Ch#79
“I-it is an honor to meet you, Your Highness. I will serve you with all my heart and soul from now on.”
Thalia scrutinized the girl with a sharp, distrustful gaze. Even at a glance, the maid looked clumsy and inexperienced.
Are they giving me a novice to establish dominance? She snapped in a cold, aloof tone.
“My Nanny will handle all my personal needs. So, go and call her for me.”
“If you mean the Nanny… are you referring to that Dwarf-blooded woman?”
The woman who had introduced herself as Areta furrowed her brow.
“I beg your pardon, Your Highness, but you are to be the mistress of the East. You must be attended by servants befitting your status.”
Catching the trace of contempt in the woman’s voice, Thalia’s eyes flared.
“My Nanny served even the Empress. Surely you don’t think a Grand Duchess outranks the Empress?”
The woman’s face stiffened.
Thalia pressed her fiercely.
“Did you not hear me tell you to bring my Nanny at once?”
The woman, who had been holding her ground with her lips tightly shut, eventually bowed her head.
“I understand. I shall leave your grooming to the servant you brought with you. Please call for us once you are ready. I will give you a tour of the castle interior.”
“A tour won’t be necessary.”
The woman’s face visibly rigidified at the blunt rejection.
Unconcerned, Thalia continued coldly.
“Have you forgotten I’ve just traveled a long distance? I intend to rest in my room for a few days, so do not disturb me.”
The head maid’s lips twitched as if she wanted to say something, but she soon turned and swept out of the room with the young maid in tow.
Thalia felt a surge of anger at the woman’s arrogant attitude, but she didn’t want to gain a reputation for bullying the servants from her very first day.
Thalia slumped onto the bed.
A short while later, her Nanny entered the room yawning, her hair disheveled and sleep crusting her eyes.
Thalia felt a prick of irritation at the undignified sight. It’s because she walks around looking like that that people feel they can openly disregard her.
Thalia shouted in a sharp voice.
“Look at your face, how slovenly! Go wash up this instant!”
“Oh dear, why are you losing your temper so early in the morning again?”
Nanny pouted, then poured water into the basin by the window and washed her face.
Then, after roughly combing down her hair with her plump hands, she began to light the fireplace.
In the meantime, two sturdy workers arrived carrying a large bathtub filled with water. Once they placed the tub behind the screen and left, Thalia locked the door securely and stepped into the bath.
Nanny immediately took a soft towel and soap and washed her from head to toe.
Thalia’s skin turned red under the rough touch, which felt as if Nanny were merely trying to get a tedious chore over with, but she endured it. It was a hundred times better to be handled a bit roughly than to show her scars to strangers.
She dried herself with a towel, trying not to read too much into Nanny’s attitude, which had become noticeably colder since her body was ruined.
“None of your clothes fit. I think you’ve lost too much weight.”
Nanny let out deep sighs as she helped her into a lavish silk dress.
Unable to take it anymore, Thalia finally spat out a word.
“Stop sighing. I don’t want to hear it.”
“I can’t even breathe as I please now?”
“I mean don’t sigh while looking at me! You keep doing that because you hate the way I look.”
Nanny offered no rebuttal. Thalia, who had secretly hoped for a denial, glared at her with sorrowful eyes.
Nanny was the person who had played the role of a mother in Senebier’s stead. Had she not been the one to care for her since she was a babe who couldn’t even speak?
It tore her insides apart to know that even her Nanny found her appearance hideous.
Swallowing the sorrow rising in her throat, Thalia pushed her toward the door.
“That’s enough, get out.”
“Fine. I’m going, so stop pushing.”
Nanny shook off her hand somewhat roughly and left without a backward glance.
Once alone, the boiling anger instantly turned into anxiety.
In this foreign land, Nanny was the only person she could trust and lean on. If even she turned her back, Thalia would be completely isolated.
She regretted her sudden fit of nerves. She should have endured it a little longer…
“Your Highness, I have come at the Young Family Head’s command. May I come in for a moment?”
While she was anxiously biting her lip, an unfamiliar voice drifted in from outside the door.
Thalia hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“Come in.”
No sooner had she answered than a young woman with deep wheat-colored skin opened the door and entered.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness. My name is Tiuran. I have been instructed by the Young Family Head to closely examine your health.”
Thalia scanned her slowly with wary eyes.
She was a pretty woman with long, strong-looking limbs, skin so taut she looked barely thirty, and intelligent dark brown eyes.
“Are you the healer of the Grand Ducal family?”
“I am,” the woman replied calmly.
Thalia looked skeptical. The woman seemed far too young to be the healer for the most powerful family in the East.
The woman’s smile faded slightly, perhaps having read her distrust.
The healer asked cautiously.
“I heard you suffer from chronic pain due to a major leg injury. May I examine the injured area for a moment?”
Thalia instinctively stepped back.
She didn’t have the slightest intention of showing her scars to someone she had just met for the first time.
“I already have a personal healer. So, you go tend to other business.”
“But the Young Family Head said…”
“I’ll speak to Varkas myself, so you may leave.”
The woman bit her lower lip as if contemplating something, then spoke carefully.
“If you are uncomfortable showing me your leg, would you mind holding out your hand for a moment?”
“Why my hand?”
“I will examine your internal state by channeling mana through your hand. After checking Your Highness’s condition, I will prepare medicine suited to your constitution.”
Thalia knit her brows. She had never heard of such a strange method of examination.
“Can you really do such a thing?”
“I have been trained since the age of seven to become a healer for my tribe. If you give me just one chance, I will do my best to help Your Highness.”
The woman seemed sincere. Thalia, watching her face closely, decided to give it a try and held out her hand.
The woman wrapped her hand in a firm, calloused palm.
Startled by the rough, bark-like texture, Thalia flinched for a moment, but soon felt a warm heat spreading out like a current through her palm. Shuddering at the bizarre sensation, Thalia felt the lukewarm heat reach her abdomen and abruptly yanked her hand away.
The woman furrowed her brow as if in thought and stared intently at her face.
“Before we begin physical therapy for your leg, it seems we must first restore your vitality. Your body is in a very weakened state.”
“…And what am I supposed to do?”
“First of all, you must eat well and sleep well. I will prepare some medicine that should help, so please take it regularly every day.”
Thalia, who had hoped for some extraordinary treatment, looked disappointed.
“I didn’t make time just to hear such obvious advice.”
“…”
“That’s enough, please leave. As you said, I’m in a weakened state and need some rest.”
As Thalia lay back down on the bed, the woman left the room as if she had no choice.
Thalia pulled the blanket up over her shoulders and tried to catch up on sleep. But before long, the pain that had been quiet began to crawl up through her bones.
Tossing and turning, Thalia finally couldn’t stand it and rang the bell.
A short while later, the young maid she had been introduced to earlier came running in. She couldn’t remember the girl’s name. Thalia gave her an arrogant nod.
“At once, bring the healer I brought from the Imperial Palace.”
A chilly wind swept harshly across the vast plains.
Varkas, passing through the grasslands with his grip tight on the reins, turned his head to survey his homeland.
The last time he had set foot on this soil was ten years ago, when he received news of the passing of Tesalin, the mother of Lucas and Raina.
Back then, this land had been entirely shrouded in shades of gray.
Because he had not visited Kalmore since then, the home in his memory had always remained monochromatic.
