The Returning Husband Refuses to Divorce Chapter 31

Ines blinked.

“…He’s been on a rampage?”

“Yes.”

“His Grace?”

“Yes.”

She had confirmed it twice, but Enrique’s answer remained the same.

“What on earth happened?”

Enrique shrugged.

“The investigation is proceeding very smoothly. If I had to point to anything unusual, that would be it.”

“But then why would you describe him as being on a rampage…?”

“Because a smooth investigation and a peaceful one are two different things.”

Several days had passed since the victory banquet.

Ines had heard that Zecard was reinvestigating the people connected to Selena, starting with Hans and Yulia.

She also knew that several more people had been apprehended in the process.

But…

“Hans and Yulia are in pretty bad shape now. Selena Evanhardt isn’t doing too well, either.”

“…How bad are we talking?”

“At the very least, they’ll have trouble walking around on their own for a while.”

“……”

Of course, neither of them had committed a minor offense.

They had attempted to murder the Duchess and even tried to frame Ines for heresy using an object contaminated with demonic energy. Their crimes were serious enough to warrant the harshest punishment.

Even so…

“His Grace is interrogating them personally, so it’s only natural.”

Only then did Ines recall what Zecard had said on the day of the banquet.

〈I’ll conduct the interrogations myself.〉

She had been too distracted at the time to give his words much thought. She hadn’t imagined he would actually do it himself.

“…At this rate, they might die before their sentences are even carried out.”

Enrique had said it with a little exaggeration, but he didn’t immediately deny the possibility.

“That might happen.”

“……”

“He seems particularly angry with Hans and Yulia.”

“Why?”

Enrique stared directly at Ines.

“Because they laid a hand on you, My Lady.”

“…Because of me?”

“What other reason would he have to be so angry?”

He said it as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Zecard had deliberately kept the details of the incident from spreading throughout the castle.

Even if the accusations were baseless, the mere rumor that the Duchess had been implicated in heresy would damage Ines’s reputation.

He had been so considerate of her in that regard, yet behind the scenes, he was practically beating people half to death.

“Still… he didn’t seem like the sort of person who would go that far.”

It was a strange feeling.

It wasn’t that Ines had suddenly developed sympathy for Hans or Yulia, or that she thought they should be spared. After all, this had been a matter of survival for her, too.

She simply found it difficult to imagine that Zecard, who had been so gentle with her, could have such a cruel side.

Even knowing that he was a war hero.

Enrique let out a disbelieving chuckle.

“What kind of person do you think His Grace is, exactly?”

Ines answered without hesitation.

“A good person.”

This time, Enrique fell completely silent.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Because this is the first time I’ve ever heard anyone describe him that way.”

Enrique leaned back leisurely in his chair.

“Are you unaware of the rumors about His Grace?”

Of course not.

Zecard Evanhardt.

The ruler of the North and a war hero.

Cold.

Cruel.

A man who showed no mercy to his enemies.

Ines had heard such stories countless times, even back when she lived in the capital.

However, she had never been one to believe rumors easily. Since she herself had been misunderstood because of them, she didn’t want to judge others the same way.

“Rumors tend to be exaggerated, don’t they?”

“That’s true.”

Enrique readily agreed.

“But in His Grace’s case, it’s almost the opposite.”

“…The opposite?”

“For example, there was once a time during the war when a horde of monsters blocked a supply route.”

Ines blinked at the sudden change of subject.

“Many of the knights thought they should regroup their forces before exterminating them. There were nearly two hundred monsters.”

“Wouldn’t that have been the sensible thing to do?”

“His Grace went alone.”

“…Alone?”

“He said they needed to reopen the route as quickly as possible.”

Enrique’s voice remained unnervingly calm.

“He returned around sunset, covered in blood. Every single monster was dead.”

Ines swallowed hard.

“Was Zecard… badly injured?”

“No.”

“Then the blood…”

“It all belonged to the monsters.”

“……”

Ines briefly imagined Zecard walking back alone, covered from head to toe in blood.

“And that wasn’t an isolated incident.”

“But…”

Ines spoke with a hint of uncertainty.

“He never seemed that way to me.”

Enrique chuckled.

“That’s because he’s putting on an act.”

“An act?”

“He only behaves that way in front of you, My Lady.”

Feeling strangely flustered, Ines fidgeted with her teacup.

Even after hearing that Zecard was a frightening man by nature, she didn’t feel particularly afraid of him. After all, it had never once occurred to her that he might hurt her.

But at the same time, another question arose.

Why is he different from me?

“There’s no need to worry too much.”

