RHRTD 06

Chapter 06

Ines couldn’t bring herself to meet his eyes and quietly looked away.

‘Could it be that the rumors are false?’

If that were the case, she could understand why he felt wronged. Even if the marriage was fake, he had been misunderstood as a man who had betrayed his wife.

But why did he resent her so much?

Couldn’t he simply explain the truth?

“……So you really don’t have even the slightest affection left for me.”

Watching Ines’s bewildered expression, Zekard smiled bitterly. For a brief moment, misery and pain flashed across his face as he murmured those words.

But the moment was so fleeting that Ines failed to notice it.

Soon, Zekard composed himself and perfectly concealed his emotions.

“All right. I understand what you want to say, Ines. It seems that I bear some responsibility for this situation as well.”

Zekard smiled gracefully, speaking as though he had never been angry in the first place.

‘Thank goodness. I suppose he understands now.’

However, it didn’t take long for Ines to realize that something had gone terribly wrong.

“I’m sorry for leaving my wife lonely for so long. Now, let me fulfill my duties as your husband.”

“……Your duties?”

Zekard smiled crookedly.

“First, shouldn’t we consummate the marriage that we have put off until now? I’m perfectly willing to do it right now.”

Ines was unconsciously horrified.

“What exactly do you mean by that……?”

Zekard explained with a calm expression.

“As you know, under Imperial law, a marriage is only fully recognized once the couple has consummated it. In that sense, our marriage could still be considered incomplete.”

That was precisely why Ines had been in such a hurry to get divorced.

Until now, everyone had conveniently overlooked the matter because her husband had been away at war. But now that he had returned, they had to reach some kind of conclusion.

Either consummate the marriage or get divorced.

Naturally, Ines had never even considered the former, so she couldn’t understand what was happening.

‘What on earth is this man talking about?’

“I admit that I was at fault. Although I had the excuse of being at war, I was certainly an inattentive and inadequate husband to you. If you were considering divorce, then it was all because I was lacking.”

Zekard deliberately put on a gloomy expression, as though he were genuinely heartbroken.

Then he stared intently at Ines.

“Now, as your husband, I want to make up for that mistake. Will you give me just one chance?”

Was it just her imagination, or did he seem to emphasize the word husband?

Feeling dizzy, Ines hurriedly answered.

“Th-there’s no need for you to do that.”

Zekard raised one eyebrow.

“No need?”

His expression openly revealed his displeasure.

But when Ines flinched, he immediately softened his expression as though nothing had happened.

“……It seems you are very angry with me. I suppose you have every right to be. That is also my fault.”

“No. That’s not what I meant……”

She swore to heaven that out of the thousands of situations Ines had imagined in her head, not a single one had gone like this.

“It pains me that you misunderstood me and thought I had another woman, but everything is ultimately the result of my own shortcomings. I will gladly accept whatever punishment you deem appropriate.”

Faced with his painfully earnest gaze, Ines found herself at a loss for words.

‘What in the world……?’

Ines looked at her ‘husband’ anew.

That handsome face was certainly the same man she had married five years ago, but the person inside seemed like a complete stranger.

‘Could his soul have been replaced by some evil curse while he was on the battlefield?’

She had begun entertaining even such ridiculous thoughts.

Although she hadn’t spoken with him much five years ago, she distinctly remembered that he hadn’t been like this.

He had been more taciturn and sharp……

Just then, Zekard gave a quiet chuckle.

“I’m sorry. I think I may have gone too far. I suppose I was simply too happy to see you again after such a long time.”

At his words, which seemed to take a step back, Ines finally released the breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding.

“I understand your position completely. However, I don’t think it’s time for us to discuss divorce just yet.”

“……Why?”

At that moment, something strange gleamed in Zekard’s eyes.

“Because I still need you as my wife.”

Need her?

Seeing Ines’s puzzled expression, Zekard began to explain.

“You already know why I proposed a contractual marriage five years ago.”

