A Change of Husband - Chapter 87

She glared at Asilie with a look that seemed to want to kill her, unable to hold back any longer, and raised her hand.

Smack!

Then, she swung her hand forcefully towards Asilie’s cheek. If Asilie hadn’t grabbed her wrist in time, her palm would have surely struck Asilie’s cheek.

“You… you…!”

However, instead of hitting Asilie’s cheek, Countess Bonaparte felt only the pain of her swollen wrist from the unexpected friction.

She blinked, not realizing what had happened, and Asilie smiled, trying to calm her down.

“Mother, no matter how much you’re losing control of your emotions, violence is never acceptable. It’s uncivilized and unworthy of nobility.”

Despite always criticizing her for being of low birth, lacking manners, and uncultured, in her emotional outburst, Countess Bonaparte’s actions were far worse than Asilie’s.

Unable to achieve her goal, Countess Bonaparte glared at Asilie for a long time, holding onto her wrist. She then roughly shook off Asilie’s hand.

“I can’t just let you get away with your arrogant behavior! Just you wait, I’ll see if you can keep acting like this!”

Turning sharply, Countess Bonaparte shouted, and Asilie replied calmly.

“Yes, Mother. Take care.”

At Asilie’s calm voice, Countess Bonaparte couldn’t stand without clutching the back of her neck.

Back in her bedroom, she was unable to hold back her anger any longer and began throwing anything she could get her hands on.

Expensive ornaments, a broken chair, and scattered cosmetics soon made the room a mess.

The only silver lining was that the Count and Countess had been sleeping in separate rooms for a long time.

“Kanna, Kanna!”

After making a mess for a while, Countess Bonaparte called for the head maid’s name.

Whenever things like this happened, the head maid would always listen to Countess Bonaparte with great care and bring her warm tea.

But no matter how much she called, the head maid didn’t show up.

After calling her name until her throat was sore, Countess Bonaparte suddenly realized that the head maid, who would always be nearby, had been dismissed from the family because of Asilie.

“That, that, that woman!”

Her whole body trembled in anger.

Since Asilie returned, nothing had gone right. What she once considered to be too obedient and docile now seemed like it was bothering her, and now everything about her irritated Countess Bonaparte.

Originally, Countess Bonaparte wasn’t someone to act irrationally like this. She had always prided herself on being a calm, cultured, and rational noblewoman.

But Asilie this bothersome presence, had been breaking her composure.

Countess Bonaparte looked at her reflection in the mirror on the vanity.

Her normally neatly combed, flowing hair was now tangled and a mess, and her face, flushed with anger, had ruined her makeup.

“Ha, alright.”

Countess Bonaparte decided to calm herself down.

She wasn’t the type to act emotionally, and there was no need to be played by someone as lowly as Asilie. If Asilie attacked her emotionally, Countess Bonaparte would handle it the way she always had—calmly and directly.

She sat in front of the vanity, fixed her makeup and hair, then headed straight for Count Bonaparte’s office.

Knock knock.

After knocking and entering the office, she saw Count Bonaparte and his assistants working inside.

Since Countess Bonaparte rarely visited the office, both the Count and his assistants looked at her with surprised expressions.

“What’s going on?”

“I have something urgent to discuss.”

“Really? Well then, everyone take a 30-minute break.”

At Count Bonaparte’s words, the assistants quickly left the office.

Once they were all gone, Countess Bonaparte turned back to face him.

“I’m sorry for coming suddenly. But I have something important to say.”

“What is it?”

“We need to get rid of that lowly person immediately.”

“Lowly person?”

“Who else in our family could be so lowly?”

Only then did Count Bonaparte understand what his wife was referring to, and he looked at her with confusion.

“Why all of a sudden?”

“That wicked and lowly person is disgracing our family at social gatherings! It’s obvious she wants to get revenge for what happened to her.”

“But, my dear—”

“At the royal banquet, she blurted out to everyone that Joseph had an affair with the Countess of Bourbon. And when I went to speak with her today, she blamed everything on Joseph!”

Count Bonaparte sighed deeply. He had heard about the incident at the royal banquet through other nobles. He had anticipated it might cause trouble, but unfortunately, he wanted to criticize Monica, who had acted more rashly than Asilie.

“Do you know that the second child introduced the Countess of Bourbon to the eldest child?”

“What?”

“She introduced the Countess of Bourbon to the eldest child, saying she should meet her first.”

At this, Countess Bonaparte’s face stiffened.

When she thought Asilie was dead, it had been Monica who had recommended the Countess of Bourbon as Joseph’s new wife. Perhaps Monica had already known about the affair between Joseph and the Countess of Bourbon. No, it was highly likely.

“…Still, it was that girl’s fault for publicly talking about Joseph’s mistake! This has tarnished our family’s reputation, my dear. If we ask the Grand Duke of Grandier for a divorce, we won’t even have a leg to stand on.”

“So, you want a divorce?”

“Of course.”

“We don’t have grounds for a divorce yet. If we seek one over what happened at the royal banquet, we’ll just make fools of ourselves.”

“I know. That’s why I’ll create a reason for it.”

“You’ll create one?”

“I need your help.”

Count Bonaparte fell silent, thinking. To be honest, he wanted to wait a little longer before making any decisions about Asilie.

At the royal banquet, Asilie had shown her connection to the Grand Duke of Grandier, even socializing with his wife.

“…What are you planning?”

“If she threatens my position like this, I’ll let her experience that joy, even if only for a moment. For example, I’ll give her the ledgers to manage. Of course, it would be better if those ledgers disappeared midway.”

“You?”

“I’ll handle this myself. You just make sure she can access the library where the ledgers are kept.”

Countess Bonaparte stood up with a meaningful smile, and Count Bonaparte looked at her with unease.

