The Wicked Wife's Dark History Keeps Coming Back To Haunt Her - Chapter 172
But Hozi could laugh to himself for only a moment.
Ash handed Hozi a wooden box containing a moss-like herb.
“And this is what I received from Count Braumhill.”
Hozi wrinkled his nose.
A strange scent—a blend of rosemary and something bitter and acrid.
A burnt smell, like scorched tea leaves.
“It smells like rosemary, but it looks like moss. What is this? Don’t tell me Count Braumhill gave this as a gift to Your Grace?”
Judging by the aroma and the color of the leaves, it was the lowest of the low grade.
As Hozi tilted his head in confusion, Ash continued speaking.
“It’s a drug called ‘Angel’. Once addicted, it drives a person mad, like they’ve contracted rabies. It’s the same substance Duchess Nord used on my wife at the Imperial Palace.”
A low exclamation escaped Hozi.
The ominous energy radiating from Ash.
There was no mistaking that he was truly furious now.
Ash no longer seemed intent on denying that he harbored feelings for his wife. Hozi had expected this outcome, so he asked with complete calm,
“It’s different from the kind Count Azelot gave to Madam, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Marquis Crewe, Marquis Dunklin. It seems they’re both involved. Look into it.”
Hozi’s eyes narrowed to slits.
“…Hmm, I think I may have just caught a lead on where Count Azelot got his drug.”
Ash’s gaze instantly turned cold.
“What do you mean?”
Out of nowhere?
“Count Azelot’s hobbies are unexpectedly wholesome.”
“Unexpected, huh…”
Ash tilted his head. He wasn’t close enough to know his uncle’s pastimes, but the idea of them being wholesome didn’t sit right.
Count Azelot was a scoundrel by anyone’s measure.
“He goes fishing at the lake, attends the opera, sometimes exercises or hunts, and even goes to the temple to pray.”
Pray…?
“Count Azelot is a devout follower of Hovud.”
Hovud was the god who governs the afterlife.
“I didn’t think he was so religious. That really is unexpected.”
“He’s a simple-minded man. He believes that if he sins and then prays, all his sins are forgiven.”
In other words, he sins as he pleases, and after committing those sins, he diligently goes to the temple to pray.
“But here’s the interesting part. The orphanage affiliated with that Hovud temple is connected to Marquis Dunklin.”
“Ah.”
A tail had been caught.
Ash understood why Hozi had said what he did.
An orphanage is a charitable operation where money only goes in and never comes out.
The only ways to profit from an orphanage are exploitation of labor or human trafficking.
If a disappearance occurs at an orphanage sponsored or managed by the Delphinium Foundation, it would be a huge problem.
And there’s no way a dirty organization like the foundation, which actively avoids investigative oversight, would welcome that.
That meant that perhaps the orphanage, long dismissed as a shallow publicity stunt, was actually the real deal.
Not only ‘Angel’, but the origin of the drug obtained through Count Azelot likely traced back to Marquis Dunklin as well.
If Count Azelot acquired the drug through an orphanage tied to House Dunklin, that meant the route for acquisition existed there.
* * *
Nina gathered the letters addressed to her and made her way to Ash’s study.
Maybe it was because her past self had visited too frequently.
But now, the attendant who used to stand guard outside the study like a sentinel was no longer present.
For a brief moment, she smiled faintly, feeling as though this reflected how his previously closed heart had now opened to her.
Nina knocked lightly.
“Honey, may I have a word with you?”
The answer came soon enough.
Instead of the desk bell ringing, the door opened, and Hozi popped out.
“Madam, it’s been a while.”
“It really has, hasn’t it?”
…But why is he looking at me like that?
Hozi’s snake-like eyes looked especially sly and amused today.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave. Urgent matters to attend to. Please enjoy your time together.”
She stood awkwardly at the doorway, watching his retreating back with a puzzled expression as he hummed his way down the hall, then stepped into the study.
It seemed Ash had just finished his morning work, as he was tidying up his desk.
“I was about to call for you, actually. Perfect timing.”
“Yes?”
Did he have something he wanted to say to her?
As Nina tilted her head slightly in curiosity, Ash offered her a seat.
“I thought we might talk a bit before lunch.”
“I was thinking the same.”
While he began setting the tea service, Nina placed the bundle of letters down and, though she didn’t know why, found herself watching the teacup with a strangely anxious look.
ReadingRainbow9266
Poor thing, she’s traumatized. Have a feeling Ash is going to take a sip first just to make her feel safe, just a guess tho. I’m THRILLED they finally caught some of that bastards scheme. They’ve been putting off taking the Nord’s and Crews on for far too long. This time it could have claimed Nina’s life, or turned her into a drug addict. It’s clear being poisoned terrified her so bad she can’t even drink a cup of tea without wondering what’s in it…. Yet that damn Rebecca Nord gets to go about her day, whipping innocent children, and exploiting others, absolutely fine, other than her insane jealousy of coarse. It’s about damn time they actually do something. Nina is too soft. It had to be Ash who’s angry enough to actually use his power to get results.
Good.