C62
Even after passing through the first gate of the fortress, the group had to go through three more gates. The Lahoz palace rose like a tower, and the three-layered citadel protected it firmly.
Bianca, who had been hiding in the carriage while traversing the forest, couldn't help but observe the capital. Bianca gently pulled back the curtain of the window and looked outside through the gap.
The closer they got to the palace, the more colorful the clothing of those wandering the streets became. As the capital city, the guilds were active, and there were many wealthy people, so even commoners dressed in clothes that were indistinguishable from those of the nobles.
Everyone had an impatient attitude, as if they were living a busy daily life. Even their walking was brisk. If they were commoners on the estate, they would have been mesmerized by the splendid procession of nobles, but for them, whether it was normal or not, they simply passed by.
However, when some of them saw the banners of their procession, their eyes widened, and they began shouting loudly.
"Arno! It's the crest of the Arno family!"
"The Iron Blood Count! The god of battle, the undefeated knight!"
"Count Arno! Look this way!"
Taken aback by the people's reaction, Bianca unconsciously withdrew. Yvonne, who was in the carriage with her, smiled slightly.
"Because the Count is the hero of Sevran. Without him, the people here wouldn't have been able to lead such a peaceful life."
"......"
Everyone's eyes were on the front of the procession, on Zachary. Familiar to them, Zachary rode his horse without hesitation. His silver-gray hair shimmered in the sunlight, his black cape fluttered in the spring breeze, and his unwavering expression even seemed noble. To Bianca, Zachary was always just a husband who emptied his inheritance, but to others, he was a hero. The gap was unfamiliar.
To be honest, what makes all this new is that Bianca simply wasn't interested in Zachary.
Only in Zachary?
She wasn't very interested in the state of the kingdom either. She only knew that Zachary had been fighting against the Kingdom of Aragon, but she had no idea why the Kingdom of Aragon invaded Sevran or what interests were intertwined.
Until Zachary died in the war.
After being expelled from the Arno family, seeking to make a living and hearing all sorts of stories, Bianca learned that the wars that had been fought were the result of the succession relationship within the Sevran royal family.
The current king regarded Gautier, the first prince, as the next king, but Jacob, the second prince, did not relinquish the throne. He was an ambitious and insidious man. He secretly cooperated with the Kingdom of Aragon, which had a hostile relationship with Sevran, and shook the kingdom of Sevran, becoming a hero during the turbulent times and devising a plan to deal with Gautier amid the war.
Most of the nobles on Prince Gautier's side came from government officials, and none of them were war experts. In comparison, Jacob was so skilled in combat that he won several fights with spears. Jacob thought that if he went to war and subdued Aragon, the king would judge him again.
But Jacob's confident desire to become a war hero was shattered. Because Zachary appeared like a comet.
Zachary, who suddenly appeared, emerged victorious time and time again and was granted the title of baron for his great achievement in the war. The title of war hero was bestowed upon Zachary, not Jacob.
His plans went awry, but even then, Jacob remained relaxed. Jacob wanted to be a king, not a hero. As long as he could draw Zachary to his side, Jacob could claim the throne without any risk, so he would have his cake and eat it too.
The problem, however, was that to do that, he had to attract Zachary to his side, and Jacob wasn't the only one who knew that.
However, there was someone who moved before Jacob, Gautier's subordinate, Count Blanchefort. He immediately offered marriage to Zachary, and Zachary didn't reject it. Thus, Blanchefort took Zachary as his son-in-law and aligned him with Prince Gautier's faction, much to Jacob's disappointment.
"So, even if I could go back to my childhood, I would have ended up marrying this man."
Zachary was on a winning streak and an undefeated streak. He repeatedly defeated Jacob, with whom he had formed an alliance, and that did not improve Prince Jacob's position. From the perspective of the Kingdom of Aragon, there were increasing voices doubting whether it was right to continue the alliance with Jacob.
