RHRD Ch 3

“W-What do you mean? He’s already arrived?”

Selena hurried toward the servant, looking just as flustered as everyone else.

The reason for their confusion was simple.

The duke wasn’t supposed to arrive for another week.

In fact, Selena had been preparing the banquet to coincide with his scheduled return. As a result, the banquet hall was still in disarray, with preparations far from complete.

“All the knights have gathered outside the main gate. His Grace asked where you were, my lady, and said he would come here himself—”

“That’s impossible! There’s no way!”

So bewildered that her face had gone pale, Selena shouted at the servant.

“The letter announcing his return only arrived recently! There’s no way he could have made it here in that time, no matter how hard he tried!”

Her reasoning was sound.

He had arrived a full week ahead of schedule.

The Duke of Evanhart and his knights had been fighting on the front lines at Terminus, a place so far away that it took an entire month on horseback to reach from the northern territories.

“You wouldn’t dare lie to me, would you? If you are, you’d better be prepared to face the consequences!”

But before the servant could say another word, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed from the distance.

Thud. Thud.

As the footsteps grew louder, everyone swallowed nervously.

Could he really… have come back?

Even Ines thought it made no sense for the duke to return at this very moment, at least from a rational standpoint.

But if he hadn’t come back, there was no other way to explain those approaching footsteps.

Bang!

At last, the doors swung open.

Ines instinctively held her breath.

Beyond the open doors stood a group of men.

Every one of them was tall and powerfully built, with the unmistakable appearance of knights.

Drawing everyone’s attention, the imposing men strode into the hall with confident, purposeful steps.

At the very front, standing in the center of the group, was one man who immediately captured everyone’s attention.

“…Oh my goodness. It’s really him.”

Someone murmured in a barely audible voice.

Ines’s eyes widened.

He was truly there.

Jekard Evanhart.

Her husband, and the man who ruled over this vast domain.

The hall fell silent.

Everyone held their breath, their eyes fixed on a single person.

He really has come back.

Then the man began moving again, his steps carrying him farther into the hall.

While everyone remained frozen in confusion, Jekard leisurely surveyed his surroundings.

Before long, his gaze settled on one particular spot.

For some reason, Ines felt as though their eyes had met.

…It must be my imagination, right?

As if under a spell, Ines found herself looking right back at him.

Her husband was devastatingly handsome.

He had always been a man who drew people’s attention, but now, after all these years, he seemed to have reached an entirely different level.

His more mature features, solid build, tall stature, and sharply defined yet elegant face made him all the more striking.

Five years ago, Jekard had still possessed the air of a boy. Now, he had grown into a fully mature man whose allure was impossible to ignore.

And yet…

…Something feels strange.

She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but he was undeniably different from before.

It wasn’t simply because five years had passed.

Rather, there was something precarious and dangerous about him…

At the same time, Jekard’s blue eyes moved very slowly over Ines, from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.

His gaze lingered on every detail, almost as though he were savoring the sight of her.

For a moment, Ines had the bizarre sensation of being devoured by a predator.

She flinched.

“Oh, Jekard! You’re finally here!”

A voice suddenly broke the silence.

“I’m so happy, my dear! Just knowing that you’ve returned safely fills this mother’s heart with joy!”

Wiping away tears with a handkerchief, Selena hurried toward Jekard.

“I wanted to give you a grand welcome, so I’ve been preparing a banquet. Come along, now. You must be exhausted!”

Her excessively familiar, almost servile manner made her look less like a mother greeting her beloved son and more like a sycophant desperately trying to flatter a tyrant.

“Shouldn’t you rest and recover from your journey first? Go inside and get some rest. As for the banquet this evening…” She paused, then quickly corrected herself. “Well, we’ll have to finish preparing it. Just wait a few more days. I’ll arrange a truly magnificent banquet for you.”

After offering him a false smile, Selena shot the butler a meaningful look, ordering him to hurry up and restore order to the banquet hall.

At the same time, she glanced at Ines.

This time, the message was clear: Get out of here. Now.

…I’d better leave for the moment.

