Chapter 27
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 27
Lustful eyes clung stickily to her chest before slowly sliding downward. They lingered there for a long time, tracing the contours revealed beneath her thin clothing, before creeping back up to meet her gaze.
Thalia felt every muscle in her body seize. She knew she had to flee immediately, but her legs refused to budge.
The man licked his lower lip and edged closer.
“If Your Highness would only allow it, I…”
A rough, calloused hand reached out, grasping the hair draped over her shoulder. She watched with terror-stricken eyes as her locks were wound around fingers that felt like withered wood.
She couldn’t breathe. She should have screamed at him, demanding how he dared lay a hand on her, but no sound escaped her parted lips.
Taking her silence as consent, the man—who had been meticulously stroking each strand of her golden hair—now reached toward her face.
A palm as rough as sandpaper scraped painfully against her delicate skin. As she recoiled in fear, a large, gauntleted hand suddenly lunged out of the darkness and seized the man’s wrist.
Thalia flinched, stepping back as if snapping out of a trance. She looked up to see a pair of piercing, silver-blue eyes.
In that instant, her heart dropped.
She instinctively pressed her back against the wall. Barkas, looking down at her with an expressionless face, slowly turned his gaze toward the monk.
Whatever the monk saw in those eyes made him begin to tremble violently, as if he were facing a specter.
“I—I was just… Her Highness…”
“Quiet.”
The heavy bass of his voice cut off the man’s excuse. The monk’s face, already pale, twisted into a mask of agony. Though Barkas appeared to be holding him lightly, he was clearly exerting enough strength to crush bone.
Barkas spoke slowly, leaning into the face of the man who was now dripping with cold sweat.
“Neither of us wants to make a scene. Go back to your place quietly.”
The groaning monk nodded frantically.
Barkas released his arm and added, “It would be best if you stayed out of my sight until we leave this place.”
“I—I will keep that in mind.”
The man clutched his bruised, swollen wrist, looking as if he were about to burst into tears.
Barkas gave a sharp jerk of his chin, signaling him to get lost. The man didn’t hesitate, scurrying away in a panic. After staring at the pathetic sight of the man’s retreating back for a moment, Barkas turned his head toward her.
Thalia unconsciously lowered her gaze. Even though she had done nothing wrong, her mouth felt dry and a flush of shame crept up her neck. As she stood there restlessly, gauging his mood, a voice rang out, chillingly calm.
“Follow me. I will escort you to your quarters.”
Thalia, who had been held in rigid tension, let her arms hang limp as a strange sense of lethargy washed over her. In an instant, a wave of resentment and sorrow surged within her.
I was almost violated just now. I was scared to death. So why are you so detached?
Biting her lip in frustration, Thalia brushed past him. She would die before showing him a single sign of weakness.
She marched across the garden with her head held high, as if to make a point. After a short walk, the dormitory for female devotees appeared at the end of the long corridor.
Keeping her eyes fixed straight ahead, she snapped brusquely, “We’re here, so stop following me!”
Knights were standing guard around the building. She wouldn’t face another ordeal like the one from moments ago.
She quickened her pace as if fleeing. However, before she could take more than a few steps, she found herself trapped between him and the exterior wall of the building.
Thalia looked up at him with wide eyes.
“W-what… so suddenly…”
“If you’ve been burned once while playing with fire…”
His voice sounded like it was scraping the back of his throat. Perhaps sensing it himself, he paused for a moment. Soon, a much calmer voice followed.
“Isn’t it about time you started being careful?”
Thalia felt the blood drain from her face. Barkas scrutinized her with a gaze so sharp it felt like he was dissecting her, his lips twisting into a sneer.
“Or do you truly intend to throw yourself around so recklessly?”
Thalia swung her hand before she could even think. But once again, her wrist was caught before she could strike his face. Barkas added slowly:
“If that is the case, please restrain yourself for the time being. Until this journey is over, I would like to avoid any tedious complications.”
She clamped her trembling lips shut. He released her arm and slowly turned away.
“I trust you understand.”
In that moment, if she had a knife in her hand, she would have plunged it into his back without hesitation.
Thalia glared murderously at his receding back. Then, feeling her vision blur, she hurriedly turned away.
Even though she knew he wouldn’t look back, she was terrified he might see her tears. Rubbing her eyes harshly with her sleeve, Thalia ran into the dormitory as if escaping a predator.
* * *
The next morning, the ceremony proceeded as if nothing had happened.
Thalia sat on the windowsill of her assigned bedroom, looking down at the twin siblings heading toward the altar, with Barkas following behind them like a guardian.
Normally, she should have been among them. However, she had excused herself, claiming she was unwell. She had refused a ceremony that was mandatory for members of the Imperial Family with a nonsensical excuse.
Under normal circumstances, the ceremony should have been postponed, but it proceeded as scheduled according to the Crown Prince’s firm will. Perhaps the monastery was even pleased with this situation. Bestowing a divine blessing upon a mere illegitimate child likely didn’t sit well with them anyway.
‘…Maybe I should have just attended.’
Thalia, who had been snickering to herself, felt the smile vanish from her face when she saw Aila and Barkas standing side by side before the altar.
If she had joined them, there was no telling what she might have done. She might have even lunged at one of them, intent on drawing blood.
‘I don’t even know which of the two I hate more anymore.’
Thalia habitually brought her finger to her mouth, but lowered her arm again, not wanting to ruin her barely grown nails.
She couldn’t bear to watch any longer. She drew the curtains and threw herself onto the bed.
As she curled up in the dim darkness, the memories of last night swirled in her head. The gaze consumed by lust, the hand reaching for her, and Barkas’s frigid eyes…
“If you’ve been burned once while playing with fire… isn’t it about time you started being careful?”
Thalia pulled the blanket over her head.
Barkas believed she had seduced that man. Perhaps, in his eyes, it wasn’t so different from her usual behavior. She had always driven herself into corners with her own foolish actions… and it had always been his role to rescue her from those crises.
Now that he had finally escaped that tedious duty, it was only natural he would be revolted that something similar had happened again.
He must be sick to death of me by now.
She buried her face in the pillow and let out a hollow, jagged chuckle.
She remembered the moment he walked out of her life. Perhaps it was because something similar had happened yesterday.
Staring blankly at the sliver of light seeping through the curtains, Thalia closed her eyes tightly. Buried memories began to unfold haphazardly in her mind.