TFM 60

Chapter 60

***

Talia stood with both feet planted firmly on the ground and tried to straighten her back as much as possible.

A sharp, stinging pain radiated from her knees up to her back. It seemed she must have injured herself when she fell.

She wanted to collapse right then and there, but she forced herself to act calm and looked straight up at her biological father.

It was the first time she had seen his face in nearly six months. Even then, she had only caught a fleeting glimpse of him from a distance. It felt as though she were facing a complete stranger.

It seemed the man before her felt the same way. The Emperor, who had been showing signs of discomfort, looked away and said,

“I’ve heard you’ve been through a difficult ordeal.”

His voice was flat, as if he were speaking of someone else.

“I hear you even sustained some injuries.”

Talia shot him a hostile glare.

This man was practically a stranger to her. She seethed with rage at the thought of such a person casually mentioning her wounds.

“Is that why you summoned me?”

Talia let out a sharp laugh and, lightly smoothing the hem of her skirt, added mockingly.

“Would you like to take a look at the marks on my body?”

The man’s thick eyebrows twisted in a sudden grimace.

Contrary to expectations of a furious outburst, Bilus Roem Guirta kept his lips tightly sealed, staring intently at her face. His expression was as if he were seeing his daughter’s face for the very first time in his life.

“There’s no need for me to confirm it with my own eyes.”

After speaking bluntly, the man turned his gaze toward Varkas. A subtle sense of unease crept into his eyes, which were tangled with all manner of complex thoughts.

What on earth was the reason he had summoned both her and Varkas at the same time?

As Talia glared at him with a look of suspicion, the Emperor, after a long pause, suddenly blurted out words of reproach.

“Varkas Raedgo Shiokan, I trusted you and entrusted the safety of my children to you. And the result of that is right before my eyes now.”

Talia felt the blood in her body run cold.

The Emperor, who had been tapping the armrest of his chair with his fingertips, continued in a heavy tone.

“Not only did the Second Princess sustain a life-threatening injury due to your failure to protect her, but she has also suffered permanent physical damage. Do you admit that you are responsible for this?”

Varkas’s gaze briefly met hers before looking away.

“I admit it.”

There was no emotion in his voice.

No sense of injustice, no guilt, no hint of a desire to make excuses. It was a voice as calm as could be, as if he were simply stating a fact.

“I will accept any punishment.”

Talia unconsciously took a step forward.

Varkas didn’t do anything wrong.

She almost shouted that, but closed her mouth.

Was he really not at fault?

She looked down at her legs, which had begun to tremble faintly, then turned her gaze back to his face. The image of him running away with his back to her overlapped with his current appearance. Perhaps that scene, one she would never forget for the rest of her life, robbed her of all words.

“Since you admit it so readily, this will be quick.”

The Emperor let out a heavy sigh.

“Because of this incident, the marriage talks between the Count’s family and the Second Princess have fallen through. It will likely be difficult to find a suitable match befitting the imperial family from now on. After all, she is a child with many flaws……………….”

Speaking as if she weren’t even present, the Emperor glanced briefly at her pale, horrified face before continuing slowly.

“You must take responsibility for this. Annul your engagement to Ayla Roem Guirta and take the Second Princess, Talia Roem Guirta, as your wife.”

Talia held her breath.

Unable to fully comprehend what she had heard, she stared blankly at the Emperor’s face before turning her gaze toward Senevere.

A smile like that of a snake that had just swallowed its prey appeared on her face.

Suddenly, a chill ran down her spine, and cold sweat broke out all over her body.

Talia couldn’t bring herself to look at Varkas’s expression and lowered her head.

There was no way Varkas would accept such an unreasonable demand.

He was the son of a feudal lord.

No matter how powerful the Emperor might be, he had no right to make such a demand of the heir to the Grand Duke of the East.

Naturally, he would exercise his veto.

Talia clutched the hem of her dress tightly with trembling hands.

After a few seconds had passed, he spoke.

“If Her Highness the Second Princess agrees, I shall do so.”

Talia snapped her head up.

He looked down at her as if piercing right through her, rolling each word slowly on the tip of his tongue as he added,

“I shall take Your Highness as my wife.”

For a moment, it felt as though her heart had stopped.

Talia stared at his lips with a dazed expression.

Could those words really have come from his mouth?

Was she perhaps hearing things?

Yes. She must have heard wrong.

There’s no way Varkas would say something like he’d marry her.

“So it is, Princess.”

The Emperor’s low voice pulled her consciousness, which had been floundering in confusion, back to reality.

“If you agree, the position of Grand Duchess of Shiokan will be yours. Well, what do you say?”

His voice was laced with bitter sarcasm.

Only then did Talia realize that the Emperor was hoping she would refuse.

He was making this proposal under pressure from the Empress, but deep down, he undoubtedly did not want his illegitimate daughter to marry Ayla’s betrothed.

Perhaps he was saying this because he expected Varkas to throw a fit and refuse.

No. That must be it.

Suddenly, her mind grew calm.

If she agreed, the man she had longed for her entire life would be hers.

But did she truly want that?

She looked down at her leg, hidden beneath the hem of her dress.

The mere thought of having to reveal this body to him made her gut twist in agony.

If, by any chance, she were to see even a hint of disgust or rejection on his face, she would truly lose her mind. She might break down and crumble completely right here.

Talia looked up at him again.

He was the man who had always turned away from her and turned his back on her.

The man who saved Ayla, not her.

The man who would never love her, no matter what.

Could she really spend her whole life by the side of a man like that? Did she truly want to crawl into that kind of pain?

“I, I…………….”

Talia parted her parched lips.

There was no way she could endure that. She didn’t want to be hurt any more.

Just as she was about to blurt it out, Senevere’s expressionless face caught her eye.

Her eyes were quietly warning her that if she disappointed her, she would never be forgiven.

Her stomach clenched painfully.

“I….”

She looked back and forth between Varkas’s face, the Emperor’s face, and Senevere’s face. Their faces blurred together in a dizzying jumble.

Talia felt a sharp wave of dizziness and clutched her head.

Before she knew it, her forehead was drenched in sweat. She kept wiping it away with her sleeve, but the beads of sweat trickling down stung her eyelids.

As she wiped them away somewhat irritably, her vision suddenly swam, and her legs gave way.

She gasped roughly at the impact that struck her body.

A shrill scream echoed from the distance. It seemed as though Senevere’s maids were making a commotion.

Lying face-down on the floor, she strained her eyes, which were blurred as if fogged over. Through the veil of mist, she could faintly make out Varkas’s face, frozen in cold stillness.

Was his pallor, paler than usual, merely an illusion created by her foolish love?

Yes. That must be it.

Wasn’t he the one who showed no sign of distress even when he saw her in such a battered state? Why on earth would he turn pale because she collapsed?

Suddenly, exhaustion washed over her.

Talia, who had been straining with all her might to hold onto him within her fading vision, soon let go of everything.

***

News that the betrothal between the next Grand Duke and the First Princess had been broken, and that the Second Princess was set to take her place, spread like wildfire throughout the palace.