Chapter 8
----------------------------------------------------------------- Translator: Diva Chapter: 8 Chapter Title: The Golden Apprentice -----------------------------------------------------------------
After that day, Talia wandered the rear garden whenever she had a chance. But she never saw him again—not until a large elm tree was planted where she had found the dying bird, and the shabby garden was filled with vibrant flowers everywhere.
Talia felt a sense of loss, like she had misplaced a treasure she had stumbled upon by chance. If only she had ignored the nurse's call back then...
Her father, who was supposed to visit her, never showed up that evening, and her mother never came looking for her either.
Surrounded by cold maids, Talia ate her tasteless dinner, regretting it the whole time.
She should have chased after that boy. If she had begged him, he probably would have pretended to give in and taken her along. Lying in the cold blankets, she yearned even more for those large, warm hands that had enveloped her.
Maybe he was just a fantasy born from her loneliness. It was around the time Talia began to doubt this that the boy appeared before her eyes again.
No. It would be more accurate to say that Talia discovered him.
By then, the seasons had changed. She had turned from eight to nine years old, and instead of raindrops, scorching heat poured from the skies.
As Talia walked the long corridor toward the emperor's private chambers, a loud shout drew her gaze to a large arched window. In the wide clearing bathed in summer light, apprentice knights in black surcoats swung wooden swords.
Even with nearly thirty trainees, Talia's eyes flew straight to him, like a moth to a flame.
His faded flaxen blond hair faintly shimmered silver under the intense summer sun. It was the first time she had seen him without his hood, but she recognized him instantly. It was the boy who had appeared in the untimely spring rain.
To see him better, she leaned her upper body over the windowsill.
The blue-eyed boy moved with a clean precision that set him clearly apart from the others.
Each time his long, supple limbs moved with graceful power, it seemed she could hear the air whistling around them.
"Who... is that one?"
The old servant following her to escort her to the emperor glanced indifferently at the window.
"They're trainee knights preparing to join the Imperial Guard. All from prestigious noble families."
He showed no interest whatsoever in who had caught her curiosity.
The servant shot her a displeased look for dawdling.
"His Majesty is waiting. Let's go."
Reluctantly pulling away from the window, Talia walked down the tomb-like silent corridor. It was her first time meeting her birth father since entering the palace months ago, but she felt no particular emotion.
Even in the past, when she had seen the emperor visiting the Taren family from afar, she hadn't thought of him as her father.
The stern-faced man had shown her no interest, and Talia simply hated him for stealing her mother's affection.
It was the same even after she was officially entered into the imperial family register.
Entering the wide, ornate room, Talia eyed the massive man standing with his back to the light, her gaze wary.
How long was the silence? The man sitting quietly behind the fortress-like huge desk finally spoke without lifting his eyes from the parchment document.
"From now on, you must learn the etiquette of the imperial family."
Then he stamped the document.
Talia waited for him to look up at her. But even after a long while, his gaze never reached her.
She couldn't understand it at all. How could a man who loved Senevia so fervently refuse to even glance at his own daughter, who looked just like her?
The man, scribbling something on the table with his quill, continued indifferently.
"I've gathered excellent teachers for you. From now on, come to the Main Palace before noon for lessons. You'll need to do your best to catch up on what you've missed."
Her response wasn't needed. The man waved his hand as if telling her to leave, and their father-daughter reunion after a year ended just like that.
Talia trudged back the way she came, searching out the window for the boy. But the training must have ended; the empty clearing held only bright summer sunlight floating in the air.
After that day, whenever she went for lessons, she stole glances at him training in the grounds.
She loved watching faint beads of sweat form on his marble-sculpted face and a subtle flush rise on his pale cheeks from the intense exercise.
Sometimes, she even spoke to him in her mind.
'Hey... what happened to that bird? Did it end up dying? Did you bury it somewhere? Or did you release it far away once it got better?'
She wanted to look into his eyes up close and talk, just like that rainy day. She wanted to check if the silver crown was still there in his eyes.
It was when that impulse grew too strong to bear.
While gazing endlessly at the training grounds, ignoring her history lesson, a deep shadow fell over her from behind.
Talia startled and turned around. Her mother, whom she hadn't seen for a fortnight, stood at the boundary between light and shadow.
It was a face she had once seen every day. Yet for a moment, Talia felt her heart stop.
Senevia, adorned meticulously to suit her role as empress, looked like a collection of every beauty imaginable to humankind. Even the elf mages who often visited the Taren family couldn't compare to her loveliness.
"What were you looking at so intently?"
Senevia asked, looking down at her daughter.
Talia, staring up blankly, snapped to her senses and quickly stepped back from the window. For some reason, she hesitated to mention the boy.
But Senevia seemed to immediately grasp what had been at the end of her gaze.
Turning her head to the window, the empress looked down at the tall blond boy and smiled meaningfully.
"That's the son of Grand Duke Sheerkhan."
Talia looked up at her in surprise. She had guessed he was from some high noble family, but she hadn't expected such an illustrious lineage.
The empress's deep blue eyes gleamed meaningfully, as if seeing right through her daughter's heart.
"Do you want that child?"
Talia's face flushed red, and she couldn't respond.
Just from her daughter's expression, Senevia seemed to have her answer. Chuckling as if amused, she bent down and kissed Talia's cheek.
"If you want him, I could make him a gift for you."
That whisper sounded eerie, like the wind blowing through a dark forest on a deep night. Straightening up, Senevia smiled with lips painted blood-red.
"But nothing comes for free. If you want a reward, you must first please your parents."
Reading the faint note of reproach in her voice, Talia hurriedly clutched the history book she had carelessly tossed on the windowsill. Then she turned and ran. She felt her mother's gaze clinging to the back of her head like a spiderweb.
This was the mother she had longed for every night. So why was she running from her?
She had planned to throw a tantrum when she saw her mother—complain that she hated studying and demand to know why she never spent time with her, unleashing all her built-up resentment and grievances.
But Senevia, now the empress of the empire, no longer felt like her mother. She seemed transformed into something unfamiliar and frightening, impossible to confront with childish outbursts.
That night, Talia tossed and turned late into the hours, unable to sleep.
Life in the Taren family hadn't been truly happy, but back then, she had Senevia as her ally. She was less a mother and more like a best friend or comrade-in-arms. Even if the whole world pointed fingers, they could endure it together.
But now Senevia stood tall as the empire's empress, leaving Talia alone in this unfamiliar place among strangers.
Talia felt loneliness seep into her bones. She desperately wished someone would stay by her side. If only warm arms would hold her and soft eyes gaze upon her, she felt she could give anything in return.
That was why. That was why she resolved to meet the boy she had only watched from afar directly.