The Returning Husband Refuses to Divorce Chapter 23

Ines clenched her fist, pressing her fingernails hard into her palm.

The sharp pain brought her back to her senses.

“…Yes, it has been a long time. I hope you’ve been well.”

She needed to show proper respect, but she couldn’t afford to appear too servile.

After all, she was not here as Ines Chartier, but as the Duchess of Evanhardt.

“You arrived earlier than expected. I was under the impression that there was still some time before your arrival.”

When Ines glanced to the side, she noticed the butler standing beside Helien.

The butler belatedly leaned toward Ines and whispered, “I informed the head maid, but you weren’t there…”

It seemed they had missed each other because Ines had hurried back.

Stay calm.

There were only four people in the delegation.

In truth, Helien Bron was the only person she really needed to worry about.

“From here on, I’ll attend to you personally. Please follow me.”

Ines gave the butler a meaningful glance.

“Please inform His Grace that I’m escorting the guests.”

The butler bowed and withdrew.

Ines led the delegation toward the reception room.

She could feel their gazes on her back.

It’s fine. This is nothing.

Although she had failed to become a Saintess, Ines had been one of the top students during her training.

She could handle a reception like this with her eyes closed.

A moment later, Helien’s quiet voice came from behind her.

“You haven’t forgotten your etiquette.”

“I had the privilege of learning from an excellent teacher.”

“And you’ve become quite skilled at speaking, too.”

“Living as a duchess has given me plenty of opportunities to practice.”

Helien’s eyebrow twitched almost imperceptibly.

Ines hid her fingertips, cold with tension, inside her sleeves.

She couldn’t afford to show weakness here.

Even after they arrived at the reception room, Helien’s gaze remained fixed on Ines.

“You’ve changed a great deal, Ines.”

Ines faltered for a moment but quickly composed her expression.

“Five years have passed. That’s only natural.”

“You wouldn’t have dared speak to me like that before.”

Ines lifted her teacup and took a sip.

Her hands were no longer trembling.

I’m no longer a Saintess candidate.

Steadying herself, Ines slowly set down her teacup.

“The past and the present are different.”

Helien narrowed her eyes.

After a brief pause, she spoke with an inscrutable expression.

“I see.”

Ines calmly added, “And since we’re in an official setting, I would appreciate it if you addressed me as the Duchess of Evanhardt.”

The priests around them flinched.

Without shrinking back, Ines met Helien’s eyes directly.

This was not the temple. It was the Duchy of Evanhardt.

And Ines was its official mistress.

“Is my request unreasonable?”

A brief silence followed.

Then Helien’s lips curved upward ever so slightly.

“Very well, Duchess Evanhardt.”

Her answer was unexpectedly compliant.

…I did it.

Ines silently breathed a sigh of relief.

Just hold on a little longer.

Her feelings were complicated. She was proud of herself for standing up to Helien so boldly, yet a part of her still felt intimidated.

“First, I would like to thank you for traveling all the way to the northern region. I am…”

Just then—

Bang!

The reception room door flew open.

“…Zecard?”

He stood in the doorway.

He wasn’t out of breath, nor were his clothes disheveled.

And yet, for some reason, Ines had the distinct impression that he had rushed here in a great hurry.

His expression was more rigid than usual.

His blue eyes swept across the room and immediately settled on Ines.

Only after scrutinizing her intently, as though checking whether she had been hurt, did Zecard turn his gaze toward Helien.

At that moment—

“Why are you here?”

His voice was so terribly low that the air seemed to freeze.

Helien answered calmly.

“We arrived earlier than scheduled and were shown here.”

“Didn’t I tell you to wait in a separate room upon arrival?”

“On the way there, I happened to run into the duchess, so I had no choice.”

“Does the temple not keep its promises?”

Zecard’s gaze turned icy.

“I made it quite clear that I would not permit you to meet with her alone.”

Ines froze.

Meet with her alone?

Only then did she understand the reason.

He had been trying to ensure that she would never be left alone with anyone from the temple.

“Zecard.”

Ines called his name a little more firmly.

Only then did he look at her.

“I’m fine.”

“But…”

“I offered to escort them myself. Nothing happened.”

Ines smiled gently.

“So please don’t be angry.”

Zecard gazed at her for a long moment.

