The Returned Husband Refuses to Divorce - Chapter 30

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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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5.
Helien Bron made straight for the Central Prayer Chamber the moment she arrived at the Temple.
“Where is His Holiness?”
“Inside, ma’am.”
Upon hearing the junior priest’s answer, Helien quickened her pace.
Before a solemn door.
She took a moment to compose herself, then knocked.
Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
A flicker of tension crossed Helien’s face—so subtle it was barely perceptible—something that rarely disturbed her usual composure.
She opened the door slowly.
But there was already someone inside.
“Ah, Helien.”
The first thing that caught the eye was brilliant platinum hair.
As though woven from molten sunlight, it cascaded softly past her shoulders, and between those luminous strands lay a face of almost impossible beauty.
Skin white as fresh snow.
Eyes clear as crystal, unmarred by blemish.
Lips curved in a gentle smile.
If someone asked to paint the human being most beloved by God, surely it would look like this.
Saint Elise Chartier.
The noblest woman in the Holy Empire, and the one most favored by divine grace.
“You must be exhausted from your long travels.”
Elise smiled warmly.
Even her voice was pleasant to hear.
Looking at her like this, it was easy to understand why people loved her so deeply.
Helien bowed briefly, then spoke.
“Where is His Holiness?”
“Over there.”
Elise gestured toward the window.
Helien followed her gaze.
A man stood before the tall windows.
Long legs and a perfectly straight posture.
His frame was far too imposing for a clergyman, yet there was something almost unreal about his presence, enhanced by the crisp White Vestment that hung so perfectly from his shoulders.
Backlit by the flooding sunlight, his face remained hidden in shadow.
Yet Helien recognized him instantly.
Without hesitation, she dropped to one knee.
“Your Holiness, I am honored to be received.”
For a moment, there was no reply.
Helien remained with her head bowed, waiting.
She felt his gaze settle upon her.
“So you’ve come.”
At last, a gentle voice broke the silence.
“Look up, Helien.”
Slowly, Helien raised her head.
The man turned from the light.
A young face untouched by the passage of time.
Soft silver hair fell around his shoulders, and his eyes held that perpetual hint of a smile—kindness was the first thing one felt in their gaze.
His features, sculpted as though by a master’s hand, emanated warmth rather than authority.
Anyone seeing him for the first time would likely have let their guard down at once.
The Pope of the Holy Empire, of Ethila.
Who would imagine that the God’s representative on earth—he who reigns over countless clergy and whom even the Emperor does not dare treat carelessly—could wear such an aspect?
And yet, each time Helien stood before this man, she felt tension grip her.
It had been that way for a very long time.
“So then.”
The Pope asked, smiling.
“What is your answer?”
There was no need to ask whose answer he meant.
Helien closed her mouth for a moment.
“I refused.”
Silence.
The Pope’s smile remained utterly unchanged.
“She refused?”
“Yes.”
“Ines herself?”
“Yes.”
“Because of the Duke?”
This time Helien Bron took a moment before answering.
“She said it had nothing to do with Your Highness.”
In that moment, Ines had been remarkably resolute.
“That’s what she told me.”
The Pope’s eyes widened slowly.
“I see.”
Just that single word.
Yet the air in the room grew oddly heavy.
It was then that Elise Chartier ventured in carefully.
“I think my sister hasn’t quite found peace with the Temple yet.”
Her brow had angled downward with evident regret.
“Wouldn’t it help to give her a little more time? She must have been taken aback to hear she should return so suddenly.”
The Pope’s gaze turned slowly toward Elise.
“Elise.”
“Yes, Your Holiness.”
“What sort of man was Duke Evanhardt?”
For an instant, Elise’s smile faltered.
But it returned almost at once, perfectly warm once more.
“He was… a good man.”
“Was he?”
The Pope’s laugh deepened slightly.
“Coming from you, who fought so close beside him on the battlefield, I find that quite credible.”
