The Broken Ring: This Marriage Will Fail Anyway Chapter 93

Chapter 93

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‘I’d never abandon you first.’

As if directly contradicting his spouse’s assessment from half a day ago—that he couldn’t possibly be this stupid—Cárcel Escalante was smiling, handsomely and foolishly, at his reflection in the mirror.

The premise for eliciting such warm words from Ines’s unkind mouth had been, “If you get uglier than this.” So, it was essentially a meaningless statement, a self-evident declaration that, “Even if you get a little uglier, I won’t abandon you,” but with a slight embellishment in his mind, it became a warm statement like, “No matter what happens, I won’t abandon you.”

A natural decision. Even if he got a little uglier, it would just be going from a 99 to a 98. For the record, the full score was ten.

There would be no disagreement that he was the most handsome man in Ortega, and disregarding any cultural differences in beauty standards, the world's men would be at his feet.

So, of course, she wouldn't abandon him. A perfectly rational decision. Ines was a woman who only valued his face, only looked at his face… But was the word ‘abandon’ even applicable? They were already married.

Someone in Ortega would get a divorce today, but for the great nobles, like Grandes de Ortega, it was basically a story from another world. Divorce was like a unicorn to them. Perhaps it was like eternal love. It was said to exist somewhere, but a mythical creature that no one had ever seen.

They stayed together, legally, even if it meant killing each other at the top of Mendoza’s social ladder. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] Ines’s parents were like that, and even if not to that extent, Cárcel’s parents were the same.

“A servant from Captain Salvatore’s residence is here. He says he left something behind. I think there's nothing, so what should we do?”

“…I really wish Salvatore would just get a divorce.”

“Yes?”

“He’s drunk. Just find something and send him away.”

“But how can we… if there’s nothing…”

Raul, standing by the door, mumbled, seeming flustered. Cárcel, instead of handing the shirt he had just taken off to the butler standing next to him, offered it to Raul, who quickly took it.

“I’ll take care of it.”

Unlike Raul, Alfonso, as if he knew what was going on, said so. Cárcel nodded, and Alfonso, as if entrusting the remaining service to Raul, gestured towards him and quickly left the room.

“…So, it’s true that Captain Salvatore didn’t leave anything behind?”

“You must have searched everywhere.”

“Yes. I did.”

“You’re not that stupid, are you?”

“No.”

“So, it’s true that there’s nothing.”

Cárcel replied briefly. Raul furrowed his brow and asked,

“And Captain Salvatore is asking for something that isn’t here?”

“He’s drunk most of the day. He doesn’t even need to pay for his alcohol.”

“It’s just a drunk man’s ranting… Why are you giving it to him?”

“It’s more trouble to tell him the truth.”

“…….”

“Well, servants get beaten sometimes.”

Cárcel said casually, taking a new shirt from Raul. He spoke as if it were nothing, but it was because of that fact that he was being robbed of valuable items.

Was he soft on Captain Salvatore, or was he indifferent? Raul looked at the back of Cárcel’s head with complex eyes. Maybe he was kind to Captain Salvatore’s servant…

“……I haven’t told Ines yet.”

“What?”

“That the Captain is watching her.”

Raul had been serious for days. What had started his serious suspicions? Was it Hugo, standing there like an idiot, diligently observing Ines?

Or was it Cara, who was unusually diligent about staying by Ines’s side? The driver’s guilt-ridden gaze? Or was it Alfonso, who had suddenly sighed, full of skepticism, upon seeing Ines from a distance?

Once he started suspecting, there was no end. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] It was surprising that their actions were so clumsy, and yet there wasn’t a single piece of evidence left behind. What was this clumsy perfection? It was because there was a mind directing those clumsy people.

And there weren’t many people in this small residence with that kind of experience. At most, the senior employees, like the butler or the housekeeper. Arondra was a devout old woman, so she wasn’t suitable, which left only Alfonso.

“That never happened.”

“…Then what would be an appropriate word? Stalking? Investigating?”

“You just throw words around.”

Cárcel turned around, calmer than expected. If it hadn’t happened, he should have been furious, and if it had, he should have been more sinister. At least, this wasn’t what Raul had expected.

