Ch#66
66
“Have you been burning those incense candles again?”
Varkas spoke as if in reprimand, staring intently into her dilated eyes.
In an instant, Thalia’s cheeks flushed hot.
She had only used the medicine because she was in pain.
She hadn’t done anything particularly wrong, yet she couldn’t understand why she felt like a child being scolded.
As she lowered her gaze to avoid his stare, a dry sigh tickled her forehead.
“……Perhaps it’s for the best.”
Varkas muttered bitterly. He knelt on the floor and wrapped one arm around her back.
Thalia looked up with startled eyes at the sharp jawline right in front of her.
He slid his other arm under her legs and slowly stood up.
Thalia instinctively clutched her skirt. A chill ran down her spine at the thought that her dress might ride up.
“I—I can walk on my own.”
“Just stay intoxicated by the medicine.”
Varkas spoke dryly as he stepped out of the carriage.
“It will be easier for you to endure today that way.”
Detecting the cynicism in his voice, Thalia flinched. To him, it seemed today was a day that simply had to be endured. As she hung her head dejectedly, an unfamiliar voice spoke from nearby.
“Commander, His Majesty appears to be running a little late.”
Thalia winced and burrowed deeper into his arms.
Varkas pulled his overcoat open to cover her and gave a blunt instruction to the man who had approached.
“Go to the High Priest and inform him of that.”
Then, he strode toward the marble-carved archway.
Thalia unconsciously gripped his shirt. Beyond the edge of the thin coat permeated with the scent of peppermint, she could see a sky heavy with clouds.
A gloomy gray light, as if hinting at her dark future, cast an eerie glow on the faces of the saints carved into the stone walls and pillars.
As those faces drew closer, the fear pooling in her stomach crawled up her throat.
On impulse, she spoke.
“The weather is so dreary today.”
Blue eyes flecked with silver shards fell upon her forehead.
Avoiding his gaze, she stammered out, “No one gets married on a day like this.”
So, we should stop after all. She was about to say it when his lips parted.
“Then, we shall be the first.”
At his soothing voice, Thalia swallowed the words that had risen to her throat.
He was a man who was utterly exhausted by her whims. These were merely words spoken to placate her.
She tried to steady herself with that thought, but her heart, lacking any pride, raced uncontrollably.
She ducked her head to hide her burning face.
Soon, the great maw of the cathedral swallowed them whole. The cold, heavy air pressed down on her body, clad in its thin dress.
Thalia hunched her shoulders and peeked out from between the folds of Varkas’s coat. She saw hundreds of people filling the nave. The sight of more guests than she had expected made her mouth go dry.
There was no way they had gathered to celebrate this marriage.
They were likely all forced to attend for fear of Senebier.
Or perhaps they had come to see what had become of the bastard princess.
She looked down to make sure her legs were well hidden beneath the fabric. Even after seeing several times that the voluminous cloth covered her to her toes, her anxiety did not easily subside.
With hands damp with cold sweat, she gripped the hem of her skirt and pulled it down, scanning the pews to see if anyone was staring at her legs. Instead, she saw hundreds of pairs of wide-open eyes.
Wondering if she looked that hideous, she felt her spine stiffen, but a dark-colored coat blocked her view.
“We will have to wait until His Majesty arrives.”
His voice was strangely soft.
He turned toward the relatively quiet transept, passing the crossing, and added, “Try to get some sleep until then.”
Thalia looked up at his chin with vacant eyes.
He was saying many strange things today. Where in the world was there a bride who slept at her own wedding?
Just as she was about to say that, a somewhat familiar voice came from behind them.
“Lord Si’eikan.”
Thalia cast her gaze over his shoulder. The knight who followed Varkas like a shadow was running toward them.
“Marquis Oristein is looking for you. He said he wishes to speak with you briefly before the ceremony.”
Marquis Oristein was the maternal grandfather of Gares and Aila. Why would such a man come to the wedding venue?
Looking up in confusion, she saw his face harden slightly. After a moment of silence as if contemplating something, Varkas set her down on a choir stall. He took off his coat, draped it over her shoulders, and spoke.
“Wait here for a moment. I’ll be back shortly.”