Enrique continued.

“His methods may be a little extreme, but this is a time when he needs to set an example. The head of the family has returned after five years, so he needs to remind everyone who’s in charge.”

“And the people here are all right with that?”

“If anything, they seem relieved.”

“…Even after seeing all that?”

“This is the North.”

Just then, Enrique checked the clock on the wall.

“Ah, let’s call it a day.”

“Already?”

“If you try to learn too much at once, you’ll only end up confused.”

As he organized the documents, he added,

“Next time, we’ll go over the tax system.”

“Understood. Thank you for today.”

After exchanging brief farewells, Ines stepped into the corridor alone.

However, someone was waiting for her there.

It was the head maid.

“My Lady, may I speak with you for a moment?”

Ines stopped walking.

“What is it?”

“I’ve looked into the things Yulia was spreading among the maids.”

Ines waited silently for her to continue.

“Even the incident involving Hans stealing those items was being twisted into a story about how you wrongfully dismissed an innocent person.”

That didn’t surprise her.

To them, she had always been that sort of person.

“I corrected the false information. However, I didn’t think that alone was enough, so I came to see you.”

The head maid bowed deeply.

“The girls under my supervision judged you carelessly based on things they hadn’t even bothered to verify. I bear a great deal of responsibility for failing to keep a closer eye on them. I’m sorry.”

“……”

Ines remained silent for a moment.

The head maid had also handled the incident involving May’s pendant fairly. At the very least, she had never openly treated Ines with contempt.

“You haven’t done anything wrong to me.”

“With May’s incident, I thought my duty was fulfilled once I disciplined the girls who had caused the disturbance.”

The head maid slowly raised her head.

“You listened to that girl’s side of the story properly, yet we never took the same care when it came to the things people said about you.”

It was an unexpected answer.

Ines studied her for a while.

“I’ve heard your apology.”

She didn’t tell the woman it was all right.

“From now on, make sure to verify things before believing anyone’s story. Even when I’m not around.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Even after the head maid left, Ines remained standing there for a moment.

Receiving an apology didn’t erase what had happened.

Still, there was a difference between someone admitting they had been wrong and everyone pretending nothing had ever happened in the first place.

“My Lady.”

This time, a maid approaching from the other end of the corridor spoke to her.

“You have so many documents. Would you like me to carry them to your room?”

Ines glanced down at the papers in her arms. The materials Enrique had given her were quite a hefty stack.

“…Yes. Thank you.”

The maid accepted the documents and smiled cautiously.

She was the same girl who used to turn away the moment their eyes met.

Things are changing, little by little.

Ines watched her walk away.

The black aura that had once surrounded the girl was also fainter than before.

Perhaps people were finally beginning to see what kind of person Ines really was.

As that thought crossed her mind, Zecard’s face suddenly came to her.

It was strange, when she thought about it.

It wasn’t as though Ines herself had lived a particularly peaceful life.

And yet, the past few weeks since Zecard’s return had been especially chaotic.

Her husband had returned after five years away, and Selena, who had held the castle in her grip, had fallen from power in an instant.

Ines had suddenly begun receiving the treatment befitting a proper Duchess.

She had nearly been killed, only to turn the tables on the culprit, and she had even refused the temple’s demand that she return.

It’s as though ten years’ worth of events have all happened at once…

But there was something even stranger than all that.

In the end, every one of those events had turned out in Ines’s favor.

Unlike before.

〈I know.〉

That brief answer suddenly came back to her.

Why does he care so much about me?

They were husband and wife, but in reality, they barely knew each other.

They had only met a handful of times around their wedding five years ago.

And yet, why did Zecard…

“Ah, Ines.”

A familiar voice interrupted her thoughts.

Ines raised her head.

As it happened, Zecard was approaching from the other end of the corridor.

He looked no different from usual.

His clothes were immaculate, and his face was as composed as ever.

And the moment he saw Ines, his eyes curved into a gentle smile.

“Perfect timing. I was looking for you, My Lady.”

“You were looking for me?”

“Yes.”

He smiled as though he were pleased.

“There’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

“Meet someone?”

Only then did Ines notice the unfamiliar woman standing behind Zecard.

Dressed in an extravagant outfit, the woman broke into a bright smile the moment her eyes met Ines’s, as though she’d been waiting for this very moment.

“Hello, My Lady! It’s finally wonderful to meet you!”

The woman looked Ines up and down before giving her a playful wink.

“Oh, this trip was absolutely worth it!”

She was none other than a fashion designer who had made quite a name for herself in the capital.