As she passed in front of the main palace, the servants who recognized her hurriedly bowed so low their foreheads nearly struck the ground. Were they afraid the infamous Second Imperial Princess might suddenly grab them by the hair and start a fight?
Talia strode past the maids whose faces twisted with alarm at her unexpected appearance and entered the Empress’s palace, more lavishly adorned than any fortress within the imperial palace grounds.
At dusk, Senevier usually either dined with the Emperor in the main palace or spent quiet hours within the Empress’s residence.
Today, Talia had assumed it would be the latter.
As expected, Senevier was resting inside the hidden workshop located beyond her private study.
Descending into the underground chamber through the entrance concealed between towering bookshelves, Talia was immediately struck by the dizzying scent of medicinal herbs, the sharp fragrance of oils, and the faint trace of smoke tickling her nose.
Within the vast room, where violet particles seemed to drift through the air, countless bottles filled with alchemical ingredients and strange experimental tools lay scattered everywhere. Beside the roaring fireplace stood piles upon piles of books written in the languages of many races.
It was such a chaotic scene that it hardly resembled the room of a woman who ordinarily surrounded herself only with luxurious and beautiful things.
But Talia crossed the room without hesitation and approached the desk where Senevier sat.
Leaning languidly against a chair layered thickly with velvet cushions, the Empress was calmly examining a parchment scroll.
The fact that she did not even bother acknowledging her daughter’s presence made Talia’s stomach burn as though she had swallowed fire.
Bending over the desk, she spat through clenched teeth,
“Asros came to see me a little while ago.”
Only then did those deep blue eyes finally turn toward her.
Talia continued coldly,
“According to him, I’ll apparently be getting married soon.”
“I had no idea Asros took such an interest in you.”
Senevier replied absently as she set the parchment aside.
The sight of her continuing to focus only on her precious son filled Talia with the urge to seize whatever was nearby and hurl it across the room.
Clutching her skirts tightly, she barely managed to suppress the violent impulse.
“Why did I have to hear news of my own marriage from that child? And what is this nonsense about me joining the pilgrimage? What exactly are you plotting?”
“Plotting? What an unpleasant way to phrase it.”
Senevier sighed softly and rose from her seat.
For a brief moment, Talia found herself entranced by the flawless elegance of the woman’s movements. Then she immediately looked at her mother’s softly smiling face with renewed wariness.
In the bright, cheerful voice of an innocent girl, Senevier said,
“You’ve reached the age to marry, haven’t you? A suitable proposal arrived from a suitable man at a suitable time, so I simply moved things along.”
“And this ‘suitable man’ would be that snake called Serian?”
Talia twisted her lips as she recalled the slick-faced man who had escorted her during the banquet.
“I assume Mother has already inspected every last inch of him personally?”
“If you are asking whether Serian is capable of fulfilling a man’s duties... then yes.”
Senevier smiled faintly.
“He possesses extraordinary talent in that regard. If you wished it, he would gladly devote himself to serving you.”
Talia had intended merely to mock her mother’s endless parade of lovers, but the grotesque answer she received in return shattered the last remnants of her composure.
Every word Senevier spoke felt like spiders crawling across her skin.
Talia nearly screamed.
“I don’t need some disgusting man like that! I would rather bite off my own tongue and die than let him touch me!”
“My, my...”
Senevier pressed a hand lightly to her cheek and sighed as though genuinely regretful.
“Then I shall look for another groom. As it happens, ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) I was already narrowing down a list of other suitable candidates.”
She gestured toward the parchment spread across the desk.
The moment Talia recognized several of the names written there, revulsion crawled over her skin.
Every single one of them was one of Senevier’s fanatical followers.
Was this woman truly intending to choose one of the men obsessed with her and hand him over as her daughter’s husband?
Fury and terror churned violently together inside her stomach.
“I don’t want to marry anyone! Stop pretending to care about me now and just leave me alone the way you always have!”
“Does that mean... you refuse any man who is not the heir to House Siorcan?”
The sudden strike at her most vulnerable point made Talia stumble backward, her face draining pale.
A cruel smile curled Senevier’s lips as her venomous tongue lashed mercilessly onward.
“If you desired him so desperately, then you should have taken him by whatever means necessary. I left that man at your side for seven whole years. What exactly were you doing during all that time?”
She shook her head in apparent disappointment.
“The man you wanted so badly will belong to another woman in only a few months. Do you truly intend to stand there and watch it happen?”
Talia’s shoulders trembled violently.
The realization that Senevier had seen straight through her all this time filled her with horror.
After silently studying her daughter’s pale face, Senevier once more donned the mask of a loving mother.
Then she continued in a gentle, coaxing voice,
“Talia, everything I have arranged this time was solely for your sake. I wished to show my precious daughter a path out of the miserable situation she currently suffers in.”
Long white fingers softly brushed along her cheek.
It felt like a pale serpent slithering across her skin.
Talia’s body stiffened as though paralyzed.
Senevier gazed directly into her frightened daughter’s face and whispered softly as feathers drifting through the air.
“There are two paths open to you. One is to obtain the man you desire by any means necessary. The other is to become a loser who is at least somewhat less miserable.”
Her smooth voice clung to Talia’s ears like thick sap.
“I chose the former path and obtained everything I desired. But if you lack the ability to do the same, then selecting another man who is merely satisfactory and pretending to be just as happy as the victor is also an option. It is somewhat pathetic, certainly, but if you are destined to lose anyway, would it not be better to preserve at least your pride?”
Talia tore herself away from her mother like a trapped beast escaping a snare.
Senevier offered her daughter a warm smile.
“This journey is the final opportunity I am giving you. Think carefully about which path you intend to choose.”
After glaring rebelliously at her mother, Talia fled the laboratory almost as though escaping.
Behind her followed Senevier’s bright laughter, light as birdsong and clinging like a shadow.
The sound remained stuck in her mind for a very long time afterward.
* * *
In the end, Talia departed on the journey alongside the half-siblings who despised her.
Thanks to the Empress’s palace supplying all the necessary personnel and equipment, there was virtually nothing she herself needed to prepare. Senevier had even attempted to assign her personal soldiers and high-ranking mages as escorts.
But Gareth fiercely opposed the idea, and the arrangement collapsed.
The Crown Prince was already furious enough at the mere fact that he had to travel alongside the illegitimate half-sister he considered an eyesore. There was no chance he would obediently accept an order to bring the Empress’s followers as well.
According to rumor, Gareth had personally gone to the Emperor and argued heatedly until Senevier’s command was revoked.
For Talia, it was welcome news.
She herself had no desire whatsoever to spend the journey surrounded by her mother’s zealots.
‘For my sake? Don’t make me laugh...’
Talia glared at the servants loading luggage onto the carriage while tearing at a hangnail beside her fingernail.
There was no way Senevier would orchestrate something this troublesome for her benefit alone.
She was undoubtedly plotting something else.
With suspicious eyes, Talia carefully observed the servants sent from the Empress’s palace.