Of course she did.

How could she not?

Ines might never forget what had happened that day.

Although their marriage had been nothing more than a transaction, at that moment, Zekard had been her salvation.

“As you said, we married out of necessity. At the time, I needed a wife because of my succession to the title. But the matter hasn’t actually been settled yet.”

Zekard continued slowly.

“As you already know, there is a final procedure in which the Temple must approve the succession of the title. The Temple evaluates whether the person who will inherit the title is a ‘moral leader who has established a proper family.’”

As someone who had been educated at the Temple as a candidate for Saintess when she was young, Ines knew this very well.

That requirement concerning having ‘established a proper family’ was precisely why Zekard had rushed to marry her back then.

But why was he bringing this up now?

“Don’t tell me……”

“Yes. That’s right.”

Zekard nodded obediently.

“My succession to the title has not yet been fully completed.”

That was impossible.

Ines was stunned by a problem she had never even considered.

“I only learned about it recently myself. After investigating, it seems that the Temple has been using my deployment to the front lines as an excuse to postpone the final approval for five years.”

It wasn’t difficult to guess why the Temple had done such a thing.

‘They’re trying to keep him in check.’

The ruling powers of the Holy Empire Ethylia were broadly divided into three groups.

The Temple.

The Imperial Family.

The Four Great Holy Families.

Of these, the Temple was effectively the highest authority, while the remaining powers maintained a balance among themselves.

In this Holy Empire, even the Imperial Family was little more than a puppet in the hands of the Temple.

But recently, a tiny crack had appeared in that balance.

‘Zekard Eberhardt accomplished too much. Even the Temple can’t ignore it.’

At present, Zekard and the Eberhardt Knights’ standing within the Empire was soaring to the heavens.

According to what Ines had heard, Zekard had not merely stopped the monster wave.

He had even destroyed the core of the rift from which the monsters poured forth.

It was truly an unprecedented achievement.

“That…… certainly is a difficult situation.”

Only then did Ines fully understand why he couldn’t divorce her.

Zekard desperately needed a wife right now.

If he didn’t have one, he would practically have to find some stranger and marry her.

What was more, Ines herself had extremely close ties to the Temple.

Even though she had failed to become a Saintess candidate, the fact that she was a member of House Chartier, one of the Four Great Families, had not changed.

If Zekard divorced Ines under these circumstances, there was no telling what kind of excuse the Temple might use against him.

They would undoubtedly brand Zekard as an immoral man who had cast aside the wife who had stood beside him during difficult times.

“Just one year.”

Zekard’s low voice echoed through the room.

“Stay by my side for just one year.”

When Ines met his eyes, where inexplicable emotions seemed to swirl deeply, she couldn’t bring herself to answer hastily.

Only after a long while did she finally open her mouth.

“……I understand your situation.”

Ines carefully chose her words.

“But I think I need some more time to consider this matter. Please give me some time to think.”

If she considered only Zekard, she wanted to accept.

Five years ago, he had saved her.

Now, perhaps it was Ines’s turn to help him.

But at the same time, when she looked back on the past five years, she couldn’t bring herself to readily agree.

She didn’t resent Zekard for having gone to war, but that didn’t mean those painful years had simply disappeared from her memory.

As long as Selena and the servants remained the same, staying here would require tremendous courage.

“All right.”

Fortunately, Zekard readily agreed.

That was somewhat unexpected.

Their contract had been based on ‘Zekard’s succession to the title.’

If he brought up the contract, he could probably force Ines to comply if he wanted to.

Yet he didn’t.

“Ines.”

Just before ending the conversation and leaving, Zekard called out to her.

For a moment, he silently looked at Ines.

Then he slowly lowered his head and kissed the back of her hand.

“Whatever choice you make, I will protect you.”

It was clearly nothing more than a formal promise.

And yet, strangely enough, the look in his eyes remained etched deep within Ines’s heart.