She had always maintained her composure and elegance, but this time, things didn’t seem to be progressing as smoothly as before.

In the end, Count Bonaparte had no choice but to nod.

“…Alright.”

“Oh, Young Master. What’s wrong?”

“It’s been a long time, hasn’t it? Do you know how much I’ve missed you, my lady?”

“Still.”

Joseph smiled shyly and kissed the forehead, cheek, and lips of the Bourbon Countess in turn.

Despite declaring that she would never see him again after the incident at the royal banquet, she eventually changed her mind thanks to Joseph’s efforts.

In reality, it wasn’t Joseph’s efforts but rather the fact that, at her age, she could no longer meet eligible noblemen, forcing her to make

this decision.

“Anyway, I’m really sorry, my lady. I should have dealt with that woman properly…”

“What? Deal with her?”

“No, I mean… I should have crushed her spirit so she couldn’t speak of such things.”

“Oh, I see what you meant. Well, her arrogance seemed like it would really bother you, Young Master.”

“My lady, you are absolutely right. I’ve never been happy for a single moment since I married that woman.”

Joseph was the kind of person who only wanted the best.

He was the heir to the well-established Bourbon Count family and a noble in high society.

Naturally, he had no intention of marrying someone like Asilie who was beneath him.

If Geoffrey, who had been originally intended to marry Asilie hadn’t rushed into marriage due to Monica’s pregnancy, Asilie would never

have been his bride.

Joseph only accepted the best of everything — food, clothing, places to visit, and people to associate with.

But his wife, who was supposed to be his best accessory, was a woman who couldn’t even fulfill that function. She was beneath him, and

that brought him great shame. Then, Asilie got pregnant.

“Brother, even if that woman carries your child, it’s still only half a child, isn’t it? The mother’s background matters. And if we leave her,

she will never be driven out of this family. If you want to get rid of her, now is the time.”

Perhaps this was an impulsive decision influenced by Geoffrey’s persuasion.

However, Joseph didn’t feel any guilt about killing someone, especially when the victim was his wife.

But that persistent woman didn’t die. She returned to the mansion…

‘That filthy foot of hers!’

And still, as if unaware of the problem, she blinked her big eyes.

Even thinking about it now, it made him so angry he clenched his fists. She didn’t stop causing trouble, either.

“Anyway, don’t worry too much, my lady. I will definitely get rid of that woman from our family.”

“I don’t want to be blamed for infidelity anymore, Young Master. I believe you will take care of it well.”

“Of course.”

Whispering in her ear, Joseph gently laid the Bourbon Countess down on the bed.

It was time to relax and catch up since it had been a while.

Monica looked at Joseph, who had hurriedly put on his clothes with his buttons wrong, and shook her head in disdain.

Today was the day of a meeting with the young conservative nobles.

While Geoffrey discussed policies and had productive conversations with the young nobles, Joseph had disappeared and spent time with

the Bourbon Countess.

Even after what happened at the royal banquet.

Monica shook her head, thinking how hard it was to understand these men.

‘He’s so stupid, he can’t even kill properly with a poison. He probably didn’t use a lethal dose.’

She glared at Joseph, then smiled brightly when their eyes met.

“Did you have a good time?”

“Thanks to you.”

“I’m glad to hear that. By the way, brother-in-law…”

She had been debating whether to bring this up, but decided it wouldn’t hurt to plant the seed of doubt.

After all, she had nothing to lose, so Monica decided to talk about Asilie.

“…Lately, I’ve been feeling something strange.”

“What do you mean?”

“About her.”

“Is she causing trouble again?”

“Not exactly… As you know, she’s changed a lot, especially after returning to the Count family.”

Monica wanted to suggest that Asilie might still remember everything.

But Joseph, clearly not understanding, blinked his blue eyes and stared at her.

“I mean, maybe she remembers everything.”

“That’s impossible, isn’t it?”

Joseph asked with a skeptical look.

Monica wasn’t there when it happened, but Joseph was.

He had been the one to curse and spit on Asilie as she lay dying, in great pain.

It was practically impossible for him to face her again, with that memory. Even Joseph sometimes felt a chill remembering what he had

done.

“So, why is she pretending not to remember after coming back to the family?”

“Maybe she’s doing it to get revenge.”

“That’s…”

From what Joseph had seen, Asilie had returned to the Bourbon family instead of going to the Grandier family.

But Monica’s suggestion made him uneasy.

“Brother-in-law, maybe we should act more decisively. We’ve done well so far, haven’t we?”

She smiled as she tucked Joseph’s hair behind his ear, then cupped his chin and kissed him.

Just minutes ago, Joseph had been kissing the Bourbon Countess, but now he accepted Monica’s kiss without any guilt.

“Brother-in-law…”

Monica’s sweet voice made Joseph look at her with a dazed expression.

“That place belongs to the Bourbon Countess, doesn’t it? I would be overjoyed if the Bourbon Countess joined our family. And… well,

someone like you couldn’t just marry anyone.”

“Everything you said is true.”

Joseph stared at Monica with a dreamy look, and she smiled even more, her eyes sparkling.

She had to get rid of Asilie and make the Bourbon Countess his wife.

If Asilie had given birth, Joseph’s heir would have been secure, but this fool had ruined the Bourbon Count heirship with his own hands.

Now, if she could just attach the infertile Bourbon Countess as his wife, Geoffrey and she would naturally take control of the Bourbon

family.

Monica, filled with disdain for Joseph who didn’t even realize this, moved closer to him again.

At least she was glad Joseph was handsome enough that it didn’t turn her stomach.

‘I hope he stays this stupid.’

Monica gently touched Joseph’s arm around her waist, then collapsed on top of him.

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