Chapter 53
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 53
Barkas, who had been handing a stack of parchment containing the names of the deceased to a priest, turned his head to look at her. Thalia quickly averted her eyes.
Exposed so clearly under the harsh summer sun, she felt a renewed sense of wretchedness. She couldn’t bring herself to hold her head high.
“The Second Imperial Princess requires immediate treatment. Please waive the formal entry procedures.”
The mage from House Taren, who had come to a halt in front of Barkas, spoke with polite efficiency.
When an answer didn’t come immediately, Thalia lifted her gaze again. Barkas was staring intently at her face, a faint furrow creasing his brow.
Did it seem strange to him? Was he surprised that a woman who used to throw a fit at the mere touch of another was staying so quiet?
Barkas’s narrowed eyes dissected her pale, bloodless face as if he were performing an autopsy. Slowly, he lowered his gaze.
His cool eyes lingered for a moment on the hands supporting her back and the crooks of her knees before descending to her calves, which hung limp beneath her skirt. As he discovered the dark red stains blooming through her bandages, the furrow between his brows deepened.
An immediate, questioning glare shot toward the Taren mages.
Ignoring the look, the mage added smoothly, “His Majesty will surely understand the Second Imperial Princess heading straight to her quarters.”
“Yes. Take the child at once.”
Instead of the silent man, a clear, elegant voice provided the answer.
Thalia turned her head toward the sound and stiffened. Aila was crossing the cluttered clearing, leading a retinue of maids.
Aila came to a stop beside Barkas and looked down at Thalia with an expression of profound pity.
“She has just endured a grueling journey with a broken body; it is only right she receives treatment and rest as soon as possible.”
Thalia gritted her teeth. A wave of humiliation washed over her at that lukewarm, sympathetic gaze. If she hadn’t been in a state where she couldn’t even lift a finger, she would have ruthlessly gouged those eyes out.
Whether she noticed Thalia’s internal boiling or not, Aila maintained her gentle smile and placed a hand on Barkas’s forearm.
“I shall explain everything clearly to His Majesty.”
Then, turning gracefully, she urged Barkas along.
“Come, let us head inside. His Majesty is waiting.”
Only then did the man, who had been standing like a statue, slowly begin to move. Thalia watched his retreating back with lingering eyes before finally closing her lids.
The mages passed the Main Palace and entered a vast garden thick with flowers. Soon, a magnificent, ornately decorated building swallowed her whole.
Thalia felt as though she were being sucked into the intestines of a giant beast.
Crossing the marble hall in an instant, the mages ascended the stairs and stepped into Senevia’s study. After passing several large bookshelves lined with hundreds of volumes, a secret passage hidden between pillars was revealed. The mages entered it with practiced ease.
Finally, Senevia’s laboratory appeared.
Thalia frowned as the pungent scent of oils and various herbs made her head spin.
“Lay her here.”
A mage crossed the lab in a few long strides and threw open a door located next to a display cabinet.
Though she had visited this place many times, it was a room she had never entered. The man carrying her laid her down on a bed positioned in the center of the room.
Thalia looked around, her eyes filled with anxiety.
The clean, organized room was filled with bizarrely shaped tools she had never seen before in her life.
As she examined them, she turned her gaze back to the two mages. They were laying out equipment of unknown purpose on a table.
Is this how a calf feels when entering a slaughterhouse? Cold sweat soaked the nape of her neck. If she hadn’t been under a magical restraint, she would have been screaming.
“I will examine the wound first,” one of the mages said, taking a position by her legs.
Thalia felt her skirt being pulled up, and her entire body went rigid.
The man unwrapped the bandages with clinical hands and gave a short click of his tongue.
“The condition is more serious than I thought.”
He meticulously palpated her knee with hands as cold as ice. “The clumsy way the bone was set has actually become a problem. If we let the wound heal like this, the nerves will be paralyzed. You will never be able to use this leg again.”
“The clumsy handiwork of human mages, as always...” the other mage muttered, picking up a small knife from the table.
“Nothing for it. We’ll have to reset it.”
In that instant, a ragged sob escaped her constricted throat.
Only then did the mage notice her deathly pale face. He lowered the cloth covering the lower half of his face and curled his lips into a smile.
“There is no need to worry so much.”
It was intended to be reassuring, but Thalia felt her blood run cold. It didn’t look like a human smile; it looked like a fish mimicking a human expression.
The man continued to prattle on.
“It will be difficult to return it to the exact state it was in before, but I will at least ensure you have no trouble walking.”
She struggled to move her lips.
Stop.
If it couldn’t be the same as before, there was no reason to endure this.
She wanted to scream it, but only ragged sobs leaked from her mouth.
The man pulled the cloth back up and gave an instruction.
“It would be best to burn some sleep herb.”
The mage who had been checking the equipment brought a small brazier to her bedside and burned a bundle of dried herbs.
Thalia immediately stopped breathing. But she couldn’t hold out for long. Overcome by the feeling of suffocation, she finally inhaled the smoke, and her vision blurred instantly.
Thalia tried to force her eyes to stay sharp, to pierce through the hazy veil, but she soon fell into a sleep that felt more like fainting.
* * *
Raindrops fell upon the lake.
She realized she was dreaming. A landscape from an old memory was unfolding before her eyes.
Fourteen-year-old Thalia was crouched under a massive, ancient tree, staring at the gray surface of the water pelted by rain as if it were her mortal enemy.
Barkas, soaked to the bone, approached her side.
“Is the game of hide-and-seek over now?”
She glared at him with venomous eyes.
He must have searched every inch of the palace grounds; his usually impeccable attire and hair were a complete mess. However, Thalia’s mood didn’t improve in the slightest.
She reached out, grabbed a handful of muck, and hurled it at him.
“Go away! I don’t want to see your face!”
An ugly stain appeared on his velvet uniform, but Barkas didn’t even blink.
His stoic reaction only fueled her anger. Thalia continued to hurl clumps of mud.
“Get lost! Just go to Aila!”
“I would like nothing more.”
Barkas let out a short sigh and knelt on one knee beside her.
“But I am bound to you until Your Highness turns sixteen.”
Thalia glared at him, her face flushed with emotion.
Miserably, she felt like she was going to cry. To hide it, she strained her eyes and twisted her lips into a deliberate, spiteful smirk.
“The thought of having to see your face for two more years is horrifying. It makes me want to gag just thinking about it.”
“...”
“I hate you most in the world. You’re creepy. You’re nauseating. You’re disgusting.”
“Are you finished?”
“I’m not finished. You smell like a horse.”
His eyebrows twitched upward slightly.
Thalia flinched and lowered her gaze. Having spent his childhood in a monastery, Barkas was obsessive about cleanliness.
He always smelled of fresh soap. Since he surely knew that himself, he would know her accusation was nothing more than a petty grievance.
However, instead of pointing that out, Barkas took the coat he had been holding and draped it over her shoulders before standing up.
“I will listen to the rest of your insults at the annex. Get up now. Your lips have turned purple.”