The Broken Ring: This Marriage Will Fail Anyway Chapter 23

Chapter 23

'That's why, as my father said, we should catch them when they are young and out of their right mind.…..’

If it's not her, his options become infinitely lower. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] There was no such hole in the perfect life he was planning. The best should always be with the best.

Oscar opened his mouth again, recalling the emperor's poor teachings.

“Inez, I didn’t really want to hear those words from your lips, but…”

Oscar spoke humbly, then looked back at Luciano and nodded with a hint of annoyance.

Come to think of it, around this time, Ines noticed the prince's less-than-friendly attitude towards his peers, especially those who were more handsome than him.

It was around this time that an awkward tension began to grow. As Ines observed his behavior meaningfully, Luciano, slightly more handsome than Oscar, walked towards the reception room, connected directly to the library.

"Perez is, truly beautiful."

Even at ten years old, a prince is a prince, and he quite naturally changed the subject, bringing in a breath of fresh air.

"Heard you were tired from a sleepless night, so Luciano took me on a tour instead."

"I see.”

Oscar seemed embarrassed to pick up his painting again with his precious hands, to show a preoccupation by immediately calling an attendant to pick it up, or to just throw it on the floor and sit down on the sofa pretending not to notice, so Oscar sat down on the low armrest. He continued.

“Perez is this cool, so it’s no wonder Mendoza is boring. Is that why you didn’t visit Mendoza all spring?”

"It wasn't like that. And no matter how beautiful it is, it can't compare to the Mendoza where the Emperor is present."

He spoke, crossing his legs to show off the slightly longer legs he had grown while they were out of sight.

"And besides, I'm there. Ines.”

“…….”

“I’ve been waiting for you all spring. I also waited for the letter. I was worried that something was going on... Was my request really too hasty? Because it’s burdensome? Is that why you’ve been avoiding me?”

"No, majesty. It's not like that. How dare I refuse the honor of meeting Your Majesty?”

“If you feel burdened, tell me. I can wait as long as you want—”

“Of course it’s burdensome.”

An unexpectedly decisive answer. Oscar paused while leisurely changing his legs.

Then, he seemed to be looking at her with strange eyes, as if thinking, ‘How could I have missed this?’ and muttered as if he was possessed.

"...You seem different, like a lot has changed since I last saw you."

"I highly doubt that."

"Your face has become more pale, your eyes filled with deep sorrow... It would make sense if it was all because of worries, but more than that…….”

“…….”

Oh, he has eyes too. In response, Ines rolled her eyes beneath her lowered eyelids, mocking.

"You're speaking quite, maturely. Your tone has suddenly become excessively dignified."

"Are you suggesting that I used to be an unsophisticated and undignified woman before?"

"Of course not. You were always perfect, Ines. But now, it's just, even more, too sudden..."

"No, as you say. I was never perfect.”

Oscar, taken aback by Ines who suddenly raised his head in a pitiful manner, paused again. Ines stretched out her cute hand and grabbed his arm.

“Did I tell you earlier that the painting fell off by itself?”

“… Maybe?"

“I was so upset that I couldn’t tell you straight away. I was so struck by His Majesty's portrait that it was so stunning and wonderful that I was just looking at it from up close as if I was mesmerized. But suddenly, without even shaking the ground, wouldn’t the picture come pouring forward as if it was going to hit me?”

"Really! Are you okay?”

“Thank goodness. However, while trying to avoid it, I ended up stepping on the painting, and that is the footprint that was left on His Majesty’s noble face.”

“…There are footprints...?”

Oscar, who belatedly discovered his face being trampled by a shoe, slowly tilted his head to the side as if he couldn't believe it. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] Ines's blatantly nonsensical excuse did not even reach Oscar, who was completely distracted by the fact that 'there were footprints on my face.’

He looked shocked, as if his face had actually been stepped on. Ines said, looking back at the picture with regret.

“Your Majesty will grow up so splendidly, but I was so humble that I couldn’t even believe that I could dare stand next to him. How dare I, next to such an amazing person... The reason the picture fell on me was because I was greedy without even knowing the subject. Because I dared to cross His Majesty...”

