Chapter 2
----------------------------------------------------------------- Translator: Diva Chapter: 2 Chapter Title: Act 1. This Love is Like a Curse. -----------------------------------------------------------------
Talia peered into the mirror. There was the face of the woman she had grown sick of seeing since the day she was born.
The only differences from her were that the girl in the mirror had anxious eyes tinged with nervousness and dry lips, instead of an elegant smile and seductive gaze shimmering with sensuality.
Talia glared at her own face with a dissatisfied expression, then turned her head toward the Nurse and asked.
"How do I look?"
"You look just like an angel."
The Nurse, who had been tirelessly brushing her hair, replied with her eyes curved into crescents.
"Highness truly resembles Lady Senevia. Dressed up like this with such care, it's like seeing Lady Senevia at eighteen."
Talia roughly swatted away the Nurse's chubby hand fiddling with her hair. Irritation boiled up at the Nurse's obliviousness, thinking it was a compliment to resemble someone.
"I'm done with the brushing. Bring my dress."
The Nurse waddled toward the chest like a puppy kicked in the foot, her face pitiful.
Talia shot her a disapproving glance. How could she be so dense?
The woman rummaged through the chest with grunts, then pulled out a red satin dress and glanced at her warily.
"Look at this. It's the dress Lady Senevia wore when she first set foot in the imperial palace. She must have prepared it for you, Highness."
Talia made a face like she'd had enough.
"Nurse, you even remember what Mom wore that long ago?"
"Of course! How could I forget that day? Lady Senevia didn't seem of this world. I was on the verge of tears just knowing someone so beautiful existed. Even His Imperial Majesty couldn't tear his eyes away from her."
The Nurse sighed with a dreamy, distant expression, as if lost in a fantasy.
Talia swallowed a hollow laugh. Did this woman think their meeting was some epic romance of the century?
At the time, the Emperor had an Empress he'd shared six years of marriage with, and she was even on the verge of giving birth. Senevia and the Emperor's encounter was nothing more than a sordid affair—nothing more, nothing less.
Even after the late Empress Bernadette died and Senevia became the official Empress, people never forgot. As long as Talia existed, no one would ever forget the shameless sin they had committed.
Talia swallowed the sarcasm rising to her throat and snatched the dress from the Nurse's hands.
"If you have time for useless chatter, finish getting me ready."
"Of course. I'll take care of everything."
The Nurse draped a beautiful velvet bloo over her body.
Talia straightened her hair and looked in the mirror again. In her mother's dress, she resembled her even more.
Was an ominous aura of deep sensuality starting to sprout within her too? Talia stared piercingly at the rounded swell of her breasts rising above the deeply plunging square neckline.
It might not be dignified, but no one could deny it was utterly alluring.
Talia habitually brought her finger to her lips but quickly lowered her hand, worried it would smudge her makeup. Today, more than anyone, she wanted to look beautiful. If possible, even more beautiful than her mother.
I want everyone to look at me. So no one pays attention to the likes of Aila.
A fierce hunger gleamed over her deep blue eyes in the mirror. It wasn't the look befitting an imperial princess. It was the gaze of a street beggar starving for scraps.
Talia grabbed the candlestick from the table and smashed it mercilessly against the woman in the mirror. With a loud crash, spiderweb cracks spread across the surface. The Nurse, who had been adjusting her skirt hem, yelped in surprise and plopped down on the floor.
Talia tossed the candlestick to the ground and said coldly.
"I'm sick of that mirror. Bring a new one."
The Nurse looked up at her with a pale face, pressed her lips tight, and stood up. Then, as if nothing had happened, she draped a lavish fur-trimmed cloak over Talia's shoulders.
Talia glared at her fractured reflection in a dozen shards, then whipped around.
As she left the room, she saw the guard knight sent by Senevia standing rigidly at one end of the corridor. Ignoring the man staring at her with a flushed face, she descended the stairs.
In front of the Detached Palace waited a gold-trimmed four-wheeled carriage and eight guards. Senevia apparently didn't want her eldest daughter to look shabby.
You want me to make your rivals uncomfortable, don't you?
She sneered, twisting her lips, and boarded the carriage. Just then, a new guard knight approached to close the door and spoke as if vomiting something hot caught in his throat.
"Today... you look truly beautiful, Highness."
His voice, thick with desire, made the hairs on her body stand on end for a moment.
Talia shot him a sharp glare. She had no need for this man's flattery.
"Cut the nonsense and let's go."
The man closed the door with an embarrassed look.
Soon the carriage lurched into motion. She sank deep into the seat and gazed at the blood-red sky through the swaying curtains.
How nice it would be if tonight's banquet were dyed in that color. If a huge uproar broke out and everything fell into chaos.
She unconsciously toyed with her lips, then quickly dropped her arm when she saw red dye on her fingernail.
Her nerves felt like they were fraying. Contrary to her mood, beautiful melodies and brilliant lights streamed from the Main Palace.
Stepping down from the carriage, Talia frowned as she surveyed the wide path leading to the banquet hall and the lavishly decorated gardens. Hundreds of nobles in silk garments were filing up the marble stairs into the Main Palace hall one by one.
Ignoring the knight who had followed to escort her, she strode toward the banquet hall entrance. Those who recognized her naturally parted the way.
It was only natural. The imperial palace was her home. She had no intention of waiting in line like the other guests.
Talia said calmly to the attendant showing signs of fluster.
"I'm here to celebrate my brothers' birthdays."
The attendant's eyes widened round.
Talia snapped irritably.
"What are you waiting for? Announce my arrival already."
Only then did the man hurriedly step aside by the pillar and shout loudly.
"The 2nd Princess, Talia Roem Guirta Highness, is entering!"
A chilly silence instantly filled the grand hall.
She stepped into the dazzling banquet hall bathed in golden light, holding her head high. She could feel hundreds of prickling gazes raking her from head to toe.
Talia quietly savored their shock, anger, bewilderment, and grudging admiration as she stepped lightly forward. The crowd parted from her like an ebbing tide.
Just like I'm the plague itself.
Talia murmured inwardly with a malicious smile.
Then, someone blocked her path.
"What brings you here?"
She looked up squarely at the man's face. He was one of the brainless fools who fawned over her noble half-sister, Aila.
Talia deliberately flashed a seductive smile. She had seen her mother enchant men that way thousands of times.
"Did I come somewhere I'm not allowed?"
The man's face, rigid with wariness, flushed beet red. He stepped back with a flustered expression.
Talia closed the distance even more than he had retreated and lifted her chin high.
"This is my father's palace, and tonight's banquet is for my brothers. What's the problem with me being here?"
Staring straight into his eyes, the man froze like a statue, unable to move.
She could see his large nostrils flaring. He was inhaling the scent of the rose oil the Nurse had so carefully applied strand by strand to her hair.
A strange mix of satisfaction and deep disgust surged through her at his glazing eyes, as if drunk on strong liquor. Talia brushed past the man, who stood there stammering like an idiot unable to continue, and walked toward the center of the hall.