The Broken Ring: This Marriage Will Fail Anyway Chapter 83

Chapter 83

“No, Raul. Cárcel isn’t the type to dislike someone for no reason.”

Ines, who had delivered a brief lecture on Cárcel's character, turning to look at Raul while speaking to him, then looked at Cárcel with a clean expression. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] Unfortunately, Cárcel, who was definitely that type and could offer reasons if he wanted, but could never utter them aloud, had nothing to add.

Despite this transparent message to a different employer, Raul just filled Cárcel's empty glass with water, as if he had simply reported what he saw.

Cárcel stared at the water filling the glass, as if it were Raul’s soul.

“It’s not that Raul has worked for me for a long time, it’s that he really has no flaws.”

How could Ines possibly know that the lack of flaws was Raul Balan’s biggest flaw?

But Cárcel already knew how things would go.

He had already given her free reign over everything, from hiring people to moving and discarding furniture, so now, at this point, what? Raul Balan was off-limits…? Even he thought that part was strange.

He continued to stare at Raul, who was serving their food with an elegant and refined demeanor, as if he had no flaws, with a cynical expression.

“I know you don’t trust him because he’s young, but you’ll be satisfied once you get to know him. Right, Raul? Because you’ll be serving Cárcel wholeheartedly.”

“Of course, Captain. I will serve you to the best of my ability, even though you dislike me.”

“Cárcel doesn’t dislike you for no reason. He’s just not sure about you because you haven’t had experience as a valet… Cárcel?”

Cárcel was silent for a moment, like someone who had been forced to give a dishonest answer, but then he smiled as straightly as a turncoat who easily abandoned his conscience.

“Yes. Welcome to the residence, Balan.”

As soon as he came out of the private room after washing up, Raul, as if he had been waiting, offered him a freshly ironed dress shirt at the doorway.

Cárcel, who had walked out wearing only linen pants and nothing on his upper body, hesitated for a moment, then looked at the shirt with a troubled expression.

Raul respectfully pushed the shirt forward again. Instead of taking it immediately, Cárcel continued to dry his damp hair with a towel, then offered it to him. The shirt only appeared in the hand that had been holding the towel.

He had a good sense of timing, better than if he had just held out the shirt, spread wide, and told him to put it on. Even that good sense of timing was annoying…

Like all children from good families, Cárcel, who had never lifted a finger, had everything done for him when he was young. Then, in his mid-teens, he had suddenly grown taller, exceeding even the adults. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] Then, in his late teens, he had grown taller again, and he had already been a strong young man, so he had grown even larger after undergoing the rigorous training at the military academy.

So, how could he possibly find it comfortable to have short servants standing beside him, putting on his shirt and adjusting the sleeves? Even without the simple lifestyle he had learned at the military academy, he found excessive service annoying.

But the restrained service of Raul Balan, who had a reasonable height, was more annoying than the overbearing service of dwarfs, the kind you’d only find in fairy tales.

Even though all Raul had done was offer him a shirt.

“……Thank you, but I don’t accept that kind of fussy service. Didn’t Alfonso tell you?”

Cárcel said, walking past him, pulling his shirt on haphazardly.

“Yes, of course I heard.”

Raul, dutifully, followed behind him, replying.

“So?”

“That’s why I’m just doing what he does.”

“…….”

“I’m embarrassed to call this work.”

He was implying that Alfonso did this kind of thing, wasn’t he?

If only he couldn’t speak… Cárcel momentarily resented the butler, who had readily handed over his work to this young man.

“Ines?”

“She’s reading the Bible in the library.”

“The Bible?”

It wasn’t surprising, considering her strict appearance, but Cárcel knew that she wasn’t particularly devout.

For example, she was a long way from the kind of person who diligently woke up early in the morning for God—someone who knelt at the window, as the first rays of dawn broke, and prayed in the morning.

Even when she was reading books in the library late at night, she was usually half-lying down, looking at the books with a tilted head. And she had never once had a Bible on her chest.

At least, not in the few months she had been in Calstera.

Had he seen her spend any time in the chapel or prayer room in the residence? No.

That left one conclusion. What in the world had changed today?

“Ah, Captain.”

As he was about to head toward the library, a voice he’d rather not hear caught his ankle. He turned halfway toward Raul, stopping mid-button.

“If you’re going to the library, if I may be so bold—”

“—I am. So?”

Cárcel cut him off, asking.

He was already constantly trailing after Ines like a guard dog, and now he wanted to get her permission to pass? He briefly considered the possibility that he had a twisted mind, then, somehow feeling uneasy, relaxed his slightly twisted lips.

