Episode 49

'Sir, is your wife still at the residence?'

'How can I kick out a woman who doesn't even think about going back?'

'You said you fought just by making eye contact at Mentorsa. Just two weeks ago, you were saying that you would jump off the harbor on the day your wife arrived in Calstera, that you would roll down the peak of Mount Logonyo, that you would rather die that way.'

'That's what I mean, you remember that too… .'

'So, don't you want to die these days? How are you still alive?'

'The truth is, Julieta has become a completely different woman... ... .'

'Another woman?'

'He said she was like a woman he was seeing for the first time.'

'Is it because we don't see each other often? You two got married ten years ago… .'

'You little brat who doesn't even understand metaphors, you must have grown muscles even in your head from training at the military academy... This is the first time Reneta has visited Calstera. It's also the first time she's stayed there. Orense, have you ever been to my residence?'

'I remember. The view was killer.'

'Young one, if the Viscount Orense is going to put your lacking head into the Imperial Navy as your only son, use the elegant, polite, and dignified speech that suits him. What do you mean by killing? Excellent, outstanding, overwhelming, this is a work of art…'

'I dare say that the Major's residence is the best position in Logonyo. From the top of the hill, you can see the port of Kalstera, the headquarters building, the barracks, the guard area, and even the De La Plana Islands in the distance. It is a truly sacred and holy view.'

'Good. I like the way you're correcting things right away. Anyway, if it was that bad even to your ignorant eyes, how would it have been to Julieta's aesthetic sense?'

'Simmi-an? You said that I have such a damn eye that I don't even know what's good, and that I throw money on the street whenever I see something in my damn eyes... ... .'

'Lieutenant Orencé, did you just insult your superior's wife? Calling her a damned extravagant woman?'

'How dare you. How could you. Absolutely not. It's all what the Major said... ... .'

'You were just talking nonsense and now you're blaming your superiors?'

'No way. How dare you. Absolutely not.'

That's why I suddenly remembered this conversation that I had overheard while smoking a cigar on deck one day. The conversation went up a mountain higher than Mount Logorno, but the conclusion was the same. Major Elba and his wife, who had been estranged and hated each other for ten years, suddenly transformed into new friends in Calstera.

About five of them were residences overlooking the sea, which was something his wife had never seen before in her hometown or mentorship, and the remaining five were modest military residences, different from ordinary mansions. They had a modest elegance, but were not entirely noble.

There, they were able to see each other as if they were different people, and since there were few employees, they were able to spend quiet time together, and in the end, even the hatred they had felt before was able to be tolerated.

When Cassel recalled this conversation just ten days ago, Major Elba was staying at Mentor on summer vacation.

At the point when he realized this, everything seemed fateful and set in motion. Cassel felt he had to take the extreme step of expelling his superior from his official residence.

Major Elba was in line with Count Carpio, who was mainly in league with the Duke of Ballestena at the Council of Grandes, so his insurrection was not really that difficult.

However, if he incurred resentment from his wife, it might come back to Ines as a minor inconvenience, so he needed a way to make them pack up and leave as quickly as possible while being as humane as possible and not incurring resentment.

Finally, Cassel managed to steal from the Escalante residence a few documents with the old signature of his grandfather, Admiral Calderon. There was no naval officer who did not revere Admiral Calderon. He also presented a hunting rifle and a commissioned officer's baton, among the many weapons he had inherited from his grandfather, with Calderon's name engraved on them.

The result was obvious. Major Elba, eight ranks above Cassel, asked if that was all he needed, and, practically crawling on all fours, took it from Cassel's hand and burst into tears.

His wife, Julieta Elba, demanded only a seven-line letter written in Cassel's own handwriting, so it was a quick one. They packed up and disappeared in just five days out of the ten remaining days until Cassel's wedding.

After that, the old housekeeper who managed Kassel's residence had twenty workers move in the necessary articles of daily life in two days. The remaining three days were spent decorating the place to make it feel like Kassel had always lived there.

That was a total of ten days. It must have been a journey like a war.

