Episode 2

It was right after the short rainy season.

The Via Santalaria, the main road that runs through the capital city of Mendoza, would normally be teeming with carriages and people of all kinds, but perhaps because of the unpleasant weather, it was not as usual.

There were only a few drab official carriages used by the government, a few carts carrying luggage, and a few private carriages in a hurry, running cautiously along the great road.

It was a weather where even a short walk would make every fold of clothing wet. And what about the puddles of water here and there on the wide road? If the coachman took his eyes off the road for even a moment, the carriage would stagger as if drunk.

The carriage of the Duke of Escalante was no exception.

"… … ."

The wagon wheels sank into the puddle again, and I could feel them bounce back up against the rocks. Cassel cursed quietly, his face still elegant, as if he was paying for the cost of taking off his uniform.

But the young duke, who had been cursing the incompetent coachman for a moment, soon returned to that day.

That day, the sudden sense of incongruity may have been the rag's instinct.

There was one reason why the imagination that brought to mind Ines Ballestena was so vivid: because it was reality.

Cassel thought as he tapped the cushion rolling beside his leg. Unlike his blond hair and his relaxed posture as he leaned back, his head was a mess as he recalled the unpleasant sights of that day.

That day, that day… … .

Cassel recalled a few more words the Countess had said that he had overheard.

'But look at that nun-like dress of your fiancée. Even at an imperial banquet… . No one who sees her for the first time would be able to imagine the grandeur of the Duke of Ballestena.'

If you had any discerning eyes, you would have noticed that her nun-like attire cost more than her necklace. The Duke of Ballestena was not one to skimp on his only daughter.

'Besides, how arrogant he is towards the other young ladies, if even His Majesty sees that… … .'

He wasn't a friendly person. He wasn't the type to make friends.

'…I heard all about it.'

She had only heard. What she saw was more. So Cassel was filled with guilt, despite not answering.

Guilt. Guilt towards Ines Ballestena, the woman who was the culprit.

I stare at the empty space across from me with narrowed eyes, but for some reason, Ines' expression does not come to mind.

The memories were as hazy as the awkward feelings of that time. The face of that day, the expression of that day.

I'm the type of person who quickly forgets unpleasant memories, but this is more of a dislike than a...

"Captain, we have arrived."

Cassel shook his head and got out of the carriage. It was the Ballestena. It was a magnificent mansion, a miniature replica of the great manor of the Perez region ruled by the Duke.

The Duke of Ballestena's residence was situated on an elevated platform, facing the southern side of the Via Sant'Angalia, like a castle dominating a manor.

Thanks to this, any guest who comes here can see the whole view of Mendoza as if they were an emperor as soon as they get off the carriage. It is an incredible luxury. However, Cassel turned away without any emotion.

His father, the Duke of Escalante, had left a personal bad reputation for the mansion being so grand that it almost seemed shabby, but Cassel felt a lump in his throat whenever he stood there. Most of the time, he came here to escort Ines Ballestena or occasionally to pretend to be her fiancé, and nothing reminded him of their future more than that.

Moments when you can't help but think about the suffocating future ahead of you in the next few hours, or the distant lifetime you'll spend with her. Things that make your throat choke just thinking about them.

"Captain Escalante, Lady Ines is waiting for you in the reception room."

Look at this. It was already hard to breathe.

Cassel was already a very promiscuous man, and he always lived with the very conservative idea that after marriage, one should not know any women other than his wife.

It was a kind of irreversible morality that went directly against the trashy 'let's do it first' trend of Mendoza society—ironically, it became a trashy motivation for him now, while at the same time turning marriage into a grave.

After getting married, you can't die. If that's the case, then you should work even harder now.

That way, even if I live the rest of my life like a monk, I won't have any regrets.

Cassel Escalante needed a rag-like memory to live by someday.

It may be one thing if she was a fiancé who was unilaterally notified at the age of six, but it was different if she was a wife who had pledged her life under a cardinal. Such nonsense would soon become a thing of the past. And it had to be so.

Whenever Cassel thought of the six-year-old daughter of the Duke of Ballestena, who had chosen her own path and derailed her life's path, he felt indescribable anger, irritation, and other feelings of annoyance, but for the twenty-three-year-old Ines Ballestena, he felt a future obligation as solid as a prison.

The reality that I had been putting off for over six years, going to the military academy and enlisting in the Navy, was getting closer and closer.

She was now closer to kneeling with the Cardinal at his feet and receiving his blessing than she had been seventeen years earlier.

"Sir Escalante."

"… Ines."

So, I was faced with this strange sense of guilt. At least, a half-guilty and embarrassed feeling that I shouldn't have been caught by her.

"Come on in."

A voice greeted him with a flat, even tone. Cassel approached her and kissed the back of her hand, which she held out gracefully.

What I see when I hear it again is, as always, a neatly covered outfit with no gaps all the way to the neck.

