Chapter 60
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 60
Thalia planted both feet firmly on the floor, forcing her spine as straight as she could manage.
A sharp, electric pain radiated from her knees up to her lower back. It seemed the fall had done more damage than she’d realized. She wanted nothing more than to collapse right then and there, but she feigned a mask of composure, meeting her biological father’s gaze head-on.
It was the first time she had faced him in nearly half a year. Even then, she had only caught a fleeting glimpse of him from a distance. Facing him now felt like standing before a complete stranger.
The man before her seemed to share the sentiment. The Emperor, looking visibly uncomfortable, averted his eyes as he spoke.
"I heard you went through quite an ordeal."
His voice was monotonous, as if he were discussing someone else’s business.
"I heard you’ve even been... blemished."
Thalia shot him a look of pure hostility.
This man was no different from a stranger. The fact that he could so callously mention her deepest shame made her blood boil.
"Is that why you summoned me? Because you were curious?" Thalia let out a sharp, mocking laugh. She lightly brushed her skirt, adding derisively, "Would you like to see for yourself? To see exactly what kind of 'blemishes' I have?"
The man’s thick eyebrows furrowed deeply.
Contrary to her expectation of a thunderous roar, Birus Roem Guirta remained silent, staring intently at her face. He looked as if he were seeing his daughter’s features for the very first time in his life.
"There is no need for me to see it with my own eyes," he muttered bluntly.
The Emperor then turned his gaze toward Barkas. Seeing the complex web of thoughts tangled in the man’s eyes, Thalia felt a creeping sense of unease. Why on earth had he summoned both her and Barkas at the same time?
As she glared at him with suspicion, the Emperor finally spoke after a long pause, his tone heavy with reproach.
"Barkas Raedgo Sieorkan, I trusted you with the safety of my children. And the result of that trust is standing right before me."
Thalia felt the blood in her veins turn to ice.
The Emperor tapped the armrest of his throne with his fingertips before continuing in a low, heavy tone.
"Due to your failure as a guardian, the Second Imperial Princess not only suffered critical injuries but has also sustained permanent damage to her body. Do you acknowledge that the responsibility for this lies with you?"
Barkas’s gaze briefly met hers before drifting away.
"I do."
There was no emotion in his voice. No sense of injustice, no guilt, not even the hint of a swallowed excuse. His voice was utterly calm, as if he were merely stating a plain fact.
"I will accept any punishment."
Thalia took a step forward without realizing it.
Barkas did nothing wrong.
She wanted to scream it, but the words died in her throat. Was he really blameless?
She looked down at her legs, which had begun to tremble faintly, then looked back at his face. The image of him running away from her overlapped with his current expression. That memory—a sight she would likely never forget for the rest of her life—robbed her of all speech.
"Since you admit it so readily, this should be simple," the Emperor sighed heavily. "Because of this accident, the marriage talks between the Count’s house and the Second Imperial Princess have fallen through. It will likely be difficult to find her another match befitting the status of the Imperial Family. She is, in many ways, a flawed child..."
The Emperor spoke as if she weren’t even in the room. He glanced once at her pale face before continuing slowly.
"You must take responsibility for this. Break your engagement with Aila Roem Guirta and take the Second Imperial Princess, Thalia Roem Guirta, as your wife."
Thalia stopped breathing.
Unable to fully comprehend what she had just heard, she stared blankly at the Emperor before turning her gaze toward Senevia. A smile, like that of a snake that had just swallowed its prey, played across Senevia’s lips.
A sudden chill ran down Thalia’s spine, and a cold sweat broke out over her entire body. She didn’t even dare to look at Barkas’s expression, dropping her head instead.
There was no way Barkas would accept such an absurdity. He was the son of a high lord. No matter if he was the Emperor, he had no right to make such a demand of the heir to the Eastern Grand Duke. Naturally, he would exercise his right to refuse.
Thalia gripped her skirt tightly with trembling hands. After several seconds of agonizing silence, he finally spoke.
"If Her Highness the Second Imperial Princess agrees, I shall do so."
Thalia’s head snapped up.
He looked down at her with a piercing gaze, adding slowly, as if rolling each word on the tip of his tongue, "I shall take Her Highness as my wife."
For a moment, it felt as if her heart had stopped. Thalia stared at his lips with hollow eyes. Did those words really come out of that mouth? Could I be hallucinating?
Yes. Surely, she was hearing things. There was no way Barkas would say he would marry her.
"So he says, Princess."
The Emperor’s low voice pulled her consciousness back to reality from the confusion she was drowning in.
"If you agree, the position of the Grand Duchess of Sieorkan will be yours. Now, what say you?"
His voice was laced with heavy cynicism. Only then did Thalia realize that the Emperor was hoping she would refuse. He was making this proposal only because he was being pressured by the Empress, but deep down, he surely didn’t want his illegitimate child to be joined with Aila’s fiancé.
Perhaps Barkas was only saying those words because he expected her to throw a fit and refuse. No. That must be it. Suddenly, her mind grew calm.
If she accepted here, the man she had yearned for her entire life would be hers. But was that truly what she wanted?
She looked down at her legs hidden beneath her skirt. The mere thought of having to show this body to him made her stomach churn. If she were to see even a flicker of disgust or rejection on his face, she truly wouldn’t be able to maintain her sanity. She might break and crumble even further than this.
Thalia looked up at him again. He was a man who had always turned away from her, always turned his back. The man who had saved Aila, not her. The man who would never love her, even if he died.
Could she live her whole life by such a man’s side? Did she really want to crawl into such agony?
"I... I..."
Thalia opened her parched lips. There was no way she could endure it. She didn’t want to be hurt anymore.
Just as she was about to refuse, she caught sight of Senevia’s face. The smile was gone. Senevia’s eyes were a silent, lethal warning that she would never be forgiven if she disappointed her.
Her stomach tightened painfully.
"I..."
She looked back and forth between Barkas’s face, the Emperor’s face, and Senevia’s face. Their features blurred and mixed together. Thalia felt a wave of intense dizziness and clutched her head.
Before she knew it, her forehead was drenched in sweat. She wiped it away repeatedly with her sleeve, but the stinging droplets trickled into her eyes. As she brushed them away frantically, her vision suddenly lurched, and her legs gave out.
She gasped sharply at the impact as her body hit the floor.
A shrill scream echoed from somewhere far away. It seemed Senevia’s maids were making a fuss. Lying prone on the floor, she forced her blurred, frost-covered vision to focus. Beyond the hazy veil, she could faintly see Barkas’s face, frozen cold.
Was the fact that he looked paler than usual just an illusion created by her foolish, lingering love?
Yes. It had to be. Was he not the man who had remained unmoved even after seeing her in such a wretched state? Why would he ever turn pale because of her?
A sudden wave of exhaustion washed over her. Thalia struggled to keep him within her fading sight, but soon, she let go of everything.
* * *
The news that the engagement between the next Grand Duke and the First Imperial Princess had been broken, and that the Second Imperial Princess was set to take her place, spread like wildfire throughout the Imperial Palace.