The Returned Husband Refuses to Divorce - Chapter 21

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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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4.
“Move quickly. Stop dragging your feet!”
At the sharp rebuke, Selena’s lips tightened with indignation.
‘That wretch……!’
Once, Selena had held this vast Evanhardt Territory entirely in her grasp.
That a sellsword—some mercenary dredged up from who knows where—should dare to order her about was not merely unpleasant but utterly humiliating.
‘In the old days, he wouldn’t have dared speak to me at all.’
It was all because of him.
Zekard Evanhardt.
Her brilliant stepson.
Yes, Selena had known from the start.
Somehow, that bastard would inevitably bring her to ruin.
“You there—what’s the matter? Don’t come any closer!”
“Ah, well…… I needed to confirm something with S-Selena.”
“Give it here. I must verify it first.”
The knight snatched the paper from the maid’s hands and scanned it quickly.
His frown suggested he didn’t quite grasp the contents—which only made it more infuriating.
“Nothing important here. Take it.”
Yet what galled her most was having to accept this without protest.
The moment she saw the anxiety and pity pooling in the maid’s eyes as she looked at her.
Selena ground her teeth against the wave of shame.
‘I swear I’ll repay this humiliation someday.’
Thus, even as Selena followed orders to prepare for the banquet, every aspect of her daily life remained utterly controlled.
She’d thought preparing the banquet would give her enough contact with others to slip away unnoticed…….
“What are you doing, idling about? Get back to work. The sooner you finish, the sooner I can leave!”
This ruffian they’d assigned as her guard—calling himself a knight—left no opening for escape.
‘Be patient. I must be patient.’
Yet every so often, rage surged up from her chest, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
‘What in the world did I do to deserve this?’
But Selena collected herself and returned to her work.
Though things were as they were now, if she waited, an opportunity would come.
The perfect moment to strike back.
And sure enough, that moment arrived sooner than expected.
‘What’s this?’
A meager meal of thin bread and flavorless broth.
Beneath the bowl lay a small piece of folded paper.
Selena quickly pocketed it.
“Strange…… Why is she so well-behaved today?”
The knight, with his irritating sharp eyes, found it odd that Selena seemed so docile, but she said nothing.
Finally, as evening fell, she returned to her cramped quarters and unfolded the note.
[Operation in preparation.]
At last!
Selena’s heart leapt as she continued reading.
But as she did, her face twisted.
‘What in the world is this nonsense?’
The note was from Julia.
Once the head maid’s most trusted assistant—clever and quick-witted, someone Selena herself had valued—now a mere maid.
But……
‘What does driving out Ines have to do with me?’
Why was she spouting such foolishness?
The note described how Julia was turning the servants’ opinion against Ines, planning to expose everything at the coming banquet and utterly humiliate her.
Fine. Seeing that would certainly be satisfying. Selena disliked Ines personally anyway.
But.
‘Even if she’s driven out, it doesn’t mean I’ll be restored to my position!’
Zekard’s charges against Selena were embezzlement and abuse of authority.
Ines had nothing to do with either.
‘This…… you idiot!’
Her hopes dashed, Selena crumpled the note and hurled it against the wall.
She glared at it for a long time, fuming.
‘……Wait, though.’
On second thought, it wasn’t something to dismiss outright.
Word had it that Zekard these days made a deliberate show of attending to his wife.
Beyond mere affection, he emphasized that Ines held the official station of Duchess.
It was an act that carried distinctly political overtones.
‘There’s a crack I can exploit.’
Even if she couldn’t overturn the board entirely, she could at least buy time.
Selena bent down and picked up the crumpled note again.
Her eyes gleamed as she read.
‘Yes. This is it.’
Merely driving Ines away would not suffice.
But if Ines’s presence threatened Zekard’s title, the calculus changed entirely.
An Envoy from the Holy Temple would attend this banquet.
Should evidence emerge before them that the Duchess bore connections to Heresy, the Temple would surely intervene.
Zekard could not easily abandon the Duchess he had chosen over Selena—a matter of legitimacy.
Then he would collide with the Temple head-on.
‘That chaos is enough.’
It would give her time to destroy the ledger and slip away.
Selena wrote a brief reply on fresh paper.
[Humiliation alone is insufficient.]
After a moment’s deliberation, she added another line.
