C112
Bianca, whom Marceau saw, was a woman who preferred to go out alone rather than using others for her benefit. Moreover, her identity was not lesser than Catherine's, and her husband would get her anything she wanted, so there would be no reason to use Catherine.
In fact, she would be perfect as Catherine's friend.
She seemed a bit stubborn and determined, but she wasn't hard-hearted to see that she had saved the young viscountess. And as determined as she is, Catherine is frank and careless, so it will be fine. Rather, Marceau wished that Catherine would learn from Bianca's decisive side.
Although she wasn't a traditional beauty based on the royal family, Bianca also belonged to an objective beauty, so she was enough to interest Catherine. Marceau's eyes sparkled as if he were plotting an intrigue.
Just as expected. Catherine slowly raised her head and asked cautiously.
"Would you like to spend time with me?"
"Of course. She likes you too, that's why she said those harsh things. At first glance, she seems like the type of person who wouldn't even give so much advice to someone she really doesn't care about."
"Still..."
Catherine hesitated and intertwined her fingers. She didn't seem displeased. As Marceau expected, her eyes were filled with interest.
When Marceau saw that Catherine had taken the bait, Marceau threw the final bait.
"Doesn't my wife trust my eyes?"
"No. Could it be? I believe in everything the Count says."
Catherine smiled widely and looked at Marceau.
Her eyes were full of trust and kindness, like a puppy looking at its owner. Marceau said, passing the back of his hand over her cheek, while thinking that Catherine was so cute he could die,
"Then go with Her Highness the princess."
"The princess?"
"Didn't you meet Her Highness when you met the Crown Princess? Go to the princess and tell her that you want to be friends with the Countess Arno. That you want to apologize for what happened today."
"That's fine!"
Catherine's face lit up when she found a reason to meet Odelli. For a woman who loves beautiful women, Odelli, who feels ecstatic just by looking at her, is the person she always wants to be with. She wouldn't wish for anything else but to spend the whole day admiring Odelli.
However, as there hadn't been a justification for them to meet until now, and since she wasn't shameless enough to attack her directly, her relationship with Odelli had remained at simple greetings. That was the best Catherine could do.
However, she still had a doubt. Catherine tilted her head and asked.
"But why the Royal Highness? Rather, since Count Arno is serving the first prince, wouldn't it be better to go to the Crown Princess?"
Catherine's cousin, the Crown Princess, wouldn't she be a better bridge than Princess Odelli? It would be good for Catherine to be able to meet Princess Odelli, but....
Marceau laughed as he saw Catherine looking at him with wide eyes as if in doubt. He explained step by step why Catherine had to turn to Princess Odelli.
"Didn't the princess take the young viscountess today? Thanks to you, today's affair was successfully completed. The Countess Arno will surely meet the princess. The relationship with the Crown Princess is linked to a political advantage through her husband, but she is directly related to Princess Odelli. It will be easier for you to get closer in that way."
"As expected, the Count is the best!"
Catherine exclaimed aloud.
As expected, her husband is a great man. How can he judge so much in such a short time?... Respect grew in Catherine's shining eyes.
And Marceau looked at Catherine with honey-dripping eyes. After admiring each other for a long time, the couple naturally went to bed.
In the end, Catherine never mentioned Ante again. Marceau's lips lifted with satisfaction, having achieved what he wanted. Now, all that was left was to remove Ante from his sight forever.
He smiled brightly at Catherine, trying to suppress his desire to burst into laughter.
-----
The day came when she promised to go to the church with Odelli. Zachary gave permission, but that didn't mean he wasn't worried. Until Bianca left, Zachary continued to look displeased.
"Don't worry too much."
"It's my duty to worry. Don't worry about that and have a safe trip."
Zachary stubbornly shook his head. In his mind, he wanted to surround her with several knights, but he couldn't forget Bianca's expression when he made that suggestion.
Anyway, as long as she was accompanied by the princess, she couldn't have more escort knights than her.
Bianca's eyes widened a bit because she was worried about her departure. Although she felt relieved to have been able to find a solution.
Zachary came to the conclusion to add two more escorts than usual. And place several knights around the church. It wouldn't be possible to assign a large number as it could cause friction with the church. Still, it wasn't against the law for some knights to roam around the church, so it wouldn't be a big issue.
Bianca's escort was led by Gaspard, as always, and the church knights by Robert. Sauveur was busy with the task of replenishing supplies to return to the castle.
In the past, Robert would have complained a little about whether it was necessary to do such a thing, but he was willing to accept it because he had been shocked by Jacob's deranged behavior.
However, if Bianca found out that he was planning to send knights to the church, he feared she would try to dissuade him. So Zachary deliberately kept that fact a secret. He always tried to be honest with Bianca, but fortunately, Bianca didn't ask about it.
