The Broken Ring: This Marriage Will Fail Anyway Chapter 84

Chapter 84

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Ridiculous. What? You know everything?

Cárcel hated cheating. Whether it was billiards, hunting, tennis, or anything he did with a leather ball in the training ground… everything had to be done by the rules. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] He was good at most sports and games even without resorting to cheating, and if he wasn’t good enough to do it without cheating, he wouldn’t even bother doing it in the first place.

He had no interest in cheating, and he wasn’t a fan of losing.

So, no matter what kind of sweet talk that wannabe, who was pretending to be Lady Ines’s loyal servant, tried to feed him, he…

‘So, Raul Balan, who knows everything. What's the reward for betraying the master you so adore?’

‘Betrayal? That’s absurd.’

‘Well, that’s exactly what you’re doing.’

‘Why would I betray Lady Ines?’

‘Right, why would you betray her?’

‘Isn’t the Captain Lady Ines’s husband? He’s not my enemy… ’

‘…….’

‘What disaster could happen if I simply told you a few of Lady Ines’s annoying habits in advance… All I want, with my whole heart, is Lady Ines’s well-being, happiness, a home that will be filled with love one day, a happy marriage, and a harmonious relationship with her husband… ’

‘You don’t even use the word “you two” as a courtesy.’

‘You’d know if I was lying. But in the end, I only want peace for you both. Fortunately, Lord Cárcel, you secretly, deliberately, changed the residence to this cramped space, in order to live a cozy life with Lady Ines... ’

‘That never happened.’

‘Yes, it didn’t.’

‘I know, I know.’ He was nodding, as if he knew, but was pretending not to… It was the first time he felt like he wanted to snap someone’s neck.

As if he could even sense that feeling, Raul put on a feignedly humble expression and said,

‘Even if you don’t trust me or even dislike me so openly, I want you to know that I’m always on your side, Captain.’

‘I don’t need your side.’

‘Of course, only if you don’t betray Lady Ines. I will assist you in any way I can to make her happy. What does gossiping behind your back matter? If money is the problem, I will starve anywhere.’

Of course you will.

‘Yes? Captain?’

‘You should just ask for money.’

‘How can I dare? How?’

Just do it, just go somewhere already… That was a dream that couldn’t come true, but if he had just asked for money, he might have considered it.

Cárcel Escalante de Esposa never had any interest in cheating and wasn’t a fan of losing, but… he ended up proving that Raul Balan’s gossip was useful by not going anywhere near Ines until she herself came out of the library.

If he wasn’t good enough to cheat and the game had already started, that was a different story. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] He had already gotten married, and he was still stuck in a position that was further away from the maids and servants of Perez.

So, he would just give him money. It was bad luck that he was putting on that pious expression, saying he only wanted Ines’s happiness. Bad luck meant the negotiations that night fell apart.

Cárcel stared intently at Raul Balan, who was happily taking care of all sorts of trivial tasks, sticking by Ines’s side. That disgusting sight, as if he knew all of Ines’s habits from start to finish…

“Balan, the newspaper.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Raul, as if he had prepared it already, quickly grabbed today’s newspaper from the console by the door, as soon as Cárcel ordered it.

He was using it now, even though he had said he didn’t like trivial services. He could feel Ines looking at him with that expression. A very content expression…

He ignored her contentment entirely. As if she was only content because of Raul Balan.

Ines had to make that expression for a bigger, more plausible reason, and preferably a reason that involved Cárcel.

“The Mendoza Gazette? Is it here yet?”

“I heard it’s arriving at the liaison office in front of headquarters this afternoon. I will prepare it at the headquarters, so you can enjoy it at your leisure this evening.”

He was actually using him. Ines was looking at him with that ‘See, he’s useful, isn’t he?’ expression… But originally, did Cárcel need that kind of usefulness? He would have said absolutely not, and he still did.

But if he didn’t keep him here, he would be stuck to Ines. If he didn’t give him work, that guy would definitely stick to her like a cuckoo bird.

He was torturing himself, demanding every useless service from Raul Balan. As a soldier, there was no greater torture than having someone else do everything for him.

But rather than seeing that guy sticking to Ines like that…

“Ah, Alfonso and Raul will be sending out invitations for the wine party soon. Starting with your fellow officers, and if there are any others you’d prefer…”

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

He didn’t even want his fellow officers to show up, but he couldn’t rain on her parade, not when she was finally—no, for the first time ever—holding a party herself and wanted to have fun. Cárcel just nodded.

“I’m just wondering if we have enough wine for a party.”

It wasn’t that they didn’t have good wine in the residence, it was that they had too much expensive wine, not the kind suitable for a party. Ines nodded, as if she knew.

“Don’t worry about that. Raul and I will be visiting the El Taveo liquor store today.”