Ines had no reason to obey Selena’s orders, but she moved away without protest.

There was no way she could have a proper conversation with her husband right now, anyway.

She couldn’t exactly start discussing divorce or a marriage of convenience in front of all these people.

However, she had barely taken a few steps when a hand caught hold of her.

Grab.

Startled, Ines turned around.

Jekard had approached her without her noticing. He was looking directly at her.

“…Ines.”

The low rumble of his voice sent a shiver down her spine.

His gaze was so intense and single-minded that it felt as though Ines were the only person in the entire room.

She instinctively flinched, overcome by the strange sensation that he might devour her.

For some reason, she couldn’t move a single step.

How much time passed like that?

“Oh, Jekard!”

Selena finally seemed to recover her composure and hurried between them.

“Can’t you see you’re making her uncomfortable? You shouldn’t grab a woman like that.”

Jekard glanced at his stepmother, then slowly loosened his grip on Ines’s wrist.

Yet his gaze soon returned to Ines and fixed itself on her once more.

“I’m sure the two of you have plenty to talk about, but…” Selena continued in a soothing voice, as though trying to calm him down. “You’re in front of other people right now, aren’t you? Besides, you’ve been away for five years. Surely there are more important things to attend to first.”

As she spoke gently to Jekard, she once again shot Ines a pointed look.

This time, Ines didn’t let the opportunity slip by.

Now that he’s back, there’ll be plenty of chances to talk to him. I’ll try again later.

In truth, she was simply overwhelmed by her husband’s presence, but Ines did her best to rationalize her retreat and quickly walked away.

She couldn’t bear to meet Jekard’s eyes any longer.

Behind her, she could still feel his gaze following her, burning with an almost unbearable intensity.

What was that just now?

Ines absentmindedly rubbed her wrist as she pondered the incident.

It was almost as though she could still feel the warmth of his hand against her skin.

Her heart was pounding.

His sudden action had startled her, but, truthfully, he hadn’t hurt her at all.

If anything, he had handled her with extraordinary care, as though she might break into pieces at the slightest touch.

How strange.

…He was probably just surprised to see me after so long.

Ines shook her head, trying to brush aside the questions lingering in her mind.

The truth was, she barely knew what kind of person Jekard was. She had only seen him a handful of times five years ago, after all.

So she had no way of knowing whether his behavior just now was an unusual, impulsive act or simply how he normally behaved.

There was no point in reading too much into it.

More importantly, what am I supposed to do now…?

Judging by Selena’s behavior earlier, it seemed unlikely that Ines would find it easy to arrange a chance to speak with Jekard.

Selena had made her opposition painfully obvious.

Perhaps she was worried that if Ines managed to grow closer to Jekard and gain recognition as the rightful Duchess, her own influence would diminish.

From Ines’s perspective, who wanted nothing more than a divorce, such concerns seemed utterly pointless. But to Selena, they were probably a serious matter.

She might even have the maids start keeping an eye on me as early as tomorrow.

Of course, such petty schemes would become meaningless the moment Jekard decided to intervene.

The problem was that Ines had no idea whether he would even want to see her of his own accord.

Then this is my only chance.

When one person has more to lose, they’re often the one who has to make the first move.

With that thought, Ines immediately left her room.

The evening sun painted the sky a deep shade of red.

With a shawl draped over her shoulders, Ines stepped outside.

The sun will be setting soon.

Anxiety quickened her pace.

Although they were husband and wife, Ines would rather not meet Jekard after dark if she could help it.

She didn’t want to invite any unnecessary misunderstandings.

At present, unpleasant rumors about Ines were circulating throughout the Evanhart domain.

Selena must have been the one spreading them.

More specifically, people were saying that Ines was a vicious, ill-tempered woman. There were even rumors that she was so obsessed with her husband that she bullied the beautiful women of the North out of jealousy.

It was all complete nonsense. The real problem, however, was that there was a good chance these rumors had already reached Jekard’s ears.

…If so, he might have the wrong impression of me.

That would be a considerable problem.

After all, Jekard now had a lover—the Saintess.