266

***

The Escalantes still remained in Almagro five days after Viviana's death, even though most of the nobles from Mendoza had left four days ago in the early afternoon right after the funeral mass.

The problem was that Miguel had essentially decided to make his new home in the underground crypt of the Castagnarys, which only advertised the instability of his mind. This meant Cárcel had to stay behind and keep a careful eye on his younger brother.

None of the Castagnarys were very fond of keeping the crypt open with an outsider in it, especially since Viviana's body had already been laid in her stone coffin. However, Miguel's lofty family name prohibited them from forcing him to leave. Not even the count and countess stepped in to intervene- they had been immersed in tearful prayer and mourning for the past few days, ignoring everything else that was happening in Almagro. It was understandable that they were so shaken, since their daughter had passed only a few days prior.

Now, Cárcel found himself in Viviana's room after his search for Count Castagnary. He had already asked the count to exile Miguel from the crypt, even if physical force had to be involved. However, the count refused to treat his daughter's precious betrothed in such a harsh way.

"It is not right to separate them in death when they were already forbidden from seeing each other while she still breathed," Count Castagnary said desolately.

"But please consider this, Lord Castagnary. Your own family members have voiced complaints regarding the open crypt, stating it as a cause of anxiety. Almagro itself has been suffering from unease, since dozens of your knights and hundreds of soldiers have been standing guard in front of the crypt," Cárcel said in a desperate attempt to convince the count.

However, the count only shook his head stubbornly. "That is only their duty."

"That may be true, but it is still troubling to think my brother is the cause of it."

Count Castagnary's eyes remained fixated on Viviana's bed as he responded, "Do not trouble yourself with such a thought. Not a single soul in this castle suffers from the delusion that the wealthy offspring of House Escalante would try to take any of our heirlooms."

Cárcel paused for a moment in order to suppress his frustration. "Surely, you have already witnessed Miguel's unstable state. I realize this is not what you may want to hear after just losing your daughter, but he needs rest... as do you and Lady Castagnary. I believe he is in need of treatment as well."

"We have not lost our minds. We simply require some time to mourn what we have lost," Count Castagnary said sternly.

Now they decide to treat Miguel as if he is a part of them, Cárcel thought sardonically, but he managed to suppress his sigh and maintain a mask of composure.

The count turned his gaze to a portrait of Viviana. He stared at it for a moment then said quietly, "Every single person mourns differently, and there is no way to determine how much time they will need."

"I agree with you, of course. However, please consider the fact that the vassals of Castagnary have been seeking me out, as they are at the end of their rope."

"Ah... I see they have been running their mouths," the count muttered.

"Indeed, they have. They talked of how Miguel's link to Castagnary has dissolved, since his betrothed has passed. They also pointed out that Miguel's actions could be a justifiable cause for war, and requested that I force him out of the crypt as you have yet to give a single command."

The count's gaze did not waver from Viviana's smiling face in the portrait. "Miguel was going to become my son-in-law, no matter what they may say. He may stay in the crypt for as long as he wishes."

He paused for a long moment, then continued, "Vivi is only seventeen in that portrait. It was painted last year to commemorate their promise to be married at nineteen, when Miguel visited Almagro right before he entered the naval academy. They were sitting in this very room... Vivi to the left, and Miguel to the right. I remember how they couldn't stay still for more than a few seconds, despite their age..." A smile began to blossom on the count's face, as if reflecting his daughter's face in the painting. "They couldn't contain their desire to talk to one another, almost like they were still children. The artists were quite flustered, of course... My wife kept scolding them to stop being so foolish. It was a childish sight... but a happy one nonetheless."

Cárcel turned his head to gaze upon Miguel's portrait, which was now leaning against the wall instead of hanging there like Viviana's. Miguel and Viviana had been planning to exchange those portraits between themselves after their wedding ceremony, then hang them up in their new manor.

The count's voice was solemn and ridden with guilt as he said, "I cannot believe I am the one who kept them separated until the moment of her passing."

