330

***

"He really is just like his grandfather..." Juan muttered to himself.

"Then Admiral Calderon must have been more handsome than I thought," Inés remarked.

Juan let out a scoff and tore his gaze from the newspaper article about his son to look at her.

He had recovered quite a bit now, but he tended to be bedridden after a walk in the garden, and Isabella was so busy with commitments in the city that she had recently resumed that he only ever got to see his wife at night. The one son he still had in Mendoza spent every day absorbed in his training ever since he had snapped out his madness.

It seemed that Inés often took pity on his dull and uneventful routine by creating such burdensome moments of privacy between the two of them. He was the one overwhelmed by her visits, of course, not her.

"I did see a few portraits of the admiral when he was young at the Escalante residence... and as much as he was quite handsome, his looks were nothing compared to Cárcel."

"You seem incredibly proud of your husband."

"You and your wife ought to be proud of him, not me. I am simply stating a fact." Despite what she said, pride still glinted in her eyes.

And all this after they spent over ten years barely sparing each other a glance... Juan found himself looking at Inés with some degree of wonder. The plate of apple slices he had meant to eat was now on her lap, and she was eating them one by one as if it were only natural.

It was hard to call this ill-mannered of her, as his daughter-in-law could even make theft seem elegant. She had swiped the most expensive thing from his study one day and given it to her husband, only to comment, "Oh that's right, I forgot to pay you for those cigars," weeks later and handing him a small jewelry box containing a pair of sizable diamond earrings in return in the most casual manner. She had made it so she had never stolen anything, and Juan, who hadn't even noticed the missing cigars until then, had to watch as the earrings he received in exchange were immediately taken away by Isabella. She hadn't taken them from him, to be exact. Inés just happened to comment, "Oh, those would look great on Isabella," as soon as he opened the box and snatched it away from him only to hand them to his wife. The earrings did suit Isabella very well, just as Inés had said.

She did whatever she wanted but was very proper about it. She was calm but fierce, strict and yet caring. The collection of newspaper articles on his lap that had taken the place of his plate of apple slices were a good example. Every few days, she would arrive with several large boards full of newspaper articles she had collected for his sake, seeing that he wasn't quite well enough to sift through several newspapers every day. She would hand her collections to him with a proud smile, telling him to read what everyone had to say about his son.

At first, Juan had found himself both moved and confused, considering that he never would have expected her to do something so tedious with a temper like hers. But her eyes glinted as they stared at the articles she had undoubtedly read several times already, and the way she pointed out details about his son's achievements lest he missed them, seemed to indicate that she wasn't simply doing this for Juan's sake.

His son, of course, had always searched for her head of black hair everywhere they had gone, though he had always pretended to be uninterested, which meant that he had indeed fostered feelings for her since they were little. Inés had... well, she hadn't shown any sort of interest at all. It had been astounding to watch how easily she manipulated Cárcel without showing even a speck of interest in him, as though it was an innate ability of hers. That mean little girl was now committing theft for the sake of his son. Instigation and exaggeration were only the start. If there were any need for fabrication, she would gladly do it for his sake.

When she had been very young, she had always acted as though talking to her peers was agony, and yet now she was attending all kinds of social events and monopolizing the lifestyle magazines of Mendoza's noblewomen with her perfect outfits, as though she had never been prone to wearing nothing but black. Her motives were clear. She intended to make House Escalante perfect in every way, ensuring that there would be eyes and ears watching and listening for them even when they were not present. To gather more mouths that would repeat the same narrative over and over again.

When she had first returned from Calztela, she may not have been as gloomy as before, but she had been as informal in her mannerisms as ever. She had brazenly frequented the palace in outfits suited for young ladies wandering along the beach as though it were the most natural thing in the world, and yet now she was dressed perfectly from head to toe everywhere she went. The reason, again, was obvious.

Had the one year they had shared in Calztela been that impactful? Then again, a few days spent in private were far more informative when it came to getting to know each other than a lifetime of speaking to each other with adults surrounding them. Juan and Isabella's union had been just the same. The marriage arranged by his parents, the wife they had chosen for him, his docile betrothed... all those labels turned into simply "Isabella" after their early days of marriage.

