The Broken Ring: This Marriage Will Fail Anyway Chapter 22

Chapter 22

[Hunting often]. This is a bit...… Ines' expression became clouded. It was clearly a sin to kill innocent animals for entertainment. However, this could be blamed to some extent on Luciano.

Instead of regretting not having a younger brother, Luciano treated Ines like a younger brother and forced his only sister to do things together that brothers would normally do together. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] The problem was that everything she was forced to do suited her aptitude well...

Ines was good at shooting, and she also loved races where she had to race her horse at a high speed. Because hot-bloodedness and the spirit of victory were as close as one blood line. Even dressing up beautifully was a part of her competitive spirit. Once a standard was set, she had to win by any standard. She'd better be the best.

Come to think of it… [Treating the horse harshly]. But Ines' red stallion nevertheless loved its owner dearly. So, at least the horse wouldn't have wished for its owner to fall into hell.

[Being unfriendly]. She is so kind to everyone that, if she had been born with a good nature, she would have chosen to spend her life in a convent rather than see the corrupt people of the capital. Mendoza is filled with alleyways that she can't bear to see once her eyes are open.

Ines wrote down the flaws of her first life. No serious sin was noticeable to anyone. The only thing that pricked her heart was the name of Luciano, written after a hunting incident.

“…What on earth did I do so wrong then?”

She traced her chin with the tip of her quill, exploring her own original sin.

Ortega's state religion taught, ‘humans are born with original sin just by being in this world’ and they ruled the people by indoctrinating them to live repenting for that sin throughout their lives to reach heaven. However, she had no interest in such fundamental teachings.

She believed that if there really was such a thing as a punishment for being born, she would have paid it all with the enormous donations she extorted from Oscar.

So, for now, that was okay.

The pen moved again.

[Beating Oscar]. How could she not hit him after seeing that face? [Hating Oscar]. How could she not hate him? [Cursing Oscar]. How could she not curse him? [Blaming Oscar]. How can blaming him be a sin when she could have just killed him without blaming him at all?

[Oscar...] Every dark emotion and aggressive behavior she learned in the first life was all associated with Oscar.

Oscar, Oscar, Oscar. As she looked at the name that now occupied half of the paper, irritation surged within her. Ines gave up on further reflection and put down the pen.

If Oscar is the victim, no bad thing can be a sin. So, no matter how you look at it, she has no memory of committing a crime until the moment of her death.

She endured ten years of nightmare-like persecution and oppression in the royal palace, even endured four miscarriages. She sacrificed for a husband plagued by a terminal illness and lived a faithful life as the crown princess until the moment of her death... What did she do wrong here? Was she really wrong… even until the moment of her death…

“…….”

As she was vaguely remembering the end, she suddenly picked up the pen with a pale face. A creaking sound filled her ears with horror. [S*icide].

Ines stared for a moment at the only thing in common between her first and second lives.

She wasn't just repeating the same life to become unhappy again. She thought so out of deep pessimism, but in reality, it was just a treadmill without any reason or motive.

“… That doesn't make sense. It's not enough... .”

But if the initial motive was s*icide. Because she took her own life. If, daringly, it's because she died by her own hand...

Every time she chose to commit suicide in despair, didn't her life come back like a wave? As if suicide is not acceptable.

Yes. It's like daring to commit an unforgivable act.

Each one was a choice that she sought an end to, but ironically, that end seemed too distant for her, almost as if it were not allowed.

Right. As if she had dared to do something that was unacceptable.

It was something she chose to do with the hope of an end, but the end seemed far away, as if it was too much for her and was not allowed.

She committed s*icide at 26 and turned 16, and when she committed s*icide again at 20, she went back 11 years starting from 16, as if she was being punished even more this time.

So what's next? No matter when and how she dies, will she end up going back 11 years, starting from the age of six? Will she become a child in the womb, wandering around Perez as a ghost, waiting for the union of her parents? Repeat these actions until she doesn't die by her own hand anymore.…..?