Her face was plain, without any sharp features, but not particularly beautiful, her eyes were always straight and calm, and her black hair was half-tied back. In the hazy recollection where her expression was completely absent, her face became clear.

Yeah. Even then, he just had that kind of expression. An expression that just stared at people, like someone who didn't know how to get angry or laugh.

"I understand that you have something to look for."

"The matter was the same yesterday, four days ago, and two weeks ago…."

"It's been a rainy season lately. I hope you won't have to worry about me."

It's a remark that seems to be very considerate, but in reality, it's a remark that lightly overlooks the fact that she has ignored his calls in the past.

It was the first time Ines had ignored him like this. And it was only natural. What fiancée wouldn't be angry at the sight of her fiancé entangled with a naked lady for the first time?

Cassel's mouth curled.

"—I know what you were thinking that day."

He seemed frustrated and threw away the honorifics in one word. Nineteen years ago, when they started out as playmates, there was no honorifics anyway. Of course, in the end, there were no games and no friends… … . Ines hated playing and friends, and he hated them too.

With one point of the finger, he singled out Cassel, not his cousin the Crown Prince, and doomed him to his own dull life. Cassel tried to remind himself of that fact.

Yes, I had to think about who I was for and why I had to live the rest of my life like a monk. I never wanted to get married. I had to drive away this guilt with that annoying and annoying feeling, and get out of this situation… .

"I don't understand what you are saying, Sir Escalante."

"You know what I'm talking about."

"Not at all."

His words were again interrupted by Ines's obedient voice. If he was truly obedient, there would be no reason to interrupt others. Ines was obedient to him in the first place. It was ridiculous nonsense, considering that he had swayed others' lives with a single point of his finger.

"Ines."

"—It's not a pleasant conversation for either of us anyway. Do we really need to do it?"

But Ines Ballestena liked him.

I chose him because I liked him, and because I liked him, I abandoned the will of the royal family, I abandoned the position of the royal family that was promised to me before I was born, and I also threw away several opportunities that could have brought everything back to square one.

I waited for him because I liked him. 17 years ago, and now. Always. In the same place.

And that's always been a problem for Cassel.

Ines Ballestena likes him, and he doesn't like Ines Ballestena at all.

Perhaps it wasn't her stuffy dress or her dull expression that was suffocating him. It couldn't have been the victim mentality that his life was being swayed by her.

He had nothing to give her in return. At best, he had the deception to keep her happy, the embarrassment that wouldn't go away... and the long-standing guilt.

"I can explain."

Of course, it was an excuse that didn't even come close to explaining it. Ines had built a stubborn wall against the world, and despite her rigid attitude, she had many innocent sides. She didn't need to know everything. They were going to get married soon, and there are some things in the world that are better left unknowing.

That doesn't mean she really didn't know anything, but even if she did… .

"I saw it with my own eyes, so the explanation is sufficient. So there is no problem."

Before Cassel could come up with a decent excuse, she shrugged. He laughed and asked back.

"…You can only say that?"

"Sir Escalante."

"It was worth it, it was worth it. So get real mad at me, Ines."

"I'm not angry at all."

She was even smiling. It was a smile you only see once a year. Cassel looked at her in astonishment and barely managed to spit it out.

"I'm mad."

"I told you it didn't come out."

"That's why you didn't see me for two weeks."

"Because it was the rainy season. I didn't want you to come home soaking wet."

Even in the midst of all that, I felt sincerity.

"And this conversation is tiring, Sir Escalante. This is not the kind of conversation we usually have."

"… … ."

"Anyway, there are more than a few women who stick around the palace."

"… … ."

"… Did you really think I didn't know?"

The voice that asked Cassel in a surprised tone was similar to that of a child. A childhood friend who was not on good terms, with just that level of intimacy.

She wasn't a stupid woman anyway. Cassel narrowed his eyes.

"…And you weren't angry?"

"There's no reason for that. Whoever you meet, it's your heart."

"I am your fiancée, Ines. We are going to be married soon."

Realizing that he had spoken like a madman, as if the tables had been turned, he ran a nervous hand through his hair. It was as if he was actually angry.

Instead of pointing out his contradiction, Ines spoke gently.

"That doesn't mean your freedom is gone now. We're not even married yet."

"… … ."

"So from now on, do whatever you want. Don't worry about me. There's no need for any explanations."

"…because you are that 'tolerant' of your man's female problems?"

Cassel asked sarcastically.

"That's not even funny. Ines, that kind of thing—"

"—Yeah, this isn't something like tolerance. Just like you said."

Instead of shaking her head, Ines raised her soft green eyes. Ines' black hair swayed gently in the damp wind blowing in from the distant window. She opened her mouth quietly.

"That means I don't care about you at all, Escalante."

Summer of my twenty-third year.

She said so. Up to this point, it was all a mistake.