Episode 24

Cassel Escalante, whom they met again at the end of that summer, was a sculpture. More than her faint memories. Ines expressed her admiration without holding back.

It was similar to the admiration one feels when seeing an objectively beautiful landscape or a perfectly shaped object. No matter how different each person's perspective may be, no one can deny that the Cassel Escalante is a well-made creation.

Of course, even his cousin, who is so jealous and incompetent.

"… Are you sure? Are you sure?"

"yes."

"Ines, don't you see those empty eyes? Those soulless eyes?"

"Instead, they are filled with a beautiful blue light. I have never seen such handsome blue eyes before."

She sipped the apple juice as if it were alcohol, muttering exaggerated compliments as if she were possessed.

Oscar looked between her and Cassel, who was standing far away, with his eyes wide open, then he leaned his head down close to her shoulder and whispered as if telling her a great secret.

"You know what? Half of the people who are that pretty when they're young end up ruined when they grow up."

"… … ."

When Ines didn't answer and just laughed, Oscar frowned and added again.

"Do you think I'm lying? Of course Escalante is very pretty now."

He called his cousin by his last name, pretending not to be close, and deliberately emphasized the word "pretty." He had a hard time finding a word that was weaker than "handsome" and much more trivial than "beautiful."

"If I had been born a girl, I would have been followed by just as many boys as the girls who are chasing after me now."

If Cassel Escalante had been a woman, all the sufferings she had endured at the hands of Oscar would have been his. She had the best bloodline and the best face, no less than Ines.

According to Oscar's theory, the best should always be with the best. If those two were of different genders, at least one of them would have been the best, as Oscar had hoped.

She let out a sigh of regret for a moment. If she had, she would have had children without any troubles in her life and would have been living the rest of her life with minor worries about how to live with her husband who she didn't get along with.

She would have lived a smooth life like other noble women of Ortega, becoming the mistress of a duke's house, outwardly showing off her great influence, but inwardly being a bit rotten and corrupt. Still, she would have found happiness in her own way.

Because of her meticulous personality, which made her hate being found faulty, she might not have been able to have a handsome mistress, but instead, Ines had a free life on the manor. She could hunt, ride far away on horseback to tour the manor, and go to various hot springs for relaxation…

Then, if she was lucky, her husband would die early, and she would have a son who would be just the right person to inherit the estate, so she would be officially free of all obligations. All that awaited her was a free life without any ties to anything.

She will independently collect rents from the land she received as a dowry for Ballestena, and live the life of a landowner until she dies in her womanly body. Since ancient times, all old ladies who have been lucky in life have lived like that.

Her husband, like any other ordinary Ortega nobleman, may occasionally cheat on her and have affairs with other women behind her back, but who cares?

He would have died for her anyway—she thought to herself now. Besides, it was hard to become such a bundle of venereal diseases with ordinary effort.

Even if he was a hard worker like Oscar, he would at least know that his successor is precious, and he wouldn't dare to shove his diseased dick into his pregnant wife...

Ines stared at Cassel's angelic figure with eyes full of affection, but then suddenly her eyes turned cold and she looked at Oscar. Oscar flinched.

"…Why why."

This redhead is truly the worst being on earth. A blue-haired womanizer.

Starting with the hypothesis that 'Cassel Escalante had been a woman', and thinking of a hypothetical husband who would have politely left behind only two children and passed away, Oscar's persistence became even more irritating.

Ines' eyes grew colder. He must have been bothered by the fact that Ines' gaze made him flinch, so he cleared his throat and continued his slander of Cassel.

"… That is to say, it would have been better if that child had been a woman. To be a beautiful woman, all you have to do is be beautiful. But a man needs more than that. A man who is externally perfect is not made with a pretty face—."

"You need a good body too. Yes. I know."

Ines slurped down her apple juice, openly showing her indifference.

A life where you don't know what's next. That's why life is sometimes fun. You don't know that you'll grow up to be a skinny person without any decent muscles, and you don't know how your 'pretty' cousin will grow up to be a tall and healthy man who will look down on you...

Looking at Oscar, a human being who lives without knowing what will happen next, she can now at least smile bitterly.

"You must know that His Majesty the Emperor is a full foot taller than the Duke of Escalante."

"yes."

"And already, you're starting to lose your hair a little bit."

In order to ruin Kassel's future, he even mobilizes his uncle, who is smitten by his words. The curse-like prediction that no matter how 'pretty' Kassel is, she will end up being nothing more than a short bald head...

