The Broken Ring: This Marriage Will Fail Anyway Chapter 86

Chapter 86

“Yes. It was during a quick glance I took while driving the carriage… Balan seemed deep in thought. And Lady Ines didn’t seem to have anything to say about it, either.”

“Good heavens, Mario. How could you dare turn around while driving the carriage with the Señora inside?”

It would be different if it were the Captain…. Alfonso expressed shock and dismay simultaneously.

“There was nothing in front of me. And you told me to watch him as closely as possible, Butler… ”

“Staying focused on the road is the most basic rule of driving!”

“I need the opportunity to watch him, you know... It was also quite strange that he was glued to the liquor store window, sneaking a peek inside. It’s a good thing he wasn’t reported to the vigilantes…”

“El Taveo is chaotic, you don’t have to worry about that. So, what happened?”

“When we got out, Balan opened the umbrella first, then quickly dodged a puddle and got out. He held Lady Ines’s wrist to help her out. Balan said, ‘I can’t have Lady Ines’s dress get wet,’ and told her to step on his foot, but she looked disgusted and told him to stop…”

It would be natural. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] Alfonso had heard her say more than once that she hated anything that made her feel embarrassed in front of Cárcel. He nodded solemnly, his lips tightly shut.

“Come to think of it, I can’t even imagine making a woman step on my foot in the rain. Are men in Mendoza really that different? Should I try it with Cara? Would she fall for it?”

“Get back to the main point, Mario.”

“Yes… Then, just before the liquor store door opened, Balan said something, and Lady Ines smiled. And then, inside the liquor store, Lady Ines didn’t take even a single sip of wine, and Balan was busy ordering things for himself, as if he was the master. It was like that the whole time.”

“And then?”

“He just kept doing that… Balan seemed very busy at the liquor store.”

“What about Señora Escalante?”

“…I don’t know… Didn’t you tell me to keep an eye on Balan?”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

You can’t blame the driver, who was diligently following his instructions, just because he was focusing on Raul Balan. What difference would it have made if he’d been watching both of them?

It was only natural that there wouldn’t be much to talk about from the start.

“What happened after that?”

“The Admiral was going to pass by, so he told me to pull the carriage over to the side, so I drove around the area.”

“…….”

“That’s all that happened at the liquor store… Oh, and when they were leaving, Lady Ines’s dress ribbon got caught on the doorknob, and Balan was struggling with the door for a moment. Should I tell you about that too? Anyway, he was very diligently trying to get the ribbon out of her dress.”

“What about the Señora?”

“…Why keep saying Señora?”

“You’re the one who’s getting off track,” said Alfonso, with innocent eyes.

He was forty-eight years old, with a career that spanned over thirty years. This was the first time he had ever done anything like this, so he was a bit taken aback.

However, Alfonso cleared his throat and quickly regained his dignity as a butler.

“It’s about checking to see if the Señora was uncomfortable. Raul Balan hasn’t been in Calstera for very long.”

“Didn’t Balan say he had been serving Lady Ines since she was a child?”

“…He’s been a valet for the first time, so I’m just wondering if there’s anything that’s been inconvenient for Lady Ines… ”

The butler’s dignified excuses and explanations were enough to satisfy the simple-minded Mario. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] He furrowed his brow, as if he were racking his brain. There was a moment of silence. Finally, he said, “Ah,” with a small exclamation.

“There wasn’t.”

“Just like that?”

He had taken so long, pondering, and recalling, just to say those three words?

“Yes. The Señora didn’t seem uncomfortable at all.”

“What evidence do you have for that?”

“Well… she smiled quite a lot, for one.”

Alfonso, with a very serious expression, moved his pen over his notepad. As he wrote ‘Often… smiled,’ a feeling of profound skepticism washed over him.

“You’re not actually taking notes, are you, Butler?”

“I’m just thinking about something.”

“You seemed really relaxed… It was my first time seeing a valet from Mendoza who was so sophisticated, so I don’t know much about it. But I, Alfonso, do I have to keep doing this every time we go out?”

“Why?”

“It makes me feel like I’m committing a sin, constantly spying on people…. Balan doesn’t know anything about it.”

“You can repent in the chapel.”

The next day, it was Hugo, the young servant.

“As expected, the Señora was beautiful today.”

This guy was just looking at Ines’s face, wasting his time, doing the opposite of what he was told.

“It was around noon, when the sun was shining brightly…”

Poetic, that’s what he was. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] Alfonso clicked his tongue in advance.