Ines looked around in bewilderment and ground her teeth when she saw the portrait of the Crown Prince scattered carelessly on the floor again.

Oscar did give her a gift. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] A new, more concrete hypothesis that made him an even more irritating presence.

Who was responsible for the first s*icide? First they took away her life, and then they took away her right to die properly.…..

“Ines!”

Like a ghost, the culprit reappeared before her eyes. With surprising speed she crumpled her paper out of sight and threw it under her desk.

Oscar, who had been forced to hang out with Luciano due to Inés' neglect, found Inés in the living room and made a very happy face, but when he noticed the portrait that had fallen on the floor, it instantly turned into something that looked like broken glass.

It was as if what was scattered on the floor was not a painting but himself.

"Ines, why is my portrait lying here like this...?”

Instead of answering, she felt the urge to rush forward and choke him, removing the vile existence immediately. But no matter how much life repeated, he remained a prince of a nation.

Ines took a deep breath, as if meditating, then opened her eyes.

"I don't know. It seems like it fell on its own, probably."

"On its own?"

"Who would dare to touch the portrait of a prince, even with their fingertips? It's as noble as a holy painting."

"Well, that's true... It must have been an oversight. I planned to surprise you by secretly placing it here and enjoy the artwork together.”

Oh, dear, oh dear... Oscar, pretending to be mature and unfazed, tilted his head gracefully while uttering awkward admiration as he watched his noble face sprawl across the carpet.

Yet, his wavering gaze was entirely directed at himself, displayed on the carpet with wings spread. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] As if he were about to leap up at any moment to find the culprit who might have caused the accident…

"I didn't expect you to see it first. I wanted to see your surprised face."

"Seeing your splendid figure in advance fills me with emotion. To think you'll become such a splendid young man...”

Predestination is of no use. However, with only Ines' fake smile, Oscar's stern expression melted as if he was relieved.

Behind them, Luciano frowned, but Ines approached them without paying any attention.

"There's absolutely no exaggeration in that painting. I always tell artists, 'I dislike unnecessary embellishments.' Portraits are records. It's really recording yourself, right? I like the real me. Just as I am."

"That's right. Your Highness, you're handsome enough even without embellishments.”

From the massive muscular body to the grand pair of wings, there was absolutely nothing real about it. It was shameless, even though he remembers not doing anything this foolish until now. Suddenly feeling annoyed, it seemed impossible to recover from showing off in front of a girl.

The recent strange behavior, with illnesses occurring every few dozen days, was a secret unknown even to some maids in the Perez palace.

It was like that from Oscar's perspective. Ines, who had frequented Mendoza so often, suddenly stopped showing her shadow, and no matter how many letters he sent, the reply she wrote neatly and cutely did not come back. Unable to bear it any longer, he made the difficult journey to Pérez Castle herself, but instead of the usual bright eyes and warm reception, there was a rather unwelcoming and cold reaction. And with shocking words to keep his dirty hands off…

Daring to call his hands filthy—anyone else might not have minded losing a wrist for such an offense, but the culprit was Ines. There must be another reason. And his hands were always meticulously washed... He even diligently washed his hands again before coming here. Because maybe there was a misunderstanding..

Since his intention to make Ines his bride had not changed at all, Oscar showed a mature response by not making Ines' profanity public. He was embarrassed to hear such words from his future bride, but what he really feared was that the engagement itself would be ruined rather than such a trivial insult.

After the engagement to the imperial family was made, Ines would not have dared to not to get married no matter what she did, but before the engagement, it was a different story. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] The arrogant daughters of Grandes de Ortega sometimes kicked their parents' words as if they were barking dogs.

Ines is the only daughter of the Valeztena family, so the imperial family will not try to force her. And the Duke of Valestena would not force his only young daughter if she refused.

Anyway, they had plenty of options. He even revealed that he preferred the sons of great nobles over the royal family as sons-in-law. And he said that while looking straight into Oscar’s eyes.

So, this engagement depended entirely on Ines' small head.