Episode 28

"… … What on earth did I do wrong? What was lacking? What did I do wrong?"

"Ines, I don't know what the problem is from the beginning."

Juana tilted her head as if she couldn't understand it no matter how much she thought about it, and dropped perfume on Ines' feet.

Then Ines forgot what she was talking about and started shaking her body as if she was disgusted.

"It tickles…! Don't do that."

"The Duchess told me not to miss even a single inch of space."

"What does it matter if my mother isn't watching?"

"God is watching."

The devout Juana made the sign of the cross with her oil-soaked hand for a moment and then took Ines's foot. Ines laughed.

"God doesn't care what kind of perfume is applied to my body. So, ah, stop…!"

"Is it that ticklish?"

"You know how much I hate putting perfume on my feet… … ."

"This is my first time applying it like this, how could I have known? Of course, I know better now, but… … ."

Ines realized that she had made a mistake and closed her mouth for a moment. She had done this kind of thing when she was bored in her previous life.

Ines, who had been living her third life and had become distant from everything related to decoration, also became distant from this kind of thing. No matter how much the Duchess urged her, she refused, and no matter how much she refused, when her mother continued to insist, she became violent and threatened to kill herself, frightening her.

Because of this, Duchess Ballestena had to watch Ines, who still existed, wander around in pitch-black clothes like a crow, with only the doll-like lovely image of her five-year-old daughter buried in her heart.

It goes without saying that the daughter of a great nobleman does not smell of flowers as she passes by, and her hands, which should be shiny and glossy, sometimes have ink marks or stains on them, and she is just breathing in the dust of the bookshelf without a single friend visiting her.

'Your hair already resembles your fucking father! And you even wear black to insult your mother!'

This kind of nervous screaming happened often after that. But the important thing is that I never touched my daughter again.

'If not, then this can't happen. There's no way this kid would suddenly go crazy and do this... ... Black hair and a black dress? Are you a back-alley undertaker, a gravedigger, what the heck! What the hell is this cursed appearance...!'

They called her an undertaker, a gravedigger, or a cursed figure, but it is true that they never had the courage to lift the curse… When Ines had a fit of last refusal to put on her meager adornment, the Duchess Ballestena was either too terrified to be terrified any longer—or she must have been absolutely convinced of the curse.

So she watched her daughter from afar and ground her teeth. Then, on some particularly emotional days, she would cry and go to her daughter's room, repeatedly caressing Ines' face and saying this and that, but most of it was self-reproach that wasn't self-reproach, unnecessary sympathy, and repeating the same thing over and over again.

'It must have been because of that fever back then, wasn't it? I should have taken better care of you, so that you wouldn't have ended up like this… … . It's all your father's fault. That wretched man made it impossible for me to care about you… … . Ines, poor thing. Look at your black hair. To pass on black hair to a girl, he was a man who could never be of any use to you since you were born… . And here you are, wearing a black dress… … . You must be crazy… … . What on earth did I do wrong to you to deserve this… … . '

A fever at the age of six. As her mother said, the timing was right. From that point on, her entire life changed differently… It was funny to hear the color of the dress as the basis for saying, "It was ruined from that moment on," even after hearing it for over a decade, but it was important to her mother, just as it was to everyone else in the world.

Ines also felt responsible for that part.

The reason was unclear, but anyway, her daughter wasn't originally such a gloomy crow... .

That is why, at this very moment, I was lying naked, unable to move, under my mother's orders, and receiving care for my entire body.

Suddenly, under the pretext that the wedding was imminent.

"No matter how annoying this may be, you must endure it now, Lady Ines. The Duchess has been patient with you for a long time. And we don't have much time left… … ."

There isn't much time. There isn't much time… … . Ines turned her frowning face to look at the portrait hanging on the bedroom wall. It was a picture of Escalante smiling brightly when he was about ten years old, but somehow it was an unpleasant picture… … .

Today's day has finally come for the Duchess of Ballestena, who had been gritting her teeth and watching her only daughter walk around in mourning clothes for seventeen years.

