The Wicked Wife's Dark History Keeps Coming Back To Haunt Her - Chapter 213

* * *

The original plan for today had been simple: a formal luncheon and a garden party.

Since most guests had come with their children, Nina had thought it best to send everyone home while the sun was still up.

But a small, unexpected incident had changed the plan.

At the edge of House Bayern’s hunting grounds, beneath a sky brushed with soft, golden dusk, the cool wind rustled through the grass with a gentle swish swish.

Nina wrinkled her nose, taking in the scent of autumn forest blanketed in golden leaves as she looked around.

In the clearing stood tall, cone-shaped stacks of firewood prepared for the bonfire.

A short distance away, tents had been pitched, and servants were busily carrying ingredients back and forth for the evening’s barbecue.

Overseeing them was Ash, who approached with his collar slightly loosened.

“Tired, are you not?”

Of course I am.

Nina puffed out her cheeks and exhaled.

“By tomorrow morning, you might as well consider me dead.”

Her stamina had already run dry after days of preparing for the party, and now they were adding a barbecue on top of it.

Once the guests left, she would no doubt collapse into bed.

There had been nearly ninety guests in total, counting the children.

Subtracting those who had already left for other appointments, about sixty still remained.

Because the barbecue had been decided on so suddenly before the garden party, she had ordered the servants to restock ingredients and clean the guest rooms for use through the following noon.

Cleaning was routine work, but adding a new event at the last minute must have worn them out.

‘I’ll have to give them a bonus.’

Watching the servants move about the clearing, Nina spoke.

“It looks like things here are just about ready, so I’ll go check on the guest rooms before everyone turns in.”

As she turned to leave, Ash caught her wrist.

“I already told the head maid to inspect them once more.”

“…Ah, if it’s Melanie, she’ll check everything thoroughly. Then there’s no need to worry.”

He draped his formal jacket over her shoulders and gently pushed her down into a folding chair.

“You’ve been on your feet all day. I’ll take care of the rest. Please, rest for a while.”

With a faint smile, he rolled up his sleeves and turned back toward the servants.

Nina pulled the heavy, warm jacket around her shoulders.

It was large enough to feel like a blanket, and it carried the faint scent of him.

“……”

She quietly watched him from a distance as he checked over the crates of supplies.

Since the night he had visited her after she drank her night tea, he hadn’t brought up his confession again.

As though it had never happened.

But with every unexpected gesture of gentleness, she could feel it—that he was still waiting for her answer.

Clench.

His feelings were a misunderstanding.

And they would divorce, as planned.

She needed to say it at least once, clearly.

But for Nina, the subject of love was one she wanted to avoid at all costs.

Thinking of it only forced up memories of her darkest past.

And those memories always led to self-loathing, and finally, to the kind of regret that made her wish she had never been born at all.

“Ugh…”

Nina buried her face in her palms.

She knew perfectly well that avoiding a problem wouldn’t solve it…

And yet, she couldn’t help but hope that maybe, somehow, this one would just fade away on its own.

* * *

Night fell quickly.

Under a sky glittering with unusually bright stars, a great fire roared to life.

“Alright, everyone, come sit in a circle!”

Nina had the academy students and the noble heirs sit together, mixed evenly.

Whether because of the earlier quarrel or simply because their own bonds were already too strong, the groups had refused to mingle.

They huddled in their own circles, the quiet rivalry over Ian’s attention still hanging in the air.

‘Good grief… my nephew really is too popular for his own good.’

He was like an idol at the academy. She had expected him to be well liked, but who could have predicted that his popularity would actually lead to a fight?

Anyway.

“My name is Nina Bayern, and I’ll be your teacher for the evening. As you all know, I’m Ian’s aunt.”

Nina smiled warmly at the children, who stared at her with a mix of curiosity and unease.