A Change of Husband - Chapter 81

Nothing was going her way. Nothing pleased her.

Ever since that lowly woman—who had always been an eyesore in this household—came back!

Monica glared at the mirror in irritation, then reached out and grabbed the hair of the maid who was bowing beside her.

The maid, suddenly attacked, screamed in pain and shock.

“Kyah!”

“Can’t you shut that filthy mouth?!”

Infuriated by the scream, Monica slapped the maid hard across the cheek.

“Ugh!”

“You messed up my hair like this, and you think you did well?! You stupid wench!”

“I-I’m s-sorry, madam. Hic…”

Monica acted like she owned the place.

Outside, she pretended to be a refined lady, but inside the house, she was nothing short of a tyrant.

Technically, the title “young madam” should have gone to Asilie. But Monica shamelessly insisted that it belonged to her, so Asilie had to go by the meaningless title “madam.”

Of course, it was all possible because the Countess Bonaparte chose to look the other way.

“Ugh, this is why lowborn people are just…”

Monica sighed heavily and brushed the maid’s hair off her fingers as if it were dirty. Her expression was full of disgust and contempt.

In the end, the maid couldn’t bear the humiliation and burst into tears. Even then, she tried to hold it in with hiccups, afraid of upsetting Monica further.

“Get out.”

“Y-yes… sniff…”

She had made the maid cry, but Monica didn’t feel any better.

The reason was simple. The biggest problem—the one who bothered her most—was still unresolved.

She had planned to drive her out the moment she returned, but Asilie kept doing unexpected things.

“Was your so-called revenge just a cold bath?”

Monica blushed again, recalling Geoffrey’s mocking remark.

She couldn’t just sit and do nothing anymore. Most of all, she was furious that Asilie could walk around with her head held high.

Trying to calm herself, she looked for a letter from her daughter Riley, who was staying with the Bellucci family. But when she picked up a royal ball invitation instead, her hand paused.

“This is it.”

With a meaningful smile, Monica grabbed the invitation and stood up.

She headed straight to Asilie’s room.

“Are you feeling better?”

“Thanks to your concern, I’m getting better every day.”

“That’s good. I was worried you might have caught a serious cold. You look fine now, though… I think Mother is still upset because of the head maid.”

“She might be upset now, but in the end, she’ll see that it was the right thing to do. Keeping someone who can’t do her job would only harm the family.”

Monica had brought it up to make her feel guilty, but Asilie spoke confidently instead.

That confidence annoyed Monica to no end. Asilie who used to walk on eggshells, was suddenly acting like this.

“Well, fine. If you’re feeling better, then there’s no reason you can’t attend the social gathering.”

“Social gathering?”

“You’ve been avoiding social events all this time. That’s irresponsible for someone in your position as the Count’s wife. Don’t you think so?”

“……”

“So I thought you should attend the upcoming royal ball. Many people were worried when your husband went missing. It would be polite to show them you’re doing well.”

Asilie instantly understood Monica’s real intention.

The royal ball was where all the nobles gathered. Monica clearly wanted to throw her into the lion’s den—especially among Astel’s nobles who already disliked her.

She also wanted her to run into Lady Bourbon, so everyone would realize Asilie was the woman in Joseph’s bedroom. And perhaps, Monica wanted to shame her for looking shabby too.

In the end, there was only one goal: to hurt Asilie emotionally.

Asilie found Monica petty and wicked. Still, she smiled and said nothing.

“You really think I should go?”

“Of course! It’s for the Count family’s reputation and dignity. Honestly, you’ve been avoiding your duties for a while now. You even skipped the autumn royal ball, saying it wasn’t necessary.”

“…Alright. Let’s do it.”

“Oh my! Then how about we go pick out a dress together?”

“No need. I’ll take care of that myself. But thank you for the thought, sister-in-law.”

Monica secretly sneered at her reply.

How could Asilie with no money and no place in society, get a proper dress?

Dress designers chose their clients carefully. If someone lowered the value of their dress, they simply refused to sell—or handed out leftovers.

So far, Asilie had worn those kinds of dresses to social events, and the Countess hated her for bringing shame to the family.

The clueless Asilie probably didn’t even realize that.

“I hope…”

Monica decided to play a slightly nastier trick.

“…you dress as extravagantly as possible, sister-in-law. If you show up in a shabby dress again, you’ll be embarrassing not just me, but the entire Bonaparte family.”

Asilie quickly noticed the sneer behind Monica’s smile—and what she was really trying to do.

When a king or queen died, people were expected to avoid flashy clothes for at least a year.

Since Esperad had taken the throne, that meant Hort had died. And not long after, Siena had also passed. So they were still in mourning.

Monica wanted her to show up in an extravagant dress and be humiliated in front of everyone.

“I’ll do just enough to meet your expectations.”

“I still worry. Are you sure you don’t need my help?”

“I’m fine.”

“There’s not much time before the ball. You should start preparing now.”

“Then I’ll go out today.”

“Who are you planning to meet?”

Asilie answered without hesitation.

“I’m going to see Sophia—the best designer.”

“Sophia? You mean… that Sophia?”

“Is there another Sophia besides the one from ‘Shop Sophia’?”

“Oh my…”

Monica tried to keep a straight face, but this time, she couldn’t help laughing.

‘Seriously? Shop Sophia?’

Sophia probably wouldn’t even agree to meet Asilie.

Even if she did, getting one of her custom dresses would be nearly impossible. Monica herself—and even the Countess—struggled to get one.

Sophia’s dresses weren’t just about money. You needed charm and value that made her want to dress you.

And only Sophia made that decision.

