Chapter 65
“The Imperial Palace is that kind of place. Monsters who can do anything in the face of power are swarming everywhere. If you have decided to live here too, you had better harden your heart.”
Theoric said, patting his shoulder.
Edrick, who had been frozen in shock, slowly raised his head and stared at his superior’s face.
“Does Sir Siarkan know that as well?”
“Of course. The one who ordered all of this to be investigated was the Commander himself.”
“Then why…”
Edrick trailed off as if he could not understand.
The man looked down at his face quietly, then shrugged and said,
“Well… There is no way for us to know what that man is thinking.”
“……”
“But whether we know it or not, there must be some reason why he has no choice but to accept marriage with the Second Princess.”
Edrick furrowed his brows.
What on earth could that reason be?
As he wore a serious expression, recalling the face of the man whose thoughts could not be read at all, a heavy blow struck his back.
Edrick turned to him with a startled face.
Sir Hart, who had struck his back with a thick palm, spoke in a light tone as if trying to change the atmosphere.
“Anyway, there is no need to concern yourself with the Second Princess’s affairs anymore.”
Then he added in a somewhat serious tone.
“Soon, the Second Princess will leave the Imperial Palace. Once that happens, you will have no reason to meet her anymore. So shake off that unpleasant feeling and concern yourself with your own future.”
The last words were almost a scolding.
Theoric shook his head.
“You earned the Crown Prince’s hatred quite firmly during the pilgrimage journey. You are in no position to worry about anyone else.”
Edrick’s complexion darkened.
Having the very thing he had already been worried about pointed out made his shoulders feel heavy.
Seeing his dejected appearance, Theoric let out a dumbfounded laugh.
“Oh, come now. Since you always act so recklessly, I thought you had no thoughts of advancement, but it seems that is not entirely the case.”
“Well, at that time… I thought I had to fulfill my duty as a guard knight. Whatever the case, I was her knight.”
At that rigid answer, complicated emotions passed over Sir Hart’s face.
He stared intently at his subordinate’s face, then let out a long breath.
“I will say it once more. That role is over. It is time for you to return to your place.”
Edrick quietly looked up at his firm face, then turned his head and looked at the castle walls rising tall between the thick trees.
Between the deep blue trees, the roof of the detached palace where the Second Princess lived could be seen.
She was someone he had only assisted for barely two months.
If he had not seen her get so terribly injured right before his eyes, she was probably someone he would not have cared about this much.
Sir Hart is right.
His role as her guard was now over.
The cruel environment surrounding that woman was unfortunate, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Perhaps it might even be for the best.
As Sir Hart said, this Imperial Palace was a place swarming with monsters blinded by power.
Moreover, was she not someone who was thoroughly hated?
If she married Sir Siarkan and left for the East, at least she would be able to escape the hostile people surrounding her.
Letting out a heavy sigh to shake off his vague guilt, Edrick soon nodded.
“I understand what you mean.”
As if satisfied with his answer, a bright smile appeared around Sir Hart’s mouth.
He slung one arm over his subordinate’s shoulder and said,
“Good. Then let’s hurry and go do our work.”
Almost being dragged along by him, Edrick looked once more over his shoulder at the roof of the detached palace. But soon, he faced forward again and took a long stride.
***
Thalia lay on the bed and watched the floating dust.
The sparkling particles drifted slowly through the air following the wavering current, then gently settled on her body.
She reached out, sent them floating back into the air, and watched them fall slowly.
She did not know why she was doing such a strange thing.
She felt just like seaweed.
Like water plants swaying with the current, meaningless movements continued.
Perhaps it was not her legs but her head that had been injured.
As she was blankly lost in such thoughts, she heard the sound of the door opening and closing.
Thalia turned her eyes and looked at the intruder.
The nanny, who had burst in carrying an armful of fabric in both arms, sent her a fierce look.
“How can you still be lying there like this!”
Her shrill voice unpleasantly scraped against Thalia’s eardrums.
Thalia pulled up the blanket and covered her head with it. The nanny snatched it away quickly and continued pouring out words in a sharp voice.
“Get up and wash right now! You threw a fit saying you would die before entrusting your body to anyone else, chased all the maids out, and now what are you doing!”
Thalia glared at her with narrowed eyes.
