Translator: Nox

Chapter 21

He looked back and forth between his superior’s cold back and the judgmental glares of the citizens, then spurred his horse forward with a heavy sigh.

As if engaging in a silent protest, the Second Imperial Princess had remained shut away inside the carriage. It was only when they had cleared the capital and stopped to rest by the riverside that she finally showed herself.

The servants, busy pitching tents and preparing camp, watched Talia with nervous eyes.

Her earlier declaration that she intended to change her clothes several times a day had been no idle boast; she was now wearing a silk dress embroidered with gold thread, a far cry from the one she had worn when leaving the Imperial Palace.

Furthermore, around her pale, slender neck hung a necklace so costly it could likely purchase an entire castle, and her wrists, thin as birch branches, were adorned with ornate jewelry encrusted with diamonds.

Watching from a distance, Edric looked on in disbelief. They were about to have dinner and camp for the night. For what possible reason had she dressed up so extravagantly? He felt exhausted already by her utterly incomprehensible behavior.

Swallowing a sigh, he handed his reins to a squire and approached the Princess. As he did, the woman, who had been surveying her surroundings, shot a fierce look in his direction.

In that instant, Edric felt his throat tighten. Bathed in the light of the setting sun, Talia looked like a being forged from a fusion of fire and gold.

The strong river breeze whipped her wheat-colored hair into a voluminous golden wave around her face, and her flawless, chalcedony-pale skin emitted a cold radiance even amidst the flame-like sunset.

He took an involuntary step back. Everything about the woman was so excessively delicate that it felt as though she might shatter at any moment, scattering sharp fragments in every direction.

He swallowed hard at a chilling premonition he couldn’t put into words, just as a sharp, irritable voice slipped through her blood-red lips.

“I don’t like it here. Move the campsite.”

The sheer absurdity of the instruction finally brought him back to his senses.

He stiffened his spine. This woman was a poisonous mushroom with a beautiful exterior. If one allowed themselves to be deluded by her lovely appearance and let their guard down, they would pay a bitter price.

Adopting a professional, blunt tone, he replied.

“This site was chosen by the Imperial Guard for safety. We cannot search for a different location at this stage.”

“Who asked for your opinion?”

The woman threw him a frost-bitten gaze.

“I ordered you to move the camp. You just need to obey my command!”

Edric had to take a moment to compose himself to gather his patience.

“Lord Siekan holds all decision-making authority for this expedition. I tell you once more, we cannot break formation at will.”

“So you’re saying I only need Barkas’s permission?”

Cutting him off abruptly, the woman immediately turned away. It seemed she had been looking for an excuse to pick a fight with Lord Siekan from the very beginning.

Edric hurriedly chased after the Princess. He couldn’t understand this woman who seemed desperate to stir up trouble from the very first day of the journey.

With his long stride, he overtook her in an instant.

“Exactly what about this place do you find so distasteful?”

“I just hate all of it,” she snapped, her steps brisk and sharp.

“I hate being near the water, and I hate being near the forest. It’s going to be crawling with insects.”

“How are we supposed to camp without water? Furthermore, griffins and harpies are known to appear in this vicinity. The forest serves as a natural defensive wall in the event of an attack by large monsters—”

“Safety? What safety! I’ve already been bitten twice by flying pests! If I spend the night in a place like this, those vermin will eat my skin raw. And what about that noise from the woods! I can’t stand the sound of rustling leaves, and with the birds chirping like that, how am I supposed to sleep!”

Edric looked down at the Princess, aghast. Not even a spoiled five-year-old would throw such a tantrum. He desperately suppressed his rising irritation.

“We have to camp for several days. If you don’t start adjusting now—”

“Then just move the camp! Why should I have to force myself to endure something I hate?”

The woman shouted in a shrill voice and charged through the camp like a racehorse with its eyes fixed only on the finish line. He had to clench his fists tight to keep himself from stopping her by force.

“Everyone is exhausted from a full day’s march. We cannot strike the tents and wander around looking for a new site for such a ridiculous reason. Stop acting like a spoiled child and go back to your carriage to rest.”

As he blocked her path and spoke with intentional sternness, her hauntingly beautiful face twisted slightly. A moment later, accompanied by a sound like a cracking whip, a stinging pain flared in his right cheek.

He glared at her with a menacing look. From the moment he was assigned as her guard, he had expected some light physical abuse. However, it felt far more loathsome than he had imagined.

“How dare you give me orders.”

As he barely swallowed the sense of insult, the woman grabbed him by the collar and hissed into his face.

“I am the Emperor’s daughter, and you exist for my convenience. If I tell you to walk all night, it is your destiny to walk until dawn. So keep your mouth shut and get out of my sight.”

She shoved him back and began walking along the riverbank again.

Edric stared silently at the back of her small head, his expression hardened. If it were up to him, he would have slung the ill-mannered woman over his shoulder and thrown her back into the carriage, just as his superior had done.

But he lacked the backing to lay hands on a member of the imperial family without facing certain punishment.

Watching her retreating figure as it grew distant in an instant, Edric let out a bitter sigh.

Could he really endure this wicked woman’s tyranny until the end of the trip? He already felt a throbbing headache coming on.

---

As she walked along the river, Talia felt stinging gazes on her back.

She shot a sharp look over her shoulder. She saw those who had been peeking at her quickly turn their heads away and feign busyness.

It was a reaction no different from usual. Hadn’t people always treated her like a powder keg that could explode at any moment? Yet, the eyes that followed her today—cautious yet surreptitiously lingering—felt suspicious.

‘Surely, there must be a spy planted by Senevia among them.’

She scrutinized the faces of the attendants one by one. Perhaps every single one of them was a spy. Her mother was more than capable of such a thing.

Her thoughts began to spiral into increasingly drastic territory.

For many years, Senevia had worked to undermine Gares’s base of support. This could be an opportunity for her to eliminate every obstacle in her son’s path.

Her heart beat erratically.

If her mother’s targets were Gares or Aila, she didn’t care. She was even willing to participate in the plan if necessary. But if, by any chance, the one Senevia was targeting was Barkas…

Reaching that thought, Talia looked around the rows of military tents with anxious eyes.

She absolutely had to separate the campsites. Putting physical distance between them would make it harder for Senevia’s spies to pull any schemes during the night.

She quickened her pace. Before long, she spotted Torque, the warhorse Barkas cherished, tied in front of a large tent. Talia passed the grey stallion, which snorted loudly upon recognizing her, and stepped into the dim interior of the tent.

The inside was as neatly organized as a temple. Talia’s eyes swept over a candelabra emitting a faint light, a high-quality storage chest, and a rack displaying armor. Spotting a dark shadow cast behind a partition, she walked toward it without hesitation.

“I want to move my campsite to a different location. But my ‘gallant’ knight says I can’t go anywhere without Lord Siekan’s permission. It seems your subordinates believe the Commander of the Roem Knights ranks above the imperial family. How the Imperial Guard became such a pathetic group that doesn’t even know its own hierarchy—”

Talia, who had been rattling off her demands as she pulled back the partition, suddenly froze. Barkas was standing there with his shirt off, wiping the water from his face with a towel.