The Returned Husband Refuses to Divorce - Chapter 10

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Leo was only ten years old now.
He was the youngest among the menial workers permitted to enter the Inner Castle.
Menial workers were typically looked down upon by the formally employed servants.
So when “that person” had come looking for him, Leo couldn’t help but cower.
“Listen here, boy. You need money, don’t you? When you go into the castle later, sneak out one thing from inside. Then I’ll give you your errand money.”
The tone was pleasant enough, but Leo caught on immediately.
‘This is blackmail.’
That person knew Leo’s family circumstances well.
A mother who was ill.
Younger siblings.
Leo was the only one who could earn money for the household.
‘And if things went wrong, they might even hurt my family.’
Leo had actually been beaten by that person before, once while working in the Inner Castle.
“It’s my thing anyway. It’s not theft or anything. You understand, right?”
The words spilled out as if his own feet were burning, and Leo realized this was effectively a confession—but he had no choice but to nod.
And the result was…….
“This wretched child stole something!”
Damn it. It’s all over now.
Leo clamped his eyes shut.
“He’s always been a light-fingered brat. We need to beat some sense into him once and for all!”
Of all the rotten luck, three servants from the Inner Castle had seen Leo hiding the object.
‘No, I’ve never stolen anything before!’
But words like that would never hold up when caught in the act of thievery.
“What’s going on there?”
To make matters worse, a group of men approached from the distance.
Leo’s face went white.
‘Are those… the knights who returned yesterday?’
He’d already heard the news.
Yesterday the Duke and the Knight Order had returned, and they’d turned out all the servants.
‘That person only made me do this because of that.’
With each step the knights took closer, Leo’s complexion grew deader.
Even servants who’d devoted their entire lives to the Duke’s House had been dismissed in an instant.
There was no question what would become of a small menial worker caught stealing.
‘If I’m not careful, they might cut off my hand.’
Leo’s gaze darted frantically toward the three servants who’d first discovered him.
‘Help me! Please!’
In truth, one of those three was Leo’s accomplice.
The plan was that Leo would bring the object from the Annex, and the accomplice would hide it and smuggle it out.
But for some reason, the accomplice had been with the other servants, and Leo had been caught stealing in front of them.
‘I must have made a mistake somehow. They’ll help me now!’
But the child’s hopes were ruthlessly betrayed.
The accomplice simply turned his head away, avoiding Leo’s gaze.
Leo’s face filled with despair.
“Listen here, little one. Is all of this true?”
Among them, a knight with an exceptionally tall and intimidating frame asked the question.
‘What do I do?’
Leo wanted to tell them everything.
That it was all because of their coercion.
‘But… what if they don’t believe me?’
The knights had been away on campaign five years ago.
Not all of them, but most had been acquainted with the servants.
Leo, meanwhile, was only ten.
No adult would take a child’s words seriously.
“Tell me honestly. Did you steal it?”
If he said nothing, he would die.
If he spoke, he might face retaliation.
Faced with a choice he couldn’t easily make, Leo clenched his eyes shut.
“So I…!”
That was when it happened.
“Ash.”
A bright, clear voice suddenly cut through the moment, and Leo flinched.
‘What—what is this?’
The atmosphere in the room shifted in an instant.
Leo opened his eyes slowly, cautiously.
‘The woman from the Annex!’
Though they’d never exchanged a word, Leo knew of her.
From what he’d heard, she was the Duke’s wife—but she’d fallen out of favor with the first lady and been banished to the Annex.
She was beautiful enough to steal the breath from his lungs, yet she always seemed so melancholy it broke his heart. That’s why Leo had taken to sneaking flowers and laying them on the Annex windowsill whenever he passed.
‘But what’s she doing here?’
The woman turned her gaze slowly.
Those blue eyes seemed to say, as if speaking aloud: ‘It’s alright now.’
Leo felt something catch in his throat.
Foolishly moved, even though he hardly knew her.
“Might I ask what’s happened here?”
Meanwhile, Ines was thinking with perfect composure.
‘It looks like this child was caught stealing.’
A familiar little one. She’d seen him wandering about when she lived in the Annex.
He’d sometimes leave a single flower behind.
“There’s no need to concern yourself. I apologize for the disturbance.”
Ash answered Ines’s question with formal respect.
‘He’s telling me to leave,’ Ines thought.
