Chapter 19 :

Because she had driven away everyone sent from the main palace, there were currently fewer than ten maids belonging to the detached palace.

Even those few had been forbidden from coming anywhere near her, so the number of attendants she could bring with her could be counted on one hand.

For that reason, Thalia found herself in a position where she had to set out on a long journey surrounded by the servants Senevier had sent.

If she followed her temper, she would have driven them all away, but when she saw Gareth and Ayla with hundreds of attendants in tow, she could not bring herself to do so.

Thalia nervously bit her lip as she glared at the crowd surrounding the carriages of the Crown Prince and the First Princess.

For years, she had prevented anyone except Varkas and her nanny from coming near her because she hated having people loiter around her.

She had not wanted to keep beside her people who might try to trample her down at any moment and in any way.

But when she imagined her own shabby appearance, traveling with only three or four attendants while her two half-siblings each displayed the dignity of royalty to their hearts’ content with hundreds of servants in tow, her stomach churned.

In the end, Thalia had no choice but to accept the maids Senevier had sent.

But she could not let her guard down for even a moment, wondering what trick they might try to pull.

Thalia watched the people carrying her luggage with persistent focus, as though monitoring their every move.

Just then, a voice that sounded utterly exasperated came from nearby.

“Do you really intend to take all these belongings with you?”

She looked up sharply at the man who had somehow approached her side.

Not long after she had driven away the foolish guard knight who had cowered before the Crown Prince, the newly assigned knight would speak to her without hesitation like this.

And Thalia did not like that attitude of his.

She coldly asked the man, who was scratching the back of his head with an awkward expression,

“Do you have some complaint about my luggage?”

“I understand your desire to maintain dignity as a member of the imperial family. But is this not too excessive? Hundreds of dresses, expensive ornaments... Unless you intend to change clothes five times a day, this is unnecessary baggage.”

“You know nothing. I intend to change clothes not five times a day, but ten times if necessary. If I travel in a carriage all day, I will be covered in dust, and I have no intention of wearing dirty clothes on my body for even a moment.”

“What kind of joke is that...”

The knight let out an awkward laugh.

It seemed he still had not realized that she never spoke idly.

Leaving the foolish-looking man behind, Thalia walked toward the carriage she would be riding.

Her carriage, positioned at the rear of the long line, was as large and splendid as the Crown Prince’s.

The door and roof were lavishly decorated with gold and ivory, and inside was a seat wide enough to be used as a bed.

On top of it lay thick wool felt and cushions made of silk.

She climbed into the carriage and drew back the curtain spread behind the seat.

Then a fairly spacious dressing area and a large storage cabinet came into view.

Thalia opened the drawer connected to the luggage compartment and carefully checked inside.

She had brought every dress made from the finest fabrics she owned and every kind of ornament, but not a single thing satisfied her.

If she wanted to stand out more than Ayla, this was not enough.

She rummaged through the drawers wildly, then nervously bit her lower lip.

Should I have stolen the diamond necklace Senevier said she received from the Emperor?

No.

I should have brought Mother’s entire jewelry box.

Senevier seemed to want her to ruin Ayla’s engagement.

Was that not why she had provoked her so openly?

If Thalia had asked her to lend clothes and jewels in order to fulfill her purpose, she would surely have done so gladly.

‘Should I go to the Empress’s Palace even now?’

Thalia looked down at the drawers with anxious eyes, then soon stepped down from the carriage.

Then, just as she turned her steps toward Senevier’s residence, she saw Varkas among the soldiers, dressed in the uniform of the Roem Knights.

Thalia stopped walking as though frozen.

There were about one hundred and fifty other men in the same uniform in the castle courtyard, yet in Thalia’s eyes, only Varkas was visible.

Her persistent gaze clung obsessively to his straight back, broad shoulders, and faintly shining ash-blond hair.

Varkas was crossing the courtyard with disciplined steps, giving instructions to his subordinates.

It seemed he was inspecting the procession before departure.

Thalia swallowed dryly.

The closer Varkas came, the more her throat stung, as though she had swallowed a handful of glass shards.

His indifferent gaze, which had been moving along the long procession that began at the castle gate, finally fixed on her carriage.

Even from quite a distance away, Thalia could see a faint crease form between his brows.

It was the expression he always made whenever he faced her.

That cold face, which hurt her terribly every single moment, slowly drew closer.

“Have you still not finished preparing for departure?”

Varkas rebuked her guard knight without even looking at her.

The man scratched the back of his head with an awkward expression.

“As you can see, I think we will have to procure one more luggage wagon.”

At the knight’s sighing reply, Varkas’s pale-blue eyes turned toward the servants who were struggling to somehow cram the mountain of luggage into the carriage.

Thalia could see a hint of irritation spreading over his expressionless face.

Only then did his gaze finally reach her.

“This procession is scheduled to pass through six major cities. Anything necessary can be procured along the way, so reduce the useless baggage.”

She lifted her head stiffly on purpose.

“No. How would I know what I will need?”

“It will be clothes and ornaments anyway, will it not?”

He spoke in a dry tone.

“There are many cities in the northwest where commerce and industry have developed. You will be able to buy as many things as you wish later, so stop exhausting the servants before we have even set out.”

Thalia snorted.

“Don’t make me laugh. You intend to make me look like an immoral princess indulging in luxury during a pilgrimage so I’ll be compared to Ayla, don’t you? Do you think I’ll fall for that?”

“When have you ever cared about your reputation...?”

The corners of his mouth twisted faintly, as though he found it absurd.

“To begin with, no one will place you and Her Highness the First Princess side by side for comparison. So put aside that useless concern.”

Those were words she would rather die than hear from his mouth.

Thalia raised her hand with a surge of emotion on her face.

But Varkas was not someone who would stand still and let himself be struck.

Varkas swiftly seized her wrist and jerked his chin toward the servants.

“Leave only the truly necessary items and unload the rest. We depart in fifteen minutes, so hurry.”

“Who gave you the right!”

Thalia screamed as though throwing a tantrum, struggling desperately to pull her captured arm free.

But the man did not budge.

Thalia, enraged to the limit, kicked his shin and shrieked.

“How dare someone like you decide whether my belongings are unloaded or not? Do you already think you have become someone important? You are not a Grand Duke yet! You are nothing more than a guard knight belonging to the imperial family! A mere knight dares to treat an imperial princess of the Empire...!”

“What are you doing instead of hurrying?”

Without even acknowledging Thalia, who was causing a scene, he cast a cold gaze at the servants.

Then the servants, who had been awkwardly watching for cues, hurriedly began unloading the luggage from the carriage.

Nothing could have shown more clearly that Varkas’s orders, as the future Grand Duke of the East and commander-in-chief of the Imperial Guard, held more weight than the orders of a princess in name only.

Thalia glared at the servants with eyes full of malice, then lost her reason and lunged at one of the maids.

“Take your hands off my luggage right now! If even one of my things is missing, I’ll hang every last one of you by the neck...!”

Her words could not continue.

Varkas lifted her up with one arm and shoved her into the carriage as though clearing away a troublesome piece of baggage.

Forced to sit on the carriage seat, Thalia’s face turned bright red with rage.

Varkas was a man whose bones were filled with loyalty to the imperial family.

He would never carelessly lay a hand on Ayla’s body.

The reason this man could treat her so roughly was because he did not think of her as true royalty.

She was so furious that her eyes grew hot.

It was unbearably miserable that the man who was always so courteous to her half-sister became endlessly rude only to her.