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As Jacob turned his horse out of the arena, his eyes met Zachary's. The cover of Jacob's helmet was open, so Zachary could read the emotion on Jacob's face.
A sense of euphoria, a sense of superiority, and a provocation that said stop it if you can.
He shrugged, smirked, and walked away from Zachary.
Zachary silently watched his disappearing back. Unlike when Bianca returned to the stands, his gaze was full of hostility and anger.
But Jacob was not everything. When Jacob disappeared, what Zachary saw, when he turned his gaze to Bianca, was a minstrel hovering around her.
Zachary's face inside the helmet screwed up beyond words.
"What else is that?"
Such a glittery appearance. The intent of the man looking at Bianca was clear.
The man who made exaggerated gestures towards his wife as if he were a bird courting a female could not be seen as pleasant.
To be honest, it was no wonder his eyes burned. Just before that, Jacob had thrown a huge ember at Zachary's heart.
Not that Zachary misunderstood Bianca's relationship with men.
As her husband, it seemed like a flaw if she said it with her own mouth, but to be honest, Bianca wasn't good at hiding her expressions.
Especially when it comes to likes and dislikes. He has experienced it himself, so he knows it better than anyone.
If she doesn't like her opponent, Bianca will have a hard time faking it.
It was obvious from her face that she was uncomfortable with the men she had met.
But that didn't mean the hoverflies buzzing around him didn't bother Zachary.
Even the number of hoverflies was increasing by one or two!
The hoverflies in front of him right now were annoying, but what really irritated Zachary was the distant future.
Right now, Bianca is not interested in men and is resistant to them, but you never know when that will change. In the future, if Bianca wants to go out with another man that she can talk to about her, who looks more like her than her husband forced her….
Zachary felt a choking sensation in his throat and deliberately stopped thinking. The confidence that came over him when he received Bianca's handkerchief was gone in an instant, like a bubble burst.
“Thank you all for waiting. Finally the last match of the tournament! With you the hero of Sevran, the Count Iron Blood, the Wolf of the battlefield, Count Zachary of Arno!
The spokesperson who had no way of knowing if Zachary was feeling depressed or not, introduced Zachary loudly. The crowd held their breath and focused on him.
He was exposed to the public eye at a time when emotional ups and downs fluctuated for a short period of time. Despite the rigidity of the armor surrounding him on all sides, Zachary felt like a buffoon.
In the countless gazes that filled the sky like a rain of arrows, Bianca's direct gaze fell on Zachary like an arrow of fire ignited, like a messenger from a god delivering a heavenly revelation.
Bianca looked at him pitifully, as if she was begging him to rescue her from the man next to her….
Zachary's heart swelled terribly. He wanted to rush to Bianca after throwing the opponent in front of him to the ground right away, but he struggled to keep his composure and catch his breath.
Zachary walked over. The servants who have been with him for many years brought the spear to Zachary's hand at the right time like tongues in his mouth*. The spear, which the two servants had barely raised, was raised in Zachary's hand and seemed as light as a branch.
(T/N: The idiom “like the tongue in the mouth” refers to moving according to the will of another person, obediently following their orders.)
Zachary raised his spear high as if to pierce the sky, following the battlefield habit of inspiring morale. The crowd cheered, and Zachary's opponent, the knight from Castile, gulped in tension and fear. But he did not want to give up the honor of being able to compete against “that” Sir Arno.
Filled with determination, he held the spear tightly against his side.
An unshakable sense of stability. The spear, Zachary, and the horse were in harmony.
The two knights participating in the tournament slowly led their horses to either end of the divide. Those holding the flags looked at each other. One, two… now!
The horses' hooves hit the ground as soon as the flag lowered. The run of the two knights was difficult to see even with the naked eye. Their spears, which traveled a distance of 300 meters at a time, crossed paths.
Kwang!
The sound of crackling spears resounded in an unusually violent manner. The winner, of course, was Zachary. He not only broke the shield in one go, but the opposing knight fell to the ground with one blow.
Due to the overwhelming difference in abilities, the stadium became as quiet as a mouse. But it wasn't long before people started chanting Arno. How happy they were to have obtained a complete victory over the Knight of Castile, the old king, forgetting his age, jumped up from his seat and applauded. Gautier also had a satisfied smile on his face.
Amid deafening cheers, Zachary silently drove toward the one person he would give the rose from his chest to. The dry and modest demeanor even felt ascetic, making the ladies' hearts pound, but Zachary's mind was blank.
“You have worked hard.
Bianca greeted Zachary. Zachary lifted the lid of the helmet. Bianca's appearance, which had not been clear through the hole in the helmet, was seen more clearly. Zachary unconsciously hardened his lips.
Pushing out all emotions and enclosing them with a firm, expressionless expression. That was Zachary's facial expression management.
“It wasn't much.
The minstrel, who had been wagging his tail at Bianca earlier, had disappeared. But that didn't make Zachary feel any better. It was because Bianca's lap was full of roses that were almost as many as a bouquet of flowers.
Jealousy spiked even though she knew most of them were flowers that held little meaning. Zachary's eyes roamed over Bianca's roses intensely. As soon as he found out which one belonged to Jacob, he felt like throwing it to the ground.
Zachary looked at the rose that hung from her chest. The rose he would give Bianca was no different from the others. This alone was not enough. Zachary wanted to be the only one for Bianca. He's Bianca's husband, so you could say he's the only one, but other than that...
Lacking confidence in his position, Zachary always felt anxious. Unsure, he wanted tangible proof. He needs something different, something special. Ordinary roses were not enough. The golden rose, symbol of victory, would make visible the distinction between him and the others.
Of course, the fact that he was going to give her a golden rose didn't mean that others wouldn't give Bianca their roses. Whether it was her older brother or her subordinates, she wanted to exclude them all. She knew he was greedy. But what does it matter?
Thieves who learn to steal late do not realize that it is dawn*, the desire that once twisted and rose could not be easily quenched. Zachary clicked his tongue and added.
(T/N: another idiom. It refers to the fact that a person who is interested in a certain thing later than others tends to be more enthusiastic about it.)
“Don't go to the tournament for a while.
-What?
"I'm worried about the flies that fly around you." I will win on the last day, so if you really want to go, you can do it only then.
If anyone else had said that, they would have been called out for bragging, but it was tolerated because it was about Zachary. Bianca smiled slightly at the calm tone.
"Is that so?"
Zachary took a deep breath at the bright green eyes looking up at him. His hands were shaking. After dropping all the shields and armor to the ground, the need to hug her shook him. Zachary fought to suppress the urge, but he couldn't control the trembling in her fingertips. Zachary managed to remove her rose from her chest after several times of vain attempts.
-… I'm serious. I dedicate to you the glory of my victory.
The hand holding the rose trembled. Will Bianca notice that she is trembling?
However, he couldn't afford to worry about it. It was because Bianca's white fingertips slowly reached out toward Zachary. Like a handkerchief fluttering in the wind, the reaching fingers snatched the rose from Zachary's hand.
"I'll do as you say."
Saying that, Bianca smiled more brightly than before.
The smile, which he thought he would never see, for she always raised her eyes and stared at him, or looked away with lowered lashes, was more splendid than the rose in his hand, warmer than the sun and sweeter than the sun. honey.
Oh, to see that smile, I would win over and over again.
Contrary to the promise that it was as cold and sharp as a knife, a soft smile appeared on Zachary's face, who looked at Bianca.
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