The Broken Ring: This Marriage Will Fail Anyway Chapter 62

Chapter 62

Even so, the thought that pushed through his disgust was, 'Was it that bastard?' and as soon as he quelled that thought, another one arose: 'If it really was him...'

His mind relentlessly pursued that single thought without any answer.

Inés had never been one to not know men. Cárcel could still bet his entire, messy history on the fact that she had been with someone.[ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] Of course, she would refuse because that would mean she was dirty, and it wouldn't be of much important to him, but...

Even if her first night had been with him, she would definitely know what "incomplete" coupling was. She acted stiffly and uncooperatively, but her naturalness, which she wasn't aware of, was too much to hide, even in that first night. The night had been very long.

Long enough for Cárcel to still not be able to touch her out of a sense of guilt.

In any case, whether it was one or ten or twenty men, Cárcel didn't care about the "someone" who had been with Inés. Ten was better than one, and twenty was better than ten.

One was the worst. One. That one who broke through her iron wall… a terrible word.

However, whether it was one or not, he still had no reason to care, so all he wanted to know was the truth. Inés's insubstantial lover. Her shadowless lover... The pervert who taught Inés everything about sex, except proper coupling.

Cárcel stared at Raul’s face as if he would pierce through it.

Golden-brown hair, grey eyes, the cunning, worn-out soul peeking out from those decent eyes... He looked like the kind of guy who would do dirty things in the back.

Cárcel concluded that he had a typical face that was shady behind the scenes. But his eyes when he looked at Inés were filled with admiration, as if he were looking at the most beautiful thing in the world—and he even had a look of reverence that dared to contain a lofty affection, so much so that even when he was blessed with the opportunity to do those things with Inés, he would probably burst into tears thinking, ‘How dare I get an er*ction for Lady Inés?’

His reverence made it clear that he was not capable of getting an er*ction because he knew his place. It was annoying, because he was so devoutly attached. What would become of me, who gets an er*ction all the time, when I’m clinging to her in such a way? Could I.…..

…...Win?

Cárcel was startled by the thought that suddenly entered his mind and asked himself. Win? Win to what? A measly footman? What on earth... What for? What would I even do with a win... As if he were being chased by his own question, Cárcel roughly wiped his face with a dry hand and walked towards the exit of the reception room. Then, he stopped.

It was a victory that couldn't exist unless Inés was at the center. In other words, it was just a foolish thought.

And it was clear that Raul Balan was just Inés's loyal dog.

‘…Didn’t you say you’d take me with you when you got married?’

He had initially thought that it was something Inés, who was secretly hiding a lover in Perez Castle, would say, but now that he thought about it, it was only natural for a dog to say something like that. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] Raul Balan was Inés's loyal dog.

Still, that thing might have been special to Inés... Cárcel stared at the terrace, where the conversation seemed to have no end, feeling a completely new kind of slimy sensation. Major Elba's romantic lights made them look like fucking romantic lovers.

‘Lady Inés.’ the voice called.

The familiarity in the way he called her name. The long time they had spent together, evident in that familiarity. An echo of their understanding of each other’s thoughts, without needing to say more.

There was nothing like that in the seventeen years Cárcel had known Inés.

Inés, today, seemed to Cárcel - very cute, and by Cárcel's standards, excessively kind and friendly. And every time she acted that way, it made him think a twisted thought that maybe she was watching his reaction because of her boyfriend.

It was a separate matter that Inés seemed to have eaten something wrong from Yolanda today, but he was shocked because every time she acted that way, it was so ugly in his eyes.

The miserable feeling he had forgotten for a while rose to the surface. All the messy feelings that Inés in his dream had shown him.

‘He was calling your name.’ He barely managed to swallow the words that were pushing up his throat. He glanced at Inés’s face as she casually listened to the voice and, despite that, he was still there.

In this small two-story house, looking at them both, so pathetically.

‘…Even so, isn’t he just too low-class?’

Inés’s standard was always Cárcel Escalante.

He was a man who could never measure up to Inés. Just a simple pervert who was content to be a loyal dog forever and receive Inés’s small amount of recognition.

‘He’s really annoying.’

That loyal, annoying bastard.

