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Chapter 19
Having driven away all the attendants sent from the Main Palace, the Secondary Palace now had fewer than ten handmaids in its service. Since I had forbidden them from approaching me, the number of retainers I could bring along was barely countable on one hand.
As a result, Talia found herself surrounded by servants sent by Senebier, forced to embark on a long journey. I wanted nothing more than to drive them all away, but watching Gareth and Ayla command hundreds of retainers, I couldn't bring myself to do it.
Talia glared at the crowds surrounding the carriages of the Crown Prince and the First Imperial Princess, biting her lip irritably.
I had despised having anyone linger near me, so for years I had permitted no one but Barcas and my Nursemaid to approach. I refused to ‌surround myself with people who might trample me at any moment, for reasons I could never ‌‌‌‌predict.
Yet as my two half-siblings flaunted the dignity of the Imperial Family, each commanding hundreds of servants, the thought of myself traveling with ‌‌‌‌merely three or four ‌‌retainers filled me with such revulsion that my stomach turned.
In the end, Talia had no choice but to accept the handmaids Senebier had sent. But I couldn't let my guard down for a moment, uncertain what schemes they might attempt. I watched ‌their every movement with relentless scrutiny as they transferred my belongings.
Then, from nearby, came a voice tinged with exasperation.
"Do you truly intend to bring all of these possessions with you?"
She looked up at the Nobleman who had approached her side, her gaze sharp as a blade.
Not long ‌‌‌after I had dismissed the foolish Guard Knight who had fawned over the Crown Prince, this newly ‌‌‌‌assigned knight ‌‌‌‌had begun speaking to me without hesitation. And I found his manner deeply disagreeable.
She turned to the Nobleman, who scratched the back of his head with an awkward expression, and replied coldly. ‌‌‌
"Do you have some complaint about my luggage?"
"I understand your desire to maintain dignity as a member of the Imperial Family. But isn't this excessive? Hundreds of dresses and expensive jewelry besides... Unless you plan to change clothes five times a ‌‌‌‌day, it's all unnecessary baggage." ‌‌‌
"You understand nothing. I intend to change clothes not five times, but ten times a day. Riding in a carriage all day long, I'll be covered in dust. I have no intention of ‌‌‌letting a single soiled garment touch my skin for even a moment."
"Surely you jest..."
The knight laughed awkwardly. He still hadn't grasped that I never spoke in jest.
Talia left the foolish Nobleman behind and walked toward the carriage she would occupy.
Her ‌‌carriage, positioned at the rear of the long procession, was as grand and magnificent as the Crown Prince's.
The doors and roof were adorned lavishly with gold and ivory, while ‌the interior featured seats so spacious they could serve as a bed, ‌layered with ‌‌‌‌thick wool felt and silk cushions.
She climbed into the carriage and drew back the curtains spread behind the seat. A sizable dressing area and large storage compartments came into view.
Talia opened the drawers connected to the storage ‌‌‌space and examined them meticulously. I had brought every dress made ‌from the finest fabrics I possessed and all manner of jewelry, yet ‌‌‌‌nothing satisfied me. To outshine Ayla, this was insufficient. ‌‌‌
She rummaged through the drawers haphazardly, biting her lower lip with irritation.
I should have stolen the diamond necklace Senebier received from ‌The Emperor. Or better yet, I should have taken Mother's entire jewelry box.
Senebier seemed to hope ‌‌that I ‌‌‌would break Ayla's engagement. So wasn't she openly encouraging me? If she had asked me to lend her clothes and jewelry to achieve her purpose, I would have done so willingly.
'Should I return to the Empress Palace now?'
As Talia gazed down at the drawers with anxious eyes, she descended from the carriage. She turned her steps toward Senebier's residence when, among the soldiers, she caught sight of Barcas in the uniform of the Roem Knights.
Talia froze as if turned to stone. Though there were more than 150 other men in identical uniforms in the Castle Courtyard, her eyes saw only Barcas.
Her persistent gaze clung obsessively to his straight back, broad shoulders, and faintly gleaming ash-blonde hair.
Barcas crossed the ‌‌courtyard with measured steps, issuing orders to his subordinates. He appeared to be inspecting the procession before departure.
