Extra - 4
"It seems you've improved a lot."
"I'm still far behind Yvonne."
"If your opponent were Yvonne, you wouldn't be able to defeat her."
"As you said, I'm good at everything I do with my body. You'll get used to it soon."
While Zachary continued the earlier conversation, Bianca chuckled softly.
"Looking at the gonggi throw I saw earlier, you don't seem to have much skill. Dressing up is more of a skill than something you do with your body. Because I have to keep tying the knot."
"Is it necessary to pour cold water on my inflated expectations?"
"I'm just stating the truth. And you're more attractive when you're that clumsy."
Bianca gently grabbed the tip of Zachary's nose, tied the knot at his waist, and shook it.
On the battlefield, Zachary was like a wild wolf, but under Bianca's hands, he was a docile guard dog. Zachary looked at Bianca with a smile and snorted.
"So, do you have to be clumsy to stay attractive?"
"If you're too clumsy, you might get a little boring."
"It's difficult."
Zachary sighed and shook his head. Bianca smiled and patted him on the shoulder. For Bianca, it was quite a powerful gesture, but for Zachary, it was like the flutter of a butterfly.
Meanwhile, Bianca had finished tying the knot. Zachary smoothed out the folds of the dress. Now that he thought about it, there was one more thing he wanted to tell Bianca.
"Right. After all, I think we should go to the capital."
"What happened? It's been a while since you last went."
"This time, you too."
"Me too?"
"Also Alex."
"Alex?"
Bianca asked with wide-open eyes. Bianca had also been thinking about going to the capital. However, the problem was that it hadn't been long since they last went. She was thinking of returning a year later...
Zachary also understood Bianca's confusion. He explained the situation with a sigh.
"His Majesty has contacted because he wants to see Alex."
"I received that message too. For me, it was just a suggestion to go when I had free time..."
"He told you that, but now he's insisting to me."
Zachary laughed bitterly.
Odelli was a woman with different fronts and backs. After sending Bianca a very friendly letter, she insisted to Zachary underwater. How well she had handled her reputation, Bianca looked at him with wide-open eyes in disbelief.
"I haven't seen His Majesty since ascending the throne. Let's go before winter arrives. No matter how strong Alex is, it's dangerous to travel when it's cold. The same goes for you."
"Then let's do that."
Bianca nodded.
The hustle and bustle of the capital city were still vivid in her memory, so she wasn't thrilled about going to the capital. But not to the point of avoiding it.
The only worry was the fact that Alex had never left the territory of Arno. As it was Alex's first trip, anxiety filled Bianca's heart.
"But will Alex be okay? She's not even a year old... If she gets sick on the way."
"Well... thinking about it, I think Alex will be fine."
"Yeah... I believe that too."
Bianca and Zachary looked at each other and nodded. Indeed, their only daughter was so strong that it was hard to believe she was only a year old. Their worries were futile.
------------------------------------------
After making the decision to go to the capital, the preparations were made in an instant. It was the first time in two years that Yvonne packed her bags.
Alex would also go, so they decided to have Lucy accompany them due to the lack of reliable help. Maybe because it was her first time going to the capital, Lucy's face was filled with anticipation.
Vincent's face was filled with worry as he bid them farewell. Seeing him age year after year, Bianca implicitly suggested that he retire.
But Vincent firmly shook his head.
The essence of the argument was that he was more anxious about retiring due to concerns about the duke and his wife.
Bianca reviewed his track record so far to verify his reliability. In addition to managing the castle's finances, storing goods, and managing servants, Vincent was still doing most of the work that needed to be done. It was only natural for Vincent not to feel at ease.
As such, Bianca urged Vincent to quickly find a successor, as she couldn't keep relying on him. Whether Vincent felt the need for a successor or not, he easily accepted her proposal.
However, there was no way for Vincent's successor, who had to take over all the work of the territory, to suddenly appear out of thin air. As a result, the task of finding a successor only added to Vincent's workload.
"It would be good if Vincent found a successor while I'm in the capital."
Of course, if Bianca took over the territory's work, it would have been easily resolved.
But she didn't dare to. In recent years, she had come to realize that people should do work that suits their aptitudes.
Just because she knew about managing assets didn't mean she was confident in doing it well. For Bianca, doing something on a daily basis was obviously rat poison.