“It would be best if you didn’t go to the library for now.”

“Why?”

“Lady Ines usually reads a section of the Bible she likes every Thursday night and prays alone.”

“…….”

“It’s a long-standing habit, and if she’s disturbed, she probably won’t be happy about it…”

It was the first time he had heard this, and he had never seen it. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] Cárcel frowned for a moment, looking back through his memories.

He hadn’t been spying on her every evening, and whenever she was in the library, so there was no way he could have known all of her habits.

‘It’s not like I want this bastard to know everything.’

“…So, I mentioned it cautiously. You’re just starting to settle into your cozy married life, so you should avoid unnecessary friction….”

“If there’s friction, Ines will be annoyed, and I can just listen to it.”

“…….”

“So, cut out the unsolicited advice.”

There was no need to tell him to stay in his lane. His deadpan expression had already served its purpose.

What had really annoyed Cárcel was something Raul Balan knew that he didn’t.

It wasn’t just that Ines had a particularly pious habit every Thursday night, it was the countless habits she had that he didn’t know. Perhaps things like her tastes and petty moods…

And everything in their past.

‘……The past?’

Was there any word more pathetic? He thought to himself, dumbfounded, then suddenly looked intently at Raul’s eyes. Like a pirate who believed that the legendary treasure ship was lying beneath those gloomy waves… Raul’s eyes weren’t particularly gloomy, and there weren’t any waves, but….

Their past. Their natural acceptance of each other. Their understanding of what she wanted from simply meeting her gaze... Petty services, records that were naturally accumulated with just the passage of time, as long as he was beside her. Things that were insignificant and meaningless.

Just beat down that loyal servant, throw away those memories, and stop thinking about it in such a pathetic way.

But there were so few people like that in Ines’s life. There were none. Who was the only link to the world? It was ridiculous... Cárcel, who had even placed himself above Juana, his maid, even in his arrogant days, couldn’t help but feel… at this moment, with Raul Balan here, where even Juana couldn’t enter…

“I begged Lady Ines.”

The thorn in his throat spoke.

“I begged her to let me look after her.”

Normally, you would ask to be entrusted with someone’s care. Look after her? The order in his mind was already a mess. He was far behind Juana, and Raul Balan was way ahead of her.

He didn’t want to accept it, but he had no choice. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] How could he deny an order that was so obvious?

“A noble needs a well-educated servant to live a more noble life. Alfonso is a magnificent butler who deserves the respect of his employees, but he’s too old to be an accessory for the residence.”

“…….”

“With all due respect, he’s getting on in years, he’s not very appealing to guests.”

“…Are you appealing?”

“Wouldn’t you say so? Of course, I wouldn’t dare to boast in front of someone as sculpted as you….”

“You’re already boasting. You already are.”

“It’s true that I’ve heard a lot of people say that I look good no matter where I’m placed, even as a mere servant.”

So, you’re calling me an accessory? So brazenly, so proudly? Cárcel looked at him as if he were looking at an insane person.

Of course, high-ranking male employees, like butlers, valets, and footmen, were also a way for nobles to show off their wealth.

Expensive accessories, well-dressed, with a handsome height and face, and possessing etiquette and a little bit of intellect. There’s even a funny story about a poor family who finally managed to hire a valet just for appearances, and then the valet ended up making more money than his master.

“Lady Ines is the daughter of Valeztena and the wife of Escalante. She didn’t really want me, but she wouldn’t imagine herself doing a lowly job without an accessory.”

“So, you’re saying that ‘imagine’ means ‘you’?”

“Yes, presumptuously, that’s right.”

Cárcel stared at Ines’s longtime servant with complicated eyes. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] There wasn’t a shred of doubt in his expression that, “My situation as an accessory makes me feel frustrated and angry.” Instead, his face was full of confidence and fulfillment.

He was, as he had always been, a dog. More dog than dog.

But instead of feeling relieved, Cárcel felt like a shepherd looking down at a new, cute, adorable puppy that was so obnoxious just by existing—he scanned Raul from head to toe.

Even though he was just an average-looking guy…

“I assure you, the Captain will soon be satisfied.”

“It’s fine if you say you’ll serve me wholeheartedly. I’m starting to get bored now.”

“No, you have much to gain from me.”

“…….”

“Just like you’ve won over the Señora’s trust, while she was being careless, in this humble and cozy residence, that you took from Lieutenant Elba and his wife.”

The puppy, no, Raul Balan’s promising eyes sparkled with ambition.

“I truly love and respect my master so much that there is nothing I don’t know.”