B-ronken-R-ing 159...

As soon as Inés jumped into Cárcel's open arms, he enveloped her in a tight embrace that felt so familiar and comforting. The sound of his breathing reached her ear and his scent mixed with the wind of Logorño Hill hit her nose. She buried her face into his uniform, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and allowing him to lift her from her feet, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Their bodies were pressed together as if molded to fit against each other perfectly.

Cárcel barely took half a step back to steady himself, lifting her up before showering her ears and the bridge of her nose with butterfly kisses. Inés giggled at the tickling feeling, and when he pulled back to get a better look at her, she leaned in to press her lips to his.

Cárcel chucked against her lips and murmured, refusing to break the kiss, "Have you been well, Inés?"

"I didn't hear about you getting time off. How are you here?" she asked in a breathy voice.

"I didn't get any time off."

"What?"

"You asked me to come visit, even for a short while. That's why I came. I'm sorry for being late."

Her eyes grew hot, overwhelmed by emotion. Though she knew he would have to leave much sooner than she wanted, she was glad to hear him say this more than she was sad at the prospect. And she didn't want to hide her feelings, either. Inés buried her face into the crook of her arm, still wrapped tightly around him.

As if their already tight embrace wasn't enough, Cárcel placed his large hand on the back of her head and pulled her even closer.

"Alfonso sent my letter just last night. You're not late at all..." she mumbled.

"If I had known your letter had arrived this morning, I would have immediately left headquarters without permission."

"I can scarcely imagine that."

"You said you missed me, for the very first time," he whispered, his lips brushing against her ear. He sounded as though this meant everything to him. Then he asked, "Was it you who wrote it, though?"

"Don't you recognize my handwriting?" she responded with a slight pout.

"I do. Your handwriting is always impeccable. What I mean is... my mother or father didn't compel you, did they?"

"What do you mean?"

"My father could have dictated what to write, or my mother could have been watching over you," he explained seriously.

"You have a terribly low opinion of your parents," Inés remarked, frowning.

"I'm asking whether you truly wrote it of your own free will."

"I did."

"Did you truly, Inés?" he asked again.

"I told you, I did."

Inés let out a frustrated sigh and raised her head, only for him to swoop in for a kiss. He didn't deepen the kiss, only sucking in her lips briefly before pulling away, clearly aware of their surroundings.

Only then did it occur to her that everyone at the party must be staring at them. For someone of her nature, it was rather a late realization.

Though they were half hidden under the shadow of a tree slightly removed from the lights of the party, they weren't completely out of range. She hurriedly stepped back onto the ground and took in the beautiful sight of the reddish glow of the lamps flickering across Cárcel's face through the branches.

The presence of other people ceased to matter, simply because he was here before her. He always saved her. As long as their hands were intertwined, she knew she would be able to escape from this mire.

"I missed you, Cárcel. And no one asked me to write that."

"I suppose you wouldn't do it if someone ordered you to."

"Why would you ask, then?"

"Because I wanted to hear you say it." Cárcel smiled so radiantly that it seemed to brighten up the whole place.

He didn't fully release her until he had placed kisses on both of her cheeks, the bridge of her nose, over her upper lip, and on the tip of her chin.

Though Inés had her back turned to the rest of the party, Cárcel must have been facing the intense scrutiny of everyone present. That was most likely why he had stopped at a few light kisses instead of pushing her against a tree and devouring her right then and there. Of course, if he indeed cared about those watchful eyes, he would have joined the party instead of enjoying this brief reunion under this tree. But he chose to whisper to his wife, hugging and kissing her as though he were oblivious to the party, despite having crashed a party where the crown prince was present.

"I can't see you properly with your back toward the light," Cárcel muttered, caressing her cheek as if to trace her features. Then he placed a kiss on her forehead and whispered, "I want to see you more clearly, Inés."

It wasn't that he was unaware of everyone staring, but that he simply didn't care. He acted as though he could see only her, though she stood in the shadows with her back to the light and the brightly lit crowd visible beyond.

She found herself longing to be captured by his doting gaze, alone. Not where he refused to look at anyone else, but where they were truly isolated. She wanted to see him where it was just the two of them, as far as the eye could see, as alone as they had been in Admiral Calderon's hunting grounds, in that lodge amidst those vast woods. She desired to be the sole reflection in his eyes. Just as he wanted her face to be lit up in the darkness, she wished for his face and his presence to be shrouded in the stillness of a world where only they existed.

She wanted to take him in completely, to be the only one to see him. She wanted to whisk him far away from this wretched palace and the pain of this world, to a place where he could see and hear only her. If she could achieve that, she felt that she wouldn't mind if the world behind her crumbled to ruin.

