Chapter 8: 8

Chapter 8 – 15 Year Reunion (2)

Translator: Skye

Winter was fast approaching. The autumn leaves slowly vanished, snow taking its place and coating the bare branches of trees in white. It was also the return of Zachary and his men to Arno Castle.

Vincent was successful in attaining a white fox fur cape before the start of winter. Not only were white foxes hard to catch, but they were also coveted by many for their beautiful white fur. They weren’t something that could be purchased by acting fast. One would need connections with hunters and merchants in order to obtain one. As such, Vincent proved to be quite the capable steward for being able to acquire one so quickly.

Bianca requesting such an item was not a simple act of indulging in luxury nor was it to confirm the memories of her lavish past. It was to pull herself together and strengthen her resolve.

Brushing her fingers over the soft fur, Bianca closed her eyes. If she wanted to continue wearing these fine coats, to continue living in comfort, then she would need to offer something up herself.

Bianca always expected to be given things when she was younger, but she was now someone who had gone through many experiences life threw at her, and consequently realized that everything had a price.

What she had to do now was also, in its own way, a ‘price.’

Wrapping the cape around her shoulders, she turned to gaze out the window. Zachary and his men seemed to have entered the castle as she could only see the stablehands holding the reins of the horses.

She took in several deep breaths. She couldn’t believe the time had finally come to face her husband. She couldn’t forget the figure of him she saw moments prior, like it was vividly engraved in her mind. It was a familiar face without a doubt, but her memory of Zachary’s face was hidden behind a cloud of fog, so to see his young features suddenly burst out from the mist brought a strong sense of unfamiliarity instead of elation.

When was the last time she had seen Zachary again?

It made sense for her memory to be fuzzy, as it had been more than fifteen years ago. Bianca convinced herself that it was only expected for him to seem unfamiliar.

Despite this being Zachary’s first return to the castle in months, it was likely that he would neither send someone for her nor come looking for her himself. Bianca and Zachary’s face-to-face meetings were simply coincidental occurrences resulting from the two happening to be within the same radius as the other. The only other times were if there was a particular reason they needed to see the other, and for Zachary, returning from war did not fall under that category.

Bianca left her room, understanding she could only see him if she went to go find him herself. Her legs were shaking underneath her skirt, but she feigned composure, straightening her back and raising her chin.

Noticing Bianca walking down the hall with graceful steps, the maids bowed their heads and stepped back in order to avoid her.

Bianca headed for the entrance hall, expecting Zachary to be there. The closer she got, the louder the noisy laughter of men.

It appeared the Arno Knights found the campaign this time to be the opposite of difficult, as their faces were overflowing with victory and joy.

Their voices were raised, boisterously prattling about their accomplishments on the battlefield. The eyes of the male servants were filled with envy while the cheeks of the maids were tinged pink as they stole glances at the knights. The celebratory banquet had yet to even begin, but the lively atmosphere made it seem like it already had.

At least, until Bianca appeared.

“And so I took the bastard’s neck and wham! I gripped his neck firmly with my two hands and shook–”

“Sauveur.”

Sauveur, one of the captains of the Arno Knights, had droplets of saliva flying from his mouth as he excitedly recounted his experience when another captain, Robert, suddenly jabbed his side.

Still in an exhilarated state, Sauveur narrowed his eyes and turned to look back at Robert, only then realizing the atmosphere around the entrance hall had become quiet.

“Huh? Uhh…”

“……”

Robert’s demeanor had become subdued at some point, his chin slightly angled towards the top of the stairs. Sauveur’s widened eyes looked up only to find that it was none other than the lady of the castle, Bianca. Despite only being 16 years old, she exuded a sense of elegance and  dignity that could not be easily brushed off.

But that was not the reason for the heavy silence that seized the entrance hall. The reason why everyone had immediately held their breath as soon as they noticed Bianca, why that was because……

“Madam, may I ask what brought you to come to such a raucous place…”

Robert asked, lowering his head. There was nothing to find fault with in his perfect and polite posture, but reflected in his dark green eyes was an uneasiness resembling a dormant volcano that could erupt at any moment.

And he wasn’t alone. Hostility and reservation were present in the eyes of everyone in the entrance hall. In their eyes, not only was Bianca young and picky, but she was the lady of the house who they could not find a single thing to like about.

Bianca was aware of it as well. There had been times when she had been hurt by their attitude in the past, but she had pretended it didn’t bother her and only raised her nose higher, afraid that they would look down on her if she let it show. In the present, however, she had more important things to worry about.

Her eyes sweeped the entrance hall. Confirming that Zachary wasn’t here, she looked for Vincent but found that he wasn’t here either. Bianca inwardly sighed before turning to Robert and asking, “Where is the count?”

“…He has gone ahead to his room.”

“Is that so? For what reason?”

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“He said he wanted to take a bath.”

