Chapter 18 :

As she passed in front of the main palace, she saw the servants who recognized her hurriedly press their heads to the ground.

Were they afraid the infamous Second Princess would start a scuffle with them?

Thalia passed by the maids who looked shocked to see her appear without notice and stepped into the Empress’s Palace, which was more splendidly decorated than any other castle in the imperial palace.

At sunset, Senevier usually enjoyed dinner with the Emperor in the main palace or spent quiet time in the Empress’s Palace.

Thalia thought it would be the latter today.

Just as she had expected, Senevier was resting in the secret workshop behind her private study.

Thalia went down to the basement through the entrance between the bookshelves and smelled the dizzying scents of various medicinal herbs, strong aromatic oils, and faint smoke tickling her nose.

In the wide room, where purple particles seemed to float in the air, medicine bottles containing all kinds of alchemical ingredients and various tools for experiments were scattered about.

Beside the large blazing fireplace, books written in the languages of all kinds of races were stacked in layers.

It was such a chaotic scene that it was hard to believe this was the room of her mother, who always dealt only with precious and splendid things.

But Thalia crossed the room familiarly and walked toward the desk where Senevier sat.

She was leaning back against a chair thickly lined with velvet cushions and reading a parchment scroll.

Seeing her mother act as though she had not even noticed her made Thalia’s stomach burn as though she had swallowed a ball of fire.

Thalia bent over the desk and spat out stiffly through her teeth,

“Asros came to see me just now.”

Only then did those dark-blue eyes finally fly toward her.

Thalia continued cynically,

“According to him, I am soon to be married.”

“I had no idea Asros was interested in you.”

Senevier put down the parchment and spoke indifferently.

Seeing her mother focus on her younger brother to the very end stirred the urge in Thalia to grab things and hurl them wildly.

Thalia gripped the hem of her skirt and barely forced that violent desire down.

“Why did I have to learn about my own marriage through that child? And what is this about me joining the pilgrimage? Just what kind of scheme are you plotting?”

“A scheme? How unpleasant to hear.”

Senevier let out a small sigh and rose from her seat.

For a moment, Thalia was entranced by her flawless, elegant movements, then looked warily at her mother’s face, where a gentle smile lingered.

Senevier spoke cheerfully in the voice of an innocent girl.

“You are about due for marriage as well. A proposal came in from a suitable partner at a suitable time, so I simply moved things forward.”

“Is that suitable partner the snake-like man called Serian or whatever?”

Thalia twisted the corners of her mouth as she recalled the slick-looking man who had escorted her at the dinner party.

“Of course, Mother must have thoroughly verified him inside and out, yes?”

“If you are asking whether Serian can perform as a man... yes, he can. That man possesses rather excellent talents in that regard. If you wish, he will gladly serve you.”

The words she had thrown out to mock her mother’s history with men came back as an even more horrifying counterattack, and Thalia completely lost the composure she had barely been maintaining.

Every word Senevier spoke seemed to turn into spiders crawling over her skin.

Thalia screamed,

“I don’t need a disgusting man like that! I would rather bite my tongue and die than let that man lay a hand on my body!”

“Oh dear...”

Senevier cupped one cheek and sighed as though regretful.

“Then I will try to find another bridegroom. I was already narrowing down a list of other suitable candidates.”

She pointed to the parchment on the desk.

Thalia recognized several names written on it and shuddered.

They were all Senevier’s fanatical followers.

Was this woman planning to make one of the men who desired her into her daughter’s husband?

Anger and fear mixed together in her stomach and boiled up.

“I don’t want to get married at all! Don’t pretend to care now. Please, just leave me alone like you always have!”

“Does that mean... you refuse any man other than the heir of Grand Duke Siarkan?”

Thalia, struck in the vital point without warning, stepped back with a pale face.

Senevier pulled up the corners of her mouth and sharply flicked her viper-like tongue.

“If you wanted him that badly, you should have used every means available to take him. I kept that man by your side for seven whole years. What on earth were you doing all that time?”

She shook her head as though Thalia were pathetic.

“Now the man you wanted will become another woman’s possession in a few months. Do you intend to simply stand by and watch that happen?”

Thalia’s shoulders trembled.

It horrified her that Senevier had seen so clearly into her heart.

Senevier silently studied her daughter’s pale face, then put on the mask of a benevolent mother again.

Then she continued in a coaxing, affectionate manner.

“Thalia, I planned this entirely for your sake. To show my precious daughter a way out of her present miserable situation.”

Long, white fingers softly brushed around her cheek.

It felt like a white snake crawling over her skin.

Thalia stiffened as though paralyzed.

Senevier stared into her frightened daughter’s face and whispered softly, like a feather.

“You have two paths. One is to use every means possible to take the man you want. The other is to become a loser who is at least a little less miserable.”

Her soft voice clung stickily to Thalia’s ear like thick tree sap.

“I chose the former method and took everything I wanted. But if you do not have the ability to do that, then choosing another reasonably satisfactory partner and pretending to be as happy as a victor is also one method. It is somewhat pathetic, but if you are going to be the loser anyway, would it not be better to at least preserve your pride?”

Thalia hastily pulled away from her like a beast escaping a trap.

Senevier gave her daughter a kind smile.

“This journey is the last chance I am giving you. Think carefully about which path you will choose.”

Thalia shot her a defiant look, then soon fled the laboratory as though running away.

A cheerful laugh like birdsong chased after her like a shadow.

That sound clung to her mind for a long time and would not disappear.

***

In the end, Thalia came to set out on a journey with the half-siblings who hated her.

Thanks to the Empress’s Palace providing all the manpower and equipment needed for the journey, there was nothing she had to worry about separately.

Senevier had even tried to attach her private soldiers and high-ranking mages to Thalia as escorts.

But this fell through due to Gareth’s fierce opposition.

The Crown Prince was already furious enough at having to go on a journey with his eyesore of a half-sister.

There was no way he would obediently follow an order to take the Empress’s subordinates along as well.

According to what she heard, Gareth had personally gone to the Emperor and argued fiercely with him to have Senevier’s order withdrawn.

It was a good thing for Thalia.

She too had not the slightest intention of spending the journey surrounded by her mother’s fanatics.

‘For my sake? Don’t make me laugh...’

Thalia glared at the servants loading luggage onto the carriage and tore off a hangnail beside her nail.

There was no way Senevier would go through such troublesome work for her sake.

She must have some other hidden scheme.

With suspicious eyes, she examined the servants sent from the Empress’s Palace.