The Wicked Wife's Dark History Keeps Coming Back To Haunt Her - Chapter 248
He couldn’t understand his father lowering himself like this.
A ducal house and a marquis house.
To Richard, the difference felt like no more than a hair’s breadth, which made it all the more infuriating.
Conscious of the eyes around him, Richard wanted to land a blow on Ian somehow.
“…I’ll apologize for what I did wrong, but Ian, you were about to hit me just now too, weren’t you? Then you should apologize as well.”
“Richard, are you saying Ian was about to strike you?”
Marquis Ulverni’s eyes lit up.
This time, surely, he could really break through this situation.
“As you both heard, it seems Ian was about to assault my son. Are you planning to keep disputing right and wrong like this?”
How shameless, puffing himself up as if he’d caught something.
Nina, who had been listening quietly, spoke.
“Do you have proof?”
“…What?”
“I’m asking if you have proof that Ian was about to assault your son.”
“D-Duchess, you clearly saw it. Ian, you were about to hit me!”
Richard shouted angrily, telling her not to lie, but Nina let out a scoff.
There was no way there could be proof.
She was the only one who had witnessed that moment, and the only people who knew that were Ian and Richard.
Then, the people who had been watching the situation began to speak up one by one.
“…How brazen. Just how do they raise their child.”
“If he’s the young master of House Bayern, he’s famous for being exemplary and good-natured. He’s really suffering after getting dragged into pointless trouble.”
“But isn’t the child of House Ulverni the one who caused a violent incident at the academy and got expelled not long ago?”
“I heard Young Lord Ulverni was notorious for being violent even at the academy. Otherwise, why would the Duchess have warned him. Enough to get expelled, no less.”
“And to cause this kind of disturbance at this exhibition of all places…”
This was where reputation truly mattered.
They had tried to escape a cornered situation through a battle of public opinion, but that only worked when one had a basic reputation to fall back on.
Ian, rumored to be a model student, and Richard, expelled for causing trouble.
Whose words would people believe?
“Honey, it’d be better to clear this up now. Dealing with this any longer is tiresome.”
“Yes.”
When Nina spoke with a sigh, Ash lightly kissed her cheek and signaled to the gathered staff.
“Please excuse us, but you will need to leave.”
“No further disturbance will be tolerated.”
Marquis Ulverni, collapsing as if he could no longer hold out, was seized by the staff.
“…Y-Your Grace the Duke. You can’t do this. Do you truly intend to become enemies with my house?”
“And why do you think I wouldn’t become enemies with you?”
“Well, that’s…”
Ash strode up to Marquis Ulverni and spoke with a contemptuous gaze.
“At most, you dared to raise your voice at my wife, and as if once wasn’t enough, you offended my nephew twice.”
The difference in their heights was nearly the span of a palm.
And his uniquely cold voice drilled down like a blade onto the top of his head.
“P-Please forgive us. We truly came to apologize. We…”
For a marquis who had never held a sword in his life and had only ever postured while issuing orders from behind a desk, it was an overwhelming presence.
Barely supporting himself on trembling legs, the Marquis collapsed to the ground at the voice that pierced his ears.
“There is no second mercy.”
Your son will lose his future as my wife said, and House Ulverni as well will be thoroughly crushed, never to regain its current standing again.
That was the punishment for House Ulverni for ruining this day.
* * *
Conwell Gallery. The gallery director’s reception room was a space as luxurious as any belonging to House Bayern.
Even the decorative paintings were works by renowned masters, kept in frames that stood out for their beautiful craftsmanship.
“It seems I’m having quite a rare experience in many ways today.”
Count Conwell smiled faintly as he looked at Ash, whose displeasure was still plainly visible.
Duke and Duchess Bayern.
The two of them were figures famous enough to draw even the interest of Count Conwell, who otherwise had little concern beyond art.
Not only because of their titles, but also because of the many rumors that followed them wherever they went.