There was a knot in Cárcel's throat. He whispered, "It was a tragedy that nobody could have foreseen. There are no sinners here."

"No... I am a sinner." The count finally turned his face away from the portrait. "Four days before her death, Vivi tearfully begged my wife to call Miguel to Almagro. She has made that request in the past, when he first came to the city... but this was different. There was resignation in her voice, as if she had already foreseen her own death... as if she knew she had already run out of time."

Cárcel remained silent.

"But me, being a father... I convinced myself that she still had some time. I thought things were getting better, and that there was no need to see Miguel 'one last time'... I am not attempting to excuse myself, but I..."

"I understand," Cárcel said with a nod.

The count took a deep breath. "My wife used to threaten Viviana with the notion that the Escalantes may call off the engagement. It never failed to make her go silent, fearing for her future marriage...and that is exactly what happened that day as well.

However, I think she might have been trying to protect us instead. She didn't want us to know of her inevitable demise..." The count's steely mask crumbled, and tears began to fall from his eyes. He quickly ran a hand over his face. "I shouldn't have trusted that doctor when he said she was on the verge of recovering... I should have listened to my daughter. She should have been allowed to see her betrothed one last time, even if their engagement was to dissolve..." he trailed off, then suddenly turned to stare at Cárcel. "Lord Cárcel Escalante."

"Yes, Lord Castagnary."

"You are demanding that I forbid the poor young man from sitting with the corpse of his betrothed, after I already denied my daughter's wishes to see him before she died. How could I do such a thing?"

In the end, Cárcel found himself walking out of Viviana's room, unable to press any further.

A few hours later, Count Castagnary announced that their family had violated the agreement made between them and House Escalante by hiding Viviana's dire physical state. The undertone of the message was obvious-he was warning the vassals to keep their mouths shut. Unfortunately, this was entirely unhelpful to Cárcel, whose goal was to bring Miguel back to Mendoza as soon as possible.

Now that Count Castagnary was refusing to cooperate, Cárcel was the only one who could bring his brother back home. Unfortunately, he had little to no authority inside the crypt of House Castagnary-now that the count had recognized Miguel's right to stay there, Cárcel had no way of sending his own soldiers into the sacred resting place of another noble family's ancestors. He couldn't even give orders to the servants in the castle.

Cárcel had already attempted to go into the crypt by himself and drag Miguel away, but his brother resisted like a wild animal trying to avoid capture. Although Cárcel could have knocked him unconscious to extract him from the chamber, that kind of behavior would be completely inappropriate for such a sacred space, especially since Viviana was resting there as well.

Now it was the sixth day after Viviana's death, and Cárcel had formed a routine of going down to the crypt in order to guard his brother in shifts along with two other knights, as if they were on a ship that had just gone through a bloody battle. Cárcel had done this task by himself for the first two days, but he grew anxious when he realized the silence and darkness of the crypt would make him fall asleep at one point or another. To only make matters worse, Miguel had refused to sleep for the first four days.

Cárcel feared that Miguel would do something foolish or try to take his own life in the sacred crypt while he wasn't looking. He knew that anything could happen, considering how Miguel had attacked him when Cárcel unsuccessfully tried to drag him out of the crypt. Miguel's arms and legs were covered with injuries he had sustained while fighting to stay by Viviana's coffin, and he didn't even allow Cárcel to treat them. At some point, he had started to doze off occasionally with his head against the wall. However, he snapped awake with a savage glare whenever he heard someone enter the room.

Truthfully, Cárcel wouldn't be surprised even if Miguel suddenly declared that he wished to die with his betrothed. The only remaining solution was to wait until he gave up, one way or another.

"At some point, he will collapse out of hunger or exhaustion," Cárcel muttered. As Inés gazed at him with some concern, he placed a light kiss on her temple and stepped out of bed.

"Please do not try to starve the boy," she said with a raised eyebrow.

"He is only starving himself."

