A Marriage of Convenience /The Marriage Business

Ch.92

"May the eternal sun dwell in the shining rose of Sevran."

Zachary exchanged reverent greetings and received a box containing a golden rose. Zachary handed his helmet to Robert, who was by his side, and immediately mounted the horse with only the rose out of the box. It was the moment when the tournament's flower, the golden rose of the winner, would be presented to the woman he loved.

The woman who would receive the rose was determined. Everyone in the arena turned their gaze towards Bianca. But Bianca couldn't afford to worry about the looks of others. In a world where the edges of her vision were all tinged with white, only Zachary could be seen clearly. Beside her, Sauveur was speaking, but she couldn't understand him, as if it was the buzzing of a bee.

"What kind of expression should I make at this moment?"

Bianca's cheeks awkwardly twitched as she wondered whether to smile or not. Since she was very nervous about Zachary's match, her complexion must be pale. It wouldn't be a very pretty face.

Bianca struggled to control her expression, but it seemed she couldn't connect with it, so she couldn't determine whether her expression was as she wanted it to be or not. Maybe she looked ugly. Bianca's cheeks blushed with embarrassment.

Wouldn't she look even duller compared to the bright blond women surrounding her? Gloomy, dark... Things that she didn't care about before started to bother her.

Meanwhile, Zachary drew closer and closer. He was so close that she could even see the sweat drops on the silver hair scattered across his forehead.

Swallowing saliva, Bianca stood up and approached the railing of the platform. She had received a rose from Zachary before, but the tension was different from that time.

Zachary approached and lowered the lace handkerchief hanging from his sleeve. As the white handkerchief swayed in the air, the eyes of all the women present fixed on it. It was something new they had never seen before. The women whispered to each other, wondering what it was about.

They felt more envy for that lace handkerchief than for the victory rose that Bianca would receive from Zachary.

Zachary took the stem of the golden rose with the handkerchief and handed it to Bianca. Bianca's hand trembled as she took the golden rose.

Zachary looked at Bianca with a deep gaze. Bianca's heart raced forcefully at the gaze as calm and still as a lake in the darkness.

"Thanks to your protection, I was able to win."

"... Sauveur said it's natural for the Count to win."

Her throat was blocked, and her voice sounded hoarse. No, why does it have to sound so strained? She didn't want to look bad.

Embarrassed, Bianca hastily added.

"Thanks to the Count's victory, I can enjoy this honor."

"It's an honor that wouldn't have existed without you in the first place."

As he said that, the corners of Zachary's lips curved up in an arc. Bianca was speechless, bewildered by the deep smile she saw for the first time. She wanted to say something, but she didn't know what to say or how to say it.

Zachary's curved eyes and lifted lips were a rarity. Bianca and Zachary, they normally didn't smile and were very blunt. However, unlike Bianca's awkward and nervous smile, Zachary's smile was natural, and even the sunlight shining behind him made him appear sacred at first glance.

Bianca's heart began to beat violently.

Thanks to the shouts of the people around her, she didn't have to worry about them hearing the beats of her heart, so fortunately, she was the only one who heard that her heartbeats were strong. As if they were clamoring for something...