The Broken Ring: This Marriage Will Fail Anyway Chapter 98

Chapter 98

Tw: S*xual content

“How about we go to the grand cathedral for mass this week? The one in Redekiya Square.”

After the hunt, they were returning home in a carriage, having finished dinner at Lieutenant Bardem’s residence. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] The carriage, which had started to climb Logroño Hill, bumped along the slightly narrow, sloping road.

“I don’t care. But isn’t a family mass more convenient?”

Cárcel turned his gaze from the window to Ines.

“It’s convenient, but it’s also unorthodox… and it doesn’t look good to your superiors.”

“I don’t care either.”

“You do care, Cárcel.”

Since Ines had arrived at Cárcel’s post, they had always invited a young priest from the parish to say mass with the residence’s staff. It was a simple family mass, better than being labeled pagans for not attending mass, and a considerable donation was necessary, but—it wasn’t a good deed either.

In Ortega, where the Church held significant power, attending mass was important, regardless of whether one was a noble or commoner. There were parishes that strictly separated nobles and commoners, and in some regions, there were small parishes where people gathered regardless of their status, but mass was important everywhere. The higher the status, the more noble one was among the nobility, the more so.

Showing your face at gatherings with commoners was an example of good behavior, and it was also, frankly, the most frequent regular social gathering. Those who wanted to show off their new clothes made from expensive silk imported from Tilan, or those who had bought a necklace worth a carriage, didn’t have to wait for a ball to be held by the Imperial family. They didn’t have to wait for a grand charity event hosted by some ducal family. They could just go to mass that week.

Those who disliked the social pressure of such gatherings often chose to hold their own family masses. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] Whatever the intention, it often seemed like they were too good to mingle with others, and they were prone to criticism such as ‘Is mass a joke?’.

No one had dared to question her devoutness because of her invariably modest, almost severe attire, but it was no wonder that one of the most common criticisms of Ines was that she did not attend mass in person in Mendoza.

She had done it in Mendoza, but here, in the ambiguous world of the privileged class, whose lineage wasn’t particularly impressive, it would also be interpreted as her looking down on them, saying, "This isn't magnificent Mendoza."

Of course, Captain Escalante and his wife, the eldest daughter of the Duke Valeztena and the eldest son of Duke Escalante, could get away with it. What did it matter if they looked down on people? What did it matter if they ignored the other officers? [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] Their origins were too different. So, even if it was annoying, no one would criticize them…

“I know you’re doing this for me. I heard from Señora Bardem today, that before I came here, you always attended that grand mass.”

“Because that’s what you always did in Mendoza.”

Cárcel answered nonchalantly. It became clear that he had abandoned even the grand mass he had attended for years, all for Ines’s sake. She disliked people.

“I just want you to do it your way.”

“I don’t care. Really. And actually, it’s more convenient to do it by ourselves.”

Of course it was. It was a comfort that Ines didn’t know before she began this secluded life. The society of nobles, strutting around like peacocks in heat… how peaceful life became, just from not seeing them every week.

But for Ines Valeztena’s secluded lifestyle, Ines Escalante and her promising womanizer of a husband shouldn’t be enjoying comfortable religious practices.

“It would be different in Mendoza, but here, it’s a society of officers. I don’t want you to receive unnecessary criticism, just because of me.”

They didn’t need their own exclusive, peaceful society either. In Mendoza, there were countless opportunities, even aside from mass, but it was different here. She realized the key point, something she’d been overlooking. Mass was the key to Calstera.

Based on the information Señora Bardem had given her, Ines already knew the young noblewomen and ladies who regularly attended Redekiya Cathedral. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] It would have been strange to ask so persistently, but Señora Bardem was so excited that Señora Escalante had asked for her advice that she had given her far more detailed information than necessary.

Even if there weren’t many women in Calstera, there were still many soldiers… If she scraped the bottom of the barrel, gathering the women from their families who were cooperative enough to follow them to Calstera, it would be considerable, wouldn’t it? And she had heard that many families with conservative customs didn’t bring their daughters to small social gatherings.

