The Broken Ring: This Marriage Will Fail Anyway Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Tw: Low s*xual content

“…….”

"Truly, there was nothing to fault about that decision... Look at the Crown Prince. In ten years, his forehead will surely be as smooth as his father's.”

“—Excuse me for interrupting, but when I was out of my mind?”

The Duchess' words sounded meaningful, as if Ines had drugged him and made him agree to an engagement. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] But that can't be possible. They were only six years old at the time, and Ines merely smiled…

"Don't you remember? The Empress summoned you and declared that you must marry Ines, and you cried all day saying you were scared.”

Even though he wants to forget, they keep reminding him, saying it's forgettable, but each one teases, making it unforgettable. Cárcel barely managed to smile and repeated.

"I remember, but then when I wasn't in my right mind..."

"Lord Escalante, you were six years old back then."

"Yes."

"At six years old, no one is in their right mind.”

“…….”

The tension dissipated in an instant.

If that's the case, then Ines... It was a moment that Cárcel considered.

"But Ines was different. That child was clearly, at that moment, 'in her right mind.'"

".……."

"That's what being possessed by a devil means, Lord Escalante."

"……."

"That child was possessed by a devil.”

The Duchess muttered meaningfully, as if talking about someone other than Ines, who was visible from afar. Her deep sighs were filled with the scent of alcohol.

After all, this is not something he would say in his right mind. Just as there is no one who is sane at the age of six, there is no one who is drunk and not crazy. Cárcel raised his hand to the Duke, who was entering the reception hall, and gestured to take the Duchess with him.

'It seems like someone swapped her soul back then. Sometimes it's like she's possessed by a devil...’

Somehow, those words stayed in his mind for a while. In a speech full of narrow-minded accusations against her daughter, that was just one word of exaggerated accusation.

***

The atmosphere in the Valeztena manor, which had somewhat regained peace, now seemed quite serene. The stormy dinner felt almost like a lie.

Perhaps it was because the atmosphere had changed so drastically. Cárcel glanced away from the lively conversations between Luciano and Miguel, and caught sight of the serene Ines once again.

“…….”

“…….”

She was quietly sipping water from her wine glass, just as she did during dinner. She seemed unconcerned with his presence beside her.

Cárcel was accustomed to such dismissive treatment, so he took advantage of the opportunity to observe Ines unilaterally. Black hair pulled back neatly, a round and straight forehead and bridge of the nose, eyes that show no sincerity in reality… Then his gaze fell again on the hand holding the wine glass.

Although she was skilled at rotating the glass in her palm from time to time, similar to that of an alcoholic, Ines was rarely seen drinking alcohol.

Even though he has often seen her drinking non-alcoholic things like alcohol since he was young...

It was merely a small habit, nothing significant, but there are things that unwittingly catch one's attention.

For example, Ines's arrogant eyes, indifferent expression, lips that are walled off from everything social, the consistent way she puts her hair down on the side when she puts her hair back, her consistent parting, and small actions like looking around to see if a dog is barking somewhere when someone is saying something she doesn't want to hear. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] Sarcasm, a blatant wave when someone is annoying.……

Somehow, most of the things he remembered impressively were not positive.

Nevertheless, a light smile appeared as if he was thinking of a cute animal such as a rabbit or a fox cub. The smile soon turned sour.

Aside from the fact that he must be crazy, thinking about Ines like that made him worry that he would soon strip her down and put her down in his head again. Cárcel shook out his thoughts decisively.

Facing the real Ines was enough to dispel such perverse nightmares, reminiscent of the incident at the last concert.

After all, soon that dream would become reality. They were engaged, and he would have to make amends for this shameful reality that seemed to weigh heavily on him. Soon they would engage in lawful s*x.

Surely, the conservative Ines, who would undoubtedly be conservative even in bed, would arouse his desire to win more, but soon he would lose interest.

Still, Ines will be the only legitimate woman he can have s*x with for the rest of his life, so they will have regular, obligatory, and dignified s*x.... Since he has played around enough, it is not bad for him to have such a static life.

Above all, holding the real Ines in his arms would make these tiresome nightmares disappear, whether he lost interest or found her more intriguing.... So there was no need for such embarrassing fantasies. Not anymore. He scolded himself.

