The Returned Husband Refuses to Divorce - Chapter 13

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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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“Well, Hans didn’t bat an eye while they dragged him away, you see? And they arrested him because of her!”
Everyone’s anger flared at the maid’s innocent remark.
“Good heavens, how could she possibly do such a thing? Cold-blooded woman!”
“Poor Hans.”
“It’s absolutely unbelievable.”
The air heated with fury in an instant.
They all whispered among themselves, condemning Ines.
“She’s definitely a witch!”
Their loyalties bent inward, and Hans’s actions became a “minor mistake” while Ines’s became “vicious behavior.”
In truth, most of those present didn’t truly understand the details of the incident.
They simply joined in cursing Ines, swept along by the atmosphere.
She was already disliked. Being granted “legitimate grounds” to condemn her left them without hesitation.
Then someone cried out with force.
“We need to teach that woman a lesson!”
It was the maid who had spoken first.
All eyes turned toward her.
‘I need to be careful from here on out.’
This maid’s name was Julia.
She was precisely the secret spy the expelled former head maid had left behind in the castle.
Julia served as the former head maid’s hands and feet, but had hidden this fact meticulously.
Instead, she’d taken the lead in reporting other disloyal maids, playing the part of one loyal to Evanhardt House.
She alone had escaped suspicion when the others were cast out one by one, and she owed that to her careful performance.
‘If this succeeds, I can buy Selena time to make her move.’
For Julia, this was far more than a matter of mere loyalty to Selena.
Some of the items the former head maid had smuggled out had passed through Julia’s hands. If the ledgers were investigated to the end, she too would not escape unscathed.
Selena had to seize power again—at least until the ledgers disappeared and evidence of Julia’s involvement was erased.
For that to happen, Zecardo needed a much larger incident preventing him from investigating Selena.
‘As it happens, this works perfectly.’
The moment Julia heard news of today’s incident, she formed a plan.
She would incite opinion among the servants and drive Ines out.
‘I need to finish this before the Duke realizes the mood inside the castle.’
After all, the two of them had known each other for only a few days.
There hadn’t been time for love, let alone affection to take root.
‘So if I gather the opinion of the Knight Order, the retainers, and the servants all together, that woman won’t be able to endure it.’
This work now was the grand first step in driving out the cunning witch ‘Ines Shartier’!
Julia, her resolve hardened, gestured toward the gathered people.
Then she lowered her voice and spoke in hushed tones.
“Now, all of you—listen to my plan.”
* * *
Ines sat alone in her room, counting her money.
Barely a small pouch.
When she added together all the emergency funds she possessed, this was all she had.
‘With this amount, not only can I not support myself, but I’m not sure I can last even a few days…….’
Based on rough calculations drawn from her earlier conversation with Leo.
One meal for a commoner cost 10 Copper.
A shared carriage to the Capital City cost 10 Silver.
A decent house in the outskirts rented for 30 Silver a month.
Against this, the amount in her possession was pitifully small.
‘How am I supposed to become independent at this rate.’
A sigh escaped her lips.
The road ahead was long—very long indeed.
Of course, there was plenty of money she could use under the title of Duchess.
The moment Zecardo returned, he’d allocated funds for her to use on dignity and public affairs.
‘But I can’t touch that.’
To begin with, Zecardo had given her that money expecting her to perform activities as a Duchess. That was their contract.
Using that money for her life after divorce didn’t seem right.
‘Or rather, if it’s just wrong, I’d be lucky. One wrong move and it becomes embezzlement.’
Why hadn’t she saved money sooner?
In fact, the money she had now wasn’t strictly savings at all—it was what remained after she’d spent from her personal savings brought with her at marriage, which had sustained her through the past five years.
And this pitiful pouch was all that was left.
‘I wish I’d decided to leave sooner.’
She regretted her past self’s hesitation so keenly.
Though it mattered little now.
While Ines was turning these worries over in her mind,
a knock sounded at the door.
Tap-tap.
‘Who could that be?’
Having deliberately dismissed her maid, Ines rose to open it herself.
“Oh.”
Zecardo stood in the doorway.
The moment their eyes met, he smiled warmly.
“I’ve brought you something.”
“…For me?”
He held out a bouquet to the wary Ines.
The flowers bloomed with such luminous freshness.
“Ah…”
Ines felt herself relax inwardly.
