Chapter 49
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 49
Was waking in the dead of night supposed to feel this jarring?
Thalia took a deep breath, trying to steady her racing heart, but the sensation of suffocation only intensified.
Gasping for air through a throat that felt clamped shut, she finally forced herself up, unable to endure the stifling pressure a moment longer. Her splinted leg throbbed with a dull, rhythmic agony, but she was on the verge of blacking out from lack of oxygen and couldn’t afford to be cautious.
Practically tumbling out of the carriage, Thalia took several staggering steps, her mouth agape as she fought to fill her lungs.
Before long, she spotted a flickering light in the distance. A surge of relief washed over her as she dragged her stiff, twitching leg toward a large tent where a campfire crackled.
It was then that a cheerful, mocking voice drifted toward her on the wind.
"It’s divine retribution."
Thalia froze.
A woman sitting before the fire poked at the logs with a long branch, her voice loud and full of spite.
"Everyone knows. She cursed the First Imperial Princess. She even dared to barge into Her Highness’s birthday banquet and cause a scene!"
The maid’s voice rose with excitement.
Thalia scrutinized the face illuminated by the firelight. The features weren’t familiar; she likely belonged to Aila or Gareth’s personal staff.
The maid took a sip from her cup to wet her throat before her tongue started wagging gleefully again.
"Surely, God has punished her. Her own curse came back to haunt her—she got exactly what she deserved!"
"I heard she might end up a cripple. Is that true?" another voice asked.
"The chances are high! I heard it from a maid serving the Second Imperial Princess. Apparently, her leg bone was completely shattered. They had to spend hours putting it back together like a jigsaw puzzle."
Thalia flinched, her gaze dropping to her own leg.
The woman’s voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper.
"I heard she’s even got a hideous scar. The skin is so mangled that even magic can’t wipe it clean. They say it’s all mottled and disgusting."
"Well, I guess we won’t have to see her strutting through the Imperial Palace like she owns the place anymore."
"Exactly. Her only source of pride has been tarnished! How could she act so high and mighty with a body like that?"
Mocking laughter erupted from the group, as if they found the entire situation delightful.
Thalia, who had been standing like a statue, began to drag her leg toward the woman’s back.
The faces of those who noticed her shadow turned ashen. However, the woman, still caught up in her cruel excitement, had yet to realize Thalia was there. She continued to prattle on.
"Her marriage prospects are as good as dead now. What noble family would want an illegitimate cripple—Agh!"
The woman let out a shrill scream as her hair was suddenly seized from behind.
Thalia ignored the cry and yanked violently on the woman’s tightly braided hair. When the maid finally saw Thalia’s face, her skin turned white with pure terror.
Staring down at her, Thalia curled the corners of her mouth into a thin, cold smirk.
"Why stop? Keep talking."
"Your... Your Highness..."
"What is there to be so afraid of? I’m just an illegitimate cripple, aren’t I?"
The woman’s eyes widened. Harsh, panicked sobs broke through the lips that had been smirking just moments ago.
"I-I am sorry, Your Highness! I... I have committed a grave sin..."
"And what sin would that be?"
"I... I..." Her lips trembled, struggling to form words. "I... I insulted the Imperial Princess with my p-profane words. P-please, find it in your heart to f-forgive..."
"If you’ve done wrong, you should be punished. Why are you thinking of forgiveness first?"
The woman’s complexion turned a sickly shade of gray.
Thalia stared down at that livid face before slowly scanning the others gathered around the fire. The maids, frozen like mice before a snake, bowed their heads low. Spotting a knight standing stiff with tension among them, Thalia gave a sharp jerk of her chin.
"You. Come here."
After a moment’s hesitation, the knight approached with reluctant steps.
Thalia yanked the hair she was holding downward, forcing the woman to her knees in front of the knight.
"She has insulted the Imperial Family with her wagging tongue. She must pay the price. Draw your sword and do your job."
The knight’s shoulders stiffened visibly.
The woman was now sobbing so hard she was hyperventilating. Looking down at the scene with a dark expression, the knight placed a hand over his chest and bowed deeply.
"Your Highness, we are currently short-handed just preparing for the funeral and tending to the wounded. Executing someone at a time like this will only cause unnecessary commotion and unrest. Therefore, please, quell your anger and—"
"Are you saying you intend to defy my order?"
The knight kept his mouth shut, bowing his head even deeper.
Thalia let out a hollow, jagged laugh at his silent defiance, her face soon contorting with pure rage.
"If you won’t do it, I will."
Thalia threw the woman’s hair aside like trash and lunged at the knight. Startled by her sudden movement, the man reflexively grabbed her shoulders to steady her. Thalia glared at him with eyes full of fury.
"How dare you lay your hands on me!"
The man pulled his hands away instantly, as if he had been burned. Thalia didn’t miss the opening and grabbed the hilt of the sword hanging at his waist.
However, the longsword was heavier than she expected, and her leg could no longer support her weight. As she tried to draw the blade, Thalia lost her balance and collapsed onto the dirt.
A suffocating silence followed her pathetic display.
Thalia clutched her twitching leg and looked up. The hardened, pitying faces of the knight and the maids filled her vision.
An old memory clawed through her mind—dozens of pairs of cold eyes looking down at her as she lay helplessly in her own vomit. The shame and humiliation of that day, and that primal, visceral fear, resurfaced to scorch her brain.
She braced her trembling hands against the ground and forced her upper body upright. She wanted to leap to her feet and assert her dignity as a princess, but her leg wouldn’t budge.
As Thalia tried to straighten the limb that refused to obey her, her face hardened. She noticed the woman staring blankly at her from right beside her.
The woman who had been mocking her was now watching her crawl on the ground.
She could not allow it.
Groping the ground, Thalia snatched a log from the fire. The intense heat felt as if it were searing her fingers, but physical pain could never surpass the agony of her crushed pride.
She swung the glowing, ember-choked log, smashing it across the woman’s face.
A grotesque shriek erupted.
Not satisfied, she went to swing the log again, but a dark shadow lunged out of the darkness and snatched her up.
Thalia thrashed like a cornered beast. Then, catching a familiar scent, she ceased all movement. Barkas held her easily with one arm, looking down at her with a frigid gaze.
While she gasped for breath, pinned by his stare, he took the log from her hand and hurled it away. Just as he had taken her knife before, he had once again stripped her of her weapon.
Resentment surged within her.
This man never took her side.
He wouldn’t fight for her, yet he wouldn’t let her defend herself either.