Cárcel had to suppress a scoff of disbelief whenever he saw Countess Castagnary bringing trays of food down to the crypt like a caring relative. Miguel usually pretended to eat some of the food, probably only because she was Viviana's mother. He gave a nod or two when the countess tried to convince him to change into something else or take a bath. In fact, he had already taken a few baths-perhaps he wanted to appear clean for Viviana's sake. However, he became entirely uncooperative and went completely silent whenever the countess asked him to leave the crypt with her.

In a way, it was impressive that Countess Castagnary remained persistent despite Miguel's insolent and callous attitude. After all, she always had to carry the trays of food and pitchers of water all by herself, since the crypt was only open to members of House Castagnary and a select few knights. She continued to do this even though she knew the knights were also bringing Miguel some food, since Miguel found it harder to reject her compared to the others.

Cárcel briefly wondered how she managed to walk down to Viviana's final resting place every single day in order to care for her daughter's betrothed, who was struggling even more than Viviana's own parents.

"I suppose it'll be difficult to force food into his mouth, since he doesn't let anybody lay a hand on him..." Inés said thoughtfully.

"Indeed. I have already sustained a few bruises from my efforts," Cárcel muttered as he quickly put on a shirt. Although there was a playful edge to his words, his face was completely solemn.

"Poor thing," Inés said carelessly and walked toward the mirror, giving him a few pats on the shoulder as she brushed past him. Cárcel immediately followed to take her nightgown as she slipped it off, then helped her step into a slip. There was still a troubled frown on her face as she said, "I wonder just how long Miguel will manage to go without sleep."

"Personally... I don't know how much longer we can do this," Cárcel responded as their eyes met in the mirror. He wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her closer, then buried his face in her shoulder. "I do not know what I would have done without you..."

"I do not think I am particularly helpful to you now," Inés said softly.

"That couldn't be further from the truth, Inés. You are the only help I'll ever need, and you are my everlasting shield."

She remained silent as she gently patted his hair with one hand.

The truth was that Inés had been burdened with all of the stress from dealing with more formal matters, since both of the Escalantes were unable to help her. She had chosen to remain at the castle even though Izabella asked her to depart with her, simply because Cárcel wished it. He knew fully well that it would be exhausting for Inés to remain in Almagro, but he still held her close to him, leaning on the promise that she had made.

He feared so much for her safety that he didn't even feel guilty about being distracted from tending to his brother. He couldn't bring himself to send her to Mendoza alone, knowing she would be faced with horrible memories and even worse-the crown prince.

A hint of pride found its way into Inés's heart, and she smiled softly. "Yes... your shield, indeed."

A part of Cárcel felt guilty that he was leaning on her so heavily, even though it had been completely unintentional. At the same time, he was touched to see that she was so pleased by that fact. He quickly pressed a kiss to her cheek. "You are my only sanctuary, Inés."

"Continue."

"My only joy..." he whispered.

She nodded with feigned nonchalance. "Yes."

"The only one I worship..."

"Well... that won't do." Inés nodded at the Bible placed on a nearby table and drew a small cross on the top of his hand with one finger.

Cárcel chuckled weakly under his breath. "And you are the only one who will pray for forgiveness in my stead."

"It's not as if it costs me any money," she said with a shrug.

"Ah, yes... I almost forgot just how wealthy you are."

"Of course, I will continue to pray for you even if it will rob me of all my money." She reached down to grab the hand that was wrapped around her waist and held it up to her lips. For a moment, she silently bowed her head and whispered a morning prayer.

Then she placed a soft kiss on the back of his hand, just like what he had done for her some time ago. "I have placed a blessing upon you as well," she said as she raised her gaze to meet his. "Now... if you have exhausted yourself of those sweet praises, go and see to Miguel."

Cárcel stared into her eyes and said with the utmost sincerity, "You are the light of my life, Inés." The confession lingered in the air long after he turned and walked out of the room.

Inés took a deep breath in an attempt to chase away the blush that was coloring her earlobes red, then picked up the Bible with a troubled frown. It was time to protect Cárcel Escalante once again.