The Wicked Wife's Dark History Keeps Coming Back To Haunt Her - Chapter 179
Elegant brown hair, emerald eyes, and a deep blue dress.
Duchess Nord.
She was entering the garden alongside the woman Nina had seen earlier on the Imperial Palaceâs balcony.
The moment she appeared, the previously warm atmosphere turned awkward in an instant.
Anyone with a foot in high society would know that Rebecca had been badmouthing Nina for the past two years.
âHow strangeâŚâ
Countess Crest was her motherâs acquaintance.
And if she was her motherâs acquaintance, she couldnât possibly be unaware of the bad blood between her and Rebecca.
âSo how did she get in?â
As Nina narrowed her eyes, Rebecca approached her with a thin, sneering smile.
âItâs rare to meet someone so hard to find in private settings at a place like this.â
ââŚMadam, were you invited?â
It seemed unlikely, so Nina glanced toward the woman standing beside Rebecca.
âYouâve met before, havenât you? This is Viscountess Bellasis.â
âAhâŚâ
She remembered the name.
A member of Rebeccaâs tea party circle.
But the way she dodged the question confirmed it. Rebecca hadnât been invited.
Pfft.
Nina twisted her lips into a mocking smile and said,
âSo, in short, that means you werenât directly invited.â
For a brief moment, she wondered whether Countess Crest had made a mistake.
âBut the mistake was on that side, wasnât it.â
Just as sheâd guessed, Viscountess Bellasis gave a strained twitch of her lips and averted her gaze.
She was clearly trying to make it obvious that this wasnât her fault.
This kind of thing wasnât entirely unheard of.
If an acquaintance had an invitation, they might ask the host for permission to bring someone theyâd like to introduceâŚ
But judging from the situation, no such permission had been asked.
Countess Crest, who had just returned from taking Ian and Samuel to the playroom, stopped in her tracks with a startled expression.
âDuchess Nord? I donât believe you were invited. What is this aboutâŚ?â
Rebecca, with unshakable audacity, rose from her seat and approached the Countess.
âI heard your husbandâs investment in the trade ships was a great success.â
ââŚâŚâ
âSince trade ships are easily wrecked by storms or reefs, itâs said that without luck, success is nearly impossible. The Crest family must be particularly blessed with good fortune.â
Though her words sounded like a simple congratulation, the meaningful smile on her lips made it clear. It was a veiled threat.
Behind Rebecca stood the Minister of Finance, someone capable of causing problems for any trade fleet.
ââŚThank you for the congratulations, but since thereâs no seat for you, I must ask that you return home.â
âIs your situation so dire that you canât even spare one chair? Or are you simply treating me with contempt because you are siding with Duchess Bayern?â
As Countess Crest remained silent with an uncomfortable expression, Rebecca smiled sweetly.
ââŚAre you sure you can deal with the consequences?â
At Rebeccaâs blatant intimidation, Nina let out a quiet sigh and spoke.
âMadam, it seems that guest came here because of me. If itâs not too much trouble, could I ask you to give her a seat near me?â
If Rebecca were kicked out and then retaliated, the Crest family wouldnât have the means to endure it.
In other circumstances, Nina could have stepped in to protect them,
But the fact that the Crest familyâs recent rise in fortune came from trade ship investments was concerning.
If the Minister of Finance decided to impose taxes or fines on those ships, or do anything else to cause troubleâŚ
It could turn into a real problem.
ââŚShe just came here to get under my skin anyway.â
Until just moments ago, the ladies had warmly welcomed her, and it had felt comforting.
Now the atmosphere had soured. All because of Rebecca.
At that moment, Rebecca held out a rather large glass jar to Countess Crest.
âI felt it would be rude to come empty-handed, so I brought a small gift. These are tea leaves I personally cultivated. The fragrance is quite nice, so please do accept them.â
ââŚThank you for the gift.â
Countess Crest accepted the large glass jar with a clearly uncomfortable expression.
The value of tea leaves could vary widely, but what Rebecca brought was nothing more than home-grown herbal leaves.
If it had been an expensive gift, the Countess might have refused for the sake of Duchess Taylorâs dignity.
But it was just subtle enough to make refusal awkward.
ââŚâŚâ
As Nina stared at her, the contents of the glass jar came into view.
Slowly, very slowly, the color drained from her face.
ReadingRainbow9266
If Nina was smart, sheâd make a loud âomgâ sigh sound, and when everyone turns to her she could say, âmadam, what is the meaning of bring tea leaves that look suspiciously like the evil drug that is currently circulating around certain countyâs?! Are you trying to poison us?! I know you want to cause issues with me and my family, but to go to THIS extentâŚ.â Even if Rebecca asks how she knows what they look like, she can simply say she saw them when that count showed them to her after she was attacked by that drug addict. It would explain away why she was so shocked, and woyld make the b* look either incompetent or evil. Ugh, but obviously that wonât happen. Anyway, I donât see how getting under Ninaâs skin this way is supposed to do something? Also, once they sit down she can subtly bring up the topic on how SOMEONE has been stirring up problems in her marriage. That SOMEONE keeps stalking her at all the events she goes to. That SOMEONE is so jealous, and unhinged, that she continues to spread lies to everyone about her. Turn it on HER! As long as she doesnât actually name that someone, Rebecca canât blame her. And everyone would know it was her anyway⌠Iâm sorry but Nina is WAAAAY too soft!