Chapter 23

----------------------------------------------------------------- Translator: Diva Chapter: 23 Chapter Title: Jealousy at Dawn -----------------------------------------------------------------

Contrary to her expectations, the journey continued smoothly.

Even as sticky nights like tar dragged on night after night, morning dawned without a single soul left covered in blood. Before the sun could climb to midday, they packed their belongings and set off once more.

The sweltering heat left the soldiers exhausted and straggling behind, delaying the schedule bit by bit, but the pilgrimage procession carried on without any major disruptions.

The column, led by Gares and his personal guard, reached the small city of Sortika in the northwest on the fifth day since departing the imperial palace. After spending a day there, they pressed on northward.

In the meantime, Talia kept a hawk-eyed watch on the attendants Senevia had sent, suspicion burning in her gaze.

They feigned utmost loyalty in the most revolting way, but Talia never once let her guard down around them.

They were just biding their time. It was plain as day that something horrific would happen soon.

Didn't every scheme involving Senevia always come shadowed by ominous plots?

If not today, then tomorrow. If not tomorrow, the day after... A gruesome scene would unfold before her eyes any moment now.

Talia couldn't tell if she dreaded it or secretly hoped for it.

Whenever she saw Barkas, who had been so coldly distant toward her, treat Aila with endless tenderness, she wished for some horrific tragedy to strike right then and there.

If those two ended up mangled beyond recognition, it might finally ease the knot in her chest. She'd take the sight of his corpse over watching him stand by Aila's side any day—by a hundredfold.

Yet when night deepened, a suffocating fear would crash over her. No matter how many hundreds of times she told herself she didn't care if a man like that dropped dead, it did no good.

After trembling through the night in anxiety, Talia bolted from her tent before dawn even broke. Leaning on the dim morning light, she set out to find him. Only seeing Barkas alive and breathing with her own eyes would finally let her catch her breath.

She hurried along a narrow path thick with underbrush until the sound of a horse snorting brought her to a halt.

Pushing through the dense bushes, she spotted a gray stallion with a black mane cascading down.

Barkas expertly led the massive horse to a spring and knelt on one knee to the ground. He pulled the reins to guide the horse's head toward the water's surface, then cupped spring water in his other hand to wet the beast's long, sturdy neck.

Sunlight filtering through the thick leaves bathed his hair in a beautiful silver glow. Talia, who had been watching the scene in breathless silence, soon closed her eyes in despair.

No matter how many times she tried to carve it out of her heart, her love for Barkas grew like a tumor, gnawing away at her. She saw no way out of this quagmire.

How could she shake off these feelings?

Talia leaned against a sturdy tree and gazed blankly up at the sky before turning away listlessly. That's when she spotted Aila stepping onto the path and hurriedly hid behind the tree.

As if she'd just risen from bed and come straight out, Aila wore only a thin dress topped with a single gown, her long hair draped over her shoulders. She looked as disheveled as Talia— no, even more so.

Yet Aila still managed to look refined and dignified. Talia couldn't help thinking there might be something in that woman's blood that she could never possess, even if she died.

"So this is where you were."

Aila approached him cautiously, her cheeks flushed with a rosy warmth, and perched on a flat rock.

Barkas's gaze settled on her. As if even that quiet look was unbearably pleasing, Aila curved the corners of her eyes softly and carefully slipped off her shoes. She dipped her feet into the spring and splashed the water lightly.

The horse's snorts, the splashes of water, and her bright laughter like birdsong melted into the crisp dawn air.

Talia suppressed the urge to charge out, grab her half-sister by the hair. She held back the desire to tear the smile from those lips aimed at him, to rip out the tongue chattering away at him. She couldn't bear the thought of Barkas stepping in to protect Aila.

Finally, after splashing to her heart's content, Aila reached out a hand toward him. Instead of taking it to help her up, Barkas bent down to dry her feet. Then, as if he were some devoted servant, he carefully slipped her shoes back on. The sight stabbed at Talia's heart like a dagger.

Talia turned and ran. Branches and leaves clawed at her arms and calves, but she felt no pain. It was as if all her senses had gone numb.

Gasping raggedly, she raced through the winding forest path like a galloping steed. Then her foot caught on a protruding root, and she tumbled headlong. Buried in the bushes, chest heaving, Talia suddenly burst into laughter.

What would Senevia say if she saw her like this? Probably furrow that pretty brow and shake her head in disapproval. Talia could almost hear her mocking voice from somewhere.

"You have two paths before you. One is to seize the man you want by any means necessary. The other is to become a slightly less pathetic loser."

Senevia seemed to want her to turn into some seductress and tempt him, but Talia would sooner die than become like her.

Senevia would have claimed what she desired without scruple. But Talia could only pray for this agonizing time to end quickly—she had no idea what else to do.

Gazing up at the fractured sky through the branches, Talia pulled herself to her feet. As she trudged out of the dark woods on weary legs, she caught sight of several knights milling about in confusion. Pushing past them toward the carriage, Edric Ruben—or whatever his name was—the guard knight, quickly blocked her path.

"Where on earth have you been without a word? I've told you time and again you can't wander off alone without an escort..."

The knight, spouting his impertinent nagging, suddenly fell silent. He seemed genuinely shocked by her disheveled state.

"What in the... What happened to you? Did something happen out there?"

She brushed past him and stepped onto the carriage footboard.

But the man showed no sign of stopping his scolding. Gripping the doorframe, he continued in a stern tone.

"I have a duty to protect Your Highness. So..."

"Anyone would think you actually cared."

Talia sneered down at him.

"You must have orders to never take your eyes off the delinquent princess... If you're going to spy on me, at least do it properly. Why blame me if you zoned out like an idiot and lost track?"

The man clamped his mouth shut, at a loss for words.

Talia slammed the door shut right in his face.

The man, who had his fingers caught in the gap, let out a stream of rough curses. His gauntlets must have prevented serious injury, but he grumbled in pain for a good while.

As always, she ignored the barrage of complaints from outside.

If she listened to every word spat by those around her, she'd have gone mad long ago.

Since becoming a princess, the first thing she'd learned was how to let it all roll off her back.

Talia drew thick curtains over the glass window letting in the morning light and curled up like a hedgehog.