16.
She glared at the Empress with suspicious eyes.
What was her scheme in trying to force Talia to accompany her? The girl was capable of nothing more than bothering her with petty, trivial pranks.
However, the Empress was not the type to mobilize the Emperor for such useless deeds. She definitely had some other ulterior motive.
Aila Roem Gwirta retorted in a somewhat stiff tone.
“It is customary for women of the Imperial family to embark on a pilgrimage only when a marriage is imminent. Why must you send the child at this particular time?”
“Talia might be getting married soon, too.”
The Empress said breezily.
Aila Roem Gwirta furrowed her brows. She had never heard a single rumor about a marriage proposal for Talia.
Even if she were born an illegitimate child, Talia was an Imperial Princess whose name was listed in the Royal Genealogy. She was not in a position where a marriage could proceed without anyone knowing. It was undoubtedly a story concocted just to include her in this trip.
While she glared at the Empress with that suspicion, Varkas Laedgo Siorcan’s cold voice reached her ears.
“The marriage has been arranged at quite an opportune moment.”
Even at the blatant sarcasm, the Empress did not lose her composure.
“Since we are to have consecutive joyous events in the Imperial family, it is truly a good thing. Though it has not been long since the proposal arrived and no official engagement has been made, His Majesty and I are considering it positively.”
A hint of mockery etched itself onto Varkas Laedgo Siorcan’s lips.
“Might you tell us who the protagonist of that fortune is?”
“You must have heard his name at least once. It is the head of the Count Cerian family, Count Verdein Cerian. The formal proposal arrived just a few days ago.”
The Empress spoke with a benevolent smile on her lips.
“The child finished her coming-of-age ceremony quite some time ago, so she is at an age where she should be getting married, is she not? I thought it was a decent match.”
Aila Roem Gwirta swallowed a scoff that threatened to burst out. If it were Count Verdein Cerian, he was one of the Empress’s most fervent followers.
According to rumors, he once held the record for being the Lady Taren’s lover for the longest time. To marry her own daughter off to such a man—was she out of her mind?
A feeling of nausea welled up as she recalled the sight of Talia appearing at the banquet hall with Count Verdein Cerian. A mother who would marry her daughter to her former lover, and a daughter who obeyed such a mother’s will—both of them must be insane.
“Since things have turned out this way, hurry with the child’s preparations for the journey.”
As if wishing to end the conversation, the Emperor gave a firm instruction and made a gesture of dismissal.
Varkas Laedgo Siorcan, who had been looking up at his sovereign with an unreadable expression, bowed silently and slowly rose from his seat. He then turned and exited the audience chamber.
Aila Roem Gwirta, who had been glaring at the Empress with wary eyes, turned to him with a bewildered expression. She had not expected Varkas Laedgo Siorcan to back down so easily.
She offered a bow to the Emperor and hurriedly chased after him.
“Are you really planning to take Talia as she is? That girl’s marriage is just a plausible excuse. The Empress is surely plotting something terrible.”
“I suppose so.”
He replied indifferently and stomped down the stairs.
Aila Roem Gwirta, watching his back with a dazed face, gathered her skirt and quickly caught up to him. She grabbed his arm and shouted in a somewhat agitated tone.
“Is that all? You don’t know what the Empress might do using Talia, yet you are just blindly…!”
“What would you have me do?”
The man, who had stopped in his tracks, sent a chilling look her way. Aila Roem Gwirta flinched. Only then did she realize that his mood had hit rock bottom.
He was the person who had smiled at her just an hour ago. But he had become a stranger again, looking down at her with cold eyes. He said mockingly:
“Do you wish for me to rebel against His Majesty’s order?”
“I just…”
“That person is the sovereign of this Empire, and I am one who has sworn loyalty to the Imperial family. From the start, there has been no path other than obedience. Isn’t that what you royals have consistently demanded of nobles like me?”
Aila Roem Gwirta stiffened at the sharp, unexpected words. The man, looking down at her with dry, emotionless eyes, turned back around and began to walk.
Seeing his back moving away without a hint of hesitation, a wave of fear crashed over her. Aila Roem Gwirta ran up in a single breath, just as she had when she was a young girl, and threw her arms around his solid waist.
“I’m sorry! I was just anxious and took it out on you. So don’t turn away so coldly like that.”
The strength gradually drained from the man who had been standing still. He let out a faint sigh, turned around, and hugged her back. Then, just as he had in her childhood, he stroked her hair softly and said:
“There is nothing for you to be anxious about. No matter what conspiracy the Empress plots, Your Highness will never come to any harm.”
She raised her head to look up at his face. The man who had turned away with the face of a stranger had returned to being a loyal knight in an instant. Aila Roem Gwirta felt her scattered emotions finding their places in an instant.
A man who could shake her so easily and then calm her down with a few insincere words… In front of this person, even her pride, dignity, and authority as an Imperial Princess were meaningless.
Aila Roem Gwirta, clinging to the cool embrace that had never warmed despite them spending over a dozen years together, stared longingly at his faint-colored blue eyes.
What was this man looking at? His hollow eyes, which seemed to have no bottom, always looked as if they were wandering in a distant place.
“I swore to the former Empress that I would protect both of you with all my might.”
He said, tucking a few strands of hair stuck to Aila Roem Gwirta’s cheek behind her ear.
“I intend to keep that promise no matter what happens. So, there is nothing for Your Highness to worry about.”
Aila Roem Gwirta, who had examined his face for a long time, eventually nodded.
Yes, as long as this person was on our side, there was nothing to worry about. Nothing at all.
* * *
It felt empty after trimming my broken nail.
How many weeks would I have to wait for it to grow long enough to dig deep into flesh? Talia looked down with anxious eyes at the pale pink nail that had begun to emerge slightly from her fingertip.
The pride of having injured the Crown Prince’s body did not last long. The noble brother of mine would have surely gone to find a priest immediately to have his hand treated cleanly. On the other hand, I had pointlessly lost the secret weapon I had spent weeks grooming.
‘I wanted to use it on Aila, of all people…’
How many times had I imagined digging my nails into those verdant eyes every time that woman looked at Varkas Laedgo Siorcan?
Talia scraped at the wound where the nail had broken.
The scab that had barely formed was torn off, and droplets of blood welled up. My nerves were becoming increasingly frayed. After staring blankly at my reddened nail, I put my index finger into my mouth to lightly suck the blood, then stood up from the window.
Varkas Laedgo Siorcan was hard to find today. There was no longer any reason for me to stick to the glass window while enduring the stinging sunlight.
I trudged across the room, poured cold water into a basin on the shelf, and lightly washed my sweat-soaked face. Just then, there was a knock at the door. It seemed the nanny had come bearing snacks again.
Talia wiped her face with a clean linen cloth and called out listlessly.
“Come in.”
However, the one who appeared through the door was not the quarter-dwarf with a short stature and chubby limbs, but a small boy with thick, dark reddish-brown curly hair and brightly shining green eyes.