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She felt a helplessness beyond her control!
The behavior of Fernand and Jacob, who didn't care how much she screamed or refused, was chilling.
The reason why her rejection is now working is probably because Zachary is by her side. Before, he didn't even think of listening to her, he just said what he wanted to say. He was someone she couldn't communicate with.
Recalling what had happened before, Bianca shuddered slightly.
The tremors in her body didn't fade even after a long time. Reluctant to even face Jacob, Bianca tugged at Zachary's sleeve and said with a weary voice.
"Let's go back, honey. I'm tired."
......
Reluctant to back down, Zachary stood tall, staring at Jacob without budging even at Bianca's gesture.
The eyes of the two men clashed. A man trying to protect Bianca and a man trying to steal Bianca. The clash between the two incompatible beings grew sharper.
"Honey."
When Bianca pulled him back, Zachary slowly turned around, dragged along by Bianca's hand as if he couldn't help it.
Jacob's guts burned. Jacob shouted after them.
"I won't give up on you, Bianca!"
It was a strange obsession.
As soon as Jacob said that, Zachary stopped.
It was a complete disregard on his part to openly court Bianca in front of her husband. At the same time, it wasn't any different from treating Bianca like an easy woman.
Angry, Bianca tried to respond, but the coldness flowing beside her hardened her body.
Bianca's face turned pale, without even thinking of looking at Zachary. Although she had grown accustomed to his face, unlike before, she still felt frightened when he was angry. Even if that anger was directed at someone other than her.
Zachary's eyes were tense as he slowly looked back. The two unwavering eyes seemed to pierce through Jacob. There was power in his gaze.
The power of the strong against the weak and that of wild beasts to prey on herbivores!
Like a rabbit in front of a wolf, Jacob involuntarily held his breath as Zachary's lips slowly opened.
Zachary's mouth opened. The restrained voice was as calm as a whisper, but it was so clear and heavy that it left no room for confusion.
"It's a bit cliche to say that a weak dog barks the loudest, but sometimes clichés hit the mark."
It was obvious who he was referring to as the weak dog. Just as Jacob was about to shout how dare he insult the royal family, Zachary's next words interrupted him.
"In war, the barking dog usually dies first. I think His Highness needs to bark a little less."
There was clear hostility in his sarcastic tone.
Zachary looked at Jacob, then turned around and left the garden. Gaspard also took Yvonne, who had lost consciousness, and silently followed him.
Gaspard's eyes remained fixed on Jacob for a moment, as if nailed to him, as soon as he realized it was Jacob who had struck Yvonne.
The boiling anger lurking in the deep navy blue eyes that resembled the night sky vanished in an instant, making it difficult to even realize its existence.
"...Ha!"
Jacob laughed in a state of shock. Zachary's words were too arrogant for the prince. However, he couldn't get angry because it was the right choice to cover things up at this point. If the commotion grew and this story reached the king's ears, it wouldn't be good for Jacob.
Jacob took a breath. Yes. Let's think rationally... However, Jacob has been acting unfamiliar ever since he met Bianca.
When Bianca was out of sight, he always thought of her, and when he met Bianca, even by chance, an unknown impulse propelled him in front of her. He knew he had to be patient, but it wasn't easy.
Bianca, who confronted him like this, emitted open hostility and rejection towards him. That's how it was today. Jacob had no intention of acting like Fernand. He was just trying to appease Bianca, who must have been taken aback by the unexpected situation... However, the sight of Zachary's footprints ignited his impatience, and his evasive attitude annoyed Jacob.
And the result was this. Bianca's contemptuous gaze towards him...
All attempts to win Bianca's favor were in vain. The same happened at the tournament. Jacob's rose for her was nothing more than a topic of conversation at the banquet. He didn't even have to ask how burdensome Bianca considered the rose he had given her. Furthermore, the golden rose Zachary gave her and the lace handkerchief Bianca gave Zachary... It shattered Jacob's self-esteem.
"Why the hell does Bianca hate me? I'm sure I can be kind to her... I can dress her in more precious things than Count Arno can give her and whisper love to her. What good is a husband who is always away because of war? All other noble women have a lover..."
Compared to the mere lovers of other aristocratic women, Jacob lacked neither status, manners, nor looks. Why Bianca didn't accept him was something Jacob couldn't understand.
Although he cared more than anyone else, Jacob's thoughts had been twisted from the beginning. Jacob didn't realize that Bianca was already married and that it was distasteful to pay attention to other men. Furthermore, he didn't even consider what he did to Bianca today as cowardice.
Jacob gritted his teeth as he watched Bianca leave the garden in Zachary's arms.
