TFM 28

Chapter 28

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*Past

It must have been a few months before her sixteenth birthday.

Anxious about becoming an adult soon, she pestered him more than usual, nagging him to pick out clothes or accessories for her. It was a pitiful attempt to grab his attention.

Varkas, who would normally ignore such requests, seemed worn down by her persistent pestering and obediently offered his opinion.

Perhaps the thought that he would be free of her in a few months had made him more generous. That made him infuriatingly irritating. Yet, she felt desperate enough to do anything to keep Varkas by her side.

Because the end, which had seemed so far away, was finally approaching.

"How about this for my coming-of-age dress?"

She donned the splendid silk dress flown in from the south and thrust her upper body forward defiantly before him.

Varkas merely offered his usual indifferent gaze. Her face grew hotter under that calm stare.

He was now moving from nineteen toward twenty, and his body, having just shed its boyish form, had matured solidly, beginning to display masculine charm. If only his gaze weren't as emotionless as a dead man's, he would have looked like an angel descended from heaven.

Talia deliberately raised her voice to hide her foolishly trembling heart.

"I asked what you think!"

"………………It looks like a child stole an adult's clothes."

Finally, his tightly sealed lips parted.

She raised her eyebrows. The man added another word, sounding annoyed.

"It looks absolutely awful on you."

Her face flushed scarlet as she glared at him. But since she was the one who had asked this blunt man for his opinion, it felt awkward to argue back.

Talia shot him a venomous look before stomping back behind the changing screen. She began frantically rummaging through the mountain of clothes piled there. She was determined to make that corpse-like man blush.

After a long while, she selected a more daring outfit. It was a dress with a dangerously deep neckline. Talia hesitated, wondering if it was a bit too much, but she quickly resolved herself and slipped the dress on. Looking into the mirror, a breathtakingly beautiful girl was reflected.

She examined her reflection with a satisfied gaze. Her body, once as thin as birch branch, had begun transforming gradually after turning fourteen. Her once-flat chest had developed small buds, swelling to the size of apples, and her previously flat hips were slowly gaining curves.

Talia felt quite proud of her changes. The thought that she was approaching the perfect beauty Senevere possessed filled her with boundless excitement. Once he realized what she possessed, even Varkas would change his mind. Soon, she would become the most beautiful woman in the world.

Filled with hope, she dashed out from behind the screen.

"How about this one?"

Varkas, who had been gazing out the window with a bored expression, turned his head toward her. At last, something resembling emotion appeared on his face. However, it was not particularly positive.

Furrowing his brow as he scanned her up and down, Varkas spat out somewhat impatiently.

"The very first dress."

Taking a deep breath, he added curtly.

"Go with that one."

His voice was dry, devoid of even a trace of the admiration or excitement she had hoped for. Yet, just knowing he remembered the very first dress among the dozens she had presented made Talia's heart feel like it would burst.

She forced a sly smile.

"What? You pretended not to care... but you were watching closely, weren't you?"

He offered no reply. Whatever the case, he seemed to wish only for this tedious fashion show to end quickly.

His insolent attitude briefly made her feel sulky, but Talia decided to be magnanimous. Even if changing her attitude immediately was difficult, hadn't she resolved to show gradual improvement?

Talia hummed a tune as she retrieved the very first dress she had worn.

It was a delicate and elegant velvet chemise, densely embroidered with fairy-tribes' needlework. This garment would never leave her wardrobe henceforth. After all, it was the one that had caught Varkas's eye.

She quickly changed into it, then came out and spun around in front of him, as if to show off.

"This one, right?"

He stared at her silently. It didn't seem strange at all that the woman who'd been irritable all day was suddenly giggling like a drunkard. Perhaps it made no difference to him whether she raged like a monster or giggled like a madwoman.

But Talia wanted to believe his attitude toward her had changed.

And indeed it had. His once indifferent gaze had, at some point, begun lingering longer on her face. Not only that, his tone toward her seemed softer than before.

Talia, keenly aware of these subtle shifts, felt a faint thread of hope stir within her chest.

Could it be that Varkas also regretted parting ways with her? After spending so much time together, perhaps he had grown fond of her despite himself. Talia clung pitifully to such futile hope.

"If I dance in this dress, I'll look just like a fairy queen, won't I?"

A fine line appeared between his brows at her question.

Was he fed up with her endless questions? No. Perhaps he was thinking of an answer to her question. She decided to think the best of it.

"Stop standing there like a statue and practice with me."

Before he could reply, Talia yanked his arm. The man who wouldn't have budged an inch before let himself be dragged along, pretending to give in.

See? Talia felt triumphant. Something really had changed.

She tugged harder at the stiff, uncooperative man, twirling him around. Then her foot caught on a crate on the floor, and she lost her balance. Instinctively, Talia grabbed his arm.

Varkas, spitting out incomprehensible words, hastily wrapped his arm around her waist.

But the room was such a mess there was nowhere to step. Clothes piled haphazardly tangled around his ankles, and they tumbled together, crashing onto the carpet. Talia let out a small curse.

"I told you to tidy up the room!"

Varkas, who had been trying to shield her and ended up getting hurt, raised one eyebrow. He was a knight escort, not a servant. She couldn't possibly force him to do menial tasks like tidying up. Even though she knew this perfectly well, Talia was needlessly snapping at him.

"If I got a bruise on my butt, I wouldn't let you off easy, you useless knight!"

As she grumbled and tried to stand up, a sharp sting shot through her scalp. Talia glared at him in disbelief.

"Did you just pull my hair?"

A short sigh escaped his lips.

"I think your hair caught on my sleeve button."

He then gently pulled the arm draped behind her back slightly forward to show her.

The sharp sting on her scalp made Talia yell and slam her fist into his chest.

"That hurts, you idiot!"

He froze, gazing down at her eyes, misty with tears. Though stung inside, Talia glared at him defiantly.

Varkas sighed softly once more and wrapped his arm around her back again. Then, as if trying to untangle the hair, he began moving his hand cautiously.

Talia sat between his knees, her eyes darting nervously. Only now did she realize the inappropriate distance and position they shared.

The faint scent of soap and mint emanating from his body made her heart pound so fiercely it felt like it might burst. She could almost imagine the sound reaching Varkas’ ears.