Dismissing this absurd and selfish wish with a chuckle, Inés turned her head to place a kiss against the tips of his fingers, which had been caressing her cheek.

Cárcel's blue eyes suddenly darkened to near black. He pressed his thumb against her bottom lip, hard. She wanted to part her lips and suck his thumb to arouse him, but his tired eyes made her feel too sorry for him. Inés settled for lightly biting the tip of his finger that lingered on her lips for too long, then backed away a little.

"You make me want to whisk you away."

"Would you, please?" she asked with a huff of laughter.

He let out a pained sigh. "But you ought to be in Mendoza tomorrow, too. I can't make things difficult for you."

Inés continued to smile at him wordlessly and elegantly reached out a hand, as if demanding he offer her his arm.

Cárcel smiled along with her and pulled her arm around his. "So, I should at least let everyone know I will be taking you away."

In the end, he was practically whisking her away like a bolt out of the blue for everyone else. She let out a small chuckle.

The sound of the music being played, which she had pushed to the back of her consciousness, slowly returned to its full volume. Oscar, Dolores, Alicia, and the other young nobles who frequented the palace all had their eyes fixed on them.

Inés, who had been smiling openly up at Cárcel during the few steps it took them to approach the party, suddenly and brazenly hardened her expression into one of cold indifference as soon as she stepped into the light. Cárcel, whose gaze had been affectionate when directed at her, also switched to a neutral expression.

His appearance was unbelievably neat, without a hair out of place, considering that he had just made a long journey on horseback. A rigid demeanor overtook his handsome features as Cárcel politely bowed his head toward his noble cousin. "Your Highness."

"I did not expect such an entertaining scene tonight, Cárcel."

"I pray you forgive me for not visiting sooner."

"Well, what brings you here tonight when you have been so reluctant to visit Mendoza thus far?" the crown prince asked wryly.

"I have no excuse." His polite answer was inadequate, as though implying that it was none of the prince's business.

Oscar let out a dry laugh, his face completely devoid of emotion. "What do you mean? I finally get to see your precious face after so long."

"Again, I have no excuse."

"It's been so long since I saw my favorite cousin. Let us put aside these meaningless apologies. Here, come and sit down."

"I apologize, but I must leave Mendoza by tonight."

"It is already late at night. You just arrived-why leave so soon?"

"What?" Inés asked a little louder than intended, a frown on her face as she turned to look at Cárcel. Her aloof silence and lowered gaze were gone.

"I am pressed for time since I can only make a brief visit. As impolite as it may be, I wish to return to my residence immediately and spend as much time with my wife as possible," he answered Oscar first. Then he turned to Inés, his stern expression instantly softening. "I need to return to Calztela in two hours and attend the training session at dawn...why do you look so thin, Inés?"

Inés turned her whole body toward Cárcel, glaring at him. "Why didn't you say so sooner?"

"I told you I was only here to see you for a short while, Inés."

"Then why are you wasting our time here?"

Her question served to trample on both the crown prince, who was hosting the party, and his sister, for whom the party was held. Suddenly, Inés and Cárcel began to squabble as though they had completely forgotten about the people in front of them.

"Even if you had thrown me over your shoulder and headed to Escalante Manor right away, we still wouldn't have enough time. Yet you wasted our time whispering about trivial things earlier, and now you are standing here, asking for forgiveness unnecessarily..." Inés pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Inés, that was harsh of you to say. It's been a whole month since I've seen you," Cárcel replied, though his eyes were full of mirth. "It's your own fault for not being somewhere easy for me to find. You should have known I would hurry to your side after reading that you missed me, Inés."

"How could I have thought that you would be foolish enough to mount a horse as soon as you received my letter?"

"You're right. I am quite foolish, and that is why I always need your good sense at my side." Cárcel bent over and pressed his lips against her temple.

Acting as though his kissing her in plain sight of others was entirely normal, Inés furrowed her eyebrows in irritation. "Do you truly think that traveling to and from the capital right before an early morning training session is feasible at all?"

"Everything is feasible when it comes to you, Inés."

"Don't use me to fuel your self-destructive tendencies, Escalante. Do you have a death wish, or have you just gone mad? Do you hope to die young? To die a sudden death?"

"I want to live a long life with you, of course," he replied evenly.

"This stunt of yours makes me think otherwise."

Oscar was watching them, or more precisely Inés's constantly changing expression, with a strange look in his eyes. Dolores let out an exasperated huff of laughter as she turned to the crown prince and whispered something in his ear.

It wasn't just them. Everyone at the party was staring at the couple, wide-eyed in disbelief. Only Alicia, frozen in place, was regarding her fiancé instead.