Bianca didn't know what Jacob's decision had been in the process. In any case, Prince Gautier dies in the war, and Zachary tries to elevate Prince Albert, Prince Gautier's son, to the throne but dies in the war. In the end, it was Jacob who became king.
It was Zachary's older brother, Viscount Huegh, who expelled Bianca from the Arno family empty-handed, but the opponent who stole all of Bianca's belongings was none other than Jacob. In the war he fought for the throne, Bianca lost her father, brother, husband, and her future.
Now, she didn't think about that for a moment as she tried to establish her position within the Arno family, but it wasn't that she had forgotten who her enemy was. Anger and revenge burned like fire under Bianca's chest.
But she was just a countess. An incompetent countess who couldn't lead the army, couldn't engage in politics, and couldn't even protect her territory when the lord, Zachary, went to war.
She knew her position and was well aware of how dangerous it was as an aristocrat to show her emotions in the territory of the other, the capital. Therefore, she didn't lose her composure enough to overlook the danger.
"Why don't I tell Zachary? If he knew Jacob's intentions, he would actively try to get rid of him, and that would alleviate my worries."
But soon Bianca shook her head. How the hell would she tell him? Bianca had just arrived in the capital and had no interest in the state of the kingdom, so it would only sound suspicious. Above all, knowing that Zachary mistrusted her just for saying she wanted to have a child...
"Yes. For now, let's focus on pretending we don't know anything."
Bianca kept her mouth shut, trying to control herself. It wasn't easy, but she had to do it.
Nobles arriving in the capital had to go see the king. Bianca also had to attend as a countess. As if he had visited countless times before, Zachary went to the reception hall of the castle. Following him, Bianca took a deep breath. Her pale face hardened like a porcelain doll, and her pale green eyes seemed deeply anxious.
Her face was paler than usual. At first glance, she seemed nervous. Zachary, who continued to look at Bianca, added with concern,
"Don't be too nervous. It won't be a big deal. His Majesty won't blame you if you make a mistake."
Thinking that Bianca was nervous about coming to the capital and meeting the king for the first time, Zachary tried to ease Bianca's tension.
"I know. Thank you."
It's not that she was nervous, but she couldn't tell him what was worrying her, so Bianca gave an appropriate response.
Zachary looked at Bianca with a concerned gaze, but there was nothing he could do for her.
Zachary moved again, and it wasn't long before they arrived at the reception hall. The knight guarding the reception hall recognized Zachary and bowed his body, blocking the door. The knight's eyes showed clear astonishment towards Zachary.
The reception hall was spacious. The ceiling was so high that one couldn't see the end even if they raised their neck, and an embroidered tapestry with red roses symbolizing the Sevran royal family hung on the wall of white stone. On each side of the columns stood knights dressed in armor. Their appearances, covered by helmets, were overwhelming.
At the end of the knights, in the middle of the reception hall, was a huge throne carved in stone. Sitting on the throne was the elderly king of the Kingdom of Sevran, Victor de Sevran. Although his face was covered in wrinkles, the slim face line, straight nose, and thick eyebrows remained, suggesting the beauty of his youth.
The reason why the symbol of the Sevran royal family is the rose is that the progenitor of the Sevran royal family was Owyn Sevran, a beautiful blond boy known as the Knight of Roses. Perhaps that's why those who inherited the blood of Sevran were famous for their shining blond hair and beautiful faces resembling the sun.
To the left and right of the king were two men who resembled the king but not each other. The moods of the two handsome men with blond hair were extremely different. It was speculated that the gentler but fragile and slimmer man was Prince Gautier, and the more robust and cold-faced man was Prince Jacob.
All eyes in the reception hall were focused on Zachary, who entered the hall with dignity. Bianca, on the other hand, relatively concealed her presence. Bianca's goal for this audience was to finish it as discreetly as possible without exchanging words.
Standing in front of the king, Zachary courteously greeted,
"Zachary de Arno, greets Your Majesty."
Tags:
TWB (Novel)