I'm Going to Change my Husband with a Predatory Marriage

Gaspal would often say:

“Perhaps the story of a dragon kidnapping a princess in fairy tales or legends came about because of the existence of a bride.”

“If the madness of the royal family cannot overcome the blood of the dragon, then there is no more effective solution than you.”

The Lord of the Mage Tower, Gaspal, was a terrible human being. But if there was one thing that couldn’t be denied, it was that he was a genius. If not, he would not have been able to ascend to the position of Magic Tower Lord, and he would not have been chosen by Evangeline, the Possessor. So when he visited Arpad in the catacombs, he first observed his reaction to my blood.

If mania had progressed, Arpad would not have been able to resist the temptation of my blood. But even when he saw my blood, he didn’t rush to me like crazy. After that, he was able to proceed with his work with peace of mind. Even though I knew he was dangerous to me, the reason I approached him first was simple.

‘Because I know that my presence will be useful to Arpad.’

At the same time, the reason for being wary and not trusting him was the same.

‘Because I’m so useful, Arpad could be dangerous to me.’

And to be honest, I also had this thought.

‘If I continue to be exploited by Ludwig and Evangeline like this, I would rather have my blood sucked to death by Arpad!’

Then at least Arpad would be free of his madness, and then he could give Ludwig a big fuck. But that’s only when there was no other way.

I wanted to live as much as possible, so I hoped that Arpad could be cured of his madness without knowing about the existence of the priest. But I didn’t know whether Arpad himself would think that way.

‘Because the easiest and fastest way is to suck my blood.’

Of course, that’s not all…

‘Well, there must be an embarrassing way…’

Anyway, no matter what method I used, I wanted to protect my safety. Also, I wanted to take control of the situation. So, unless something serious happened, I had no intention of saying “bride” to Arpad first.

* * *

Yes. I did… As I faced these evil eyes, I wondered if I had made a wrong choice. I thought as I looked into Arpad’s shiny red eyes.

‘But even now I can’t be sure that Arpad’s madness hasn’t progressed.’

After being frozen for a moment, I struggled to move my body.

“Hey? Are you sane?” I asked Arpad, waving my hand in front of his eyes.

Even though I was scrambling right in front of him, Arpad’s eyes were persistently fixed on me.

“Lord Arpad Istrid?”

“…Are you not even calling me by my name properly anymore?”

“Ah, thank goodness.”

“What are you happy about?”

“I thought you might have developed a mania. I’m glad it wasn’t.”

Arpad looked at me with a dissatisfied expression and asked again.

“Why are you avoiding the answer?”

“Yes? What answer?”

“I asked you a little while ago, right? Should I love or hate such a being?”

I opened my eyes wide.

“Why are you asking me that?”

“What?”

“Your Highness is the one who decides whether to love or hate such a being.”

I was right. Why was he asking me about his feelings?

“It’s actually the opposite. So do you want to love or hate?”

I was quite curious about this. As I waited for an answer with sparkling eyes, Arpad let out a long sigh.

“You always get away with it.”

I followed Arpad, who ignored me and walked to the bed. And then I asked again.

“No, that’s not the answer. Please answer me. Do you want to love or hate?”

I was really seriously curious.

‘That being’ is me, and Arpad asked me that question without knowing it. The part that kept me worried and anxious. No, to be exact, I was curious as to why he added ‘hate’ after ‘love’.

“Don’t you usually fall in love with someone like that naturally? Like Artanus loved Princess Istrid?”

Arpad’s steps stopped at my words.

“Don’t you usually attach words like hate to it?”

He answered without turning around.

“It’s because I think it makes me want to hate.”

“…!”

I was a little, no, quite surprised. Feeling like your heart is sinking below your ribs. Fortunately, Arpad had turned back, so there was no way for him to see my expression or feelings.

“When we meet, we can’t help but love each other. Doesn’t that mean that I can’t even control my emotions the way I want? I guess I can’t help but hate it if something like that happens to me.”

Well, that was a bad reaction.

Arpad has already said this in front of me a few times. He said he hated people who try to control him. Because of that, Arpad was despised and rejected even by his own father.

I responded cheerfully, as if my heart had never dropped a moment ago.

“I’m so glad.”

Arpad turned around and he asked:

“What?”

“Because I am not that kind of being, there is no need for you to hate me.”

Arpad did not respond to what I said. And he didn’t ask any more questions.

He just laid down lazily on the bed and stared at me. Since it was my bed, I couldn’t tell him to get out of the way or get out. We were a couple who had officially received the sacrament of marriage. Moreover, they thought we fell in love at first sight and were in love to the point of committing a predatory marriage. It wasn’t even after some time had passed, and if we were already sharing separate bedrooms, gossip could start happening. For example, doubts such as ‘Isn’t predatory marriage just a performance?’

I held my head high and proudly entered the same bed as Arpad. Then I turned my back on him and pretended to be very sound asleep. I thought I sensed Arpad look at me from behind and sigh, but I ignored it.

I mean, all night long.

