Talia picked at a hangnail beside her fingernail.
A bead of sweat on her forehead slowly trickled down along her temple.
Varkas placed his hands on her shoulders and slowly turned her around. She felt his long, firm fingers cup one side of her face.
Unable to meet his eyes, Talia fixed her gaze on the tip of his chin.
Then Varkas lowered his face.
Warm, soft lips touched the corner of her mouth for a brief instant before parting.
It was a kiss as light as a spring breeze. Nothing more than the minimum contact required by custom.
That fleeting touch, so brief it could hardly even be called a kiss, seemed to slice her heart into tiny pieces.
“With this, I announce that all rites have been completed.”
At the priest's final declaration, formal applause spread through the chapel.
Talia looked up at him with trembling eyes.
His expressionless face, impossible to read, was quietly studying her.
Just what was he looking at so intently?
After thoroughly searching her with that persistent gaze, Varkas turned toward the guests.
Only then did Talia release the breath she had been holding.
Keeping an arm around her waist, he crossed through the crowd.
Ghostly faces passed by between their slow steps.
Gareth, whose eyes gleamed ominously. The troubled-looking Emperor. Senevier, wearing a satisfied smile...
Countless shadows flowed past like a river, and then the dark sky, scattering rain, came into view.
“Bring me my coat.”
Stopping at the entrance of the chapel, Varkas spoke to the knight waiting there.
The knight immediately handed over the outer garment draped over his arm.
After placing it over her shoulders, Varkas bent slightly and effortlessly lifted her with one arm.
Startled, Talia hurriedly wrapped her arms around his neck to avoid falling backward.
Soft hair carrying the pleasant scent of soap brushed her nose.
Lightly supporting her back with one hand, he began walking through the rain at an unhurried pace.
Talia watched the gentle silver raindrops blanket his face in white before turning her eyes toward the garden below, where sinister shadows had settled.
“...Where are we going?”
“I've prepared a temporary residence outside the Imperial Palace.”
He answered leisurely as he walked.
“We'll stay there until we depart for the East.”
Talia looked bewildered.
Was this really how weddings ended?
Senevier had surely prepared a grand wedding banquet. Hadn't the entire palace been in an uproar for days over decorating the hall and preparing the food?
There must have been guests who had come specifically to see him.
Could they really abandon all of that and simply leave like this?
“We've done enough. There's no reason to remain as entertainment any longer.”
His cold voice pulled her thoughts back to reality.
He was right.
This marriage was nothing but vulgar gossip.
The crippled bastard princess. The exchanged bride. The pitiful groom who had gone overnight from being an object of envy to an object of sympathy...
She didn't even need to hear what people would say about them.
There was no reason for Varkas to endure such humiliation.
No matter that it was the Emperor, even he could not demand that much sacrifice from the man who would someday rule the East.
Passing along a muddy road, he stopped before a carriage bearing House Siorcan's crest.
The attendant sitting on the driver's seat hurried over and opened the door.
Varkas stepped inside and gently lowered her onto the cushioned seat.
Talia stared at him strangely.
In that short time, Varkas had become completely drenched.
Sitting opposite her, he loosened the tight ceremonial collar around his neck and released a long sigh heavy with fatigue.
Drops of water gathered in his hair, ran down his straight forehead, and collected at the corners of his eyes.
Despite the moisture clinging to him, his gaze felt dry as ever as it settled directly upon her.
“How is your leg?”
Talia's lips twitched.
The way he paid excessive attention to her leg irritated her.
Gareth's mocking voice echoed in her ears.
You've gained your place beside him for the price of one leg.
She chewed the tender flesh inside her mouth.
I know.
I know that.
Then why do you keep reminding me?
“It's attached just fine, so stop worrying about it.”
At her irritable retort, his eyes narrowed slightly.
Avoiding that sharp gaze, Talia turned toward the window.
But wet fingers immediately turned her head back.
