Chapter 79
“P-pleased to meet you, Your Highness. I will serve you with all my heart from now on.”
Thalia looked the unreliable-looking girl over with a sharp gaze. At a glance, she seemed like a clumsy maid.
Had they assigned a newcomer to her to establish dominance?
She snapped in a cold tone.
“My nanny will attend to all my needs. So call her instead.”
“By nanny, do you mean that dwarf-blooded woman?”
The woman who had introduced herself as Areta frowned.
“I am sorry, but Your Highness will become the lady of the East from now on. You must keep attendants suitable to your station.”
Reading the contempt in her voice, Thalia raised the corners of her eyes.
“My nanny has even attended the Empress. Surely you do not think a Grand Duchess ranks higher than the Empress?”
The woman’s face stiffened.
Thalia pressed her sharply.
“Can’t you hear me telling you to bring my nanny at once?”
The woman, who had been holding out with her mouth tightly shut, soon bowed her head.
“Understood. I will leave your grooming to the attendant Your Highness brought with you, so please summon us when the preparations are complete. We will show you around the castle.”
“I don’t need a tour.”
At the ruthless refusal, the woman’s face visibly stiffened.
Thalia continued coldly, paying it no mind.
“Have you forgotten that I traveled a long distance? I intend to rest in my room for several days, so do not disturb me.”
The head maid’s lips twitched as if she wanted to say something, but she soon took the young maid and swept outside.
Thalia was inwardly angered by that insolent attitude, but she did not want to hear criticism that she had started tormenting the servants from the very first day.
Thalia threw herself down on the bed.
A short while later, the nanny entered the room yawning, her hair disheveled and even with sleep crust in her eyes.
Annoyance rose at that undignified appearance. Was it any wonder she was openly looked down on when she went around looking like that?
Thalia shouted in a sharp voice.
“What is with that sloppy face! Wash your face at once.”
“Oh my, why are you throwing a tantrum so early in the morning again?”
The nanny pouted, then poured water into the basin prepared by the window and washed her face.
Then, after roughly combing down her hair with her plump hands, she began lighting the fireplace.
Meanwhile, two strongly built workers brought in a large bathtub filled with water.
Once they placed the tub behind the screen and left, Thalia firmly locked the bedroom door and stepped into the bathtub.
The nanny immediately took a soft towel and soap and washed her thoroughly.
Her skin turned red from the rough touch that seemed as though the nanny was simply getting an annoying task over with, but Thalia endured it with effort.
Compared to showing her scars to strangers, being treated a little roughly was a hundred times better.
She dried herself with a towel, trying not to attach too much meaning to the nanny’s attitude, which had grown noticeably colder after her body was ruined.
“None of the clothes fit. It seems you’ve lost too much weight.”
The nanny sighed deeply as she dressed her in a splendid silk dress.
Thalia finally could not hold back and spat out a word.
“Stop sighing. I hate hearing it.”
“Can’t I even breathe as I please?”
“I’m telling you not to sigh while looking at me! You keep doing that because you hate the sight of me.”
The nanny said nothing in reply. Thalia, who had secretly hoped she would deny it, glared at her with sorrowful eyes.
The nanny was the person who had played the role of mother in Senevier’s place. Had she not cared for Thalia since she was a baby who could not even speak?
The fact that even that nanny found her appearance hideous tore through her insides.
Swallowing the sorrow that had risen to her throat, Thalia pushed her toward the door.
“That’s enough, so leave.”
“All right. I’ll leave, so stop pushing me.”
The nanny roughly shook off her hand and left without hesitation.
Once she was alone, the anger that had been boiling up immediately changed into anxiety.
In this foreign land, the only person she could trust and rely on was the nanny.
If even she turned her back on her, Thalia would be completely isolated.
She suddenly regretted losing her temper. She should have endured it a little more…
“Your Highness, I have come by the Young Master’s command. May I enter for a moment?”
As she nervously bit her lip, an unfamiliar voice came from outside the door.
Thalia hesitated briefly, then opened her mouth.
“Come in.”
As soon as the answer fell, a young woman with dark wheat-colored skin opened the door and entered.
“It is an honor to meet you, Your Highness. My name is Tiuran. I have come under the Young Master’s order to examine Your Highness’s health closely.”
Thalia slowly looked her over with wary eyes.
She was a pretty woman with long, strong-looking limbs, taut skin that made her seem around thirty, and intelligent-looking dark brown eyes.
“You are the healer of the Grand Duke’s house?”
“That is correct.”
The woman answered calmly.
Thalia wore a suspicious expression. She seemed far too young to be the healer of the most powerful family in the East.
Perhaps reading her distrust, the woman’s smile faded slightly.
The healer carefully asked,
“I heard that you suffer from chronic pain due to a severe injury to your legs. May I examine the injured area for a moment?”
Thalia instinctively stepped back.
She had not the slightest intention of showing her scars to someone she was seeing for the first time in her life.
“I already have a personal healer. So go attend to some other matter.”
“But the Young Master…”
“I’ll speak to Varkas, so leave now.”
The woman gently bit her lower lip as if thinking about something, then carefully opened her mouth.
“If you are uncomfortable showing me your legs, could you hold out your hand for a moment?”
“Why my hand?”
“I will send mana through your hand and examine the inside of your body. After checking Your Highness’s physical condition, I will prepare medicine suited to your constitution.”
Thalia frowned. She had never even heard of such a strange method of diagnosis.
“Can you really do something like that?”
“I have trained to become a healer of my clan since I was seven. If you grant me just one chance, I will do my utmost to help Your Highness.”
The woman seemed sincere.
After carefully studying her face, Thalia decided to take a chance and held out her hand.
The woman wrapped Thalia’s palm in her firm, calloused hand.
She flinched in surprise at the rough texture like tree bark, but soon felt warmth spreading like a current along her palm.
Thalia trembled at the strange sensation, then felt the lukewarm heat spread all the way into her stomach and abruptly shook off her hand.
The woman stared intently at her face, a crease forming between her brows as if thinking about something.
“Before you begin rehabilitation treatment for your legs, it seems you must recover your strength first. Your body is greatly weakened.”
“…What am I supposed to do?”
“First, you must eat and sleep well. I will prepare medicine that will help, so please take it properly every day.”
Thalia, who had expected there might be some different treatment method, wore a disappointed expression.
“I didn’t give you my time just to hear something so obvious.”
“……”
“That’s enough, so leave now. As you said, my strength is weakened, so I need to rest.”
When she lay down on the bed just like that, the woman left the room as if she had no choice.
Thalia pulled the blanket over her shoulders and tried to sleep off what she had missed. But before long, the pain that had been quiet gradually began climbing up through her bones.
After tossing and turning, Thalia eventually could not endure it and shook the bell.
Not long afterward, the young maid she had been introduced to earlier ran in. She could not remember the girl’s name.
Thalia arrogantly jerked her chin toward her.
“Call the healer I brought from the Imperial Palace at once.”
***
A cold wind swept roughly across the wide plain.
Holding the reins, Varkas passed through the pastureland and turned his head to slowly look around his homeland.
The last time he had set foot on this land was ten years ago, when he heard news of the death of Thessalin, the mother of Lucas and Raina.
At that time, this land had been entirely gray.
Because he had not visited Kalmor since then, the homeland in his memory had always remained colorless.
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