The Forgotten Meadow · 13. May 2025

TFM 5

Chapter 5

***

"You never seem to realize that there are lines that must not be crossed."

Varkas spoke in his characteristically low voice. But his handsome face was hardened with patience.

Talia twisted her arm to escape his grasp, but the cold knight's strong grip was like a shackle. Standing in front of the Crown Prince and Ayla like a faithful shield, Varkas pulled Talia even closer, glaring at her face as he chewed on his words.

"How low do you have to go before you're satisfied, after I've shown you the bottom?"

"You showed me the bottom?"

Talia, her chin held high, let out a sharp sneer.

"Do you think you know the slightest thing about the underside of a human being, high and mighty master Shiokan? Don't be so smug."

She leaned closer to him, a lascivious smile on her face. Unlike the other men, who had been distracted by the mere sight and scent of her, Varkas didn't show the slightest sign of agitation. His eyes were simply bored.

Talia had the urge to dig her carefully manicured nails into those icy eyes every night.

"From where you stand, I must seem very low, but I have a long way to go before I reach my worst."

She said, looking straight into the man's eyes. There was a dark quagmire lurking in his eyes.

Sooner or later, this man would let himself fall into it. If so, at least leave a long claw mark on his future before he fell. That was only fair.

Her dark blue eyes glowed with venom, and Varkas's own eyes held a dangerous glint as he stared down into her malicious face. As they stared at each other like they were about to kill each other, a plaintive voice came from behind him.

"Varkas."

The man who had been staring at Talia with a penetrating glare immediately turned to face his fiancée.

Ayla wore a pitiful expression that could make a man's heart sink as she gently tugged at Varkas's coat with her fingers and spoke in a pleading tone.

"I............... want to change my clothes, will you take me out of here?"

"Of course…."

Varkas wrapped one arm around Ayla's shoulders and turned around. His gaze never crossed over her shoulder as he led his fiancée out of the ballroom, as if he'd completely erased Talia's presence from his mind.

Talia felt the madness that had taken hold of her slip away at once.

Despair, pain, and jealousy filled the void. But even through the pain in her gut, she kept up a semblance of resolve.

Faking a triumphant smile, as if she had just won a victory, Talia walked toward the terrace where drinks and food were being served, and people shuffled aside as if to avoid her.

She picked up a new glass with a graceful motion, unperturbed. But before she could take more than two sips, Count Serian, who had been watching their altercation from a distance, rushed up and snatched the glass from her hand.

“I suggest you leave the banquet hall immediately.”

"Why?"

She said nonchalantly, reaching for the plate of pomegranates.

"Didn't you hear the First Princess tell you to enjoy the banquet to your heart's content. I haven't enjoyed it enough yet."

"I admire your guts, Your Highness, but behind your back, a dangerous beast is glaring at you as if it will pounce at any moment."

The Count gestured to the Crown Prince, who, as he said, looked like he was ready to stab her at a moment's notice.

A thick band of veins stood taut at the nape of his tanned neck, and the muscles of his tight jaw twitched faintly. It was clear that he was barely holding back a temper that threatened to explode.

Normally, she would have provoked him further, urging him to commit some horrible atrocity, but she had no energy left.

Talia stopped bravado and placed her hand on Count Serian's arm as they quickly exited the ballroom without making it appear like she was running out.

A carriage was already waiting in front of the garden. A guardsman opened the door for her as if he'd been waiting, and she stepped up onto the stairs. She was about to climb into the cushioned seat when someone shoved hard at her body.

Talia fell to the carriage floor and looked up. Gareth, who had pushed past her guards and stuck his head inside the carriage, was shooting her a murderous glare.

"We can barely tolerate your presence."

He growled and wrapped his callused, rough hand around her throat. The guard knight screamed at the top of his lungs, unable to touch the Crown Prince's body.

Gareth ignored the shouting knight and tightened his grip on her throat with both hands. Talia instinctively flailed her legs, digging her nails into the backs of her brother's hands where the tendons had bulged. But his eyes were so distracted by rage that he seemed oblivious to the pain.

Gareth spoke in her ear, chewing on each word.

"And I have put up with you for a long, long, long time."

His vivid green eyes glowed like fire.

"So don't scratch any more, little sister, we hate you enough already......."

Gareth finally released his grip and pushed himself to his feet.

Talia wrapped both hands around her throat and inhaled deeply. It was hard to breathe as she kept coughing. Her face turned red and she was panting heavily, while the Crown Prince’s sinister voice pierced her eardrums.

"Remember this. Your mother's presence in the palace, and dirty bastard like you, is only temporary."

Then, with that, he shut the carriage door behind him and walked away.

Staggering to her feet, Talia pulled herself together and frowned as she realized that two of her carefully manicured nails were broken. She picked at the dangling tips of her fingernails, which were sticky with blood, and muttered to herself in a hoarse voice,

".................. I'll have to grow a new one."

I'll have to sharpen it sharper this time, so I can drive it into the bone.

A raspy, windy laugh escaped her mouth.

She didn't know why she was laughing, not even to herself.

The useless guard knight, who had rushed to open the door to make sure she was safe, looked down at her in dismay. In his eyes, she must have looked insane. Maybe he was right. She must have gone mad a long time ago.

She lay down on the dark carriage floor and laughed for a long time.

***

The entire palace was in an uproar, for in a few days the First Princess and the Crown Prince would embark on a pilgrimage. It was a custom that all descendants of Darian, the great emperor who had united the nations, were required to undergo upon reaching adulthood.

Normally, women would make the journey before marriage and men after reaching their twentieth birthday, but the Crown Prince's insistence that two people born on the same day and at the same time should be blessed by the gods on the same day had led to the arrangements being made for them.

An elite force of imperial knights was assembled to escort the two people, who were second only to the Emperor and Empress in the empire. Unsurprisingly, it was Varkas, as Commander of the Guard, who took command of the expedition. As a result, Talia had often seen him from the windows of the palace, bustling about the castle courtyard.

Today, he was standing in the drizzling rain, checking the condition of his weapons, horses, and other traveling gear. Talia watched him unblinkingly from her perch on the windowsill.

Varkas lifted his head and scanned the sky, as if trying to gauge the time. The sight of silver rain gently caressing his face filled her retinas.