***

Originally, there were only six female employees at Cárcel's official residence. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] Of those, only three remained, besides the elderly housekeeper Arondra, the old cook Yolanda, and her assistant.

The three were all maids with a strong work ethic, but unfortunately, they had no experience serving noblewomen, and they had never seen a woman of such high status as Inés up close.

You need to have seen it to be able to imitate it. Of course, what kind of maids would be needed in an unmarried officer's official residence to be educated to serve a noblewoman? Attending to the male master was usually done by male employees. Highly educated men called butlers or valets.

Cárcel had once lavishly, and arrogantly, used the colonel’s official residence, but he wasn't particularly lavish, so he hired only the people he needed. And Arondra had a keen eye for people, so there wasn't anyone useless.

Inés didn't want to break their mold just because she came. She didn't know when she might leave, and... that’s what she was thinking, but her body was always there, as if she was going to stay forever. Anyway, that was the situation.

Arondra had repeatedly suggested that they bring a properly educated lady from Mendoza, Esposa, or even Inés’ hometown, Perez, to be Inés' maid, but Inés had refused every time. In fact, all it took was to say that there was no room to hire more staff here, and Arondra would become dejected and go back, so even though the housekeeper was persistent, it wasn't difficult to refuse.

Moreover, there was a freedom here that she couldn’t enjoy in Mendoza or Esposa.

The freedom not to care about dressing up, the freedom to not be so formal...

Since the house was modest, it was also fun to do things on her own, and since Inés didn’t need to dress up for anything special, morning or night… and though she had worn mourning clothes before, as a newlywed, she actively wanted to be more plain.

She wanted to maintain dignity and a decent, dignified appearance, but not for a moment let her own charming face or her charm be highlighted. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] So that Cárcel wouldn’t think, “The more I look, the prettier she seems…”

Juana’s skill was too good for her. Her own touch was just right.

There were no people working everywhere all day long, like in the castles and mansions of the capital, she had zero social skills so she didn’t have to make an effort to receive guests, there were no family events, and she had to look like someone who wasn’t very attractive to Cárcel...

Calstera was truly the perfect place to spend her honeymoon.

If she just let Cárcel relax like he used to, then, after she killed some time…

“My goodness, my goodness, my goodness! Señorita, no, Señora… The comb, the comb... My goodness… Are you alright? Did it hurt?”

One side of her hair was so tangled that it was swallowing the comb, and the maid holding the comb had instinctively pulled her hair a few times before finally coming to her senses.

And pulling her hair had the same result as pulling the lady of the house's hair.

Inés straightened her head, which had tilted in the direction her hair was pulled, and smiled kindly.

“It didn’t hurt at all.”

“I’m always doing rough work, so I have no control over my strength... What am I going to do... What am I going to do… You must have been in so much pain, Señora….”

If it had been a maid from the castle, she wouldn’t have said, “You must have been in so much pain,” she would have gone crazy as if she had committed attempted murder. Even if Inés hadn’t said a word, she would have already knelt down, bowed her head, and burst into tears as if the world was going to end.

Of course, that was mostly because she was more afraid of the castle's housekeeper and other high-ranking maids than Inés, who didn’t care about her inferiors. The punishments in the castle were strict and harsh.

Rather than that thin ice, Inés liked this place where she was asked, ‘You must have been in pain, but are it okay?’ This was a place where everyone just works hard.

It wasn’t a lack of care for her, but a lack of formality.

Of course, she hadn’t noticed that she was tearing her hair out because she was unconsciously smiling happily, thinking about her ambitious future.

“My hair is still wet, so it’s only natural that it’s difficult to comb properly. So, slowly…”

“What am I going to do… The comb, the comb won’t come out….”

She hadn’t realized it, so she hadn’t felt the pain, but when she saw herself in the mirror pulling her hair, she felt the pain every time she pulled. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] The maid was really strong, just like she said, and she couldn’t control her strength. The maid’s face became filled with deep guilt as Inés grimaced in pain.

Maybe it was the same force she used to scrub the windowsill. Inés secretly sighed, making sure it didn’t look like it was directed at the maid, and carefully took the hair and comb from the maid’s hands.

"I'll do it. Go and rest."

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry….”

And it was while the maid was repeatedly apologizing profusely that Cárcel entered their bedroom.