Cassel Escalante, who had been consistently making all sorts of polite excuses and military-like excuses about the military law of the Imperial Navy, as if he wanted to avoid actually getting married at all costs, finally sent a letter to the Ballestena family yesterday formally requesting an early marriage.

By all means.

Thirteen years ago, Cassel Escalante looked down on her and her bedroom from a frame. That annoying child who was only cute in appearance.

"… … ."

Somehow the medicine took effect and Ines lay down and stared at the painting.

In Cassel's bedroom also had a picture of Ines from that time. They had both been adults for a long time, but they had not exchanged portraits of themselves as adults because they had naturally grown apart as they grew up—and Cassel had left for military academy and was no longer using Mendoza's bedroom.

So, no matter how much you have a thorn in your neck with a fiancée and how bleak your future looks, you will never know what it feels like to see that face every morning when you open your eyes.

"… Don't say something like that because you don't know."

Family never betrays you, you never need freedom or privacy, you never want to touch a woman other than you…

"How could you say something like that to the woman you were going to marry?"

"… So I wonder what the problem is… … ."

Juana asked, swiping Ines' leg.

"If you two get married, doesn't that philanderer want to settle down with Ines? And he even sent her a proposal letter yesterday. So what's the problem?"

"That's the problem, Juana."

"… … ?"

"The problem is settling down."

"… … ."

Juana, who was spreading the perfume below her knees, stopped her hands in bewilderment and looked at her master.

"… What? Don't look at me like that."

"I don't know what strange thoughts you have now, Ines, but Captain Escalante is perfect."

"I'm sick of that story… I wish you wouldn't have to do it."

"You liked it so much when you were little."

"Yeah, that's right."

She did it so seamlessly that even her closest maidservant didn't notice.

"The only flaw in that perfect being—"

"—It's me. It's me."

Ines spoke confidently. It was an answer that showed pride in the fact that years of hard work had finally paid off.

Juana frowned and shook her head vigorously.

"No! What's wrong with Lady Ines? Lady Ines is his glory, his honor, and the unmerited grace of God—."

"—Okay. That's enough, Juana."

"His only flaw is that he has, really, way too many women."

"That's how Escalante came to be."

"And you said you would fix that part. How great is that?"

"I like Cassel Escalante just the way it is."

"Your tastes are really unique… … . When you see him flirting with other women, do you feel more moved or something?"

"Maybe so."

Juana looked up at Ines as if she was looking at a pervert, then sighed.

"Senorita's fiancé doesn't like that kind of thing. It's before we get married, so he may have just said it to make me feel better, but he's not the type of person to say things lightly… … ."

"What is the basis?"

"Because you're a soldier. When I was young, my priest told me that soldiers don't lie."

"Oh my goodness, innocent Juana… … Where should I start to point this out? Everyone lies. Soldiers lie to their superiors as if it were nothing, and even priests sometimes lie to please God."

"Father Jorge would never do that!"

Juana, who was hastily making the sign of the cross again, rushed to Ines' bedside and made the sign of the cross over Ines' head too.

"Really? It's not like he gets tested by you every time he prays to God."

"Ines, you are too pessimistic."

"But you said one thing that seemed plausible."

"yes?"

"In the end, it was all just words Escalante threw out there to make me hear."

"… I never said anything like that… … ."

She turned Ines' body over with a trembling expression. She muttered as she spun around as Ines instructed.

"You're right. Where would that habit go? Yes, you're absolutely right. How can a dog suddenly become a human being… If you say, 'I'll become a human being starting tomorrow,' will the dog become a human being starting tomorrow? That can't happen."

"You are speaking alone now, Ines."

"That's right. Escalante is a dog."

"… And why on earth are you relieved about that part?"

"I wasn't wrong, Juana."

So my efforts will never be betrayed… … Ines muttered as if she was being brainwashed.

But is there a fiancé who would tell his fiancée sweet lies as if he were throwing a gauntlet in her face, just to make her happy to hear them?

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't help but be bothered by Cassel's expression. She also couldn't help but be bothered by his attitude that day. That strangely irritated and nervous face...

And then, as if he was hitting her on the back of the head, he sent a proposal letter to Ballestena.