"Then I'll leave. You don't need to see me off."
Bianca stopped him, but Zachary followed her down to the first floor of the palace. If they continued like this, he thought they could go to the princess's palace together, so Bianca hurriedly moved away from Zachary.
Her steps, as if she were running, seemed dangerous. Zachary, who was worried that Bianca might fall, stopped following Bianca and stood upright, watching her back.
He looked like a guardian dog, and Bianca's lips trembled with a smile as she walked away.
----
"Good morning, Countess Arno."
"Good morning, Princess. Did the princess have a good night?"
"I was so excited for today that I was worried about staying awake all night, but luckily I slept well."
The two greeted each other and smiled. They had become close enough to joke around.
Then Bianca's gaze turned to a corner of the room. The red hair standing behind Princess Odelli couldn't go unnoticed unless one paid attention. She didn't know why she was here, but she couldn't ignore her either. Bianca gracefully greeted her while holding her skirt.
"Good morning, Countess Davoville."
"G-Good morning, Countess Arno."
Surprised by Bianca's greeting, Catherine responded a bit late. Catherine's head tilted as she greeted, and her gaze shifted to the tips of her toes.
Odelli was familiar with Catherine's shy personality. Even if Catherine had to apologize personally for the Ante incident, Odelli thought she should explain the situation to her.
"I apologize for informing you on the same day, Countess Arno, but can the Countess of Davoville accompany us to the church today?"
"As far as I'm concerned, it's fine."
"Thank you for your understanding."
Bianca replied, trying to hide her trembling. Even if she hid it, it was obvious that she was embarrassed by the situation, as her facial expression seemed tense.
But Catherine and Odelli had happy smiles on their faces. Apparently, they didn't even expect a positive response from Bianca in the first place.
Bianca's forehead wrinkled slightly because she felt that, for some reason, her personality seemed twisted.
When Princess Odelli gave her a look, Catherine, who was standing behind her, hesitated and stepped forward.
"I wanted to apologize to Countess Arno."
"Apologize?"
"It was my responsibility to manage Ante... I should have cut ties with him earlier, but I couldn't, which tarnished the Countess's honor with false rumors."
"Isn't it a rumor that has already been resolved? I spoke quite harshly at the banquet hall, but I had no particular thoughts about the Countess."
Bianca waved her hand in embarrassment. Actually, it wasn't necessary for Catherine to come here to apologize.
----
Rather, it was natural to hold a grudge against her for confronting her in the banquet hall. However, there was nothing wrong with reconciling with Catherine.
The Count of Davoville was a docile opportunist and, in memory of Bianca, he was one of the few from the first prince's faction who survived after the second prince ascended the throne. If he had been just an opportunist, he wouldn't have survived. That was proof of his capability.
The matter of Ante was inevitable, there was nothing she could do. However, there was no reason or need to reject her when she approached like this. Bianca's head quickly spun.
Unlike Bianca, who analyzed the situation with the utmost coldness, Catherine was only moved by Bianca's kind response. Catherine's voice trembled slightly as she took a step closer with a dreamy expression.
"T-then, can we be friends? Please, be my friend..."
Catherine said with delight, but soon realized she had gotten too excited and her voice faded.
Catherine was weak in socializing. She also knew very well that she lacked tact. Normally, she kept her mouth shut, smiled awkwardly, and nodded to the conversations around her, but today she was impatient as if someone was pushing her from behind.
"I should have suggested it after gauging the atmosphere a bit more... What did I do?"
She regretted it, but it was an arrow that had finally been shot. Catherine rolled her eyes and looked at Bianca. The wait for Bianca's response dragged on.
Bianca couldn't easily answer Catherine's request. Bianca was accustomed to a certain degree of familiarity, gain, ulterior motives, etc. Therefore, she could get along with Catherine, Countess Davoville, and intended to do so.
But friends... Bianca, who never had anyone she could call a friend in her past and present life, had no idea what it meant to be a friend.
Catherine's face changed second by second as Bianca stiffened, contemplating how to respond. It turned green and then red, like a ripe tomato.
While the two remained silent, unable to speak, Odelli, who had been listening, stepped forward.
"Now that I think about it, both of you are about the same age. Countess Davoville turned nineteen this year, didn't she?"
Odelli was about ten years older than Bianca and Catherine. In her eyes, the two were simply adorable. Catherine, who is shy but tries to make friends, or Bianca, who seems bold and has never had a friend.
Meeting Odelli to act as a bridge, and asking her to be friends under the pretense of an apology... Catherine would have never come up with such a fitting idea, it was probably her husband's scheme.
Odelli's lips twisted as she understood the situation behind all of this.
