Their intimate moment in the carriage seemed to linger over their interactions in the estate. While Bianca was normally abrasive, she was at least trying to temper her prickliness for the moment. The question lingered of whether or not she truly wanted to make this work with him or not. Bianca went back and forth on it.
After all, she had not yet found a reason to not make this work, and truthfully, Diluc was probably the best suitor she was ever going to find. He was one of the richest men in Adonea with a successful winery—there would be much to gain from a union with a De Saint-Coquille.
But if she admitted that she wanted to make this work then she had to sit with the uncomfortable intimacy of it all. It was uncomfortably awkward at points. She always hated the courting process. It had always become a spectacle because of her family—and now since it was Diluc—it was even more of one. Still, that gentle moment where his gaze held hers and the brief question of how could he prove to her that he was serious about this engagement lingered in the back of her mind. What could he do to prove this to her?
Truthfully, she just wanted to know why he would approach her of all people for an arrangement. That question had never been answered for her. He had to have known her reputation—and for one of Adonea’s most eligible bachelors—why would he go for someone with a reputation like hers? The De Saint-Coquille fortune and the benefits her father could give didn’t seem to appeal to Diluc in any meaningful way, so what then, was left?
He couldn’t have been secretly pining for her all this time, but as far as she could recall they had only met once before the engagement. She supposed they could have met at a party or two, but she couldn’t ever recall even talking to Diluc at those parties.
But it was not a question so easily asked as it would invite a certain amount of scrutiny she’s unwilling to entertain right now, “I do not doubt my father loves me. I’m the apple of his eye. However, that means I’m the first to suffer for his inability to read people.” She huffed as she kept pace with Diluc.
After a moment her demeanor softens—it was rare for Diluc to speak of his father. She had heard the stories of his death, and of course, shortly after Diluc had disappeared from the public eye altogether for a few years. Grief was a heavy thing, and he spoke of his father so fondly in the brief moments his late father ever came up. What was the story they’d been given? That his father was a traitor? Even if it wasn’t that specifically it was the most prevailing story that had been told to the public.
She wondered what Diluc must have thought on the matter. It was heavy enough to have him quit the pursuit of being a knight. That was a topic he’d never broached despite coming from a family of established knights.
“You’ve done well for yourself. What is it they call you now? The uncrowned prince of Selphia? I’m sure the Royal Family loves that title,” Bianca said a hint of sarcasm in her tone. She’d had a few brief encounters with the royals—and royals were a pain. She never had a good experience whenever her father had to make a brief excursion to the castle. It was always an all-day ordeal where she had to get dressed up and mind her manners even more so than usual. Bianca paused a moment before considering her next words carefully.
Now was a good chance to get to know him if she really was intent on making this work for real, “…Why did you quit wanting to be a knight anyway? I have heard the rumors, but I suppose I would like to hear what actually happened from your mouth. I am well… aware of how deeply rumors can be embellished.”
