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‌‌‌
Chapter 49
Why had I startled so violently at the mere act of opening my eyes in the dead of night?
I drew a deep breath, desperately attempting to calm my heart as ‌‌‌it hammered against my ribs. Yet the suffocation only intensified with each passing moment.
Talia, struggling ‌‌‌to force air through ‌‌her constricted throat, could bear the sensation no longer and rose from her bedding.
Her splinted leg protested ‌‌‌‌with sharp pain, but ‌‌‌‌with breath threatening to abandon ‌her entirely, ‌‌she had no time for such concerns. Nearly tumbling from the carriage, Talia staggered forward with her mouth agape, desperately drawing in the night air.
Soon, a flickering glow caught her eye in the distance. Relief bloomed deep within her chest as she dragged her rigid, spasming leg toward the large barracks where a campfire burned.
At that moment, a cheerful voice tinged with mockery drifted on the wind.
"Divine punishment, that's what it is."
Talia froze mid-step.
A woman seated before the fire prodded at the logs with a long branch, speaking loudly and without restraint.
"Everyone knows it. That woman cursed The Princess. And ‌‌‌‌she did it by crashing into her birthday celebration and causing a scene!"
The handmaid's voice rose with excitement.
Talia studied the face illuminated by firelight intently. The ‌‌‌unfamiliar features suggested she was a servant attending to either Ayla or Gareth.
The handmaid took ‌‌a sip from her cup to wet her lips, then ‌‌‌resumed her animated gossip.
"Surely the heavens have punished her. Her own curse rebounded upon herself—it's nothing ‌‌but karma!"
"I heard she might become crippled. Is that true?"
"Very likely! A maid serving The Second Princess ‌‌told me her ‌‌‌leg bones shattered completely, and they had to ‌‌‌spend hours reassembling them like a puzzle."
Talia glanced down at her own leg with a flinch.
The woman's voice lowered slightly.
"And they say she has terrible ‌‌‌scars all over her body. Her skin is so twisted that even magic can't remove them cleanly. They say it looks absolutely grotesque—all mottled and discolored."
"At least we won't ‌‌‌‌‌‌have to see that woman strutting ‌‌‌‌through the Imperial Palace anymore."
"Exactly. Her only source of pride has been marred! How could she possibly maintain her arrogance with a body like that?"
Cruel laughter erupted ‌‌‌from various corners of the ‌‌‌gathering.
Talia, who had been standing motionless, dragged her leg forward until she emerged from behind the woman's back. ‌
Those who noticed her shadow went deathly pale. Yet the woman, still animated and babbling away, remained oblivious to her presence. She continued without pause.
"Her prospects for marriage ‌‌‌‌are ‌‌‌‌essentially ruined now. What noble house would take a woman who's both illegitimate and crippled—eek!"
The woman suddenly shrieked as her hair was seized ‌and wrenched backward.
Talia showed no mercy, gripping her tightly braided locks with brutal force. The woman's face drained of all color as shock and terror consumed her.
Looking down at her with cold satisfaction, Talia allowed a thin smile ‌to cross her lips.
"Why have you ‌‌‌stopped talking?"
"Y-Your Highness...."
"An illegitimate woman who's become crippled—what could possibly frighten you about her?"
The woman's eyes widened in horror. Her lips, which had been curved in mockery ‌‌moments before, now trembled with rough sobs.
"I-I'm sorry, Your Highness. I've committed such a ‌‌‌‌‌grave ‌‌‌transgression...."
"What ‌‌‌transgression have you committed?"
"I...."
The woman's lips quivered as she forced herself to continue.
"I-I spoke irreverently of The Princess, Your Highness. I b-beg your mercy and f-forgiveness...."
"If you've committed a wrong, you must face punishment. Why do you seek forgiveness first?" ‌‌
The woman's complexion had turned nearly ashen.
Talia stared ‌‌‌down at the ashen face before her, then turned her gaze to methodically sweep across those gathered around the campfire.
The handmaids, frozen like mice before a serpent, pressed their bodies flat to the ground. Among them, Talia spotted a Guard Knight tensed with ‌‌apprehension and gave a subtle nod of her chin.
"You. Come here."
The Guard Knight hesitated for a moment before reluctantly stepping forward to stand before her.
Talia dragged the woman ‌‌‌‌down by the hair she'd been gripping and forced her to kneel before the Guard Knight.
"She dared insult the Imperial Family with that three-inch tongue of hers. She must pay the price. Now, draw your sword and do what must be done."
The Guard Knight's shoulders visibly stiffened.
Gasping sobs poured from the woman's mouth. The Guard Knight looked down at her with a dark expression, ‌‌‌placed one hand over his chest, and bowed deeply.
"Your Highness, we are already stretched thin preparing for the funeral and tending to the wounded. If we carry out an execution now, it will cause unnecessary ‌‌‌chaos and unrest. Please, I beg you to set aside your anger."
"Are you defying my orders right now?"
The Guard Knight kept his mouth sealed and bowed his head even deeper.
At his silent acquiescence, Talia let out a bitter laugh before her face twisted with fury.
"If you won't do it, I will."
Talia hurled the woman's head away and lunged at the Guard Knight. Startled by her unexpected action, the man reflexively grabbed her shoulder. Talia glared at him with ‌‌blazing eyes.
"How dare you lay ‌hands on me without permission!"
The man jerked his hand away as if burned. Seizing that moment, Talia grasped the sword hilt hanging at his waist. ‌‌‌
But the longsword used by the Guard Knights was heavier than she'd anticipated, and her legs—weakened to the point of barely supporting her ‌‌‌own weight—gave way. As she drew the ‌‌blade, she lost her ‌‌‌‌balance and collapsed to the ground.
A terrible silence descended over that pathetic spectacle.
Talia clutched at her convulsing legs and looked upward.
The Guard Knight and handmaids filled her vision with their rigid expressions.
Ancient memories clawed through her mind. Dozens of ‌‌‌cold eyes staring down at me as I lay helplessly sprawled over my own vomit. The shame, the humiliation, and the primal terror of that day ignited my consciousness anew.
With trembling hands, I pushed against the ground and wrenched my upper body upright. I ‌‌‌‌wanted to rise to my feet and assert my dignity ‌‌‌‌and authority as The Princess, but my legs refused to obey.
As I ‌‌struggled to force my uncooperative ‌‌‌‌‌legs ‌‌‌to move, I caught sight of the woman standing nearby, staring down at me with a vacant gaze, and my face went rigid.
The ‌‌woman who had mocked me was now watching me crawl ‌on the ground.
I could not allow such a thing.
Fumbling across the dirt, I seized ‌‌a burning log from the fire. The searing heat scorched my fingers, but physical pain could never compare to the agony of a shattered pride.
I lashed the woman's face with the glowing log.
A piercing shriek tore from her throat.
Unsatisfied, I raised the log to strike again, when ‌‌‌a dark shadow erupted from the darkness and seized me.
I thrashed like a wild beast until a familiar scent reached me, and I froze. Barcas, holding me effortlessly with one arm, looked down at me with cold eyes.
Held captive by that gaze, breathing heavily, I watched as he wrenched the log from my hand and hurled it away. Just as he had seized my sword before, he was confiscating my weapon once again.
Resentment surged through me.
This man never stands with me.
He won't fight for me, yet he won't let me fight for myself either.

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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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