Chapter 36
36
The woman’s eyes flashed with fury as she spat out each word, one by one.
“Do my words sound like a joke to you too?”
He reflexively took another step back at the fierce aura radiating from her.
The Princess, her slender frame trembling, raised her voice sharply.
“How many times do I have to tell you to leave me alone before you understand? Is what I say that funny to you?”
“I only brought some food because I was worried Your Highness might collapse,” Edric protested with a wronged expression, faltering under the barrage of words.
The Princess let out an overt snort right in his face.
“Why would a lowly thing like you worry about me?”
“I am Your Highness’s personal knight. It is my duty to assist you—!”
The woman suddenly burst into laughter.
His face flushed red. It was the first time in his life he had been mocked so blatantly to his face, and he had no idea how to react.
Looking at him with a derisive sneer, the woman spoke slowly.
“You must think I’m a complete fool… Do you think I don’t know that the Roem Knight Order is nothing more than the Crown Prince’s loyal dogs?”
His expression hardened into a mask.
She looked down at the basket in his hand with contempt and added coldly, “How do I know what’s inside that? You expect me to eat it? What kind of foul scheme are you trying to pull!”
“I am a knight!”
Unable to endure any more, Edric raised his voice. His ears burned with heat from the insult, the first of its kind he had ever received.
“Your Highness’s words are an insult not just to me, but to the entire Imperial Knight Order! We are those who have sworn before God to protect the Imperial Family. We would never do anything to harm Your Highness—!”
“Do you really think I’d believe that?”
He stood speechless, staring at the Princess’s face, which looked as though it were carved from ice.
She wiped the lingering smile from her lips and barked coldly, “If you want to play the sycophant, go do it to my half-siblings. I have no need for it.”
With that, she slammed the door shut with a loud bang, ending the conversation.
He tightened his grip on the basket. If he didn’t, he felt he might throw the door open and scream at her to stop being so stubborn.
After glaring at the carriage door with eyes simmering with rage, Edric finally turned away.
He had done enough. He had no intention of trying to persuade a woman who openly insulted and antagonized him.
Edric set the basket down on a shelf in front of the communal barracks as if throwing it, then walked toward the mess area.
The knights were already gathered on the field, eating their meals.
Slipping in among his comrades, Edric piled his plate high with food and began to wolf it down. He kept telling himself that he didn’t care whether that wicked woman starved or not…
After tossing and turning incessantly in the dark, Talia cautiously sat up.
When she pulled back the curtains from the window, she saw a few lanterns held by the sentries glowing faintly in the darkness. Everything else was submerged in pitch-black gloom.
Lifting her head to look up at the black, moonless sky, Talia carefully stepped out of the carriage.
Having survived on only a few pieces of bread and some honey-preserved fruit for several days, her limbs felt weak. She wondered if it might have been better to eat the food that stupid knight had brought her.
He didn’t seem intelligent enough to hatch a sinister plot; perhaps she had been overly cautious.
Recalling the knight’s naive face, Talia quickly shook the thought from her head.
Had she not learned the hard way that people who approach with harmless faces are the ones who should be trusted the least? It might be a ploy to lower her guard before committing some terrible deed.
She scanned the knights standing guard near the perimeter with wary eyes before moving cautiously.
As her vision adjusted to the darkness, the triangular shapes of tent roofs, long rows of wagons, and the silhouettes of horses came into dim focus.
Careful not to trip over any stones, she picked her way between the tents. She felt the wind blowing down from the hills slipping through the folds of her clothes.
The scent of half-burnt firewood mingled with the heavy smell of grass tickled her nose. Talia crept through the darkness, relying on her senses.
Eventually, she managed to find her attendants’ quarters. Squinting her eyes to confirm she was in the right place, Talia fumbled her way up onto the nearest baggage wagon. She curled her body into a ball among the stacked crates and stared intently at the entrance of the tent. Her intention was to see if the spy her mother had planted would make a move tonight.
Hugging her knees, she watched the darkness without even blinking.
Occasionally, the sound of soldiers snoring or grinding their teeth reached her ears. There was the sound of horses snorting and the chirping of insects. She hadn’t realized the night could be so noisy.
She counted every second painfully, trying to soothe her nerves, which were frayed to the point of aching.
After she had been holding her breath for who knows how long, the black sky began to brighten into a deep navy. It seemed tonight would pass quietly.
She carefully moved her stiff body to stretch her joints. Her bones seemed to scream, letting out audible pops.
She was barely swallowing a groan while massaging her tingling limbs when she saw a dark silhouette walking out from inside the tent.
She narrowed her eyes.
Though the face was invisible in the darkness, she could clearly tell it was a woman with a slender build.
Talia forced her creaking body upright and followed the shadow.
After walking for a while along the line of carriages, Aila’s carriage came into view. She rubbed her palms, damp with cold sweat, against her skirt.
How wonderful it would be if the woman slipped into that carriage. If she would do what Talia needed to do instead.
With such desperate longing, she stared at the woman’s back. However, the woman passed right by Aila’s carriage and moved toward the edge of the sprawling campsite. Talia’s face hardened as her gaze followed. The flag of the Siyeokan family, embroidered with the crest of a black horse, was fluttering in front of a tent.
She hurried toward it. But in the brief moment she looked away, the woman had already vanished.
Frantically searching between the tents, Talia looked toward the entrance of the barracks, her heart sinking with dread.
‘Could she… have gone in there?’
Her heart plummeted.
If Aila and Barkas were to be united like this, Gares’s position would become even more unshakable.
The Siyeokan family held powerful influence not only in the East but also in the North. If Aila became the Grand Duchess of Siyeokan, it meant Gares would have the Union of Nobles at his back. There was every possibility that she had decided to eliminate Barkas to prevent such a situation.
Once her thoughts reached that point, Talia rushed into Barkas’s barracks as if being chased. She was beyond the point of rational thought.
Hurriedly scanning the dark interior of the barracks, Talia pulled back the divider in the center.
The bed was empty. Since he was a man who began his daily routine before dawn, he was likely patrolling the camp or checking on Torque’s condition.
The realization flashed through her mind, but her anxiety did not easily subside.
She fumbled over the empty bed, checking to see if there were any bloodstains. Suddenly, she heard a heavy footstep and snapped her head up. A man with a large build stood tall at the entrance of the barracks.
Thinking Barkas had arrived, Talia rushed toward him, only to freeze in her tracks. It was Gares, dressed in light clothing, staring at her with startled eyes.
“What are you doing here?”
He swept his gaze up and down her body, his brow furrowing sharply.
