The Wicked Wife's Dark History Keeps Coming Back To Haunt Her - Chapter 154

As the women lavished Rebecca with compliments, Nina quietly let out a snort of laughter.

Just like at the exhibition.

Nina looked at the boy sitting in front of the easel with a lifeless expression.

Without any prompting from Rebecca, the boy dipped his brush in paint and began to draw something.

Judging by the pain that crossed his face every time he moved, his injured arm must have been a recent wound.

‘That’s strange…’

He was handling the brush with his left hand with remarkable skill.

It would be easier to judge if she saw the painting up close.

But could a child who had only recently started using his left hand really wield the brush so confidently, with such steady strokes and no hesitation?

As Nina stared at Emil, who was so deeply absorbed in his work it was almost frightening, she absentmindedly brought the tea the maid had poured for her to her lips.

At that moment.

A familiar scent brushed past the tip of her nose.

‘Rose…mary?’

At the same time, Nina instinctively covered her mouth with her wrist and spat out the tea.

‘…It never hurts to be careful.’

Lowering her now-damp wrist, Nina scanned the table.

There was no water.

She wanted to rinse out her mouth.

“I’ll excuse myself for a moment.”

Nina politely excused herself from the tent.

The fact that the scent of the drug she’d smelled at Count Braumhill’s manor was so similar to rosemary made her uneasy.

Was there anywhere she could get some water?

Just as Nina was about to call over a passing attendant—

“Madam, do you have some urgent business?”

Suddenly, Rebecca stopped her in her tracks.

“Yes, I have an errand to run. Is something the matter, Duchess Nord?”

“What urgent business could you possibly have? If you need something, just tell the servants. For now, why don’t you come back with me?”

Nina was about to call the attendant with a sweet smile.

Twitch.

The corner of Nina’s mouth spasmed.

Suddenly, an inexplicable heat started spreading through her body, as if she’d downed a strong drink.

Something’s wrong.

Her nerves became hypersensitive, so much so that she could even feel the fine hairs on her skin swaying in the breeze.

A tingling sensation crept up from her toes.

A chilling terror ran down her spine, and her mind screamed that she needed to get out of there right away.

“Do I need your permission to attend to my own business, Madam?”

Nina braced her whole body to keep from trembling.

She instinctively sensed that she wouldn’t be able to keep up appearances for much longer.

It felt as if she’d just come in from the cold into a warm room.

Or as if a swarm of ants were biting her all over.

It was all she could do not to scratch at the itchy, prickling sensation tormenting her fingers and toes as she glared sharply at Rebecca.

Rebecca was watching her through half-lidded eyes, as if trying to confirm her reaction.

Was this her doing?

‘First, I have to get out of here, quickly…’

Driven by the urgent need to get away, Nina turned and began walking, almost blindly.

With every step, her mind flickered in and out, as if she were about to black out.

Nina practically ran out of the hunting grounds and into the palace.

Once inside, finally sure there were no eyes on her, she staggered forward, dragging herself along the wall.

“Madam, are you alright?”

“Cather…ine?”

Maybe Catherine was worried to see Nina suddenly leaving.

Even in her dizzy vision, she could see Catherine’s hair in disarray, as if she’d hurried after her.

The tension Nina had been holding onto to keep from making a scene in front of strangers instantly crumbled at the appearance of someone she knew, someone kind to her.

“I, I need to get to my room…”

Nina all but collapsed into Catherine’s arms.

Her body felt feverish, her legs as limp as jelly.

“Are you alright, Madam?”

Her body was burning, her mind was flickering, and even trying to speak made her breath catch.

“My room. The Peridot… Room.”

It was excruciating.

“I’ll get you there right away. Where does it hurt?”

“I-I don’t know. Just… please, keep it a secret. No doctors…”

No matter how she thought about it, she was sure she’d been drugged.

That was certain.

That fragrant yet bitter smell, so like rosemary. It was the exact scent she’d smelled at the Braumhill estate.

The drug that supposedly turned people insane.

“Haa…”

The memory of the lunatic who’d attacked her surfaced, and tears welled in her eyes.

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