“Alright.”

With an offhanded nod of her head, Bianca turned around. She thought she would be meeting Zachary by the entrance. Her tense body immediately relaxed but her heart continued to beat loudly in her chest.

Everyone left in the entrance hall let out a synchronized breath once Bianca disappeared. Sauveur, who had been the chattiest one before the interruption, took in several big inhales as if he had been holding his breath during the entire exchange. Robert stared at the hallway Bianca had disappeared through and commented, “Why is she acting like that all of a sudden?”

“What do you mean?” Sauveur asked.

“Ha? I’m just saying I was surprised to see Lady Arno coming all the way here.”

“Yeah, you’re right. She’s always stayed cooped in her room, never showing interest in what our lord is up to.”

“…….”

The quiet and aloof Gaspard nodded his head in agreement.

Sauveur, Robert, and the quiet Gaspard. The three captains of the Arno Knights were like Zachary’s hands and feet, hence they were unable to see Bianca in a good light due to how she treated her husband. Just thinking about how much their lord was doing for her only to be given back an attitude of ‘is this all you can do?’ instead of even a word of thanks made them boil with anger.

But what was the point in that? The lady of the house was Bianca, and even if they were to curse her, it would just cause more harm to themselves. Sauveur sighed and shook his head, deeming Bianca’s sudden change in behavior as nothing.

“I don’t know why she’s being like that all of a sudden, but I’m sure she’s just acting on a whim. It’s none of our business.”

“But if she went to go bring up something unwarranted that’ll only get on the count’s nerves again…”

“Well, what can we do even if that’s true? We can’t do anything about it.”

“Yeah. Ah, our lord is a problem too. Why does he always just listen and never say anything back whenever the madam does that… He could get angry at least once.”

“Oh please, do you really think he would ever do that? He’s someone who doesn’t dare to even raise his voice, too afraid that his 13 year younger bride might fly away from a slight gust of wind.”

“And I’m saying just how much longer are we going to have to humor that young bride?!” Robert unconsciously raised his voice. Belatedly realizing the words that had come out of his mouth, he glanced around his surroundings.

Fortunately, it seemed Sauveur had already dismissed the servants as there were none of them around to have heard Robert’s disparaging comment. Calming himself down, Robert lowered his voice but it appeared his anger hadn’t completely subsided as there were still sparks in his tone.

“I shouldn’t have teased him by saying that it looks like he’d be playing house with a very young bride when the proposal from the Blancheforts first arrived. I should have told him to find another marriage partner instead.”

“Don’t say something ridiculous. There’s no other family like the Blancheforts. Wasn’t it you who mentioned that our lord was able to receive his current title more easily thanks to the Blancheforts’ support?”

“……”

Robert became silent, reminded of the words he had said himself. His face grew red from being corrected by Sauveur, who was the most frivolous and the most lacking when it came to understanding politics among the three captains.

It was something Robert had indeed said himself, but Sauveur could not understand why his comrade was so highly strung.

Robert was the third son of a baron, making him the only one of the three who was of noble birth. Naturally, he retained the empty formalities and manners of nobles, kind towards the ladies, and was normally composed. When Robert was being himself, one never would have imagined he would have spoken so harshly about Bianca–a noble lady and his lord’s wife.

However, he was Zachary’s most loyal retainer. Sauveur and Gaspard also held much loyalty towards Zachary, to the extent they would give up their lives for him, but Robert’s loyalty went beyond that, resembling something closer to devotion.

He was also the one who outwardly expressed his concern for Zachary the most. Not to mention, Robert had been the happiest one when he heard the news that his lord, who was still a baron at the time, had received a marriage offer from Count Blanchefort. It was none other than he who had commented that his lord was being acknowledged, but it was also why he was the most unhappy with how Zachary and Bianca’s relationship had turned out.

Sauveur scratched the back of his head awkwardly when he noticed Robert maintaining his silence. He recalled the figure of Bianca earlier and began babbling in order to change the subject.

“Now that I think about it, the madam was wearing a white fox fur cape I’ve never seen before. She must’ve bought another new one already. Unbelievable, really.”

“…It’s improper for us to be grumbling about something the lord has allowed himself. Besides, our territory isn’t poor to the extent that it’d suffer from a single coat purchase.” Robert, having finally come to his senses, interjected.

Sauveur inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, but continued to grumble in order to keep up the current change in mood.

“It’s not a problem of money, but a problem of sincerity and thoughtfulness. I wonder if our madam is aware that while she was on cloud nine with her new fox fur, her husband was out risking his life on the frontlines.”

“She is indeed someone who uses a lot of money.”

Instead of shutting Sauveur’s mouth again, Robert nodded his head in agreement. Gaspard, who was more reserved, furrowed his brows like he was troubled by their attitudes. But because he was no good with words, he was unable to stop them and remained silent instead.

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