***
Contrary to her expectations, the journey continued smoothly.
Night after night, thick as tar, passed, yet morning came without anyone being drenched in blood, and before the sun climbed high into the sky, they packed their belongings and set out again.
The schedule was delayed little by little because the soldiers, exhausted by the sweltering heat, fell behind, but the pilgrimage proceeded without any major trouble.
The procession, led by Gareth and his personal guards, arrived at the small city of Sortica in the northwest on the fifth day after leaving the imperial palace, and after spending a day there, moved north again.
During that time, Thalia kept a burning watch over the attendants Senevier had sent.
They were pretending to be so loyal it was revolting, but Thalia did not let go of her suspicion toward them for even a single moment.
They were only waiting for the right time.
It was obvious that something terrible would happen soon.
Was there not always an ominous conspiracy following like a shadow behind anything Senevier was involved in?
If not today, then tomorrow.
If not tomorrow, then the day after...
Soon, a horrific scene would unfold before her eyes.
Thalia did not know whether she feared it or anticipated it.
Whenever she saw Varkas, who treated her so coldly, act endlessly gentle toward Ayla, she wished some terrible tragedy would happen at once.
If the two of them were reduced to such a gruesome state that even their own siblings could not recognize them, she felt as though her heart would finally be relieved.
Rather than seeing him standing beside Ayla, it would be a hundred times better to see his corpse.
But once night deepened, a suffocating fear swept over her.
No matter how many hundreds of times she repeated that she did not care if a man like him died, it was no use.
Thalia, who had trembled with anxiety all night, rushed out of her tent before the day had even fully brightened.
Then, relying on the dim light of dawn, she went looking for him.
Only after confirming with her own eyes that Varkas was alive and breathing did she feel as though she would finally be able to breathe.
She hurried along a narrow path overgrown with bushes, then stopped abruptly only when she heard the sound of a horse snorting.
When she pushed through the thick bushes, she saw a gray stallion with a black mane hanging down.
Varkas, who had skillfully led the huge horse to the spring, knelt on one knee on the ground.
Then he pulled the reins, guiding the horse to lower its head toward the water’s surface, and with his other hand, scooped up spring water and wet the stallion’s long, sturdy neck.
The sunlight seeping through the dense leaves dyed his hair beautifully silver.
Thalia watched the scene with bated breath, then soon closed her eyes in despair.
No matter how many times she carved it out, her love for Varkas grew like a tumor and ate away at her.
She could not see any way out of this mire.
How could she shake off this feeling?
Thalia, who had been leaning against a large tree and staring blankly up at the sky, turned around weakly.
Then she saw Ayla walking along the path and hurriedly hid behind the tree.
Perhaps she had come outside as soon as she rose from bed, because she wore only a single robe over a thin dress, with her long hair hanging over her shoulders.
She looked just as disheveled as Thalia.
No, even more disheveled than Thalia.
And yet Ayla still looked noble and dignified.
Perhaps there was something in that woman’s blood that Thalia could never possess, even if she died trying.
“So this is where you were.”
Ayla, whose cheeks held a rosy warmth, carefully approached him and sat on a flat rock.
Varkas’s gaze reached her.
As though even that calm gaze was unbearably pleasing, Ayla softened the corners of her eyes and carefully took off her shoes.
Then she dipped her feet into the spring water and lightly splashed droplets.
The sound of the horse snorting, the splashing of water, and the cheerful laughter like birdsong melted into the cold dawn air.
Thalia suppressed the urge to rush out at once and seize her half-sister by the hair.
She also endured the urge to tear apart the lips that smiled at him and rip out the tongue that chattered at him.
She did not want to see Varkas try to protect Ayla, not even if she died.
Soon, after Ayla had enjoyed splashing in the water to her satisfaction, she reached out her hand toward him.
Instead of taking that hand and helping her up, Varkas bent down and wiped her feet.
Then, as though he were a loyal servant, he carefully put her shoes on.
The sight became a dagger and seemed to stab her heart.
Thalia turned around and began to run.
Tree branches and blades of grass scratched her arms and calves wildly, but she could feel no pain.
It was as though all her sensory organs had broken.
She gasped harshly and raced through the winding forest path like a racehorse.
Then her foot caught on a protruding tree root, and she tumbled to the ground.
Buried in the bushes, her chest rising and falling, Thalia suddenly burst into laughter.
What would Senevier say if she saw her like this?
She would probably furrow her beautiful brow and shake her head.
It felt as though her mocking voice could be heard from somewhere.
“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.”
She seemed to want Thalia to become some temptress and seduce him, but Thalia could never become like Senevier, even if she died.
If it were her, she would have seized what she wanted by any means necessary.
But Thalia did not know what she should do, other than pray for this painful time to end as soon as possible.
Thalia, who had been looking up at the sky broken into fragments between the tree branches, soon rose to her feet.
When she left the dark forest path with weary steps, she saw several knights wandering around in confusion.
As she passed them and approached the carriage, the guard knight called Ruin or something quickly blocked her way.
“Where on earth have you been without saying a single word? I have told you over and over that you must not walk around alone without an escort...”
The knight, who had been pouring out insolent nagging, suddenly stopped speaking.
He seemed quite shocked by her disheveled appearance.
“What on earth... What happened to you? Don’t tell me you were attacked somewhere?”
She passed by him and stepped onto the carriage footboard.
But the man seemed to have no intention of stopping his nagging.
He gripped the doorframe and continued in a stiff tone.
“I have a duty to protect Your Highness. So...”
“If someone saw you, they might think you were truly worried about me.”
Thalia looked down at him mockingly.
“It seems you were ordered not to take your eyes off the wicked princess for even a moment, but if you are going to monitor me, you should stay properly alert. Why are you blaming me when you lost me because you were stupidly spacing out?”
The man closed his mouth tightly, as though struck speechless.
Thalia slammed the door in his face.
The man, whose fingers had been caught in the door, spat out a rough curse.
Since he was wearing gauntlets, it seemed he had not been seriously hurt, but he must have felt no small amount of pain, because his grumbling continued for quite a while.
As always, she ignored all the complaints coming from outside.
If she had listened carefully to every word uttered by those around her, she would have gone mad long ago.
After becoming a princess, the first thing she learned was how to let words pass by.
Thalia drew the thick curtain over the glass window where the morning dawn was shining in and curled up like a hedgehog.
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