“I asked whether you're in pain.”
His hard voice made her shoulders stiffen, but only for a moment.
Talia violently slapped his hand away.
“If I say I'm fine, will that make you feel better?”
“......”
“Well, what a shame. There hasn't been a single day since then when it didn't hurt.”
Staring straight into his mask-like face, she spat the words out like a wasp firing its stinger.
“So stop scratching at me with pointless questions. You're annoying.”
The warm, soft lips that had touched her earlier pressed together coldly.
She had silenced him with cruel words, yet it was his silence that strangled her.
Talia nervously bit her dry lips.
Still, coldness was preferable to pity.
Ever since her leg had become like this, that lukewarm kindness people showered upon her was more horrible than anything else.
Trying to hide her unease, she deliberately snapped,
“Why aren't we moving? Are we spending the night here?”
After staring at her for a moment, Varkas turned and lightly knocked on the carriage wall.
Soon the sound of reins cracking rang out, and the carriage slowly began to move.
Through the fogged-up window, Talia gazed at the rain-soaked garden.
The unfamiliar scenery, which had never once become her home, slid past beyond the blurred veil.
As she stared blankly at it, her body suddenly lifted into the air and soft cushions pressed against her back.
Startled, Talia looked ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) up.
After laying her down across the spacious seat, Varkas reached behind the backrest and pulled out a cloak embroidered with the crest of the Roem Knights.
He spread it over her.
“It will be a long journey. Try to get some sleep in the meantime.”
Talia reached out to throw it aside.
But Varkas was faster.
Grabbing her hand, he pinned it down onto the seat.
Then, looking down into her eyes, still clouded by the lingering effects of the medicine, he threatened her in the rough tone he had occasionally used in their teenage years.
“Stop being stubborn and go to sleep. And quit making people uneasy with those unfocused eyes.”
Startled by his threatening tone, Talia instinctively shrank back and pulled his cloak up over the bridge of her nose.
Watching her silently, Varkas let out a tired sigh and returned to the seat opposite her.
For some reason, she felt like crying.
Burying her face in the fabric carrying his scent, Talia closed her eyes.
At some point, she must have fallen asleep.
Noticing that the rattling carriage had come to a complete stop, Talia pressed a hand to her throbbing forehead and rubbed her stiff eyes.
When she finally forced them open, the empty interior of the carriage filled her vision.
Blinking blankly, Talia suddenly jolted upright.
Terrified, she frantically searched for Varkas with her eyes.
Then rough voices mixed with the clinking of metal sounded outside.
“What are you planning to do about Her Highness the First Imperial Princess?”
Talia stiffened and pressed herself against the window.
Beyond the rain-speckled glass, the evening sky had already cleared.
Beneath that reddish sky stood a massive stone building of rough design and around fifteen men.
Finding Varkas among them wasn't difficult.
Standing with the sunset at his back, he replied dryly,
“What exactly do you mean by that?”
“Do you truly intend to abandon her like this...”
“What a strange thing to say.”
A sharp scoff split the damp air.
“Wasn't our engagement established from the beginning to keep the Empress in check?”
“......”
“There are methods other than marriage to protect the two of them.”
“The meaning of that is...”
Confusion entered the man's voice.
But Varkas showed no intention of elaborating.
As though irritated, he cut the knight off.
“Am I in a position where I must answer your interrogation?”
“M-My apologies. I overstepped my place.”
The man hurriedly bowed his head.
Looking down at him with cold eyes, Varkas spoke indifferently.
“Nothing changes. Continue monitoring the Empress's movements as you always have. And if His Highness the Crown Prince appears likely to do something reckless, report it to me immediately.”
“Understood.”
As though that concluded the conversation, Varkas turned around.
Talia hurriedly lay back down on the seat.
But before she could even pull the cloak over herself and pretend to sleep, the carriage door opened and Varkas appeared.
Talia stared up at him with frozen eyes.
