C51
When he entered the ceremony hand in hand with Count Blanchefort, he wasn't playing with a doll, but she herself was a doll. He wondered if she would reach around his waist. A girl in a beautiful and delicate wedding dress was led towards him with a veil.
Face to face, she looked even younger than he had thought. Now he had to stand beside that girl and have a ceremony. Zachary's mouth went dry.
Perhaps reading Zachary's bewildered gaze, Bianca was afraid to look at him and cried.
Even though he expected it to some extent, Zachary was stunned when he saw Bianca crying and screaming loudly.
While Zachary stood there, unsure of what to do, the people surrounding Bianca tried to comfort her. But Bianca never stopped crying. She feared Zachary as if he were some kind of demon lord.
While the people around Bianca comforted her, Zachary opened his mouth to help. But as he was afraid of Zachary speaking, Bianca's cry, which had calmed down a bit, grew louder and louder. Zachary closed his mouth again at the sound of her weeping.
Zachary's face hardened as the wedding proceeded along with Bianca's screams. His heart softened with despair, and he could let go of all expectations shortly after the wedding ended.
After a horrific wedding, the newlywed bride and groom made their way together to the groom's property. And that was the beginning of true hell.
At that time, the land of Arno was undeveloped, so there were many deficiencies, and the castle was very simple because there wasn't enough money to expand it. The property that Zachary had gained with so much effort was nothing compared to Blanchefort of Bianca.
From Bianca's perspective, it must have been like diving into hell all at once.
People meeting for the first time in an unfamiliar and ugly place. The only person she knew was the nanny who had followed her, so it was natural that Bianca could hardly adapt to Arno.
Still, Zachary tried. He knew he had been hated at first sight. But still, she was his wife; she couldn't cry terribly every time she saw him forever. Anyway, some time had passed since the wedding.
Since becoming his wife, Zachary vowed to do his best and tried to fulfill that vow.
Zachary made an effort to find ways to break through Bianca's barriers. Although the castle was simple, Bianca's room was decorated in a way that wasn't much different from when she stayed at Blanchefort. He hired a cook known for her excellent skills for Bianca and tried to buy what she said she wanted. Even if it was a bit too heavy for the Arno family's situation, which had just become a barony.
While trying to meet the standards of Bianca, who grew up in a wealthy family like Blanchefort, the budget of the Arno family naturally ran out.
There was a limit to the amount of money that could be earned in a limited territory, and in the end, Zachary had no choice but to go to war. Sometimes, even as a mercenary.
Since he was so attached to the battlefield, the smell of blood and dirt wouldn't leave his body. As he often left the estate, it was rare to see Bianca face to face. If they saw each other often, they might create a bond, but even that didn't work, so it was natural for them to go round and round without growing closer in their relationship.
A thirteen-year age difference.
A bride too young and noble.
Not the worst, but their marriage must have been a terrible match.
Would it have been different if Zachary had been a bit softer and kinder?
He knew how to distance himself from people he didn't like, but he didn't know how to approach her with a smile.
Because nobody approached Zachary like that.
When he thinks of Bianca, Zachary remembers her crying in sadness on their wedding day. It was the same as Bianca grew up.
If Zachary approached even a little, her pale green eyes, like green vegetation on a summer day, seemed to darken like a dark cloud. Thus, Zachary was blocked by the refusal of the young bride and couldn't take a step closer.
As a result, Bianca naturally thought her husband hated her. It must have been influenced by her nanny Jean, who was protectively by her side.
"The Baron Arno doesn't suit the lady. He's on a different level. There should have been a better marriage, but the Count didn't care either. How could he handle his marriage like that?"
Jean kept denigrating Zachary. If she found the hospitality a little neglected, she would create a scandal. This caused Jean and Vincent to clash several times, creating a big uproar.
"My young lady could have married a marquis or even a duke... How did she end up tied to a baron?"
"The baron is giving all the support possible to his wife."