“So.”

“…I’m here to let you know that I’ve dared to discover one of your weaknesses.”

He laughed, as if amused. Then, he asked the same question.

“So?”

He was a stranger, from nowhere. Just thinking about how docile he had been in front of Ines, it felt like he had a completely different personality.

“Lady Ines wouldn’t stand for it. You know that. It’s an unbearable insult for someone like Lady Ines.”

“Why.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m suspecting you, not Ines.”

Cárcel smiled easily. It was the kind of smile that someone who knew exactly how uncomfortable that easy smile could make others would have.

Raul stared at him, as if time had stopped, his eyes darting around in astonishment, then, as if shocked, looked back at Cárcel. He looked like he was about to scream, “HEEEE!” if he was touched.

“No way, no way…”

“No way, what?”

“No way, you’re jealous of me…”

From his open lips, finally came a deflating sound, like air escaping, “Heeeeee…” The kind of sound that drained the strength from others just by hearing it.

Hearing such a stupid sound, Cárcel, oddly, could finally admit it.

Jealousy… yes, it had to be jealousy, it was the only explanation from the beginning. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] For him to have reached a point where he could even hear that he'd ‘discovered his weakness.’

But jealousy doesn’t have to involve intense feelings. Just a narrow-mindedness that hates sharing is enough. Some people have that narrow-mindedness about their parents, some about toys, some about friends, some about food, some about a gun, and some about a lover…

And in his case, it was just Ines.

“How… how could, I, me, you say something so shameful about me…”

“What’s shameful about it? You’re a man, and Ines is a woman.”

“…….”

“So, you can do anything.”

“I don’t know what to say. You really have such a low opinion of people, but at the same time, you have no prejudice against people…”

Cárcel shrugged, then sneered.

“I know Ines wouldn’t be satisfied with someone like you.”

“…Do you suspect me?”

“I said I suspected you.”

“I’m asking because you seem so complicated. You even say two completely different things at once.”

“Maybe I just dislike you.”

It wasn’t a bad day to admit it. Even the words, “I won’t abandon you, even if you get uglier,” felt like a huge step forward.

What did it matter if he gave his fingertip as a treat to Ines’s pet?

“I know you dislike me… I didn’t know you disliked me this much.”

“I think I dislike you more because you know it.”

Since he admitted it, he admitted it completely. Raul bit his lip, then asked resolutely, filled with resentment.

“How can I prove it? Should I bash my head against the window frame?”

“People are kind to themselves. You won’t die.”

“I’ll keep doing it until you tell me to stop.”

His extreme statement was even more extreme than the suggestion of death. Cárcel clicked his tongue.

“You’re not just a little crazy.”

“I’m just an averagely loyal servant.”

Where? Raul’s reply made him look even crazier. Cárcel loosened his linen shirt and crossed his legs.

“What were you going to do with my weakness?”

“I wasn’t going to do anything. It was a servant’s plea, to prevent you from hurting Ines…”

“It’s blackmail. So what are you to Ines?”

“You always call me a dog.”

“I see. Dogs are different, indeed.”

“I’m an average loyal dog. I’ll bite if you harm my master. If my master feels threatened—”

“—Do you love Ines?”

At Cárcel’s sudden question, Raul’s face flushed like fire. His entire face, even his ears, were red, but there was no shame or embarrassment.

He watched Raul’s face change dramatically, like watching a street performer.

He seemed to be trying to figure out what this was all about. He wasn’t even particularly curious…

Raul took a labored breath, then, rudely, looked back at him defiantly.

“Love? Don’t use such a lowly word for me… my loyalty is far more noble.”

He acted as if he had been utterly insulted.

“Balan, you know that when you say it like that, it really sounds like a pervert, right?”

“I won’t be swayed, even if you say that.”

He was already swayed, his face red and flushed. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] A loyal pervert who was indignant at being called ‘love’ when his noble loyalty had been insulted… Cárcel thought that anything beyond the ordinary thinking of a normal person was just perversion.

Noble, but ultimately a pervert. Yes, a pervert who was fundamentally no different from him.