The Returning Husband Refuses to Divorce – Chapter 12

Author: isuzuuy

Meanwhile, Ines went to find Leo.

The boy was sniffling, wiping away his tears with his sleeve. His lips were pressed tightly together, as if he were desperately trying to hold back his sobs.

“It’s okay.”

At the gentle voice, Leo looked up.

“The knights have taken Hans away. He’ll be punished according to the law. And they’ll investigate the former head maid who made you do those things, too.”

Finally, Ines added, “You’re safe now.”

Only then did Leo let out a loud sob of relief.

“Waaaaah!”

The boy must have been under tremendous stress all this time, because he burst into heartbroken tears.

Rather than forcing him to talk, Ines simply patted his back soothingly.

“Sniff, hic… Waaaaah!”

It took quite a while for Leo to finally calm down.

“Here.”

Ines held out a handkerchief.

Leo hesitated before taking it and wiping his face.

“You won’t be punished for what happened today. But you mustn’t do anything like that again.”

“But I had no choice…”

“I know. That’s why I’m letting it go this time.”

Ines spoke in a serious voice.

“Someone was willing to listen to your circumstances this time, but there’s no guarantee that will happen again. So don’t do anything dangerous. Understand?”

Leo lowered his head dejectedly.

“Don’t worry too much. I didn’t come here to scold you, either.”

Ines took out a piece of chocolate she had been saving.

“This is a gift.”

“Whoa…!”

Leo’s face lit up as he accepted it.

“Are you really sure someone like me can eat something this precious?”

“Of course.”

Having finally stopped crying, Leo’s eyes sparkled as he took a bite of the chocolate.

“It’s delicious…”

Perhaps the sweet taste lifted his spirits, because his face gradually brightened.

Once Ines was sure the tension had eased, she casually brought up the matter she wanted to discuss.

“Do you come here often?”

Distracted by the sweetness of the chocolate, Leo nodded.

“Yes. I come here at least four times a week.”

“Really? Then what do you do on the other three days?”

“I look after my younger siblings at home, or do cleaning and laundry…”

“I see.”

Leo continued chattering away.

His life was busy from morning until night.

Ines quietly listened to the boy, trying to imagine what an ordinary commoner’s daily life was like.

I need to hear more about this…

Her plan to use Leo to establish contact with the outside world was a good one, but she could only imagine so much when she had no concrete understanding of life beyond the castle walls.

Perhaps I should go out and see for myself.

But would she be allowed to?

Just then, Ines noticed that Leo had stopped eating his chocolate.

Judging by the way he smacked his lips and fidgeted with his fingers, it didn’t seem as though he had lost his appetite.

“Does it not suit your taste?”

“H-huh?”

Leo flinched in surprise.

“The chocolate. You don’t seem to be eating any more.”

“Oh…”

Leo hesitated before answering timidly.

“Well… I wanted to take some home for my younger siblings.”

His younger siblings…

Ines suddenly thought of her own little sister.

When they were very young, before she knew any better, she had experienced something similar herself.

They had delighted in the smallest things together, and whenever something good happened, they would save it carefully so they could share the news with each other…

Elise.

Now, the distance between them was as vast as heaven and earth. They might never even meet face-to-face again.

With a slightly bitter smile, Ines said to Leo, “You don’t have to do that. I’ll give you some more chocolate to take home.”

“R-really?”

“But in return, I’d like you to do me a favor.”

“A favor…?”

Leo blinked.

“Well, there’s no one in the castle who will listen to me, so I get lonely. Would you come visit me often from now on and keep me company?”

“Huh?”

Completely caught off guard by her unexpected request, Leo could only stare at her blankly.

Ines hurriedly waved her hands.

“Oh, I don’t mean to take up your time for nothing. I’ll pay you for it.”

She hastily pulled a coin from her pocket.

“It won’t cause you any trouble, and I won’t interfere with your work. It’s just… I’m always alone, so I get lonely.”

