28. I Will Wait.
“That’s too bad.”
Resentment was flying out of my teeth without any way to hide it.
What was I going to say today?
Jillian looked lovingly at Bianca, who was staring at him with her big watery eyes.
“Sorry.”
“……..”
“The timing wasn’t good.”
“But you invited me to dinner today to talk about this.”
“Reports came in from the wall in the morning. I thought it would come sooner or later, but it’s earlier than expected.”
“Earlier than expected…….”
Bianca quietly repeated Jillian’s words.
Lord Rappin who was a commander, suddenly became her first escort knight today.
Everything that I thought was sudden had now come to make sense, one by one.
He was getting ready to leave.
I bursted into tears with realization.
“What about the thing that we haven’t finalised yet?”
Even though I thought I shouldn’t act like a child to a man who was about to go on a mission, I still spoke in a whiny tone.
“A thing yet to finalise?”
After tilting his head for a moment, Jillian quickly found the answer.
“Oh, that’s right. You haven’t answered my marriage proposal yet.”
Even though she said “not yet,” Jillian shows no sign of nervousness at all.
For a moment, Bianca thought that it was rude to look as if he expected what answer would be given to his proposal so naturally, but Bianca bit her cheek hard to control the unpleasant thoughts that kept coming out.
‘You’re mean!’
Jillian said that he as Duke Baloch would never do anything bad to her.
Was it the reason why my inner feelings would have come out in front of him if I let my guard down?
How foolish of me to be like that.
What kind of a complaint was that.
This was truly astounding.
After pretending to soothe her sore mouth with some sherbet topped with strawberry jam, Bianca opened her mouth again.
“Now that I think about it, this is not a suitable situation to talk about this, I…”
“No.”
Jillian was a smart man.
With just one short word or a hint, he could easily guess what Bianca was trying to say.
“Your answer is welcome anytime.”
“………”
“Any time and any answer is fine.”
This is bad.
Bianca suffered silently.
The man’s face, which had once been ridiculously relaxed, suddenly became frighteningly nervous and impatient.
Wasn’t it a violation to smile like that while saying that any answer was okay at any time?
“Until you agree, I will persuade you as many times as you like…….”
“Are you saying you’re going to propose to me again?”
“I will do my best to get your approval.”
He was a man who hated hearing apologies, but always apologized without hesitation.
He was a person who was completely superior, but always presented himself as a complete inferior.
Bianca stared at Duke Baloch, who always seemed contradictory.
‘My wife’
After the day they got married and became a real couple, Jillian never called Bianca his wife again.
His sly tone of voice…
Even the cool look he showed when they first met.
It all disappeared as if it had volatilized.
All that remains was a sweetness that felt like it would melt my brain.
“Actually, I have nothing to say even if you refuse.”
“Why?”
“These days, it’s popular to propose with flowers and gem mines as gifts, right? I pushed you to marry me without any such thing, so I was harshly criticized and was asked if this was an order or something.”
Jillian laughed at the end of the sentence.
But Bianca wasn’t finding it funny.
He was about to go on a wave expedition.
It meant that he had to deal with terrible things coming in droves like today.
But you’re talking about flowers, gems, and mines?
Now you’re laughing while telling me that you got scolded for not giving me that?
Instead of feeling relieved in her heart, Bianca became uncontrollably angry.
“Does that matter now?”
“It’s important.”
Bianca screamed without realizing it in a screeching voice.
“Whether it’s a mine or a gem, it doesn’t matter. Something that had nothing to do with me my entire life can’t be precious now!”
My cheeks were flushed with fever and my breathing was rapid.
Jillian asked Bianca, who was fuming.
“So, what’s important?”
“Your safety.”
Some thing flashed across the man’s smooth face, causing cracks to appear.
Bianca looked at that and pronounced each word with strength again.
“Jillian’s safe return.”
“……..”
“You coming back safely is the most important thing to me.”
“Bianca, we’re talking about proposal gifts.”
“That’s right.”
“That’s not a proposal gift.”
Jillian smiled, sighing softly as his eyebrows dropped as if he was troubled, dealing with an inexperienced child.
Really, who doesn’t know anything?
With tears welling up in her eyes, Bianca realized that she had no more time left to hold back her words.
“Who would propose to me beside you?”
“Bianca!”
‘Imperial shame!’
‘Why did you survive?’
‘That’s a vulgar way to get attention.’
As I spoke, countless evil words that have been poured out on me since my childhood come to mind.
The imperial family, who were reluctant to let her live and breathe, provided her with a place to die.
Bianca whispered to Jillian with tearful eyes.
“If it weren’t for you, who would have done something like that to me……….”
So many voices came to mind that my ears heard my crying briefly, and then the voices faded away.
The clearest thing among them was Jillian’s voice.
‘Madam’
His voice called me with a kind and sweet voice and promised that he would do anything for me with an even sweeter smile.
It shook my heart, rather than my thoughts.
Bianca closed her eyes tightly, as if squeezing out the accumulated tears.
It felt like something was going to jump out of my throat at any moment.