"Why are you not reading the newspapers I brought you and watching me eat the apple slices I stole from you? I am aware that I did something very sweet for you, but it is overwhelming to have you stare at me so," said Inés, looking not the least bit overwhelmed.

Juan let out a huff of laughter as he replied, "So you are aware that those apple slices were meant for me."

"Would you like some too?" she asked, belatedly offering him the last remaining slice.

He gently pushed her hand away, signaling for her to eat the last piece too. Then he went back to the newspaper articles. "I was not referring to his looks, but he does resemble his grandfather in that aspect as well. Perhaps even more so than I did as his son." There were complicated feelings behind his smile. "An amazing father and his unremarkable son. I was always the son that never met his high expectations. He constantly told me that I may not have caused so much disappointment and dashed so many of his hopes if he had had just one more son. I even hesitated to hunt and kill animals at times, so becoming a soldier was never my destiny, but I was most likely more averse to living under my father's shadow all my life. The thought of spending my life as Admiral Calderon's worthless son was unbearable. That was why I gave in to Cayetana's stubbornness. Half of it was because I could not continue to watch her be so pessimistic due to our father, and half because we both wanted to escape the shadow of Calderon Escalante. Because Mendoza has its own authority. I thought I would become a man worthy of the name Escalante in my own right. And that I would help Cayetana regain her rightful place..."

"Her rightful place?"

"She was courted by all of the princes, and she would have had her pick, had it not been for our father, who refused to be connected to the imperial family and turned them all down. He wished for a family that was pure, and that would not leave even a speck of mud on his pristine uniform. He also often said that Cayetana was too greedy and should not be placed above the heads of the people with such a temperament. He repeated this sentiment even on the day he finally put a complete end to Cayetana's love affair with the late emperor's crown prince, whom she had been friends with ever since they were little. The only man she ever loved." Juan's eyes were still warm as they swept over the articles about his son, but his tone was indifferent as he continued, "The crown prince waited nearly seven years after he first asked for her hand in marriage, but even the attempt that the imperial family had decreed his last was crushed by one word from my father. Cayetana spent three days and nights sobbing and kneeling in front of father's bedroom, on the brink of insanity."

Inés quietly listened to his reminiscing.

"But he was right. Cayetana should not have become the empress, just as Father said. Though I know that he was right now, he regretted his decision until the day he died. When Cayetana had to watch the crown prince she loved marry another woman... that was when Father lost the daughter he had loved far more than his weakling of a son. She grew to despise our father, and began to treat her body like it no longer deserved the care and respect she had given it all those years. Then, one day, she chose the most foolish of the princes who followed her around and made it so that she would wake up in his bedroom the next morning."

Inés began to eat the last apple slice, almost reluctantly.

"No one would believe that the prince who was now Admiral Calderon's son-in-law had no interest in the throne. Or that the admiral had no ulterior motives whatsoever in accepting him as his son-in-law. It was far more of a burden for Admiral Calderon to become the father-in-law of a prince with no legitimacy than it would have been for him to be the father-in-law of the crown prince. The fact that he had refused for seven whole years to give the crown prince his daughter's hand in marriage made it look like he had chosen another prince as the next emperor. Father said that it was like he had walked into trap he had set himself. It was then the crown prince's turn to go mad and froth at the mouth because the daughter of House Escalante he had treated with such respect and who he had only ever dared to hold hands with-the woman he had been forced to leave after seven long years of waiting-had spent the night with his most pathetic brother and gotten married to him immediately. Cayetana had also despised the crown prince at that point, since he had married another woman, so in the end, everything went her way. Except for the one thing she had really wanted."

"So, do you regret helping your sister back then?"

"I don't know. The one comforting part of this for both my father, who had forcibly separated her from the crown prince, and me, who helped her marry the man who would become emperor, is that the crown prince she had failed to marry would not have been much different from the current emperor. Those princes were fools, every single one of them."

Inés let out a small chuckle at his words and focused her gaze on the portrait of Cárcel depicted in the article Juan was now staring at.

