19.
Because I had driven away everyone sent from the Main Palace, there were fewer than ten maids currently assigned to the Annex Palace. Even then, I kept them from hovering near me, so the number of attendants I could bring was barely enough to count on one hand.
For that very reason, Talia found herself in a position where she had to embark on a long journey surrounded by servants sent by Empress Talia Roem Gwirta. I wanted to chase them all away, but seeing Gareth and Aila with hundreds of attendants, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
Talia glared at the crowd surrounding the Crown Prince and First Imperial Princess’s carriages, biting her lip in irritation.
Because I hated having anyone lingering around me, for years I had ensured no one but Varkas and my nanny could come near. I didn’t want anyone around who might trample on me at any given moment.
But as I imagined my own pathetic appearance, accompanied by only three or four servants, while my two half-siblings flaunted the dignity of the Imperial family with hundreds of attendants each, my insides churned.
In the end, Talia had no choice but to accept the maids sent by Empress Talia Roem Gwirta. However, I couldn’t set my mind at ease for even a second about what kind of schemes they might be plotting. Talia watched those moving her luggage with a persistent, predatory gaze, as if monitoring their every move.
Just then, a voice filled with exasperation reached me from nearby.
“Are you truly planning to take all these belongings with you?”
I looked up with sharp eyes at the man who had approached.
It hadn’t been long since I had kicked out the dim-witted Imperial Guard who had been fawning over the Crown Prince, and the new knight assigned to me had a habit of speaking his mind without hesitation. I did not like that attitude.
I coldly retorted to the man who was scratching the back of his head with a troubled look.
“Do you have a complaint about my travel arrangements?”
“I understand your desire to maintain your dignity as a member of the Imperial family. But isn’t this excessive? Hundreds of dresses and expensive jewelry… unless you intend to change clothes five times a day, this is unnecessary luggage.”
“You know nothing. I don’t intend to change five times a day, but ten. If I spend all day traveling in a carriage, I’ll be covered in dust, and I have no intention of wearing soiled clothes for even a single moment.”
“What kind of joke is…”
The knight let out an awkward laugh. He still hadn’t realized that I never spoke in jest.
Leaving the dim-witted man behind, I walked toward the carriage I was to board.
Located at the end of the long procession, my carriage was as large and splendid as the Crown Prince’s.
The doors and roof were lavishly decorated with gold and ivory, and the interior was equipped with a seat so wide it could be used as a bed, covered with thick wool felt and silk cushions.
I climbed onto the carriage and pulled back the curtain spread behind the seat. A reasonably spacious dressing area and a large storage cabinet were revealed.
Talia opened the drawer connected to the luggage compartment and examined the inside meticulously. I had brought every dress made of the most luxurious fabrics I possessed and all sorts of jewelry, but not a single thing caught my eye. To outshine Aila, this was not enough.
I rummaged through the drawer haphazardly and bit my lower lip in irritation.
I should have stolen the diamond necklace that Empress Talia Roem Gwirta received from the Emperor. No, I should have brought my mother’s entire jewelry box.
Empress Talia Roem Gwirta seemed to want me to break off Aila’s engagement. That was why she had so overtly goaded me. If I had asked for the clothes and jewelry for the sake of achieving her goal, she would have willingly lent them to me.
‘Should I go to the Empress’s Palace even now?’
Looking down at the drawer with anxious eyes, Talia stepped down from the carriage. As I turned to head toward the Empress’s Palace, I saw Varkas wearing the uniform of the Roem Knights among the soldiers.
Talia froze in her tracks. Even though there were over 150 other men in the same uniform in the castle courtyard, only Varkas caught my eye.
My persistent gaze clung obsessively to his straight back, broad shoulders, and his faintly shimmering ash-gold hair.
Varkas was crossing the courtyard with disciplined steps, giving instructions to his subordinates. He was inspecting the procession before departure.
Talia swallowed hard. As Varkas got closer, my throat stung as if I had swallowed a handful of glass shards.
His indifferent gaze, which had been moving along the long procession, finally locked onto my carriage.
Even from a distance, Talia could see the faint crease between his brows. It was the expression he always wore whenever he faced me.
That cold face, which caused me such agonizing pain every single moment, slowly drew nearer.
“Have you still not finished preparing for departure?”
Varkas rebuked his Imperial Guard without even looking at me. The man scratched the back of his head with a troubled look.
“As you can see, I think we need to procure one more luggage carriage.”
At the knight’s sigh-filled response, Varkas’s pale blue eyes turned toward the servants struggling to stuff the mountain of luggage into the carriage. Talia could see the look of irritation spreading across his emotionless face.
Finally, his gaze reached me.
“This procession is scheduled to pass through six major cities. You can procure whatever you need along the way, so please trim the useless luggage.”
I held my head high.
“No. How would you know what I might need?”
“It’s just clothes or jewelry, isn’t it?” He said in a dry tone. “There are many cities in the Northwest where commerce and industry are developed. You will be able to buy as many things as your heart desires, so refrain from tiring out the servants before we even depart.”
Talia scoffed.
“Don’t make me laugh. You’re planning to turn me into an immoral princess who just wastes money during a pilgrimage, so I can be compared to Aila, aren’t you? Do you think I’ll fall for your words?”
“Since when did you care about your reputation…” His lips curled slightly, as if he found it absurd. “In the first place, no one will ever place you on the same level as the First Imperial Princess. So, put your useless worries aside.”
It was the one thing I didn’t want to hear, especially from his lips.
Talia raised her hand, a surge of emotion rising in her chest. However, Varkas was not the type to take a blow quietly. He nimbly grabbed my wrist and gestured toward the servants with his chin.
“Leave only what is absolutely necessary and unload the rest. We depart in an hour, so hurry.”
“Who gave you the right!”
Talia screamed, struggling to pull her arm from his grip. But the man didn’t budge.
Talia, filled with rage, kicked his shin and shrieked.
“Who do you think you are to tell me to unload my things? Do you think you’re already someone? You aren’t a Grand Duke yet! You’re nothing but a mere Imperial Guard! How dare you, a mere knight, speak to an Imperial Princess of the Empire like this!”
“Why aren’t you hurrying?”
He cast a cold glare at the servants, ignoring the rampaging Talia. The servants, who had been hesitant, scrambled to unload the luggage from the carriage.
There was no clearer way to show that the instructions of Varkas, the next Grand Duke of the East and the Commander-in-chief of the Imperial Guard, took precedence over the orders of a princess in name only.
Talia, glaring at the servants with venomous eyes, lost her reason and lunged at a maid.
“Get your hands off my luggage right now! If even one of my things goes missing, I’ll have you all hanged…!”
Her words were cut short. Varkas hoisted her up with one arm and shoved her into the carriage as if clearing away a bothersome pile of junk.
Forced to sit on the carriage seat, Talia’s face turned bright red with rage.
Varkas was a man filled to the marrow with loyalty to the Imperial family. He would never lay a hand on Aila’s body.
The reason this man could treat me so harshly was because he didn’t consider me a true member of the Imperial family.
It was so frustrating that my eyes grew hot. It was unbearably sorrowful that the man who was always courteous to my half-sister became endlessly rude only to me.