C62
Even after passing the first gate of the fortress, the group had to go through three more gates. Lahoz's palace rose like a tower, and the three-layered citadel firmly protected it.
Bianca, who had been hiding in the carriage as it passed through the forest, couldn't help but stare at the capital. Bianca gently pulled back the curtain on the window and peered out through the gap.
The closer they got to the palace, the more colorful the clothes of those who roamed the streets became. As a capital city, guilds are active and there are many rich people, so even ordinary commoners wore clothes that were no different from nobles.
They all had an impatient attitude, as if they were living a busy daily life. Even his walk was fast. If they were ordinary people in the estate, they would have been mesmerized by the splendid procession of nobles, but for them, normal or not, they just walked past it.
However, when some of them saw the flags of his procession, their eyes widened and they began to shout loudly.
"Arno!" It's the crest of the Arno family!
"The Iron Blood Earl!" The god of battle, the undefeated knight!
"Count Arno!" Look this way!
Taken aback by the people's reaction, Bianca inadvertently stepped back. Yvonne, who was in the carriage with her, smiled slightly.
“Because the Count is the hero of Sevran. Without him, the people here would not have been able to lead such a peaceful life.
—…….
Everyone's eyes were at the front of the procession, on Zachary. As if familiar, Zachary led his horse straight ahead. His silver-gray hair shone in the sunlight, his black cloak fluttered in the spring breeze, and his unflinching expression even looked noble. To Bianca, Zachary was always just a husband who emptied her estate, but to others he was a hero. The gap was unfamiliar.
To be honest, what makes all of this new is that Bianca just wasn't interested in Zachary.
Only in Zachary?
Nor was she very interested in the state of the kingdom. She only knew that Zachary had been fighting the Kingdom of Aragon, but she had no idea why the Kingdom of Aragon invaded Sevran or what interests were intertwined.
Until Zachary died in the war.
After being kicked out of the Arno family, seeking to make a living and hearing all sorts of stories, Bianca learned that the wars that had been waged were a result of the Sevran royal family's succession relationship.
The current king considered Gautier, the first prince, as the next king, but Jacob, the second prince, did not give up the throne. He was an ambitious and insidious man. He secretly cooperated with the kingdom of Aragon, which had a hostile relationship with Sevran, and shook the kingdom of Sevran, becoming a hero during the turbulent times and devising a plan to deal with Gautier in the midst of the war.
Most of the nobles on Prince Gautier's side came from civil servants and none were experts in warfare. By comparison, Jacob was so talented at fighting that he won several spear fights. Jacob thought that if he went to war and subdued Aragon, the king would judge him again.
But Jacob's confident desire to become a war hero is shattered. Because Zachary appeared as a comet.
Zachary, who suddenly appeared, was victorious again and again, receiving the title of baron by achieving a great achievement in the war. The war hero title was given to Zachary, not Jacob.
His plans went awry, but even then, Jacob was relaxed. Jacob wanted to be a king, not a hero. As long as he lured Zachary to his side, Jacob could safely claim the throne, so he would eat pheasants and eggs*.
(T/N: it would be our “kill two birds with one stone”.)
The problem, however, was that in order to do that, he had to draw Zachary to his side, and Jacob wasn't the only one who knew that.
However, there was someone who moved before Jacob, it was Gautier's subordinate, Count Blanchefort. He immediately offered Zachary marriage and Zachary didn't turn him down. So Blanchefort took Zachary as his son-in-law and joined Prince Gautier's faction, and for Jacob, it was a disappointment.
“So even if I could have gone back to my childhood, I would have ended up marrying this man.”
Zachary was on a winning streak and an undefeated streak. He was repeatedly defeated by Zachary, and that did not improve the position of Prince Jacob, with whom he formed an alliance. From the point of view of the Aragonese kingdom, there were more and more voices that doubted whether it was correct to continue the alliance with Jacob.
