RHRTD 12

Chapter 12

“Well, apparently Hans didn’t even bat an eye while he was being dragged away, you know? Even though he was taken away because of that woman!”

At the maid’s brazen remark, everyone became angry.

“My goodness, how could she do that? What a cold-blooded woman!”

“Poor Hans.”

“This is absolutely outrageous.”

The atmosphere quickly became heated with anger.

Everyone whispered among themselves, condemning Ines.

“As expected, that woman really is a witch!”

Their sympathies were entirely one-sided.

Hans’s actions became nothing more than a ‘minor mistake,’ while Ines’s actions were portrayed as ‘vicious cruelty.’

In truth, most of the people gathered here didn’t even know what had really happened.

They had simply been swept up by the mood and joined in condemning Ines.

They already hated the woman.

Now that they had been given a ‘justifiable reason’ to insult her, they had no reason to hold back.

Then, someone shouted loudly.

“We have to teach that woman a lesson!”

It was the maid who had spoken first.

Everyone’s attention turned toward her.

‘I have to handle this well from here on.’

The maid’s name was Yulia.

She was, in fact, the secret spy the former head maid had left behind in the castle after being expelled.

Yulia had been the former head maid’s right hand, but she had carefully concealed that fact.

Instead, she had taken the lead in reporting other disloyal maids, behaving as though she alone was loyal to the Duke’s household.

That was why she had been the only one to avoid suspicion when the others were expelled one after another.

‘This operation has to succeed. That way, Lady Selena will have time to make her move.’

For Yulia, this wasn’t simply a matter of loyalty to Selena.

Some of the items the former head maid had smuggled out had passed through Yulia’s hands. If the records were investigated all the way to the end, she wouldn’t be able to escape unscathed either.

Selena had to regain power.

At least until the records could be destroyed and all evidence of Yulia’s involvement could be erased.

For that to happen, they needed an even bigger incident—something so serious that Zekard would be unable to investigate Selena.

‘This is perfect.’

The moment Yulia had heard about what happened today, she had immediately devised a plan.

She would stir up public opinion among the servants and drive Ines out.

‘I have to finish this while His Grace still doesn’t fully understand the atmosphere inside the castle.’

After all, the two of them had only truly known each other for a few days.

They couldn’t possibly have had enough time to develop affection, let alone love.

‘So if we gather the opinions of the knights, retainers, and servants, even that woman won’t be able to endure it.’

What they were doing now was the glorious first step toward driving out the wicked witch, ‘Ines Chartier’!

Steeling herself, Yulia gestured to the others.

Then she lowered her voice and spoke conspiratorially.

“Now, everyone, listen to my plan.”

Ines was alone in her room, counting her money.

It amounted to little more than a small pouch.

Even after adding up all of her emergency savings, this was all she had.

‘With this amount, I wonder how many days I could even survive, let alone become independent…….’

Based on what she had roughly deduced from her conversation with Leo earlier—

A commoner’s meal cost 10 coppers.

A shared carriage ride to the capital cost 10 silvers.

Rent for a decent house on the outskirts cost 30 silvers a month.

Compared to those expenses, the amount she had on hand was nowhere near enough.

‘At this rate, when will I ever be able to live independently?’

She sighed.

She still had an incredibly long way to go.

Of course, there was plenty of money available for her to use under the name of the Duchess.

It was money Zekard had allocated immediately after his return for her living expenses and official activities.

‘But I can’t touch that.’

Zekard had given her that money expecting her to use it for her activities as the Duchess in the first place.

That was part of their contract.

Using that money to prepare for her life after divorce didn’t feel right.

‘No, “doesn’t feel right” would be putting it mildly. If I misuse it, it could even be considered embezzlement.’

Why hadn’t she saved money sooner?

Strictly speaking, even the money she had now wasn’t really savings. It was simply what remained after spending.

Ines had survived the past five years using the personal wealth she had brought with her when she married.

And what remained was this pitiful little pouch.

‘I wish I had decided to leave sooner.’

She deeply regretted how foolish she had been in the past.

But there was no point regretting it now.

Just as Ines was lost in these worries—

Knock, knock.

Someone knocked on the door.

‘Who is it?’

She had deliberately sent the maid away, so Ines went to open the door herself.

“Ah.”

And standing outside the door was Zekard.

Their eyes met, and Zekard smiled gently.

“I came because there is something I would like to give you.”

“……For me?”

The nervous Ines saw what Zekard held out to her.

It was a bouquet of flowers.

The brightly blooming flowers looked fresh and vibrant.

