Episode 30

Yeah, he liked me so much… … .

What had not been fully explained by anything was now partly understandable. It was as if the fog had cleared and Ines' suspicious face was half visible again.

But at the same time, Ines' face quickly disappeared as she was stabbed in the sore spot. Cassel's head turned gray again.

Who would have thought that such things could be happening in places he couldn't see... Most of the secret meetings he remembered had a bland ending, and even if they didn't, there weren't any endings that were so sleazy that they would do something like that in secret.

'It definitely was like that.'

… Was it always like that in front of him? Behind his back, he would be looking for the weaknesses of his fiancée, whom he didn't even love, and he would hover around her, determined to bite her in any way he could find them… And then, in front of him, he would act blandly and pretend not to care.

Who should I blame? This face was a sin… …. Cassel nervously washed his face several times.

Anyway, sooner or later, that will all come to an end.

"… … Are you that bothered? But you've already decided to get married anyway. You even sent a letter to the Duke of Ballestena… … What good will it do if you find my weakness now?"

"…What weakness?"

"Well, that was a weakness… You were trying to take advantage of it, weren't you? I was wondering if you were going to call off the marriage now. But then I heard you sent a marriage request letter to the Ballestena family… … ."

"Why would I do something like that?"

Cassel made a face of incomprehension. So did Jose, who was asked the question. They looked at each other for a while with incomprehensible eyes.

"In the first place, how could that be a weakness?"

He had been seeing several women so far, and it was laughable for him to say, "I can't marry such a promiscuous woman because my fiancée must have had a lover at some point." And that was long after he turned seventeen, when they were supposed to get married... Hopefully the Ballestena family won't sue him.

furthermore.

"A promise is a promise, Almenara. Especially when it comes to marriage and family covenants. It's troublesome to try to hit the other person in the back of the head like that."

Even though he was a rag, the old-fashioned Cassel, from the time he was a boy of six until he was a mature man of twenty-three, had never thought of a future where he was not the husband of Ines Ballestena, no matter how much he did not want this marriage. Even though that future was terrible, even though it was suffocating, even though it was exciting just to think about it like a madman… … .

So Jose's suspicions of conspiracy were nothing but blasphemy, and since he was always more faithful than others thought, he gave Jose the appropriate punishment of kicking his shins. Jose screamed silently.

"As if you were thinking."

"No, I just ordered a background check. Usually, when you say background check… …!"

"That's why you're the scum of Almenara. You're stupid, and you keep promises, but you have a bad temper that tries to hit others in the back of the head. That's why your father gave up on you a long time ago and threw you into the navy."

"Is the Navy a garbage dump…!"

Jose, who had been protesting as if he was wronged, suddenly looked at his superior and made an expression of instant understanding. The symbol of disobedience was right before his eyes. An old-fashioned piece of trash who would get promoted in an instant as soon as he got married and would live in a higher position… …. Cassel could not have failed to notice his disloyalty. Jose kicked his shin again.

"ah…!"

"It shows on your face, so either just say it and get it, or don't even think about it. Almenara."

"How can a person not think… … ."

"What did you hear me say? Almenara, you have such a big face."

"… It's not that I want to be this big, I'm just big."

Growing up with the insults of his brothers calling him 'a guy the size of a head', Jose had a difficult time until his large body found the right balance.

When Jose, who had been stabbed in the painful wound without warning, answered in a weak tone that did not match his size, Cassel smiled softly.

"I know. It's because you're big that you can see well. Because you can see well, every time you make that face, I want to hit you more."

"What kind of expression am I making?"

"If you've already thought about it, then say it. If you can't say it, then don't think about it…."

The impure expression was not hidden. Jose flinched back as Cassel made another motion to kick his shin.

"It's just… … You only see what you want to see… … You suspected that there was something, even a man, in that virtuous Senorita Ballestena, seeing as she was so promiscuous and had a shady side… … ."

"… You said to do whatever you wanted in front of your superiors and said everything?"

"Oh, isn't it?"

Jose asked brightly, then groaned as he was kicked in the shin again.

"Do you doubt me? Me? Who? Why?"

"Isn't it?"

