TFM 72

Chapter 72

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The maids walked quietly down the hallway.

Talia followed behind them, stepping as carefully as she could.

By the time she had barely reached the stairs, moving slower than a turtle, her back was soaked with sweat.

She looked down at the stairs with a gloomy expression.

Just then, she caught sight of Varkas striding confidently into the mansion.

Talia, having forgotten how to breathe, scanned him from head to toe.

Instead of his Roem Knights uniform, Varkas wore a black breastplate engraved with the Shiokan family crest, and a dark gray coat made of animal hide was loosely draped over his shoulders.

Seeing him look just like the mounted warriors of the Kan tribe who had once struck fear into the entire continent of Robiden, her heart tightened.

He strode up the stairs with long strides and stopped in front of her.

Perhaps because he had come in a hurry, his usually neat hair was disheveled as never before.

He leaned toward her, fixing her with eyes as cold and hard as polished metal.

“How are you feeling?”

Talia blinked blankly. Under normal circumstances, she would have snapped at him to mind his own business, but strangely, her tongue felt parched.

After a long pause, she managed to force out a single word.

“………………I’m fine.”

His eyes narrowed. He seemed suspicious of her unusually subdued response.

Varkas, who had been staring intently at her face, took off his glove and touched her forehead. Talia reflexively swatted his hand away.

A sharp slap echoed, followed by a fierce silence. She clutched her stinging finger and gauged his reaction.

He didn’t seem particularly upset. Or maybe he was. She wasn’t sure. Had she ever truly read his expression even once?

Talia lowered her eyes and mumbled in a tight voice.

“I—I was startled because you touched me so suddenly.”

Just then, those long, white fingers invaded her field of vision once more.

Talia flinched. But he wouldn’t let her push his hand away a second time.

After finally running his hand lightly over her forehead, Varkas this time fastened the knot of her coat all the way up to her neck, leaving no gaps. Then, without giving her a chance to refuse, he swept her up into his arms and said bluntly.

“You’ll have to get used to me touching you from now on.”

Talia’s eyes widened. Her heart gave a sharp jolt.

What did he mean by that?

No. No. Don’t get your hopes up.

He’s just trying to look after a pitiful cripple. As she hurried to suppress the lingering attachment sprouting like weeds, Varkas adjusted her into a more comfortable position in his arms and slowly descended the stairs.

Fearing she might tumble down, Talia wrapped her arms around his neck. Varkas wrapped one arm around her back and took careful steps.

A moment later, the scene of a garden filled with unfamiliar men unfolded before her eyes.

Talia scanned them with a puzzled expression. At first glance, they did not appear to be soldiers of the Roem Knights.

Every one of them carried a long halberd on their backs, and over their dark armor, they wore loose, robe-like cloaks.

One of them stepped forward toward Varkas.

“Is she the one who will become the next Grand Duchess?”

Talia scrutinized the man with a cautious gaze. He was a young man with sun-kissed, deep wheat-colored skin, dark brown hair, and black eyes.

He examined her—her face barely visible above the brim of her cloak—with a curious look, then bowed respectfully.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness. My name is Tyron El Drakan.”

Only upon hearing that unfamiliar-sounding name did Talia realize that the people lined up before her were from the East. It seemed the retainers of the Shiokan family had come to assist him.

To return the greeting, she pulled the hem of her cloak down to reveal her face. However, Varkas’s interference thwarted her attempt.

Pulling the hood over her head, Varkas passed the man and said in an indifferent tone.

“We’ll be leaving soon, so have the horses ready.”

“Is it all right if we don’t stop by the Imperial Palace?”

“I’ve already handed over the Knights. There’s no reason to stay here any longer.”

Varkas replied firmly and shot a cold glance at the servant standing blankly beside the carriage.

“What are you waiting for? Open the door.”

The servant, who had been staring blankly, immediately opened the carriage door.

Varkas stepped inside and set her down on the seat covered with thick cushions. Then, with careful, deft movements, he smoothed out her clothes and said,

“We’ll be traveling nonstop for several hours. If you feel unwell, please signal the coachman.”

Talia looked up at him with a confused expression.

She had no idea why they were in such a hurry. Was someone chasing after them?

The faces of Gareth and Ayla flashed through her mind.

Could it be that the two of them were plotting something?

Ayla’s venomous voice, warning her that she would come to regret this, echoed in her ears.

Talia bit her lip. It had always been her job to hatch schemes. But now, the tables had turned.

If Ayla loved Varkas even half as much as she did, she would do anything to get him back.

Perhaps she might even send thugs to ambush them. Varkas must have been worried about such a scenario…

“Your Highness.”

As if sensing the turmoil in her mind, he lifted her chin and met her gaze.

“Didn’t I tell you before? You don’t have to think about anything.”

His low, melodious voice resonated in her mind as if casting a spell.

Talia wore a bewildered expression.

What was his intention in saying that? Was he trying to preemptively stop her from causing trouble?

Or, or…

She quickly reined in her thoughts before they wandered off in the wrong direction.

He was the man who had left her mind in shambles and then walked away as if nothing had happened.

The man who had dumped her in a strange place and hadn’t shown his face for a week.

The rift within her ran too deep to harbor false hope based on a few cryptic words.

Talia pushed his hand away.

“...Stop talking nonsense. If we’re leaving, just get going already.”

Even at her curt retort, he didn’t flinch.

A gaze she couldn’t fathom made her scratch her forehead. Talia moistened her dry lips. Only when her throat felt like it was on fire did he slowly stand up and step out of the carriage.

Only after hearing the door close did Talia exhale the breath she had been holding.

As she crept closer and pressed herself against the carriage wall, she saw Varkas conversing with the men from the East through the window frame.

Amidst the men with dark hair and pale, wheat-colored skin, he stood out like a complete stranger. It occurred to her that perhaps they weren’t so different after all.

He had left his hometown at a young age and spent most of his life in the imperial palace. For him, too, the East must be a foreign place.

Suddenly, the image of a young boy sent alone to a strange land flashed through her mind. That image morphed into a vision of herself when she first arrived at the palace.

Was six-year-old Varkas lonely, just like she was? Did he feel as lost and suffocated as if he were inside a monster’s belly?

As she sat there lost in thought, the carriage that had been stationary began to move. Talia watched as the unfamiliar yet familiar scenery flowed by like a river.

Suddenly, a bitter smile escaped her lips. Is this really the time for me to be worrying about the man who will rule the East?

From now on, she would be heading to a foreign land all alone. With no one to rely on in a place where she had to start her life anew, here she was worrying about something so trivial...

'Come to think of it, when did I ever have anyone to rely on?'

Talia curled up in a ball in the corner of the carriage and buried her face in her knees.

The imperial palace was no different—there was no place for her to call home there either.

To Senevere, she was nothing more than a useful tool.

To the emperor, she was an inconvenient presence that constantly reminded him of his past mistakes, and to her half-siblings, she was nothing more than a dirty stain that would eventually have to be wiped away.

Suddenly, she wondered.

What would she become in the East?

***

*End of Arc 1

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