“Ah……”

Ines secretly felt relieved.

‘I thought he had come because of what happened earlier, but I guess he isn’t planning to bring that up.’

Ash must have ultimately decided not to say anything special after all.

“Thank you. They’re really beautiful.”

Ines thanked him shyly.

Zekard watched her brightened expression for a moment before speaking.

“May I come in for a moment?”

“Ah, yes. Of course.”

Ines showed Zekard into her room.

The two sat facing each other across the table.

“I actually had something I wanted to discuss with you. I was wondering if I should go see you, so thank you for coming here.”

“You wanted to speak to me?”

Ines nodded and took out the document she had prepared.

“I’ve decided to agree to extending the contract.”

The document Ines handed him this time was not a divorce agreement, but a contract.

Zekard quietly stared at it.

There was no way to tell what he was thinking.

“I wrote it similarly to the contract we made five years ago. Please read it, and if there’s anything you find strange, feel free to tell me. I’ll change it.”

Ines waited for Zekard’s response with a slightly nervous heart.

‘……I wrote it properly, right?’

When she had been educated as a candidate for Saintess, she had learned various kinds of paperwork, but this was her first time drafting a contract of this particular kind, so she couldn’t help worrying.

Zekard reached out and picked up the contract.

“One year.”

His voice was low.

“Exactly one year.”

Was there something wrong?

But before Ines could ask, Zekard placed the contract back down.

Then he picked up a quill and immediately signed it.

“Thank you. Thanks to how well you prepared the contract, I don’t think there’s anything that needs to be changed.”

Zekard smiled.

‘What a relief.’

Only then did Ines relax, and her expression brightened slightly.

Once Ines had signed as well, the contract was finally complete.

“Then I look forward to working with you for the next year.”

It was strange when she thought about it.

A Duchess for only one year.

‘That must have been what Zekard was reacting to earlier.’

Still, if she thought of it simply as something they needed for practical reasons, there was nothing particularly strange about it.

It was essentially an employment contract.

After silently looking at Ines for a moment, Zekard spoke.

“Perfect timing. I also have something prepared.”

“Yes?”

This time, he took something out and placed it on the table.

‘That is…….’

A small, square box.

Inside was an antique-looking ring.

“It is our wedding ring.”

Ines had heard that there was a ring passed down through generations to the wife of the head of the Evanthehardt family.

But the one Zekard had brought now looked different from the one she had heard about.

‘Well, I suppose it would be a little much to give something that precious to a contract wife.’

Even so, the ring Zekard had prepared was by no means inferior.

No, if anything, it looked like the most precious jewel Ines had ever seen in her life.

‘……What kind of gemstone is that?’

A gemstone of mysterious color sparkled brilliantly at the center of the ring.

Yet, for some reason, Ines couldn’t identify what kind of gemstone it was.

There was no way such an extravagant gemstone could be nameless……

“I’ll put it on for you.”

At Zekard’s words, Ines cautiously held out her left hand.

But the moment their skin touched—

Smack!

Ines reflexively slapped his hand away.

“Ah.”

She was startled by her own reaction.

‘Why did I do that?’

Ines hurriedly apologized.

“I’m sorry. I’m…… not used to touching other people, so I must have reacted without thinking.”

Ines nervously waited for his response, worried that Zekard might become angry.

But—

“……”

Zekard said nothing.

He simply stared at Ines’s pale hand with deeply sunken eyes.

Only after a long while did he speak again.

“It’s all right. I understand.”

Then he held out his hand toward Ines again.

Afraid that she might offend him a second time, Ines tensed her hand and carefully placed it on top of his.

Fortunately, her hand did not move on its own this time.

Zekard slipped the ring onto Ines’s finger.

The ring, set with a red gemstone, shone beautifully on the ring finger of her left hand.

That night.

Deep in the darkness, while everyone else was asleep, Ines lay awake, lost in thought.

She kept remembering the rude way she had behaved toward Zekard earlier.

But what lingered in Ines’s mind wasn’t her own behavior.

It was the expression Zekard had shown immediately afterward.

‘Why did he make that face?’

His expression had been stiff.

Yet rather than frightening, he had somehow looked sad.

‘Sad? ……Why?’

It was strange.

If anything, he should have been angry.

There was no reason for him to be sad.

Rationally speaking, it made no sense.

And yet, those eyes……

‘……It’s probably nothing. I’ll apologize again next time.’

Ines forced herself to shake off the thoughts that had taken hold of her and closed her eyes.

It probably wasn’t important anyway.

There was no way someone like Ines could possibly have any effect on such an extraordinary man.