She had simply assumed he would be attending mass as usual, and the countless masses she had passed without a second thought were now filled with regret. She couldn’t blame him for his consideration. But it was also true that she had missed the opportunity to make eye contact with him…

She had been busy with construction, throwing a party, pretending to be a newlywed, lost in a sweet dream, right in front of a gold mine…

“Criticism… Did Señora Bardem say anything uncomfortable?”

“She said it was understandable. ‘You two’ were doing it.”

“She’s got guts.”

“It doesn’t sound good. I wasn’t thinking, Cárcel. I just did it the way I always did, I really wasn’t thinking.”

“You came here because of me. I didn’t mean to make things difficult for you here…”

“No. I inconvenienced you.”

In many ways. Ines pulled herself closer to him and cut him off, her tone urgent.

And it was partially sincere. If half of her excitement about the scale and composition of the mass was because she felt like she had a gold mine, no, two-thirds…

There was also a third, perhaps, that came from pity that Cárcel had deliberately avoided doing things that wouldn’t look good to his superiors, considering her stubborn nature.

So, this was for her, a dark scheme for his free dating life, and at the same time, constructive consideration for his social standing.

It was a perfect gold mine.

“If it’s for me, there’s no need.”

Whether or not he knew her feelings, Cárcel’s kind rejection came again.

“No, let’s go.”

“Don’t do something tiring.”

“Go.”

“I don’t need to.”

“You do need to.”

“Since when have you been so concerned about me…”

Cárcel unexpectedly struck at Ines’s weak point. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] He sometimes hit the nail on the head without even realizing the meaning of his own words. Ines, with an unfazed expression, grabbed his wrist.

“I care about you, Cárcel.”

“…….”

“I do. You know that.”

She emphasized it again, as if she were brainwashing him. Then there was silence. As if he had forgotten what to say.

Cárcel, awkwardly, seemed to pull his arm free from her grasp, then grabbed her wrist.

“…Don’t egg me on.”

“What?”

“Because I can only do it once a day. Don’t push yourself on me like this, all the time.”

“…….”

His strong fingers pressed firmly against the soft flesh on the inside of her wrist. It was like a child nervously biting their nails or fidgeting with the hem of their clothes.

“It’s a waste.”

Cárcel muttered irritably. Even if he could waste it, what would he do? They were still in the carriage. They weren’t going to do anything here…

Ines found his overflowing energy and misguided direction frustrating and heartbreaking. It was like letting a salt pan overflow.

“…Why are you so sensitive? I still don’t understand what excites you.”

“Probably you? I don’t have a hobby of thrusting into empty air.”

He was usually so kind, speaking normally, then suddenly, he acted like a shameless pervert. Ines, as if to stop him, held his wrist, then, looking down at Cárcel’s contradictory behavior, pulling her waist with his other hand, she scolded him.

“Then let go. Don’t waste it.”

“I smell something nice, Ines.”

Regardless, he was already burying his face in Ines’s neck, murmuring. Of course, she had put perfume there.

He was rubbing his lips against her neck, pretending he had just discovered it. [ʏᴜʟʜᴇʏᴜɴ] He was so shameless.

“…Of course it smells nice, that’s why I put perfume on. Don’t sneak up on me like that.”

“No. It’s your scent. Actually, your perfume smells better…”

He moved his lips from her neck to her collarbone, then to her cleavage, which was slightly exposed by her dress, and asked teasingly, lifting his eyes.

“It’s strongest here.”

“…….”

“Do you know that?”

He looked dangerous again.

“That’s why, whenever I smell your perfume, I imagine you na*ked, spraying it on.”

What a stupid thing to say….

“……I won’t spray it next time. I’ll spray it anyway. Who would like it……”

“Then I’ll smell you.”

Finally, she was pulled onto his lap.

“Just thinking about it makes me hard… I think I’m going to c*m, Ines.”

He wasn’t just thinking about it, he was already hard, pressing against her through her dress. Ines firmly pressed her bu*ttocks against his lap.

“You said you didn’t want to waste it! That’s enough. Just answer me, Cárcel. Something other than ‘I don’t care.’ So, about mass…”

“Do whatever you want. If you really want to go there…”

“…….”

“It’s boring wherever we go, isn’t it?”

He asked, smiling, burying his face in her full bre*asts, his lips moving sensuously against her skin.

“I just want you to be comfortable, Ines.”