Marriage of Convenience

Chapter 4 – The Villainess, Bianca (4)

Translator: Skye

Bianca’s nanny had told her that she would experience splitting pain during her first intimate relation with a man, and that there would even be blood. Even if her chin may end up trembling from the unprecedented pain, Bianca wasn’t worried about the blood part. How could that possibly frighten her when she was already experiencing that once a month?

However, what did throw her into a state of panic was the fact that she would have to be stripped bare in front of Zachary and be pressed against his own exposed skin. Just thinking about having to bare her skin in front of a man for the first time caused the hairs on the back of her neck to stand and a shiver to run down her spine. Her husband was sure to let out a disappointed sigh once he laid eyes on her figure, which was rather small compared to others her age…

It wasn’t that she felt inferior for having a chest that wasn’t as voluptuous as others, or a height that wasn’t as tall as others. She never saw them as shortcomings either. Even so, the reason why she was concerned over what Zachary may think of her body was because she hated the possibility of him finding faults in her. Was there anyone who would enjoy being openly ridiculed for their body? Bianca wasn’t confident that she would be able to handle such a situation in a dignified manner, and that was how she came to self-explain the cause behind her state of panic.

Although Zachary would never actually do such a thing, the past Bianca wouldn’t put it past him as he was someone who always got on her nerves–someone unwelcome.

Still, she could not refuse him as she had no grounds to do so. No matter how much one could argue that Bianca had been ignoring all her responsibilities, sleeping with Zachary was something she needed to agree to as his wife. Bianca’s nanny had told her that the reason their consummation was put on hold was Zachary being considerate of her.

Bianca had snorted when she heard the word ‘considerate.’ It wasn’t consideration but negligence. He had tossed her aside, finding her annoying, and was only coming to find her now in order to quiet the concerns of his vassals.

And so, while Bianca did her best to suppress her nervousness, the week flew by and she found herself having to face her husband while dressed in fine robes. Though she was unable to stop her body from trembling, she raised her chin in an act of nonchalance, her light-green eyes glittering defiantly under her reddish-brown lashes. Bianca didn’t think it’d be hard, at least, that was the case until she was finally embraced by her husband.

She had learned the basics of coitus, but she found that the act of actually doing it was completely different from what she had learned. Bianca closed her eyes tight and bit down on her lips, afraid that she’d let out a scream otherwise. There was a sharp pain that sprung from between her quivering legs, body shaking helplessly everytime Zachary moved. It felt like she was on a boat in the middle of a storm, rocking back and forth. That was how powerless she was.

Bianca had unconsciously attempted to crawl away due to the pain, but found herself trapped when Zachary’s hand closed over hers, which was gripping onto the sheets. As a warrior, Zachary was much bigger than the frail Bianca. Holding her in his embrace prevented her from moving another inch.

Bianca was now face down on the bed, faint tremors racking her body, and her brown hair flowed messily behind her pale neck. Feeling Zachary’s lust-filled breath by her ear caused Bianca’s mind to go blank.

That night, Zachary didn’t let Bianca go. He released himself inside of her relentlessly, and Bianca had no choice but to continue accepting him to the point the space between her legs was drenched. And this act carried on till the break of dawn.

Her first time had left her with nothing but fear and shock. It had felt like she was being swallowed by a beast. Even if it was her duty, it was nothing but terrible. Never wanting to do such a thing with a man ever again, Bianca began to desperately push Zachary away since then.

But if Zachary were to ignore her refusals, Bianca wouldn’t be able to stop him. Fortunately, it seemed he had no desire to coerce her, acquiescing to her wishes instead.

However, it didn’t mean that they never slept together again after that first experience. Zachary would always come to find her each time he would have to leave for war. He would wordlessly grab and pull her by her arm, his face frighteningly stiff. Those were the only days Bianca wouldn’t refuse him.

Despite Zachary being regarded as an undefeatable commander, war was like an unpredictable monster. It could have been the surge of desire to have her conceive an heir in case he died on the battlefield, or it could have been the pestering of his vassals that pushed him to come find her each time.

Zachary did not seek her unless he was about to leave for war and Bianca didn’t think much of it. Then one day, Bianca happened to overhear maids gossiping with each other. Their high-pitched chatters were easily picked up by Bianca’s ears.

