Chapter 42
Over the past few days, the woman she had been watching with eagle eyes finally appeared, slipping silently between the tents.
Talia watched her with narrowed eyes before cautiously following in her wake.
The woman seemed to have mastered the art of moving naturally without drawing attention. Her gait was so quiet and agile that Talia would have lost her in an instant if she hadn’t been familiar with the specific movements characteristic of those trained by the Taren family.
In the blink of an eye, the woman crossed the campsite and disappeared into the long line of supply wagons.
After a brief hesitation, Talia crept toward the large wagons and peered into the narrow gap between them. But the woman had already vanished.
With a flustered expression, Talia scanned her surroundings and squeezed between the massive wagons. Suddenly, her foot caught on something.
‘This is…’
Leaning down, Talia frowned as she discovered a small glass bottle lying beneath a wheel.
As she picked it up to examine it more closely, she felt a few drops of a slippery liquid from the mouth of the bottle wet her fingers.
Startled, she threw the bottle away. She brought her hand close to her face and sniffed; a pungent floral scent mixed with a fishy stench, like animal fluids, pierced her nose. The smell was so nauseatingly revolting that her head spun, and she instinctively gagged. Grimacing, she wiped the strange liquid off with a handkerchief. However, the peculiar odor refused to fade.
‘This is the worst.’
She slammed the soiled handkerchief onto the ground and straightened her back, only to see a dark shadow looming over her head.
Talia snapped her head up and let out a scream, collapsing onto the ground. Barkas was looking down at her with a cold, indifferent face.
“What are you doing in a place like this?”
Talia, who had been staring up at him blankly, scrambled to her feet.
How long has he been watching me?
Even though she hadn’t committed any crime yet, her heart pounded. Talia tried to maintain a facade of composure and spat out in a sharp voice.
“You scared me! What are you doing, sneaking around like a rat without making a sound!”
“You still haven’t answered my question.”
Barkas, letting her vitriol go in one ear and out the other, uncrossed his arms and took a step closer.
Talia recoiled for a moment, then arched her brows defiantly.
“Why should I have to answer your questions? What does it matter to you where I am or what I’m doing!”
She tried to flee the spot, but Barkas moved his long legs to block her path.
Trapped between the supply wagon and his lean frame, Talia looked up at him with trembling eyes.
“What—what are you doing?”
“I can’t leave you to wander alone, knowing I might have to witness some other foul sight.”
Talia flinched at his biting tone.
Barkas stared down at her for a moment before letting out a faint sigh and gesturing with his chin.
“I will escort you to your quarters. Lead the way.”
“I-I don’t need it. I can go by myself…”
“Is there a reason I shouldn’t escort you?”
Unconsciously, Talia gripped the hilt of the knife hidden in her pocket. It was a foolish move. It was as good as openly announcing she was hiding something.
Seeing his eyes narrow, Talia shoved his chest roughly with both hands.
“Who cares! Move out of the way!”
She pushed with all her might, but he didn’t budge. Though he looked slender, the man possessed a body as solid as iron.
Hiding her fear, Talia lifted her chin with feigned dignity.
“Didn’t you hear me? Move!”
After staring down at her in silence, Barkas slowly stepped back.
Talia didn’t miss the chance and quickly squeezed through the narrow space between him and the wagon. But as she tried to hurry away, a powerful hand gripped her arm and firmly spun her around.
Before she could even gasp, his hand reached into her cloak pocket and pulled out the knife she had sharpened to a keen edge.
Talia looked up at him, her face turning pale. Barkas lightly brushed his finger over the blade with an elegant motion, then looked down at her with expressionless eyes that betrayed no emotion.
She could have just made an excuse, saying it was for self-defense. But facing those piercing eyes that seemed to be scouring every corner of her mind, her reason shattered and scattered.
She lunged at him fiercely, like a child whose only toy had been snatched away.
“Give it back!”
He held the hand gripping the knife high above his head.
Talia stood on her tiptoes, grabbing and pulling at his uniform as she reached out.
“Give it back! I said give it back!”
Barkas looked down at her frantic, irrational struggle with a hardened face and threw the knife away.
Talia hurriedly bent down to pick it up. But before she could grab the knife, a foot encased in a golden sabaton kicked it far away.
Watching blankly as the knife slid under a wagon, Talia leaned down as if she were about to crawl under it. But before her body could touch the ground, a long, solid forearm wrapped around her waist and forcibly pulled her upright.
Talia’s face contorted hideously as she glared at him with murderous eyes. However, Barkas looked just as irritated as she did.
“I won’t ask what you intended to do with that.”
Barkas brought his face close to hers and spat out each word. His lowered voice was like a razor-sharp blade.
“From now on, you will be under constant surveillance. So, discard all those useless, stupid plans filling that little head of yours.”
Who do you think you are to talk to me like that?
Who do you think you are to take my things?
Who do you think you are?
When you’re going to become another woman’s man.
When you’re going to leave forever.
When you’re the one who made me want to kill that woman, why won’t you let me do anything?
Disjointed words choked her throat.
She wanted to scream insults, but she feared that if she opened her mouth, she would start wailing and screeching like a ten-year-old girl, so she clamped her jaw shut.
Barkas watched her for a moment, then straightened his posture and gestured with his chin for her to walk ahead.
Talia glared at him with eyes full of hatred before walking quickly between the wagons. As if his promise of thorough surveillance wasn’t an empty threat, Barkas followed behind her like a shadow.
The presence she had once missed so unbearably now felt sickeningly repulsive. To think he would appear and interfere at the very moment she had made the greatest resolution of her life, when he was never there when she actually wanted him by her side.
‘To protect Aila…’
No. Perhaps he was doing it to protect Gares.
He would never fully understand why she had a knife in her pocket. He wouldn’t even guess why she ground her teeth at her half-sister, who silently endured her, while paying no mind to the half-brother who beat her whenever he had the chance.
She turned her head to look at the campsite as darkness began to settle.
Aila was probably having a wonderful time right about now. Surrounded by people who loved her, she would be savoring the happy future that awaited her.
The thought of that blushing face made her already turbulent stomach churn. That loathsome woman. Despite having everything, the way she looked at Talia with those sorrowful eyes and wore that miserable expression was absolutely horrific.
I really do want to kill her.
As she thought this and picked at her scabbed lips, Barkas, who had been following quietly, suddenly grabbed her and pushed her roughly back.
Talia looked up at him, her eyes wide with shock.
In that instant, her heart sank, thinking the man had read her mind. But he wasn’t looking at her.
Talia turned her head, following his gaze as he stared intensely at the sky, and gasped for breath. Something the size of a house was falling toward them at a terrifying speed. Before she could even realize what it was, a thunderous boom echoed, and a cloud of dust billowed up.
“It’s a monster!”
Starting with someone’s shout, piercing screams erupted from all directions.
