Chapter 9
----------------------------------------------------------------- Translator: Diva Chapter: 9 Chapter Title: The Forbidden Garden -----------------------------------------------------------------
Talia awoke and adorned herself more meticulously than ever before. She silently endured the maids' rough hands scrubbing her skin raw with stiff, coarse brushes until it flushed red, and bore the relentless combing that stung her scalp.
Once she finished preparing her body, she pulled out the velvet dress her maternal grandfather—who had always eyed her with displeasure on the day she left the Taren family—had given her for the first time.
Peering into the mirror, she saw the reflection of a girl with an angelically pretty face. It was just how Senevia might look if she were turned back into a nine-year-old.
She stared intently into her deep blue eyes—the same shade as her mother's—through the mirror, then stepped out of the room with a resolute expression. But the boy who usually trained at the same time was nowhere to be found today.
Dodging the servants, Talia wandered the castle's inner courtyard for a long while before slumping in disappointment, her shoulders drooping. The thought that she might never see him again made her vision go dark.
She couldn't understand why she was so fixated on a near-stranger she'd only spoken to once.
No. Deep down, she knew. On that day when rain poured relentlessly, he could have ignored a filthy, muddy child like her and walked on by, but he didn't.
He'd gotten his clothes and shoes dirty wading into the puddle to pull her out.
He'd cradled her chilled body, cooled by the rainwater, in his warm arms and gazed into her eyes for a long time.
He'd carried her back to his quarters, cradling the pitiful, half-dead little bird as if it were precious.
That alone was enough to become her hope.
Talia walked tirelessly along the outer walls of the towering building that seemed to scrape the sky.
The imperial palace felt like the belly of a massive monster. It was so vast and labyrinthine that even after months here, endless new places kept appearing.
She roamed a garden thick with flowers and trees for a long time, passed through a wide clearing, and made her way to the back of the Main Palace.
Her legs, moving nonstop from early morning until noon, throbbed with pain. Blisters must have formed—each step sent fire searing through her soles.
She wiped the sweat beading on her forehead and gazed up at the blue sky peeking through the dense leaves.
How long had she lingered like that? Just as she straightened to head back to the Detached Palace, she spotted a boy's slender back between the straight birch trees. Talia's eyes lit up with joy.
Even from quite a distance, she recognized him instantly. No one could imitate the agile, elegant grace of his straight-backed, fluid gait.
Talia immediately gave chase. But no matter how much she quickened her pace, the distance between them didn't shrink.
She realized the boy was hurrying somewhere. Where could he be rushing off to?
She considered calling out loudly, but her breath was lodged in her throat, and no voice came. In the end, she lost him.
Talia sank against a tree trunk with a hollow expression. Needle-like sunlight poured down painfully onto her sweat-drenched face.
How long had she stared blankly up through the dense leaves with narrowed eyes? Then, faint laughter mingled with the breeze—like the chirp of a small bird.
Talia rose and slowly moved toward the sound.
Passing through dense birches and thick foliage, she emerged into a beautiful flowerbed bursting with lavender, marigolds, and clusters of tiny white pearl flowers, alongside a pristine white marble gazebo and a small fountain. It was a garden as enchanting as a fairy palace.
Talia gazed around the scene in a trance, as if golden particles floated in the air. Then she spotted the boy kneeling on one knee before a marble chair.
He wasn't alone. Seated across from him was a lovely girl about his age, with silky dark brown hair and rosy cheeks—a truly adorable child.
As she chattered nonstop, a faint smile curved the boy's lips. Seeing it felt like a sharp prick to the heart, as if her own treasure had been stolen away.
Talia knew such feelings were irrational.
At a glance, the two looked like longtime companions. Meanwhile, she was nothing but a stranger.
So Talia resolved to approach them and introduce herself politely. She wanted to wedge her way into the warm air surrounding them somehow. Above all, she yearned for the boy's blue eyes and faint smile to turn toward her.
Propelled by that fierce impulse, she stepped out from behind the bushes and approached the fountain spraying water. At once, a pair of beautiful silver-blue eyes and clear green ones flew toward her.
Talia, who had no experience mingling with children her age, felt her mouth go dry in an instant.
But she was an imperial princess. Surely they wouldn't refuse her offer of friendship.
She lifted her chin with feigned confidence and greeted them boldly.
"Hello?"
The boy simply stared at her without a twitch.
Could he not recognize her? The first time they'd met, she'd been covered head to toe in mud, so her princess-like attire now might seem unfamiliar.
She was about to bring up the incident from months ago when he'd helped her, but the girl—who'd been sitting there in a daze—suddenly let out a shrill scream.
"No! No! Not here!"
It was a desperate voice, as if facing a horrific nightmare.
The girl, eyes wide with terror as she stared at Talia, flung herself at the boy.
"Please, Barkas! Drive her away from here! Don't let her set foot in this place! Make sure I never have to see her again!"
Her slender arms wrapped around the boy's neck.
The boy embraced the sobbing girl's back protectively and shot a cold glare at Talia over her trembling, narrow shoulders. Talia stumbled back.
He issued a low warning.
"Get out of here. Now."
Talia stared blankly at his icy face before turning and running away.
It felt like ice water had been dumped over her from the crown of her head. Her mind went numb; she couldn't think at all.
How long did she run and run? As she neared the Main Palace, something yanked her hair viciously. Her head snapped back, her body lurched, and before she could even comprehend what was happening, a heavy impact slammed into her.
She clutched her throbbing stomach and rolled across the grass.
"How dare the likes of you set foot in there!"
A childish voice thick with rage boomed overhead.
Talia looked up in panic. A boy she'd never seen before was glaring down at her.
Dark black hair and fiery green eyes... He bore a striking resemblance to the girl from moments ago, but she had no idea when he'd started following her or why he was so furious.
Frozen in shock from her first taste of such treatment, the boy kicked her in the stomach again.
"Die!"
The blinding shock made her curl up tightly, coughing harshly.
Like kicking a small ball, the boy followed up with blow after blow.
"Die! Die! Just die already!"
His scream pierced her eardrums like a long nail. Even as servants rushed over in alarm, the boy's curses and violence didn't stop.
Talia crawled across the ground like a bug to evade the savage kicks. Still unsatisfied even after beating her, the boy—now restrained by two servants—roared like a beast.
"Vanish from this world, you filthy bastard child!"