Alternative title: A Marriage of Convenience

Summary:
This manhwa follows the story of the protagonist, Bianca, who dies due to declining health. During her last moments, she wishes to return to time and do things differently. When she wakes up, she becomes her young 18-year-old self. Bianca was the daughter of a count who married Zachary De’Arno, who earned the title of count by becoming a war hero. To prevent her past from repeating, this time, she takes the initiative to close the gap between them, to have an heir, and most importantly, to prevent her husband’s death.

It isn’t as easy as it looks. First, Bianca believes that Zachary has a mistress, and after overhearing some maids, and thinks it is one of the maids. She punishes the said maid, the butler, and one of Zachary’s retainers, and Zachary gets involved. This, of course, pisses Zachary, so he tells the butler to fire the maid.

When Bianca decides to take charge of the estate instead of letting the butler handle her duties, she gets a tour around the estate. During this time, Bianca earns a loyal maid, Yvonne, who cares for her, and a guard, Gaspar, one of Zachary’s most trusted retainers. While on the tour, she comes across two people: a woman who can produce beautiful lace and a boy who carves the most elegant candles. She tells them to find her the following morning as she knows how to generate cash flow for the Arno estate and secure her future if anything happens.

Bianca and Zachary’s relationship starts to improve, but it is during their visit to the capital, when Zachary participates in a knight’s contest and becomes the winner, that their relationship really starts to take off. Meanwhile, Bianca is worried because she knows war is coming soon and wants to find the truth behind her regression. When she visits the church, the Pope informs her that there is no such thing as regression; instead, what she experienced was a premonition. It is also discovered at this time that Bianca is a saint.

Once they return to their estate, they remain as lovely as ever, and everyone knows that their relationship has changed for the better. Sadly, when war breaks out, Zachary must go with his knights. She begs him not to because he died in war in their previous life. Eventually, she ends up telling him everything. Zachary asks if she loves him. She tells him she does, and he promises to come back alive.

As Zachary is at the frontline between death and life, the second prince and Zachary’s older brother (both are allies with the enemy) invade the Arno estate. The second prince, who likes Bianca, bluffs Zachary’s death as he presents her with fake proof, which devastates Bianca as she now believes that Zachary has died. However, she learns that she is pregnant, and with the people of Arno, they fight against the second prince and his minions.

Unfortunately, they are losing, and the butler begs Bianca to take Yvonne and Gaspar and escape. She refuses, but the butler begs again, telling her that if she and the heir survive, then Arno continues to live on. Just as all hope is almost lost, the royal army comes to their rescue. Shortly after, two messengers from the Holy Empire army delivered a message to Bianca. It was the lace handkerchief she made and gave to Zachary before his departure. He was still alive.

The story ends with Zachary returning from war, just in time to save Bianca from the second prince (he had run away and returned for Bianca). Bianca gives birth to a healthy girl, and Zachary earns the title of duke.

Review:
When I read the first few chapters, I was immediately hooked, and before I knew it, I was waiting for the weekly updates. One of the storytelling elements I love about this manhwa is the plot. It has a good pace that perfectly portrays Bianca and Zachary’s development. There wasn’t any unnecessary drama that got in the way or anything repetitive that would bring the couple back to square one. If anything, all the issues between the couple are solved promptly.

I absolutely love Bianca’s character development. At first, she does everything just to survive and avoid repeating her first life. However, she realizes how precious Zachary and the people of Arno are for her. Unlike how she was in her first life, naive and kept in her own little world, she becomes proactive, taking matters into her own hands. She builds good connections with people who can help her along the way. One example is the princess, who eventually became the next monarch and sent the royal army to Bianca’s rescue. Another is Countess Davoville, whose husband has a knack for business. He joined the war (after a casual conversation with the Countess) with his small group of knights, providing additional support for Zachary and helping Bianca industrialize her lace business. Unlike her first life, she can see through these individuals, knowing who can trust her and will not betray her.

There are two issues most readers don’t like about this manhwa, which are: the age gap and infidelity. There is a ten year age gap between Bianca and Zachary. The age gap could be more, but I’m not so sure because I saw many readers sharing that the age gap was changed in the manhwa, and in the novel, it was at least a 13-year gap. When Bianca married Zachary, she was just a child, probably anywhere from 10-12 years old, while Zachary was 18 or 19. Bianca’s father, also a count, proposed the marriage to Zachary. Bianca’s father is a supporter of the first prince; he made the proposal to tie the two families together to gather more support for the first prince.

Zachary accepted the marriage proposal because he also needed some support. Zachary was kicked out of his household by his older brother after their father passed away. He left the house with nothing, except for the butler who had promised late count that he would continue to look after Zachary if anything happened. Zachary earned his baron title through his contributions but still needs more financial and political support. As such, Bianca’s father’s proposal was one he couldn’t pass, especially since he was now a lord with a territory and had residents to care for.

Honestly, I don’t care about the age gap or Bianca, who was still a child when they married. It was a common practice in the old days, so it blended in with the period in which the story was set. As for the age gap, I’ve seen and read worse in real life, so that didn’t bother me. Also, there is no child grooming and their first sexual engagement happened only after she came of age towards the middle of story.

In the first lifetime or premonition that Bianca had (whichever you want to call it), she had an affair with a commoner, which was the reason she got kicked out when Zachary passed away. If you’re like any other people, you might be questioning, “Would Bianca have cheated on Zachary again had she not known of the consequences from the first time?” It’s a grey area, and we all have different opinions about infidelity and cheaters. I believe that cheating is wrong; even if my significant other one day changed their personality or decided to have a side chick, I would not be able to bring myself to do the same. Even if he doesn’t give me the love or attention I want, my morals will not allow me to cheat–I just can’t because that’s who I am and how I was raised.

However, I’m a reasonable person. I like to examine a story from all sides. If six people are involved in an issue, I will listen to all six stories. I understand that not everyone has the same morals as I do. Moreover, I like reading novels that sometimes go against my beliefs because they allow me to explore the matter from another perspective. Bianca’s and Zachary’s marriage failed the first time because neither set an effort to take the initiative. She’s afraid of him because of his rough personality and huge appearance, so she keeps herself in her small world. She feels lonely because there’s no one on her side, no one she can rely on. Zachary, although he did his best to accommodate her physical and luxury needs, emotionally neglected her. He fails to realize that his wife has no emotional support. That there is no one his wife can rely on, especially after her nanny passes away. Zachary was too focused on striving to elevate his status, believing it was the best for Bianca, that he failed to realize she had secluded herself in her tiny world. In other words, they were both at fault, and their relationship improved the second time because they both put in the effort.

Besides these two main concerns, this is one of the manhwas that I enjoyed reading. The main story only has 95 episodes. Starting from episode 96 are the side stories, which are still ongoing; for the most part, you can read those side stories by themselves. I also appreciate how the story doesn’t have a crazy female antagonist. Seriously, it drives me crazy and raises my blood pressure when a story is going so well, and suddenly, there’s a crazy antagonist. There’s only so much craziness that I can handle. The second prince, the main antagonist, is a bit crazy and delusional, but it’s not overboard. If I had to nitpick something, it’s that I don’t like how the artist tried to pull a sympathy card for him by showing his terrible childhood. Overall, it can be a fun and enjoyable read if you can overlook these two primary concerns. If you absolutely cannot, then this manhwa is not for you.

A quick note: there is a novel but no official English translation. Since the book is rated for ages 18+, the manhwa comes in two versions: a friendly version for all ages and a mature version with spicy illustrations. Finally, you can read the official translation of this manhwa on Tapas. Please DO NOT POST unofficial links in the comments.