TFM 36

Chapter 36

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***

The woman's eyes flashed with fury as she spat out each word deliberately.

"Don't you hear me clearly?"

Overwhelmed by her fierce aura, he instinctively took another step back.

The princess, her slender frame trembling, raised her voice sharply.

"How many times must I tell you to leave me alone? Do you find my words so laughable?"

"I only brought food because I feared Your Highness might collapse."

Edric, who had stumbled back at the torrent of words, protested with a look of injustice.

The princess snorted openly right in his face.

"Why should a lowly creature like you worry about me?"

"I am Your Highness's personal knight. It is my duty to...!"

The woman suddenly burst into laughter.

His face flushed. He had never been mocked like this to his face before and didn't know how to react.

The woman, who had been looking at him with scorn, continued slowly.

"You seem to think I'm a complete fool... Do you think I don't know the Roem Knights are nothing but the Crown Prince's lapdogs?"

He stiffened his face.

She looked down contemptuously at the basket in his hand and added coldly.

"What do you think in there that you're telling me to eat? What kind of filthy trick is this!"

"I am a knight!"

Edric, unable to contain himself, raised his voice. The first insult he'd ever received made his ears burn.

"Your Highness's words are an insult not only to me, but to the entire Imperial Knights! We are sworn before God to protect the Imperial Family. We would never do anything to harm Your Highness……………!"

"Do you think I'd believe that?"

He stared at the princess's icy face, speechless.

She wiped the smile from her lips and snapped coldly.

"If you want to suck up, go do it to my half- siblings. I don't need it."

With that, she slammed the door shut, ending the conversation with a loud bang.

Eric tightened his grip on the basket. If he didn't, he felt like he might burst through the door and shout at her to stop being so stubborn.

Glaring at the carriage door with boiling eyes, he soon turned away.

He had done his part. He had no intention of trying to persuade a woman who openly insulted and antagonized him.

Edric tossed the basket onto a shelf in front of the communal barracks and walked over to the food distribution area.

The knights were already gathered on the field, seated and eating.

Slotting in among his comrades, Edric piled his plate high and began wolfing down his food. He repeated to himself, That rotten woman starving or not is none of my concern...

***

Talia, who had been tossing and turning restlessly in the darkness, slowly sat up.

Pulling back the curtain at the window, she saw the faint glow of several lanterns held by the knights standing guard in the darkness. Beyond that, everything was shrouded in pitch black.

Looking up at the moonless dark sky, Talia carefully stepped out of the carriage.

Having survived for days on only a few pieces of bread and some honey-soaked fruit, her limbs felt weak. She wondered if perhaps it would have been better to eat the food that stupid knight had brought.

He didn't seem intelligent enough to scheme, so maybe she had been overly cautious.

Talia recalled the knight's flustered face, but quickly pushed the thought from her mind.

Hadn't she learned the hard way that humans approaching with harmless faces were precisely the ones she should trust the least? He might be trying to lull her into a false sense of security before committing some terrible deed.

She scanned the knights standing guard near the fence with wary eyes, then moved cautiously, step by step.

Her eyes, accustomed to the darkness, faintly made out the triangular tent roofs, the long line of supply wagons, and the shapes of horses.

She walked carefully between the tents, watching her step to avoid stumbling over rocks. She felt the wind blowing down from the hill slip through the folds of her clothes.

The pungent smell of grass mingled with the scent of half-burned wood tickled her nose. Talia relied on her senses, tiptoeing through the darkness.

Soon, she located the dwelling of her attendants. Squinting, she spent a long moment confirming she had come to the right place. Then, she clambered up onto the nearest cart. Curling up into a ball among the stacked bundles of luggage, she sat and stared intently at the tent entrance. Her intention was to see if the spy her mother had planted would reveal any action tonight.

She hugged her knees, not blinking once as she watched the darkness.

Occasionally, the sounds of soldiers snoring or grinding their teeth reached her. She also heard horses snorting and the chirping of grasshoppers. She hadn't realized the night could be so noisy.

She painfully counted each minute and second, struggling to ease her nerves, which were stretched taut to the point of pain.

How long had she been holding her breath like that? The pitch-black sky gradually lightened to a pale blue. It seemed tonight would pass quietly after all.

She cautiously moved her stiff, frozen body, stretching her joints. Each bone joint cracked loudly, as if screaming.

As she massaged her numb limbs, barely suppressing a groan, she saw a dark figure emerge from inside the tent.

She narrowed her eyes.

The darkness hid the face, but she could clearly make out the slender figure of a woman.

Talia struggled to lift her creaking body and followed the shadow.

After walking a long way along the line of wagons, Ayla's carriage came into view. She pressed her damp palms, clammy with cold sweat, against her skirt and rubbed them.

How wonderful it would be if that woman slipped into that carriage. If she would do what she must do instead.

With that desperate wish, she stared blankly at the woman's back. But the woman walked right past Ayla's carriage, moving toward the far end of the long camp. Talia shifted her gaze there and stiffened. The flag of the Shiokan family, embroidered with the black horse crest, was fluttering in front of a tent.

She rushed frantically toward it. But in the brief moment she looked away, the woman had already vanished.

Scanning frantically between the tents, Talia stared at the entrance to the barracks, doubting what she saw.

'Could she... have gone inside?'

Her heart sank.

If Ayla and Varkas were united like this, Gareth's position would become even more secure.

The Shiokan’s family wielded powerful influence not only in the East but also in the North. If Ayla became the Shiokan Duchess, Gareth would effectively have the Noble Alliance backing him. It was entirely possible her mother had decided to eliminate Varkas to prevent that scenario.

Having thought this far, Talia rushed into Varkas's tent as if being chased by something. There was no room for rational thought.

Scanning the darkened tent frantically, Talia pulled back the curtain in the center.

The bed was empty. He was the type to start his day before dawn, so he was likely either surveying the camp or checking on the horses’ condition.

That thought flashed through her mind, but her unease wouldn't easily subside.

She groped the empty bed, checking for any bloodstains. Then, hearing heavy footsteps, she jerked her head up. A large man stood towering in front of the tent.

Talia, who had rushed forward thinking it was Varkas, halted abruptly. Gareth, dressed lightly, was staring at her with wide eyes.

"What are you doing here?"

He raised his eyebrows sharply, scanning her from head to toe.