She could not understand what she was saying. It felt as though she had only been sleeping the whole time, so had someone come while she was asleep?
With unfocused eyes, she looked around the room. Broken bowls and objects were scattered here and there. It seemed she had indeed thrown a fit.
“I said get up!”
The nanny forcibly raised her limp body.
Thalia merely looked blankly at the nanny’s reddened face with eyes drunk on drowsiness.
Perhaps frustrated by that sight, the nanny struck her own chest with her fist.
“Just how many herbs did you burn while I was gone? You already cannot walk properly, so how do you intend to enter the ceremony hall like this!”
“Ceremony hall?”
“You have to hold the wedding, don’t you!”
“Who is getting married?”
The nanny’s round face turned as red as a plum. The sight of her looking thoroughly angry was funny.
Thalia moved her half-loosened tongue carelessly.
“Congratulations on your marriage, Nanny.”
“You are the one getting married today, Young lady!”
The nanny screamed like a goose with its neck twisted.
“You said you would do it yourself, so why are you acting like this!”
Thalia furrowed her brows.
Now that she thought about it, she had decided to marry Varkas.
When had she said that?
She did not know. Her sense of time seemed to have dissolved and disappeared into the smoke.
Thalia, who had been slowly blinking with a dazed face, soon lowered her feet from the bed.
Anyway, today is my wedding day.
Then she supposed she should not be sitting around like this.
She staggered toward the back of the screen.
“I will only help you bathe and put on your underwear. You must leave the rest to the maids of the Empress’s Palace.”
“…Fine.”
“You absolutely must not scratch or hit them.”
“What am I, a cat? Why would I scratch people?”
The nanny made a face as if she had put something in her mouth that she could not eat.
Finding that stupid expression funny, Thalia giggled, and the nanny let out a deep sigh before removing the nightgown from her body.
“Just hurry up and wash.”
Thalia stepped into the bathtub.
Immediately after, a baptism of cold water poured down over her head.
Thalia brushed aside the hair covering her eyes and rubbed her stinging eyes.
The nanny seemed to be in a hurry.
Her touch was closer to that.
After pouring an entire bottle of aromatic oil over her, the nanny began scrubbing her whole body with a large brush. Rather than serving a Princess at her bath, it was closer to washing a dog.
However, Thalia accepted her service without much complaint. Thanks to her dulled senses, it did not hurt that much.
“Now, come out.”
After pouring cold water over her head four times in a row, the nanny urged her anxiously.
Thalia climbed out of the bathtub, dripping water.
The nanny wrapped her body in a large towel, wiped off the moisture, and dressed her in underwear and an underskirt in the blink of an eye.
It was the first time she had learned that the nanny, who was usually slower than a grub, could move so quickly.
As she stared in wonder, the nanny wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, then quickly ran out of the bedroom and called the maids.
Thalia was soon surrounded by dozens of women.
No. It probably was not dozens. Since one person looked like two, and two looked like three or four, there were likely fewer than that in reality.
In any case, to Thalia’s eyes, there seemed to be dozens.
She blinked her dizzy eyes, then soon lowered her eyelids.
A short while later, the maids, having finished all preparations, led her somewhere. It felt as though she were being swept away by the current and drifting into the vast open sea.
When she came to her senses, she was already riding in a large carriage heading somewhere.
Thalia looked out the window with hazy eyes.
A sky dyed in ink color and the enormous chapel beneath it came into view.
The moment that blurred scenery entered her eyes, an inexplicable anxiety raised its head.
She stared at the entrance of the chapel, which had come right before her, cold sweat streaming down, and gripped the doorknob.
Just as she was about to kick the door open and jump outside, the carriage stopped without warning.
At the sudden halt, Thalia staggered and fell to the floor.
Unfortunately, she struck her knees, and a tingling pain spread all the way to her pelvis. She bit her lip and swallowed a groan.
At that moment, the carriage door flew open, and a deep shadow poured over her head.
Thalia snapped her head up and stopped breathing when she saw Varkas, who seemed surrounded by a gray curtain.
Varkas, dressed in pure white ceremonial clothes with a coat embroidered with his family crest loosely draped over them, bent toward her.
She felt his blue eyes slowly look over her face.
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