C92
"May the eternal sun dwell in the shining rose of Sevran."
Zachary exchanged reverent greetings and received a box containing a golden rose. Zachary handed his helmet to Robert, who was by his side, and immediately mounted the horse with only the rose out of the box. It was the moment when the tournament's flower, the golden rose of the winner, would be presented to the woman he loved.
The woman who would receive the rose was determined. Everyone in the arena turned their gaze towards Bianca. But Bianca couldn't afford to worry about the looks of others. In a world where the edges of her vision were all tinged with white, only Zachary could be seen clearly. Beside her, Sauveur was speaking, but she couldn't understand him, as if it was the buzzing of a bee.
"What kind of expression should I make at this moment?"
Bianca's cheeks awkwardly twitched as she wondered whether to smile or not. Since she was very nervous about Zachary's match, her complexion must be pale. It wouldn't be a very pretty face.
Bianca struggled to control her expression, but it seemed she couldn't connect with it, so she couldn't determine whether her expression was as she wanted it to be or not. Maybe she looked ugly. Bianca's cheeks blushed with embarrassment.
Wouldn't she look even duller compared to the bright blond women surrounding her? Gloomy, dark... Things that she didn't care about before started to bother her.
Meanwhile, Zachary drew closer and closer. He was so close that she could even see the sweat drops on the silver hair scattered across his forehead.
Swallowing saliva, Bianca stood up and approached the railing of the platform. She had received a rose from Zachary before, but the tension was different from that time.
Zachary approached and lowered the lace handkerchief hanging from his sleeve. As the white handkerchief swayed in the air, the eyes of all the women present fixed on it. It was something new they had never seen before. The women whispered to each other, wondering what it was about.
They felt more envy for that lace handkerchief than for the victory rose that Bianca would receive from Zachary.
Zachary took the stem of the golden rose with the handkerchief and handed it to Bianca. Bianca's hand trembled as she took the golden rose.
Zachary looked at Bianca with a deep gaze. Bianca's heart raced forcefully at the gaze as calm and still as a lake in the darkness.
"Thanks to your protection, I was able to win."
"... Sauveur said it's natural for the Count to win."
Her throat was blocked, and her voice sounded hoarse. No, why does it have to sound so strained? She didn't want to look bad.
Embarrassed, Bianca hastily added.
"Thanks to the Count's victory, I can enjoy this honor."
"It's an honor that wouldn't have existed without you in the first place."
As he said that, the corners of Zachary's lips curved up in an arc. Bianca was speechless, bewildered by the deep smile she saw for the first time. She wanted to say something, but she didn't know what to say or how to say it.
Zachary's curved eyes and lifted lips were a rarity. Bianca and Zachary, they normally didn't smile and were very blunt. However, unlike Bianca's awkward and nervous smile, Zachary's smile was natural, and even the sunlight shining behind him made him appear sacred at first glance.
Bianca's heart began to beat violently.
Thanks to the shouts of the people around her, she didn't have to worry about them hearing the beats of her heart, so fortunately, she was the only one who heard that her heartbeats were strong. As if they were clamoring for something...
Bianca had tried to pretend not to know. Telling herself that she wasn't in love with him, she had just grown fond of him... But it hurts when you realize the truth.
They were all lies. In the moment when radiant glory shone upon her, Bianca admitted that she had deceived herself. In the end, that fact broke Bianca's heart.
"I can't let him die. I love him... Yes, I'm in love with him."
Bianca feared being prematurely convinced that Zachary loved her, but she couldn't control her own heart. Don't trust him, don't allow yourself to feel the pain of being betrayed by him. But it's funny how she took the first step when she tried to stay away.
When she realized that she liked Zachary, she forgot how she had been able to stand so calmly in front of him until now.
The tension made Bianca's mouth dry. Zachary, unaware of the flood of emotions running through Bianca's mind, murmured as he fiddled with the reins.
"It's all thanks to you. Thank you."
"... If you're so grateful, why don't you give me a grateful kiss?"
Bianca trembled at the sight of Zachary repeatedly expressing his gratitude. Still, she didn't have the courage to look him in the eye, so she averted her gaze.
He asked for a kiss, but for Bianca, it was just a saying. No different from asking for a successor. So she didn't even expect Zachary to actually kiss her.
Would a man who doesn't even sleep with her kiss her in front of others?
She said it without much expectation, but Bianca's face blushed much more than usual, perhaps because it was right after she realized her feelings.
She couldn't remember or feel when was the last time she kissed Zachary in her previous life.
At that moment, Zachary reached out and held Bianca's cheek. A rough sensation grazed her soft cheeks. The scent of leather and iron pierced through her nose.
Before Bianca, taken aback by the sudden contact, could say anything, Zachary spoke first.
"If that's what you desire."
"... What?"
As soon as he said that, Zachary's body on the horse leaned towards Bianca with the platform railing in between.
Bianca, seized by panic, tried to step back, but Zachary's hand held her behind the head. The grip was so strong that Bianca couldn't move.
"Wait... hmph..."
The words she was about to say were swallowed by Zachary's lips and vanished. Bianca opened her eyes wide and tried to understand the situation, but no matter how much she shook her head, she couldn't comprehend. What the hell hit that firm iron wall to make him change his mind?
Zachary's kiss was like himself. Blunt, with actions over words, and straightforward... but at the same time, strangely delicate.
The stadium fell silent as if it had been splashed with water. But Bianca couldn't afford to worry about that. The lips that fell and touched over and over again were warm, as if the heat from the last match still lingered.
She could feel a persistent obsession as their tongues entwined, as if he didn't want to let go. Bianca tried to think rationally, but her head felt dizzy.
After a while, Zachary's lips slowly pulled away. But not completely. Zachary pressed his lower lip against Bianca's and took a deep breath. His eyes fluttered with unknown complex emotions. Then, as Zachary slowly moved away from Bianca, the emotions in his eyes disappeared.
When their kiss ended, the cheers of the audience, who had been holding their breath while watching the young count couple, echoed in the stadium.
The Count and his wife, the war hero who won the tournament. It must have seemed like the romance of the century.
While most people looked at them with curiosity and mild interest, Robert, who knew what the couple was like, was left with his mouth open, and Sauveur nodded with a satisfied smile as if he had done well.
Meanwhile, Jacob's face contorted like a shield shattered by a lance. He watched them in horror with bloodshot eyes, but Bianca and Zachary couldn't afford to worry about him.
Amidst the deafening cheers, after holding her breath for a moment, Bianca pushed against his chest with a flushed face and quickly shot him a small whisper.
"I-I was joking...! In a place full of all these people, how...?"
"Were you joking?"
Zachary asked, widening his eyes.
He seemed genuinely naive because he seemed to have no idea.
She couldn't believe that this man with childlike eyes had kissed her so fervently just a moment ago.
Bianca blushed and bit her lower lip. She could feel the slightly swollen lips with the tip of her teeth.
Tags:
TWB (Novel)