TFM 17

Chapter 17

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Talia gave the boy staring up at her with bright eyes a wary look.

"What are you doing here?"

"I snuck out of the castle to meet sister."

The boy spoke cheerfully, almost recklessly.

Talia frowned. Her younger brother, Asros, who had just turned six, was a thorn in her side.

Although they had the same parents, their circumstances were as different as heaven and earth. This innocent-looking boy was the legitimate child of the emperor and empress, who were officially married, while she was the product of a sordid affair.

Watching Asros receive his baptism amidst the blessings of many, Talia was consumed by a jealousy that felt like a knife piercing her heart. She couldn't stand seeing that tiny, helpless bundle of flesh being so loved.

Senevere, who had keenly sensed her emotions, would never allow the eldest daughter, now deemed useless, to approach her precious son.

As a result, Talia could only see her younger brother’s face at official events. This was the first time she had been this close to the child since the baptism.

She frowned and looked around.

“Did you come here alone? If Mother finds out…”

“I didn’t come alone. I came with Behrens.”

The boy spoke firmly and turned to point to one side of the hallway. Only then did Talia notice the man in black standing in the deep shadow.

He was the ghostly-faced man who had once stood by her side. Now, he was watching her with a guarded expression, as if ready to take immediate action if she so much as tried to harm Asros.

A bitter taste rose in her throat. The man's dark eyes seemed to say, "You can never be important to anyone."

Talia concealed her twisted thoughts and asked in a stiff tone.

“Why did you come to see me?”

“I heard that you are about to embark on a long journey. So…”

“I’m leaving on a long journey?”

Talia interrupted her brother's words with a sharp voice.

Startled by her sharp response, the boy hesitated for a moment before cautiously continuing.

“Mother said that you would be joining them on this pilgrimage…”

Having been staring blankly at her brother’s face, Talia suddenly burst into a rough laugh. Her brother flinched and took a step back. Even to this innocent child, did she look like she had lost her mind?

Talia, who had been holding her stomach laughing, bent down toward her younger brother and asked in a deliberately gentle tone.

“What else did Mother say?”

Asros hesitated for a moment. It seemed he had finally realized that he was making his sister feel terribly upset.

But the boy wasn't the type to hold back what he wanted to say just because someone else was around.

“She said that you might be getting married soon. A man named Count Serian has sent his proposal….”

The boy, who had been speaking calmly, flinched and closed his mouth.

Talia must have looked absolutely horrified. The guard who had been silently watching from a distance stepped between Asros and her. Was he worried that she might lose her temper and strangle this young boy?

Talia ignored the man watching her warily and stared intently at her younger brother’s innocent face.

"So you came to congratulate me? The sister, the royal family's headache, is finally getting married and leaving the palace, so you came to say a joyful farewell?"

Feeling the sharp thorns hidden in her soft voice, the boy's shoulders trembled.

He protested with a look of injustice.

“If my sister gets married, it’ll be even harder to see her than it is now… I wanted to talk to her before that. We’re siblings with the same mother, after all.”

A faint note of longing seemed to linger in the boy’s voice.

“I’ve always thought it would be nice if we could become as close as my older sister and brother. But if my sister gets married, there might never be another chance for that. That’s why I came here.”

Without any emotion, Talia looked down at the boy’s large eyes that were filled with anticipation.

She felt completely worthless because of this boy.

The empress and emperor, and the loving and intelligent prince born between them.

She was nothing more than an ugly stain she wanted to erase from that perfect picture. As Asros shone brighter, the darkness surrounding her grew even darker.

The fact that she envied this child to the point of death was pitiful. In truth, she hated being face to face with him.

Talia shot a merciless sneer at the boy whose eyes shone with unrealistic expectations.

"Do you expect me to throw myself into serving you, just as the First Princess goes to great lengths to make her twin brother emperor?"

“That’s not what I meant…”

“Even without you getting involved, our mother has already planned everything about how to use me for your benefit. My marriage was certainly arranged for your benefit as well. So, little brother, give up your pointless expectations.”

Asros seemed to have little resistance to the open hostility directed at him. Just looking at his confused expression, one could tell how thoroughly protected this child had been raised.

Perhaps this child had never experienced spending a night in fear. Talia wondered if today's encounter might be the first wound he had ever suffered.

Talia wore a sharp smile on her lips.

"I have no intention of being your kind and devoted sister. Because I hate you just as much as I hate the twin siblings.”

Shock caused the boy’s large eyes to well up with tears. Looking at his pitiful face, Talia added ruthlessly.

“If you understand, would you please leave now?”

Asros, clenching his lips as if to suppress his tears, turned and hurriedly left the empty hallway. The man in black followed the boy and disappeared silently.

Talia closed the door and walked back to the window. The sky, which had been blue just moments ago, was now turning a pale purple.

The servants who had been busily moving luggage were leaving the estate one by one to take a break, and the knights had already returned to their quarters, as there was not a single one to be found.

Talia, who habitually brought her index finger to her lips, paused at the sharp pain. Bright red blood was flowing from between her broken fingernails. Seeing this, the poison that had been slowly seeping from her heart rose to her throat.

She desperately swallowed the scream that threatened to burst from her lips, picked up the cloak hanging on one side of the room, and draped it over her thin shawl. Then, without a single maid in tow, she slipped out of the palace.

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