That Terea and he are in love.
It was impossible to infer the background as to why Rune had such a misunderstanding. But his astonishment lasted only for a moment.
The fact that Rune Helid, who was smarter than others, misunderstood the relationship between himself and Terea meant that others naturally thought the same way.
As soon as he thought about it, his expression hardened. Terea was just a maid whom he knew only her name.
Terea, who was misunderstood by people, must have also gone through a time of persecution for touching the man Rune was planning to marry. His sigh came out spontaneously.
"Where does that family live?"
Drial asked the resident again.
The resident glanced at Drial's expression, which suddenly became serious, and pointed somewhere.
"It's at the edge of town. But I don't know if that girl, Terea, Is at home right now. Because she's the only one working in that house. Her parents are idlers, and their son is famous as a gambler in Arhon."
Thanks to the kind explanation, Drial brought out memories he had completely forgotten.
The day he refused to marry Rune and ran away, he met Terea on the road.
Coincidentally, Terea also said that she was on her way to escape. Right from her family...
That was the end of his relationship with Terea. At the crossroads, Terea ran east and Drial ran west.
Drial, who had run away, returned home on his own feet within a day. This was because his father threatened to execute all of his servants if he did not return.
Drial was not shameless enough to ignore the innocent deaths of his servants. However, seeing that Terea was also living with her family, it seemed that she had failed to run away.
Feeling pity, he snooped around the house that the resident told him about. The sound of a fight was heard inside the house, and soon a woman came running out crying.
She ran to the back of a shabby warehouse and saw a woman crying sadly. It was an awkward situation to talk to her.
However, Drial carefully attempted to talk to Rune to resolve her misunderstanding.
"I'm really sorry while you were crying, but did you happen to work for Teheron's Stein family?"
The woman raised her head at the sudden voice.
The woman who discovered Drial stood up in surprise.
"Hello, master. Ah, now you are a Lord, sorry."
"Is your name by any chance?"
"It's Terea. Do you remember me? I told you about the tunnel to the Lord who was running away on the wedding day."
"Yes, I did. It was you too...."
After checking on Terea, Drial rubbed his forehead. His expression was mixed.
"We're both back where we were."
"Yes, well... That's how it happened."
Terea, who wiped away her tears, smiled shyly.
Drial glanced sideways at the house where the sounds of fighting continued, then gestured somewhere with his chin.
"Can we talk for a moment?"
"Sure. Sure. I also had something to tell my Lord."
Drial paused and made a bitter expression.
"The story that needs to be told is probably about our rumors, right?"
Terea, who was leaving the fence was startled.
"Did you know?"
Drial hastily explained in response to his resentful gaze, asking why he went to the battlefield without taking action despite knowing what rumors were going around.
"I didn't even know there was such a rumor, but yesterday..."
Drial, who was speechless, gritted his teeth and covered his face.
"Yesterday, my wife told me to check out the woman I love living in Arapi Village. On her wedding day, she told me that the woman who ran away with me had settled in Arhon with her family. At first, I thought what was that? Ha..."
"Oh my God..."
Terea was disgusted and despaired.
"For some reason, I thought your wife knew about the rumor. When I settled in Arhon, people who had moved from Teheron looked at me and pointed their fingers at me. I thought they were just insulting her, calling me a bitch who abandoned my family and ran away...."
Terea felt sorry for the master who was running away from the wedding, so she told him the escape route and only accompanied him halfway, but when she came to her senses, she realized that she had become Drial's secret lover.
Some people thought that Drial and Terea were terribly in love. Even Terea's family had such a misunderstanding.
Terea shuddered and showed her upset.
"It was only then that I heard the rumor. The funny thing is, my family also believed that rumor, right? Is true that I tried to abandon my family because I was sick of it. That's right, I'm not some crazy bitch trying to seduce a rich man! Women have mutual morals!"
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, as Terea became angrier the entire time she was walking.
Drial unintentionally made Terea unhappy, so he silently listened to her words.
"As soon as I heard the rumor. I thought about explaining it to Madam. It would be even more strange and suspicious to explain it in detail. Maybe Madam doesn't know about the rumor. I thought, let's not scratch and make a mess,"
If Drial knew Rune, she would have started to have her own suspicions as soon as she heard Terea's explanation.
The more anxious she became, the more sensitive she became. She had that kind of personality since she was young.
When she felt like crying, she bit her lip and held it in, and when an incident occurred, she tried to think about it on her own and solve it rather than seek advice.
Rune didn't reveal her true feelings to anyone. It was always hidden tightly.
When Drial remembered the past, he felt a sense of confusion. Knowing that he was vulnerable to anxiety, he abandoned Rune in Arhon and went to the battlefield.
Drial lost a lot in return for running away. Brothers, friends, and baby...
Drial returned because he didn't want to lose more. However, Rune tried to leave Drial's side.
"Also, to explain, I have to tell Madam that I told the lord the escape route. I was afraid of her getting angry so I just stayed quiet. Because I told you about the escape route, I ruined her once-in-a-lifetime marriage.."
"It wasn't your fault, so you don't have to feel guilty."
After organizing his thoughts, Drial answered in a quiet tone. Even if Terea had not told him the escape route, Drial would have eventually run away.
Drial stopped walking and glanced at Terea's house in the distance.
He was concerned about what the resident said when he said that Terea was the only person working in that house.
"Have you given up on running away?"
Terea looked resigned to that question.
"From my family? Yeah, well... Yes. I guess it's my destiny to live like this."
"If you could sever ties with your family, would you have the courage to do so?"
Terea, surprised, looked up at Drial.
Drial looked at Terea's eyes and suppressed laughter. She seemed to be saying that she wanted to run away immediately if the circumstances allowed.
"If you have decided, wait at the southern gate of Arhon at dawn four days later. Don't let your family find out this time."
"Why are you helping me?"
"I'm just paying off my debt. I heard you had a hard time because of strange rumors."
As if that was the only reason, Drial left without any regrets.
Terea followed Drial with her eyes, who instantly turned into the wind and disappeared and then covered her mouth with both hands.
The thought of running away from her boring family made her smile.
Meanwhile, in the center of Arapi village, a rumor was spreading that the lord had not forgotten Terea and had come to visit.
***
"Meet a man named Hortos who lives in Emur Village."
Zenon, who came to report on the training results, was puzzled by the unexpected order.
"Are you talking about the village that is being reclaimed? There must be a mercenary unit there. Has even a high-level monster appeared?"
"It seems something strange has happened in the village. The details are written here, so check them out and if the villagers ask for anything, do your best to listen."
"All right. But, I... I have something to tell you about my Lord."
The pen tip, which had been moving busily, stopped. Rune tilted her chin as if telling him to keep talking.
"The Lord asked about the black dragons attacking Arhon."
Zenon told the truth while looking at Rune's complexion.
After Rune had a miscarriage, the people of Arhon shrugged off the incident. This is because they know that the more they praise the achievements of that day, the deeper the wound becomes.
"Did you answer well?"
Rune asked with an expressionless Face. Zenon nodded his head hesitantly.
"Yes... I told him everything I know."
"Then that's enough. Don't worry about it, hurry up and get ready to go to Emur Village."
Zenon quietly retreated.
Rune looked away from Zenon, who was leaving the office and finished writing the contents. It was a document about the work to be handed over to Drial.
As she was writing down the details to make sure things proceed without confusion, the window rattled in the wind. The window, unable to withstand the gust of wind, was wide open.
Rune sighed through her nose when she saw the person who appeared in the wind.
"Now you come in without knocking."
"I was anxious, sorry. Please understand just this once."
"What's the matter?"
Rune deliberately ignored Drial.
Even though Drial knew that Rune was avoiding him, he brought a chair and sat down across from her.
"I went to Arapi Village."
The quill, which had been moving dryly, stopped for a moment and then moved slowly. Rune licked her lips.
"Divorce..."
"I will not."
Before he could finish speaking, Drial responded sharply. Only then did Rune raise her head.
Drial barely made eye contact with Rune, who was looking at him.
"I have nothing to do with that woman. I didn't even know her. I don't know why that rumor started, but..."
"There's nothing to explain."
Drial's eyes widened. He seemed embarrassed. Rune put the quill in the inkwell and organized the documents she had written. The gaze, hand gestures, and facial expressions were all dry.
"What you think of her is none of my business. Whether the rumors are true or not."
Drial's face hardened at the soft answer.
Rune didn't expect anything from Drial. There was nothing she wanted from her husband. So she didn't understand Drial's attempt to explain his relationship with Terea.
Drial tried to hide his embarrassment and smiled calmly.
"But that rumor must have been bothering me while I was on the battlefield. The rumor itself that I have another woman in love is wrong, Rune. Of course, this is something that needs to be explained."
"Since when have you thought of me like that?"
It wasn't an accusation, it was a pure question.
Rune was convinced that Drial was not interested in her. Now, she couldn't understand Drial trying to become a proper couple.
All he had to do was break up with her and live the rest of his life with a woman he liked much more. Rune did not want to share a future with Drial.
Standing side by side with Drial was too difficult for Rune, as she had felt indebted for a long time.
As long as one person felt guilty, it was impossible for the two to hope for the same future as a couple.
As if not to waste time, she handed the completed document to Drial. As always, Rune explained the contents without looking at Drial.
The story about a woman who had settled in Arapi Village, and the rumor that Drial was in love with another woman, seemed to end with Rune's rejection.
"I've assigned a manager to the business. Your job is to receive interim results reports, regularly review the ledgers to prevent them from siphoning off money...."
"Rune."
Drial's voice calling out to Rune was strangely quiet.
"The reason for divorce stated in the divorce certificate was your infertility."
"That's right."
"I heard it from Zenon. That day, while fighting the black dragon, you had a miscarriage and were unable to conceive again. But I have no intention of getting divorced for that reason."
At the harsh tone, Rune carefully looked at Drial.
Drial's lips remained stubbornly closed as if he had no intention of changing his decision not to divorce.
Rune sighed at his stern attitude.
"I know you have no interest in starting a family, but you are the lord of Arhon. The successor..."
"I can't have children either."
The tone was ordinary. His voice was calm as if he was talking about how nice the weather was today.
So Rune did not think that those words had any meaning and responded indifferently.
"Yes. Because it's women who have children."
"That's not what it sounds like, it means I'm infertile like you."
Drial said, looking directly at Rune.
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