The Returning Husband Refuses to Divorce Chapter 26

“As expected, you came, Sir Ash.”

At the sound of her calm voice, Hans’s eyes widened.

“What…?”

Ash furrowed his brows as well.

She spoke as though she had known he would be following her.

However, since he was busy subduing Hans, he made no further move.

Ines pulled herself away from the wall and lightly brushed the wrinkles from her clothes.

She looked so composed that it was hard to believe she had just been grabbed by Hans.

“L-let go of me! You bastard! What the hell is this—Argh!”

When Ash pressed his sword a little closer, Hans choked back a scream.

The sharp blade touched his neck, drawing a thin trickle of blood.

“Watch your mouth.”

“Damn it…”

Hans gritted his teeth.

Ines slowly approached him.

“Did you really think I would come out here alone without taking any precautions?”

“What…?”

“Doesn’t it seem strange to you?”

Ines tilted her head slightly.

“That you managed to get this far inside the castle.”

Hans’s face stiffened.

“What are you talking about?”

Watching him, Ines gave a bitter smile.

Did he really think he was just lucky?

He had gone to the trouble of plotting something this serious without once questioning how smoothly everything was going.

His carelessness was almost enviable.

Things had never gone so easily for Ines, not even once in her life.

“What kind of place do you think Evanhardt is?”

Ines spoke quietly.

“This is a castle where the Grand Duke who ended the war now resides, and it’s filled with knights who rank among the finest in the empire.”

She took another step toward Hans.

“Did you honestly think you could sneak into a place like this without anyone noticing?”

Hans’s lips twitched.

“That’s nonsense…”

“No.”

Ines cut him off.

“They let you in.”

The color drained from Hans’s face.

Ines had first sensed something was wrong several days ago.

It was after the incident involving May’s pendant.

She had noticed that the auras she sensed from the people around her had changed slightly.

The black aura has grown darker.

Someone was deliberately stirring up people’s emotions.

But that was as far as Ines’s holy power could take her.

She couldn’t determine who was responsible, what their motives were, or what kind of plan they were devising.

That left her with only one option.

If I can’t find them, I’ll make them come to me instead.

And today was the perfect opportunity for them.

The victory banquet.

Once the day was over, Selena would lose even the pretext of organizing the banquet.

Moreover, the North’s most prominent vassals, the imperial delegation, and even the temple’s representatives had all gathered in one place.

There could hardly be a better opportunity.

So, a few days ago, Ines went to see Zecard.

〈I think something is going to happen on the day of the banquet. It’s probably Selena’s doing.〉

Only then had Zecard told her that Selena had been exchanging letters with her accomplices from prison.

He had even revealed that she intended to target Ines by involving the temple.

However—

〈You don’t need to get involved personally, My Lady. I’ll take care of it.〉

He had absolutely refused to let Ines intervene.

〈Then use me as bait.〉

Zecard’s expression had immediately hardened.

〈No.〉

〈I’m the one they’re after. If I don’t make a move, they won’t show themselves.〉

〈That’s all the more reason not to do it.〉

〈But once that day passes, the temple’s people will leave, too.〉

〈I’ll find a way to catch them without putting you in danger.〉

I understand.

Ines had no combat abilities whatsoever. She didn’t know exactly what her enemies were planning, but if they intended to attack her physically, she wouldn’t be able to defend herself in time.

But how does he intend to resolve this?

Technically, there was already enough evidence to punish Selena.

The only reason Zecard hadn’t done so was that he wanted to draw out the remaining conspirators and deal with all of them at once.

But if he kept Ines under airtight protection throughout the banquet, he would lose the opportunity to identify them.

Something like this was bound to happen eventually.

Wouldn’t it be better to let them make their move within circumstances she could anticipate, rather than wait for them to come up with another plan?

That was why Ines had told May that if anyone tried to approach her through the maid, she should simply do as they asked.

May had been terrified, but in the end, she had agreed to follow Ines’s instructions.

Ines had honestly been worried about her safety, but since Zecard had agreed to her plan, she had been confident that he wouldn’t leave her defenseless on the day of the banquet.

Hadn’t Ash appeared at exactly the right moment?

