Chapter 29
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 29
Thalia fidgeted, her hands moving awkwardly as she spoke in a strained, trembling voice.
“If you… if you break even a single strand of my hair, I won’t let you get away with it.”
He didn’t offer a word in response. However, his movements seemed to grow a touch more cautious. Thalia swallowed hard, her breath hitching at the sensation of his fingers. His touch felt less like he was untangling a knot and more like a gentle caress against her hair.
Through the gap in his open collar, she could see the steady rhythm of his Adam’s apple and collarbones as sharp and elegant as a bird’s wings. She was acutely aware of the lean, powerful muscles of his forearms rippling with every micro-movement, and she couldn’t help but notice his long legs, encased in woolen trousers, positioned right against her own thighs.
Thalia ducked her head low to hide her burning face.
“Is—is it going to take much longer?”
Could untangling a few strands of hair caught in a button really take this much time? Or was she so tense that time itself had begun to warp? Sweat began to bead in her palms.
She rubbed her hands against the pile of clothes on the floor to dry them. Then, she recoiled in shock when she noticed the flush had spread even to the insides of her wrists.
Surely my whole body hasn’t turned red, has it? How pathetic must I look! She raised her voice irritably to mask her embarrassment.
“That’s enough! Just cut it off!”
Barkas, who had been fumbling for a while—a stark contrast to the agile, precise man he usually was—lowered one hand to his waist.
She stiffened as she saw him draw a dagger. He reached behind her back again. Thalia unconsciously gripped the hem of his shirt.
“St—still, don’t cut too much. My hair…”
Before she could finish, there was a soft snip, and the faint tugging on her scalp vanished. Thalia spun around hurriedly, terrified that he might have hacked off a massive chunk of her hair.
Fortunately, there were no severed locks to be found. Instead, a single, shiny gold button lay lonely on the floor.
She picked it up and examined it. The crest of the Roem Knights was engraved upon the finely crafted metal.
She looked up at him. Barkas had already stood up and was sheathing his dagger.
“How long do you plan on sitting there?” he asked bluntly, straightening his disheveled clothes.
Thalia stood up hesitantly, feeling a wave of lingering awkwardness. She let out a forced cough and held the button out to him.
“Here. This fell off.”
“I don’t need it. Throw it away.”
Barkas spoke dismissively, his gaze shifting to the window. The red glow of the sunset was already bleeding across the sky. He scanned the room, which had become a total mess, and let out a weary breath.
“May I be excused now?”
Thalia nodded wordlessly. He gave a short, curt bow and immediately left the room.
Thalia listened to his receding footsteps until they faded into silence. Then, she scrambled to her bed and pulled out her jewelry box, tucking the button into the very bottom of the velvet lining.
That night, sleep eluded her. A strange, fluttering excitement kept her awake, and an unidentifiable emotion made her chest ache with a dull sweetness. She replayed his words, his actions, and the look in his eyes over and over in her mind.
Maybe. No, there’s no way. But maybe…
Disjointed thoughts swirled in her head until it felt like her brain might explode. And yet, she found herself smiling. She tossed and turned all night, soaked in a quiet sense of happiness.
However, it didn’t take long for those girlhood fantasies to be shattered. Only a few days later, news of Barkas and Aila’s engagement arrived.
It was like waking from a daydream into a nightmare. No, it was worse than that. It felt as if she had been floating among the clouds one moment, only to be plummeted onto the jagged rocks below the next.
She immediately sprinted out of the Annex Palace and headed for the training grounds. He was supposed to find her at noon to fulfill his duties as a personal guard, but she couldn’t wait another second.
Thalia, having crossed half the Imperial Palace in a single breath, burst recklessly into the wide-open space where the knights were drilling. She felt the wary, confused gazes of the men, but she didn’t care.
Her eyes darted around urgently, searching for that pale, shimmering ash-blonde hair. Then, realizing the field was filled with trainees rather than regular knights, she turned on her heel. If he wasn’t training, he was likely handling paperwork in his office.
She made her way toward the Military Affairs Office adjacent to the grounds. As expected, Barkas was there. However, he wasn’t working.
Thalia, her hand already on the doorknob, froze when she heard the faint sound of sobbing. Through the gap in the door, she saw Barkas standing with his back to the window. A woman had her face buried in his chest, weeping uncontrollably.
Thalia stood paralyzed at a sight she had never even imagined. Then, the mysterious woman lifted her head, looking up at him with desperate, bloodshot eyes.
“You don’t love her, do you?”
The voice was so pitiful it made Thalia’s stomach churn. The woman clung to him as if begging for her life.
“You’re only marrying her for political reasons. Please, tell me that’s all it is.”
Thalia’s throat tightened. The fact that a woman existed who could plead with him in such a way made her feel as if she had been struck.
She watched his face with bated breath. Finally, his firmly set lips parted.
“I fail to see what meaning my answer holds for you.”
His voice was so dry and hollow it made her shudder.
Thalia unconsciously hunched her shoulders. Barkas stared down at the woman with a face like a lifeless wax doll, tilting his head as if he truly couldn’t comprehend her distress.
“Whether it is for political reasons or not, what difference does it make? I have promised to take the First Imperial Princess as my wife, and I intend to fulfill that promise.”
The woman’s slender back went rigid. She looked as though her heart had been ripped out of her chest.
But Barkas didn’t stop there.
“I don’t know what you expected from me, but I made it clear from the beginning that I have no intention of reciprocating your feelings.”
The color drained from the woman’s face. As if the sight wasn’t even slightly moving, he added with a tired sigh, “I hope there will be no more of these awkward encounters. Now that the engagement is official, I wish to avoid unnecessary scandals.”
The woman stumbled backward, collapsing as if the strength had been sapped from her bones. A flicker of genuine annoyance passed over Barkas’s face.
Thalia felt goosebumps break out at the sight of that cold expression. There wasn’t a single trace of sympathy to be found. That look in his eyes… it was terrifyingly familiar.
Thalia turned and fled.
If she had been just a little faster, the one collapsing and sobbing there would have been her, not that woman.
Just imagining the scene made her blood run cold. If Barkas had directed such a look at her while she was begging for his love, she would have died on the spot. No—she definitely would have died.
In that moment, Thalia became truly afraid of him. She was terrified of the man who could drive someone to their death with just a few icy words.
Naturally, her attitude toward Barkas became even more defensive than before.
He was no longer the object of her unrequited love; he was a natural enemy. If she couldn’t perfectly suppress these feelings, she would be forced to live in agonizing pain for the rest of her life.