The Wicked Wife's Dark History Keeps Coming Back To Haunt Her - Chapter 4
Living in the same house with such a madwoman made what should be the most comfortable and relaxing place feel suffocating and stifling.
Ash inwardly cursed as the memory of her voice suddenly surfaced.
“It’s already been two years since we got married. Don’t you think it’s time to fulfill our marital duties? Just how long are you going to leave me neglected?!”
Even breathing the same air in the same house was dreadful, and she wanted to fulfill their marital duties?
Even if he died and was reborn, he would never share a bed with her.
Even now, he was constantly thinking about the moment he could divorce her.
***
It had been seven days since Nina locked herself in her room.
No one visited her except for her personal maid, Marsha.
Normally, a noblewoman’s daily routine included reading the morning paper and overseeing the household affairs.
Nina had done the same for the past two years.
But she had stopped all of this and locked her door.
She declined all invitations, using her illness as an excuse.
It required a lot of courage to face people who knew about her disgrace.
No one seemed to mind since no one liked her wandering around the mansion anyway.
Perhaps they even preferred her not meddling in everything and not pestering them for news of her husband.
Nina, munching on the cookies Marsha had brought, pondered and mumbled to herself.
“By the way, what have I been doing all this time…?”
Nina had died just two years after divorcing her husband and lived another 26 years as Jang So-young.
Her memory wasn’t sharp enough to recall events from 29 years ago in detail.
She only remembered the general outline.
“I remember one thing for sure, usury…”
What is a noblewoman doing talking about usury?
Around this time, Nina’s authority had fallen so low it might as well have been underground.
Who would respect and follow a madam who constantly caused trouble and neglected her duties?
…But she knew a very sure way to extract obedience from others.
Moreover, she had already succeeded in becoming the Duchess of Bayern using ‘that method’.
It was to exploit the weaknesses of others.
Nothing was more effective than taking ‘family’ as ‘hostages’. She would lend money to the poor employees’ parents or siblings.
They thought their kind-hearted madam was being generous, but far from it.
She exploited the fact that most commoners were poor at arithmetic and often illiterate, drafting vicious promissory notes with compound interest.
Then she used those notes to blackmail the employees into joining her in stalking her husband.
What could they do when the Chief Justice’s granddaughter threatened to legally seize all their assets and throw their entire family onto the streets?
To save their families, they had to follow her unjust orders.
‘Why did my past self always think in such wicked ways…?’
Anyway, even now, the victims of her usury were probably gathering information about her husband like squirrels…
‘First, I need to ask my husband for a divorce.’
She planned to deal with the eyes spying on her husband on the day the interest was due.
“Haah…”
Having steeled herself, she rang the bell to summon Marsha.
“Madam, did you call?”
“Marsha, what is the Duke doing right now?”
“He’s having his elevenses tea in his study. It’s just before noon. Shall I notify him…?”
“Yes, tell him I have something serious to discuss and would like to see him briefly.”
“Yes.”
Marsha left to carry out Nina’s order.
She probably wouldn’t return with a positive response from the Duke.
A man who wouldn’t share a meal or a cup of tea with her would hardly agree to her request.
Still, she sent Marsha to show that she wouldn’t act recklessly as she had before.
…But no matter how hard she tried!
*
Marsha came back with tearful, innocent eyes.
“Madam, he said if I come to him one more time, he will use his authority to fire me…”
After refusing her request for three days, he went so far as to threaten to fire Marsha, who was practically her right hand.
Nina lifted her heavy body.
It seemed she had no choice but to go see her husband’s expensive face herself.
But first, she needed to get ready.
