But the door would not budge.
After pulling at the doorknob again and again, Thalia realized it had been latched from the inside and clenched her teeth.
‘Damn you, Ayla...’
The anger she had suppressed all night boiled up as though it might explode at any moment.
Thalia chewed at her scabbed lips and glared at the tightly closed door, then soon turned around.
Perhaps this was for the best.
If she acted impulsively without any preparation and, by some chance, failed, she would be the only one to die a dog’s death.
She had to prepare more thoroughly before putting it into action.
There was still a long road ahead, so she would be able to seize an opportunity soon.
She steadied her ragged breathing and quickly left the corridor.
Then, just as she was going down the stairs and heading toward her room, she heard a rattling sound from somewhere.
She hurriedly hid behind a pillar.
A faint shadow stretched across the corridor, where the dawn light was beginning to seep in little by little.
Hidden in the darkness, Thalia carefully stuck out her head and looked down the corridor.
A slender woman was standing in front of the door to the room right beside the one where she was staying.
Thalia narrowed her eyes and studied the woman’s face.
She was a middle-aged woman with dark brown hair and plain features.
Only after a while did Thalia recognize her as one of the attendants her mother had assigned to her.
The woman carefully closed the door, pulled a dark brown hood over her head, and slipped soundlessly out of the corridor.
Thalia stared hard at her retreating figure, then soon followed her.
The woman left the building and walked swiftly along the muddy path where puddles had gathered.
Judging by her quick movements, she seemed to have received espionage training.
After looking around carefully, the woman stopped near the small rear garden behind the main hall.
Thalia hid behind an arcade pillar and watched the woman secretly.
The woman stood in front of the pavilion for a long while as though waiting for someone, then spotted something and moved quickly.
Following her movement with her eyes, Thalia narrowed them when she saw a priest in a black monk’s robe slowly walking out from the darkness.
His face looked familiar, so he seemed to be one of the monks who had attended the banquet.
The monk, who looked about forty, took out something like a small medicine bottle from his robe and handed it to the woman.
The woman accepted it, opened the lid, checked the contents, then closed the stopper again and slipped it into the inside of her robe sleeve.
Then she turned around and began retracing the path she had come from.
Thalia hurriedly ran toward the lodging building.
When she rushed up the stairs and darted into her bedroom, the strength drained from her legs.
Leaning her back against the door and catching her breath, Thalia listened to the presence outside.
A moment later, she heard a door open and close, and then everything around her became silent as death.
Thalia swallowed dryly.
She could not know exactly what the scene she had witnessed meant.
What was that monk?
Was he Mother’s secret collaborator?
If so, what had he handed over?
Could they be planning an assassination by poison?
She forced saliva down her tightly constricted throat.
If it was poison, it could be obtained easily enough without help from an outsider.
If they had to obtain it through such a complicated method, that meant it was something that could not even be brought into the capital.
‘What on earth is she plotting?’
She laid out all kinds of guesses in her head.
But no clear picture formed.
‘What is certain is that something enormous is about to happen.’
Senevier always accomplished whatever she set her mind to.
If she had decided to remove her longtime obstacles, then the Crown Prince was already as good as dead.
With luck, Ayla would disappear from this world as well.
Feeling her heart pound violently with excitement, Thalia wore a satisfied smile.
***
The long, tedious journey began again.
The escort force, made up of hundreds of knights and infantrymen, moved silently beneath the blazing sun.
At this pace, they would be able to cross the border of the old Osiria Kingdom in ten days.
Edrick Lubon, who had spread open a map and was estimating the remaining distance, turned his head and looked at the carriage, which was as quiet as a coffin.
As always, the princess had drawn thick curtains over the windows and remained shut inside.
He rode his horse beside the carriage and carefully studied the faint shadow reflected on the curtain.
The scorching heat was making even the horses pant.
He worried she might be found steamed to death inside the carriage.
“Your Highness, how about airing the carriage for a moment?”
“...Get lost.”
Fortunately, it seemed she was still breathing.
Edrick let out a small sigh and rode toward the front.
At the very head of the procession, as always, was the Crown Prince, seated atop a Nornec Mountain golden horse.
Edrick carefully examined his face.
Gareth’s face was flushed red, and he was snapping irritably at Sir Siarkan about something.
From what Edrick could hear, he seemed to be demanding to know when they would be able to rest.
‘This is going to be a difficult journey.’
For the next few days, rough fields and mountain terrain, no different from wasteland, would continue.
Could the endlessly difficult Crown Prince endure such a harsh journey?
Edrick shook his head and approached Varkas.
His superior was letting the Crown Prince’s complaints go in one ear and out the other while studying the road with a cautious gaze.
He did not seem to care at all, no matter how much the future ruler of the Empire shouted beside him.
Feeling newly impressed by his superior’s attitude, Edrick carefully opened his mouth.
“Sir Siarkan, the soldiers seem very exhausted from the heat. It is a little early, but how about finding a suitable place and resting?”
Varkas, who had been riding silently while looking only ahead, turned to him.
Without realizing it, Edrick tensed his body.
Not once had he ever seen this man become agitated or raise his voice.
Even so, Edrick always felt a strange pressure whenever he stood before Varkas.
He swallowed dryly and added in a rush,
“Forgive me if it was an impertinent suggestion. It seems the rear line keeps falling behind...”
“If we go about half an hour more, there will be a lake. We will rest there.”
Varkas cut off his words.
Edrick stared at him blankly for a moment, then soon bowed his head.
The Crown Prince, who had been watching the sight with displeasure, grumbled loudly.
“When I talked, you didn’t even pretend to listen, but you listen to that brat?”
“I merely kept silent because it did not seem Your Highness required an answer. I was listening carefully to every word you said as well.”
“Who gave you the right to decide I didn’t need an answer?”
The Crown Prince shrieked.
His powerful voice, matching his large build, made Edrick’s eardrums ring.
Edrick barely held back the urge to click his tongue and moved back toward the rear.
It felt somewhat strange that the Crown Prince, infamous for his fiery temper, became no different from an immature child in front of Sir Siarkan.
‘It will be worrying once Sir Siarkan leaves the knight order.’
Once Varkas Raedgo Siarkan left for the East, there would be no one left who could stop his rampages.
The First Princess would also go east with Varkas, so only Gareth and Thalia Roem Ghirta would remain in the imperial family.
When he thought of the future of the knight order that would have to endure those two reckless royals, his vision seemed to darken.
He let out a heavy sigh and approached Thalia’s carriage.
A moment later, the sound of a whistle announcing a rest came from the front.
Edrick stopped his horse and ordered his subordinates to pitch a tent in a suitable place.
The knights immediately set up a simple field tent on a level patch of ground to create shade.
He stopped the carriage near it and lightly tapped the window.
“It is time to rest. Please come out now.”
“...”
“How long do you intend to keep up this useless stubbornness? You have been shut inside there all day. If you do not stop, you will collapse.”
He deliberately spoke harshly, thinking he might have to drag her outside even if it earned him a slap, but no answer came from inside.
Edrick furrowed his brow.
Had she really collapsed?
With an ominous feeling, he opened the door somewhat roughly.
Then, along with a sweet scent like a mixture of honey and milk, air as hot as boiling water rushed into his face.
Edrick frowned and peered into the dim carriage.
Then he froze when he discovered the princess lying limp on the floor.
My poor baby Thalia :(