The Returned Husband Refuses to Divorce - Chapter 24

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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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Mariel waved her hand dismissively.
“That’s enough. We’re well prepared.”
“Understood.”
Julia bowed respectfully.
“Should you need anything later, please say so at once. I’ll remain nearby.”
The maid’s deferential manner lifted Mariel’s spirits somewhat.
‘She’s more useful than her mistress, at least.’
A moment passed.
Julia returned with tea and asked carefully.
“Though if I may ask… is there anything troubling you?”
Mariel glanced at her sideways.
“Why?”
“Your expression doesn’t seem quite right.”
Julia immediately waved her hand in haste.
“Ah, though it’s not my place to ask, of course. I only wondered if we’d made some mistake in our service….”
The maid was perceptive, it seemed.
Mariel hesitated briefly, then let out a dry laugh.
“It’s not your doing.”
“What a relief.”
Relief flickered across Julia’s face.
Then she spoke as though it were nothing.
“I thought perhaps the Duchess had made some error.”
Mariel’s eyebrows twitched.
“The Duchess?”
“No, I mean—not at all.”
Julia suddenly gasped and covered her mouth.
“I’ve said something foolish. Please, forget it entirely.”
Her suspicious reaction made Mariel’s eyes narrow.
“What do you mean?”
“Truly, nothing at all.”
“Tell me.”
“But….”
Julia glanced awkwardly around the room.
Mariel’s curiosity only deepened.
“Go on. It’s fine.”
Only then did Julia speak with utmost care.
“The truth is, the Duchess has been receiving some rather unfortunate misunderstandings lately here in the castle.”
“Misunderstandings?”
“Yes.”
Julia drew a heavy breath.
“We feel terrible about it, truly. The Duchess surely means well, but people keep interpreting her actions strangely.”
Mariel regarded her thoughtfully.
It was an odd way of speaking.
Rather than outright criticizing Ines, Julia seemed almost to be defending her—yet the phrasing made one naturally curious for more.
The listener wanted to hear what came next.
“What’s happened?”
“Well, that is….”
Julia hesitated at length.
Then, as if struck by a thought, she spoke.
“It’s a somewhat different matter, but seeing the Temple folk reminded me of something.”
“What is it?”
Julia’s glance flicked around the room.
Her voice dropped far lower than before.
“The atmosphere in our Domain has grown rather uneasy of late.”
“Uneasy?”
“Yes.”
Julia whispered softly.
“There are rumors that a Witch resides in the Domain.”
“…A Witch?”
Mariel’s eyes sharpened.
The other priests beside her caught wind of the conversation and turned their heads discreetly.
“What do you mean by that? Explain in detail.”
Julia began her account of the Plague. An unknown disease that had swept through a small village. People dying without anyone understanding the cause.
Then Julia’s eyes widened suddenly, as though something had just occurred to her.
“Ah.”
“What is it?”
“Now that I think of it, we have a child from that village working in this castle.”
Mariel’s expression hardened.
“In this castle?”
“Yes.”
Julia smiled brightly, the picture of innocence.
“A maid who serves the Duchess personally.”
The Duchess.
‘Ines Chartier?’
Mariel let out a soft, involuntary scoff.
“How fitting, truly.”
“Pardon?”
“Nothing. Never mind.”
A woman who failed to become a saint.
A land whispered to be abandoned by God.
And a maid from a village cursed by plague.
‘It’s almost comical.’
The priests beside her said nothing, yet the glances they exchanged carried the same unspoken thought.
Julia continued carefully.
“It’s actually caused some difficulty.”
“What kind of difficulty?”
“The other maids are frightened of her.”
“Of course they are.”
Mariel responded at once.
“When the very source of the disease remains unknown, no one would willingly keep close company with someone from such a place.”
“Precisely what I thought.”
Julia’s eyes glimmered.
“Yet not long ago, the Duchess severely reprimanded the other maids over this matter.”
“The Duchess did?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I’m not certain.”
Julia laughed, as if at a loss.
“It seems she’s taken quite a liking to the girl—May, her name is.”
