How to Get a Stolen Husband Back - Chapter 37
If the other party were simply the daughter of a marquis, she could just ignore it. But the problem was that Estelle was a saintess.
As a future Empress of the empire, deliberately avoiding a meeting with the saintess could negatively impact relations with the temple.
“Whether I accept or reject the invitation, it benefits you in the end, doesn’t it?”
She thought Estelle was a woman with a low character but born with cunning. Feeling troubled, she tossed the invitation onto the table, and the butler came to announce the arrival of a guest.
“Miss, Miss Roselina has arrived.”
“Really? Please show her in.”
Soon, when Roselina entered the drawing room, Aristie greeted her warmly.
“You’ve come, Rose!”
“Oh my, did you miss me that much?”
“Of course. I’ve been waiting just for today.”
The two shared a light hug and then sat down. Roselina was supposed to visit, so Aristie had been waiting for her.
As the maids came and went a few times, a table was set with refreshments. Roselina split a scone and spread butter, cream, and jam in order as she cheerfully chattered.
“I came here just to eat this, really.”
“Eat a lot. I’ll give you as much as you want, even if I have to raid the kitchen.”
“It’s so delicious! It’s enough to make me want to take the chef, not just raid the kitchen.”
Roselina drank the tea heartily and then, as if finally relaxed, she gave a sly look.
“So, did my fourth husband escort you well that day?”
“Fourth husband?”
Aristie tilted her head.
Didn’t Roselina have only three husbands? And those were imaginary ones.
“You know, the silver-haired prince. Like someone straight out of a fairy tale.”
“Oh… Prince Icaryuel?”
“Yes. I made him my husband right away, haha. Though he seemed to like you.”
“What do you mean…”
Aristie thought about denying it but decided against it. She knew she couldn’t escape Roselina’s keen eyes.
“It’s true that he likes me, but it’s not like anything will happen.”
“Of course not. You’re a bride-to-be who’ll be getting married soon. And to the most wonderful husband.”
“A wonderful husband…”
Not knowing Aristie’s bitter thoughts, Roselina laughed playfully.
“So understand if I just imagine the prince. I don’t want to fight over a man with you.”
“Haha, of course. But you have to introduce your husbands to me, okay? Your imaginary husbands, I mean.”
“Sure. I’ll pick a day. But my husbands are all busy, so it might be hard to match schedules, haha.”
As Roselina chuckled, she suddenly said something unexpected.
“Oh, right! I went out to the street recently and saw Aiden.”
“My brother?”
“Yeah. But he was with some woman. I’d never seen her before, but she was really pretty.”
“Really…?”
Aristie felt both pleased and a bit suspicious. Her brother had never mentioned his romantic affairs to her.
That made sense, as he had never met a woman separately in his life.
If her brother had found a girlfriend, it would be something to celebrate. But sadly, Aristie knew well that there were many who mocked and ignored him because of his way of speaking. Women were no exception. So she couldn’t help but worry.
After all, wasn’t her brother as much, if not more, of a romantic failure than Khalid?
If the woman approached with impure intentions, her brother should notice right away…
“I’ll have to ask my brother about it. Thanks for letting me know.”
Aristie smiled softly while observing Roselina’s complexion. She remembered how Roselina’s condition had suddenly worsened during a previous outing together.
Up close, Roselina’s complexion didn’t look very good today either. It seemed she had used makeup to hide the shadows under her eyes, which was pitiful.
“Are you alright? Weren’t you getting better?”
At Aristie’s concern, Roselina smiled bravely.
“Don’t worry. I guess it’s because I’m still adjusting to the city. But you don’t look well either. Is something wrong?”
“I…”
Aristie trailed off.
She always felt that Roselina’s insight was unmatched.
“I actually received an invitation, but I really don’t feel like going.”
Aristie handed the invitation on the table to Roselina. After quickly scanning its contents, Roselina furrowed her eyebrows and asked.
“The Marquis of Vascus? Isn’t that the family getting attention these days? The adopted daughter was chosen as a saintess.”
“Yes.”
“Then isn’t it actually a good thing? Associating with such a woman could be beneficial for you.”
