CHAPTER:8.1
3. What matters
Volona was the name of a thousand-year-old academy.
It had grown so large over the millennia that it was like an independent city-state.
It used to belong to a state, but as many states rose and fell, so did it.
Volona has survived because of its neutrality, its strict academic focus, and its reputation for producing many talented individuals.
The old butler hasn’t been happy since Bianca told him of her decision to go to Volona, and neither have the Marquis and Marquise de Moening, who have been informed of her decision by the butler.
Bianca was the only one in the mansion who looked sullen.
‘Vivi, are you sure you want to go?’
The Marquess of Moening searched Bianca’s face with concern. Even the way she took Bianca’s hand and stroked it showed his concern.
Of course, the Marquis and Marquise knew of Bianca’s indignity.
But that was not all. They didn’t think that it would make her decision to go to Volona. It was not a decision to be made lightly.
Volona was called the Treasure of Truth, but the road to it was long and difficult.
It was a ten-day journey by carriage from Bayeux, the capital of Falbon, to a port in the south, and then a two-week voyage by ship. It was no small penance.
‘Your Excellency, the Marquise .’
Bianca said stiffly, withdrawing her hand. She was not only Bianca Moening, daughter of the Marquis and Marquise, but as the Marquise de Mowen, she was addressing Gazoo. So calling her Bibi was not appropriate.
‘I have already been insulted; their name will follow me for some time in social circles, along with mine, and I cannot bear the disgrace.’
‘I’ve been insulted, ……don’t you know it.’
‘That is why I must go to Volona, for the years that have passed, and the fame of Bolona that I shall bring will cover the disgrace.’
Bianca’s eyes never wavered.
Yes, they always have been. Bianca always achieved what she set her mind to and said she would. If she wanted something, she always got it.
The Marquise realized she could not break Bianca’s stubbornness and ran her hand over her forehead in frustration. The Marquis moistened his dry lips with his tongue before replying.
‘Moenings do not forget their misdemeanors.’
‘I know.’
‘Moreover, if she does not forget the offense inflicted on the realm, how can she bear the offense directed at you, therefore I cannot stop you.’
The answer I wanted. Bianca’s eyes shone.
‘I beg you.’
‘Leave your affairs with Winston to me. It is my duty as a father, not as a marquise.’
If I had known it would come to this, I should have stopped you then. The Marquis added.
I don’t know. Bianca would have joined hands with Bliss even if the Marquis had stopped her. They would have become engaged. Bianca had somehow achieved what she set out to do, so she must have fallen in love again.
This made Bianca’s heart sink, but she didn’t show it. It would have been stupid to kick her when she was so concerned.
It was neither her fault nor the Marquise’s to regret, Bianca thought.
It was all Bliss Winston’s fault. It was Bliss’s fault for not honoring her contract and taking the hand of the commoner Naboorin.
Bianca kept her eyes down, not revealing her thoughts. Then she replied in a low voice. Because sometimes, just by showing weakness, a person can get what they want.
‘The sin was to be blinded by greed and love.’
So much for love.
Everyone’s eyes filled with sadness.
Bianca’s journey to Volona was swift. Bianca wanted it that way. The Marquis could hardly have had more than one night to prepare the way, but Bianca had cut through all the hustle and bustle.
A carriage and a servant to attend to her at the academy. That was all she needed to prepare.
The night before she left, Bianca had a brief dream.
It was in the past.
***]
The dream showed Bliss Winston, still Duke Winston, and Bianca before her coming-of-age ceremony.
Bianca, who had a weakness for the heat, had always spent the last days of summer at the Moening Estate in the north.
The Moening Estate, a heavily mined area, was not a very scenic place for a holiday. But it did have the advantage of not being in the sun.
Whenever he returned from one of these holidays, he would present Bliss with a piece of artwork by a northern artist. It was one of the rules that came naturally between them.
In a dream, Bianca and Bliss were watching the servants hang a painting on one of the walls. Bianca smiled at him. Then she said.
‘Let’s go to Volona.
‘Volona? The Volona of the Siamese?
‘Yes. The Volona of Siaman, the treasure of truth. Let’s go there together.
A painting on the wall depicted a copper-skinned, dark-haired hero slitting the throat of the old three-eyed monster Peroxis.
The hero was dressed in a white fustanella, but not a drop of blood splashed on his sword, unlike the blood and fat stuck to it.
