The Broken Ring: This Marriage Will Fail Anyway Chapter 24

Chapter 24

***

At the end of that summer, when Ines encountered Cárcel Escalante again, he was truly a sculpture. Even more so than her faint memories. Ines expressed her admiration without hiding it, unreservedly.

It was akin to the awe one feels when witnessing objectively beautiful scenery or a perfectly shaped object. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] No matter how different people's perspectives may be, no one could deny the fact that Cárcel Escalante was a well-crafted masterpiece.

Of course, even if it was his cousin who was this jealous and petty.

"...Are you sure? Are you really sure?"

"Yes."

"Ines, can't you see those empty eyes? I mean those soulless eyes."

"Instead, they're filled with a beautiful blue light. I've never seen such handsome blue eyes before.”

She mumbled exaggerated compliments as if she was deliberately bewitched, holding the apple juice as if it were alcohol, and sipping it.

Oscar looked back and forth between her and Cárcel, who was far away, with narrowed eyes, then bent his head close to her shoulder and whispered as if telling her a great secret.

"Do you know that? Half of the people who looked so pretty when they were young end up ruined when they grow up.”

“…….”

When Ines laughed sarcastically without answering, Oscar wrinkled his nose and added again.

“Do you think what I’m saying is a lie? Of course, Escalante is incredibly pretty now.”

He pretended not to be intimate with his cousin and called him by his last name, and deliberately put emphasis on the word “pretty.” He even managed to find a word that was less powerful than the word handsome and much more trivial than the word beautiful.

"If Escalante were a girl, probably as many boys would be trailing after her as there are girls now, chasing after him.”

If Cárcel Escalante had been a woman, all the hardships she suffered at the hands of Oscar would have been his. Because she would have the best bloodline and the best face, just like Ines.

According to Oscar's theory, the best should always be with the best. If those two were of different genders together, at least one of them would have been the best, just like Oscar wanted.

She sighed regretfully for a moment. If that had been the case, she would have given birth to children in a normal way without any change in her life, and would have been living with trivial concerns about how to live the rest of her life with her husband, with whom she had a not-so harmonious relationship.

She would become the mistress of a duke's house, showing off great influence on the outside, but was a little festering on the inside, and live an easy life like other noble women of Ortega. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] At least, she might have found her own version of happiness.

Ines, due to her flawlessly stubborn personality, wouldn't have a handsome lover, but instead, would lead a free life at the estate. She would roam the hunting grounds, ride her horse far and wide across the estate, and would visit local hot springs for relaxation…

Then, if she was lucky, her husband would die young, and she would have a son who would be just the right person to take over, so she would be officially relieved of all her duties. All she would have to wait for is a life of freedom, unbound by any obligations.

Walking on the land brought with the dowry from Valeztena, she would independently build her estate and live the life of a landowner until her death as a woman. After all, noblewomen blessed with good fortune in life often live in such a manner.

Her husband, like any ordinary Ortega nobleman, would sometimes deceive her like an a*shole and do other things with other women behind her back, but what does that matter?

He probably would have died early for her anyway—she thought decisively. Moreover, it's generally difficult to become a burden of such a contagious disease through ordinary efforts.

Even if he were a great hard worker like Oscar, he would at least know that his heirs were precious, and he wouldn't even dare to stick his diseased d*ck into his pregnant wife...…

Ines gazed at Cassel's angelic figure with eyes full of affection, but suddenly her cold eyes turned to look at Oscar. Oscar flinched.

“…Why? Why..?"

This redhead would truly be the worst thing on earth. A sodomite who likes women.

Starting from the assumption that 'if Cárcel Escalante had been a woman', even imagining a hypothetical husband who gracefully left only two children before disappearing into the afterlife, the persistence of Oscar became even more annoying.

Ines' eyes grew colder. He must have been annoyed by the fact that he flinched under Ines' gaze, so he calmed his voice and continued to slander Cárcel again.

"...So, you see, it would have been better if that kid were a girl. To become a beautiful woman, you just need to be beautiful. But for a man, there's a lot more required. Being a perfect man externally isn't made with just a pretty face—."

"A good physique is needed too. Yes, I know."

Ines openly showed indifference and gulped down her apple juice.

A life where you don't know what's ahead. This is why life is funny sometimes. He doesn't know that he will grow up to be a weak body without a single muscle, and he doesn't know how his 'pretty' cousin will grow up to be tall and strong and look down on him.……

Looking at Oscar, a human being who lives like that without even knowing what's ahead, she can now make at least a wry smile.

“You know that His Majesty the Emperor is a hand taller than the Duke of Escalante.”

"Yes."

“And his hair is already starting to bald, slightly.”

