Translator: Nox

Chapter 19

Because she had driven away every servant sent from the Main Palace, there were currently fewer than ten maids assigned to the Separate Palace. Since she had forbidden even them from coming near her, the number of attendants she could actually bring along could be counted on one hand.

For that reason, Talia found herself in a position where she had to set out on a long journey surrounded by servants sent by Senevia. Her temperament made her want to kick them all out, but seeing Gares and Aila accompanied by hundreds of attendants, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

Talia bit her lip irritably, glaring at the crowd surrounding the carriages of the Crown Prince and the First Princess.

She had spent years allowing no one but Barkas and her nanny near her, simply because she hated having people fluttering about her. She hadn’t wanted anyone by her side who might try to trample her at any given moment.

However, the thought of her own pathetic appearance—bringing only three or four attendants while her two half-siblings flaunted the dignity of the imperial family with hundreds of servants—made her stomach turn.

In the end, Talia had no choice but to accept the maids Senevia had sent. Yet she couldn’t lower her guard for a single second, wondering what kind of schemes they might be up to. Talia watched them obsessively, monitoring every move they made as they moved her luggage.

Just then, a voice filled with exasperation reached her ears from nearby.

“Do you truly intend to take all of these belongings with you?”

She looked up with a sharp gaze at the man who had approached her side.

Not long after she had dismissed the previous dim-witted guard who had groveled before the Crown Prince, the newly assigned knight had begun speaking to her without hesitation like this. And Talia did not care for the man’s attitude.

She shot a cold question back at the man, who was scratching the back of his head with a troubled expression.

“Do you have some grievance with my travel arrangements?”

“I understand your desire to maintain your dignity as a member of the imperial family. But isn’t this a bit much? Hundreds of dresses, even expensive jewelry… Unless you plan on changing five times a day, this is all unnecessary baggage.”

“You know nothing. I plan to change my clothes ten times a day, let alone five. Traveling by carriage all day means being covered in dust, and I have no intention of wearing soiled clothes for even a moment.”

“What a joke…”

The knight let out an awkward laugh. It seemed he still hadn’t realized that she never spoke in jest.

Talia left the stunned man behind and walked toward the carriage she was to board.

Positioned toward the rear of the long procession, her carriage was as large and luxurious as the Crown Prince’s.

The doors and roof were lavishly decorated with gold and ivory, and the interior featured seats wide enough to serve as beds, covered in cushions made of thick wool felt and silk.

She climbed into the carriage and pulled back the curtains draped behind the seats. This revealed a fairly spacious dressing area and a large storage cabinet.

Talia opened the drawers connected to the luggage compartment and inspected the contents thoroughly. She had packed dresses made of the finest fabrics she owned and all sorts of accessories, yet nothing seemed to satisfy her. This wasn’t enough to outshine Aila.

She rummaged through the drawers haphazardly, biting her lower lip in frustration.

Perhaps she should have stolen the diamond necklace Senevia received from the Emperor. No, she should have taken her mother’s entire jewelry box.

Senevia seemed to want her to break off Aila’s engagement. That was why she had been so blatant in her encouragement. If Talia had asked for clothes and jewelry to achieve that goal, the Empress would have lent them gladly.

‘Should I go to the Empress’s Palace now?’

After staring down at the drawers with anxious eyes, Talia stepped out of the carriage. Just as she was turning toward Senevia’s residence, she spotted Barkas wearing the uniform of the Roem Knights among the soldiers.

Talia froze in her tracks. Even though there were over a hundred and fifty other men in the same uniform in the castle courtyard, Talia’s eyes could see only Barkas.

Her obsessive gaze clung tenaciously to his straight back, his broad shoulders, and his faintly shimmering ashen-blonde hair.

Barkas crossed the courtyard with a disciplined stride, barking orders at his subordinates. It appeared he was checking the formation before departure.

Talia swallowed hard. As Barkas drew closer, her throat stung as if she had swallowed a handful of glass shards.

His indifferent gaze, which had been scanning the long line stretching from the castle gate, finally fixed on her carriage.

Even from a distance, Talia could see the slight furrow in his brow. It was the expression he always wore whenever he faced her.

That cold face, which caused her such terrible pain in every moment, slowly approached.

“Are the preparations for departure still not finished?”

Barkas rebuked her guard without even looking at her. The man scratched the back of his head, looking troubled.

“As you can see, it seems we’ll need to secure an additional luggage wagon.”

At the knight’s sighing response, Barkas’s pale blue eyes turned toward the servants who were struggling to cram a mountain of luggage into the carriage. Talia could see a flash of irritation cross his expressionless face.

Finally, his gaze landed on her.

“This procession is scheduled to pass through six major cities. You can procure whatever you need along the way, so discard the unnecessary baggage.”

She held her head high, making a point of it.

“I won’t. How do you know what I might need?”

“It is only clothes and jewelry anyway,” he said in a dry tone.

“There are many cities with developed commerce and industry in the northwest. You will have plenty of opportunities to buy things to your heart’s content, so refrain from exhausting the servants before we even leave.”

Talia snorted.

“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re just trying to make me look like an undignified princess who indulges in luxury during a pilgrimage so people will compare me to Aila, aren’t you? Do you think I’ll fall for your words?”

“Since when did you care about your reputation…”

The corner of his mouth twitched slightly as if he found her absurd.

“In the first place, no one is going to put you on the same level as the First Princess. So put aside your useless worries.”

Those were the words she never wanted to hear from him, not if she died for it.

Flushed with anger, Talia raised her hand. But Barkas was not one to simply take a blow. Swiftly grabbing her wrist, Barkas gestured with his chin toward the servants.

“Leave only the essentials and take down the rest of the luggage. We depart in fifteen minutes, so hurry.”

“By whose authority?!”

Talia screamed, struggling with all her might to pull her arm from his grasp. But the man didn’t budge.

Fuming with rage, Talia kicked his shin and shrieked.

“Who do you think you are, daring to tell me to take down my things? Do you think you’re someone important already? You aren’t a Grand Duke yet! You’re just a knight belonging to the imperial family! How dare a mere knight treat an Imperial Princess of the Empire…!”

“What are you doing? Hurry up.”

He ignored the rampaging Talia and threw a chilling look at the servants. At that, the servants, who had been hesitantly watching the situation, scrambled to remove the luggage from the carriage.

There could be no clearer demonstration that the orders of Barkas—the future Grand Duke of the East and the Commander of the Imperial Guard—carried more weight than the commands of a princess in name only.

Glaring at the servants with eyes full of spite, Talia lost her reason and lunged at one of the maids.

“Take your hands off my luggage this instant! If even one of my things is missing, I’ll hang every single one of you…!”

She couldn’t finish her sentence. Barkas hoisted her up with one arm and shoved her into the carriage as if clearing away a bothersome piece of baggage.

Forced into the carriage seat, Talia’s face turned beet red with fury.

Barkas was a man filled to the marrow with loyalty to the imperial family. He would never lay a hand on Aila so carelessly.

The reason this man could treat her so roughly was because he did not consider her a true member of the imperial family.

The sheer humiliation made her eyes sting with tears. It was unbearably sorrowful that a man who was always so courtly toward her half-sister became infinitely rude only to her.