My Husband Caught Me Having an Affair - Chapter 71

As soon as he left the banquet hall, the loud music and dazzling lights vanished, and Nicolas stepped into the calm darkness of the night.

He headed toward the garden across from the hall. By now, drunken couples were likely hiding in various corners, enjoying some private time together.

Once inside, he planned to change his disguise before emerging again, posing as a man who had just parted ways with a partner after some intimate time. Then, he would grab a carriage and leave the estate—that would be the end of it.

“Wait!”

The urgent voice from behind made Nicolas stop instinctively.

Slowly, he turned around to see Marchioness Nadia Leroy standing there, holding the upper part of her dress, slightly out of breath as if she had run after him.

‘…Could it be?’

Not long ago, Nicolas had approached Nadia under the guise of Fabian Winter.

However, his current disguise was entirely different. It was extremely unlikely that Nadia had seen through his true identity—in fact, practically impossible.

Nicolas remained calm and smiled as Alberto Bucci.

“Were you calling me, Marchioness?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Nadia pressed a hand to her chest, bowing her head slightly as she gasped for breath.

“Oh dear, it seems you ran here in quite a hurry. Are you alright?”

Nicolas took out a handkerchief from his inner pocket and held it out to her, but Nadia raised her hand to decline it.

“I’m fine. There’s something I’d like to ask you.”

“Go ahead.”

“You were with the Duchess of Dumont in the lounge earlier, weren’t you?”

Nadia’s voice had a hint of confrontation.

“I saw you leaving the room. The Duchess was alone before you entered, wasn’t she? Am I right?”

Ah, so that’s it.

Now, Nicolas understood.

Nadia had an unrequited love for Ethan Dumont. She had even tried to track down Liam Bernard, hoping to find proof of an affair between him and the Duchess.

When Nicolas didn’t answer, Nadia bit her lip anxiously.

Finally, she could no longer hold back and demanded, “What kind of relationship do you have with the Duchess?”

“Pardon? Hold on. First, please calm down. It seems there’s a significant misunderstanding here…”

Nicolas gave her a troubled look as he spoke, “There was nothing between the Duchess and me. We simply happened to meet in the lounge and chatted briefly. Today was actually the first time we met.”

Nadia’s eyes darkened. “…You’re lying.”

“I’m not lying. If you don’t believe me, feel free to confirm with the Duchess.”

“……”

Nadia lowered her gaze, disappointment evident on her face.

Honestly, Nicolas couldn’t understand her actions. Rushing over like this and questioning him was a mistake from the start. She should have first verified his identity and then conducted an investigation.

Interrogating someone so directly was unlikely to yield any truthful answers. No matter how scandalous the nobility might be, adultery was still not something people would admit so freely.

After all, Nicolas himself was the result of such an illicit affair. Because of it, he had to constantly prove himself, denied even his name and his rightful place.

His very presence here tonight was because of that.

‘Does she lack intelligence, act on emotions, or maybe both?’

Nicolas looked down at Nadia with a cold gaze.

Yet, from his perspective, her foolishness was convenient. Previously, she had easily spilled everything under the influence of a few drinks.

Camille Dumont was the same. During their first meeting, he had thought she might be more challenging, but today had gone even better than expected.

Still, there were no tangible results. He had failed to discover Liam Bernard’s whereabouts or whether Ethan Dumont knew that Duke Girard was behind everything.

‘At this rate, I’ll return empty-handed.’

It wasn’t that he feared disappointing his father. His father didn’t even know Nicolas was conducting this investigation. But still…

Nicolas clicked his tongue softly.

He had probably already gleaned all he could from Camille.

Of course, if he could dig into what happened with the Dumont ledger, that would be ideal. However, it was simply too dangerous. Considering Camille’s current cautiousness due to the Liam incident, even mentioning anything related to the ledger would undoubtedly raise her guard.

It seemed wise to abandon this matter here. There would be no need to approach Camille again—or this woman standing before him now.

Just then, Nadia suddenly lifted her head and grabbed Nicolas by the collar. “Was there really nothing between you two? Really?”

Nicolas frowned. “I already told you. You’re mistaken, Marchioness.”

“That can’t be. There’s no way that woman wouldn’t flirt with a handsome man like you in such a situation!”

Nadia’s eyes were filled with an almost desperate, deranged glint.

“Well, I mean—”

Annoyed, Nicolas began to speak, but suddenly a thought struck him.

‘Are you really leaving?’

Earlier, Camille had looked at Nicolas with a hint of regret.

She seemed to fear her husband finding out, but she didn’t seem opposed to being involved with a man altogether.

In other words, as long as he could create a similar situation again, seducing Camille wasn’t out of the question.

‘…Right. There’s no need to fixate solely on finding Liam Bernard. The real goal is the Dumont ledger.’

If he could successfully seduce Camille, he might be able to determine whether Bernard had tried to steal the ledger.

If Bernard hadn’t managed to do so, then Nicolas would have an opportunity—a chance to take the Dumont ledger for himself.

After all, if a frivolous playboy like Liam Bernard had succeeded, there was no reason Nicolas couldn’t do even better.

There was no need to rush. He could observe the situation, and if things seemed too risky, he could always withdraw.

“Are you listening to me?” Nadia tugged at his collar impatiently.

Without saying anything, Nicolas gently removed her hand from his collar. “You keep asking me the same thing without accepting my answer. There’s no point in continuing this conversation. I’ll be going now.”

“Sir…!”

Nicolas turned away, leaving Nadia behind. Under the faint moonlight, a slight smile played at the corners of his lips.

***

“Duchess! Are you feeling better now?”

As soon as Sophia saw me, she hurried over. Her small stature made her seem almost like a squirrel.

“Yes, thanks to your concern, I’m feeling much better.”

“That’s such a relief. I was afraid I might have to apologize to Duke Dumont.”

Sophia glanced at Ethan standing beside me, her face flushed with excitement.

It was understandable. Ethan rarely attended banquets like this.

Unlike at Viscount Rochefort’s a few months ago, this time there had been no advance notice, which only made his presence more remarkable.

Many guests in the banquet hall were now watching us, which caused not only Sophia but also Count Lenucci to appear quite proud.

In contrast, Ethan’s expression remained indifferent, as if all of this was irrelevant to him.

‘Well, he usually looks like this for about 23 hours a day anyway…’

“There’s no need to apologize, truly. I was just feeling unwell.”

“Indeed. Thank you for taking care of my wife, Countess. It seems she’s recovered more quickly thanks to your help.”

I was startled by Ethan’s words and turned to look at him.

The Lenucci couple also looked visibly surprised.

Of course, what Ethan said could easily be taken as a polite formality. But the important part was that it had come from Ethan.

Ethan was known as a cold and stern individual precisely because he almost never spoke like that to anyone, regardless of who they were.

Most importantly, it was about me.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?” Ethan asked with a slight frown.

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

Count Lenucci quickly interjected, “In any case, not only the Duchess but also you, Duke, have graced us with your presence. We are truly honored. If we had known in advance, we could have prepared even better…”

“Everything is already more than adequate. Thank you,” Ethan spoke in his usual flat tone. His expression and demeanor weren’t much different from usual, but his words were undeniably not the same.

‘…What is this about?’

I glanced at Ethan curiously.