C56
While the cold winter was long, the warm spring days flew by in an instant. It's been a month since spring came.
The time was slowly approaching when Zachary and Bianca would leave for the capital.
Originally, the vassals would not have gone to the capital, because the king would have traveled the country with thousands of servants and knights to tour his territory. The king used to show his dignity as king and confirm the loyalty of the lords through traveling performances.
However, the current king was old and unable to bear a life of wandering, so he used Crown Prince Albert's engagement as an excuse to invite all the lords except the margrave* to the capital.
(Commander of a border area established as a military colony by the Kingdom.)
There was no need to say that the lords went to the capital. It wasn't just out of loyalty to the king. As the king aged, his eyes were focused on who would be the king's successor, and since he had to do with his future, they had to closely feel the weight of the scale tipping even a little.
Of course, the official heir was Gautier de Sevran, the first prince, but Jacob, the second prince, could not be ignored either. While Prince Gautier's temperament was quite brittle and mild, Jacob explicitly revealed his greed to have whatever he wanted. If it had been a peaceful era, everyone would have pushed Prince Gautier to the throne, whether they were those who wanted peace or those who wanted to seize and shake the weak king, but in times of war like now, the story was different.
The lords who had already decided on a side would go to the capital to be their prince's strength, and the lords who had not decided on a side would go to the capital to find out which prince was closest to becoming king.
And Count Arno's carriage was also preparing to join them. In the castle, the loads were constantly lowered and, under Vincent's command, the servants loaded them onto the carts. The knights were checking their weapons and horses, and some were saying goodbye to their family.
When it comes to luggage, it was, of course, Bianca's luggage. Dozens of dresses for Bianca to wear in the capital, the accessories that came with them, and her essences were lined up in fifteen chests.
Fortunately, this was also greatly reduced because Zachary said that if there was something he wanted or needed, he would buy it from him in the capital.
The servants clicked their tongues at Bianca's extravagant charge. All of Bianca's belongings were precious, so Yvonne widened her eyes and watched the servants lest they drop chests from her.
While Bianca's luggage was huge, Zachary, the owner of the estate, only had five chests. However, most of the items were weapons, books, and items presented to the king rather than clothing. In the first place, Zachary was used to packing his luggage compactly, since he used to travel to the battlefield.
Still, he would be staying in the capital for almost half a year, so five chests were too few. Zachary's luggage, prepared by Vincent, was eight chests. It was entirely because of Bianca that Zachary's charge was reduced so much.
How was Zachary's load lightened?
It started with Vincent, who went to move Bianca's luggage, expressing his disgust when he saw the chests stacked like a mountain.
"Are you planning to move the castle as it is?"
“I only carry what I need. Do you want me to go to the capital and laugh at me?
“Even the Earl only carries eight chests. The lady's burden is too much. Could he reduce it to less than ten chests?
-Ten? Do not say foolishness. It's ridiculous that the Earl only carries eight chests. What the hell is he wearing?
“Only what is necessary.
-Let me see.
Having said that, Vincent was taken aback by Bianca's sudden request. If she had been the previous Bianca, he would have insisted that he couldn't reduce the amount of her luggage no matter what Zachary's luggage was, but seeing that he even cared about Zachary's luggage, he seemed to have changed.
Perhaps because he had the expectation that he might have changed, Vincent began to admire every little action. One reason may be because Vincent's expectations for Bianca weren't very high in the first place.
Vincent quietly carried Bianca over to Zachary's chest. Bianca crossed her arms and looked down at the chest with Zachary's luggage. Her pale green eyes told him to open it. Under Vincent's direction, the servant opened the lid of the chest. Bianca's face distorted at the same time the lid of the chest swung open with a loud bang.
-… What is this?
"...Is it the Count's clothes...?"
“…Let's open the next one.
Bianca lifted her fingertips to the chest beside her, a frown between her fine brows. Unable to understand why Bianca was suddenly so serious, Vincent looked at Bianca and nodded. The servant immediately opened the second chest.
But Bianca's face became even more serious. She narrowed her eyes and shook her head as if she had seen something she couldn't see, then she looked back into the chest and sighed repeatedly. After a while, she suddenly looked at Vincent and asked sharply.
-Butler.
-Yes ma'am.
-Be honest.
-Yes ma'am.
"Is the property poor?"
-If that?
Vincent, flustered by Bianca's harsh questioning, waited for her to continue, but made the mistake of stammering at the absurd and unexpected words. He didn't know what the hell made her think that way.