……
“She even keeps the things the girl brought from her homeland in her own care.”
Mariel’s expression shifted subtly.
Objects from the plague-stricken village.
And Ines is keeping them herself?
Mariel fell silent, lost in thought.
“Meeting this maid would be rather entertaining. I’m curious what’s really going on.”
“If you wish, I’ll have her brought at once.”
Julia answered promptly.
But Mariel shook her head.
“No. I should report this to Helien first.”
“Ah……”
A flicker of disappointment crossed Julia’s face, brief as a shadow.
‘As I thought.’
This maid had been trying to use them.
‘She probably dislikes Ines.’
But one couldn’t fool Mariel’s eyes so easily.
Still.
‘It’s not particularly troublesome.’
The Temple was no sanctuary from the world’s politics.
Where so many gathered, innumerable interests inevitably intertwined.
‘An ordinary maid’s scheming is plain as day.’
But she only needed the information that served her purposes.
Besides……
In truth, this delegation hadn’t come all this way merely to celebrate a victory.
That was merely the pretext.
The real mission lay elsewhere.
‘Ines Chartier belongs to our Temple.’
Mariel recalled the voice she’d heard before departure.
A face forever young and beautiful to behold.
Eyes that curved softly at their corners.
‘She has fulfilled her duty admirably. Now she must return.’
The Pope’s voice was gentle but resolute.
‘To where she truly belongs.’
Mariel found this perfectly natural.
Those born to the Temple must die as children of the Temple.
Ines Chartier could not be allowed to mistake this place for her home.
Never.
‘Dig deep enough, and something useful will surface.’
Mariel rose without hesitation.
* * *
“……That incident did occur.”
Once Mariel finished her account, silence hung in the room.
Helien offered no immediate reply.
She merely set down her teacup and sank into thought.
“A maid from a village where the plague runs rampant, you said?”
“Yes.”
“And Ines personally took in the items the girl brought?”
“Indeed. The other maids were wary, yet she sheltered her nonetheless.”
Helien’s eyes grew cold and distant.
Mariel felt a quiet thrill at the sight.
Helien plainly found it suspicious as well.
“Shall I bring the girl here?”
“…….”
Helien did not answer at once.
After a moment, she spoke.
“Where is the maid who brought this story?”
“Waiting outside.”
“Show her in.”
Mariel’s eyes gleamed.
“Yes.”
As she turned to leave, Helien called her back.
“Mariel.”
“Yes?”
“Speak of this to no one else. Not yet.”
“Ah……”
Mariel paused for a moment.
But comprehension dawned, and she nodded.
“You have my discretion.”
Until solid proof emerged, silence was prudent—that was what she meant.
True to form, Helien was cautious.
After Mariel departed,
Helien sat alone, gazing wordlessly at her teacup.
Soon, her cold eyes drifted slowly toward the door.
“……A witch.”
The words emerged as a whisper.
* * *
That night.
“To the victory of the Evanhardt Knights!”
Someone raised his glass high.
“To victory!”
A resonant voice soon rang out across the entire banquet hall.
Clink!
Glass met glass.
Laughter erupted from all quarters.
‘Everyone looks happy.’
Ines stood beside Jeccard and watched the scene unfold in silence.
Against her expectations, the banquet proceeded smoothly.
‘No one’s picking a quarrel, at least.’
In truth, that was what she’d worried about most today.
Ines had many enemies inside and outside the castle.
All four factions present at tonight’s banquet—the Knights, the vassals, the Imperial delegation, and the Temple delegation—regarded her with displeasure.
Particularly among the vassal faction, some would surely be loyal to Selena, and Ines had half-expected someone to throw out some baseless accusation against her.
‘They must be reeling from Selena’s downfall.’
Yet somehow, everyone had exchanged pleasantries with Ines, at least on the surface, with apparent warmth.
They weren’t the sort to be so at peace, given the unprecedented nature of a victory banquet like this. So it must be because……
Ines glanced sideways.
Her husband, Jeccard Evanhardt, stood beside her.

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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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