The Wicked Wife’s Dark History Keeps Coming Back To Haunt Her - Chapter 146

Not knowing what kind of stone she’d just thrown into his heart, Ash reached up and touched her smiling lips.

“Because you got oil on your lips.”

As he wiped the oily sheen from Nina’s lips with his thumb, Ash thought to himself.

…Do I really need to go through with this divorce?

Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to just keep things the way they are now…

As Ash reluctantly pulled his hand away from her slick lips, he sneered inwardly.

‘Unbelievable.’

After all, he was the one who hadn’t fulfilled his duties as a husband for two years.

“Even if I had any physical desire, it wouldn’t be with you.”

Had he forgotten what he’d said to her, after she’d swallowed her pride and mustered the courage to come to him?

“And yet all you did was shamelessly strip and throw yourself at him. Don’t act like it’s anything grand. I doubt your parents raised you for that. Aren’t you ashamed as a woman—!”

And on top of that, he’d made his wife the subject of such words.

Now he was questioning whether he really needed to get a divorce.

With what face could he…

He swallowed down the suggestion, knowing it wasn’t something to say to someone who was just now learning how to smile like a person.

“Let’s eat back at the hotel.”

He’d asked the manager when they first arrived, since this was practically unfamiliar territory for them.

It was relatively safe during daylight, but after dark, they’d been warned to avoid the city center if possible.

Lately, there had been reports of lunatics causing trouble, making the streets dangerous.

There are thieves and bandits in every territory, but maybe if he were alone, it would be different.

With his wife, though, it was better to stick to safe roads.

He didn’t want her to see anything unsavory, so as night began to fall, he turned back toward the hotel.

But then.

“…Money, give me your money!”

A scrawny man suddenly appeared and reached out for Nina’s hair.

Grab!

“Ah—aaah! Aaaah!”

Before the man’s hand could reach Nina, Ash quickly grabbed his wrist and yanked him away from her.

“H-Honey?”

Even though all Ash had done was grab his wrist, the man let out a piercing, pain-filled scream and began to thrash.

Ash clicked his tongue and twisted the man’s arm behind his back.

Crack.

“Aaagh! Aaah! It hurts! It hurrrts…!”

As the man collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain, Ash grabbed him by the hair.

The man’s head snapped back, and he let out strangled, choking gasps, his eyes rolling back as he convulsed.

“……”

His reaction was odd.

He’d instinctively twisted the man’s arm to stop him from attacking his wife, but was this really the response one would expect from a simple arm lock?

Ash’s usually composed brow furrowed, and his sharp gaze narrowed.

With keen eyes, he scanned the man’s face.

Sunken eyelids and cheeks as if the flesh had melted away, a body gaunt as starvation, lips blue as ice.

Clearly not normal.

‘So there really are lunatics prowling around here…’

Judging by his symptoms, it resembled the signs of narcotic addiction that had recently become a problem.

‘Hypersensitivity to pain…’

Just as Ash tossed the man to the ground and started to rise, the town guards—who had been chasing after this madman—appeared belatedly, surrounding Ash and Nina.

“……”

“Excuse us, but may we ask you to cooperate with a brief investigation?”

“He tried to attack my wife, and I stopped him. What else is there to investigate?”

Ash wrapped his arm around Nina’s shoulder, her body still frozen with shock from the stranger’s attack.

As if she finally felt safe, the tension slowly left Nina’s body.

Satisfied by that, Ash softened his expression a little and waited for the guards’ next words.

“There is an extremely dangerous drug circulating in the territory recently, one that drives people mad. Count Braumhill has ordered us to investigate thoroughly if there’s any chance of a connection. We realize this is unpleasant, but we’re simply following His Lordship’s orders, so we ask for your cooperation.”

Anyone could see Ash and Nina were nobles, that’s why the guards’ attitude was so respectful.

But with the count’s strict orders, they had little choice.

Ash took out his identification token and showed it to the guards.

“I am Duke Bayern, and this is my wife. Take us to the Count’s manor.”

At Ash’s words, the guards’ faces went pale.

There was no need to explain that the Duke and Duchess of Bayern outranked even their own lord.