It was hot, sweet, and thrilling.
“Jillian.”
Bianca, who swallowed her tears, stopped speaking and took a breath.
I knew that his golden gaze was tenaciously glued to every word I say or even the blink of my eyes.
Therefore…….
“I guess I can give you the answer after you return.”
“After returning….”
Jillian sighed lightly.
It was clearly visible that his swollen heart was bursting and falling apart, but Bianca pretended not to notice.
“The answer Jillian wants would be after he returns.”
“Hopefully.”
The sparkle in his eyes that had been extinguished came back.
“I’ll let you know after I return safely.”
“After returning.”
A smile spreads across my stiff face.
Bianca knew she was being cunning.
She waved it at him as bait, hoping for his safe return.
But Bianca had no choice.
This was the best struggle Bianca could make in a helpless situation where she couldn’t even lift the sword for him and had to just pray for his safe return.
“After returning safely.”
“I promise.”
“Then, I have to make a promise too. I will definitely come back safely.”
The best thing Bianca could do was to move her stiff cheeks make something to resemble a smile towards Jillian, who promised to return.
“I believe you will keep your promise.”
“Please.”
My wet cheeks were still damp.
***
Jillian couldn’t walk Bianca to her bedroom that day.
It was because at the end of the dinner, a sudden guest visited the castle.
He was the captain of the 2nd Citadel.
Since the captain of the fortress visited the Duke at such a late hour, it should have been something important even without hearing his business.
Although it was a pity that they couldn’t be together a little longer, Bianca didn’t show it.
Because she promised to wait for him.
It was a good way to start doing it.
As it happened, we had never slept together since we got married, so I was used to sleeping alone.
However, maybe it was because she thought Jillian would be away soon.
For no reason, the wide bed looked more empty than usual.
“I should have answered instead of delaying…”
Bianca, who was muttering nonsense, rolled her body into a ball, hugged her knees, and closed her eyes.
Because I cried so many times, as soon as I close my eyes, I feel unbearably drowsy.
Bianca relaxed her body as if enjoying the faint feeling of drafting away.
‘I’ll wait’
A familiar voice rang out along with a dizzy feeling.
Was it a dream……?
The familiar voice was not hers, but Jillian’s.
When Bianca saw Jillian holding her hand with tears in his eyes, he was smiling bitterly even in her dream.
It seemed like she was quite agitated about what happened today.
She dreamt about herself leaving Jillian in the safe castle.
He held her hand and cried, saying he would wait.
His well-shaped eyebrows were distorted, and his golden eyes were soaked with water and shining like jewels.
‘I’ll wait.’
‘Okay.’
In the dream, she was smiling at Gillian who was crying.
***
The news came steadily.
The work was being prepared without a hitch, but Izar didn’t like sitting still and waiting.
In a few days, the travel fatigue had completely subsided and he was now full of energy.
“Mother.”
Izar went straight to the late Queen Facetra.
When Izar came of age, Facetra stepped down as regent and returned the throne to Izar.
It was a clean and quick handover.
However, that did not mean that the forces that followed her were completely cut off.
What greeted Izar when he visited Facetra was a group of nobles.
“Prime Minister.”
“Izar.”
Izar burst into laughter at the sight of the Prime Minister and continue his steps.
“Did you ever think I’d see you here in the East Garden?”
“He is just an old friend who came to say hello.”
Facetra stepped forward as if to defend the Prime Minister at the somewhat sharp words.
However, in a split second, Izar had seen the document that the Prime Minister had been secretly hiding in his sleeve.
It was the land reclamation plan for next year.
The situation of showing Facetra a document that hadn’t even been sent to him was familiar, but it was a frustrating thing that he could never get used to.
However it was stupid to show it.
Izar softened his eyes and smiled at Facetra.
“I don’t know if I interrupted the two of you.”
“Absolutely not. The Prime Minister was just about to leave.”
“I was just stopping by to say hello before riding my horse, so please don’t drive him away, mother.”
Izar pulled the corners of his mouth into a charming smile.
It was a grin that he inherited from his mother, Facetra.
Gaining people’s favor and softening their boundaries.
The Prime Minister’s hunched shoulders could be seen softening slightly.
Izar gently pressed the Queen Facetra’s shoulder, who was still standing.
“I am going. How about having dinner with me later?”
“It might rain today, so don’t go too far, okay?”
Izar smiled like a child and promised to do that.
However, his face when he turned away and was more frightening than ever.
Still.
They still see me as just a child.
Silent anger raged between his teeth.
“Salvar.”
“Yes, Izar.”
“Find me the High Priest of Termina, I will meet him personally.”
“Why suddenly?”
Because I’m not sure how true my mother’s words are and whether they’re really for ‘me’.
“It is said that he cared for the princess so much that he even voluntarily imprisoned her. Shouldn’t we meet him at least once?”
Although his tone was bright, Izar was not smiling.
***
TL:
I know that you all must have waited long, I am so sorry for that, I had two exams this week that almost sucked the living of me🤢
But now I am so happy I finally got them done, so this and the following chapter will be free, enjoy ꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡
