Episode 48

The moment she got off the carriage, her vision went blank for a moment due to dizziness, then gradually blurred images began to form, and then slowly and clearly her vision returned. This was largely because she was naturally impatient, and as soon as she woke up, she jumped up and jumped down from the high carriage to the ground.

A more fundamental cause was that, just before the wedding, the Duchess subjected her to torture-like body management, starving her for at least ten days… … .

It seemed as if she heard an auditory hallucination behind her head. Ines stumbled again as a hand quickly grabbed her body, which had already managed to regain its balance.

"Are you dizzy? Are you okay? What's wrong? Are you dizzy? Are you anemic? Are you anemic?"

"… be quiet, Cassel… … ."

He put his lips to my ear and started to speak in a low voice without stopping, which made my head throbbing. My voice was already throbbing… Ines shook her head and gently pushed him away, placing her hand on her temple.

It was at a time when she looked so fragile and vulnerable that Cassel, who had gotten out of the carriage first while she was fast asleep inside, discovered Ines, who had followed him out of the carriage without a sound.

He couldn't help but look surprised as Ines pushed away his sculptured nose, and he pulled her closer to him and hugged her, burying his lips in her ear.

"Is it because of me?"

This time, the lips that were completely stuck to her skin asked her like that. It was a sensation of the inside of her skin vibrating. Just like some moments in the wilderness…

… Ines was startled like a fish that accidentally bit the bait, but then she turned her head with a calm and cold expression as if maintaining her dignity and answered.

Even in this small place, there were employees.

"no."

"It's because of me."

But her lips followed suit. Ines spoke annoyedly with her calm face.

"What the heck, why."

"I pushed myself too hard all night."

"…because I got off in a hurry as soon as I woke up."

"Why is that?"

"Get up quickly…."

"So, why."

Cassel asked as if he had no knowledge or understanding of orthostatic anemia. Since his entire body was like a big rock, it was impossible for him to understand the trivial troubles of ordinary people.

Ines sighed.

"It can happen sometimes. If you sit down for a long time and then suddenly stand up or something… ."

"Isn't that a disease?"

"Women often do that."

There were also people who hadn't eaten properly for ten days… There were also people who covered their ears with guilt, even though there was a more fundamental reason.

Cassel nodded slightly as if he had heard Ines' answer, and concluded that it was his fault that Ines had seemed so weak for a moment. He grabbed Ines's lower shoulders firmly and supported her entire body, making her weight fall entirely on him.

Ines struggled like a captive.

"So let go of this."

"Okay. Can you walk?"

"… How far does anemia go?"

"You just had sex with me until the morning and—"

"—Cassel Escalante, whoever hears that nonsense…!"

"No one can hear you. You haven't slept a single hour properly because of that—"

"—You're the one who couldn't sleep."

Even so, he looked completely normal, as if he had turned around a little… Ines stared at Cassel as if she was seeing something strange for the first time.

"I slept the whole way in the carriage."

"That's not sleeping."

Ines checked the time by pulling the pocket watch chain that protruded slightly from his uniform pocket. It had been seven hours since they had left the Duke of Ballestena's residence in Mentossa. She had probably been asleep for exactly that long, since she had fainted when she got into the carriage.

It was originally a distance that could easily be covered in five hours, so it was clear that he had deliberately driven the carriage slowly, perhaps out of concern that it would strain her body.

It was truly a series of unexpected polarities.

"… It's already been seven hours, Cassel."

"That's a carriage, not a bed."

Ines let out a slightly bewildered laugh.

"Yeah, it's your fault. So get your hands off me."

If you have committed a sin, then do as you are told. The way her hand fell away after she said that made us realize his personality all over again. Ines walked away with a much lighter expression.

Cassel followed behind her with a dubious expression. If she took even the slightest wrong step and stumbled, he would immediately carry her to the hospital bed and lay her down

"I didn't know you would come with me to my mission."

"then?"

"I was thinking that when you returned to your post, I would go to the Duchy of Esposa."

"I'm not there."

"There's no rule that says we have to be together…."

It is not that most officers did not have wives with them. The officer stayed at his post, and his wife stayed at the family residence in his hometown or the capital, and they only had a brief marital relationship during vacations.

If the relationship is stronger, there will be more frequent vacations or the wife will visit the post from time to time. If the relationship is stronger than that, the wife will spend a good season together at the post from time to time… .

