A Change of Husband - Chapter 88

“As you predicted earlier, there was illegal labor,” Benjamin said.

Esperad nodded calmly, showing no sign of surprise.

“How many were there?” he asked.

“About a hundred,” Benjamin replied.

Esperad had already suspected this. When he went out to do market research, he noticed that there were far too many weapons in circulation. Even when exporting weapons to foreign countries, there had never been this many in the market. While there were policy reasons for limiting distribution, it was also due to the small number of workers in the arms factories. Of course, if they wanted to, they could have increased distribution significantly. Except for a few processes, making firearms did not require much specialized skill.

Esperad recalled the past world. When they exported weapons abroad, Jonathan could manage the process alone. By assigning specific roles to people in the correct order, they were able to mass-produce in a short period of time. However, in this world, exporting weapons to foreign countries was strictly forbidden, yet the weapons in circulation were still excessive. He had checked the number of workers in the arms factories, and the number of reported workers was far too low, suggesting there were hidden workers.

“In fact, there’s more to the problem,” Benjamin said.

“What is it?” Esperad asked.

“They are all illegal immigrants who crossed the border from Astel secretly. Most of them are from Austin and Velkoz.”

“…They are digging my own grave.”

Not reporting illegal immigrants was a crime, and using their labor to accumulate wealth was even worse.

“The arms dealer couldn’t have planned this alone,” Benjamin continued.

“He received investments from conservative nobles. Count Mirk and Count Bellucci invested the largest sums. Since Count Bellucci has smooth relations with foreign countries, it’s likely he brought in these foreigners to the arms factory.”

Esperad looked down at the documents with a serious expression. If the arms dealer had managed to infiltrate foreign illegal workers into a sensitive space like the arms factory, it was possible that they had already been used in other ways as well. Although it was still just a guess, he couldn’t be certain about anything yet.

“Any news from Albert?” Esperad asked.

“Actually, Count Gariburn sent a letter,” Benjamin replied.

Esperad took the letter from Benjamin’s hands. To avoid drawing attention, they always exchanged letters through other people, so it took quite a long time to have a conversation with Albert. This letter was no exception. It had been sent before the royal palace banquet, and he had just received it.

To my Lord,

He accepted my proposal gladly. He seemed very pleased, though he still appears to be cautious and hesitant to give me precise information. His first request was for political cooperation. It seems he is planning to start collective action soon. If there are no other matters, I plan to raise their hands in favor to build trust first.

Esperad knew that Count Mirk, who didn’t Asilie trust people, was hesitant to share accurate information, even though he felt the need to involve Albert. However, Esperad decided not to rush, knowing that time would solve the problem. He already knew one thing for certain: Count Mirk could never be a worthy opponent to him.

The truth was, Count Mirk was only an annoyance, someone better removed sooner than later. The real threat, however, was…

Bonaparte Prince.

He was a disgusting man. Esperad had been fully briefed about the events at the royal palace banquet and knew exactly what had happened between Asilie and the Countess of Bourbon. However, before that, Esperad had questions about Asilie’s sudden disappearance. Why had a simple married woman from a noble family been involved in such a dangerous incident that led to people thinking she was dead?

There was an explanation that she had gone out for a trip when the incident occurred, but Esperad found it suspicious. He couldn’t just let it go, especially since it involved Asilie.

For this reason, he had ordered an investigation, which led to a shocking discovery: Joseph had killed Asilie and attempted to cover it up. Moreover, most of the Bonaparte family had been involved in the act. The reason for wanting to kill her was suspected to be so that the Countess of Bourbon could become his new wife.

This alone was enough to disgust Esperad, but what was even more urgent was…

Asilie is in danger.

Although he had placed people to ensure her safety, if someone else tried to threaten her life again, he couldn’t be sure it would be stopped effectively. She had just returned, and it seemed she was unable to take any action because she was trying to keep a low profile with the Grand Duke’s family, but it wasn’t clear how long that would last. At the very least, he had to make a move before the end of this month.

“I have to get ready to leave.”

“Is something going on?” Benjamin asked.

Esperad had heard that Asilie went out every Thursday morning. He sent someone to follow her, and it turned out she was heading to Shop Sophia. It was curious, as he had some history with Sophia, and thought, maybe… so he decided to investigate properly.

But this wasn’t just for fact-checking.

He wanted to have a proper conversation with Asilie and see her face again.

That was the real reason.

“I need to verify something personally.”

“I’ll prepare everything.”

“Make sure no one notices. And…”

Thinking of what was left to do, Esperad suddenly remembered Cordelier.

“Deliver this to the late queen. Tell her I’ll visit after the meeting next Monday afternoon.”

“Understood, Your Majesty.”

“Do you know that there has been a lot of talk about what happened at the royal banquet?”

Sophia asked, but Asilie shook her head.

She had expected this, but since she didn’t have any close connections among the nobles, she didn’t know exactly what rumors were circulating.

“I heard that the young lady of Count Bourbon isn’t going out anywhere except the conservative noble gatherings. But at those gatherings…”

“She must be meeting my husband. It’s fine; you can just speak freely.”