It was a scene from one of Bianca’s favorite exotic hero myths.
Bianca casually threaded her arm through Bliss’s other arm. Bliss didn’t try to untangle her arm from Bianca’s.
Instead, she used her other hand to lean her head against my arm. Bianca’s words continued.
‘You will be the Duke of Winston, and I will be the Marquess of Moenington, but it is not enough for me to merely inherit the name. I want to make the most of it.
‘Yes, because you are greedy.
‘So let’s go to vologna. Let’s get in together, let’s graduate together. No one will ever doubt our abilities, and we’ll be more perfect for it.
Bliss looked at Bianca’s face and said, ‘If you want to do it, then do it.
Their future together seemed to be on solid ground.
But Bianca and Bliss did not go to vologna. By the time Bianca was old enough to enter the academy, Duke Winston had died.
Bliss was to inherit the dukedom, so the promise to go to Volona was forgotten.
‘Bliss,’ said Bianca, in a rare show of anger at Bliss, who had become Duke Winston.
‘Bliss, you told me you were greedy.
‘Was I?
‘Yes, I was. That’s what you said when I asked you to go to Bologna, by the way, Bliss.’
Maybe that’s when Bianca’s perfect plan started to go wrong. She just realized it too late.
I am drunk with love.
She was drunk on the love that had taken over her body without realizing it.
‘I’m not greedy. I’m ambitious.
I don’t remember Bliss’s response.
The painting Bianca had given him had moved on. It hung on the wall with the best view in the parlor, the one Bianca would come to know best.
The hero’s name was Siaman, and he was the most widely recognized member of the Swordsmanship Faculty of the Volona Academy. The hero who entered as a commoner graduated at the top of his class, was given an oracle, slayed seven monsters, and founded a kingdom.
His story was one of Bianca’s favorites.
***]
The sun rose as Bianca had hoped.
Rising just as the first rays of sunlight peeked through from the east, Bianca was dressed by her maids for the last time and descended to the hall.
In the hall, Jade, the butler, the marquis, and the other users were waiting for her. Bianca smiled sweetly.
The Marquise looked at her face and asked, ‘How are you?’ even though she already knew she couldn’t bite. The Marquise hadn’t slept well all night, and there were blue shadows under her eyes. The corners of her eyes drooped down.
‘Vivi, do you have to go now? You could spend this year with us…… and prepare for regular admission next year.’
‘If I stay in society, I’ll be facing Duke Winston all the time.’
‘…….’
‘I don’t like that. I should take the mid-year entrance exams and get into Volona. It’s better for my pride. For my mornings.’
The marquis and marquise were silent. Bianca smiled and walked over to them and kissed them on both cheeks, both as a means of shutting them up and as a farewell to two people she would not see for years to come.
The users opened the door. Bianca walked out the door, looking untroubled. Jade followed, carrying a suitcase packed with the items Bianca would use most often.
The streets were quiet, thanks to the banquet the night before. It was just right.
For once, Bianca smiled a genuine, satisfied smile. As they rode side by side in the carriage, Jade saw the look on Bianca’s face and asked.
‘Vivi.’
‘Why?’
‘Are you sure it’s okay to leave Duke Winston alone?’
At first glance, it sounded like she was asking if her love was okay, but Bianca knew immediately what Jade meant.
She asked if it was okay to not harm Bliss Winston and to be kind to Odette Halona.
It was an outrageous question, but she didn’t feel like chastising Jade. Instead, Bianca interjected.
‘It’s not okay.’
She meant it. Bianca thought so.
If there are two main characters in this romance, it’s Odette and Bliss, who are desperately in love beyond all recognition. Their physical appearance is also appropriate.
Bliss is as radiant as the sun, and Odette is as delicate as a petal caught in the dew.
No matter how much they tried to be evil, nothing would change.
Their love would be strengthened by the nourishment of their vices. It would become so hard and solid that it would turn Bianca’s insides inside out.
Bianca hated it. It would be better if they loved each other more casually.
She pours wine on Odette for wanting to love Bliss and slaps Bliss on the cheek for choosing Odette over Bianca. That level of viciousness is appropriate.
Bianca has been betrayed, and she deserves it.
‘Now that it’s over, what more can I do?’
Bianca shook her head and smiled, the displeasure hardly evident on her face.
It’s all over now.