“It’s not that simple.”
Aristie sighed heavily. She had decided to confide in Roselina about Estelle today.
Yet she hesitated because the image of Khalid looking at her with distrustful eyes was etched into her heart like a scar.
Would Roselina react the same way?
No matter how imaginative she was, accepting it might be… difficult, right?
Though unsure, Aristie began to speak. After all, Roselina would be the last person she’d tell this story to.
“The truth is, that lady… Estelle…”
Aristie revealed all the information about Estelle, including the fact that she was Khalid’s secret confidante.
“Is that true!?”
Roselina’s eyes widened uncontrollably as she listened.
“She said this is the world of a book?”
“Yes.”
“And that she’s a villainess from another world?”
“So she claims.”
“And she’s a trusted confidante of His Majesty the Emperor?”
“That’s right.”
“And she said she’d dethrone you and become the Empress?”
“She actually said she’d kill me.”
“Oh my gosh, that’s ridiculous! Lies!”
Roselina shouted so loudly that a maid burst through the door. She reassured her that it was nothing and sent her back, but in truth, Aristie herself was more shocked than the maid.
Lies? So Roselina doesn’t believe her either?
Is there truly no one in the world who will believe me…?
“I knew you wouldn’t believe me. But I understand. Anyone hearing this would think I’m crazy…”
“Oh, Alice. No. I believe you. Of course, you just passed on what you heard. When I said lies, I meant what that woman said.”
Roselina comforted Aristie.
“That woman is definitely a wicked villainess. Seeing as she threatened you just because she caught His Majesty’s eye. But saying our world is fake, what’s that nonsense? Like some kind of Ferzen folk dance in your sleep? Do you really believe that?”
“Of course, I didn’t believe it at first.”
Aristie managed a dark expression.
“But when the predictions I dismissed as nonsense started coming true one by one, I realized I’d be in big trouble if I just stood by. How can I dismiss all of that as coincidence?”
Estelle had become a noble and then a saintess in a short time. That wasn’t an achievement that could be made with threats or bluffing.
If she could see the future as a saintess, there was nothing to say, but Estelle was a natural-born villainess.
A villainess who can foresee the future and act on it? Then one has no choice but to believe she got that information from a book.
“Just because a few things matched doesn’t mean it’s all true. You can mix nine truths with one lie.”
“But it’s clear that Estelle knows about the future.”
Aristie stated firmly.
“She even knew everything about His Majesty. Even parts that His Majesty himself wasn’t aware of.”
“Wait, so she caught His Majesty’s eye because of that? By seeing into His Majesty’s heart and acting accordingly?”
“Honestly, I think…”
Aristie furrowed her eyebrows and revealed the possibility she had long suspected.
“His Majesty might be under the illusion that he must trust her because she thinks and acts like a part of him…”
“Oh, that! What’s it called… Right, psychological domination!”
Roselina rolled her eyes and recalled the difficult term. Aristie nodded.
She had described it to Khalid as being like a ‘cult leader,’ but ultimately, it meant the same thing. Psychological domination.
Aristie suspected that Khalid’s trust in Estelle might have been manipulated in such a way. As if he were under a spell or curse.
“Whether it’s manipulation or not, the fact remains that he allowed her by his side. Talking about it only makes it seem like I’m jealous…”
Recalling the unchanged reality made her frown.
“Anyway, Estelle’s predictions are coming true, so we can’t just ignore them. …At least, I can’t.”
Yes, at least I can’t. Someone has to be prepared. Especially when my life and the safety of my people are at stake.
“If, by any chance… what that woman claims is true.”
Roselina, influenced by Aristie’s words, began speaking from a different perspective.
“Just because we’re characters in a novel doesn’t mean our bodies are like paper. We’re living, breathing people in a real world.”
“That’s true…”
That’s why I couldn’t believe it. Neither could the earlier me, nor Khalid now.
“Then conversely, isn’t it possible that someone who knows our world well wrote the book?”
“What?”
Aristie looked at Roselina in surprise.
“If Estelle came from another world, then isn’t it possible that someone from here went to that world and wrote a book?”
“A person from this world crossing over to another world to write a book…?”