Cárcel's alter ego, who straddles the precarious border between eunuch and non-eunuch, still, as always, regained too much strength just by imagining Ines.

Suddenly, like uncontrollable impulses, phantom-like fantasies surged forth... Of course, that fact alone was a glimmer of hope, but Cárcel had never felt so desperate to satisfy his desires—especially relying on his imagination was something he had never even imagined.

So at this moment, in this place, fantasies of Ines grabbing his cravat and rushing towards him, or suddenly turning her into naked in the midst of the Valeztena manor and sucking her breasts, were utterly repulsive to him.

That was a glimmer of hope and a source of self-loathing. No matter how often it repeated, the shame and self-loathing didn't disappear.

The Ines in his dreams was Ines, yet not Ines. Can a woman who doesn't exist still be a woman? Surprisingly, she was a woman…

Even when his classmates at the military academy occasionally argued about masturbation, Cárcel laughed at them and felt sorry for them like an enlightened wise man looking down on the poor from above, so every time he got an erection while fantasizing about Ines that came to his mind morning and night, he would mull over how far he had fallen.

While doing that, they were so hungry, so desperate, and sometimes even behaved like pigs and dogs….

As he observed Ines, the feelings of misery and guilt only grew, so Cárcel decided to break the bleak atmosphere himself.

Anyway, when he was with Ines, it was his job to babble. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] Despite his naturally blunt personality.

"So, when did you become so intimate with Miguel?"

The casually spoken words sounded like picking a fight, contrary to his intentions.

Whether Ines noticed the subtly skewed tone in his voice or not, she raised an eyebrow and looked at him after taking her lips off the glass.

"Since when has Lord Escalante been curious about such things?"

"...Drop the 'Lord'."

"Escalante."

"Drop the 'Escalante' too. There's no one else here but us now.”

The Duke, who looked at him with eyes that wanted to extract him like a fishbone, eventually took the drunken Duchess upstairs. Luciano and Cárcel, who had nothing to talk about, automatically separated and went to Miguel and Ines respectively... The seats were thus peacefully arranged.

However, peace is not always gentle.

"So, does it make anything special?"

Ines's question was also crooked, completely abandoning honorifics.

It's a voice that has stewed in discontent for days, even seeping out from beneath the surface. A very different story from when she tried to calmly teach her father at dinner.

So there is some discontent brewing, isn't there? Somehow, it felt satisfyingly annoying, as if he had easily disrupted her usual composure.

With a slight smirk, Cárcel spoke.

"I'll get comfortable eventually. As long as I observe propriety in the military, I don't feel the need to be overly polite to you."

"Then you'll become insufferable. Don't mess with my formality."

"I can be kind too."

"Do as you please. I'll go to great lengths to accommodate you."

"Are you going to make me just an old-fashioned, rotten guy who treats women poorly?”

“I actually like this kind of thing. What on earth are you thinking?”

"Miguel is seventeen. He's legally an adult and even discussing marriage..."

"No, not that. ...Escalante, are you trying to manage me?"

"......”

Cárcel, who had been caught off guard, fell silent for a moment.

Ines laughed as if she was shocked.

"You?"

“…….”

"Me?”

“By saying it like that, it sounds like I'm some kind of weirdo, but my intentions are simply—"

"—Also with Miguel?"

"...Why on the earth Miguel is Miguel?”

Forgetting his defense had been cut off, he asked about the reason why Miguel was Miguel. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] Ines chuckled lightly before answering.

"Because your brother is harmless and cute."

"I'm harmless too.”

Of course, he was too muscular to be cute, and he didn't even want to be muscular like that...

"If you're harmless, you're harmless, and if you're harmful, you're harmful... To me, well, you're harmless."

Ines suddenly changed her attitude and smiled.

"And this face will greatly benefit the world."

"...You've been talking about mines, salt, and light suddenly."

At times, she didn't even bother to look at him, but her repeated strange praises seemed suspicious.

"I'm sorry, Cárcel. You had a hard time today because of Father, right?”

Plus, a sudden apology. As if that weren't enough, even a friendly name...