“… My face…”

"So, I almost received divine punishment. The falling of the painting was a sign from the gods. Despite contemplating all spring, in the end, the gods opposed our engagement by gently dropping the painting onto the sofa..."

"...Wait, what?"

"I told you, Your Highness. The gods are against our engagement. A bad omen, you know?"

"That's absurd."

"Do you know the word 'omen'?”

Oscar paused for a moment. He was a man vulnerable to his own ignorance, and sometimes when someone pointed out what he didn't know, it momentarily paralyzed his mind.

He looked at Ines with a puzzled expression.

"This is an omen, Your Highness. If we get engaged, it will lead to ruin, a clear sign."

The omen might have been created by her outburst, but the ruin was an indisputable fact.

"The still picture suddenly fell on me, and I accidentally stepped on Your Highness's face. Despite the omen, if I were worthy of being by Your Highness' side, instead of surviving by trampling Your Highness's face, I should have chosen to die by facing Your Highness's portrait. I feel so guilty now, too guilty to be by Your Highness' side."

Each word seemed like a jumble of meaningless expressions, yet her fluent delivery made it feel like everything she said made perfect sense.

Oscar, bewildered, spoke hesitantly.

“Right, rather than facing with death… Just step on my face.…...”

“Look at this. Your Majesty is too much for me.”

“No, Ines.”

“This is why I can’t be with you. Your Majesty. For me, it's just Enrique Osorno, Dante Ihar, Cárcel Escalante, Leonardo Helvez.…...”

“…….”

“Just having someone like that is enough.”

"Among the top five dukes of Grandes de Ortega, excluding Valeztena, all sons of other houses passed by as if their names were as insignificant as the world. Ines, as if acknowledging that those worthless beings were exactly at her level, weakly let go of Oscar's hand that held her arm.

"So, please forget about our engagement."

"...Cárcel, now, did you say Cárcel Escalante?”

What she mentioned were four, but it seemed that only one resonated in his ears. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] With a facial expression splitting like a crack, Oscar asked.

Ah, right, he disliked all the men who were more handsome than himself.

Well, there was no reason to decline then. In her memories, there was no man more perfect than Carcel Escalante, at least in terms of appearance.

In his childhood, or at least around this time, what kind of appearance did he have?

The more his statuesque cousin grew, the more Oscar became wary that if Inés had even exchanged a few words with the perfect statue—she would realize just how poorly God had made his betrothed. He doubted and disliked. Eventually, he didn't even try to stand briefly by his side.

Oscar knew that sometimes beauty standards are relative. Depending on who was around him, he looked either very handsome or just so-so, and he had a mediocre appearance, and Cárcel Escalante made everyone around him look like a lump of mud that had been half-baked and thrown away.

And since she generally avoided doing things that Oscar disliked without significant doubt, it was a natural result that there was no special connection between them.

Despite their seemingly close relationship, all that came to mind was him wearing a uniform from a distance. Navy officer uniforms and, by the coast of Calstera……

She suddenly recalled an unpleasant memory and swallowed a needle-like breath.

The remaining memory of Cárcel Escalante dug into her head unexpectedly. As if closing her eyes at that moment would transport her back to the last day in Calstera, as if she would be thrown into the cold sea breeze again. Holding Emiliano's hand, that night when they ran as if the world would collapse, the wailing of a child in Emiliano's arms echoed in her ears like a nightmare.

Before the Cárcel of that day could come to life in her memory, she ruthlessly suppressed it—so much so that even Emiliano couldn't revive before being shut out.

Emiliano of that day, even if revived, is destined to live only for one more day, only to die again.

It was good now. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] Now that he is alive, and such things never happened in the first place.

However, as Oscar became more annoyed, she shyly nodded.

"Yes, Cárcel Escalante.”

“…….”

"That should be suitable for me."

At least, if nothing else, it would be an appropriate outlet for frustration. After all, even at this moment, he is likely still a sculpture.