C90
It was as if his black, blue, and shining eyes were laughing at him as if he were a fool. Jacob agonized inside but struggled to calm his mind. His pride was hurt by the fact that he was provoked by the person he was trying to provoke. Jacob straightened his lips and smiled once more. However, his smile that made his cheeks tremble was not as confident as before.
"Well, it's an advantage for me if your weaknesses are exposed even if you're affected by wrong emotions."
"...The prince is too talkative for a knight. Maybe it's because he lacks enough experience to be a knight."
It wasn't familiar for Zachary to be sarcastic, so Jacob and Robert were left with their mouths open. Zachary was always the type of person who showed actions instead of words, and for that reason, how difficult was it for Robert and the other vassals to read his intentions from the smallest amount of comments?
Jacob later realized that Zachary had quoted the words he had previously directed at Robert. Jacob's face twitched.
Even after giving Jacob a chance, Zachary's face remained unchanged. Zachary blinked and looked at Jacob. His voice was as calm as a whisper in his ear but at least as clear as Jacob's.
"Without faith, without thought, without resentment. The knight speaks only with the tip of his lance."
Yes, the knight must show everything in actions. It was the same with love. Zachary had no talent for elegantly speaking with poison on the tip of his tongue or for expressing himself sweetly as if bathed in honey. He only does everything he can for her.
There was no point in arguing with Jacob. Zachary led directly to the arena. Robert, who quickly realized the situation, smiled and squinted at Jacob, then took the lance and followed Zachary.
Jacob's face hardened.
Unlike his characteristic gentle attitude, the expression on his face was unusually serious. He felt frustrated because nothing went well. Most annoying of all was that his chances of defeating Zachary in the next match were almost nil.
Of course, he had taken into account from the beginning that he would be defeated by Zachary, but immediately after hearing what Zachary said, he became even more excited.
There were many reasons why Jacob had to participate in the tournament.
To show himself in front of his father and try to create a positive image, and to give a rose to Bianca and thus implicitly confess his feelings...
Having reached the semifinals, the intention to appeal to the king was fully achieved, and the king also seemed delighted with his performance. But Bianca didn't like his rose very much. Maybe she was shy, he thought. From what he observed, she doesn't seem to have the kind of personality that would visibly appreciate the approach of a stranger.
Still, there is no tree that does not fall after receiving ten blows. Even if he loses today, there is still the banquet...
Once he gets close enough to her in the tournament, he can cut down the tree even at the banquet. If he brings her down like that, he will be able to repay today's humiliation...
After staring at Zachary for a long time, Jacob spurred his horse while gritting his teeth. His blue eyes filled with malice shone deeply.
-----
The results of the match between Zachary and Jacob were disastrous. Perhaps he forgot that his opponent was a prince, because Zachary threw Jacob to the ground. It was such a visible defeat that it didn't even need to be played twice.
No matter how much he cares less than Gautier, Jacob is also the king's son.
The fact that his son had been ridiculed made the king feel a little uncomfortable. It was an act of dropping not only his son's face but also his own face. If Zachary had thought about the king's face, he would have won in moderation...
The king disapproved and clicked his tongue.
Gautier, who was next to the king, quickly noticed the king's uneasy feelings. Gautier sided with Zachary as if to appease the king.
"As expected, Count Arno is a great knight. With him, the match against Castile will not be lost."
"But did he really need to throw him like that? Jacob is also a prince. Disparaging the royal family is no different from disparaging me."
"It's a knight's fight. On the contrary, the reason Count Arno did such a thing was because Count Arno recognized Jacob. It's because wild beasts often chase their opponents to finish them off."
"Mmm...."
The king groaned disapprovingly. Gautier's words were plausible, but he couldn't immediately set aside his sadness. Gautier repeatedly defended Zachary.
"Don't you already know how loyal Count Arno is? If my royal father requests it, he will go out and bring victory on any battlefield no matter how difficult it is."
"Right. That's true... This time he joined because I ordered him to participate, since he's not really interested in tournaments or anything like that. He even won. Count Arno takes care of his people."