* * *

“Ugh… As expected, he is a person who is not helpful at all…”

In the end, I completely lost sleep.

The maids at the Crown Prince’s Palace who were helping me with my dressing looked at me and asked.

“What? Could we have made a mistake…?”

“No. Just last night… no. Never mind.”

Then, a subtle current flowed between the maids. A tactless maid was overly loyal.

“Surely there were people who disturbed Her Majesty’s sleep? Tell me please. I will scold them!”

“…”

Other senior maids winked at me, but I had no idea if it was really a snowbird. Still, it was troublesome to make excuses one by one.

“It’s okay because it’s not like that.”

At the same time, one of the seniors took the snowbird maid. They lowered their voices, but I could hear all the warning sounds.

“The Crown Princess is tired because they two were together last night! What should I do if I’m so clueless!”

“Omg! I’m sorry! What should I do?”

Not at all, but she even stepped in and said no.

‘Well, it’s a bit embarrassing, but… There’s nothing bad if the rumor spreads like that…’

I looked at the distant mountains and pretended not to hear anything. The maids were doing their best to decorate me. It seemed that it was a struggle to cover up the dark circles that appeared due to not sleeping properly.

Among the maids assigned to me, the one who stands out the most was Esia, who was currently covering my dark circles with powder. I liked her because she was quite handy and her movements were quick. 

I was careful to ask when the decorations were all over and there were few eyes or ears around me to see.

“Ah, His Majesty the Crown Prince told me to listen to the news about Delphine.”

“Oh, that’s right. Shall I report it to you now?”

“Huh, please.”

Yes. This maid was one of her entourage who took direct orders from Arpad. She’s not high enough to collect information directly, but she seemed to be good enough to pass it on to me.

“The maid, Annie, says you don’t have to worry at all. Delphine’s situation is so chaotic right now, there’s no way you’d have anyone come in and harass you.”

“I’m glad. But Annie is like that, does that mean Lord Beltane is different?”

“Yes. Because Archduke Ludwig is still in Delphine.”

Even after being humiliated by Arpad last time, that guy still hasn’t left Delphine. Perhaps, since he had been treating the house as his own for the past three years, he may be thinking that it was truly his.

“Ludwig is harassing Lord Beltane?”

“They say he was locked in a dungeon.”

He occupies other people’s houses and harasses other people’s knights. It was absurd, but the problem with Ludwig was that he was a guy who would get away with it.

“You weren’t seriously assaulted or injured, right?”

“They say that’s not the case.”

“Was the injury on the wedding day properly treated?”

“…I don’t know much about that either, your Highness.”

Well, this alone turned out to be more detailed than I expected.

‘As expected, Arpad’s intelligence is good.’

It seemed that he was not working on the sidelines of the Mercenary King for nothing. Even so, I couldn’t continue to rely on Arpad’s abilities and organization forever.

‘I have to create my own people and my organization.’

This was something that would take time. Still, I couldn’t just sit back and relax.

I ordered Esia.

“Send someone to Delphine in my name to bring back Maid Annie and Lord Beltane.”

I was especially worried about the two people and couldn’t bear it. Lord Beltane was wounded, and he was trapped in the cellar. I couldn’t just leave it at that.

I would have to rob the entire dukedom, but first I had to take out at least two people.

Then Essia looked troubled for a moment and then she asked.

“Is this something you received permission from His Highness the Crown Prince?”

“…!”

I looked back at Esia, my face hardening. Anyone who saw me could tell that I was angry right now. Then Essia fell to her knees in astonishment.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness.”

“Who do you belong to?”

“His Royal Highness told me to follow Her Highness.”

“…So, you are saying that you are His Highness the Crown Prince’s person.”

“That…”

This was something I already knew. Esia and me too. It was clear to see that Esia delivered the information requested from Arpad. That she was Arpad’s person.

But Esia was at my command and asking whether the crown prince gave permission was a different matter.

I responded calmly.

“Go back.”

“…what?”

“I am telling you to return to your master. There is no reason why I need to get permission from His Highness the Crown Prince to even do what to do with the people of my private family.”

Then Esia’s complexion turned pale. I guess she realized her mistake.

“Sorry! Please forgive me just this once!”

But I didn’t change my mind. The other maids finished dressing me nervously. By then Essia was still on her knees.

I pretended not to see Esia at all. And I gave orders to the other maids to bring Annie and Beltane to Delphine.

I didn’t mean to play tug-of-war with the maid. I knew that everyone around me were Arpad’s people, and of course it was like that. There was nothing that could be done when even trivial things like this were disturbed. Moreover, the biggest and most important thing that faced me was something else.

‘A banquet at Artanus Hall in a month!’

If the banquet was not held successfully, I could not be properly recognized as the Crown Princess. And the biggest obstacle faced before the banquet was the Empress and Evangeline’s scheme.

‘The two have already declared war on the imperial society. If you attend the banquet at Artanus Hall, be prepared to be expelled from society.’

This had to be destroyed first.

 

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