She was full of pride, and there was no way she’d let someone as shabby and insignificant as Asilie wear her designs.

“Alright then. What about your hair, makeup, and accessories?”

“I’ll take care of hair and makeup at Shop Sophia. I’ll find accessories myself.”

“You think it’s easy to book hair and makeup there?”

“Sister-in-law.”

Asilie smiled and answered calmly.

“I’m not a fool. I’m not some helpless child either. So please, don’t worry so much.”

“Heh, okay.”

Monica decided she didn’t even need to sabotage anything.

Asilie was digging her own grave and asking for embarrassment.

Smiling in satisfaction, Monica stood up.

She had achieved her goal. There was no reason to stay and talk to this lowly woman any longer.

“Well, let me know if you need anything. I’ll help you however I can, sister-in-law. I’ll be going now. You should get ready to visit Shop Sophia.”

“Yes, alright.”

“I’ll even arrange a special carriage for you. If you’re going to Shop Sophia, you need to arrive in style, don’t you think?”

Monica grinned brightly, imagining Asilie riding a luxurious four-wheeled carriage for the first time—only to be rejected at the door of Shop Sophia.

She ordered the maid to prepare the fancy carriage she had brought from the Bellucci household, then returned to her room with a light heart.

Nothing in the world felt better than this.

She had always thought that she would have to meet Sophia one day. She just hadn’t imagined that the time would come so soon.

Still, unlike Jonathan, she had at least seen Sophia once before, even if just in passing. So she didn’t think Sophia would feel as unfamiliar as Jonathan had.

Of course, the Sophia she had known back then was very different from the experienced businesswoman she was now.

Thanks to Monica, who kept her promise and prepared an excellent carriage, Asilie was able to arrive comfortably at Shop Sophia.

It was quite amusing. Monica, who had never once shown kindness, suddenly offered help the moment she thought Asilie would fail.

Perhaps it was because she hoped Asilie would fall into deeper despair and sadness.

Asilie felt both disgust and amusement at Monica’s cruel intentions—because she knew Monica would eventually fall into her own trap.

“I’ll help you,”
said the coachman kindly, as if he had been specially instructed, helping her get off the carriage safely.

It was the kind of treatment she had never received even once at the Bonaparte Count’s house.

Asilie remembering the courtesy and respect she had grown used to as the Duchess of the Medici family, thought it was a good thing she was still accustomed to such treatment as she stepped down from the carriage and entered Shop Sophia.

She had never actually visited Shop Sophia before—only heard about it.

It was well known among the nobles that Sophia carefully chose who she would sell dresses to and who she would allow into her store.

At first, some nobles had been outraged, thinking it was arrogant for someone of common birth to be so picky. But over time, that very attitude made Shop Sophia even more special.

After Sophia started this trend, other dress designers began to select their customers as well. Perhaps this had even helped nobles carry themselves with more dignity in public.

Because of that, Asilie had assumed Sophia would never sell a dress to her, and so she had never once tried to visit the shop before.

This first visit to Shop Sophia showed her a store that was incredibly large and luxurious—truly worthy of its fame.

“Hello, may I ask what brings you here today?”

A shop assistant quickly approached her, bowed politely, and asked.

Asilie replied softly,
“I’ve come to see Designer Sophia.”

“You’re here to see Ms. Sophia?”
The assistant looked at Asilie for a moment before asking carefully,
“Do you have an appointment?”

“I don’t have one.”

Hearing that she didn’t have an appointment should have changed the assistant’s expression, but she simply nodded without showing any emotion.

“I see. Then may I ask what name I should give her?”

“Tell her Asilie Bonaparte is here.”

“Understood, ma’am.”

People in this line of work usually knew, just by hearing a name, exactly which noble family someone belonged to.

Besides, Asilie was quite well-known in high society—though not for good reasons.

So it wouldn’t have been surprising if the assistant had smirked upon hearing her name. But instead, the assistant treated Asilie with the same polite attitude as before.

She said it might take a while and led Asilie to a room where she could sit and wait.

Truthfully, Asilie had been prepared to wait for hours to see Sophia.

In her situation, it was completely expected. Sophia was a highly sought-after designer, and Asilie was treated like an outcast everywhere.

But to her surprise, Sophia entered the room not long after.

Sophia’s face hadn’t changed much from when she last saw her.

Just a few wrinkles from age and a stronger, steadier look in her eyes—that was all.

Asilie felt a sudden, unnecessary sense of joy, but didn’t let it show.

“Have you been waiting long, Madam Bonaparte?”

“No, not at all. I’m glad to see you.”

“Thank you for visiting Shop Sophia. I heard you were looking for me…”

“Oh, it’s nothing too serious. I just had something I wanted to ask.”

Sophia found Asilie’s response very unexpected.

She had thought Asilie would desperately beg for a dress or ask to make a reservation.

Asilie’s situation was well-known.

Sophia hadn’t planned to take her on as a client out of pity, but she had at least decided to hear what Asilie had to say.

But now that Asilie said she just wanted to ask a question, Sophia became even more curious.

“What would you like to ask?”

“Well, I might be remembering wrong, but…”

Asilie paused for a moment, then asked,

“Have you ever been to Pembis?”

“…Pembis, you say?”

Sophia’s face changed instantly.

Asilie was now certain that Sophia, here and now, also had memories of Pembis.

“When I was young, I saw someone who looked exactly like you. When I saw you in passing recently, I wanted to ask if it was you, but I never got the chance.”

“Can you tell me… what kind of person it was?”

“She looked very tired and hungry. She seemed so desperate and worn out that I couldn’t help but share some bread with her.”

At Asilie’s answer, Sophia’s eyes widened.

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