The Broken Ring: This Marriage Will Fail Anyway Chapter 89

Chapter 89

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Of the fifteen guests, only five were women, making a group of just six, including the hostess, Ines.

And if you include Raul, who was diligently fawning over the Marchioness of Barcá, and Cara, the maid, who was waiting to run errands, the number swells to eight. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] If you really want to include Yolanda, who was standing nearby, directing the other servants, it’s nine.

The advantage of a small house is that it seems full of guests, even if there aren’t many. It’s similar to the advantage of a small opera house. The actors don’t have to shed tears at the sight of empty seats.

“This is the most charming library I’ve ever seen…!”

“The windows are designed so you can see both Logroño Hill and the sea.”

Señora Coronado was the first to exclaim in delight, and the Marchioness of Barcá, offering a realistic assessment, walked towards the window. While she admired the scenery with her eyes, she also touched the new curtains, as if gauging their worth, a sight Ines was all too familiar with.

She silently swallowed a laugh and looked at the wife of Captain Salvatore, who was practically burying her nose in her wine glass, standing behind the Marchioness. She looked quite different from before.

‘…Who gave her that cognac?’

The liquid, a color that would never be found at a wine party, was in her precarious grip. The culprit was easy to figure out. They had just come from the drawing room on the first floor, and there was a console table with a bottle of foreign cognac or whiskey on it.

The one who had given Señora Salvatore that strong alcohol was none other than Señora Salvatore herself.

That kind of alcohol was usually kept on hand to serve the owners of the mansion or their guests, and Señora Salvatore was the guest of honor today, so it wasn’t wrong. Except for the fact that she had served herself… and also the fact that they had already consumed more than enough wine, as befitting the title of ‘wine party.’

A little late, behind Señora Salvatore, walked Lieutenant Jose Almenara’s fiancée, Lea Gormaz, who stopped and retreated upon seeing her. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] It was probably because she had smelled the strong alcohol or seen her half-glazed, pessimistic eyes.

Or maybe she smelled the scent of a decaying marriage, like a dilapidated house…

“Señorita Gormaz, look over here!”

If Señora Anaya hadn’t grabbed her, she wouldn’t know how far she would have retreated.

Leah Gormaz, the niece of Count Gormaz and the soon-to-be wife of Jose Almenara, still had a delicate and fragile expression as she glanced at Señora Salvatore and passed by her. Ines, as if assuring her, stood beside Señora Salvatore, but still, she seemed uneasy, even turning back to look.

Señora Salvatore was diligently sipping her cognac, as if unaware that she was being treated as a potential threat, but it was clear that she was about to be completely intoxicated.

Ines offered her a warm smile, and the eighteen-year-old girl, with a forced smile in response, was finally urged to look outside by Señora Anaya, who was a year older.

Her small eyes widened as much as possible.

“It’s so amazing, Señora!”

“Right? Señorita Gormaz. If it’s a clear day like this, you can probably see the sunset over the sea from here.”

“You can see the sunset? Oh, so this is south! It’s gorgeous….”

“No, no… No, Gormaz.”

The Marchioness of Barcá, who had been watching the younger noble girl with a look of amusement, suddenly changed her tune, clicking her tongue and shaking her head. She had no patience for anyone less clever than she was, then or now.

She thought people who smelled of Mendoza were unbearable, but here, in the middle of this beautiful scenery, she just seemed like a noblewoman in a street farce. A noblewoman from the imagination of commoners, you know?

She was sure she would have been no different if she had been here at some point in the past.

Leah Gormaz realized that the Marchioness of Barcá was ignoring her and looked sullen for a moment, then whispered something to Señora Anaya.

She must have asked where the sun set, east, west, south, or north, judging by Señora Anaya’s expression…

She had already learned, from their brief conversations in the garden, that she had a bit of a naive side. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] But what Ines really wanted was not her inner world, but her outer world.

The niece of Count Gormaz was actually rather cute. She just wasn’t beautiful enough to attract Cárcel instantly… She had gotten her hopes up because of the comment about him being a big fan of his.

The society of officer families was already small, and most of the women preferred to stay in Mendoza with their children, so every single person in Calstera was precious.

Kindling or firewood… Ines looked at Señora Anaya, who was clinging to Leah, at nineteen. She was okay, too. Then, she looked back and forth between the Marchioness, in her early forties, and Señora Coronado, in her late thirties, and Señora Salvatore, in her early thirties.

You don’t get a full meal from the start… It was just the beginning. Even just these five women here, only two of them had been stationed here originally. More than two, actually three, had barely heard about the situation and had rushed to Calstera, a day or two later.

So, this was just a steppingstone, a way to solidify nearby territory.

Other officers from different branches, their wives, their daughters, all the big and small events in the navy, the charity balls, the New Year’s events… Just listing them made her excited, like a child imagining Christmas presents.