“Well, even among the conservative nobles, there seems to be a lot of talk about her actions. They say it’s an affair that is openly happening, but continuing to meet under these circumstances is bound to be criticized.”

Sophia frowned without realizing it.

But she couldn’t help but feel disgusted. It was simply incomprehensible to her that someone would engage in an affair when someone as thoughtful and elegant as Asilie was involved.

Putting aside the past kindness Asilie had shown, to Sophia, Asilie was, objectively, a woman of perfect dignity.

Since starting this work, Sophia had met so many nobles that she couldn’t even remember their faces.

However, someone like Asilie—who carried grace in her speech, tone, and even small actions—was rare.

“And the young lady of Count Bourbon doesn’t even compare.”

Sophia had also met the young lady of Count Bourbon.

She wasn’t bad, but she was simply “not bad,” and nothing more. She had neither charm nor elegance.

Perhaps, among nobles, family influence mattered more than personal charm.

But to Sophia, Asilie was so much more admirable and noble than the young lady of Count Bourbon.

“Is it also well-known that she still meets with him at the conservative noble gatherings?”

“Yes, ever since the incident at the royal banquet, the attention on the meetings between Prince Bonaparte and the young lady of Count Bourbon has been extremely high.”

“Then, there must be a lot of talk about me as well.”

“Well… actually, I feel I owe you an apology, madam.”

“About me?”

“There’s a lot of talk about the dress you wore that day, so I told them that it was provided by Shop Sophia.”

Sophia had realized that Asilie wasn’t particularly fond of being the center of attention.

However, she couldn’t stand the nobles at the banquet gossiping about how shabby or vulgar Asilie’s dress was.

That was why she had pointed out that the dress was something she personally made for Asilie and it had created a tense atmosphere.

Afterward, Sophia had kicked out all those nobles who didn’t appreciate the value of the dress, even though they were potential customers.

It might have cost her some business, but, beyond her loyalty to Asilie Sophia’s pride wouldn’t allow her to sell the dress to anyone who didn’t recognize its worth.

“They won’t talk about it in public, though.”

Nobles were like that.

Still, the fact that the dress came from Shop Sophia would eventually get out.

“…People are going to wonder why someone like me wore your dress.”

“Why is that? I’m honored that you wore one of Shop Sophia’s dresses.”

“That’s…”

Asilie thought that Sophia was losing her objective perspective because of her goodwill toward her.

However, she couldn’t explain the truth, so she gave up on saying more. She then realized that she had spent quite a long time there.

“Oh, you said you have a reservation? I should get going.”

“You can stay a little longer. There’s still plenty of time left… Ah!”

Sophia suddenly clapped her hands as if she had remembered something.

“I forgot to tell you earlier, but tomorrow afternoon, I’ll have a few dresses ready for you.”

“Dresses?”

“Before the royal banquet, I made a few dresses based on your measurements that I think will suit you perfectly.”

Asilie blinked, surprised.

She knew very well the value of the dresses sold at Shop Sophia.

The dress she had worn at the royal banquet had no embellishments, so it had cost almost nothing to make. She had reluctantly accepted it as a gift to mark their reunion.

Asilie truly didn’t want to burden Sophia.

“I can’t accept them, Sophia. You know how it is with your dresses…”

“The dresses I designed for you, madam, can’t be sold to anyone else. And I don’t want to charge for something I made with you in mind!

So, I’m just giving them to you as a gift.”

“…….”

Sophia quickly realized Asilie’s character after just a few brief encounters.

Knowing that Asilie would refuse the dresses, she decided to escape the situation.

“I just wanted to warn you in case you were surprised! Oh my, the reservation time’s almost up. I’ll leave now. Drink some more tea, rest a little, and when you feel comfortable, you can get up.”

Asilie watched her leave in a daze, eventually smiling faintly and shaking her head.

Although the situation had changed so much, it wasn’t the worst. It was ironic, yet sometimes it left her feeling a bit overwhelmed.

She had often felt down when waking up at the Bonaparte family’s house, but thanks to Sophia, today wouldn’t end on a completely gloomy note.

Asilie left Shop Sophia with these thoughts, only to stop in her tracks as she saw someone.

“……..!”

Was this a coincidence?

Asilie stared blankly at Esperad, who was standing across from Shop Sophia and gazing directly at her.

Normally, by just looking at his expression or meeting his eyes, she would instantly know what he was thinking or what he would do next, but right now, she couldn’t read his thoughts at all.

The only thing that was clear was that he was looking at her.

She had always thought that they would never cross paths unless he sought her out, so she had no idea how to act.

At that moment, Esperad started walking toward her.

Despite his slow pace, his large frame allowed him to close the distance quickly.

“Lady Bonaparte.”

It felt like a dream, but it wasn’t.

That unfamiliar address felt like cold water being splashed on her.

Surprised, Asilie regained her composure quickly, blinking before looking up at him.

“Your Majesty.”

“I hadn’t planned on this,”

“…What?”

“But since it seems you recognized me, I think I should treat you to a nice meal, at least to keep the fact that I’m here a secret.”

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