"What can he do with that? He can't bathe her body in rose oil every day, he can't soften her face with honey, and he can't even eat fruits from the distant south."
"The lady is now also a member of this Arno family. You have to make some concessions for the future of the Arno family."
"She's a Blanchefort! How noble is the blood of my miss, and since she came here, she should be treated with respect. But instead, she's asked to adapt to poverty? Isn't all this because Baron Arno is not enough as a husband?"
The day he heard such a comment, even Vincent's cold heart trembled with anger. Zachary knew that Jean whispered bad things about him to Bianca, but he couldn't do anything about it. Jean was the only person Bianca trusted in the whole Arno castle.
Unfortunately, Jean passed away three years ago due to an illness. Bianca cried for three days and three nights as if the world had collapsed.
Deeply anticipating that Bianca might turn to him, Zachary went to comfort her, but all he received was a cold door.
Nine years have passed. Zachary went from being the son of a viscount to a baron, and then to a count.
Roland, who expelled Zachary from Huegh, remained the Viscount of Huegh. Zachary's career has given him the ability to seek revenge on his brother, reward those who have invested in his future, and grant most of his wife Bianca's desires. The current Zachary could satisfy all of Nanny Jean's complaints, even if he was still not on par with the Blanchefort family.
But their relationship was the same as when he was a baron.
The seven-year-old girl, now sixteen, still showed reluctance towards Zachary and didn't care much about her duties as a countess. As if it wasn't her place.
Zachary didn't even mind that. Because he didn't even expect anything to change. Still, Zachary did his best for Bianca. Even if Bianca didn't fully recognize that fact, he hoped she would feel it vaguely.
And he assumed it would only end in hope.
In Zachary's eyes, Bianca was still the seven-year-old girl who cried.
And then, suddenly, she spoke about a nonexistent lover and her successor.
Zachary was stunned to see her as if she had become a different person overnight.
Zachary's head, which had grown accustomed to Bianca's attitude towards him, was tingling. To the point where he wondered if the Blanchefort family had contacted her.
It was very strange of her to mention the first night. Not only that. The distance between them was getting closer and closer.
Her scent. Those bright green eyes that stared at him. He felt embarrassed by it all.
And at the same time, an unknown desire rose within him.
He couldn't take his eyes off her lips, and it was difficult for him to pronounce a word correctly. As he looked at her, his mouth dried up, as if longing for a sip of water in the desert.
Vincent and the others were glad that she had decided to fulfill her duty as the Count's wife, but Zachary couldn't accept her change.
Furthermore, she shed tears in front of him after a long time. When he recalled her pitiful appearance while crying sadly, the image of his weeping wife at the time of their marriage overlapped.
Now that he thought about it, when did Bianca stop crying?
Her teary eyes quickly dried up.
At that moment, he felt relieved that Bianca didn't cry, but looking back now, that was the omen that Bianca had closed her heart.
Zachary let out a pitiful groan, but it was already too late.
He couldn't be late this time either.
When Bianca cried because she couldn't have her child, he felt deeply ashamed, but Zachary calmed himself by trying to organize his thoughts on his own.
Yes. Bianca was still young. She doesn't know anything. She doesn't even know what she's talking about.
After being influenced by her and taking her as he desires, it's clear that her still young body will suffer. The same thing that happened with their wedding will occur. She will avoid it, and he will never be able to reach her.
That can't happen. After nearly a decade, she barely turned her gaze towards him, so he can't go back to that moment. At least not until she's eighteen. Yes. She must be eighteen.
Zachary, as an adult, must hold the reins firmly. He trusted his patience and moderation. He had already waited for nine years, adding one more year didn't matter.
He had endured a constant series of infernal wars, so what is this?
Yes. That's what he thought back then.
It's not a big deal, he can endure it.
And it was irreversibly late when he realized that it had been an arrogant miscalculation.
Tags:
TWB (Novel)