Chapter 327
Ash watched Nina roughly rub away the tears on the back of her hand and recalled the conversation he had had with the Chief Justice.
âAre you asking whether Nina has ever had an accident?â
The Chief Justice, whose build suited a military officer more than a civil official, answered with a sour expression.
âWell, if you mean causing accidents, perhaps. As far as I knowâŚâ
ââŚâŚâ
The Chief Justiceâs sour expression soon turned resentful.
âOther than falling down the stairs in Your Graceâs house, there has been nothing.â
Ash closed his mouth before the resentment shown by his wifeâs grandfather.
It was one sentence that made it impossible for him to ask again, even if his suspicions ended up trapped in a maze.
Those who had the right to resent the actions he had been able to do cruelly because he had assumed no future.
Werenât they his wife and her family?
But that wasnât the only reason Ash could no longer dig into his wifeâs past through the Chief Justice.
The Chief Justice truly seemed not to know.
But did the fact that the Chief Justice didnât know mean nothing had happened?
His eyes, as dark and still as the deep night, held Nina, who was clutching the blanket as if it were a lifeline.
Even though the room was so warm that sweat soaked her back, the way her entire body trembled like an aspen was far from ordinary.
âI was told she found a corpse in the slums.â
He didnât know whether to call it fortunate, but he had heard that because the weather was cold, the body had remained almost intact.
Yet this was a reaction that could only come from someone who had truly seen the byproducts of death.
âWife, how about resting at the villa starting tomorrow?â
âHuh?â
âI heard some people are dropping out because they caught colds, so I think that excuse should be enough.â
He had disliked it from the beginning.
The slums were a place where all kinds of death lurked.
That was why he couldnât feel at ease even after assigning highly skilled guard knights to her.
On top of that, hadnât she discovered a corpse on the very first day?
There was no guarantee something like today wouldnât happen again.
He had almost never interfered with Ninaâs events, but when it was so obvious she was struggling like this, was he supposed to just leave her be?
âI know youâre worried about me. But thatâs out of the question.â
âWife.â
Ash cut off what she was about to say next in a low voice, as if grinding his teeth.
âItâs for my honor. If I drop out after a mere single day, countless people will dishonor my name.â
But since when had his wife ever been someone who listened to him just because he said so?
âHoney, Iâm finally recovering the honor I damaged with my own hands. And yet youâre telling me to become a coward just because I had a little nightmare?â
Her eyes, shining clearly even in the darkness, said it.
No matter what he said to persuade her, she would not be persuaded.
ââŚMore than anything else, I want to be able to hold my head high before myself.â
If she had been angry instead, he would have forced his wifeâs will to bend.
But when she said it wasnât only because of other peopleâs gazes, and that in truth, she wanted to be proud before herself, how could he recklessly break her will?
âUnderstood. In exchange, promise me one thing.â
ââŚâŚâ
âYou must not get hurt.â
Whether in body, or in heart.
ââŚI promise.â
With a heavy heart, Ash pulled Nina, who was accepting his will, into his arms.
His wife was still trembling.
âJust what kind of nightmare did you have?â
Instead of asking that, he held the minutely trembling body even more tightly.
Sometimes, an embrace was better than a hundred words of comfort.
These days, when she seemed strangely precarious.
For his wife, who had made his arms her haven, there was probably nothing she needed more than this.
Ash patted Ninaâs back and comforted her in silence.
A nightmare so terrible that it made a person cry, when she had never shed tears even at other peopleâs mockery, or at an accident that could have left a scar on her legâŚ
As expected, no matter how he thought about it, continuing the prayer visits didnât seem good for Nina.
She herself would deny it, but the fact that she had stayed in the slums until sunset even after seeing a corpse on the first day was enough to dispel any later controversy.
And above all, hadnât she said she wanted to be proud before herself?
Then, wouldnât it be enough to make her unable to move?
While harboring a thought that would make Nina faint if she knew, Ash lowered his hand.
âHoney?â
Startled by the hand that slipped between her thighs, Nina pushed against his chest and raised her head.
âWhat are youâŚ!â
Before Nina could refuse, he sealed her lips with his own and blocked her words.
When he skillfully stirred her breath like a snake coiling around its prey, a soft moan slipped out.
Sorry, but he had no intention of stopping.