Meanwhile, the carriage crossed the drawbridge and gradually moved away from Arno Estate. The carriage swiftly traversed the green fields and entered the leafy forest.
Alex laughed a lot while riding in the carriage. It was strange and charming to see her doing nothing, but that didn't mean Alex was calm. Alex's escape simply shifted from a crib to a carriage.
If Bianca or Yvonne even glanced away for a moment, Alex would try to get out of the carriage like a ghost.
When the carriage stopped for a moment, Alex hurriedly tried to get out.
There were several heart-wrenching incidents during the journey where Alex disappeared.
Fortunately, however, they all managed to enter the capital together safely.
Externally, the capital, which they visited after two years, hadn't changed much, but many small things had changed. The road was much cleaner, and the diversity of people stood out.
As Victor II was about to die, he had no choice but to neglect the maintenance of Lahoz. In the meantime, there had been many corroded and aging facilities.
As soon as Odelli became Queen, she fixed everything. The aristocrats complained that it was a waste of tax money and that they would only become arrogant if they were fed.
However, after the water supply was repaired, more people flocked to Lahoz, and the same amount of taxes were collected.
There was happiness and satisfaction on people's faces. Yvonne's face as she looked around the exterior of the carriage was also lively.
"It certainly is livelier than before."
"His Majesty seems to care a lot about Lahoz."
Bianca smiled faintly. She had thought Odelli would do well, but when she saw the actual result, she was amazed.
Bianca, Yvonne, and even Lucy.
As the people in the carriage looked around and admired the panoramic view of the capital, the people passing by outside the carriage also clicked their tongues at the long procession of the Arno family.
"What procession is this? It's been a long time since I've seen such a long procession."
"Is something happening at the palace?"
"I don't think so... Wait, that's the crest of the Arno family. Duke Arno seems to have come for a visit."
The story of Arno quickly spread through whispers. Astonished people gathered around the procession.
"Arno?"
"It must be Duke Arno who is leading the way."
The image of Zachary leading the procession with dignity while riding a black horse definitely caught people's attention.
Zachary's fame had increased incomparably since his last battle with Aragon. Even his heroic epic was written, making him the undisputed hero of Sevran.
"Now that I think about it, the carriage behind..."
Behind Zachary was an elegant carriage with a black tapestry adorned with the Arno family crest. The white horses pulling the carriage had black harnesses that matched the carriage.
Only the ladies rode in the fully-covered carriages. Even more so if it was such a beautiful carriage. And there was only one person in the Arno family who could ride such a carriage.
"No way..."
Everyone stared at Bianca's carriage. The mere fact of being in the same place as the Saint made their hearts race.
The Arno household members began to get excited over the enthusiastic applause that tingled their ears. Sauveur, responding to the people's hospitality, said with a sly smile.
"Even when I entered the stadium after a great victory, I never received such ovation. Not even when the Duke came for a visit."
"Because there are people who didn't exist back then."
Robert snorted. His gaze briefly fell on the carriage behind them. Sauveur, who immediately recognized Robert's statement, whistled.
"As expected of the Madam."
"It's her first time coming to the capital since it was revealed that she's a Saint, so everyone should be curious."
Robert said as if it were obvious.
Though he pretended to be composed, he couldn't completely hide the feelings stirred by the people's hospitality.
His ears turning red-hot could be distinguished from his pristine, white face.
Then, flowers fell from the sky onto their heads. When they looked up, they saw several young girls throwing them from the buildings. With flushed faces from excitement, they shouted.
"Saint, thank you for coming to the capital!"
All the eyes of those who would have cheered for Zachary leading the procession had passed by him and turned toward the carriage.
Their gazes anxiously sought Bianca. Sauveur, caught in a shower of falling flowers, said to Zachary.
"Now, the Madam is more popular than the Duke, isn't she?"
"......"
Zachary's expression darkened. It was natural for people to be interested in Bianca, being a Saint. He had no interest in people's attention in the first place.
The reason why Zachary's stomach burned was simple.
Out of jealousy!
Bianca already had many followers.
It was usually a man's pride for his wife to be popular, but that was not the case for Zachary.
On the contrary, every time people revered Bianca as a saint, an uncomfortable thought arose, as if she would be stolen away.
Tags:
TWB (Novel)