Translator: Nox

Chapter 23

23

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Contrary to her expectations, the journey continued smoothly.

Though nights as thick and dark as tar repeated, morning broke each day without anyone ending up bloodied, and they packed their belongings to set out again before the sun reached its zenith.

The schedule was delayed slightly as soldiers grew weary from the sweltering heat and fell behind, but the pilgrimage proceeded without major incident.

The procession, led by Gares and his personal guard, arrived at Sortika, a small city located in the northwest, five days after leaving the Imperial Palace. After spending a day there, they moved northward once more.

During that time, Talia kept a sharp, watchful eye on the attendants Senevia had sent.

They feigned an almost loathsome air of loyalty, but Talia did not withdraw her suspicion for a single moment.

They were merely waiting for the right time. It was as clear as day that something terrible would happen soon.

Hadn’t an ominous conspiracy always trailed behind anything Senevia was involved in like a shadow?

If not today, then tomorrow; if not tomorrow, then the day after… Soon, a gruesome scene would unfold before her eyes.

Talia couldn’t tell if she was dreading it or anticipating it.

Whenever she saw Barkas—who was so cold to her—acting infinitely tender toward Aila, she wished for a horrific catastrophe to strike immediately.

She felt it would be a relief if the two of them were mangled beyond recognition. It was a hundred times better to see his corpse than to see him standing by Aila’s side.

Yet, as the night deepened, a suffocating fear took hold. It was useless no matter how many hundreds of times she told herself she didn’t care if a man like that died.

Trembling with anxiety all night, Talia rushed out of her tent before dawn had even fully broken. Relying on the dim light of early morning, she went out to find him. It felt as though she could only breathe once she confirmed with her own eyes that Barkas was alive and well.

She moved hurriedly along a narrow path through the thick brush, only to come to a dead stop when she heard the sound of a horse snorting.

Pushing through the dense thicket, she saw a grey stallion with a flowing black mane.

Barkas, who had skillfully led the massive horse to the spring, knelt on one knee on the ground. He pulled the reins to guide the horse to lower its head toward the water’s surface, then used his other hand to scoop up spring water and wet the stallion’s long, sturdy neck.

Sunlight filtering through the lush leaves bathed his hair in a beautiful silver light. Talia watched the scene with bated breath before eventually closing her eyes in despair.

No matter how much she tried to cut it out, her love for Barkas grew like a tumor, eating away at her. She could see no way out of this quagmire.

How could she shake off this feeling?

Leaning her back against a large tree and staring blankly up at the sky, Talia turned away weakly. Then, spotting Aila walking out onto the path, she hurriedly hid behind a tree.

Whether she had come out immediately after waking, Aila was wearing only a single robe over a thin dress, her long hair draped over her shoulders. She looked just as disheveled as Talia—no, even more so.

Nevertheless, Aila looked noble and dignified. Talia thought that perhaps there was something in that woman’s blood that she could never possess, not even if she died.

“So this is where you were.”

Aila, with a faint rosy glow on her cheeks, carefully approached him and sat on a flat rock.

Barkas’s gaze fell upon her. As if even that quiet look was unbearably wonderful, Aila curved her eyes softly and carefully took off her shoes. She then dipped her feet into the spring water, lightly splashing droplets.

The sound of the horse snorting, the splashing water, and her cheerful, bird-like laughter melted into the cold dawn air.

Talia suppressed the urge to rush out right then and grab her half-sister by the hair. She also endured the desire to tear those lips that smiled at him and rip out the tongue that prattled toward him. She simply could not bear to see Barkas try to protect Aila.

Before long, having enjoyed splashing in the water to her heart’s content, Aila reached out her hand toward him. Instead of taking her hand to help her up, Barkas bent down to dry her feet. Then, as if he were a loyal servant, he carefully put her shoes back on. The sight felt like a dagger piercing her heart.

Talia turned and began to run. Branches and grass scratched wildly at her arms and calves, but she felt no pain. It was as if all her sensory organs had broken down.

Panting heavily, she sprinted through the winding forest path like a racehorse. Then, her foot caught on a protruding tree root, and she tumbled to the ground. Buried in the bushes, her chest heaving, Talia suddenly burst into laughter.

What would Senevia say if she saw this? She would likely knit her fine brows and shake her head. She felt as though she could hear Senevia’s mocking voice from somewhere.

“You have two paths. One is to get the man you want by any means necessary, and the other is to be a slightly less miserable loser.”

Senevia seemed to want her to become a temptress and seduce him, but Talia could never become like Senevia.

The Empress would have seized what she wanted by any means necessary. But Talia didn’t know what to do, other than pray that this painful time would end as soon as possible.

Looking up at the sky fragmented by branches, Talia finally picked herself up. As she emerged from the dark forest path with weary steps, she saw several knights milling about in confusion. As she passed them and approached her carriage, a member of the imperial guard—Rubon, or whatever his name was—quickly stepped in her way.

“Where on earth have you been without a single word?! I’ve told you time and again that you mustn’t go around alone without an escort…”

The knight, who had been pouring out insolent nagging, suddenly stopped. He seemed quite shocked by her disheveled appearance.

“Just… what happened to you… did you perhaps encounter some trouble?”

She stepped past him and onto the carriage step.

However, the man didn’t seem inclined to stop his nagging. Gripping the doorframe, he continued in a firm tone.

“I have a duty to protect Your Highness. So…”

“Anyone would think you’re actually worried about me.”

Talia looked down at him mockingly.

“It seems you were instructed not to take your eyes off the bratty princess for even a second… but if you’re going to keep watch, you should stay alert. Why blame me for you losing track of me because you were spaced out like an idiot?”

The man fell silent, his mouth clamped shut as if at a loss for words.

Talia slammed the door shut in his face.

The man, whose fingers were caught in the door gap, spat out a harsh curse. He didn’t seem to be seriously injured since he was wearing gauntlets, but the sound of his grumbling continued for a long while as if he were in considerable pain.

As always, she ignored the various complaints drifting in from outside.

If she had taken every word uttered by those surrounding her to heart, she would have gone mad long ago.

The first thing she had learned after becoming an imperial princess was how to let things slide.

Talia drew the thick curtains over the glass window where the morning dawn was shining through and curled her body up like a hedgehog.