"Yes. I knew it wasn't going to happen soon.
I don't have to be impatient just because she's not in my hands right now. Slowly, carefully... I must do what I originally planned. Kill Zachary and bring down his background so that she can only rely on my arms..."
Jacob was a persistent man who had to get what he wanted.
The blue eyes burning with wounded pride silently shimmered in the darkness when everyone disappeared.
----
Zachary walked with Bianca in his arms while Sauveur and Robert sorted things out. He was impatient and wanted to leave immediately.
The scent of blood uncomfortably mingling in the air, unable to be concealed even amidst all the vegetation, made Zachary choke.
The foul smells, like that of a freshly killed corpse, a burning body, and the odor of an old and decomposing corpse, were normal on the battlefield. So Fernand's blood scent didn't impact Zachary too much.
However, the mere fact that Bianca was in that space was enough to worsen his anger.
As he ran towards where Yvonne's scream was heard, Zachary's heart raced terribly. Perhaps something happened to Bianca. He wondered if her life was in danger... The ground trembled as if it was about to swallow him, and a cold sweat spilled all over his body.
When he first held his sword and went to war with his life as a guarantee, he was less nervous than this. The anxiety of losing something precious. It was definitely the first time he felt it.
Fortunately, Bianca was safe, but the fact that she was in such a situation was unacceptable. Zachary gritted his teeth. By pursuing Viscount Volne, who could become a threat in the distant future, he almost put her, the most important thing, in danger.
How worried was she? Bianca criticized Jacob with an indifferent look, but the body in her arms trembled violently. Thinking about how scared she must have been, his heart seemed to tear into pieces. If he had come a little earlier, Bianca wouldn't have had to see that...
Zachary's steps, not wanting to leave her in this place any longer, quickened.
But was he too hasty? Bianca's legs, unable to keep up with his pace, wavered as if they were about to collapse. Having gone through such an ordeal, it was natural that her legs had lost strength. Seeing the danger, Zachary stopped and held Bianca in an instant.
Unlike in the past when she refused to let Zachary embrace her even in an empty hallway, Bianca obediently surrendered to Zachary.
Bianca's resistance had long been exhausted as she had desperately fought again and again to escape from Fernand and Jacob.
The things that had sustained her until now had been her determination, pride, and anger. The tension that had been as taut as a stretched thread vanished in an instant as soon as she escaped from Jacob. Unable to afford to worry about other people's eyes, she buried her head in the crook of Zachary's neck, collapsing.
-----
Zachary strode quickly, and soon they reached the bedroom with its comfortable bed.
Zachary placed Bianca on the bed and knelt in front of her, examining Bianca's complexion. Her face looked like a layer of ice.
Bianca whispered with a blank expression on her face.
"I want to wash."
"Just wait a moment."
Zachary immediately called the assistant and the maid to prepare a bath for Bianca. Since Yvonne was not present, the preparations were slow, and there were many deficiencies. Bianca's preferred bathwater was a bit warmer, and she preferred roses to violets. But Bianca couldn't even afford to point that out.
Bianca poured water over her body several times to cleanse the trace of those men. Then she stepped out of the bathtub with only a white fur coat on her body. Zachary, who was waiting behind the partition, approached and accompanied her. Zachary handled Bianca with care, as if she would break if he held her too tightly.
Bianca, led by Zachary to the bed, still seemed dazed as she sat on the bed. Her eyes were unfocused. The marks from yesterday that remained on the soft female body exposed beneath the fur shook Zachary despite the current situation.
But what made Zachary unable to move was the blue bruise that had stained Bianca's white skin.
Zachary's face distorted grimly when he found the bruise coloring her arm as if it had been tightly gripped.
"Bianca."
"That man is horrifying."
Bianca murmured. There was an indelible fear in the empty voice flowing from her soft lips.
What had Jacob done to frighten her so much? Zachary's teeth ground together beneath his clenched lips.
Bianca gripped the fur covering her shoulders. Unlike Zachary, who mistakenly thought Bianca was afraid, Bianca couldn't bear his anger. The humiliation of being influenced by the opponent was unfamiliar to her, and she didn't want to get used to it.
Terrible memories of being expelled from the Arno family in her previous life came to her mind.
Begging desperately for mercy, but with her argument deemed worthless, her powerless pleas were rejected... In the end, Bianca was expelled from the Arno family without being able to do anything, and since then, she wandered, being treated as a deranged woman, receiving no respect or love anywhere. Everyone rejected her. Fortunately, the monastery accepted her.
Bianca believed it was all because of her status. Because she had never been treated like this when she was the Countess Arno. People looked down on her for the sole reason that she didn't have a husband behind her...