Jose nodded with something like, 'Or else, forget it.' He slightly distanced himself from Cassel.

"why me."

"Or drink… ."

"You're always like that. You just talk nonsense, and then you say something."

"You said to say it when you think about it… So it's not like you're suspicious or trying to find a weakness. Why on earth are you chasing after Senorita Ballestena?"

"… What did you dig up… … ."

He muttered in astonishment.

"I just wanted to know."

As Cassel spoke, he leaned his chin on his hand. His eyes, seemingly hazy but not really meaningful, looked out the window. His mind seemed to have already wandered off into the distance.

Jose hesitated whether to leave or not, keeping an eye on his suspicious superior, before finally mustering up the courage to ask.

"… Excuse me, but when do you plan on returning to Calstera? If you keep extending your vacation like this, you won't have any winter vacation."

It will really disappear without a trace. It was an important question for Jose, who had already used up all of his summer vacation and had not yet returned because of Cassel. Cassel answered nonchalantly, his gaze still outside the window.

"Get married."

"Huh? When are you planning on getting married?"

"Within this week."

"…yes?"

"According to Javier, that's the most vacation I can get in the summer."

"If you get married, don't you get separate vacations?"

"That's included."

"… Me?"

"Don't you have any winter vacation left?"

"That's true. That's true, but…."

Jose nodded as if he was about to cry. It must mean he was telling me not to come back… … .

Cassel was still looking out the window, lost in thought, oblivious to his adjutant's annoyance. If it were thoughtless, it would be foolish to imagine ripping his fiancée's wedding dress apart as soon as he said he was getting married.

***

"I heard you've been holding back lately?"

"…yes?"

An elegant yet awkward silence, with only the occasional sound of silverware clinking against each other. And a dinner where no one opened their mouths as if they had made a promise… … The one who suddenly broke it was the Duke of Ballestena.

Cassel, who had been staring intently at Ines' mouth moving while she was chewing meat, looked at the Duke of Ballestena with his eyes that had suddenly regained their guns.

The Duke, who had been drinking wine like water without even touching the food, gently placed his wine glass down on the table.

"Sir Escalante's womanizing is so famous, we've heard a lot about it."

The blue eyes that had been searching for the gun in an instant became clouded again in an instant. The blunt criticism that flew in at an unexpected time and that he thought would never surface… … .

Miguel, who had been diligently moving the fork next to Cassel, stiffened his movements.

It was ten days before the wedding that they received an invitation to dinner from the Duchess of Ballestena, and now the two sons of the Escalante family were sitting at the Ballestena banquet.

With only one week left until the wedding, now… … Cassel calmly moved the fork that was floating in the air as if it were a habit. He chewed the good steak reluctantly and toughly, as if he was putting something he couldn't bear to eat in his mouth.

The Duke of Ballestena tapped the table with his fingertips and smiled in a way that made it seem like he wasn't smiling at all.

"Actually, that habit is so well-known in Mendoza. Unless you're deaf… You should be a little loud, right? Luciano."

Luciano glanced at Cassel, who was sitting next to him, with cold eyes, then shrugged.

"well."

It was obvious that he was holding back on his words because his sister was getting married in a few days. He was going to marry that guy anyway, so pointing out his flaws would only hurt his sister's reputation, which was probably a rational judgment.

But the eyes don't lie.

Cassel only remembered Luciano's face, which would always smile kindly whenever they met at social events, so he was momentarily taken aback by his fierce eyes.

He reflexively turned his gaze, then met the eyes of the Duke sitting next to Ines and smiled awkwardly.

Of course, it was a face that was too perfect, so even that was beautiful like a painting, but the duke squinted his eyes and twisted his mouth as if he didn't like that picture-perfect face.

"Of course, it wouldn't be easy to not be proud of your appearance since you were born that way."

The phrase 'that kind of look' sounded like he was born with some kind of deficiency or was inherently stupid. Cassel stared at him with a polite smile.

"I understand. There are only four men in this place. Your brother and any other man would understand. You should enjoy what you can. Don't you?"

Unlike his mouth, the peacock had an expression of complete lack of understanding.