My Husband was Switched - Chapter 25

I saw a figure lying next to Isabelle and my heart dropped with a thud.

‘……Zeno?’

Could she have found Zeno? But the bird hadn’t mentioned anything.

If something serious had happened to Zeno, it would have come to me immediately.

When I got closer, the shape buried in the snow became clearer.

One step, and then another.

My grip on the reins tightened involuntarily.

Finally standing before her, Isabelle dismounted gracefully from her horse. She kicked at the fallen animal with her foot.

“Sister, I found something. What do you think this is?”

“……Isabelle.”

“Get off your horse and check. I found something that might not be important to me, but it seems quite significant to you.”

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

I dismounted and composed my expression. Dame Alita silently followed behind me, gripping her sword tightly.

“I found a divine beast. The one Father has been searching for so desperately.”

As I approached Isabelle, I frowned.

‘It’s not Zeno.’

The figure lying and breathing heavily was a black panther. Isabelle lied to me without changing her expression.

“I sensed a different aura in the forest, so I came…… and found this?”

She had clearly used unnecessary force.

“Are you sure it’s a divine beast?”

“Would I lie to you, sister? Well, even if I said it was a divine beast, you wouldn’t know. You don’t have any special abilities.”

Isabelle nodded knowingly, clearly looking down on me. Even if she was lying, I couldn’t act like I knew.

I clenched my fists. If I didn’t stay calm here, I would fall into Isabelle’s trap. That’s exactly what she wanted.

“Isabelle Gwen Thalia.”

Hearing her full name, Isabelle tilted her head slightly. She seemed a bit taken aback by my sudden use of her full name.

Isabelle was my younger sister, but officially, she was a princess. I, too, had been a princess before marriage and was now a Grand Duchess, so in terms of status, I wasn’t inferior to her. It doesn’y matter if I was the Emperor’s illegitimate child, I wasn’t beneath her.

Besides, this was the Grand Duke’s and my territory.

I stood right in front of her so Dame Alita couldn’t hear.

“You once told me you didn’t care about divine beasts. Not to mention, you didn’t come to my territory through proper procedures. Unless His Majesty ordered it, neither I nor Cedric received any notification.”

“……So?”

“Harming animals residing in the forest is against the territory’s laws.”

No matter how smart she was, she wouldn’t know the laws of each territory well. This was the Codran region, part of the North.

It was difficult to grow crops and livestock struggled to survive in the North, so the laws regarding livestock and agriculture were strict. The territory was only maintained abundantly because Cedric used magic stones to help the people.

The meat I ate here wasn’t actual animal meat either. It was made to resemble meat. I heard it was food developed with protein but made from gluten or other ingredients.

It was similar to soy meat.

I crossed my arms and stared at her with cold eyes.

Since last night, she had been diligently causing trouble. She had all sorts of ways to tire people out.

When I took another step closer, I couldn’t help but frown. The panther, breathing heavily, came into view. My heart ached and anger surged.

‘He’s nearby.’

Zeno seemed to be watching the whole situation. He probably didn’t intervene because he knew Isabelle could sense his presence.

I brushed the snow off Isabelle’s shoulder and spoke.

“I think we’ve done our best to accommodate your sudden visit to the Grand Duke’s residence, don’t you think?”

“I don’t understand your intentions. Father will praise me anyway. He’s been troubled by the runaway divine beast.”

Isabelle still arrogantly lifted her head. Her eyes were full of confidence, thinking Father was on her side.

“That’s only if that child is truly a divine beast.”

Isabelle’s eyes gleamed sharply. Like a beast eyeing its prey, her gaze was persistent. She seemed ready to attack at any moment.

“You speak as if you know it’s not a divine beast.”

“Of course. I’ve seen that panther since I came here.”

“……What?”

“This forest frequently has monster appearances. To ensure the safety of the people and animals, the Grand Duke regularly subdues the monsters.”

“……What does that have to do with this panther?”

Isabelle still looked at me with a puzzled expression.

“Who do you think takes care of the animals injured by the monsters? It’s us, who manage the territory.”

Since I mentioned that the laws regarding animals were strict, she would roughly guess. In fact, I wasn’t entirely sure about this part. But Isabelle had no way to verify it, so I added a bit of falsehood.

“Then do you think I wouldn’t have seen the panther? What are the chances of a new animal entering this cold place? Isabelle, if you’re smart, think carefully.”

How badly did you miscalculate?

“When Father arrives, you were planning to say this, weren’t you? That I hid the divine beast knowing everything. That you tried to inform Father but couldn’t. Isn’t that right?”

Isabelle bit her lip hard, as if I had hit the mark.

“……Why would I say that? I was just trying to find the divine beast.”

She seemed determined to lie until the end.

I scoffed lightly and brushed her hair behind her ear. Leaning down, I whispered into her ear.

“You suddenly decided to find the divine beast early in the morning? Do you think I’d believe that? Any fool would come up with a more plausible excuse.”

Isabelle blinked, seemingly flustered.

“Are you…… in your right mind?”

“You’re the one who’s not in their right mind. Trying to seduce my husband wasn’t enough, so now you’re endangering not just me but everyone in the Grand Duke’s residence.”

If she claimed I hid the divine beast, the grand ducal residence would fall under the Emperor’s control. I didn’t want to escalate the situation further, given the existing suffering.

So I planned to resolve this before it reached Cedric’s ears. I didn’t want to burden him more.

Drip, drip.

Suddenly, Isabelle began to cry clear, transparent tears.

“Sniff……. I just thought it was a divine beast. I heard it had black fur. Is it wrong to try to please Father? I don’t understand why you’re saying this.”

She suddenly lowered her head and let her tears fall like raindrops. I watched her silently and then sighed.

“Isabelle, if you act like this, I have no choice.”

I could guess why her attitude had suddenly changed. After living in romance novels for years, I had developed a keen sense.

I suddenly collapsed into the snow.

“Your Highness the Grand Duchess!”

Dame Alita’s shout echoed in my ears. She immediately picked me up. Glancing sideways, I saw Isabelle looking at me in disbelief.

“Get up! How can you suddenly collapse?”

“…….”

Yell all you want. I won’t open my eyes.

“Princess, please do not come any closer. I will consider this a threat to Her Highness the Grand Duchess.”

Hearing Dame Alita’s sharp voice, Isabelle flinched. I then slowly opened my eyes and smiled sweetly at Isabelle.

Her eyes, filled with trembling rage, flickered. She looked like she wanted to tear my hair out. Just as she raised her hand to strike—

“……What do you think you’re doing?”

Cedric’s low voice echoed. And it became clear why Isabelle had put on such a performance.

“Isabelle Gwen Thalia. Your father is very curious about why you’re here.”

Father had arrived. I didn’t know why he came earlier than promised, but it was an unwelcome visit.

I joined in the act thinking Cedric was there. I didn’t expect Father to be here too.

“……F-Father.”

Flinch.

She trembled and bowed her head deeply. Her hands clutched the hem of her dress tightly, trembling pitifully. To top it off, I let my hand fall limp.