TFM 115

Chapter 115

***

Just then, a fierce gust of wind swept through. Through her hair, which was whipping wildly, Senevere’s figure grew hazy and indistinct.

Talia, who had been frozen like a stone statue, cast her gaze down at the rippling pond. More than the news she had brought, it was Senevere’s attitude—treating her suffering as a source of amusement—that tore at her heart.

Suppressing the turmoil within her, she forced out a calm voice.

“Surely you didn’t come all this way just to pass on such a rumor? It seems Her Majesty the Empress has more free time on her hands than I expected.”

“Of course not.”

As if her enthusiasm had been dampened by the flat response, the corners of the Empress’s mouth turned down.

“I told you. I wanted to see with my own eyes how you and your husband are really getting along. And if possible, I was planning to try to win over the Grand Duke of Shiokan.”

A sigh laced with disappointment escaped her lips.

“But it didn’t work at all. It seems your husband is determined to make Gareth emperor no matter what. ”

“Then what on earth were you expecting?”

Talia burst into a humorless laugh.

“Did you really think he’d change his stance just because he married me?”

“I can’t say I had absolutely no such expectations.”

Senevere replied flatly, gazing at the castle walls bathed in the glow of the sunset.

A single fallen leaf, carried by the wind, brushed against her cheek. Senevere snatched it up, twirled it between her fingertips, and crumpled it to pieces as she continued speaking.

“Varkas has always shown an emotional response, at least toward you. I’ve long since noticed that there’s something about you that stirs him. So I was hoping you’d shake him up a little more actively.”

Senevere let the crumbled leaf drift away on the wind and turned her head toward Talia. Reading a hint of reproach in her eyes, Talia’s expression hardened.

After casting a reproachful glance at her daughter, who had disappointed her, the Empress turned her head toward the knights waiting in the distance and added.

“In fact, it seems your husband cares quite a bit about you. It was quite refreshing to see him on guard, as if I might harm you.”

“….”

“But unfortunately, it doesn’t seem he values you enough to break a long-standing promise.”

Talia, who had been looking up at her with a pale face, forced herself to hold back the expression of despair that threatened to break through.

She already knew this. There was no reason to be hurt by it all over again now.

She held her head high.

“I… don’t care one bit who Varkas supports. Whether Gareth becomes emperor or Asros becomes emperor, it has nothing to do with me. So don’t even think about dragging me into your fight! "

“You’re already part of this battle.”

Pupils as deep as an abyss suddenly loomed right before her eyes. The Empress, leaning her head close toward her, spoke as if etching the words into her mind.

“That was decided the very day you were born. Do you really think Gareth, once he becomes Emperor, will tolerate your existence?”

Talia couldn’t find a rebuttal and merely moved her lips.

The Empress declared in a cold, ruthless tone.

“Gareth won’t care one bit that you’re the Grand Duchess of the East. That boy will try to destroy you, even if it means making an enemy of the Shiokan family. Varkas Raedgo Shiokan seems to believe he can stop Gareth, but he fails to realize that to do so, he’ll have to kill him with his own hands.”

Those words, almost prophetic, pierced her to the bone.

Before she could even think of a rebuttal, Senevere pressed on.

“Your husband is as blind as a bat when it comes to emotions. Trapped within the fortress of reason, he can never see human madness. That man sees neither Gareth’s hatred nor Ayla’s love. He fails to understand how destructive hatred is, or how far love can degrade a person. Your husband will inevitably contribute to the ruin of you, me, and Asros.”

Talia took a step back as if to deny it. At that moment, a strong finger clamped down on her skin.

Senevere, who had gripped her daughter’s shoulder tightly, finally got to the point.

“So, Talia, you must help me.”

“What can I… What on earth am I supposed to do? I have no power whatsoever………………!”

“You’re going to bear the heir to the Grand Duke’s house.”

Talia’s eyes froze. All thought evaporated at the sudden statement.

Even amid the chaos—so intense that even the sound of the howling wind seemed distant—Senevere’s demands continued.

“And you’ll make that child a friend of Asros. Just as your husband is loyal to Gareth, your son will become a loyal vassal to my son.”

“St… Stop talking such nonsense!”

Talia twisted her body to shake her off and screamed.

“As if I alone weren’t enough—are you now going to use a child who hasn’t even been born yet for your own ambition? Why should I do that? Why should I……!”

“Because that’s your only way to survive.”

Senevere’s tone grew even harsher.

“Why can’t you understand that if Asros doesn’t become emperor, you’re also finished? Gareth is your enemy, too. For the past ten years, you’ve relentlessly reopened those children’s wounds. Surely you didn’t believe that leaving the imperial palace would free you from all that karma? Especially after you even stole Ayla’s fiancé?”

“It was Mother who made me do that……………!”

“It was all your decision.”

A fierce voice cut off Talia’s protest.

“Even if it weren’t my demand, you’ll have to bear a child eventually. If you fail to produce an heir, not only Gareth but even the nobles of the East will pressure you to divorce. What do you think your husband will do then?”

A sharp sneer played at the corner of Senevere’s lips.

“Answer me, Talia. Do you think Varkas Raedgo Shiokan would protect you even if it meant turning his back on the Crown Prince, Ayla, and his own flesh and blood and vassals?”

Frozen for a moment by the cruel question, Talia then screamed in desperation.

“If Varkas wants a divorce, then so be it. If Gareth wants to kill me…… then let him! I didn’t even choose to be born in the first place………………!”

Talia, who had been howling like a cornered beast, gasped for breath the next moment. The contempt in Senevere’s gaze instantly stripped her of all will to resist.

The woman who had once been her entire world glared at her with a face full of disillusionment and said,

“Do you know what? Many animals abandon their weak young. That way, the chances of survival for themselves and their other offspring are higher.”

Talia stared back at those eyes, as deep as a swamp, with a dazed expression. She finally voiced the threat she had long whispered only with her eyes.

“But unlike animals, humans can’t bring themselves to abandon their own children so easily. That’s why I haven’t abandoned you until now.”

Fingers as soft as flower petals settled upon her pale cheeks, which seemed drained of all life. Only then did Talia realize she was crying.

Mimicking the tender touch of a mother comforting her daughter, Senevere murmured softly into her ear.

“You won’t believe it, Talia, but I have feelings too. On the day you were born, I felt them as well. You were beautiful—just like me—and I took joy in watching you grow. Those feelings kept me from bringing myself to abandon you, even after you’d outlived your usefulness.”

Through the tears welling up endlessly, her mother’s figure began to blur. Yet the voice echoing in her ear grew ever clearer.

“So, don’t disappoint me anymore.”

Talia bit her lip.

The salty bitterness of tears and the metallic taste of blood spread across the tip of her tongue. The sobs choking her throat made it hard to breathe.

“You understand what I mean, don’t you?”

As she barely managed to nod, lips as cold as ice touched the corner of her eye.

Is this what it feels like to be kissed by a corpse?

Talia, who had been staring endlessly up at Senevere’s face, now lit with a satisfied smile, lowered her gaze to the garden as twilight settled in. Their shadows, tangled together in the dusk, stretched out long and lanky like a grotesque monster.