Episode 31

"answer?"

The words that urged him to give a quick answer were simple. Even if you were to have a private meeting with a Navy admiral, the atmosphere would not be this tense.

Is that what you were expecting an answer for? That you rolled around because you deserved to? That sarcastic remark that that's your privilege...?

If you say, "No," he'll say, "Then why did you live like that?" and if the judgment is more complicated, he'll say, "You didn't say no to what I said?" ... ... If you say, "Yes," that's literal suicide.

Cassel shook his head politely, thinking it would be better to be caught talking than to commit suicide.

"no."

"But why did you do that?"

A question as if drawn out of the mouth of the Duke of Ballestena burst out.

Rather than being bothered by this, Cassel was more concerned about Ines, who was listening to the entire conversation.

But she looked down indifferently as if she hadn't heard anything, and was thinking about what to eat next, so he looked at the duke again with a slightly deflated face.

"I was very thoughtless."

"It's not like there's nothing at all?"

'It's not that there weren't any, there was a little bit. It was just that I wanted to enjoy as much freedom as possible while I was still a man before getting married...' The moment I started talking about this and that, it was clear that he would rush at me, saying, 'I'll make you free forever.'

Cassel quickly admitted, as the duke's eyes were already half-murderous.

"There wasn't any."

"I thought you were just a person without morality, but you are a person without thought. If even being absent-minded is a talent, then you must be the pride of the empire and an unparalleled genius."

His bullying of Jose Almenara was ridiculous. If this were the military, he would have taken it as a lesson to be used against his subordinates, but now it was a dinner party at the home of his fiancée, who was only a week away from getting married.

He felt himself really losing his mind.

"You are now handing over your daughter as if you were looking for the money you entrusted to me, even though her head is just for decoration?"

It really felt like my head was becoming a decoration.

"Oh, come to think of it, you're taking money too. I never left it in Escalante, though. They're really thieves."

"As for the dowry, that is, after all, the personal property of Senorita Ballestena."

"Yes. It is the personal property of Ines Ballestena. It will go to my dear grandson who was born with the name Escalante tattooed on his forehead."

"Of course, but that grandson is also the son of Ballestena, who inherited Your Majesty's bloodline."

"Then why don't you put it over here?"

"Before that, he was also our son… ."

"A married couple? Is my daughter funny? A married couple before we're even married? My daughter is already your wife, is that it? It's so easy that you're already thinking about getting her pregnant?"

Before we were even married, when was he going to ask for a grandchild that didn't even exist? ... But Cassel just shook his head quietly.

"I dare not do that. I have the utmost respect for Senorita Ballestena—."

"—A kid who respects others does something like that—."

"I look forward to the day when I can officially become a husband after getting married—."

"—That old bastard said something like that—."

"—If I formally take Your Majesty's daughter as my wife, I will make sure that Your Majesty will never be disappointed."

"I'm disappointed that you're even breathing right now, so do you plan on dying to relieve some of this disappointment?"

Cassel's smiling face stopped. The Duke drank the wine the butler had poured for him in one gulp and then gave another order.

"I've been watching you all evening, and no matter how I look at it, I don't like the way you breathe. So stop."

"Stop it, Father."

Ines tried to dissuade the Duke softly. Cassel managed to turn his gaze from the Duke's contemptuous eyes to hers.

In the midst of all this, I saw Ines, who had finished her meal and was elegantly wiping her mouth with a handkerchief, as if she were living in a different world. As always, she was aloof, upright, and cold.

Whether it was the impending wedding, the uncomfortable atmosphere of the place, or her fiancé's scandalous past that her father had personally revealed—any noble lady would have left the table with a sour look on her face, leaving her plate full of food, but she did neither.

Instead, Ines opened her mouth, choosing to empty all the food given to her and still keep her seat.

"You've invited people all the way here, so don't be so petty and push them around. It's rude to the people who invited you."

"Pitiful? Who?"

"You ask even though you know."

Ines shrugged absentmindedly. The Duke's face suddenly distorted.

"I could have kicked that face first. But I didn't, and I gave him his daily bread. That's enough culture. He's generous and tolerant."

"With that tolerance, you knew everything and left me alone until now. I'm okay."

"That was back when that kid was going around like he'd never marry you—."

"—I know it's like that, but I'll do it eventually. You knew that too. So please leave my fiancé alone."

