The Wicked Wife's Dark History Keeps Coming Back To Haunt Her - Chapter 219

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“…So you sent the repairman back?”

“Yes. To learn the hostages’ location and whether they’re alive, we need to drag the man who took them out into the open. We’ll tail him when he contacts his captors again.”

A shadow passed over Nina’s face at Ash’s words. She’d already thought of this when the man had come to her offering the aphrodisiac. Count Azelot really was just as despicable as Rebecca.

Even if they hadn’t damaged the railing badly enough to cause an accident, what if someone had been hurt anyway? And to take an innocent repairman’s family hostage…

“They’ll still be alive, right…?”

She asked, but she already knew the truth. The odds the hostages would survive were not high. The repairman’s family were expendable in their eyes.

‘Ash promised he’d return the man’s family if the orders were carried out, but with Count Azelot, the chance he’ll kill them to avoid any loose ends is far higher.’

Not only the hostages, but the repairman too. Nina fell into a dark silence. Even if they were strangers to her, she couldn’t remain indifferent when innocent lives were at stake.

“They should be alive at least until we confirm the objective is met. So we need to rescue them before those men can act.”

A large, warm hand closed over hers.

“……”

The ember of panic in her chest calmed somewhat at that warmth.

‘…Yes, he’s right.’

This incident had made Azelot’s aim clear: a petition to change guardianship. Only the Count’s eldest son could be a party to that suit.

Double jeopardy rules apply, so if they blew this chance, they could never seek guardianship again. To avoid wasting their only remaining chance, they would insist on verifying the required conditions before filing the complaint.

If they failed to recruit her and then failed to convince Ian, they might have given up, but Azelot wasn’t the sort to give up easily.

‘Of course. If he were the sort to surrender, he wouldn’t have dared confront Ash in the first place.’

And if the meeting with Rebecca was real, it meant she’d be leaning on allies to keep pestering them in other ways too.

‘Enemies everywhere.’

The Minister of Finance, House Nord, House Azelot, and others. The mere thought made Nina’s temples throb.

She watched Ash’s handsome side profile in silence, his lips set in a straight line, deep in thought. Even gathering scraps of information stressed her out, so how tiring must it be for her husband to bear the responsibility of protecting a whole house?

For a moment she forgot that dukes weren’t easy roles to fill. She’d felt comforted by the warmth of his hand. Realizing she was holding his hand, she moved to pull away—then the coachman called out through the side window.

“We’ve arrived.”

They’d reached the Beverley residence. Tonight there was to be a dinner and ball in honor of the betrothal of the younger son of House Beverley.

It might seem trivial to attend a viscount’s party, but they had to. The name of Beverley’s younger son appeared on the list Countess Crest had given Nina.

“Wife, please stay by my side as much as possible tonight. And whatever you do, do not speak with Viscount Beverley’s younger son.”

Ash stepped down from the carriage first and offered his hand with a grim expression.

“Is that realistically possible?” Nina murmured as she took his hand and descended.

Ash’s voice lowered further.

“…If Lord Beverley is likely under the influence of the aphrodisiac as you say, he won’t be in his right mind. Especially avoid being alone with him under any circumstances.”

“I’ll try.”

“Don’t ‘try’, promise me that you will. If you won’t, we’ll just have to go back home.”

Ash held Nina’s gaze, pressing her for an answer. Before they left, he’d told her he’d look into the list himself and ordered her not to associate with those on it, but she had insisted on coming. She couldn’t be satisfied until she saw things with her own eyes.

Understanding what he feared, she gave a small, guarded nod.

“Please be careful. If even one fingertip of yours gets hurt, I can’t promise what I’ll do.”

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