touched Joseph’s chin with her hand.

“You’ll help, right?”

She looked at him as if he were a pet.

But Joseph, unaware of the truth, blushed and nodded without hesitation, as if he had never raised his voice.

He didn’t notice Geoffrey’s look of contempt at all.

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