"Father was always very fond of Cárcel in particular. He said he was full of the qualities he had always hoped for in a son. That he could finally rest in peace, knowing that House Escalante would be in good hands once Cárcel grew up..."

Even at the moment of his death, the admiral had crushed Juan's very existence with only a few words. Inés had known that, while Admiral Calderon had been an amazing hero, he had not been a good father. But Juan did not seem particularly bitter about it.

"Everything he imagined back then is happening now. It would have been wonderful for him to witness his grandson, who is just like him, rise to prominence and achieve such great things at an even younger age than he had." The sincere sorrow he felt for his father not being able to see Cárcel like this was bitter.

"Do these things make you uncomfortable in any way, Your Grace?"

"Of course not. All I hope for is for my son to be safe. I am also glad that you are using me as an excuse to show such devotion to Cárcel. The biggest reason I am overjoyed to hear of his victories is the fact that they confirm he is still safe. Though Father never understood why I pursued power and authority in Mendoza, ironically, once Cárcel was born, he recognized that the boy needed a father like me. That he would always need a strong supporter in Mendoza like me, especially once he joined the navy, no matter where he ended up. Just like my own grandfather did for my father. I feel as though my father finally acknowledged me then. I realized that much too late, but I have not had any regrets since I did. The only thing I am sorry about is that I am unable to fulfill my role in this critical time because I am bedridden... I feel guilty toward both my son and you..."

"Cárcel says he is having a good time with your cigars. He only has seven left now. Just as you are satisfied with the fact that Cárcel is safe, the fact that you are still alive is good enough for us."

Juan raised his gaze from his lap to look at her.

Inés smiled. "Besides, I don't know about anything else, but he definitely gets his good looks from you. After comparing the portraits of your youth, I have concluded that you were a bit more handsome than Admiral Calderon Escalante. Each generation has gotten more good-looking, I suppose, just as your son is a little more handsome than you are. At this rate, my son will be even more handsome than Cárcel Escalante."

"You sly thing."

"You are smiling, though."

"Oh you..."

"You say that he takes after Admiral Calderon, but I can't believe that Cárcel would ever be such an indifferent father."

"I have no doubt that Cárcel will be a good father to your children, just as you will be a good mother."

"And that part is something he gets from you. Along with his looks."

He burst out laughing, letting out a few coughs as well.

Inés, who had made the jest, jumped to her feet at the sound and rang the bell to summon an attendant, but Juan did not stop laughing.

Once Inés returned to her seat, watching his face closely to look for signs of illness, Juan smiled. "I do not believe I have much time left, Inés. I do not think I can hold out until Cárcel returns from war. And even if I do..."

"Your Grace."

"I would like to leave everything to you two and move to Esposa with Isabella. I do know that she dislikes the place because of my mother, but I want to provide her with a complete estate and land to rule over after I die. I am not saying that I think you would neglect her, but... she has so much baggage from her side of the family. I simply wish she wouldn't be so burdened by it even after I am gone. And in order to do that, I need some time to show her that Esposa is not such a horrible place after all. Then you two won't have to take care of anything in Esposa, and I..."

"You said you did not remember anything because of your seizure, but you do, don't you? The fact that Oscar was by your side before you collapsed, and that he-"

"Inés." Juan gave her a stern look to silence her.

Inés frowned. Juan intended to take the truth to his grave and bury it alongside his dying body, in order not to damage the good name of Escalante. To keep the peace. Because he could not do anything against his sister. He was not unaware of Oscar's downfall either, since Isabella now shared everything she knew with him. Oscar was no longer a man capable of ascending the throne in good conscience; he would not be able to be the emperor's successor. And yet...

"I disagree with you, Juan. You will live a very long life. And there will be no burying of the truth, because there will be no grave to bury it in."

Inés knew all too well the helpless sentiment so characteristic of those facing death. All they wanted was to think of those they would leave behind; they were perfectly willing to do nothing for their own sakes if it was for the good of their loved ones. But she knew of his fate outside of Oscar's clutches. His life may have been damaged, but since he had survived, all was not lost. It was not yet time for Juan Escalante to die.

"You may not be able to assist Cárcel out on the battlefield, but you can help me here."