But it's all useless.

"Your Majesty the Duke of Escalante has a naturally wide forehead."

"No. The Duke's hairline is slowly receding. You don't know that. He'll be bald soon. Unlike his father's abundance. And a son takes after his father… ."

"Oh my goodness, what a shame."

"But it's not like people from 100 years ago can wear white wigs all the time. Right? If Cassel is like that, then his life is just a journey towards becoming bald."

Look at him babbling nonsense like he's in a real hurry... Ines looked at Oscar, who was seriously preaching another theory, as if she was dumbfounded.

"No matter how bright you are now, later on, you will just shine because you have no hair. Imagine the place where all that pretty blond hair disappeared from that pretty face. Ines, what do you think? Isn't it terrible?"

"It's horrible… But who would lose all their hair like that?"

"You may not believe it, but bald people are people too. They definitely exist somewhere in the world… It was really horrible. The reason why Lord Ihar never leaves home is because he is completely bald. I saw it. There was nothing on his head…"

He shuddered as if some terrible memory had come back to him.

"I've only heard of it, I've never seen it. I can't even imagine a person's head being completely shaved… But Your Majesty."

When Ines carefully grabbed his arm, Oscar was startled, then quickly brightened up like a puppy about to go for a walk. With the confidence that a fish would come up after casting the bait.

"Isn't it scary? No matter how possible it is—."

"—Your Majesty, did you know that your forehead looks exactly like that of your uncle, the Duke of Escalante? I always thought so."

"… … ."

"Looking at it again, it's true. It's really the same."

Oscar raised his hand and covered his forehead in disbelief. It was a gesture filled with bewilderment, whether he really thought his uncle would go bald or was speechless at the self-inflicted wound he had caused.

In fact, the Duke of Escalante later became bald all the way to the crown of his head. He was not completely bald, but he was slightly bald, so it was a strange insight to admit.

And he really resembles the Duke more than the Duke's son, Cassel. If you mix half Emperor and half Duke, that's exactly what you'll get. And it feels like you mixed it up a little halfheartedly.

Ines smiled brightly. She couldn't help but laugh when she thought of Oscar, who would have been half bald after her death.

"Me too. I have my aunt's fingers too. Sometimes I see traces of my parents and grandparents, as well as my parents' siblings."

"… … ."

"Fortunately, the Duke of Escalante has a very high and straight forehead. That must be why Your Majesty also has such a handsome forehead."

"… … ."

"But I hate baldness."

"… … ."

"No matter how much you tell me."

"No. The future can't be determined like that. Just because people have the same forehead doesn't mean their fate will be the same…"

"Then Cassel Escalante would be fine too."

Oscar was as vulnerable to sudden difficulties as he was to his own ignorance. Her one word of answer brought back to mind the confused expression he had seen when he had first been struck.

"I can't guarantee baldness. But look at that pretty face. He'll grow up without any manly features. No one will ever compliment Escalante, who is now a grown man, on how handsome he is."

Perhaps the word handsome is not enough to describe him… He is so perfect from head to toe.

"If you were born a girl, you would be pretty enough to be like that when you grow up. Of course, you won't be as pretty as you are, Ines. You are perfect. My choice will always be you."

Ines just shrugged her shoulders as if it didn't matter.

"A moderate face like yours is the one that will shine when it grows up, but I prefer to invest in an uncertain future. I don't know why you're suddenly wearing such dull one-piece dresses, but if you dressed up in bright and pretty clothes that fit you well like before, you'd be much—"

"—Even God is against it, Your Majesty."

"I already asked the Bishop of Mendoza about that. He said there was no basis for it at all."

"Then I am a spineless and uncivilized person who makes important decisions based on baseless superstitions?"

For a moment, Oscar, who didn't understand the word 'uncivilized', tilted his head blankly, but then quickly corrected himself after noticing the negative nuance.

"That can't be true, Ines."

"Your Majesty, I am too uncivilized, ignorant, and inadequate to be in the presence of such a cultured and learned man as Your Majesty. Just as You said."

"… When on earth did I say something like that?"

"The wound is deep. So please don't hurt me any more."

"When did I get hurt?"

"There is absolutely no way we will get married, Your Majesty."

Ines placed her empty glass back on the table and walked away, her back turned to Oscar.

"You haven't really decided, have you? Not Escalante? You're just saying that, aren't you? To test me. To make me impatient."

"well."

"That guy is going to cause trouble for women his whole life!"

You'll cause trouble for men, too, she grumbled to herself.