‘I thought he’d come about what happened earlier, but it doesn’t seem he means to bring that up.’
It appeared Ash had wrestled with himself and chosen to say nothing of consequence.
“Thank you. They’re truly beautiful.”
Ines offered her gratitude with a shy smile.
Zecardo watched her brightened face for a moment before speaking.
“Might I come in for a moment?”
“Of course. Please, do.”
Ines ushered Zecardo into her chamber.
They settled across from each other at the table.
“I actually had something I wanted to tell you. I’d been wondering whether to call on you, so I’m grateful you’ve come.”
“You wished to speak with me?”
Ines nodded and withdrew a document she’d prepared.
“I’ve decided to agree to extend the contract.”
The papers she handed over were not divorce documents, but a new contract.
Zecardo studied it silently.
His thoughts remained unreadable.
“I’ve written it much as the original contract was drawn up five years ago. Please read it over, and if you find anything amiss, do tell me. I’ll revise it.”
Ines waited for his response, her heart trembling slightly.
‘I hope I’ve done it correctly.’
Though she’d learned to manage various documents during her training as a candidate for sainthood, she fretted over handling a contract of this particular nature for the first time.
Zecardo reached out and picked up the contract.
“One year.”
He spoke softly.
“Precisely one year, then.”
Was something wrong with it?
But before Ines could ask, Zecardo set the document down again and immediately took up a quill to sign.
“I’m grateful. There’s nothing to correct—the lady has drawn this up admirably.”
Zecardo smiled.
‘That’s a relief.’
Only then did Ines’s tense expression grow lighter.
Once Ines added her signature, the contract was finally complete.
“Then I look forward to our arrangement over the next year.”
Odd, though it was hardly a novel thought—it was truly a strange contract.
A Duchess for merely a year.
‘That must have been why Zecardo reacted the way he did.’
Yet viewing it simply as a matter of necessity made the peculiarity easier to accept. It was no different from an employment agreement, after all.
After observing her quietly for a moment, Zecardo spoke.
“How fortunate the timing is. I too have prepared something.”
“Yes?”
This time he drew something from his pocket and placed it on the table.
‘That’s…’
A small, square box.
Inside lay an ornate ring.
“Our wedding ring.”
She’d heard before that the Evanhardt House passed down a Ring through the generations of its House Matriarchs.
But what Zecardo had brought was not what she’d imagined.
‘Then again, it would be strange to give such a precious thing to a Contract wife.’
Yet even so, what Zecardo had prepared was hardly lacking.
In fact, it seemed the most exquisite jewel Ines had ever laid eyes on.
‘……What stone is this?’
A gem of mysterious hue blazed brilliantly at the heart of the ring.
Yet somehow, she could not identify what it was.
A jewel so radiant could not possibly be nameless…….
“Allow me to place it on your finger.”
At Zecardo’s words, Ines hesitantly extended her left hand.
But the moment their skin touched.
Slap!
She jerked her hand away from his reflexively.
“Oh.”
The shock was immediate.
‘Why did I do that?’
Ines hurried to apologize.
“I’m terribly sorry. I—I’m not accustomed to being touched by others. It was an involuntary reaction.”
She waited anxiously for his response, half-afraid he might be offended.
But.
…….
Zecardo said nothing.
He only gazed at her pale hand, his eyes grown dark and heavy.
After a long moment, he spoke again.
“It’s quite all right. I understand.”
He extended his hand toward her once more.
Ines, afraid of another misstep, pressed down hard and placed her hand firmly over his—and this time, mercifully, her hand did not betray her.
Zecardo slipped the ring onto her finger.
The Ruby gleamed beautifully on her left ring finger.
That night.
In the deep darkness when all were asleep, Ines lay alone with her thoughts.
The discourtesy she had shown Zecardo kept returning to her mind.
But what lingered in her thoughts was not her own behavior—rather, the expression that had crossed his face immediately after.
‘Why had he worn such a look?’
His features had gone rigid and taut.
Yet it had seemed less frightening than somehow melancholy.
‘Melancholy? ……Why?’
It was deeply peculiar.
If anything, he should have been angry—but sadness made no sense whatsoever.
Reasoned thought made it absurd.
And yet those eyes…….
‘……It’s probably nothing. I’ll apologize again next time.’
Ines forced the phantom thought away and closed her eyes.
It couldn’t matter much anyway.
Someone like her could never possibly affect a man of such consequence.

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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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