So when she returned, Bianca firmly swore not to abandon her current status. Never, no matter what happens...
Jacob, who constantly flirted with her, was not at all welcome. If she thinks about it, it was also Jacob who stole the Arno family from her in a previous life. He is a nuisance even in her present life...
If Bianca had only thought about her survival, it could have been different. After all, Jacob was a man who became a king in the past. Instead of clinging to Zachary, who could die politically speaking, it wouldn't be bad to have a good relationship with Jacob.
But Bianca had unwavering self-esteem. Bianca knew the nature of the man called Jacob. Now, he is obsessed with her, but it's only a feeling of competition and inferiority towards Zachary, and an obsession with not being easily accepted.
If Bianca had accepted Jacob's advances, he would soon lose interest in her.
Bianca, who had already been vulnerable to Jacob, would panic when she saw him, and it was clear that Jacob would abandon her at the right moment. With all kinds of scandals. Don't you know a woman who died like that?
Bianca didn't want to be like that, nor did she want to live with Jacob. And above all, Bianca had fallen in love with Zachary. So his courtship was just a hassle...
And she was convinced by today's event. Jacob was more than a hassle and should have no place in her life. From the moment she first met him, the discomfort that had lingered at the periphery completely enveloped her body. A clear hostility. A strong feeling that he should be eliminated from her life.
In fact, it was more intense than when she faced Viscount Huegh or Fernand, whom she had sworn revenge against. As if he were an enemy of the heavens...
Indeed, although they had been lovers and enemies in a previous life, the shock of Fernand's death didn't last long. If Jacob hadn't killed him, she would have eventually killed him herself. First of all, Bianca didn't place much value on revenge because she followed the principle that only the results should be good.
The same went for Jacob. Bianca didn't have to soil her own hands if she could get rid of him. The only problem was that he had a noble status that no one was willing to touch.
"If it weren't for him being a prince..."
Bianca bit her lip.
No matter how much the king liked Prince Gautier, he didn't dislike Jacob. Jacob was a son who showed the king enough respect, and the king granted him a lot of attention and rewards in return.
The nemesis of Prince Jacob, Prince Gautier, was no different from the king either. He was even more terrifying because he was arrogant when dealing with Jacob despite staying silent.
He was too confident that he would be given the throne. As such, he always disapproved of his brother, who concealed his ambition, but he never stepped on Jacob. Pretending to be a generous older brother and being a good person, he finally died at the hands of his younger brother without ever wearing a crown on his head.
Only those two people can coerce Jacob, so even if today's events are made public, nothing special will happen. It wasn't that Jacob really violated Bianca; it was just a situation that could be called a disagreement. Although Zachary was loyal and a hero, Bianca knew well that the royal family could not punish Jacob for this.
Rather, it would be fortunate if Bianca was not questioned for the promiscuity of her behavior.
Why did she go to that gloomy garden with the maid at that moment, what was her relationship with Fernand, etc., etc.
This was always the case against women. Whether it was a courtesan relationship or not, the essence was the same in the end. Whether it was the ecstasy of the sexually lustful body or the elevation of their narcissistic mind, men were interested in filling their greed with sweet words.
If she couldn't get the desired results, it would be wise not to cause trouble from the beginning. Only her reputation would be affected by the gossip of others, and it was obvious that her father and brother would also be concerned.
This did not mean that Bianca would forget what happened today.
Bianca looked at Zachary, who was observing her complexion from the side, and grabbed his arm.
Bianca's actions were sudden, leaving traces on Zachary's face, who couldn't hide all his emotions.
But in the blink of an eye, all the fragments of emotions vanished. They seemed not to be much different from Bianca's.
Bianca looked directly at Zachary and spoke clearly.
"If they are in a war, kill him."
"..."
"You can pretend it was the enemy's fault."
Her voice was a bit hoarse, but her words, every word, contained a clear determination. The light green eyes that fluttered with resentment even seemed desperate.
Zachary may think that Bianca is doing this because of her anger over the Jacob matter.
But compared to Bianca's reason for killing Jacob, his anger was incomparably small and trivial.
For the future. No, for her life. To completely separate Zachary's death from her.
Bianca was convinced that she had returned to save Zachary. So, furthermore, it was only natural that he and Jacob could not live under the same sky.
When she met Jacob, Bianca had suspicions that Jacob had killed Zachary. That suspicion had now been confirmed.
Jacob thought that Prince Gautier had died and that the throne was almost within his grasp, but Zachary supported the coronation of Prince Albert. It couldn't have been just a thorn in his eye.
So, before Jacob kills Zachary, it's better to kill Jacob first.
Tags:
TWB (Novel)