TFM 54

Chapter 54

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“Who cares if my lips turn purple or green!”

As she threw his coat to the floor and raised her voice, another sigh echoed through the room.

Her eyes stung with tears. He smiled at Ayla, yet in front of her, he did nothing but sigh. She couldn’t stand the sight of him.

“Even if I freeze to death here, I’ll make sure you don’t suffer any harm, so you just go to the birthday banquet for the noble twins! Go on, let those two shiver their hearts out this morning!”

“Even if you stay up all night here, Your Highness won’t freeze to death. At worst, you’ll catch the flu.”

“Then I’ll just die of the flu!”

As she shouted angrily, he brushed the hair clinging to her eyes back somewhat roughly.

Talia flinched at the irritated gesture. Yet the voice that emerged from his mouth was, as always, utterly calm.

“What exactly do I need to do for you to stop playing the tragic heroine?”

At his caustic tone, Talia narrowed her eyes again.

She found him so infuriating—always polite to Ayla, yet quick to sneer at her at the slightest provocation.

Talia, glaring at him with burning eyes, pulled a pearl ornament from her tightly braided hair. Then, without hesitation, she flung it with a swift motion onto the rippling lake.

“Bring that back. Then I’ll stop.”

Varkas’s eyes narrowed.

Talia expected him to either explode in anger with a cold expression or turn away without a second glance. If he did, she planned to hold out here all night until she collapsed.

Let him feel a pang of conscience when he sees my lifeless body.

But as always, Varkas didn’t play along with her plan.

As if to show off, he unbuttoned his uniform jacket one by one right in front of her.

Talia’s eyes widened, but she soon snorted derisively. He’s just putting on a show, thinking I’ll stop him. There’s no way he’d actually jump into the water.

Feigning composure, she watched as he took off his knight’s uniform and laid it under a tree, then removed his calf-high boots.

So he’s going all the way, is he?

After finally unfastening the sword belt around his waist, Varkas approached the water’s edge dressed in a shirt so thin it was almost see-through and light cotton pants. Then, he silently stared at the lake, where a light drizzle was falling.

Just as I thought—he must have come on strong, expecting me to give in.

Just as she was sneering inwardly, he plunged into the water without warning.

Talia jumped to her feet.

The ashen surface swallowed him up in an instant. Talia, who had been staring blankly, scrambled over and peered into the dark water.

“Varkas?”

The lake remained completely still.

There was no sign anywhere of the eighteen-year-old boy who had grown alarmingly tall since turning sixteen. She raised her voice.

“Varkas!”

Amid the drizzling rain, only her voice echoed loudly.

Talia began to shout in frustration.

“Come on, stop messing around!”

A sudden gust of wind swept across the water’s surface.

The lake rippled for a moment, but there was still no sign of him.

Suddenly, she felt as if she couldn’t breathe.

Without a second thought, Talia dove into the water. She had barely taken a few steps when the water rose to her waist.

She slapped the water’s surface with both hands and shouted at the top of her lungs.

“Varkas! Varkas! Where are you?”

She felt the slippery mud and twigs beneath her feet.

She ventured a little deeper. Before she knew it, the water had risen to her chest.

She thrashed wildly through the ice-cold water, letting out a rough sob.

“I, I was wrong! So please, just come out now!”

As she lost her mind and wailed at the top of her lungs, the water nearby rippled violently, and a tall figure rose from beneath the surface.

Talia stared at him with frozen eyes.

Shaking his head to shake off the water dripping from his hair, Varkas turned toward her. Blue eyes glowed faintly beneath his waterlogged eyelashes.

“Here.”

Grasping her shoulder lightly with one hand, Varkas held something out in front of her.

Talia stared blankly at it.

“Is that enough now?”

Resting in his palm was the pearl ornament she had thrown away.

A hollow laugh escaped her lips.

Talia cupped her forehead with one hand and let out a series of soft snickers. Then, in the next instant, she twisted her face as if in pain and snatched the pearl ornament, hurling it far away.

Even as he watched her toss aside without hesitation the very thing he had gone to such lengths to retrieve, he showed no reaction whatsoever.

Staring at his impassive face, Talia could no longer contain her fury and lashed out.

“You did that on purpose, didn’t you? Just to scare me!”

Even after being slapped across the cheek, he remained silent.

For some reason, his composure only made her angrier.

Talia began pounding him with her fists.

“You held out until I said I was sorry! You wretched bastard! I hate you so much!”

“Calm down.”

Varkas suddenly grabbed both her wrists and lowered his voice.

She looked up at him with tears welling in her eyes. Seeing her expression of utter injustice, a sigh of exasperation escaped his lips.

“You’ve met your quota for the day. Stop throwing a tantrum and come out here.”

“No. I’m not listening to a word you say! I’m going to drown here, so you get out!”

He dragged her, screaming and kicking, up onto the shore.

Even as he pulled her, Talia kept pounding her fists into his back. Watching this with a look of utter exasperation, Varkas shook his head and picked up the coat he had taken off. He wrapped it tightly around her body, leaving no gaps, and then tied the sleeves firmly around her arms so she couldn’t punch him anymore.

Talia, who had been struggling to free herself, kicked him in the shin when she realized her arms wouldn’t budge.

“Are you out of your mind, tying up a princess? You thug!”

“Look who’s talking.”

With a long, heavy sigh, Varkas hoisted her onto his shoulder as if she were a sack of grain.

Talia squawked like an angry duck.

“I’m royalty, you idiot! How dare a knight treat a princess like this!”

Varkas silently gathered his sword and clothes and trudged off through the rain.

Talia, who had been thrashing about like a wild animal and spewing every curse word imaginable, soon went limp.

He didn’t set her down until they arrived at the palace. Talia, who had been glaring at him defiantly, soon collapsed from exhaustion.

And that evening, just as the man had predicted, she came down with a terrible flu.

Varkas pulled up a chair next to her, where she lay burning with fever, and sat reading quietly.

She couldn’t tell how infuriating that calm appearance was.

Fuming with anger, she snapped, “You’d love it if I were sick all the time, wouldn’t you?” He simply turned a page and replied, “Actually, that wouldn’t be so bad.”

Talia glared at him with fever-glazed eyes, thinking to herself—somewhat naively—that “occasionally” was hardly the case, and buried her face in the blankets.

Deep down, she was glad he’d stayed by her side instead of attending Ayla’s birthday banquet. So she could generously forgive his slightly sulky attitude.

She tried to fall asleep, suppressing the laughter that kept escaping her.

Even though the fever made her feel terribly miserable, strangely, laughter kept slipping out.

It was always like that when she was with Varkas. It was painful, suffocating, and infuriating, yet at the same time, her heart swelled with an overwhelming emotion she couldn’t control. Sometimes, he even felt like someone very close to her.

Maybe we’re actually something like friends?

Amid such a brazen delusion, their time together piled up layer by layer.

It must have been a grueling time for him, but for her, those days were like jewels.

It was because of his presence that she was able to endure those excruciatingly lonely days.

But now, those memories of the past were no longer a source of comfort; they had become unbreakable shackles, binding her tightly.