In order to save Cárcel’s future, he was so meticulous that he even mobilized his maternal uncle, who blinks at every word he says. It was a curse-like prediction that no matter how 'pretty' Cárcel was, he would end up being nothing more than a short, bald person... .

But it was all useless.

“The Duke of Escalante has a naturally wide forehead.”

"No, the Duke's hairline is gradually receding. So you didn't know that. He's on the path to baldness soon, unlike the opulence of the emperor. And sons tend to resemble their fathers..."

"Oh my god, that's quite unfortunate.”

"However, it's not like he can go around wearing a white wig like people did a hundred years ago. Right? If Cárcel resembles that, his life would just be a journey toward baldness."

Look at him spouting anything just because he's in a hurry... Ines, with a bewildered expression, looked at Oscar, who was earnestly proposing another theory.

"No matter how shining it is now, later on, it will just shine because there's no hair. Imagine the place where that pretty face and lovely blonde hair used to be. Ines, what do you think? Isn't it dreadful?"

"It's dreadful... But who loses all their hair so suddenly?"

"You might find it hard to believe, but bald people are also humans. They exist somewhere in the world... It's truly dreadful. The reason why Lord Ihar is so out of sight is because he is completely bald. I saw it. There was nothing on that head...”

He shuddered, as if recalling a terrible memory.

“I only heard about it, but I never saw it. I can't even imagine a person's head being completely bald... By the way, Your Highness.”

When Inés carefully grabbed his arm, Oscar was startled and then looked as if he was a puppy about to go for a walk. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] She threw the bait and the fish came up with confidence.

"Indeed, it's frightening, isn't it? No matter how probable—."

"—Did you know that His Highness' forehead looks exactly like Duke Escalante, his paternal uncle? I always thought so."

"……."

"Seeing it again, it's indeed true. They look really alike.”

Oscar raised his hand and covered his forehead as if in disbelief. It was a gesture filled with awkwardness, whether he was thinking that his paternal uncle would really go bald or if he was at a loss for words about his own blunt prediction.

In reality, Duke Escalante did eventually have a visible hairline. It wasn't a complete baldness, but acknowledging that he would become slightly bald was a valid insight.

Moreover, he really resembled the duke more than the duke's actual son, Cárcel. Mixing half emperor and half duke would result in such an outcome, but it felt like a mix done somewhat haphazardly.

Ines smiled brightly. The thought of Oscar, half-bald, after her death, made her burst into laughter involuntarily.

"I feel the same. I resemble my aunt's fingers. Sometimes, you can see corners that resemble not only parents or grandparents but also parents' siblings."

".……”

"Fortunately, Duke Escalante's forehead is very smooth and even. So it seems His Highness also inherited such a handsome forehead."

".……"

"But I dislike baldness."

".……"

"Even though it’s Your Majesty."

"No, you can't determine the future like that. Just because the foreheads look alike doesn't mean their destinies are identical..."

"Then Cárcel Escalante should be fine, too.”

As vulnerable as Oscar was to his own ignorance, he was equally susceptible to sudden challenges. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] With her one-word response, the perplexed expression he had shown when he received the first hit came flooding back.

"Baldness, I can't guarantee. But look at that handsome face. He will grow up without a single manly trait. No one will look at the grown Escalante and compliment his good looks."

Perhaps the term 'handsome' is an inadequate expression... because he is excessively perfect from head to toe.

"If he were born a girl, growing up like that when young would make him quite pretty, though not as much as you, Ines. You're perfect. My choice is always you."

Ines nonchalantly shrugged, as if it didn't matter.

"A face like yours is destined to shine as you grow up, but I prefer investing in an uncertain future. I don't know why you suddenly choose plain dresses like this one, but if you dress in the bright and pretty clothes that suit you, like before, you would be much—."

"—Even the gods oppose it, Your Highness."

“I already asked the Bishop of Mendoza about that. They say there is absolutely no basis for it.”

“Then I am a spineless and uncivilized person who is swayed by baseless superstitions and makes important decisions incorrectly?”

For a moment, Oscar, who didn't understand the word 'uncivilized,' blankly tilted his head, then quickly caught the negative nuance and tried to remedy it.

"There's no way, Ines."

"Your Majesty, I am too uncivilized, ignorant, and inadequate to be around someone as cultured and learned as you. Just as you said.”

"...When on earth did I say such a thing?"

"It hurts deeply. So please, don't hurt me any further."

"When did I ever hurt—"

“There is no way we will ever get married, Your Majesty.”

Ines placed the empty glass on the table and haughtily walked away with her back to Oscar.

"You haven't really decided, have you? It's not Escalante, right? You're just testing me. Trying to annoy me."

"Well..."

"He's a guy who will cause problems with women for a lifetime!"

’You'll cause problems with men too.’ She was sarcastic in her mind.