Ash was the man who’d blocked her yesterday when she went to Zekard’s quarters.
Ines had been briefly introduced to him before supper through Zekard—he was Zekard’s loyal adjutant.
‘As expected, he despises me.’
Ines studied the others calmly.
Five knights and three menial workers.
Every last one of them looked at her with poorly concealed disdain.
‘Fair enough.’
Even if Zekard treated Ines kindly, there was no reason those beneath him would accept it.
Her reputation was already wretched, and now their friends, colleagues, and families had lost their positions because of her.
Of course, Zekard had never directly stated that he’d purged the staff because of Ines.
But anyone with sense could see through it.
Since Zekard’s return, wasn’t Ines the only one in this castle whose fortune had improved?
“There’s been noise from my quarters. I was curious to hear what the matter was.”
When Ines showed no sign of leaving, Ash finally sighed and began to explain.
“……That’s how it came to be.”
Ines had been lost in thought for a moment; now she studied the child quietly.
“He doesn’t seem like the type.”
Ash frowned slightly.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Just what I said. I’d like to hear more of the child’s account.”
“I’ve already asked. It’s the boy who won’t answer.”
The child suddenly jumped, caught in the spotlight.
“These three are witnesses. They saw him hide the object in his pocket themselves.”
At that, Ines glanced at the menial workers.
She considered something for a long moment, then abruptly moved toward the child.
Crouching down in front of him, Ines met his eyes and asked quietly.
“Is it true?”
The child started.
“Did you really do it?”
“What are you doing?”
Ines raised her hand, stopping Ash mid-stride.
“You couldn’t speak, could you? No one would have listened anyway. And you’d be worried about what comes next. But if you stay silent, you’ll end up taking the blame for everything.”
The child’s face grew steadily paler as Ines spoke.
“It’s alright now. I’m listening. So tell me.”
Her voice rang out clear and tender.
“Truly—did you do it because you wanted to?”
The child’s lip trembled; sorrow welled up inside him.
Soon he pointed at someone and cried out loudly.
“He did it! He and the head maid—they forced me into it!”
“What?”
The servant who’d been singled out waved his hand emphatically.
“Th-that’s absurd! Impossible! That’s not—”
The staff erupted into murmurs, voices overlapping.
“How dare he slander Hans like that!”
“We helped him get work here, and this is the thanks we get!”
“H-h-head housekeeper? What in blazes are you babbling about?”
The Knights were unsettled, yet their sympathies drifted steadily toward the familiar faces of the household staff.
Ash, watching the chaos unfold, released a weary sigh.
“My apologies, but I’ll handle the matter from here.”
Ines read it in his bearing instantly—he didn’t believe the child’s word for a moment.
“Handle it how, exactly?”
“By punishing the child according to the law.”
“But the child claims to have been coerced.”
“Children that age lie constantly. It’s perfectly normal.”
The child then cried out, almost shrieking.
“No, no! It really wasn’t me, I’m telling you!”
The boy pointed again at the servant he’d accused before.
“Check Hans’s belongings! There are other things he’s stolen in there already! If you just look—”
“This little rat is framing me right now!”
The servant’s face flushed with rage as he grabbed the child by the collar.
“You want to die? If you’re that eager, go ahead and die alone—don’t drag me down with your lies!”
Ash shook his head slowly and spoke.
“In any case, you’d best be on your way. It seems I won’t be able to see you off properly after all this.”
But Ines stopped him in his tracks.
“Search this man’s belongings, as the child has testified.”
The air turned cold in an instant.
“I beg your pardon?”
Ash’s face hardened as he replied, each word clipped and precise.
“There’s been testimony. Shouldn’t we verify the facts?”
“My lady, just how credible do you think testimony from a thief truly is?”
Ines realized then that Ash wasn’t simply being obstinate.
‘He’s telling me he won’t yield to me here.’
It was, in other words, a battle of will.
The child’s guilt was no longer the point. Ash and the others had now openly defied Ines.
“Can you take responsibility for that order?”
Ines was the Duchess.
She couldn’t afford to invoke a word like “responsibility” lightly—not for a stranger, not for a child she barely knew.
But that didn’t matter.
This was a wager she was certain to win.
Because…
“Very well. If you insist. I’ll stake my name on it and take full responsibility. Now, begin the search at once.”
Ines possessed the Lie Detection Ability.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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