But Leo suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs.

“No!”

“Hm?”

“I-I-I can’t accept money from someone as esteemed as you!”

Ines couldn’t help laughing.

“Someone as esteemed as me?”

She waved her hand dismissively before continuing.

“I’m not anyone special. Besides, this is fair payment for your time and work. You need to accept it, or I won’t feel comfortable asking you for this favor.”

Leo hesitated for a long time, looking deeply troubled.

Then, with some difficulty, he finally answered.

“…It’s okay. I don’t want to take it.”

His answer was so unexpected that Ines tilted her head in confusion.

Well… I can prepare a different gift for him, then.

He had mentioned having a large family, so perhaps she could give him necessities or food instead.

Ines smiled.

“All right. Then come find me the next time you visit the castle. I’ll be waiting.”

Leo nodded, clutching the chocolate tightly in his hands.

“Whoa, big bro! What’s this?”

Yan, one of Leo’s younger siblings, exclaimed.

“Good heavens, isn’t this chocolate?”

“What?!”

His younger siblings came rushing over all at once.

“Where did you get something so precious?”

“It looks delicious! I want some, too!”

“You little brats, don’t fight!”

After dividing the chocolate fairly among his siblings, Leo let out a sigh.

“Hehe, it’s yummy.”

The children had chocolate smeared all over their mouths.

When Leo wiped their faces with a towel, they burst into delighted giggles.

Good grief. What a noisy bunch.

Perhaps because he had just spent time with such an elegant noblewoman, his younger siblings seemed even more mischievous than usual.

Still, seeing how happy they were warmed his heart, too.

“By the way, did you hear? There’s a strange disease going around these days.”

“What? Where?”

“Somewhere way over there, in a mountain village. You know, one even farther away than here.”

“What? So it’s not even in our neighborhood.”

The siblings chatted happily as they savored the chocolate, the first they had ever tasted in their lives.

For once, everyone had a wonderful day together.

Eventually, night fell.

Amid his younger siblings, who were all fast asleep, only Leo lay awake, his eyes wide open.

He stared blankly at the ceiling.

Today really was like a dream.

He had nearly been branded a thief, only to escape the situation at the last moment.

And the person who had helped him was none other than that duchess!

I knew she had to be a good person.

Leo had known it for quite some time.

How could someone so beautiful and kind possibly be a bad person?

Other people might have slandered her, but Leo didn’t believe the rumors.

People like the former head maid and the senior madam, who looked down on poor commoners like him as though they were insects, were the ones who had to be bad.

And today, the duchess’s kind heart had been proven beyond doubt!

But…

Why did she say that?

Leo recalled the favor Ines had asked of him before they parted.

Truthfully, he had been ready to do anything she asked at any time.

I couldn’t answer right away because I was… surprised.

Keeping a noble company?

He had simply been startled that someone as insignificant as a little commoner like him would be entrusted with such an important task.

I was going to visit her even if she told me not to!

Yet Ines had actually tried to pay him.

As though she thought Leo wouldn’t come unless she offered him money.

Somehow… that made him feel a little sad.

Perhaps he was imagining things, but it seemed as though Ines wasn’t merely trying to pay him for his time. It was as if she believed he wouldn’t listen to her without compensation.

She could’ve just asked me. I would’ve done it without any of that.

No, why ask at all? She should have ordered him!

Leo was a commoner, while she was the duchess!

The image of Ines’s sorrowful, lonely expression, which he had occasionally seen before, came to mind.

She was clearly so much better than him in every way.

She had every reason to live a life far more prosperous and happier than someone like him could ever imagine.

So why did he keep feeling sorry for her?

〈There’s no one in the castle who will listen to me, so I get lonely. Would you come visit me often from now on and keep me company?〉

I should gather lots of stories to tell her from now on.

Then I’ll make her smile.

Firmly resolving to do so, Leo closed his eyes.

He needed to get some sleep so he could see the duchess again tomorrow.