The Returned Husband Refuses to Divorce - Chapter 8

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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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2.
“……What did you say?”
The next morning.
At the sudden news that had descended upon her since dawn, Ines doubted her own ears.
A young-faced knight bowed respectfully before speaking.
“His Excellency issued an order last night. He says to send out all the servants from the castle except for the essential staff. We are currently recruiting new servants, so if you could wait a moment, we will assign a dedicated lady’s maid again…….”
“Ah, no……. That’s all right.”
In any case, she had never had a dedicated lady’s maid to begin with, so it was no great matter. What troubled her more was something else.
‘Dismissing all the servants? Why?’
It was an uncommonly bold command for a master who had returned after five years.
Once dismissed ignominiously from a noble household, it would be difficult for them to find similar work again.
Not that it mattered to Ines what became of those who had tormented her — but wasn’t it inconvenient? How would the castle function properly if he dismissed so many people at once?
“And there was also an order to move your quarters, madam.”
“I beg your pardon?”
The knight added belatedly, watching her reaction.
“Ah, it is not an order but a suggestion. His Excellency said to always prioritize your wishes above all else. If you prefer not to move, you may remain here. However…….”
Looking at Ines’s shabby room, the knight’s eyes rolled with visible awkwardness. At a glance, it looked far too squalid for a duchess, and he seemed inwardly startled by the realization.
In the end, Ines found herself relocated to new quarters before she had even broken her fast.
‘What on earth is happening?’
The new room was the finest in the castle aside from the duke’s own chambers.
Ines even understood that Selena, the previous duchess, had never used it because she was a second wife.
At this unexpected cascade of good fortune, Ines felt utterly bewildered.
‘Should I even accept something like this?’
She felt uncomfortable and unsettled, as though wearing clothes that did not fit.
At the same time, an odd feeling stirred within her.
‘Why does he treat me with such kindness?’
……But before that, why did he dismiss all the servants in the first place?
There was only one person who could answer all these questions.
“Where is His Excellency at the moment?”
* * *
The Training Ground, bathed in the warm spring sunlight.
Though it was only the day after his return, the Knight Order was in the midst of active drills.
Zekard, who had been serving as a sparring partner for his subordinates, suddenly turned his head.
“Ines?”
The moment he ceased his swordwork, his opponent looked puzzled. But Zekard offered no explanation, simply departing the Training Ground as he was.
And indeed, not long after——
“Is His Excellency inside, perhaps?”
There she was, Ines herself, having come all the way to the Training Ground to find him!
With a nervous expression, she peered cautiously through the entrance — a gesture that looked rather like a curious cat. At the sight of her endearing figure, a smile bloomed unbidden across Zekard’s face.
“What brings you here?”
“Ah, Your Excellency.”
Upon spotting Zekard’s familiar face, Ines’s expression brightened. She hesitated for a moment, her full lips moving uncertainly, before speaking with some diffidence.
“Could we speak for a moment?”
Of course they could.
More than that—he was grateful. He had been holding himself back all this while, forcing himself to give Ines time to adjust, and now she came to him of her own accord.
“By all means.”
Zekard smiled warmly and naturally led Ines toward his quarters.
For her part, Ines felt deeply troubled.
‘……This wasn’t what I intended.’
She had only meant to offer her thanks regarding the change of rooms.
Yet somehow Zekard seemed so pleased that she found herself unable to simply thank him and leave.
In the end, Ines found herself seated face to face with Zekard once more in his chambers.
“First, I wanted to express my gratitude. I had no idea you would concern yourself with my quarters so soon after your return.”
Since he had said little beyond his business yesterday, she had assumed he took little interest in her. Yet he had seen fit to attend to her room with such care. It was deeply moving.
“It is only proper. You are my wife, after all.”
“……But I have not yet agreed to a Contract Extension, have I?”
“You have already been my wife for five years. And while I have not renewed the contract, neither have I terminated it.”
There was no arguing with that logic, and she fell silent.
“It is the treatment you deserve as my wife. Please, do not decline it.”
With such words spoken, she could hardly refuse. Helplessly, Ines answered in a small voice that she understood.
Ines sipped her tea uncertainly, her thoughts wandering.
‘…What an odd man he is.’
Knowing that she’d received special treatment made her feel oddly self-conscious—as if she’d suddenly become someone precious to him.
Though of course, that made no sense.
“I understand you often skip breakfast, though.”
Zekard’s words pulled Ines from her reverie.
“Hmm? Yes… well, I do tend to.”
“If I may ask—is there a reason?”
Why was he asking about that?
“It’s just… my stomach isn’t very settled in the mornings.”
Though she had no serious ailment, Ines couldn’t claim to be particularly robust. From childhood, she’d never much enjoyed eating itself.
Zekard’s expression darkened at her answer.
Ines stiffened.
‘What did I say wrong?’
She earnestly searched through her response for anything that might have offended him.
Finally, Zekard opened his mouth with grave intensity.
“You’re far too…”
Too?
“Far too thin.”
Ines felt the wind leave her sails.
She hadn’t expected him to brood so seriously over something like that.
“I’m healthy enough, really. I’ve barely been ill a day in my life.”
Yet Zekard’s expression remained troubled despite her reassurance.
“There is pain in your heart.”
“I beg your pardon?”
Zekard spoke with a somber face.
“My wife suffers so, and as your husband I knew nothing of it. My failure is great indeed.”
No, that’s not quite right, is it…?
“Now that I’ve returned, all of your suffering falls to my care. In fact, I should have tended to you from the start. It is my shortcoming that has caused you such hardship. Do not forgive me for it.”
His words, sincere to the point of solemnity, left Ines feeling faint.
“Please, don’t say such things.”
If she claimed she’d never resented him during those five years of his absence, she would be lying.
But neither had she wished for him to take it this far. She spoke to him gently, as if soothing a child.
“You must have endured so much on the battlefield—how could you have thought of such things here? It couldn’t be helped. And truly, I wasn’t suffering nearly as much as all that.”
At the tenderness in Ines’s voice, Zekard lifted his head to meet her gaze.
The moment she saw his blue eyes, Ines hesitated.
Beneath them swirled an emotion so profound and complex that she could not have imagined it.
What was this?
“Then, might I ask you to grant me one request going forward?”
Ines, understanding nothing, instinctively drew back.
“…I’ll do my best if it’s something I can manage.”
As if he’d been waiting for this, Zekard answered at once.
“I would like you to take your meals with me from now on.”
“Your meals…?”
Zekard smiled brightly, as if he had never been troubled at all.
“Seeing you skip your meals wounds my heart deeply. So I wish, from this moment forward, to see to everything myself—every detail, every bite—with my own hands.”
Ines was taken aback.
“There’s no need for—”
But seeing Zekard’s face darken again so swiftly, she changed course in a panic.
“Alright. Yes. We’ll eat together.”
Only then did Zekard’s expression brighten once more.
Watching his face, an unbidden thought crossed Ines’s mind: he was like the witch in a fairy tale, fattening up a child to devour her.
‘Is this… right?’
Then, quite suddenly, she remembered something.
“Now that I think of it, the lady of the house wouldn’t be pleased with me dining alongside you…”
“Ah, that matter is of no concern.”
What did he mean, no concern?
Rather than explain further, Zekard simply smiled.
“Shall we have lunch, then, now that the hour has come?”
* * *
“Damn them all!”
Bang!
Selena slammed the door.
“How dare they……!”
She had been evicted from her spacious quarters and locked away in a storage room in the Annex. Unable to contain her fury, Selena let out a piercing wail.
“Open this door at once!”

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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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