My Husband Caught Me Having an Affair - Chapter 78

“…You’ve changed a lot since I last saw you.” I turned my gaze away from Nicolas, pretending to ignore him.

“I realized my feelings too late.”

“This is troublesome. As I told you before, I’m…”

“I understand your situation, but that’s precisely why I can’t just stand by.”

“What do you mean by that…?”

“Forgive me if I overstep, but I can’t bear to see you like this. He doesn’t give you what you need, and yet he won’t even allow you to find comfort elsewhere… I can’t just sit back and watch him treat you so cruelly,” Nicolas spoke, his voice low and heated.

‘Wow, he’s good.’

His lines, his tone—everything was almost perfect. Even the angle and proximity as he leaned in to whisper near my ear were on point.

If I were genuinely a noblewoman dissatisfied with her husband, I would undoubtedly be swayed by his words.

Had I still been Camille before my possession, I would have fallen for him one hundred percent.

‘As expected of Nicolas… It’s hard to believe he’s only just turned twenty.’

In the original story, it was said that Nicolas had trained for years in the art of seduction, honing his handsome appearance for Girard’s intelligence agency.

By the time he approached Elodie in the original story, he was already a master of seduction, well-versed in every trick and charm. Seeing him now made me wonder if it wasn’t all just natural talent.

‘Oops, this isn’t the time to be admiring him.’

Pretending to be flustered, I lowered my head and quickly weighed my options.

I had two choices. I could either firmly reject him or pretend to be swayed and try to extract information.

If I only considered Nicolas and Girard, the latter was the better choice.

I still had no idea why Nicolas had returned or whether his actions were purely his own or if there was an order from Marlon behind it.

Understanding his motives was crucial for planning my next move.

Moreover, it made sense for me to show some level of wavering—I had already acted that way in front of Nicolas before.

The problem was that if I played along, Ethan might suspect me again, just like with Liam.

‘Honestly, I don’t want him to doubt me about something like this…’

After everything I went through right after my possession, I had developed an instinctive aversion to such suspicions.

‘If that’s the case, the choice I need to make is…’

“Madam?”

Nicolas called me again, and I slowly opened my mouth.

“I…”

***

Through the window, Ethan saw the carriage stop in front of the main building.

He confirmed that Camille was getting out, then let go of the curtain he’d been holding.

It was her first evening outing in about a month. Considering the time she had left, she was back earlier than he had expected.

Of course, it wasn’t unusual for Camille to return at this hour from a social gathering.

Although lately, she had almost entirely stopped attending such events, before, she would often return home around dawn. It was just the nature of evening gatherings.

Yes, that must be it.

And yet, for some reason, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was bothering him. Ever since Camille had left the estate earlier, it had been on his mind.

What was she doing now? When would she return? Thoughts like these kept intruding, even while he worked. It wasn’t like they had made plans to do something together when she returned.

Even now, Camille would surely head straight to her room and prepare for bed. Ethan clicked his tongue in annoyance.

It was probably because they hadn’t spoken at all since their awkward conversation in the carriage a few days ago.

Ethan hated leaving things unresolved. This lingering discomfort was undoubtedly because of that.

He returned to his desk and sat down, picking up the documents that had been left untouched for a while.

Just as he did, someone knocked on the office door.

“It’s me.”

It was Camille’s voice. Ethan’s hand, which had been turning a page, paused unconsciously.

“…Come in.”

The door opened.

Camille was wearing a dark wine-colored dress. It was an unusual choice for her lately—a striking color, but not overly flashy like before. Instead, it was sophisticated, drawing attention without being excessive.

“I’m sorry to bother you at this late hour. Are you free now?”

“It’s fine. What is it?”

“I have something important to discuss.”

“……”

Ethan narrowed his eyes slightly.

Whenever Camille spoke like this, it usually meant she had something truly significant to say. For some reason, instead of curiosity, an odd sense of unease welled up.

“Sit down.”

Ethan got up from his desk and moved to the sofa. They sat facing each other, a low table between them.

“You’ve always suspected that I have a personal informant, haven’t you?”

“……”

The unexpected topic and the directness of her approach left Ethan momentarily speechless. But Camille continued without waiting for a response, as if his answer didn’t matter.

“You’re right. I do have an informant. It was thanks to that person that I learned about Baron Bernard’s connection to Duke Girard.”

‘…Why is she suddenly being so forthright?’

Ethan was beyond surprised—he was bewildered. But Camille’s expression was calm, as if she were discussing something trivial.

“…You’ve kept it hidden all this time. Why are you suddenly bringing it up now?” Ethan asked, scrutinizing Camille with a wary gaze.

“I received new information today, and I wanted to share it with you.”

“……”

It felt like being repeatedly struck with a hammer.

Yet the person making these statements seemed completely unbothered, her demeanor unshaken.

He had always suspected the existence of an informant and had even assigned someone to follow Camille in case she met with them.

And now, out of the blue, she was admitting she had an informant and had just met with them.

‘…Did Jacques know about this?’

Was Camille telling him before Jacques had a chance to report it?

Just then, as if reading his mind, Camille spoke again, “The gathering I attended today was a masquerade ball. I don’t know if your spy followed me into the hall in disguise, but many people came and went around me. I doubt they could’ve identified who my informant was.”

“……”

Once again, Camille delivered a blow with a nonchalant expression.

Ethan frowned as he looked at her.

‘What is this woman…’

“Anyway, that’s not what’s important. As I said, I received new information today.”

Ethan shook his head lightly. His mind still felt foggy, but he needed to focus.

“Is it about Girard again?”

“Yes.”

“Tell me.”

“One of Girard’s agents has started approaching me again.”

Upon hearing that, Ethan’s brow furrowed deeply. “Is it safe? Were you harmed?”

His voice had risen unintentionally, and Camille blinked in surprise. “Pardon? Oh, no. Nothing dangerous happened. Don’t worry.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course. Look, I’m perfectly fine.” Camille spread her arms wide as she spoke.

She continued, “There’s no need to worry. It doesn’t seem like they intend to harm me. They’re approaching me the same way Baron Bernard did before.”

“You mean…”

“Yes, they’re trying to seduce me again,” Camille spoke with a slightly uncomfortable expression.

“They already failed once, and they’re trying the same tactic again?”

Honestly, it was hard to believe. It didn’t seem like Girard, who was notoriously paranoid and cautious.

“I thought it was strange too. But according to my informant, it’s definitely one of Girard’s agents.”

“Did they recognize the person?”

“Yes. They were disguised, but my informant was certain. The man even removed his mask in front of me today. My informant wasn’t entirely sure at that moment, but after following him afterward, they confirmed it.”

“What do you know about him?”

“Not much. Just that he’s still a trainee, not a fully-fledged agent yet, and that his name is Nicolas Sadun.”

“……”

It wasn’t much information, but it was more than they’d ever known about Girard’s agents before. Despite all the efforts to gather intelligence, they had come up empty—and now Camille had uncovered this so easily.

Ethan looked at her with suspicion. “Who’s your informant working for? Are they also one of Girard’s agents?”

“I can’t say.”

“How did you come to know this informant? What do they gain from helping you?”

“I’m sorry. I can’t answer that either.”

“……”

Ethan clasped his hands slowly, his eyes never leaving Camille.

“If you’re still going to keep your mouth shut, then why bring this up now?”

“Because I don’t want you to doubt me.”

Ethan gave her an incredulous look. “Isn’t it contradictory to say you don’t want me to doubt you while keeping secrets from me?”

“That’s not what I mean. I don’t want you to think I’m having an affair again.”

“……”

Ethan unconsciously narrowed his eyes.