"That's right. He's my father's faithful vassal."
As the eldest son who sweetened his words, his bad feelings dissipated. The persuaded king smiled brightly, and the tense atmosphere was destroyed in an instant.
The victorious Zachary approached Bianca. Sauveur smiled repeatedly and slowly walked away. Zachary, who looked closely at Bianca, said with concern.
"You look tired."
"It's because I tossed and turned in bed yesterday."
"How?"
"...I had a nightmare."
Bianca responded with difficulty. Due to the arrow that flew from somewhere, it seemed as if the Zachary in front of her would be brought down at any moment.
It was a senseless dream. Although she received the news that Zachary died from an arrow, Bianca didn't know if it was true. Because the body was not identified. She wished she had paid a little more attention at that time.
Bianca struggled to hide her anxiety with a smile.
"I must have been anxious."
Although it wasn't a lie, it felt like a lie. There must have been many questionable answers, but Zachary didn't ask. Instead, he handed her a rose and casually commented.
"I'll be back soon after winning, so be patient."
Saying that, Zachary turned the horse's head before Bianca could reach out the hand that had received the rose. Bianca stared at his back. Does he care about me? Or is that what I want to believe?
In comparison to the kindness spoken by common people, Zachary's kindness felt like many things were omitted. A soft voice, a kind attitude, and a bright smile. Until Bianca returned, she didn't even realize that Zachary favored her.
It was only when she grew up and looked around more widely and wisely that she realized his sincerity. His friendly attitude, hidden behind his words, was it poison or honey to her...?
She could see a little broader than before, but that didn't mean she could see beyond. The accumulated prejudice. The difficult reality to know. Fearful of not knowing whether Zachary's blunt kindness would be positive or negative for her future, she sat with closed eyes and blocked ears.
When she stepped forward, where was the certainty that she wouldn't fall off a cliff?
Instead of curiosity about the unknown future, she felt fear. It was too pessimistic and hopeless to be accepted at the age of sixteen.
Apart from that, time passed.
The final match was about to begin.
All the women caught up in the excitement of the battle raised their voices and shouted Zachary's name.
Bianca's mood quickly cooled in the sharp, high-pitched buzz chanting her husband's name.
The cheers were so many that Sauveur, who was by her side, said,
"As expected of our Count. He's very popular."
"......"
"But he doesn't even care about the people around him. He's too inflexible."
Sauveur clicked his tongue. Despite the noise, Zachary remained calm. Perhaps it's because the noise around him comes from voices that have nothing to do with him. But if Bianca were to shout Zachary's name here... Sauveur smiled and whispered softly.
"Did you know, madam? I think it was two years ago... At that time, we asked the Count to have a mistress and find some solace. The Count was at his peak, and the madam was young..."
And mean-spirited. The words Sauveur swallowed sounded as if they had come out of her mouth.
Bianca was not surprised by Sauveur's sudden comment. Didn't Bianca also assume that Zachary had a mistress? However, she was curious to know what Sauveur meant by saying this.
What Sauveur said must have been quite refined. Even Bianca thought she had been too harsh on Zachary in the past.
... Too harsh? When did she start thinking that way?
Bianca had screwed up quite a bit, but she wasn't the type of person to regret what she had screwed up. Even after returning, wasn't she lamenting being deceived by Viscount Huegh and Fernand instead of becoming a proper wife to Zachary?
The inside of Bianca trembled like a ship in the middle of a storm, but apart from that, she seemed calm on the outside. As if staying in the eye of a typhoon was peaceful.
Sauveur laughed bitterly at Bianca's attitude.
"She's not even surprised. Is it because she expected it or maybe not...?"
"......"
"...Well, anyway... The Count rejected our offer. And then scolded me to stop talking nonsense. At that moment, the Count was truly cruel. I felt he would rather return to the battlefield."
She had already heard from him that Zachary didn't have a mistress. However, it was surprising that he didn't despite the people around him requesting it.
As soon as she heard that story, she felt a lump falling from her chest. The damn feeling didn't leave her heart.
Tags:
TWB (Novel)