Bianca didn't know what Jacob's decision had been in the process. In any case, Prince Gautier is killed in the war, and Zachary attempts to elevate Prince Albert, Prince Gautier's son, to the throne, but is killed in the war. In the end, it was Jacob who became king.
It was Zachary's older brother, Viscount Huegh, who kicked Bianca out of the Arno family empty-handed, but the opponent who stole all of Bianca's belongings was none other than Jacob. In her war for the throne, Bianca lost her father, brother, husband, and her future.
Now then, he didn't think about that for a moment as he tried to establish his position within the Arno family, but it wasn't that he had forgotten who his enemy was. Anger and revenge burned like fire under Bianca's chest.
But she is just a countess. An incompetent countess who can't lead the army, she can't do politics and can't even protect her territory when the lord, Zachary, goes to war.
He knows where he stands and was well aware of how dangerous it was as an aristocrat to show his emotions in someone else's territory, the capital.
So he didn't lose his mind enough to overlook the danger.
“Why don't I tell Zachary? If he knew Jacob's intentions, he would actively try to get rid of him, and that would ease my worries."
But soon Bianca shook her head. How the hell would she tell him? Bianca had just arrived in the capital and she had no interest in the state of the Kingdom, so she would only sound suspicious. More than anything knowing that Zachary mistrusts her for the mere fact of saying that she wants to have a child….
"Yes. For now, let's focus on pretending we don't know anything."
Bianca kept her mouth shut, trying to control herself. It wasn't easy, but she had to do it.
The nobles who arrived in the capital had to go to see the king. Bianca was also to attend as a countess. As if he had visited him over and over again, Zachary went to the castle's reception room. Following him, Bianca took a deep breath. Her white face hardened like a porcelain doll and her pale green eyes seemed deeply anxious.
His face was paler than usual. At first glance, she seemed nervous. Zachary, who was still looking at Bianca, added concerned.
"Don't be too nervous. It won't be a big deal. Her Majesty will not blame you if you make a mistake.
Zachary, thinking that Bianca was nervous about coming to the capital and meeting the king for the first time, tried to ease Bianca's tension.
-I know. Thanks.
It wasn't that she was nervous, but she couldn't tell him what was bothering her, so Bianca gave an appropriate response.
Zachary looked at Bianca with a concerned look, but there was nothing he could do for her.
Zachary moved again and it wasn't long before they reached the reception room. The gentleman guarding the reception room recognized Zachary and bowed the body blocking the door. The astonishment towards Zachary was noticeable in the knight's eyes.
The reception room was spacious. The ceiling was so high that one could not see the end even if one raised one's neck, and a tapestry embroidered with red roses symbolizing the royal family of Sevran hung on the white stone wall. On each side of the columns stood knights clad in armor. The appearances covered by a helmet were overwhelming.
At the end of the knights, in the middle of the reception room, was a huge throne carved from stone. Sitting on the throne was the elderly king of the Kingdom of Sevran, Victor of Sevran. Although his face was covered with wrinkles, the slender face line, straight nose, and thick eyebrows still remained, suggesting the beauty of his youth.
The reason why the symbol of the Sevran royal family is the rose is that the progenitor of the Sevran royal family was Owyn Sevran, a beautiful blond boy named the Knight of the Roses. Perhaps because of this, those who inherited Sevran's blood were famous for their bright blonde hair and beautiful face that resembled the sun.
To the left and to the right of the king were two men who resembled the king, but not each other. The moods of the two handsome men with blonde hair were extremely different. He speculated that the gentler but frailer and slimmer man was Prince Gautier, and the stockier, cold-faced man was Prince Jacob.
The eyes of everyone in the reception room were focused on Zachary, who entered the room with dignity. Bianca, on the other hand, relatively hid his presence. Bianca's goal for this hearing was to end it as discreetly as possible and without exchanging words.
Standing before the king, Zachary saluted politely.
“Zachary of Arno, greet His Majesty.
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