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Chapter 9
The moment Talia opened her eyes, she groomed herself with unprecedented care. She endured the handmaids' rough scrubbing with stiff, harsh brushes until her skin flushed crimson, and she bore the relentless combing that ‌‌made her scalp ‌‌sting. Every touch was a small agony, yet I accepted it without complaint.
After completing ‌‌‌my toilette, I retrieved the velvet dress that my Maternal Grandfather had given me for the first time on the day I left Taren Family Estate—a gift accompanied by his perpetually disapproving gaze. ‌‌
Gazing into the mirror, I saw the reflection of an angelic child with ‌‌‌‌a beautiful face. If Senebier were turned back to ‌‌‌nine years old, I imagined she would look exactly like this.
I stared at my deep blue eyes—the same shade as Mother's—through the mirror, then stepped from the room with resolute determination. But the boy who always trained at this hour was nowhere to be found today. ‌‌‌
After evading ‌‌my Attendant and wandering the castle's inner courtyard for some time, my shoulders sagged with disappointment. The ‌‌thought that ‌‌‌‌‌I might never see him again, that this moment might slip ‌‌‌away forever, made my vision darken.
I couldn't understand why I was ‌‌‌‌‌‌so obsessed with someone I'd spoken to only once.
No. In truth, I knew. On that rain-soaked day, he could have simply ignored a mud-covered child and walked past. But he didn't.
He stepped into the pit, dirtying his clothes and shoes, and pulled me out.
He wrapped my body—cold from the rain—in his warm arms ‌and gazed into my eyes for a long time. ‌‌‌‌
He cradled a dying, pitiful bird as though it were precious, and brought it to his own quarters.
That alone was enough to become my hope.
Talia walked tirelessly along the perimeter of a building that soared so high it seemed to touch the heavens.
The Imperial Palace was ‌‌like the belly of a colossal beast. It was so vast and labyrinthine that even after months of living here, new places I'd never seen before appeared endlessly.
I wandered through a garden thick with flowers and trees for some time, then ‌‌‌passed ‌‍‌through a wide Training Ground ‌‌‌and moved toward the rear of the Main Palace.
My legs, which had been moving without rest from early morning until noon, throbbed with pain. Blisters had formed, and with each step, my soles burned as though touching flame.
I wiped away the beads of sweat trickling down my forehead and gazed up at the blue sky through the dense canopy of leaves.
How long had I ‌‌stood there? Just as I straightened myself to return to the Secondary Palace, I glimpsed a boy's slender silhouette between the towering ‌‌‌birches. My eyes brightened with joy.
Despite the considerable distance, I recognized him instantly. The way he walked with his back straight and his movements fluid and graceful—so agile and elegant that no one could dare imitate.
I ‌‌immediately ‌‌‌‌began to chase after him. But no matter how fast I ran, the distance between us didn't narrow.
I realized he was moving with urgency. Where was he going in such haste?
I considered calling out to him, but my breath caught in my throat and no voice came. In the end, I lost him.
With a deflated expression, I sank down with my back against a tree trunk. Needles of sunlight ‌‌‌pierced through the sweat ‌on my face.
As I gazed upward through the dense ‌‌leaves with squinted ‌‌eyes, a faint laugh mingled with the ‌‌‌breeze. It was a sound like a small ‌‌‌bird chirping.
I rose and walked slowly ‌‌toward the source of the sound.
Passing ‌‌‌‌between densely packed birches and lush undergrowth, a ‌‌beautiful Flower Bed came into view—lavender, marigold, and white baby's breath blooming in profusion—along with a pristine Marble Pavilion and a small Fountain. It was a garden as lovely as a fairy's palace.
I gazed around the enchanting landscape, where golden particles seemed to dance in the air. Then I spotted the boy kneeling on one knee ‌before ‌a marble chair.
He was not alone. Across from him sat a lovely ‌‌girl who appeared to be his age. She had silken dark chestnut hair and rosy cheeks—a cute little girl.
As she chattered incessantly, a faint smile played at the boy's lips. Seeing that expression, my chest stung as though pierced by something sharp. It felt as though my own treasure had been stolen.
I knew ‌such ‌‌‌feelings were irrational.
To all appearances, the two of them seemed to have known each other for a long time. Meanwhile, I was merely a stranger.
So I resolved to approach them and introduce myself politely. I ‌‌‌‌wanted to somehow wedge myself into the warm air that ‌‌surrounded them. Above all, I wanted to make the boy's blue eyes and faint smile turn toward me.
Driven by that intense impulse, I stepped out from behind the ‌‌undergrowth and approached ‌‌the Fountain, which spouted its stream ‌‌of water. Then the boy's beautiful silver-blue eyes and a pair of clear emerald eyes turned toward me.
Having never interacted with children my own age, I felt my mouth suddenly go dry.
But I was ‌the Imperial Princess. The thought occurred to me that no one would dare refuse if I offered to be their friend.
I lifted my chin with feigned confidence and greeted them boldly.
"Hello?"
The boy simply stared at ‌‌‌‌me without ‌‌moving.
Did he not recognize me? When we first met, I was covered in mud, so perhaps my appearance dressed as a princess seemed unfamiliar to him.
Just as I was about to mention what had happened months ago when he helped me, the girl sitting there with a vacant expression suddenly let out a shrill scream.
"No! No! Not here! Anywhere but here!"
Her voice was raw, desperate—the cry of ‌‌‌someone confronting a terrible nightmare.
The terrified girl threw herself toward the boy, her eyes wide with fear.
"Please, Barcas! Drive her away from this place! Don't let her set foot here again! I never want to see her face ever again!"
Her frail arms wrapped around the boy's neck.
The boy held the sobbing girl protectively against him, his narrow shoulders trembling violently as he cast a cold glare over ‌them toward Talia. She stumbled backward.
His voice dropped to a menacing whisper.
"Get out. Now."
Talia stared blankly at ‌his icy expression for a moment before spinning around and running.
It felt as ‌‌though ice water had been poured over my ‌‌‌‌‌head from crown to toe. My mind went numb, incapable of coherent thought.
I ran and ran—how long, I couldn't say—until something brutally seized my hair near the Main Palace. My head snapped backward, my body lurching violently off balance. Before I could even comprehend what was happening, a heavy impact slammed into me.
I curled around my aching stomach and tumbled across the grass.
"How dare you set foot in such a place!"
An angry, youthful voice rang out sharply above me.
I looked up ‌‌‌‌‌in shock. A boy I'd never seen before glared down at me with fury.
Dark black hair and eyes like ‌‌blazing green fire. I could tell his face bore a striking resemblance to the girl I'd just seen, but I had no idea when he'd started chasing me or why he was so enraged.
Stunned and frozen by this ‌‌‌first assault in my life, I barely registered when the boy kicked my abdomen again.
"Die!"
The impact flashed white across my vision. I curled into a ball and coughed violently.
The boy continued his assault, kicking me as though I were a small ball.
"Die! Die! Just die!"
His screams pierced my eardrums like long nails. His curses and violence didn't stop until servants came running in alarm at the sight.
I crawled along the ‌‌‌ground like an insect, dodging his savage kicks. ‌‌‌‌Even after beating me, his rage unsated, the boy—held back by two Attendants gripping his arms—roared like a beast.
"Disappear from ‌‌‌‌this world! You filthy bastard!"

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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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