TFM 57

Chapter 57

***

Wiping the sweat from his face with his sleeve, Asros sprinted up the stone steps and yanked on the handle of the tightly shut door. Through the crack that opened, the scene of the Great Hall—silent as the grave—came into view.

Scanning the dimly lit space, where there was not a single guard or maid in sight, Asros tiptoed up the stairs.

He didn’t know why he was muffling his footsteps.

He’d felt it the last time he’d been here too, but this castle felt just like a graveyard. The eerie atmosphere made him hold his breath without even realizing it.

Glancing at the curtained windows, Asros took the stairs two at a time and reached the third floor in a single bound.

Finally, his sister’s bedroom door came into view.

Stopping in front of the large mahogany door to catch his breath for a moment, Asros soon knocked cautiously.

But even after waiting a long while, there was no question asking who it was, nor any reply inviting him in.

‘Could she be asleep?’

Asros pressed his ear against the door and knocked a little harder this time. Immediately, a thud sounded from inside.

After a moment’s hesitation, he pulled the doorknob and peered inside.

A hazy smoke was wafting through the cluttered bedroom.

Asros coughed slightly at the stuffy air, then suddenly widened his eyes. A scene unfolded before him as if a storm had just swept through.

Staring in astonishment with his mouth agape, he stepped into the chaos as if drawn by some force.

The bedroom floor was littered with shards of broken glass.

As if a wine bottle had been hurled across the room, the carpet reeked of strong wine, and scattered across it were long, torn strips of fabric and feathers that appeared to have escaped from a pillow.

As Asros scanned the scene with a dazed expression, he suddenly spotted the shattered full-length mirror and flinched, hunching his shoulders.

His reflection, broken into dozens of pieces, was visible on the mirror’s surface, which was cracked like a spiderweb.

Feeling a chill, he began to back away hesitantly, but then he heard a rustling sound behind him.

Asros spun around in a start and froze when he saw Talia sprawled haphazardly on the carpet.

In that instant, his breath caught in his throat.

She was wearing nothing but a thin nightgown, staring up at the ceiling with empty eyes. Her face looked as if all life had drained from it, sending a chill down his spine.

She moved her arms, as slender as birch branches, to gather a handful of feathers scattered on the floor and scattered them into the air.

The pure white feathers floated like dust in the thin air.

The woman, who had been staring blankly at the scene with unfocused eyes, slowly shifted her gaze to look at him.

Asros instinctively took a step back.

She parted her lips, crusted with dried blood, and uttered a hoarse voice.

“......Did you come just to gawk?”

“I, I...... I just came to visit you.......”

Her desolate eyes fixed on the armful of flowers he held in his arms.

Asros felt his ears burn. For some reason, he felt as though he were doing something he shouldn’t be doing to her.

Talia lowered her eyelids as if exhausted.

“......Leave it there and go.”

Asros, who had been hesitating, set the bouquet down on the shelf next to the bed.

He didn’t know what else to do.

After having been staring at his sister with a lost look, he soon left the room.

Behrens, who had been waiting in the hallway, frowned at the sight of his pale face. He looked as if he suspected Asros had been harmed in some way.

Without offering any explanation, Asros grabbed his hand and pulled him along.

“Let’s hurry back to the palace.”

Then he ran down the hallway, which was as silent as a tomb.

He didn’t even know what he was running from. He just wanted to leave this strangely cold and damp place as quickly as possible.

Glancing back over his shoulder at the half-open bedroom door, Asros immediately ran down the stairs. Then, like an animal escaping a trap, he dashed out of the palace in a single bound.

***

It felt as if an ant were crawling through her veins.

A pain that pricked at her nerves crept up her shins, gnawing at her knees, thighs, hips, and lower back.

It wasn’t as intense as before, but it was just as irritating.

Talia dug her nails into her bumpy knee and scratched at it relentlessly. As she did, the ant crawling beneath her skin began burrowing deeper into her bone, as if in defiance.

Talia peeled away the tough, callus-like skin to pull out the loathsome vermin.

Blood trickled down from the gaping wound. Ignoring the searing pain, she dug her nails into the raw, red flesh. Just then, the nanny walked into the room, saw the scene, and let out a shriek.

“I told you to stop doing that!”

The nanny slammed the tray she was holding down and grabbed Talia’s hand.

Talia looked at her with a listless gaze, then placed her other hand over the scar.

“Why are you doing this?”

The nanny, now holding both of her hands, let out a series of deep sighs.

“What are you thinking? That ugly scar is already hard enough to look at—what if it gets even worse?”

Talia stared at her with a blank expression.

This was the nanny who had always praised her endlessly, telling her how pretty she was. She had been so devoted to her, saying she was just like a younger version of Senevere.

It seemed that even to her eyes, she now looked hideous.

Talia wrenched her wrist free with a sharp tug and shoved the nanny’s shoulder.

“Get out! I can’t stand the sight of you!”

The nanny, who had been glaring at her with a sullen look, stomped over to the shelf. She picked up the bowl of porridge and the medicine bottle from the tray and held them out.

“Just eat this, and I’ll leave as soon as you’re done, so don’t worry.”

Talia reached out to throw the bowl.

But even a nanny as thick-skinned as she seemed to have picked up on the hint after being treated this way several times.

The nanny quickly stepped back and shot her a stern look.

“If you don’t eat, I won’t light the sleep-inducing incense for you.”

Talia glared at her with a look of resentment, but eventually took the bowl. She no longer had the energy to argue any further.

She picked up the spoon and mechanically shoved the mushy food into her mouth. It felt exactly like eating mud.

After forcing down the porridge while fighting back the urge to vomit and swallowing the mysterious potion, the nanny placed a fresh bundle of herbs in the incense burner and lit it.

Talia lay sprawled on the bed, inhaling the acrid smoke deeply.

Her consciousness grew hazy, and drowsiness washed over her. Exhaling a sigh of relief as her senses grew increasingly blurred, she turned her gaze toward the window. Beyond the transparent glass, the evening sky was turning red.

Once the sun set, thick darkness would soon engulf her. Even in her dazed state, a sense of terror overwhelmed her.

She feared the coming of night. Memories of endlessly waiting for someone to come in the darkness seemed to squeeze the life out of her.

But she feared the coming of morning even more. She did not want to live another day in this wretched body.

She closed her eyes tightly and murmured a desperate prayer.

Please, let all the time allotted to me flow away in one go while I sleep.

So that I may be freed from this suffering forever.

But as always, her wish went unfulfilled.

Woken by a hand shaking her shoulder, Talia looked up at the window through which sunlight was pouring in and let out a hollow sigh.

It seemed another tedious day was about to begin. She clutched her throbbing forehead.

Just then, a strange voice reached her ears.

“It is time to rise, Your Highness.”

Startled, Talia turned her head and, upon spotting a dark shadow standing tall beside the bed, sat bolt upright.

A woman of immense height and robust build was looking down at her with eyes the color of steel.

The woman bowed gracefully with precise movements and spoke.

“Please forgive my rudeness for barging into your bedchamber without permission, Your Highness. I am Trania Meldren, the head maid in charge of the Empress’s Palace. By order of Her Majesty the Empress, I have come to assist Your Highness for the duration of today.”

Talia, who had been wearing a confused expression, rolled her eyes and slowly scanned the room.

In one corner of the bedroom, which had been tidied up in the meantime, a dozen or so maids dressed in gowns bearing the Empress’s seal stood waiting.

Seeing the armfuls of clothes they held, Talia stiffened.

A sense of foreboding tightened her throat.

“Assist me? Why would you…?”

“Today, Your Highness will have an audience with His Imperial Majesty.”