A Change of Husband - Chapter 91

It was awful having to face someone you hated for a long time.

Especially for Asilie Countess Bonaparte and Monica were just that—people she deeply disliked. The only relief was that Joseph had no reason to come into this office.

Still, it was clear they had plans beyond simply making her uncomfortable.

Countess Bonaparte seemed to be giving Asilie very detailed instructions, as if she were trying to assign her work quickly.

Since Asilie had once managed the internal affairs of the Medici Duchy, she could Asilie understand most of what the countess was trying to teach her.

However, Asilie didn’t act particularly smart or eager. She simply followed Countess Bonaparte’s instructions in silence—like an ordinary person, not a genius or a fool.

“You may go for today.”

“Yes, Mother.”

“And starting tomorrow, you’ll be allowed into the archive where the ledgers are kept.”

“The archive?”

She tried not to show her surprise, but being granted access to the archive that managed the ledgers was something she had never even imagined.

The ledger archive was only accessible to Count Bonaparte, Countess Bonaparte, and the librarians who had been in charge of it for generations as the family’s retainers.

“Why are you so surprised? You’ve started doing work for the family. Didn’t you expect this much?”

“…Understood, Mother.”

“Good.”

Though Countess Bonaparte turned her head as if it was nothing special, Asilie kept watching her profile, trying to figure out her real intentions.

Because the ledger archive was strictly guarded and tightly controlled, it was highly likely that even the secret records were kept there.

There was probably no safer place.

If so, Asilie might be able to find evidence there—proof that Count Bonaparte was supporting Count Mirk and involved in illegal activities.

“Yes, maybe…”

Of course, it could be a trap.

No one in the Bonaparte family saw her favorably, and Joseph had even tried to kill her.

Someone might have found out about her meetings with Esperad. She couldn’t let her guard down…

“Still, I won’t get another chance like this.”

Coincidentally, next week, the Bonaparte family was hosting a banquet to celebrate Count Bonaparte’s birthday and strengthen alliances.

Invitations had been sent to all the noble families in the conservative faction, and even those not aligned with the conservatives were personally invited if they held power—so the banquet was expected to be a large one.

If she timed it right amidst the chaos, Asilie might find a perfect opportunity. With that in mind, she bowed and left Countess Bonaparte’s office.

“Looks like Mother is being generous with her favor.”

In fact, she had turned down a hallway on purpose to avoid the blond man she’d briefly seen outside the countess’s office. She pretended not to see anything.

But today, Joseph didn’t seem to think speaking with her would lower his dignity or bring him shame. He spoke first.

Disgust welled up inside her, but Asilie turned back to him with a calm expression.

“Oh, you were there? I didn’t see you.”

“I don’t know why Mother is being kind to a woman like you, but it’d be better if you stop causing problems for the family.”

“Did you just say ‘causing problems’?”

Asilie was taken aback.

Everyone in this family seemed eager to blame her whenever things didn’t go their way, but the truth was, she hadn’t harmed them in any way.

They had gained an alliance with the Grandier Duchy by accepting her. And it wasn’t her fault that alliance had become unstable—the members of this family were the ones who let it fall apart.

“I’m telling you to stop. Just marrying you has already brought me a huge loss. Don’t you see that?”

She didn’t even want to answer him and was about to turn away when something flashed through her mind.

“I can’t help thinking that you, sir, don’t really understand what loss or damage means.”

“What did you say?”

“I used to hold my tongue, thinking it might stress you out more. But now, I think it’s time to say this clearly. What exactly do you do for the family?”

Joseph was clearly caught off guard by the sudden question.

It wasn’t a hard question to answer, but he didn’t understand why she was suddenly asking it.

As he just stared at her in silence, Asilie stepped closer and lowered her voice.

The perfume she once found alluring now made her feel sick. She pinched her thigh to focus on the pain and continued.

“The duties you’re supposed to be handling are currently being taken care of by your younger brother. What do you think that means?”

“What do you mean? That’s…”

“While helping out with family matters, I noticed something. Your brother is doing most of the work that should be yours. And some of those tasks are ones only the heir of the family would be allowed to handle. Don’t you think that’s a bit strange?”

In reality, there were no tasks reserved strictly for the heir.

Count Bonaparte, more rational and thorough than she’d originally thought, had simply entrusted more duties to Geoffrey because he was competent. He never gave him anything that could be seen as a threat to Joseph’s position.

But since Joseph had no interest in family affairs and only cared about luxury and pleasure, he wouldn’t realize any of this. So there was no need to worry about proving whether it was true or not.

“W-What are you saying? Are you trying to stir trouble between me and my brother?”

“If that’s what you want to believe, go ahead. But what would I gain from causing conflict between you two?”

Now that he thought about it, she was right.

Monica might benefit from creating tension between Joseph and Geoffrey, but Asilie…

Just as thoughts of Asilie crossed his mind, something suddenly clicked in Joseph’s head.

“It was Geoffrey and Monica who introduced Isabella to me.”

After introducing the daughter of Count Bourbon to Joseph, Geoffrey and Monica had harshly criticized Asilie like never before, saying she wasn’t fit for the Bonaparte family.

That was right after it became known that Asilie was pregnant with his child.

Joseph had no affection for Asilie or her unborn child, so he didn’t hesitate to harm her to welcome Isabella as his wife.

But now…

“A child is the simplest way to secure the succession.”

Geoffrey and Monica had only one daughter and no more children afterward.

If Joseph had a son, he could Asilie inherit the family title without any effort.