Whether Cárcel made love to one of them for a night or many nights was open. She would be the bridge if a woman was far away, and she would be his wings if he just stood there, stupidly, with both feet on the ground…

“…Señora Salvatore, are you alright?”

But she couldn’t help but feel a little regret about the people who were close to her. Señora Salvatore, who was on the verge of ruin, had a pretty face and even hated her own husband.

Ortega women didn’t usually put up with that, they just met other men. There was something else behind the Mendoza proverb, “Love conquers hatred.” It wasn’t about forcing yourself to love someone you hated. If you hate someone, love someone else and forget them.

So, it was the perfect setup for them to look at someone else…

“I’m fine, I’m okay…”

Unfortunately, Señora Salvatore, who was already out of her mind, answered, not to Ines, but to someone else, and she flailed her arms for a moment. She seemed slightly annoyed and irritated to be asked about it, she wasn’t okay at all.

‘She probably won’t last long… ’

It would be insulting to ask her, loudly, ‘Why are you drinking so much?’ or to mention another type of alcohol that the hostess hadn’t served, it would be like a woman insulting another woman.

Instead, Ines quietly, unseen by Señora Salvatore, reached under her elbow, grabbed it firmly, and pulled her towards her, supporting her. To make sure she didn’t stumble anymore.

People who were already drunk and tried to hide it, pretending they weren’t drunk, were the kind of people Ines had grown tired of dealing with. She didn’t often have to deal with them personally… But, Ines, talking about ribbons with Señora Salvatore, discreetly moved her wine glass away.

Raul must have seen her, as if he couldn’t believe his eyes, and was staring at them. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] Until Ines looked at him as if to say, ‘What are you staring blankly at?’

Then he naturally pulled out the gifts he had prepared beforehand.

“Oh my, what’s this…”

“Señora Escalante. You really didn’t have to… ”

The women, instantly turning their backs on the outside scenery, gathered around. Ines passed Señora Salvatore’s wine glass to Cara, and then she nudged her towards the other women, as if she had walked there of her own volition.

On the maplewood tray that Raul was holding, there were five bottles of Turkish perfume, elaborately crafted.

Perfume was a luxury for nobles, but Turkish perfume was different, in terms of its value and quality. The luxurious exterior, with a style rarely seen in Ortega, the distinctive sweet, cool scent of fruit…

Ines handed the most beautiful bottle, to anyone’s eye, to the Marchioness of Barcá first. The Marchioness’s critical lips curved into a satisfied smile. It meant it was a flawless gift.

“It’s just perfume. Please accept it, don’t be so formal.”

“What exactly did you give the gentlemen outside to deserve such an expensive gift for their wives?”

“What the gentlemen get is what you’ve already gotten, in abundance. You’re still drinking expensive liquor freely, aren’t you?”

“Well, you can’t go wrong by just feeding the men liquor.”

The Marchioness, clearly relaxed now, sniffed the perfume and laughed. Ines, one by one, gave each of the other guests a gift. She gently stopped Señora Salvatore, who, drunk, had tried to hold the bottle like a glass and bring it to her mouth.

The heart was truly a material thing. And expensive things were worth their price. Besides, no matter how expensive they were, thinking back to the money she’d spent on nobles in the Mendoza court… Their luxuries seemed humble and frugal.

The mood of the women instantly relaxed.

“How could you possibly live in such a small place? You’ve spent your entire life in the vast manor of Perez… You can’t even walk a few steps without hitting a wall…”

The thoughts that she had been communicating with her eyes were now coming out of her mouth.

“Señorita Gormaz, you saw the scenery in the library, didn’t you? Is it just about the size, small or large? There’s no other residence as beautiful as this. Señora, I’m being sincere.”

While she was talking to someone else, she turned her head sharply to Ines, to ask for confirmation, just in case.

“But you’re both from the direct line of Escalante and Valeztena, you’re living a honeymoon romance, like playing house. Poverty is a game during your honeymoon, right? You won’t be living like cute little squirrels forever, will you…?”

She even went so far as to say they lived like poor squirrels.

“……Do you know?”

Had the comfortable air even reached someone who was drunk? It was at that moment that Señora Salvatore suddenly asked Ines a question. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] They were sitting a little apart from the others, as if they had something private to discuss. Of course, Señora Salvatore didn’t know that.

“Are you talking to me?”

“Yes, Señora Escalante…”

Her voice was slightly slurred, so she wasn’t exactly sober, but it was commendable that she had initiated a conversation.

“This, I mean, the…”

“Squirrel?”

“Yes. This… beautiful house, like a squirrel’s wheel…”

She didn’t seem to remember that the wheel turned. As if something was welling up, she closed her mouth for a moment, then slumped heavily against the sofa. Ines prayed, for a split second, that it wouldn’t be vomit.

Her mind was consumed with the thought that they had just replaced the sofa, as well as the 2000-stega carpet…

“This wasn’t originally Captain Escalante’s.”

She didn’t understand what she meant, not immediately.