Ines cut her father off again with a firm retort. The Duke of Ballestena closed his mouth in a grim manner and drank the rest of his wine.

Cassel sensed at the same time that Luciano on his right was reluctantly continuing to eat, and that Miguel on his left was still frozen like a stone. The Duchess, sitting between the Duke and Ines, was busy drinking the whiskey that wasn't wine as if it were wine… … Cassel had felt this way before, but the Duchess of Ballestena was not an alcoholic.

In summary, the atmosphere was not good. Although Ines had silenced the Duke, the atmosphere had already drifted away as if on a rough current and had set off on an irreversible path. Also, no one could calmly change the atmosphere with gentle words, and the Duchess, who was the only hope, was completely drunk without anyone knowing, and Cassel was a traitor who could not open his mouth…

In the midst of the gloom and despair where the end of this place seemed impossible to see, only Ines remained calm from start to finish.

He watched her series of actions, as if he were a person who had stopped at a road with no exit in sight. Ines ordered the servants to clear away the plates that she had diligently emptied while others had not eaten a single bite, brought her own dessert, and filled her wine glass with water.

Then, as if it were real wine, he leisurely rolled the glass in his hand and sipped the water as if he didn't care what other people thought.

On the other hand, as for Kassel, he was still perfectly preserved, with the same polite smile he had given to the Duke.

Despite all the circumstances surrounding her, Ines, with her characteristic aloofness or indifference, enjoyed the leisure she needed. In the meantime, there was silence again.

And as she put down her glass, the silence was broken.

"Why isn't anyone eating properly…? Was I the only one who enjoyed today's meal?"

"No, Senorita. The dinner was excellent."

Miguel answered breathlessly. Then he turned his head and asked Cassel.

"Right, brother?"

With a level of politeness that had never been seen before, Cassel slowly nodded as if agreeing with his brother's words. Then Ines faintly raised the corners of her lips and smiled.

…Smile?

"Sir Escalante, is everything alright?"

As if it had been a moment, he was still treating him the same way he had treated him in public. However, it was somehow different, not so stiff. Could it be a kindness towards a rag in trouble? ... Cassel raised his beautiful lips and smiled.

"Yes, it's perfect."

Now that I think about it, it was the first time Ines had spoken to him directly, even though they had been sitting across from each other since this uncomfortable situation began.

She was far from being a sociable person. Moreover, Cassel had a handsome face that did not easily feel the need for initiative, and a blunt soldierly temperament, so the absence of conversation was not so strange to them.

However, it was understandable how unpleasant that appearance must have been to the Duke of Ballestena. He did not like the way she looked or the way she breathed…

"So that expensive mouth has finally opened, huh?"

It's quite obvious.

"You think about giving birth to a son, but you can't even say a word of flattery to a woman who is about to get married, you expensive mouth."

"What kind of flattery is Sir Escalante giving me?"

"If I wanted to talk about how you look more beautiful today than usual, how your dress would shine with your beauty, there would be no end to it—"

"I'm not that pretty, and my dress today is colorless. Seriously, stop bothering me."

Ines replied annoyedly. Her tone was more tired and annoyed than humble. Cassel's eyes wandered dizzily between the duke and his daughter.

"… Have you seen this? This humility? From her modest attire to her attitude, she's on a whole other level than you, a flashy brat."

"Father, stop."

"And you're already telling me to stop bothering you. In a week, that piece of trash will be my husband…!"

"father."

"If calling trash trash is also bullying—"

"—Senorita Ballestena is, of course, very beautiful… ."

"shut up!"

Cassel immediately shut up. The Duke of Ballestena pointed at Cassel with his trembling fingertips. He didn't like the way Cassel kept quiet even when told to. It was as if he was going crazy.

"A guy who sold his body for cheap!"

"Father, Sir Escalante does not sell his body. And if he does, it won't be for cheap."

…is it time to correct the price now?

"Selling laughter!"

"And laughter doesn't even sell."

"And while my daughter is growing old—"

"I'm still twenty-three."

"—You left me alone, and now what? You want to get married within a week? You said you wanted to sell your body and get a successor before I get sick and your father dies?"

"father."

"My daughter looks so easygoing…! Don't look down on her just because you only see her face… …!"

He no longer looked at the Duke's face, for Ines' face was twice as fierce as the Duke's.