Translator: Nox

Chapter 12

12

She rose from her bed and stood before the mirror, staring at her gaunt reflection for a long while.

I look exactly like that sewer rat that was in my stew.

With that thought, a dry laugh escaped her lips. Just then, the maid who assisted with her morning grooming entered the room.

“You are up early. Come here. I will help you wash.”

“I don’t need you.”

At the cold response, the maid’s sharp eyes narrowed slightly in annoyance.

She looked down at Talia with a high-handed gaze and began to lecture her.

“Your Highness has a duty to maintain a perfect appearance at all times and in all places, according to imperial protocol. Childish tantrums like this are—”

“Nanny!”

At the sharp cry, the maid flinched and fell silent. Talia brushed past her and began to ring the bell beside her bed violently.

“Nanny! Nanny!”

The nanny, who had been oversleeping in the adjacent room, burst through the door in a frantic rush.

Talia pointed at the nanny and spoke with an air of arrogance.

“From now on, my nanny will be in charge of my grooming. My mother gave her permission yesterday. So, you may leave.”

“But…”

“Are you defying the Empress’s command right now?”

As Talia snapped at her, the maid, who had been looking down at her with a look of doubt, finally left the room. It seemed she had no desire to help Talia dress if it meant getting into a physical scuffle.

Talia turned and shouted fiercely at her nanny, who was still rubbing her puffy, half-asleep eyes.

“Did you hear that? From now on, washing and dressing me is entirely your responsibility. Keep your wits about you and do your job.”

“I understand, Miss…”

The nanny replied half-heartedly, letting out a cavernous yawn.

Talia raised her arm and ruthlessly slapped the woman’s fleshy cheek. Stunned by the sudden blow, the nanny stared at her with wide, startled eyes.

Talia mimicked the expression her mother often wore when her rage had reached its peak.

“How many times do I have to tell you to call me ‘Your Highness’ before it sinks in?”

The nanny’s brown eyes bulged.

Talia looked straight into those eyes and emphasized every single word as if spitting them out.

“From now on, consider a slap to the face the consequence every time you call me ‘Miss.’”

She then hurried the dazed nanny to begin the grooming.

Because the nanny was so slow-handed, several hours had passed by the time the dressing was finished. Talia felt as though she might collapse at any moment, having barely eaten for weeks, but she stepped out of her room with her back held rigidly straight.

In the hallway stood a man with a gloomy face, dressed in black. Talia stiffened for a moment, surprised to see a stranger guarding her door, but she soon remembered what her mother had said. It seemed this ghost-like man was the ‘useful guard.’

Talia gave a slight jerk of her chin, signaling for the man to follow, and made her way toward the dining hall. Several servants cast displeased glances at her, as if they had been waiting a long time for her to descend.

Talia ignored their glares and took a seat at the end of the long dining table. She then gestured with her chin in an arrogant manner.

“Bring the food.”

Despite her command, the servants lingered with indifferent expressions before eventually bringing out plates filled with various dishes.

A maid in her mid-thirties supervised the entire process. Following her instructions, the servants placed silver plates down in order, and finally, a bowl of soup was set before her.

Talia stared intently into the bowl. The pale broth was filled with beans and meat. It looked fine on the surface, but she knew the contents would be anything but.

Talia picked up her spoon and stirred the thick liquid covered in white cream. As she scraped the bottom of the bowl and lifted it, a sparrow with a snapped neck emerged.

It must have been dead for quite some time before being tossed in; she could see several thread-thin maggots wriggling in the bird’s decaying eye sockets.

Her stomach churned as if she would vomit right then and there. However, Talia desperately hid any sign of agitation and shouted sharply at the maid who had brought the soup.

“You! Come here and sit down.”

The woman, looking bewildered by the sudden command, soon sent a wary glance Talia’s way.

After a brief pause, she spoke in a stiff tone.

“I apologize, Your Highness, but I have much work to do.”

With that, she turned to leave the dining hall.

This was the woman who always stood nearby after serving the food, watching silently as if to enjoy Talia’s reaction. Seeing her hurry away today, Talia sensed the woman knew something bad was about to happen.

Talia lunged from her seat and grabbed the brass pitcher on the table. Then, with all her might, she struck the head of the arrogant maid who dared to ignore an Imperial Princess’s command and turn her back without permission.

Even if it was the strength of a scrawny child, the impact of a metal object against a head was significant.

With a sharp scream, the maid collapsed onto the carpet.

Not only the victimized maid but all ten or so servants in the dining hall froze as if paralyzed. Some maids let out muffled screams, covering their mouths.

Talia, however, remained indifferent to their horrified stares. She gestured arrogantly toward the man standing like a shadow in the corner of the room.

“Seat this woman in the chair next to me immediately.”

The man, who had been standing still and staring intently at her face, walked over slowly and hauled up the half-conscious woman.

The woman desperately resisted as she regained her senses, but there was no way she could match the strength of a trained man. Dragged across the floor, the maid was forcibly seated at the table.

Talia returned to her own seat and stared intently at the woman beside her. Her scalp had been torn where the spout of the pitcher had scraped it; dark red blood trickled down her temple, creating two long stains on her pale, blanched cheek.

Talia, unbothered by the gruesome sight, pushed the bowl of soup containing the dead bird in front of the woman. The woman’s confused eyes drifted down to the soup and then back to Talia.

Talia forcibly shoved a spoon into fingers that were damp with cold sweat.

“In appreciation of your hard work in preparing my meals every day, I’ve decided to share my meal with you today. Out of respect for my sincerity, make sure to finish every drop.”

“Y-Your Highness, I…”

“Eat.”

Talia said forcefully, pulling the maid’s hand over the bowl.

“You brought this for me to eat. Why shouldn’t you be able to eat it?”

“I… I just…”

The woman’s lips trembled violently as she looked around for help. But everyone else remained frozen in the sudden situation, not knowing what to do.

Talia barked fiercely.

“Eat it now!”

The maid flinched violently and brushed Talia’s hand away. She tried to stand up and flee, but the man behind her held her so tightly she couldn’t move.

The woman, looking back and forth between the man’s gloomy face and Talia’s with an expression of pure terror, soon began to plead in a tearful voice.

“I… I… was wrong… This… this will never happen again. So please, just once, forgive me…”

“If you don’t empty this bowl, you won’t be walking out of here on your own two feet.”

The woman’s face turned deathly pale. Her eyes dropped to the waist of the man holding her. She had clearly seen the sword hanging there.

Gasping for breath, she cried out desperately.

“Please, please… mercy…!”

“I am showing you mercy right now,” Talia said nonchalantly.

“I could kill you this very instant. But I am giving you a chance to live, am I not?”

The woman’s body began to shake uncontrollably.

Talia pushed the soup containing the rotting bird corpse right in front of her.

“If you understand, shove it all into your mouth.”