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Chapter 17
Talia regarded the boy gazing up at her with bright, crystalline eyes with a wary gaze.
"What brings you here?"
"I snuck out of the castle to see you, sister."
The boy spoke ‌‌with such cheerful nonchalance that it bordered on recklessness.
Talia's brow furrowed. Astros, her younger brother who had only just ‌‌‌‌turned six, was nothing ‌‌‍‌but a thorn in ‌‌‌her side.
Though they shared the same ‌parents, their circumstances differed as vastly as heaven and earth. This innocent-faced boy was a legitimate ‌‌heir born to The Emperor and The Empress in lawful matrimony, while she—was she not the wretched fruit of an illicit ‌‌affair?
As I watched Astros receive his baptism amidst the blessings of countless well-wishers, a searing jealousy pierced my heart. I could not fathom how much I despised that tiny creature, barely able to open its eyes.
Senebier, discerning my turbulent emotions with keen insight, had never permitted the eldest daughter—now rendered nearly useless—to approach her ‌‌precious son.
Thus, I could only ‌glimpse my brother's face at official ceremonies. This was the first time I had confronted the child at such proximity since the day of his baptism.
I ‌‌‌‌furrowed my brow and glanced around.
"You came here alone? If Mother finds out...."
"I'm not alone. Berens came with me."
The boy spoke with crisp certainty and turned to point down one side of the corridor. Only then could I discern a man in black garments standing where shadows lay thick.
A specter-like face that had once stood at my side. Now he watched me with a wariness that promised immediate action should I attempt any harm to Astros.
Bitter gall rose in my throat. The man's dark ‌‌eyes seemed to declare that I could never be important to anyone.
Talia concealed her twisted feelings and asked in a clipped tone.
"What do you want with me?"
"I heard that you'll be embarking on a long journey soon. So...."
"I'm embarking on a long journey?"
Talia cut off her brother's words with a sharp voice.
The boy, startled by her ‌‌‌sharp reaction, hesitated briefly before continuing carefully.
"Mother said you would be ‌‌‌‌accompanying her on this pilgrimage...."
Staring blankly at my brother's face, I suddenly burst into harsh, uncontrolled laughter. My brother ‌‌flinched and stepped back. Did even ‌‌‌this innocent child think I had lost my mind?
Still clutching my stomach as I laughed, I bent toward my young brother and asked in a deliberately gentle tone.
"What else ‌‌‌did Mother say?"
Astros hesitated for a long moment. ‌‌He seemed only now to realize he was greatly upsetting his sister.
Yet the boy was not one to be intimidated ‌into silence or to swallow his words.
"She said you might be getting married soon. That a man named Count Serian submitted a ‌‌marriage proposal...."
The boy, who had been speaking calmly, flinched and closed his mouth.
Apparently, I wore a truly dreadful expression. The man who had ‌‌‌been ‌‌silently watching from a distance positioned himself between Astros and me. Was he concerned I might lose my reason to rage and throttle this child?
Talia ignored the man's vigilance and fixed her gaze solely upon ‌‌her brother's innocent face.
"So you came to offer congratulations? To bid a joyful farewell now that the Imperial Family's embarrassment finally leaves the Imperial Palace to marry?"
The boy's shoulders trembled, as if ‌‌‌he felt the sharp barbs ‌‌‌hidden beneath my gentle tone.
He protested with an aggrieved expression.
"If ‌‌‌‌you marry and leave, it will become even harder to see ‌‌you than it is now. ‌‌‌So ‌‌‌I wanted to talk with you before that happens. We share the same mother—we're siblings, after all."
A faint yearning resonated in the boy's voice.
"I've ‌‌always hoped we could become close like the eldest sister and her brother. But if you marry, that chance might never come. That's why I came to find you." ‌‌
Talia gazed down at the ‌‌large, hopeful eyes without the slightest stirring of ‌‌emotion.
Because of this boy, I had become utterly worthless.
The Empress and The Emperor, and between them a beloved and brilliant Crown Prince born of their love.
I ‌‌‌‌was nothing but an unsightly blemish I wished to erase from that ‌‌perfect ‌‌picture. The brighter Astros shone, the deeper ‌‌‌‌the darkness surrounding me grew.
The fact that I envied this child so desperately was pitiful. In truth, I found facing him like this utterly repugnant.
Talia cast a merciless sneer toward the boy whose eyes gleamed with misplaced hope.
"Just as the First Princess exerts herself to make her ‌‌‌twin brother Emperor, do you expect me to throw myself into servitude for your sake?"
"That wasn't what ‌‌‌‌I meant...!"
"Our mother has already devised every scheme for how to use me for your benefit without ‌‌you needing to ask. My marriage ‌‌‌‌‌itself was surely arranged because it benefits you. So, little brother, abandon such foolish expectations."
Astros seemed ‌‌‌‌to have little resistance to such blatant hostility. From his bewildered expression alone, I ‌could discern how thoroughly sheltered this child had been raised.
Perhaps this boy had never experienced spending a night sleepless ‌‌‌with fear. I found myself thinking that today's encounter might become his very first wound.
Talia wore a sharp smile at the ‌‌‌‌corners of her lips.
"I have not the slightest intention of becoming your affectionate and devoted sister. Because I despise you every bit as much as I do our twin brothers." ‌‌‌‌‌
The boy's large eyes glistened with shock. Toward that pitiful face, Talia added ruthlessly.
"Now that you understand, won't you disappear?"
Astros clenched ‌‌‌his lips as if swallowing back tears and ‌turned without hesitation, slipping away down the empty Corridor. The Nobleman in black also vanished silently in pursuit of the boy.
Talia locked the door and walked back to the window. The sky that had shimmered with blue light moments before was now tinged with a pale violet hue.
The workers who had been busily moving luggage departed the Estate one by one ‌‌to rest, and the knights ‌‌had long since returned to ‌‌their quarters—not a single one remained in sight.
As Talia habitually brought her ‌‌index finger to her lips, she froze at a sharp pain. Dark crimson blood trickled from between her split ‌‌‌‌nails. At the sight of it, the venom that had been slowly seeping from my heart rose all the way to my throat.
Desperately swallowing back a scream that threatened to burst forth at any ‌‌‌‌moment, she seized the cloak hanging on one side of the room and draped ‌it over her thin surcoat. Then she slipped out of the Secondary Palace without a single Handmaid in attendance.

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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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