The master, Cassel Escalante, who arrived just as the housekeeper was finishing her arduous journey, could tell.

This place was too small, and he had too much stuff to move from the mansion.

"Why is there so much luggage?"

"… … ."

"The official residence is small. Please reduce it a little…"

A large, antique dresser carved from a piece of rubberwood was squeezing the middle of the hallway, unable to find a place to put it.

Its depth was more than half the width of the hallway, so Cassel had to turn his body diagonally, hunching his large shoulders, to get through it.

Ines sighed every time she saw the large furniture placed in such a way that it seemed out of place in every corner of the residence.

Cassel, who pretended to show Ines around the residence and was looking around the residence with her for the first time, was also quite embarrassed by the smaller size of the residence than he had expected.

"I think it would be better to return some of them to the Esposa Castle. Cassel."

"… … ."

"Can I live here too?"

"Why can't I live?"

As he said that, Cassel thought to himself, 'I might not be able to live there.' The house was so small that he felt like he would be thrown out by himself.

"I don't really have a lot of material desires, but it doesn't seem like there's any room for me to cram my luggage in. It's only natural since families don't usually stay together when they're on assignment… ."

Ines muttered uncomfortably, as if she were an uninvited guest.

This low-rise two-story house might have been a dream mansion for the wealthy middle class of Ortega, but for the children of great nobility who were born as the owners of huge manors and lived their entire lives in one castle today and another tomorrow, it looked like a small stable attached to an inn.

The garden and backyard attached to the mansion were, to put it nicely, quiet and simple, and to put it bluntly, it was so small that it was hard to tell what there was to see.

If there was one thing that was so wonderful, it was that you could see the sun setting over the sea straight from the terrace or the tiny garden. Even Aaron, who would quickly jump out and explain things on his master's behalf whenever Cassel had to explain something, praised this point until his mouth dried.

But today was a day when the horizon was covered in fog. The only compliment was not worth it.

"There is absolutely no problem with your stay, Senora. The landlady is not here, and this old man is making a mess of everything he does… How about throwing away anything that is an eyesore? Except for our captain, of course."

As Arondra spoke and smiled kindly, Ines smiled back with a somewhat awkward smile and muttered.

"Even though she's my wife, I don't want to throw away other people's things…."

"The husband's things are the wife's things. You can throw away anything you don't like. Oh, this is the room with the billiard table that the captain used to like to use. There is also a card table and a chess table by the window."

The billiard table, which would normally be in the center, was located on one side against the wall, and the chess table was also located on two sides against the wall, making it impossible for two people to sit facing each other. One card table barely survived, but it was barely enough to hold two chairs together.

Unless you're trying to fight a wall or a ghost… .

"Because he has a naturally blunt and upright personality, he rarely brings his classmates to the official residence, so he uses this room alone when he has turbulent thoughts rather than sharing it with others… … ."

"So you're saying Captain Escalante mostly plays alone here?"

Although Arondra tried to somehow explain the need for this room that had lost its original purpose, Ines's careful wording left Cassel alone in the strange room, staring at the wall and playing games, becoming a social misfit.

Cassel gave up on making excuses and, pressing his temples, carried her to another room.

And the moment he opened the door, the sight that came into view left him speechless for a moment before Cassel finally opened his mouth.

"…This is our bedroom."

"… … ."

Perhaps, perhaps it would be so… It was also barely possible not to attach such an uncertain clue.

The huge Kassel bed, which had been brought in directly from the luxurious mansion behind the military courthouse, was so large that it seemed as if it would burst open, filling the master bedroom.

It was a room even more magnificent than the bridal chamber where they had spent their first night together. There seemed to be no room for any other large furniture, and the only things that were available were a dressing table for Ines, a small desk by the window, a narrow, long sofa for napping, and, although it was probably the smallest room in the mansion, a very large table and two chairs in the remaining space… .

The only thing worth seeing was the long window above the sofa, and the door next to it led to a long balcony, overlooking the blue sea and the tranquil garden below the steep hill.