[Create grounds for the Temple to act directly. Certain enough to be irreversible.]
Selena folded the reply and hid it beneath an empty bowl.
Shortly after, a knight retrieved the dishes.
Rounding the corridor corner, he stopped, extracted the note from under the bowl, and laid thin paper over it, copying every word without omission. The original was returned to its place.
The original returned to its place.
* * *
“My lady, allow me to assist you.”
Ines, who had been gazing blankly into the mirror, pulled herself from her reverie.
“Ah, thank you.”
May, bowing meekly, took up the cosmetic brush.
‘Hmm……’
Since the day May had wept openly before Ines several days ago, her demeanor had softened entirely.
She had never displayed overt resentment, but now she seemed docile as a lamb.
‘She must have genuinely appreciated what I did.’
Unaccustomed to others’ kindness, Ines felt awkward receiving May’s ministrations.
“All finished.”
When May finally stepped back, her work complete—makeup and hair arranged.
‘Oh.’
Ines was startled.
For the past five years, she had had no occasion to appear in public; since the wedding, this was the first time she had been dressed so carefully.
‘……It’s lovely.’
It was more than a matter of beauty.
For the first time in ages, Ines felt vitality in her own face.
Something she had never seen before.
“Which necklace shall we choose?”
The jewel case overflowed with precious stones.
All of them placed there by Zekard’s own hand.
‘When on earth did he acquire all of this?’
Had it been a war between nations, he might have seized spoils, but Zekard had been in the Borderland—a place teeming with grotesque monsters, not jewels.
Moreover, she had heard the Emperor’s reward would be presented at an official victory banquet several months hence.
Everything here appeared to come from jewelers renowned throughout the Capital……
‘Could he have gathered all this during that brief stop in the Capital?’
Ines marveled once more at Zekard’s thoroughness and selected the Diamond Necklace.
“Thank you. Everything turned out beautifully.”
Just then, a knock sounded from outside.
“His Excellency has arrived.”
At Ines’s nod, May hurried to the door and opened it.
Moments later, Zekard entered.
Dressed in his Formal Military Uniform, he cut a more striking figure than usual.
Long legs, broad shoulders. The fitted, sharp lines of the uniform accentuated his frame magnificently.
“You’ve arrived.”
Ines rose quickly from her seat to greet him.
But the moment their eyes met, Zekard stopped short.
His blue gaze traced deliberately from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.
“Zekard?”
At Ines’s call, he smiled at last.
“You’re beautiful. It suits you perfectly.”
“Oh, thank you.”
Ines felt a small thrill—as though she’d passed some exacting standard of his.
“I owe it all to you. I’m truly grateful for the gift.”
Everything Ines wore today—every garment and ornament—had been prepared by Zekard.
The dress especially fit her frame so perfectly she couldn’t imagine how he’d known her measurements.
‘He must have an extraordinarily keen eye.’
While her mind wandered along these easy thoughts, Zekard had drawn close beside her.
“Might I have the honor of escorting you this evening?”
He extended his hand with formal grace.
Ines hesitated for a moment.
Not because she disliked him, but because she feared making another mistake, like last time.
‘No. Don’t overthink it. It’s just a formal gesture, that’s all.’
Besides, keeping him waiting while she dithered like this would be ruder still.
Having made her decision, Ines carefully placed her hand upon his.
“Thank you.”
His low voice brushed her ear.
Zekard’s eyes held hers as he slowly raised her hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it.
It was a light touch, yet it felt strangely affecting.
‘Good. This time I didn’t pull away.’
A faint blush crept across her cheeks, unbidden.
“Then, shall we proceed?”
They stepped out of the room together.
Their hands remained clasped.
‘……Why hasn’t he let go?’
Ines, guilt-stricken, didn’t have the nerve to ask him to release her, so she simply looked at him.
“As I mentioned earlier, this morning we’re to receive the Imperial envoys.”
“I see.”
“The Imperial delegation has nearly arrived. If we leave now, the timing should be perfect.”
Ines mentally ran through the roster of Imperial envoys.
In truth, she had no particular connection to the Imperial court; there was no one she could claim to know directly.
“And approximately an hour later, the Holy Temple’s envoys are expected to arrive as well.”
At those words, Ines faltered for a moment.

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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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