The worry disappeared, replaced by irritation. Even though she had been in Calstera for months, this was her first time visiting El Taveo.

El Taveo was the main port on the Calstera coast, a prosperous harbor and the most bustling city in the area. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] It was overflowing with things to see and buy, so he had intended to show her around at some point.

It was just that Ines wasn’t very interested in excursions, so he had been trying not to bother her…

“We could go together after our shift change.”

“I don’t want to bother you.”

“You don’t bother me.”

“You say that, but I don’t want to interfere with your training… Raul is pretty sharp at wine tasting. You can have him do all the tasting.”

“You flatter me.”

It was like he was being usurped. In a world where good people always lose, consideration was useless.

He chewed on the last piece of meat with a closed mouth, staring intently at Raul. The accessory, who was silently serving Ines, didn’t even notice his exclusive gaze.

“Don’t you have to get up now?”

Ines, looking at her watch, delivered a kind of subtle order to leave, and it made him feel even better. It was just Ines’s consideration to let him know it was time to leave, but it was annoying.

Cárcel got up reluctantly, leaving Ines and the little bastard beside her. He hugged her one last time, for good measure, and kissed her temple and ear, but her expression didn’t change.

Yes. The worst idea he had when he first saw Raul Balan—like, the delusion that Raul Balan was Ines’s lover—was clearly just a delusion.

Raul Balan was just an overly loyal bastard… So, it was really strange.

He knew it in his head, but it didn’t resonate in his heart, this kind of petty feeling, it was a first for him. It was clear that he didn’t harbor any ill feelings towards Ines, but that wasn’t enough.

If he was Ines’s lover, he could shoot him someday, but what could he do with that loyal guy? Execute him for being too loyal?

By chance, when their eyes met one last time, his eyes were full of goodwill—the eyes of an opportunist who, with a smile, thought, “I’m occasionally on the master’s side.”

How could goodwill make someone so pathetic? Could it really make him crazy enough to go insane? Cárcel hadn’t realized yet what this feeling of misanthropy was that was rising from his chest to his head.

Like even the most gentle dogs bully other dogs their master favors, and sometimes even bite them to death…

Of course, he wasn’t a gentle dog to begin with, and he wasn’t crazy enough to feel murderous easily.

But he might have gone a bit crazy.

“Alfonso.”

“Yes.”

“I want you to put someone on him.”

He added the words, “That bastard,” silently. Alfonso wouldn’t know, of course.

“Yes?”

Two men stood in front of the quiet entrance, where pillars supported a small roof, side by side.

“Raul Balan.”

“…Balan?”

Alfonso couldn’t possibly have not heard the name, so he was asking about the reason, not the target. Cárcel carefully chose his words.

He wouldn’t say he was suspicious, especially not in that way… He wasn’t really suspicious.

It would be nice to know a little bit about that guy’s weaknesses, and if they were fatal, he’d have no regrets, and he wanted to know what he was doing, sticking to her like a harmless pet, pretending that he was just an accessory.

He knew he would just be upset, but it was better than obsessing pathetically over how much that bastard would be favored by Ines, somewhere out of his sight.

But Cárcel casually disregarded the fact that secretly following someone was a pathetic thing to do.

“…See if he’s embezzling any of the money from wine purchases.”

Even he was questioning if he was really curious about his weaknesses, considering he wasn’t suspicious of him at all. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] Alfonso nodded as if he understood.

“Ah, I see. We can put someone on him when the Señora goes out this afternoon.”

“…No, all day.”

“What?”

“Tomorrow too. The day after tomorrow. And the day after that.”

“…….”

“I want to know everything he does, every minute of the day, especially when he’s with Ines…”

He unconsciously swallowed the name ‘Ines’ as it escaped his mouth. Alfonso burst out laughing.

“Alfonso, don’t laugh. It’s disrespectful.”

“I apologize… It’s just, I…”

“It’s just, what?”

“It’s just, you’ve been, looking at him like you want to tear him apart…”

Alfonso laughed, as if finding Cárcel’s predicament amusing, with not a hint of darkness in his suspicion.

Cárcel looked at him, dumbfounded. It was just a normal laugh from a normal person, but for a butler who had always performed his duties with a stiff expression, he seemed a bit crazy.

“Stop laughing.”

"It’s not that, it’s just... in my life, I never thought the Duke would make me do such things..”

Alfonso looked at him with a smile still lingering in his eyes. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] He said he understood, but it was clear that nothing would happen. It was an “I understand” that said, ‘I’ve seen your pathetic obsession and jealousy, so I’ll keep an eye on him, for your sake.’

But since he said he understood, there was no need to feel shame. Before leaving the residence, Cárcel looked up at the sky. Dark storm clouds were rolling in from the distant sea, as if cursing Cárcel, from the morning.