……
Elise said nothing more.
Helien Bron too held her silence.
The Pope turned back to the window as though nothing at all had occurred.
“Very well.”
“Your Holiness?”
“We shall observe for now.”
He still smiled gently.
“There is no need to rush.”
And yet.
Upon hearing those words, Helien Bron found herself more tense than before.
“You may go. Thank you for your service.”
A courteous dismissal, spoken with warmth.
Unable to bear it any longer, Helien Bron seized the moment, offered her respects, and withdrew.
* * *
A few days later.
All the guests who had come for the victory feast departed from Evanhardt.
The city quickly returned to its ordinary rhythms.
And for Ines, an ordinary routine reasserted itself as well.
“Since this is our first session, today we’ll keep things light and begin with an overview of the Territory.”
Enrique Orce set down a thick stack of documents on the desk.
Thud.
Ines stared at it for a moment.
“This is light?”
“Compared to the full archives of the Dukedom, yes.”
“I see.”
He was no easy man, that was certain.
Ines leafed through the documents with a growing sense of exhaustion.
Taxes, roads, farmland, winter damages, population and production figures broken down by village.
Her head ached from the sheer novelty of it all, yet as she read on, she found it oddly engaging.
‘So this is what the Northern Region is like.’
Despite having lived in this Territory for the past five years, Ines knew almost nothing about the Evanhardt Territory in earnest.
It was rare for her even to leave the castle.
Yet as she reviewed the documents one by one like this, her territory—which until now had seemed so formless—was gradually beginning to take shape.
“I’ll begin the explanation. Please ask if there’s anything you don’t understand.”
Enrique’s measured voice spread through the room.
Ines’s gaze suddenly stopped on the page before her.
‘Come to think of it…….’
A thought entirely out of context surfaced unbidden.
‘I wonder what Zekard is doing right now.’
In truth, the two of them were still somewhat awkward with each other.
After that morning when she’d skipped breakfast, Zekard hadn’t exactly been avoiding her.
From the next day onward, he appeared again at mealtimes and occasionally initiated conversation when necessary.
On the surface, at least, everything seemed as it had been before.
Yet somehow Ines felt the change acutely.
His tone and manner remained tender, unmistakably so.
‘……But he’s definitely keeping his distance.’
If he’d continued avoiding her, she might have thought his anger hadn’t fully subsided.
But that wasn’t it either.
Zekard was simply stepping back, just far enough that Ines could notice—no more than that.
‘Perhaps…….’
Maybe this was what normal looked like.
No, for a couple bound by contract, this was actually quite a good arrangement.
In truth, the attention Zekard had shown her until now was arguably excessive.
And yet.
‘……I preferred it the way it was before.’
The moment that thought crystallized, Ines caught herself.
‘What was I just thinking?’
“You’re lost in thought, I see.”
“……!”
Ines lifted her head with a start.
Enrique was watching her intently from across the table.
“Oh…… I’m sorry. Please, go on. I’ll focus this time.”
But Enrique set down the papers he’d been holding.
“No. I think that’s sufficient for today.”
“Already?”
“I have no intention of overworking you on the first day.”
He added this with casual composure.
“And I’ve heard you’ve had quite a significant matter to deal with recently.”
Ines was somewhat startled.
‘How does he know about that?’
The incident still hadn’t been officially disclosed.
Julia and Hans had been apprehended and an investigation was underway, but Zekard had been careful not to spread word of the full details until the matter was settled.
Yet he already knew.
‘It seems he and Zekard must be quite close.’
She’d seen the two of them conversing openly a few times before, but she hadn’t realized they were close enough for such matters to be discussed.
“But did you know about this?”
“About what?”
“These days, the Count has been absolutely beside himself.”
Ines blinked.
“……Zekard?”
“Yes.”
Enrique nodded, his face expressionless.
And added, with perfect composure:
“Much worse than one might expect.”

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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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