TFM 13

Chapter 13

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The bleeding maid lifted the spoon with trembling hands and closed her eyes tightly as if she could not bring it to rest on the bowl.

She seemed to blindly believe that if she held on long enough, she would escape this predicament. Perhaps she was hoping that someone would come along and stop the Princess.

Talia gripped the knife on the table with a fierce grip. Then she barked instructions at the man in a cold voice.

“Put this woman’s fingers on a plate. For disrespecting my goodwill in this way, I shall cut off one of her fingers as an example.”

The man immediately grabbed the woman's hand and spread it out on the silver plate. Talia grabbed the tip of the woman's index finger and held the knife high in the air.

The maid cried out in horror.

"I'll eat it, I'll eat it, I'll eat it all!"

She quickly dipped her spoon into the bowl and began to gobble up the broth containing the bird's carcass.

She gulped it down without chewing, as if she believed that if she didn't taste it, she would be able to tolerate it. But after no more than five spoonfuls, she threw it all up.

Seeing this, Talia urged her on.

"Eat it all, all of it. You should be able to see the bottom of the bowl."

The gagging woman's horrified gaze flew to her. They were no longer the eyes of something contemptible; they were the eyes of something horrible and terrifying.

Talia gave an unspoken command with her eyes, telling her not to stop. The maid sobbed bitterly and ate and vomited and ate and vomited again.

She shoved the broth into her mouth as if she couldn't get the rotting bird into her mouth and then vomited several more times................... Her face, covered in blood, tears, and vomit, turned ashen, and her eyes rolled back in their sockets. The maid’s body slumped to the carpet with a thud.

Talia looked down at the trembling maid, who was foaming at the mouth, and then nodded haughtily at the stiff servants.

"Clean everything up."

She tossed the dirty plates at their feet, adding.

"And bring me new food. You'll have to bring me something proper this time."

After that day, the servants' relentless harassment stopped.

The maids became cautious, as if handling a dangerous object, and some of the servants even expressed extreme fear. They no longer cast contemptuous glances at her or muttered cruel words as if to say they obeyed her. Whenever halia appeared, everyone was busy keeping their mouths shut like clamshells and bowing their heads.

Rumors of the Second Princess’s vicious nature spread through the palace, and those who heard how she had tortured an innocent handmaiden who had served the imperial family for decades were tongue-tied at the young girl's viciousness.

Priests spoke of a viper's spawn creeping into the imperial household, and imperial loyalists worried that a ferocious princess would undermine the authority of the empire.

But there were others who found Talia's cruelty delightful.

It was a day nearing winter. The Empress, dressed in a gown as deep blue as her own eyes, came to the villa.

As Talia descended the stairs to greet her, she stopped dead in her tracks. At the sight of Senevere, she felt an unbelievable choke of longing.

It was her mother who had turned away so cruelly. Looking at her delicate back as she shook off her hand and leisurely walked away, Talia firmly resolved to never love her again.

But when Senevere crossed the great hall and kissed her cheek, that resolve crumbled like sand before a wave.

"Hello, Talia. You look so beautiful today."

Senevere’s body smelled sweet, like roses and lilacs and ripe fruit. It was miserable to realize how much she missed this heady scent.

Senevere looked down into her daughter's dark face and smiled wryly.

“I see you must be very upset because I haven’t visited you in a long time. Please forgive me. It took me a while to prepare a special gift for you.”

Talia looked uneasy.

"A gift...............?"

"I've heard how effectively you've tamed the naughty servants, and since you've pleased me, you deserve a reward."

She spoke in a sing-songy voice like a canary, then turned gracefully, and a boy's figure slowly made its way across the hall.

Talia held her breath. Varkas, who had been formally knighted within the last few months, was approaching, dressed in the uniform of the Imperial Guard.

The sunlight that broke through the window shattered on his ash-blond hair, scattering light everywhere. The sight of him stung her retina like shards of glass.

Senevere walked up to the boy and spread out one hand as if showing off her trophies.

"A handsome knight to protect you in the future."

The boy stopped in front of her and bowed his head.

The eyes that once glittered with crowns were now cold, holding nothing but unspeakable anger and faint humiliation. Only a fool wouldn’t know that he had not come here of his own free will.

The boy looked down at Talia with eyes that seemed to look at inorganic matter.

"I am Varkas Raedgo Shiokan."

His voice was dry enough to send a chill down her spine.

"I have been assigned to serve Your Highness until your coming of age ceremony."

It seemed to hope that day would come soon, so he could be free of this humiliating task.

Talia stared up at the impassive face that seemed to be wearing a mask, his cold gaze, dry tone, and rigid demeanor reducing her once again to something insignificant and contemptible.

She tried hard not to cringe, but she could do nothing to stop the heat rising to the nape of her neck with shame.

Talia realized clearly in that moment.

This beautiful boy would be her pain, not her hope.

And a terrible one at that.

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*Present

After a few days of relentless rain, the sun began to shine with the intensity that heralds the fire season.

As Ayla crossed the courtyard in search of her fiancé, she wiped the beads of sweat from her brow and squinted against the heat.

The large clearing, usually used for military exercises, was crammed with dozens of wagons and harness vendors, as well as massive packed horses specially adapted to pull carts and soldiers carrying the various equipment needed to make the journey.

After a moment of frowning at the market-like scene, Ayla's eyes lit up when she spotted Varkas on the outskirts of the castle walls, checking the condition of his steed.

Instead of the white battle uniform of the Roem Knights, he wore a black tunic with intricate embroidery and a breastplate made of black iron. He looked more like an Eastern nobleman than an imperial knight.

Ayla watched him and smiled with pride. After this mission, Varkas would be able to leave the Guard and take his place in the line of succession to become Grand Duke Shiokan.

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