“He said to Jose, ‘What about putting some kind of flower vines on the greenhouse?’ A greenhouse with flower vines, how ingenious, isn’t it?”

“…That’s what they usually do when they build a greenhouse, for landscaping.”

“Usually? It wasn’t at all. And bougain… bougain, what is it again.”

“Bougainvillea?”

“Yes, he said those flowers would be perfect. Then he talked to Jose for a while… ”

“What about Raul Balan?”

“Yes? Balan?”

The voice, asking as if he had never heard the name before, was dull. Alfonso pressed his forehead against his hand.

“Balan, Balan… I think he was there… but I don’t remember very well.”

“Hugo, I told you to keep an eye on Raul Balan.”

“Did I? I just, naturally…”

He had only realized that Raul Balan existed after recalling his memories. This kind of follower always had a limited view.

But Cara, the young maid who served Ines closely, was different.

“Around noon, Lady Ines was taking care of the garden, so Raul was with her, and I had things to do on the second floor, so I couldn’t see them up close, but I watched from the window. He looked so busy, holding an umbrella in one hand and fanning her with the other. He was sweating, so Lady Ines, out of pity, threw a handkerchief at him.”

“Really?”

She understood her secret mission. Her view was wider than that of any stupid male employee.

It wasn’t just a little different.

“And at one o’clock, Lady Ines returned to the house and refused to have lunch, so there was a little standoff. Raul had spread out all the pastries that Yolanda had baked the night before, tempting her with them, saying, 'You won’t eat this, will you?' The guy is cute... Anyway, Lady Ines finally ate, but it looked like she was more annoyed than hungry… Raul looked happy. Then, at 1:20, Raul went downstairs to the kitchen…”

It was too different. This was way too detailed.

“Wait a second, Cara. A little slower… No, maybe you could shorten your statement.”

“How do I shorten it?”

Alfonso pondered for a moment. You learn by doing, I guess…

“For example, you can say how many times…”

“Lady Ines refused to eat three times, Raul persuaded her seven times… like that?”

“Yes! Good. Clean and good.”

“Lady Ines smiled four times, Lady Ines laughed three times, Raul flattered her six times, Raul fawned over her seven times, Lady Ines scolded him twice, Raul filled Lady Ines’s empty glass with water four times…”

“You’re… really smart.”

“I hear that often. Lady Ines stroked Raul’s head twice, Raul smiled happily eleven times…”

“You’re really smart… You could be a clerk in court.”

“Unfortunately, I can’t read. So, how much extra will you pay me for doing this all day?”

“…Did I say I would pay you?”

“Why would I do this dirty work for free?”

“…Apparently, he told her to step on his foot, worried that her dress would get wet when she stepped on the rain-soaked ground. What a dedicated servant, isn’t he?”

“…….”

“Apparently, Lady Ines seemed comfortable the whole time while being waited on by Raul Balan. She didn’t stop smiling, you know.”

“…….”

Alfonso, pretending he didn’t know Cárcel’s inner thoughts, stared at his notepad and continued talking.

“So, there’s nothing for the Captain to worry about… ”

“Again.”

“Yes?”

“I’m saying read the next chapter too.”

As if he knew he was trying to skip ahead, Cárcel, looking at the other side of the slightly used notepad, said.

He’s surprisingly observant, a bit clingy… Alfonso thought critically. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] Next was Cara’s report.

He took a deep breath before reading. He needed to prepare himself.

“Apparently, the Señora was in the library in the morning, and Raul Balan was in the kitchen with the servants. Around noon, the Señora went into the garden and called for the gardener, discussing all sorts of ideas. Raul Balan held an umbrella over her head, using his other hand to fan her, and he was sweating profusely, so Lady Ines, out of pity, gave him her handkerchief—”

“—What did she give him?”

Cárcel interrupted the lengthy report and asked. Alfonso tried his best to make his expression serious.

“A handkerchief. Did I say, by any chance, that she gave him gold?”

“…Don’t make fun of me. Just keep reading.”

“After that… the Señora kept refusing to eat lunch, so Raul brought all the sweets Yolanda had made the night before to tempt her… ”

“—What did he do?”

Stop interrupting. Alfonso sighed and replied.

“Those were Cara’s words. She said he persistently annoyed her, trying his best, and finally got her to eat… After that, her report was too long, so I shortened it a bit, I hope it’s okay. Okay, I’ll read it. Lady Ines refused to eat three times, Raul persuaded her seven times, Lady Ines smiled four times, Lady Ines laughed aloud three times…”

Not only did she keep a smile on her face the whole time, she also laughed out loud three times…?