Thalia reached out to grab him, then hurriedly pulled her hand back.
He had only taken her on because of the Emperor’s command. She had to get used to being pushed to the background.
“Watch her well.”
Varkas threw the instruction to the knight and walked out of the transept with an elegant stride.
Thalia bit her lip anxiously as she watched his retreating back.
Marquis Oristein had undoubtedly come to stop this marriage. What words would he use to persuade Varkas?
As she sat there blankly with those thoughts, she felt a stinging gaze on her cheek.
Startled, Thalia whipped her head around and found a pair of dark brown eyes staring down at her.
The knight, who had been stealing glances at her with a peculiar look, flinched and turned his head away. Cold sweat broke out on her back.
Why was he looking at her like that?
Was there something wrong with her appearance other than her legs?
She looked down at her body, enveloped in the gossamer dress. She suspected the outline of her twisted legs might be visible through the fabric.
“Would you like something to drink while you wait?”
The knight cleared his throat and asked in an awkward voice.
Thalia hid her anxiety and spoke with forced arrogance.
“I… don’t need anything.”
However, her tongue, loosened by the medicine, did not move as she intended.
She moistened her parched lips and rolled her eyes to scan the surroundings.
Besides the knight standing guard over her, priests and servants, seemingly waiting for the ceremony, were lined up along the transept walls.
They, as well as those gathered at the crossing, were all glancing at her. Those sticky gazes grated on her nerves.
She bit her lip. She wanted to scream, asking what they were staring at.
Senebier’s voice, saying that hideous things are pointlessly mocked and trampled upon, rang in her ears.
She wanted to bolt out of the wedding hall this instant. But if she did that, she would only tumble disgracefully in front of everyone. Ridicule would pour down on her like a rainstorm.
Bastard.
Cripple.
The worst bride.
“Your Highness, you look pale. Shall I call a priest?”
The knight approached her with a worried face.
Thalia shook her head.
“Forget it.”
“Even a simple recovery spell might help……”
“Is there something wrong with your hearing? I said forget it.”
When she snapped irritably, the bothersome man fell silent. But he did not withdraw that strange gaze.
Slowly, this man’s presence began to feel unbearably annoying. Every gaze clinging to her was horrific.
She stared at the place where Varkas had left with anxious eyes.
When on earth is he coming back?
What could they be talking about for it to take this long?
Suddenly, Aila’s voice, saying she would regret this, echoed in her mind. Perhaps that woman had incited her grandfather to play some trick.
Yes, that must be it. A marriage between Varkas and herself—it was nonsense to begin with.
Could it be that this entire thing was a play designed to make a fool of her from the start?
Varkas might have already left the cathedral. And she would become not only a bastard and a cripple but a wretched bride abandoned at the altar.
“I’m going back.”
At the words she suddenly spat out, the knight gave her a bewildered look.
Thalia grabbed the coat Varkas had put on her, threw it to the floor, and stood up unsteadily. To escape the loathsome eyes watching her, she stepped toward a small side door at the end of the transept.
The knight, watching her with a panicked expression, hurriedly blocked her path.
“Where are you going? The ceremony is about to start……”
“Move out of the way!”
She reached out to push the man. But there was no way an armored knight would be moved by her meager strength.
She shot a look full of hostility at the man.
“Didn’t you hear me? I said move!”
As she reached out again to push him, the strength left her legs and her body tilted to one side. Thalia instinctively grabbed his arm.
She felt the knight’s body stiffen. It was just as horrific for her.
The touch of a man was repulsive. A large body she could do nothing against made her skin crawl.
The only one it was okay to touch was Varkas. But that man had left her at the altar. Suddenly, tears burst forth.
“Let go of me!”
As she violently shook off the hand that reached out to support her shoulder, her body was suddenly hoisted into the air.
Thalia looked back with startled eyes. She saw Varkas’s cool gaze.
He stared at her face as if he were about to crumble, then turned his gaze toward his subordinate.
The knight bowed his head, his face turning beet red. After staring at him in silence for a long time, Varkas turned around while holding her waist.
“All the guests have arrived. The ceremony will begin now.”
His cold voice resonated clearly above her head.
“It is too late to turn back.”
