Chapter 223
āWhat in the world is going on?ā
It wasnāt proper to eavesdrop, but if she suddenly appeared now, it would hurt Sophiaās pride.
Besides, the situation unfolding didnāt feel normal.
George, who should have been attending guests in the banquet hall and who was already suspected of being an addict, was suddenly acting erratically.
āFor now, I should listen to what theyāre saying.ā
Holding her breath, Nina sharpened her ears.
āā¦I-I donāt know. You deal with it. Stop bothering me, and we only need one person anyway, donāt we?ā
āOnce dinner ends, thereās a ball. You and I have to dance the first dance for the ball to begin!ā
āI-Iāll just say Iām not feeling well, and you can dance with my brother or my father.ā
Nina, listening from her hiding place, couldnāt contain her shock.
Trash.
Absolute trash.
He was giving up his place at his own engagement party.
āā¦Donāt tell me heās planning to take the drug.ā
An addict wasnāt an addict for nothing.
For someone like George, who was clearly in the severe stages of addiction, slipping away during the party to take more wouldnāt be strange.
Most likely, the urge for the drug required more endurance than trying not to soil oneās pants.
āWhy are you acting like this? Are you hiding something from meā¦?ā
Sophiaās voice trembled miserably.
It seemed she had finally become certain that her fiancƩ had been concealing something enormous.
Of course, if sheād known George was a drug user, this engagement never would have happened in the first place.
āT-Thereās no way Iād hide something like that.ā
āThen why do you keep behaving so suspiciously. How can you think this makes sense!ā
Sophiaās voice grew fierce as she pressed him.
Then came a brief silence, followed by Georgeās voice carrying a loaded implication.
āā¦I-I canāt help it. If you promise to keep it a secret, Iāll tell you why Iām doing this.ā
Did she accept her fiancĆ©ās offer?
No matter how hard Nina strained to listen, nothing came after that.
It sounded like the two had left.
Should she return to the banquet hall now?
Or should she follow them?
As she debated what to do, Nina decided she should trail after them for now.
āHe said heād reveal a secret, after all.ā
Ash had warned her before they entered, but she wasnāt the only one in danger if left alone with George.
Sophia was in just as much danger.
And if she caught the moment he consumed the drug, she could gather information she needed.
āBut where did they even goā¦?ā
She stepped out of the long gallery and looked around, but the two were already gone.
āIf they want to do something secret, theyād have gone somewhere private.ā
For example, a bedroom.
Nina waited until the people passing through the corridor had thinned out completely.
After confirming that no one was around, she stepped onto the stairs leading to the second floor.
Bedrooms would definitely be upstairs.
* * *
Sophia Bernardās life had been a comfortable one.
Born as the second daughter of a fairly wealthy Count, sheād never needed to beg anyone for anything.
Her future should have flowed as smoothly as her past, free of hardship and misfortune.
It should have, butā¦
āWhat in the world is this?ā
The moment she entered the bedroom, Sophia stared in disbelief at her fiancƩ, who was frantically rummaging through a drawer.
āT-This. This is my secret.ā
In his trembling hand, as shaky as someone with severe tremors, he held a glass bottle.
Inside it was a transparent liquid.
For a brief moment, a light flickered in his usually hazy pupils. It was so deranged that even calling it madness wasnāt enough.
He opened the lid and gulped down the clear liquid like a man who hadnāt eaten in days.
āYouā¦ What in the world is thatā¦ā
A chilling foreboding ran down her spine.
She didnāt know what it was, but she knew it wasnāt ordinary water.
Her fiancĆ© wouldnāt be making such a grotesque expression otherwise.
His slack jaw hung in a vulgar gape, drool dripping from the corners of his mouth.