Talia swallowed hard. As Barcas drew gradually closer, her throat stung as though she had swallowed a handful of glass shards.
The indifferent gaze that had been following the long procession from the Castle Gate ‌‌finally fixed ‌‌upon her carriage.
Even from a considerable distance, Talia could see the faint furrow that appeared between his brows—the expression he always wore when facing her.
That cold face, which caused her such exquisite pain with every encounter, drew ‌‌‌slowly closer.
"Have you still not finished preparing for departure?"
Barcas rebuked his Guard Knight without so much as glancing ‌‌‌at her. The Nobleman scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed expression.
"As you can see, it appears we'll ‌need to procure an additional baggage carriage."
At the knight's weary response, Barcas's pale blue eyes turned toward the servants struggling to cram the mountain of luggage into the carriage. ‌‌Talia could see irritation spreading across his expressionless ‌‌‌‌face.
His gaze finally fell upon her.
"This procession will pass through six major ‌‌cities. Necessary items can be ‌‌procured along the way, so please reduce any unnecessary baggage."
She lifted her head with ‌deliberate defiance, as if to prove a point.
"I refuse. I know exactly what I'll ‌‌need."
"In any case, ‌‌it's not as though we're speaking of clothing or jewelry."
He spoke ‌‌‌in a measured, austere tone.
"The Northwestern Region boasts many cities where commerce ‌‌‌and industry flourish. You'll have ample ‌opportunity to purchase whatever you desire once we arrive at the castle, so I suggest you refrain from exhausting the servants before our departure." ‌‌‌‌
Talia let out a scornful laugh.
"Don't be ridiculous. You're trying to make me look like a depraved princess ‌‌‌indulging in luxury during a pilgrimage so I'll be compared to Ayla, aren't you? ‌‌‌Did you really ‌‌‌think I'd fall for that?"
"Since when have you concerned yourself with your reputation...?" ‌‌‌
His lips twisted into a faint, incredulous smile.
"No one would ever place you and the ‌First Princess on the same scale of comparison. So spare yourself the needless worry."
Those were words she never wanted to hear from his mouth.
Talia's face flushed with rage as she raised her hand ‌‌‌to strike. But Barcas was not the sort to simply accept such treatment. He swiftly seized her wrist and gestured to the servants with a tilt of his chin.
"Leave only what's absolutely necessary. Remove the rest. We depart within the hour—make haste."
"How dare you decide!"
Talia thrashed and cried out, struggling with all her might to wrench her arm free from his grip. But the man remained unmoved.
Talia, her fury reaching ‌‌‌its ‌‌peak, lashed out with a kick aimed at his shin and cursed.
"What gives you the right to order my belongings ‌removed? Do you think you've already become something grand? You're not even a Grand Duke yet! You're nothing ‌‌‌‌‌but a Guard Knight of the Imperial Family! How dare a mere knight presume to speak thus to a princess of The Empire...!"
"Why aren't you moving?"
He cast a frigid glance toward the servants, utterly ignoring Talia's outburst. The hesitant servants immediately scrambled to unload the luggage from the carriage.
There could be no clearer demonstration that the orders of Barcas—the future Grand ‌‌Duke of the Eastern Region and Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Guard Corps—held far greater authority than the commands of a princess in name only.
Talia, her eyes burning with rage, lost all composure and lunged at one of the handmaids. ‌‌‌‌
"Take your hands off my belongings this instant! If even one of my things goes missing, I'll have you all hanged...!"
Her words never reached their conclusion. Barcas hoisted her up with one arm and thrust her into the carriage as though disposing of a troublesome pile ‌‌‌‌of luggage.
Forced into a seat within the carriage, Talia's face burned crimson with fury.
Barcas was a man whose very marrow was saturated with loyalty to the Imperial Family. He would never lay hands upon Ayla so carelessly. ‌‌‌
The reason he ‌‌‌‌could treat her this way was because he did not regard her as true royalty.
The injustice of it burned so fiercely that her eyes ‌stung with tears. The man who always conducted ‌‌‌‌himself with such deference toward her half-sister showed her nothing but endless disrespect, and it ‌was unbearable.

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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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