Vincent shook his head to understand Bianca's intention, who was looking at him with an extremely serious expression. But no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't figure it out. While Vincent was speechless, Bianca continued.
“Last time you said I could use beeswax candles as much as I wanted, did you really make up for the lack of household income?
-Oh no. Why do you think that…?
"Then what are these Count's clothes?"
What Bianca's slender and well-groomed fingertips pointed to was Zachary's clothes, which were neatly folded on the chest.
After discovering Zachary's clothes, Bianca couldn't believe it. Zachary's physique was good and his atmosphere was overwhelming, so she normally didn't notice it, but Zachary's clothing that she saw separately was disastrous.
It was impossible to tell when it was in fashion, the furs had worn out and the embroidery was a simple and outdated design.
I could wear these clothes on the battlefield, but isn't the capital city where they're headed now? As a member of the high society where all the nobles gather, no matter how much of a war hero Zachary is, wearing such shoddy clothes will only ridicule him. And also Bianca.
Bianca, who felt terrified just thinking about it, shuddered. But Vincent just tilted his head, as if he hadn't realized what the problem was.
"This suits the Count...
Bianca, having decided there was no need to listen to Vincent, pointed to the rags on the chest.
“Take out that garment, and that one, those boots, that coat, all of them.
"M-ma'am."
"If I go with the Earl dressed in those rags, I'll be ridiculed too." I can not see that. It is much better to go to the capital and dress accordingly.
In fact, rags was a somewhat distorted expression from Bianca's point of view.
It was just because it wasn't fancy, but neat and tidy. Non-rich barons and vassals also wore clothes similar to those of the Zacharys.
The delicate embroideries placed on high quality furs, silk and gold thread were as valuable as they were expensive. For poor suburban aristocrats, it was a much wiser choice to invest in buying one more horse, rather than having to renew such clothing each time.
But Zachary was an earl and a rising noble aristocrat. Also, his wife, Bianca, was a daughter of the noble Blanchefort family, and Bianca couldn't allow him to wear the same clothes that poor nobles wear to the capital. Like a knight on the battlefield, Bianca was determined not to back down.
Vincent, who was listening silently, agreed that Bianca's words were true. Until now, it was Vincent who had bought Bianca's luxury goods and, as a result, her eyes were slightly raised. However, it was something he was forced to raise to match Bianca's pace, and Vincent wasn't very sophisticated in the first place.
In particular, Zachary did not pay much attention or interest in his clothes, so Vincent chose "moderate", "reasonable" and "efficient" clothes.
Vincent was a clever master of economics, but Bianca was a clever master of luxury. Clearly, Bianca was the right person for this job. After all, a person who has eaten meat eats well, and a person who has lived in luxury does well.
As with the lace business, recently Vincent was surprised to discover that Bianca was so useful to the territory.
Vincent silently nodded his head to do as his mistress asked. Anyway, in the capital, the lady will stock up on clothes as she pleases, and even if you add the count's clothes, the budget won't change much.
As a result, the chests were reduced to five. She wanted to drop everything, but she had to have clothes to wear to match her clothes in the capital, so this was the result of picking and choosing, and leaving only a few decent clothes.
Bianca, who removed all the rags, put her hand to her forehead with a frown.
It was only under this circumstance that Bianca herself decided to pay attention to Zachary's clothes for a while, even during the capital. Since Zachary was the sole owner of the estate, it didn't matter what he wore, and he had nothing to do with his reputation or fame. But the capital is different.
In the capital, which is the territory of the king, everyone was invited and, at the same time, it was a place of socialization where the values of each one were measured and judged.
Zachary had a strong army and territory. Objectively, it was a condition where it was impossible to be ignored, but since people are snobs, they tend to pick on the opponent by their outward appearance. In particular, aristocrats who are authoritarian and have a high sense of belonging. Of course, Bianca was also included in the story.
Thanks to it, Bianca could see what the nobles of the capital would think as if she were looking at the palm of her hand. She doesn't know it well, but during this time that Zachary went to the capital alone, she must have been the subject of rumors because of his outfit. I can't let them treat him like this.
Isn't that Bianca's husband, Zachary? Still, his figure is good and he looks great, so if he matches some plausible clothes, he'll be fine for a while.
If he hadn't seen Zachary's clothes separately, he wouldn't have easily realized what was wrong with his clothes for a while. It was a great relief to have discovered it before reaching the capital.
Bianca breathed a sigh of relief.
No comments:
Post a Comment