TFM 42

Chapter 42

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Over the past few days, the woman she had been watching intently slipped silently between the tents.

Talia, watching her with narrowed eyes, soon cautiously followed behind.

The woman seemed to have mastered the art of moving naturally without drawing attention.

Her steps were so quiet and agile that anyone unfamiliar with the distinctive movements of those trained by the Tarren family would have lost her instantly.

In the blink of an eye, the woman darted across the campground and vanished between the long line of freight wagons.

After a moment's hesitation, Talia crept up behind a large wagon and peered into the narrow gap between the wagons. But the woman had already disappeared without a trace.

Talia, her face flushed with panic, looked around frantically before squeezing between the large carts. Then, something caught her foot with a thud.

'This is…………….'

Bending down, Talia discovered a small glass bottle lying beneath a wheel and frowned.

As she picked it up to examine it closely, she felt a few drops of slimy liquid clinging to the bottle's opening wet her fingers.

Startled, she flung the bottle away. Bringing her hand close to her face, she sniffed. A pungent floral scent and a foul, fishy stench reminiscent of animal bodily fluids assaulted her nostrils. The nauseating stench made her head spin, triggering an involuntary retching reflex. She grimaced and wiped the strange liquid off her hand with a handkerchief. But the peculiar smell lingered stubbornly.

'This is the worst.'

She flung the soiled handkerchief to the floor and straightened her bent body, only to see a dark shadow looming over her head.

Talia jerked her head up, screamed, and collapsed to the ground. Varkas was staring down at her with a cold expression.

"What are you doing in a place like this?"

Staring blankly up at him, Talia suddenly sprang to her feet.

How long had he been watching her?

Even though she hadn't done anything yet, her heart pounded wildly. Talia forced herself to appear calm, her voice sharp as she spat out,

"You scared me! What the hell are you doing, sneaking around like a rat without making a sound?"

"You still haven't answered my question."

Varkas let her sharp words go in one ear and out the other. He uncrossed his arms, which had been folded over his chest, and took a step closer.

Talia faltered, then raised her eyebrows.

"Why should I answer your question? What business is it of yours where I am or what I'm doing?"

She tried to flee the spot, but Varkas moved his long legs to block her path.

Trapped between the cart and his tall frame, Talia looked up at him with anxious eyes.

"Why? Why are you doing this?"

"I knew if I let you wander alone, I'd end up seeing something disgusting again."

Talia shrank back at his sharp tone.

Varkas stared down at her intently, then let out a faint sigh and gestured with his chin.

"I'll escort you to your quarters. Lead the way."

"No, I don't need it. I can go alone..."

"Is there some reason I shouldn't escort you?"

Talia unconsciously gripped the hilt of the knife tucked in her pocket. It was a foolish move. It was practically announcing she was hiding something.

Seeing his eyes narrow, Talia shoved him roughly in the chest with both hands.

"Who cares! Get out of my way!"

She pushed with all her strength, but he didn't budge an inch. He looked slender, but his body was as solid as iron.

Hiding her fear, Talia lifted her chin defiantly.

"Didn't you hear me tell you to move?"

Varkas, who had been silently watching her, slowly stepped back.

Talia seized the opening, quickly squeezing through the narrow gap between him and the carriage. She tried to flee in haste, but a strong hand seized her arm and spun her back around decisively.

In an instant, his hand darted into her gown pocket and drew out a knife with a razor-sharp edge.

Talia looked up at him, her face turning pale. Varkas swept the blade upward with an elegant flick of his wrist, then gazed down at her with an expressionless stare, devoid of emotion.

She could have simply claimed it was for self-defense. But meeting that piercing gaze, which seemed to see right through her mind, shattered her reason into pieces.

She lunged at him fiercely, like a child whose only toy had been snatched away.

"Give it back!"

He raised his knife-wielding hand high.

Talia stood on tiptoe, tugging wildly at his uniform as she stretched her hand out.

"Give it back! I said give it back!"

Varkas, who had been staring down at her with a hardened expression as she lost her mind and thrashed about, flung the knife away.

Talia scrambled to bend down and pick it up. But before she could grasp it, a foot clad in golden sabatons kicked it far away.

Staring blankly as the knife slid under the carriage, Talia bent down as if ready to crawl underneath. But before her body touched the floor, a long, hard forearm wrapped around her waist and forced her upright.

Talia twisted her face into a vicious grimace and glared at him as if she wanted to kill him. But Varkas's face was just as deeply scarred.

"I won't ask what you intended to do with that."

Varkas brought his face close to hers, enunciating each word deliberately. His subdued voice was like a sharp blade.

"From now on, you'll always have a watcher by your side. So, scrap every useless, stupid plan you've cooked up in that little head of yours."

Who the hell are you to talk to me like that?

Who the hell are you to take what's mine?

Who the hell are you?

To become another woman's man.

To leave me forever.

You made me want to kill that woman, yet you won't let me do anything.

The incoherent words choked her throat.

She wanted to spew curses, but opening her mouth felt like she had wail like a ten-year-old girl, so she clamped her jaw shut.

Varkas, who had been silently watching this, straightened up and gestured with his chin, as if to say, "Lead the way."

Talia glared at him with eyes full of hatred, then strode quickly between the carriages. His words about keeping a close watch from now on seemed no empty threat, for Varkas followed like a shadow.

The presence she once longed for unbearably now felt horrifyingly repulsive. He never showed up when she wanted him by her side, yet here he was, appearing the moment she made the decision of her life, trying to interfere.

'To protect Aila...'

No. Perhaps it was to protect Gareth.

He would never fully understand why she kept a knife in her pocket. He couldn't possibly guess why she gritted her teeth only at her half-sister, who silently endured her, while her half-brother, who beat her whenever he got the chance, didn't even register.

She turned her head to look at the campsite as darkness began to settle.

Ayla must be having a good time right now. Surrounded by people who loved her, she was probably savoring the happy future that would be coming soon.

Recalling that flushed afternoon made her already messed-up insides churn. That detestable woman. She had everything, yet whenever she saw her, those pitiful eyes, that unhappy expression—it was all utterly repulsive.

I still want to kill her.

As she thought this, biting her scabbed lips, Varkas, who had been quietly following behind, suddenly grabbed her and shoved her roughly backward.

Talia looked up at him with wide, frightened eyes.

For a moment, her heart sank, wondering if this man could see right through her. But he wasn't looking at her.

Following his serious gaze fixed on the sky, Talia turned her head and gasped sharply. Something the size of a house was plummeting toward them at terrifying speed. Before she could even grasp what it was, a thunderous crash echoed, sending a thick cloud of dust billowing upward.

"Monster!"

Someone's scream was the first, followed by shrieks that seemed to tear through the air, erupting from all directions.