And now, at last, the day has come.

Their enemy had taken the bait far more easily than she had expected.

“So the person I was waiting for wasn’t you.”

Her gaze shifted toward the darkness beyond Hans.

“It was the person who let you into this place.”

At that moment, a rustling sound came from somewhere in the shadows.

“Who’s there?”

Ash shouted sharply.

Immediately afterward, a commotion broke out in the distance.

“Let go of me! I said let go!”

“Stay still!”

“Eeeeeek!”

A moment later, a knight appeared, holding a struggling maid.

“Deputy Commander! We found someone hiding nearby and watching this area.”

“Let go of me!”

The maid desperately tried to wrench her arm free.

So it was her.

Ines recognized the face.

She was one of the maids who had bullied May and taken her pendant away.

“I-I haven’t done anything!”

Yulia cried out frantically.

“I was just passing by!”

“Someone who was merely passing by was hiding and watching this area?”

The knight barked at her.

Yulia’s face turned deathly pale.

No.

Her heart pounded wildly.

I’ll die if this continues.

This was no simple case of theft or intimidation.

She had attempted to murder the Duchess of Evanhardt.

The moment her crime came to light, it would all be over.

No—if death were the only punishment, she might even consider herself fortunate. If things went badly…

Just then, Yulia’s gaze fell to the floor.

The bag Hans had dropped moments earlier.

…Yes.

A gleam flashed in her eyes.

“Please, spare me!”

Yulia suddenly screamed.

Everyone turned toward her.

“What are you doing?”

The knight forced her down.

But she dropped to her knees all the same.

“Sir Knight! Please, you have to listen to me!”

Just a little longer.

Once the temple’s people arrived, she would have a way out.

“Be quiet!”

“I’m a victim, too!”

“What?”

“I was threatened!”

With tears welling in her eyes, Yulia crawled toward Ash’s feet.

“I only did what I was told! I swear!”

Hans stared at her in disbelief.

“What the hell are you—”

“That man threatened me!”

Yulia hurriedly pointed at Hans.

“Hans caught me running an errand and threatened me. He told me to help him get revenge on Her Grace!”

“You crazy bitch! What the hell are you talking about?”

Hans tried to rise in a fury, but Ash immediately pressed his sword against his neck.

“Don’t move.”

“That little rat is lying through her teeth—!”

“Silence.”

After issuing the cold command, Ash turned his attention to Yulia.

“What errand are you talking about?”

Yulia forced herself to draw a shaky breath.

“I… It was that bag.”

Everyone’s gaze shifted to the floor.

The bag Hans had dropped lay there.

“That was originally…”

Yulia spoke through her tears.

“Her Grace the Duchess ordered me to obtain it for her.”

Silence fell.

Ash’s expression twisted into a grim scowl.

“That’s absurd.”

“It’s true!”

Yulia cried out desperately.

“I was only following Her Grace’s orders. But Hans caught me bringing the item here… and he used that as leverage to threaten me.”

“Hey!”

Hans struggled violently.

“You were the one who gave me that thing! You told me to kill that woman!”

“That’s a lie!”

“You little—!”

“Enough.”

At Ash’s cold command, both of them fell silent.

He gestured toward the bag with his chin.

“What’s inside?”

Yulia swallowed nervously.

“A dagger used in heretical rituals.”

The air froze.

Ines narrowed her eyes.

She could guess what Yulia was thinking.

If Yulia were taken away as things stood, it would be the end for her.

A peaceful death would be the best she could hope for.

So she had decided to drag Ines down with her as a final act of spite.

If my plan hadn’t worked, that accusation might have succeeded.

But there was no shortage of ways to refute it.

Yulia’s claim contradicted Hans’s testimony, and an investigation would quickly expose the flaws in her story.

First, I need to examine that object.

However, just as Ines was about to speak—

“What a commotion.”

A familiar voice drifted out of the darkness.

Ines’s thoughts came to an abrupt halt.

…Oh.

Her heart sank.

Everyone’s gaze turned in the same direction.

There was no need to see the speaker’s face.

Ines knew that voice all too well.

“Is something the matter here?”

Helien Bron emerged from the darkness.