The Broken Ring: This Marriage Will Fail Anyway Chapter 90

Chapter 90

“…Sorry?”

“Originally no… it's not… ”

“Okay, Señora Salvatore, I understand it’s not. But if you want to throw up… ”

Ines whispered, so that no one else could hear. She wasn’t sure what was that about, but her thoughts were already focused on the carpet. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] Señora Salvatore had leaned forward from the sofa, her body bent over. The perfect position for vomiting.

It wasn’t just an expensive rug. It was a precious work of art, a rare item that had stimulated her greed recently… a piece of art completed over six months by the women of Onila… They were a people who became masters by the age of thirteen.

“I’m not drunk.”

“I know. I know that.”

“Do you understand? I’m not drunk at all. So, I won’t throw up.”

“I understand.”

“It’s my damn husband who’s drunk…. He doesn’t need alcohol. He’s never in his right mind. He’s basically always drunk. You know what I mean?”

“Of course, I do.”

She couldn’t possibly know, she wasn’t living with Captain Salvatore. But it wasn’t difficult to understand Señora Salvatore’s feelings. The days of living with a disgusting face and looking at him…

Except that, compared to the descent Ines remembered with Oscar, it was more like a cliff. She really did understand. Ines, still uneasy about the carpet, looked at Señora Salvatore, whose face was furrowed with anger, a bit sympathetically.

“You’re just going through a difficult time.”

“I’m the one who always needs alcohol. Living with a normal person who’s not normal requires alcohol…”

“Right.”

I know. I know… Ines rolled the glass of water around in her hand, as she usually did, then stopped. She was living her life exactly in reverse, and she had never had a single sip of alcohol in this life.

But look at her, she still couldn’t break this habit. The amazing habit left over from those years of addiction, when she would drink when she woke up, and when she wanted to fall asleep.

Maybe it was self-hypnosis? [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] She had been holding the water and telling herself it was the same as liquor, to fool herself….

“But who actually lost a fortune on booze? You know what I mean?”

“…Probably Captain Salvatore?”

“I’m remarried, and so is he. But he’s always getting divorced, there’s a reason for that. He destroys women. Money, their prime years, hair, their youthful skin, the chance to live with a normal man, the hope for life… That damn bastard makes them lose everything. Do you understand?”

“You’re still beautiful, Señora.”

“I could have been even prettier. Do you know that? That’s why I had to run away. It was better to live like that than to die… I’ll die, I’m going to die.”

“You probably won’t even pass away.”

“Or I’ll kill him.”

Only her eyes flashed beneath her hair, which had fallen down. Ines smiled, a bright smile that would make it impossible for others to imagine what they were talking about, and gave her a low warning.

“…You’ve been enduring that part all this time, so you should endure it for your own sake.”

“Either he’s going to die, or I’m going to die, one of those things is going to happen. It’s the only way this horrible marriage will end…”

Señora Salvatore finally buried her head in her lap and mumbled. By this point, the other guests were aware of her serious condition. But they didn’t dare approach her, instead, they started whispering among themselves.

It was a kind of high-level courtesy to not crowd around her, even though she was in this state, but there was a kind of uneasiness in the air, like the feeling you get when you see a vagrant.

Ines could feel the dark cloud over Señora Salvatore and her husband’s marriage, starting to cast a shadow over her first wine party.

“…Señora Salvatore, Ortega has a wonderful system called divorce. If you get a divorce, you won’t have to die or kill anyone.”

“Divorce is for people like that! Not me. I’m not that kind of woman… If my ex-husband hadn’t died…”

“You seem to have forgotten that murder is a bigger deal….”

“Well, what would you know? You’re the precious daughter of the Duke Valeztena… You’re going to be the Duchess Escalante…”

I know more than you do. I tried to kill him, and in the end, I died in a fit of rage.

“You, you’re married to Cárcel Escalante… ”

Ines listened silently as Señora Salvatore mumbled, filled with fury, then she smiled brightly, as Señora Salvatore lifted her head and glared at her.

Only the back of Señora Salvatore’s head and Ines’s smiling face would be visible to everyone else, making it seem like a cheerful scene. Logically, Señora Salvatore would be smiling too.

In reality, her face was actually full of resentment.

“…How would you know, you perfect person. Did you just turn twenty? Your only worry is probably where that perfect statue will smile at a different woman today. Or perhaps your countless old lovers in Mendoza?”

Seeing that Ines’s smile didn’t waver at all, Señora Salvatore, as if she understood, let out a rough, defeated chuckle, narrowing her eyes.

“Or perhaps your strong husband, overflowing with energy every night?”

“Señora Salvatore.”

“I’d understand a hundred times over if he was a jerk with that face. I’d understand a thousand times over with that body. But he’s not. Do you understand? Look at that man’s worn-out face. Look at that pathetic appearance. Of course, women aren’t a problem. With that kind of face, I’d laugh every day.”

“Señora……”

“…I once had hair like this… you know?”

She casually ran her hand through Ines’s hair, muttering sorrowfully. She asked Ines how much she’d spent to get hair like that, then ran her hand through Ines’s hair, trying to style it into a bun, then, suddenly, cursed her husband again.