"It's good to have at least one or two friends of the same age. Especially women. A man can understand a woman perfectly. But still, I can't sympathize with you."
Bianca involuntarily shook her head when she said that a man couldn't empathize with a woman. Catherine did too.
Count Davoville, known for being a Yes-Man, or Zachary, a hero on the battlefield, who sends people through Sevran to other kingdoms to get whatever Bianca wants, both were qualified as unmatched husbands. However, they felt lacking on the inside.
(Note: Yes-Man: A person who always says yes)
Catherine murmured in admiration.
"Wow... even though the princess is not married, she knows a lot."
"Maybe I didn't get married because of that... um, maybe it's because I'm not married that I have a greater understanding of this... I also have friends of my age. Of course, most of them are married."
The elegant profile of Princess Odelli, who shrugged, seemed particularly lonely. It gave her a rough idea of how her friends of the same age are living now.
After all, Catherine suggested it, so Bianca had to come to a conclusion. Bianca took a deep breath, clearing her mind.
Determined, she looked straight at Catherine. Catherine's shoulders trembled in fear of making eye contact with Bianca, but this time she didn't avoid her gaze.
"It's okay, Countess Davoville. Since you suggested it first, I'll confess with embarrassment. Honestly, I appreciate your suggestion of being friends, but I don't have any friends. So, I don't know what a friend does or how to relate."
Catherine's eyes widened at Bianca's words. She was about to burst into tears at any moment. Bianca, who didn't intend to make her cry, panicked and hurried to speak.
"If you're okay with it, would you like to be my friend?"
"Of course! I'll work hard! I also don't know because I don't have friends, but I'll try my best!"
Catherine smiled widely. She was like a long-eared puppy, with curly brown fur. Bianca unconsciously took a step back. Yvonne was by her side and had developed a good relationship with Zachary, but Bianca still felt uncomfortable trying to please someone.
A smile shone on Yvonne's face as she watched from behind. Gaspard, who was next to her, shook his head with a small chuckle as he observed the smile of a mother looking at her child grow.
Since Bianca and Catherine were awkwardly looking at each other, Odelli clapped loudly to evoke the atmosphere.
"Well then, why don't we go to the church together? But Catherine, even if you're very excited, try to listen to the bishop."
"...Yes!"
Since Catherine is the cousin of the Crown Princess, Odelli knew Catherine well as she had seen her several times. And Bianca felt like she knew a little about the young woman in front of her.
The three began to talk and headed to the church. Each of the maids and escorts lined up behind the three, so it was quite a large crowd.
Catherine and Odelli's escorts looked at Gaspard. The huge knight who made it to the semifinals was the Countess's escort. It was embarrassing to see how Count Arno openly worried about the Countess.
Gaspard didn't take his eyes off Bianca in front of him, his fierce gaze seemed to pierce through her face. The matter of the banquet was enough to be disloyal to the Lord due to his inexperienced behavior.
Bianca had no idea about Gaspard's troubles behind her. It was overwhelming to just focus on the conversation between Odelli and Catherine. Surprisingly, it was because Catherine was talkative.
After a light conversation about the banquet and Celine, the topic of conversation soon shifted to the tournament. Catherine looked at Bianca and Odelli with longing eyes. Both of them were so beautiful. She, who couldn't believe the situation at this moment, murmured with a slightly dazed voice.
"Both of you are so beautiful... I envy you a little because you're so popular. You received many roses in this tournament, didn't you?"
"The lady who truly deserved the roses was the princess, I was just a bribe from those trying to impress my husband."
"Still, the rose Prince Jacob gave seemed sincere. Prince Jacob doesn't have to look good in front of Count Arno."
Catherine, unaware of what had happened between Jacob and Bianca, thought that the rose Jacob had given to Bianca was about a knight adoring a lady. She didn't mean to imply a courtly relationship.
But Bianca simply didn't like Jacob's name being mentioned. As soon as the word Jacob fell, Bianca's expression hardened. A feeling of disgust rose from the depths of her lungs at the unexpectedly dropped name.
Odelli, who quickly read the tense atmosphere, swiftly interrupted Catherine and intervened.
"But it can bother Count Arno. And receiving a rose from someone you don't like is simply awkward, isn't it?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, Countess Arno. I said something tactless because I felt envy."
Only then did Catherine realize that something was wrong and apologized.
She felt embarrassed because she felt like she was making the same mistake over and over again. What will Countess Arno think of her? Catherine's ears turned red.
But it wasn't Catherine's fault. To be honest, if it weren't for what happened in the garden on the night of the victory banquet, even Bianca would have been able to respond sensibly. However, because of that, her dislike for Jacob only worsened... Bianca slowly shook her head.
Tags:
TWB (Novel)