"There are a lot of officers' wives in Calstera. It's a beautiful place, like a resort."

Cassel shrugged his shoulders and said, implying that it was an attractive enough city for a couple to live together even if they weren't necessarily in love.

Ines did not deny it either. Even the official residence in Kassel, located on a hill where the sea breeze blew from the coast of Calstera, was a place where the cool sound of waves was always carried by the wind instead of the hot and humid air of Mentosa, which was full of summer.

Below, beautiful naval residences with white walls and red roofs line the slope, forming a magnificent view overlooking the vast naval port.

If given a choice, anyone would choose this naval base over Mentossa's vast social circle. Ines took a deep breath, staring at the tall, newly painted turquoise iron fence and the red roofs visible through the beautiful bars.

Unlike other small resort towns located near ports or hot springs, which usually boast a relaxed atmosphere, this place has a refined leisureliness that is as if intricate pieces have been fitted together without any sloppy gaps.

A city where the strictness unique to a large military port, the high sky, and the beautiful blue of the sea are strangely intertwined… .

The sound of the waves repeatedly approached and then moved away, hitting her ears, which were frozen in a daze for a while. The sound of the waves always reminded her of someone in her dreams.

The rough sound of the waves at the harbor, her shaking vision, her breath piling up to the tip of her throat, her hands that were anxious as if they would be let go at any moment…

It wasn't the best moment to recall. 'They' had better moments. Ines closed her trembling eyelids slightly and opened them again.

When I was exhausted and on the verge of falling asleep, I didn't even worry about such things. The feeling of resting comfortably on a slow-moving carriage no longer felt so pleasant.

Until the sound of the waves brought her back to reality… .

"Ines?"

"… It's nothing. Let's go in."

The port of 'that day' was actually not the main port of Kalstera, but a very small fishermen's port located along the coast. This was a military port located slightly further up the main port, so civilians were not free to come and go.

She looked down at Cassel's hand again, feeling the gentle force under her arm, then glanced at his face.

Why were you there that day?

Why did you help Emiliano?

***

Captain Escalante's residence was in fact not a very familiar home even to its owner.

The officers' residential area along the ridge of the short Logorno Mountain, located directly to the west of the military port, usually had a direct connection to the view and power.

If one could look down on the fleets anchored in the military port, and see at a glance the various large and small offices and barracks built along the coast—and even the palace-like appearance of the central naval command center—then there was no greater honor for the official residence of the Kalstera naval officers.

Of course, there was no land on the ridge where old mansions were already densely located to build a mansion that was sufficiently noble, so the noble generals and high-ranking officers who were not satisfied with the mediocre-sized mansions bought land further inland than the headquarters and built mansions for themselves to live in. Excluding their own world, the view was the only value in Kalstera.

And Cassel Escalante was the grandson and future heir to the title of Admiral Calderon Escalante de Esposa, whose name would remain in the history of the Ortega Navy for a thousand years.

He had previously arrogantly ignored the residential area of ​​Logonyo where officers were fretting, and instead bought and lived in the military court located on the right side of the naval headquarters, behind which was the mansion of a retired colonel. It had not even been a year since he had been commissioned as a second lieutenant.

The sea view that his seniors were so eagerly awaiting was something he didn't even bother to look at, as if it were of no value to him. Just looking from inside the mansion, it was an ordinary, yet overly grand mansion with a flat view that made it difficult to tell whether this was a coastal city or some inland city that could easily be reached by five or six hours from the sea… .

It was a choice that some people didn't understand, and others naturally grumbled, thinking, 'I wonder who that grandson is after all,' but there was a clear reason for it.

Cassel was truly sick of the sea. When he was mobilized in his first year of commission to fight against the Tallans, the irregular fighting that followed lasted about ten months, leaving him unable to leave the fleet for even three days.

All his life was spent on board. Whether floating on the vast ocean without any obstacles or anchored in a naval port, the fact that he could not walk on solid earth was the same. Even at the official residence, when he thought of having to face that sea every time he opened his eyes or returned to the official residence, Cassel felt a sense of ecstasy rather than joy.

A peaceful city, peaceful mountains and fields… If anything, Colonel Valencia's grand mansion was a pretty decent hideout.

So why on earth did it change into a beautiful and simple official residence located on a hill overlooking the Kalstera Naval Port?