‘You won’t believe how clingy he was. Whether it be stableboys, knights, or retainers, they’re all the same. Men are always nuts about it. It’s so annoying.’

‘Ha, you wench. You say that yet you’re always wagging your tail.’

‘Well, that’s because instead of the person I want, it’s all these dolts coming at me.’ 

‘You have someone in mind? Who? Sir Gaspard? Sir Robert?’

“Hu hu…’

‘Don’t tell me, is it Lord Arno?’

A burst of giggles followed the maid’s playful quip, as if it was a humorous jest, and yet there was no denial coming from the other maid. The first maid took notice and quickly flitted her eyes around their surroundings before lowering her voice in a whisper.

‘The madam won’t let you off easily if she were to hear.’

‘Our lady doesn’t care about Lord Arno. Ah, our poor lord. Such a stunning man has to spend all his nights alone due to his wicked wife, while other lackluster men are busy chasing the skirts of other women. Did you know? Our lord and his wife don’t even spend three nights together in a year? Can you believe that?’

A wicked wife.

Bianca scoffed. She knew the servants and maids weren’t happy with her, but she never knew they had been talking about her in this manner. Moreover, to think they would even mention sharing a bed with Zachary.

‘I’m sure he has a mistress. It’s already been over ten years since he got married, do you truly believe he’s been abstinent all this time?’

‘Lies! Lord Arno isn’t like that!’

‘As if. Aren’t you the one who said not to trust men since they’re all the same?’

‘Ahh.. I want to be embraced by our lord. His solid chest…’

‘Stop trying to change the subject. That’s a pipe dream.’

The maids bickered as they walked away, but the one who had overheard their conversation was unable to even move a step. Bianca’s heart clenched, finding it hard to even breathe, when she heard the possibility of Zachary having a mistress… She felt a needless sense of displeasure and a surge of disgust for some reason.

A mistress!

How could she have not thought of that before?

Then again, that was probably why Zachary had easily backed off whenever she rejected his advances, as well as why he had been putting off their consummation till she turned 18. Looking back, it all made sense if he had a mistress.

Bianca began to push Zachary away even more following that day, distrust towards men and a fear of intimate relations seizing her heart.

♘♞♘♞

As Bianca’s unfortunate marriage days continued, one encounter changed her life completely.

It was when she met none other than her fateful love, a handsome fellow around her age named Fernand. If Zachary was a gruff, stone-like warrior, then Fernand, with his eyes that sparkled like the rays of the morning sun, was a tender, warm, zephyr-like minstrel.

Her husband’s name never fell from Fernand’s lips, instead he whispered saccharine words in her ear. It was to be expected that the naive Bianca would easily fall for his kindness. Her distrust regarding men slowly began to subside after she met Fernand.

But her fear regarding sex continued to ensnare her. Despite Bianca having undoubtedly fallen for Fernand, she showed no signs of taking it further intimately with him. This prompted Fernand to bat his eyelashes, blue eyes twinkling as he whispered, ‘Do you not want me? When I want you this much…’ He pulled her fingers to the hard bulge between his legs. Bianca became flustered when her fingertips came in contact with the burning heat. She averted her gaze, unsure of what to do, while her cheeks resembled ripe peaches.

She was still terrified of intimate relations between a man and woman, but her heart fluttered when she saw how Fernand seemed to want her so desperately. The sound of her pounding heart rang in her ears. Before she knew it, Bianca was slowly raising the hem of her skirt as if in a trance.

It had been done on impulse. Fernand pulled her closer, taking the sight of her slightly exposed ankle as a sign of consent, and the two fell further into the thicket.

♘♞♘♞

T/N: I binged the webtoon this morning and wanted to address that it did change how many of the events played out, and the overall vibe is much more lighthearted/comedic than the novel, which will be more solemn with little pockets of humor instead. Novel-Bianca is nowhere near as… perky as Webtoon-Bianca.

Not sure if there’s a translation for the webtoon out yet, but you can find the raw on KKP! I was originally only planning on updating this novel twice a week, but I’ll try my best to update more than that at least until we catch up to the webtoon… but no promises because I was only expecting them to release (at the very most) twenty chapters from the get go, not a whole twenty five. ㅠㅠ

(Also changed the rating to R18, though the more explicit scenes won’t be until much later. Please note that such scenes are not the main focus of the story and thus there won’t be much)