Translator: Nox

Chapter 49

49

Was waking up in the middle of the night such a strange occurrence that it warranted such a startle?

She took a deep breath, trying to calm her violently thumping heart. However, the feeling of suffocation only grew stronger.

Struggling to push air through her narrowed airway, Talia finally stood up, unable to bear the stifling pressure.

The leg held in a splint throbbed with pain, but she was on the verge of losing her breath; she didn’t have the luxury of worrying about it. Almost tumbling out of the carriage, Talia stumbled forward, her mouth agape as she gasped for air.

Before long, she spotted a flickering light in the distance. Feeling a sense of relief spread deep within her chest, she dragged her stiff, twitching leg toward a large tent where a campfire had been lit.

Just then, a cheerful voice laced with mockery drifted over on the wind.

“It’s a divine punishment.”

Talia froze in her tracks.

A woman sitting before the fire was poking at the logs with a long branch, talking loudly.

“Everyone knows. That woman cursed the First Imperial Princess. She even crashed Her Highness’s birthday banquet and caused a scene!”

The maid’s voice rose with excitement.

Talia scrutinized the face revealed by the firelight. Since the features didn’t look familiar, she assumed the woman was a servant belonging to either Aila or Gares.

The maid took a sip from her cup to moisten her throat before wagging her tongue excitedly again.

“Surely, God has delivered a punishment. Her own curse came back to haunt her, so she got exactly what she deserved!”

“I heard she might be crippled for life. Is that true?”

“The chances are high! I heard from a maid serving the Second Princess that the leg bone was completely shattered. They said they had to spend hours piecing it back together like a puzzle.”

Talia flinched, looking down at her own leg.

The woman’s voice dropped slightly.

“I heard she even has a horrible scar now. Apparently, the skin is so badly twisted that even magic can’t clear it up. They say it’s all red and mottled—absolutely hideous.”

“Well, at least we won’t have to see that woman strutting through the Imperial Palace as she pleases anymore.”

“I suppose so. Her only source of pride has been marred! With a body like that, how could she ever act as arrogant as before?”

Bursts of derisive laughter erupted from all around, as if they found the situation delightful.

Talia, who had been standing frozen in a daze, began to drag her leg forward toward the back of the woman.

The faces of those who spotted her shadow turned pale with fright. However, the woman who had been blathering on so happily had yet to notice her presence. She continued to jeer.

“Her marriage prospects are as good as gone now. What noble family would want an illegitimate woman who’s also a cripple… Aack!”

The woman let out a shrill scream as her hair was suddenly snatched from behind.

Ignoring the cry, Talia violently yanked on the tightly braided hair. When the woman saw Talia’s face, her skin turned white with shock and terror.

Looking down at her coldly, Talia let the corners of her mouth curl upward.

“Why stop now? Keep talking.”

“Y-Your Highness…”

“What is there to be so afraid of? I’m just an illegitimate cripple, aren’t I?”

The woman’s eyes widened. Harsh sobs broke through the lips that had been smirking just moments ago.

“I-I am sorry, Your Highness. I… I have committed a grave sin…”

“What sin did you commit?”

“I-I…”

The woman’s lips trembled violently as she struggled to continue.

“I m-mocked the Imperial Princess with m-my impious words. P-please, have mercy and f-forgive…”

“If you’ve done wrong, you must be punished. Why do you think of forgiveness first?”

The woman’s complexion had now turned almost ashen.

Talia stared down at that sickly face before turning her head to slowly scan the others gathered around the fire.

The maids, frozen like mice before a snake, bowed their bodies low. Catching sight of a knight standing stiff with tension among them, Talia gave a slight flick of her chin.

“You. Come here.”

After a moment’s hesitation, the knight approached her with reluctant steps.

Talia yanked the hair she was holding downward, forcing the woman to her knees in front of the knight.

“She has insulted the Imperial Family with her wagging tongue, so she must pay the price. Now, draw your sword and do your duty.”

The knight’s shoulders stiffened visibly.

Choking sobs were now escaping the woman’s throat. Looking down at the scene with a grim expression, the knight placed a hand over his chest and bowed deeply.

“Your Highness, at this moment, we are already short-handed just preparing for the funerals and tending to the wounded. Conducting an execution at a time like this will only cause unnecessary commotion and unrest. Therefore, please, quell your anger and…”

“Are you saying you intend to defy my command right now?”

The knight kept his mouth tightly shut and bowed his head even deeper.

Talia let out a hollow laugh at his silent affirmation, her face soon contorting with rage.

“If you won’t do it, I will.”

Talia flung the woman’s hair away as if discarding trash and lunged at the knight. Startled by the unexpected action, the man reflexively grabbed her shoulders. Talia glared at him with eyes full of fury.

“How dare you lay your hands on my person as you please!”

The man pulled his hands away instantly, as if he had been burned. Talia didn’t miss the opening and grabbed the hilt of the sword hanging at his hip.

However, the longsword used by knights was heavier than she had anticipated, and her leg was too weak to even support her own weight properly. As she tried to draw the blade, Talia lost her balance and collapsed onto the ground.

A terrible silence descended over her unsightly display.

Talia clutched her twitching leg and looked up.

The grim faces of the knight and the maids filled her vision.

Ancient memories clawed through her mind. Dozens of pairs of cold eyes looking down at her as she lay helplessly in her own vomit. The shame and humiliation of that day, along with a primal fear, resurfaced and set her mind ablaze.

With trembling hands, she braced herself against the ground and pushed her upper body up. She wanted to spring to her feet and assert her dignity and authority as a princess, but her leg wouldn’t budge.

As she tried desperately to straighten the leg that refused to obey her, Talia’s face hardened when she noticed the woman standing nearby, staring blankly at her.

The woman who had been mocking her was now watching her crawl on the ground.

She could not tolerate such a thing.

Groping the ground, Talia snatched a piece of firewood from the flames. The searing heat felt as if it were burning her fingers, but physical pain could never surpass the agony of her crushed pride.

She struck the woman across the face with the smoldering log.

A grotesque scream erupted.

Not satisfied, she prepared to swing the log once more, but a dark shadow lunged out from the darkness and snatched her body up.

Talia thrashed like a wild beast. Then, smelling a familiar scent, she ceased all movement. Barkas, holding her easily with one arm, was looking down at her with a frigid gaze.

As she panted heavily, trapped in his stare, he took the log from her hand and threw it far away. Just as he had taken her knife before, he had stripped her of her weapon once again.

Resentment surged within her.

This man never stood by her side.

He wouldn’t fight for her, yet he wouldn’t even let her protect herself.