The Wicked Wife's Dark History Keeps Coming Back To Haunt Her - Chapter 123
‘I will proceed with the divorce as planned.’
The third wedding anniversary.
On that day, after submitting the adoption papers, he would get divorced.
Trying to hold onto a wife whose heart has already left, no less with just half-hearted attachment on his part, would be nothing but an insult to her.
And even if she were to bear his child, it would be Ian who inherits this house.
There was nothing he could give his wife, so letting her go was the right thing to do.
But until they divorced, she was still his wife.
‘…Henry Reginald.’
He swept his eyes over the report with a cold, chilling gaze.
[The second son of the Reginald Viscounty.
Possesses remarkable talent in art from a young age, and has submitted works to various exhibitions large and small since the age of fourteen, but has not received recognition.]
For a noble, knowledge of the arts is a basic requirement.
Exhibition history, awards—such things serve as tools to enhance one’s reputation.
Henry was likely pushed aside by artists who tried every trick just to add one more line to their résumé.
No, that must have been the case.
The more awards a painter has, the higher their name value.
Some nobles, to raise the prestige of the artists they sponsor, resort to underhanded means to secure prime spots in exhibitions, sabotage their competitors, or even buy awards with money.
Such corruption was rampant in the art world because there was money to be made, and so it persisted.
Fools, deceived by fabricated reputations, often bought worthless trash for large sums.
The fact that the works he saw in the Long Gallery had never received any attention meant that Henry was a victim of such corruption.
Creating art required a great deal of money, but the Reginald family was not in a position to protect their second son from such injustice.
‘…That’s why he repeatedly failed to win awards, and could never secure a good spot in exhibitions.’
According to the investigation, his family had long been urging him to give up painting.
Maybe he should just treat painting as a hobby and look for a job.
Maybe he should get married.
Amidst all that, a major sponsor appeared. He must have felt as if he’d grabbed a lifeline.
But in such dire circumstances, he would rather accept personal sponsorship from a noblewoman than the support of a noble house?
“…You don’t need to answer right away. But… if someone is to become the owner of your works, I’d like it to be me.”
His wife said she was sponsoring him with ‘money’ as her sole motive, but did that young man really hear her words that way?
There’s no way his wife would develop feelings for a green youth like that, but still…
One can never be sure what the other person might be thinking.
‘…It bothers me.’
And it bothered him to no end.
Even if he sponsored Henry in the name of the household, as long as Nina was a member of House Bayern, it would be impossible to sever all contact between them.
Tap, tap, tap.
With narrowed gray eyes, Ash drummed his fingertips on the desk and continued to read the report.
[There was a woman he met briefly around the age of eighteen, but since then he has focused on his artwork and has not dated anyone up to the present.]
“…There’s no one without a single speck of dirt, but this really is nothing. Is this all you found?”
“I was rather taken aback myself while investigating, but yes, that’s all.”
At Hozi’s answer, Ash stroked his chin in thought.
“He has no history with women? Not even casual relationships, not serious ones?”
“None, absolutely spotless, sir.”
It had been a long time since he’d been in any relationship.
Unwholesome relationships between sponsors and artists were not uncommon, so maybe Henry sought Nina’s sponsorship with that in mind.
Those thick, lush eyelashes like brushstrokes, the elegantly curved nose, the full lips, the slender nape of her neck.
Now that he thought about it, his wife certainly had features that drew people’s attention.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Suddenly feeling a strange gaze, Ash furrowed his brow.
Hozi was squinting at him, as if trying to measure something.
“…Maybe it’s just my imagination, but is this really a background check on a sponsoree?”
Ash raised one eyebrow.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Well, why are you so interested in the sponsoree’s romantic history? No matter how I look at it, it seems like you’re monitoring the Madam’s surroundings…”
Erica
Ugh he can be so wishy washy sometimes I swear! He plans to divorce her in less than a year, so why are you being so obsessed with her life?! If she wants to find a new love, let her. Either let her go completely, or put yourself in the running. But what he’s doing is once again annoying me. At this point we really do need to second male lead to knock some sense into this man. Sigh,