If divorce had been more commonplace in Ortega, she wouldn’t have gone through this misery… The major result of that misery was her first life, and a minor one was now, being tormented by Señora Salvatore’s drinking.

The other women had, by now, pretended not to see Señora Salvatore and left her with Ines, gathering on the terrace outside the drawing room, watching the setting sun. It was unfair, but Ines thought that the best thing would be to get Señora Salvatore out of here before anyone else noticed, so she turned her head, offering Señora Salvatore a lock of her hair.

She was dismayed that Raul and Cara were nowhere to be seen. Then, it happened.

“Ines?”

Cárcel stepped into the room, through the miraculously open door. As if he had been looking for her. Ines gestured silently, indicating that she wanted him to come over.

Señora Salvatore, who had buried her head in the sofa, was so consumed with her rage that she didn’t even realize that Cárcel was right in front of them.

He glanced at the other women, who looked relaxed, as if they were in another world, getting ready to watch the sunset on the terrace. He looked at the lock of Ines’s hair that Señora Salvatore was holding. He alternated his gaze between Señora Salvatore’s head, which was now starting to bob, as if she were crying, and Ines’s impassive face.

It wasn’t an easy scene to reconcile. Cárcel quietly asked in a low voice.

“…Did we give our guests enough to drink to get drunk?”

“Not us.”

Ines only gave half an answer, pointing at the console table where the alcohol was. Cárcel sighed softly.

“Well, you’re in luck. Where is Captain Salvatore?”

“In the same spot he was before.”

“Then go get him.”

“The place is fine, but the situation is not.”

“…….”

“They’re pretty similar.”

It was a coincidence, because Cárcel was about to leave a drunken Captain Salvatore with his wife, and Ines was about to leave his wife with her husband.

Cárcel quietly called a maid who happened to be passing by the doorway, and asked her to get the driver and another servant. Then, he carefully spread Señora Salvatore’s hand and pulled Ines’s hair free.

It was slightly funny to see his large frame rescuing a lock of her hair, cautiously. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] Ines chuckled softly, and he, still serious, whispered "Shh," as if to tell her to be quiet.

Señora Salvatore was halfway asleep, cursing her husband even in her dreams. So, there was no way she would hear their conversation, but Cárcel quietly rescued the last strand of Ines’s hair from her grasp.

Then, he knelt politely at her feet, and suddenly spoke to Señora Salvatore.

“Señora Salvatore, Captain Salvatore is looking for you.”

“Die… go die… ”

“I will take you to your husband.”

Even though Señora Salvatore was no longer in her right mind, he acted as if he were dealing with a perfectly sane noblewoman, simply fulfilling his duty as a courteous nobleman, reporting the situation to her and helping her up. The woman in his arms was actually muttering curses at her husband, so it was like a farce.

Ines couldn’t help but laugh. Cárcel, smoothly, and nonchalantly, politely showed Señora Salvatore how to stand on her own two feet again, then, with a smooth smile, turned to Ines.

‘Is that so funny?’ he asked, silently, with his lips. Ines nodded, replying, “Very.” ‘It’s not nice to laugh at someone else’s misfortune…’ He muttered, as if to himself, his handsome face suddenly filled with exaggerated concern.

Ines, this time, didn’t reply, just rested her chin on her hand, as if she were an audience member. It was as if she were telling him, ‘I dare you to make me even more miserable.’ Cárcel chuckled. Just then, as they were having a silent conversation, their world unto themselves, Señora Salvatore, using the hand that had been clutching Ines’s hair to find something to hold onto, reached out and grabbed the braid on Cárcel’s uniform.

It was only natural that she couldn’t stand up on her own. But Cárcel, not at all fazed, grabbed her hand, gently opened her fingers, and let go of the braid.

Then, he grabbed both her wrists with one hand, holding them in the air so that she couldn’t grope his body anymore, and used his other hand to grab her waist and pull her away from his body, so that she was standing slightly apart from him, tidying up the situation in an instant.

“You’ll be going home soon, Señora Salvatore.”

“Salvatore… I hate Salvatore… ”

“Of course, it must be uncomfortable, but stay here for just a moment.”

He tidied up the situation as if he were completely used to dealing with drunk women, women who were out of their minds and groping them, even hands that pulled on braids—his demeanor was pristine, as if he were saying, ‘I haven’t seen you this insane.’

Even though she was drunk, Señora Salvatore, as if she recognized Cárcel to some degree, blinked her half-open eyes, and tried to grope that solid body again. But her wrists, held in Cárcel’s hand, were like shackles, and her attempts were met with repeated failures.

Falling into his arms would have been easy, but she couldn’t even do that, with one large hand holding her waist, forcing her body to support her weight.

He wouldn’t actually grope a drunk woman in front of her, but even if he did, it wouldn’t be against her will.

There was no need to clean it up this well….

“You’re really good at this, you know.”

Ines said, with genuine admiration. Perhaps there was even a hint of delight. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] Cárcel, who had been watching the doorway, waiting for the servant and the driver to appear, narrowed his eyes for a moment, as if he didn’t understand her words, then returned to his usual expression.

“…What do you mean?”

“Meaning? The literal meaning… You’re good.”

“…….”

“It’s just… you’re really good at everything related to women…”

“…….”