Before, Joseph had simply assumed he would be the heir and never thought about these things. But if Geoffrey and Monica had been plotting all along, then he had been falling into their traps again and again.

Even waiting for Asilie outside the countess’s office today—it had been Monica’s suggestion.

She told him not to let the unworthy Asilie interfere with Countess Bonaparte anymore and urged him to help welcome the daughter of Count Bourbon smoothly.

But thinking about it now, helping with the internal affairs of the family was exactly what the wife of an heir should be doing.

He had never once doubted Geoffrey.

And never once doubted Monica.

But now, Asilie’s words made too much sense to ignore.

Joseph valued pleasure and comfort more than anything, but even those needed power and wealth to support them. So he couldn’t just dismiss all this.

Still, he didn’t want to stand here discussing these things with this lowly woman.

“I-I’m leaving.”

Joseph wanted to bark at her not to run her mouth so freely, but then realized she had no one to gossip to. So he just turned and walked away.

Asilie watched his back in silence, then let out a small laugh.

For someone considered the heir of a noble family with such long history, Joseph was terrible at managing his image and public behavior.

She was amazed she had ever mistaken such a simple, stupid man for someone she loved.

“Things will change.”

She would use whatever she could.

Even if it was the devil who tried to kill her and her child.

Ever since she received Esperad’s letter, Asilie had made it a habit to pull back the curtains just slightly every night and check the window sill.

She had tried not to form any habits, especially to avoid danger, but this had become one she couldn’t help.

That was also why, tonight, Asilie stood on the right-side balcony of the west corridor on the third floor, facing the cold night wind as she waited for someone.

Thursday night at 9 p.m., the right-side balcony of the west corridor on the third floor.

That was what the note she had found on the window sill Monday night said.

The handwriting clearly wasn’t Esperad’s, but Asilie was sure it was a message he had sent.

In fact, the note seemed to name a meeting spot, though…

‘It’s already been more than ten minutes.’

She was starting to feel anxious.

If someone found her walking down a hallway completely separate from her room at this hour of the night, it would definitely cause rumors.

She was just about to give up and go back when she suddenly heard a window open.

“It’s so much better with some fresh air. The night breeze feels nice now that the weather’s cooler.”

“I’m exhausted. These damn banquets feel like they’re killing me every year.”

“It’s worse because the atmosphere is so tense. The young madam’s been really on edge lately, too.”

“Didn’t your maid change again? I heard the girls keep quitting because they can’t take it.”

“What can you do? Her temper is just… you know how it is.”

Judging by the voices coming from above, it seemed the maids’ quarters were right above the balcony.

Asilie hadn’t come out to eavesdrop on maids’ gossip, so she felt even more discouraged.

More than ten minutes had passed, and with twenty minutes approaching and still no one in sight, it seemed something had gone wrong, or there had been a miscommunication.

Asilie finally decided to return to her room. That’s when it happened.

“But sis, are you really sure about this? I don’t know… I feel like we’re being set up.”

“I feel the same. Even the head maid, who seemed so reliable, was kicked out overnight.”

“There must’ve been a reason, right? But still, ever since the head maid left, the madam’s been relying on me the most. And I’ve done everything she’s asked, and there haven’t been any problems.”

“I just think it’s too risky. When was it supposed to happen again?”

“Midnight on the last day of the banquet. It’s nothing big. I just have to take one ledger from the archive and hide it in the secret storage. Once that woman gets kicked out, I’ll just return it.”

Asilie could instinctively tell that this was not a conversation to ignore.

She held her breath and listened closely to the maids’ conversation.

“It’s because it involves the ledger that it feels more dangerous. Ugh, I don’t know. Isn’t it all just too complicated? If they don’t like her, they should just kick her out!”

“That’s how nobles are. And I think the madam doesn’t want to let that woman go Asilie.”

“So she has to create a mistake on purpose. That’s what’s scary.”

Asilie had heard everything she needed, but she didn’t move a single step. She stayed completely still until they finally shut the window.

Now she understood why Countess Bonaparte had been so eager to involve her in the family’s affairs.

It was to frame Asilie as a criminal who had stolen the ledger—an unforgivable offense.

If she was accused of stealing the ledger, she would be forced into a divorce and cast out from the Bonaparte family with nothing.

And if that happened, even the Grandier family wouldn’t be able to officially take her in, since she would be seen as a criminal.

This would seriously interfere with Asilie’s plan—to find some evidence that could help Esperad, demand a divorce, and gain her freedom.

‘This is no coincidence.’

The person who sent the note was definitely one of the maids talking inside.

They had opened the window on purpose, making sure Asilie could hear the conversation.

And the one who planted that maid there and gave her instructions to help Asilie was probably…

‘Was it you?’

Her mind suddenly went blank.

Maybe, because the Bonaparte family was part of the conservative faction and closely tied to Count Mirk, Esperad had placed someone there in advance—and that person was helping Asilie now.

But Asilie knew all too well that human affairs were never that simple or easy.

Countess Bonaparte’s plan to frame Asilie wasn’t serious enough for a spy within the family to report directly to Esperad. It was a private family matter.

Yet Esperad found out about it and even gave an order for it to be reported to Asilie.

Because the time between the message and his instruction was so short, she was able to receive help just in time.

‘That might mean…’

She didn’t want to read too much into it.

She didn’t want to get her hopes up.

Still, something was different now—uncertain, but growing clearer—and it left Asilie feeling confused.

Especially tonight.

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