Chapter 28
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 28
It was only a few months before her sixteenth birthday.
Anxious at the thought of her impending adulthood, Thalia had been pestering him more than usual, badgering him to help her choose dresses and accessories. It was a pathetic, transparent attempt to catch his eye.
Barkas, who normally would have ignored such demands, finally seemed to grow weary of her persistent nagging. He began to offer his opinions, however reluctantly.
Perhaps he had grown generous at the thought that he would finally be free of her in a few months. She resented him so much for that possibility that she wanted to kill him. Yet, at the same time, she felt a desperate urge to do anything if it meant keeping Barkas by her side.
The end, which she once thought would never come, was fast approaching.
"How about this for the ceremony?"
She donned a flamboyant silk dress imported from the south, flaunting herself before him.
Barkas merely cast a dry gaze her way, as he always did. Her face grew hot under that calm, piercing stare.
He was transitioning from nineteen to twenty, and his body, having recently shed its boyishness, had hardened into a lean, masculine beauty. If not for those eyes—as indifferent as a dead man’s—he would have looked like an angel descended from the heavens.
Thalia raised her voice, hoping to hide her foolishly fluttering heart.
"I asked you what you think!"
"...You look like a child who stole an adult’s clothes."
Finally, his firmly set lips parted.
Her eyes flared with indignation. Barkas added another word as if it were a chore.
"It doesn’t suit you at all."
Her face flushed crimson as she glared at him. But since she was the one who had sought the blunt man’s opinion, she couldn’t truly argue.
Shooting him a venomous look, Thalia stomped behind the partition. She began rummaging through the mountain of clothes, determined to make that corpse-like man blush.
After a long while, she picked out a more daring outfit. It was a provocative dress with a neckline so deep it was precarious. Thalia hesitated, wondering if it was too much, but she soon steeled her resolve and slipped it on. Looking in the mirror, she saw a breathtakingly beautiful girl staring back.
She examined herself with a satisfied gaze. Her body, once as thin as a birch tree, had begun to transform after she turned fourteen. Her chest had budded and begun to swell like ripening fruit, and her once-shapeless hips had gradually filled out.
Thalia was proud of these changes. She was elated by the thought that she was approaching the perfect beauty possessed by Senevia. Once Barkas realized what she had become, he would surely change his mind. Soon, she would be the most beautiful woman in the world.
Buoyed by hope, she dashed out from behind the partition.
"How about this?"
Barkas, who had been staring out the window with a bored expression, turned toward her. Finally, something resembling an emotion flickered across his face. However, it wasn’t the reaction she wanted.
Furrowing his brow as he scanned her, Barkas spoke with a hint of irritation.
"The first dress."
He took a deep breath and added bluntly, "Go with that one."
His voice was dry, devoid of the admiration or agitation she had hoped for. Yet, Thalia felt like her heart might burst just knowing he remembered the very first dress out of the dozens she had shown him.
She flashed a suggestive smile.
"What’s this? You acted so indifferent... but I guess you were watching closely after all?"
He didn’t respond. He looked as if he simply wanted this tedious fashion show to end as quickly as possible.
His arrogant attitude sparked a momentary fit of pique, but Thalia decided to let it slide. Even if it was hard to change his mind right away, hadn’t she resolved to show him her maturing self bit by bit?
Humming to herself, Thalia pulled out the first dress she had worn.
It was a delicate and elegant velvet surcoat, densely embroidered by the fairy race. This garment would never leave her wardrobe; after all, it was the one that had caught Barkas’s eye.
She quickly changed and came back out, spinning around in front of him.
"This one, right?"
He stared at her quietly. He didn’t seem to find it strange that a woman who had been throwing tantrums all day was suddenly as giddy as a drunkard. Perhaps to him, there was little difference between her raging like a monster or giggling like a madwoman.
But Thalia wanted to believe his attitude toward her had changed.
And for good reason—his once-indifferent gaze had started to linger on her face for longer periods. Not only that, but his way of speaking seemed softer than before.
Sensing that subtle shift, Thalia felt a sliver of anticipation stir in her chest.
Could it be that Barkas was also reluctant to part with her? After spending so much time together, perhaps he had grown fond of her, even if it was a begrudging affection. Thalia clung pathetically to that futile hope.
"If I dance in this, I’ll look just like a fairy queen, won’t I?"
At her question, a faint crease appeared between his brows.
Was he sick of the endless questions? No. Perhaps he was actually considering the answer. She decided to think positively.
"Don’t just stand there like a statue; do a rehearsal with me."
Before he could object, Thalia grabbed his arm and pulled. The man, who wouldn’t have budged in the past, allowed himself to be led as if yielding to her whim.
See? Thalia felt triumphant. Something really has changed.
She pulled harder on the man, who acted stiffly as if he had no intention of cooperating, and spun around. Suddenly, her foot caught on a chest left on the floor, and she lost her balance. Thalia instinctively grabbed his arm.
Barkas let out an unintelligible mutter and hurriedly wrapped his arm around her waist.
But the room was such a mess that there was nowhere to step. The pile of clothes tangled around his ankles as well, and they tumbled together onto the carpet. Thalia let out a small curse.
"I told you that you should have cleaned the room right away!"
Barkas, who had been caught in the mishap while trying to protect her, raised an eyebrow. He was an escort knight, not a servant. He couldn’t be forced into menial tasks like tidying up. Even though she knew that, Thalia snapped at him anyway.
"If I have a bruise on my bottom, I won’t let you hear the end of it. You useless escort knight!"
As she grumbled and tried to push herself up, she felt a sharp sting on her scalp. Thalia glared at him in disbelief.
"Did you just pull my hair?"
A short sigh escaped his lips.
"I believe your hair is caught in my sleeve button."
He pulled the arm he had wrapped behind her back slightly forward to show her.
When the sharp pain hit her scalp again, Thalia screamed and pounded on his chest.
"It hurts, you idiot!"
He stopped moving and looked down into her eyes, which were beginning to mist over. Though she felt a bit sheepish inside, Thalia maintained her glare.
With another low sigh, Barkas wrapped his arm behind her back again. He began to move his hands carefully, trying to untangle the mess.
Thalia sat between his knees, her eyes darting around anxiously. Only then did she realize the impropriety of their proximity.
The faint scent of soap and peppermint wafting from him made her heart pound so fiercely it felt like it might explode. She feared Barkas could hear it too.