A suffocating silence settled over the reception room.

“…Very well.”

At last, Zecard slowly exhaled.

Then he turned back to Helien and spoke coldly.

“The banquet begins this evening. We’ll see you then.”

It was, in effect, an order for them to leave.

Helien offered no particular objection and simply nodded.

“Very well.”

Ines rose from her seat as well.

“Then I’ll see you again this evening.”

Helien and the other priests left the reception room.

“…”

Having witnessed a scene she hadn’t anticipated, Helien’s eyes glinted discreetly in the shadows.

After leaving the reception room, Ines glanced at Zecard as they walked side by side.

Something’s strange.

He had always been a little unusual, but he had been especially so just now.

The previous dukes of Evanhardt had never openly confronted the temple, even when relations between them were strained.

Yet a moment ago, Zecard had looked ready to throw the priests out on the spot.

If he acted so recklessly, even a national hero like him would inevitably suffer the consequences…

“Zecard.”

“Yes?”

“Why did you act that way earlier?”

He remained silent for a moment before finally answering under Ines’s persistent gaze.

“Because those people make you uncomfortable, don’t they?”

Ines faltered.

“…How did you know?”

Could he have known something about her past?

Zecard’s expression turned cold.

“I heard enough on my way back from the capital. I know what they’ve been saying about you.”

His answer actually put Ines at ease.

So he doesn’t know about Helien.

She had no intention of hiding her past, but she didn’t particularly want to expose the wounds she had suffered as a child, either.

How could she possibly admit that she feared her former teacher because she hadn’t been able to endure her brutal training?

“I’m used to it, so it’s fine. Besides, they aren’t making everything up.”

“There’s nothing fine about it.”

His reply was firm.

Zecard stopped walking.

“I didn’t bring you here today to appease the temple.”

His blue eyes met hers directly.

“I brought you here to show them who the mistress of Evanhardt is.”

Ines found herself averting her gaze.

“…Still, you didn’t have to go that far.”

“I did.”

He was wearing that expression again.

So serious that she couldn’t even brush his words off as a joke.

“You are precious at every moment, no matter the circumstances. This is the treatment you deserve.”

…Why was he going to such lengths for her?

Everything was undoubtedly because of his succession to the ducal title.

And yet, every time she met his eyes, Ines couldn’t help feeling as though she were genuinely cherished by him. The thought left a strange, ticklish sensation somewhere deep in her heart.

“Thank you.”

Ines offered him a faint smile.

It was the only thing she could say.

“What a spectacle.”

The young priestess Mariel pouted.

“Did you see that woman earlier? The way she was putting on airs?”

“You mean the Duchess of Evanhardt?”

“She’s still just Ines Chartier.”

In the temple, Ines’s reputation was practically at rock bottom.

A failed candidate who had once been expected to become a Saintess but had never properly awakened her holy power.

An older sister who had envied the great Saintess Elise.

A woman who had eventually abandoned the temple to marry a secular nobleman.

These were all things Mariel had heard countless times.

“She must be absolutely thrilled to have become a duchess.”

“Mariel.”

At the cold voice, Mariel flinched.

It was Helien.

“Mind your tongue.”

“…Yes.”

“This is the Duchy of Evanhardt. Show the duchess the respect she deserves.”

Mariel reluctantly lowered her head.

But inwardly, she remained dissatisfied.

Who does that woman think she is?

Compared to the Saintess, she was nothing.

Mariel was one of the junior priests who had recently been selected to serve directly under Saintess Elise. She was immensely proud of the position.

The only reason she had been chosen to join this delegation to the distant northern region was that Elise had personally asked for it.

〈Please, I’m counting on you. Go and see how my sister is doing. I wonder if she’s living well all the way out there in the distant north… She hasn’t sent me a single letter, so I’m always worried about her.〉

The Saintess is truly so kindhearted. How can someone like that woman even be her sister?

Mariel pouted and grumbled to herself.

As expected, she wanted nothing more than to return to the capital, where the grand temple stood.

Just then—

“Um… You’re the people who came from the temple, aren’t you?”

A maid approached them with a bright, friendly smile.

“My name is Yulia. I’ve been assigned to attend to the priests. If there’s anything you need, please don’t hesitate to let me know.”