A Marriage of Convenience /The Marriage Business

Ch.68

Bianca lay on the bed, sweating profusely. Her sweat-soaked hair was scattered over her round, white forehead.

Yvonne dampened the white linen with water and continued to wipe the sweat from Bianca's brow. Seeing Bianca in pain, Yvonne groaned in anguish.

Bianca's pale green eyes fluttered beneath her slightly closed eyelids. At the end of her gaze, Zachary appeared. Since when had he been standing there?

Standing in the corner, looking at her with an unfamiliar expression, he resembled a god of death. A shadow fell over his black eyes, like those of a reaper.

The corners of Bianca's lips lifted slightly, and her lips parted. The lips that used to look soft and smooth were now rough and cracked.

"...We need to call the tailor."

"Call him when you feel better. I'll buy you whatever you want."

Bianca's voice was weak, like a lamp about to go out. Zachary, wondering how difficult it would be to say a word, hastily added.

Indeed, Bianca could only manage a few words before she began coughing.

Yvonne, who had stayed back to not interrupt the conversation between Bianca and Zachary, approached hesitantly. But Zachary stepped forward first. When he reached them, Zachary, who had been standing in the corner, took the handkerchief from Yvonne's hands and approached Bianca.

Zachary's rough hand could be felt through the soft silk handkerchief. A firm hand that was as careful as if holding an egg, yet unmoving as if it had hardened. Bianca felt overwhelmed by the touch but had no energy to push it away.

"How many times have you coughed?" Bianca, who had just stopped coughing, looked exhausted and blinked at Zachary with a pale smile.

"Not mine, but the Count's."

"......"

Zachary's face tightened. The deep, piercing eyes beneath his furrowed brows burned with anger. Zachary was angry. He was angry with himself and no one else.

How poorly did he dress that Bianca would worry about it even while she was sick?

Until now, he hadn't cared much about his appearance, so he continued wearing whatever Vincent procured, but that seems to have been a mistake.

Was it perhaps because of his attire that Bianca would furrow her brow and look away every time she encountered him?

Zachary was well-versed in warfare, unbeatable in battle, and mastered all kinds of weapons and tactics.

He had a keen eye for the territory's tax rate and understood agricultural work to some extent, so there were few complaints from the residents.

But that was all.

Where Zachary excelled was only in the matters of his own world, but in the matters of Bianca's world, he was blind.

If it hadn't been for Vincent's help, he wouldn't have been able to accomplish so much, but upon discovering that even Vincent fell short compared to Bianca, it felt like a stone had struck his chest.

It was only his mistake to think that he had tried to give her everything she wanted until now...

While Zachary reflected on his anger towards himself, Bianca mistakenly thought that Zachary was angry with her.

But she couldn't understand why. She didn't know much about Zachary, but she did know that he wasn't the type of person to get angry with a sick woman.

Could it be that wearing new clothes is so troublesome that he can't hide his discomfort? Bianca shrugged and cautiously said,