The Husband Was Definitely a Paladin
“…!”
It would have been enough to simply feel surprised. Yet when Irene shot to her feet from the chair, the room spun around her. In that instinctive flailing, she nearly toppled over, arms windmilling in utter clumsiness. Then a firm hand caught her waist. Strong, steady, and impossibly warm.
“Forgive me.”
Michael had noticed her shock the moment he spoke. In a flash of apology, he steadied her, as though he couldn’t bear even the distance between them to grow.
“……!”
Irene’s violet eyes flew wide. Before she could think, she shoved his arm away and stumbled back a full step. Why?
‘Why?’
In the last life, he had never once wanted to touch her. Not even when the purification required it. He had refused to come within the same space as her. And now he had stepped forward first. Only to reach out himself.
“Irene?”
Michael called her name again, stepping closer as though they had always been this close. The familiarity of it left her reeling. In the past, he had only ever called her “Irene-ya” or “Purifier-nim” until the very end. The fact that he had used her name at all meant only one thing: the week they had shared their bodies, when his mind had been nowhere near her.
Yet here he was now, treating her as though they had been bonded since the first meeting. How could that be?
‘Impossible.’
Irene forced herself to breathe through the sudden tightening in her chest. She retreated another step, heart hammering, as though the distance alone could erase what had just happened.
“Is something the matter?”
Michael’s voice was still perfectly polite, still searching her face for answers.
“Matter…? Well…”
How could she even begin? So many questions piled up behind her teeth that she almost choked on them.
“You called me by name just now…”
Michael’s brow furrowed in genuine confusion. He opened his mouth, then closed it again, as though the words had slipped away. Finally he spoke.
“I asked the others. After we become a Pair, we simply call each other by name. If that offends you, please forgive me.”
He bowed with perfect deference, golden hair catching the light like a halo.
Irene’s jaw tightened. He was right. The Pair bond was, after all, nothing more than a marriage contract recognized by the Kingdom Alliance. Once that was done, familiarity came naturally, especially when their original statuses were not drastically different.
‘He asked the others.’
That explained the name. But it made the bitterness sharper. ‘So in the last life, he never once bothered to ask what a Pair actually was. That’s why he was so stiff and distant until the very end.’
Irene’s expression hardened without her realizing it. Michael noticed at once and kept speaking, voice still gentle.
“I apologize for laying hands on you without permission. I feared you would fall and injure yourself…”
“No, no, it’s me who should apologize. I’m the one who startled too easily.”
Irene managed a polite smile, even though her insides churned. What was the point of wallowing in the differences now? They would never see each other again after today. Better to focus on what came next.
She repeated the thought in her mind like a mantra, then forced herself to beam as though nothing at all had happened.
Michael hesitated, clearly wanting to say more, but finally let his gaze drift to the fruit bowl on the table.
“You seem to want something to eat. That’s why I asked. I was just curious.”
“Ah, actually, I have something I wanted to ask you about, Sir Michael.”
“Simply Michael. That’s all.”
“No. I could never call the leader of the Temple Knights so casually.”
“I am far more comfortable with the simpler form, if you would only permit it.”
Irene refused with quiet dignity, the same tone she had once used to call him “Michael” in private during that forbidden week. The habit had taken root, but she had never imagined it would become normal.
“Michael, wait! Just a moment!”
Irene had bolted toward the Temple the instant she realized what had happened, voice cracking with panic. She had reached for him, desperate to stop him from leaving. But he had stepped back the moment she touched him.
She could still hear the echoes of laughter from the servants who had watched that pathetic scene. The cold rejection, the contempt in his eyes, just because she had called him by name once by mistake.
Yet now, even remembering it didn’t hurt. She only felt a firm resolve. She would never make that mistake again.
“If you insist.”
Michael accepted her words without hesitation, as though he had been waiting for this exact moment.
“There seems to be some misunderstanding. I should confirm something.”
“Misunderstanding?”
Irene pointed at the mountain of boxes and crates piled beside her.
“These arrived because Sir Michael paid for them. He told me he would donate all dungeon rewards to the Temple, yet somehow these… have come anyway. I tried to send them back, but the maids said they couldn’t refuse on their own and returned them. So, Sir Michael…”
“You find this displeasing?”
Michael asked, genuinely puzzled.
“I understand the local customs now. Every single thing here must be ordered separately. These were necessities, yet I never expected them to arrive in such abundance.”
“They are necessary, but they hardly need to be this lavish. Or this many. Especially considering the cost…”
Before she could finish, Michael’s voice cut through, sharp and decisive.
“Simply accept them.”
“But… you should hand them over to the Temple.”
The Temple Knights were forbidden from keeping any personal gain. Michael had never once given her anything in the last life, after all.
“You need not worry. These appear to be gifts sent in my name by a special emissary from the Kingdom. He has repeatedly refused to accept any compensation, so…”
“If you find them acceptable, then receive them as they are. I would have sent them directly myself otherwise, and that would only complicate things further.”
Michael called her by name again, but the moment was lost.
He was a man of principle. Once he recognized that calling each other by name was the custom, he would never change it. Irene decided it was best not to dwell on it. A few days of tolerance would suffice.
She turned her attention back to the overflowing crates.
‘Just accept them.’
In the last life, the things she wanted most had always been out of reach. Now that she no longer craved them, they appeared in ridiculous abundance.
“Then… I shall accept them gratefully.”
Irene’s voice was softer than she intended, almost without warmth. She bowed her head once.
Michael simply watched her, silent and unreadable.
[Irene gently accepted the overflowing crates with a polite bow.]
Two days later, Irene was bustling about the room from the moment the sun rose.
‘Today.’
According to her memories, this morning the scout would return with news of the new dungeon that had appeared overnight. The number of the dungeon she had set her sights on would be revealed.
‘The others will be eyeing the mid-tier dungeon that appeared today.’
This was the first mid-tier dungeon to surface inside the fortress during the current extermination period. Naturally, every Pair would be aiming for it.
‘They want to announce their names from the very beginning with the best rewards.’
The knights who had only recently arrived might not care, but those who had survived years of dungeon raids would not simply stand by and watch a mid-tier dungeon without artifacts. They would enter first, grab the rewards, and leave. With so many competitors, the process of selecting the first ten Pairs under continental law would take forever.
‘I just need to ask Michael to let me enter number 181.’
Yesterday, after their discussion about dungeon rewards, Michael had already drawn up the formal distribution in writing.
1. Once a month, the Purifier may choose any dungeon she desires.
2. All rewards obtained from that dungeon belong to the Purifier.
3. Any rewards from other dungeons belong to the Knight.
There were several other minor rules, but Irene barely paid them attention. After today, everything would be meaningless to her anyway.
With preparations complete, Irene waited for the thin paper that arrived every morning from the document storage, containing the latest dungeon reports.
The castle maids eventually appeared, carrying the latest list. It listed the dungeons that had appeared in the past twenty-four hours, their ranks, and a rough estimate of the monsters inside.
“Here it is.”
Irene scanned the lower section of the list.
『181 / Lowest Rank / Water-attribute monster confirmed』
The location matched what she remembered perfectly. Without hesitation, she wrote her name and Michael’s side by side.