Chapter 93
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 93
“You ought to tour the estate with the caretaker today. You’ve only just been appointed, so I imagine there are a thousand things requiring your attention, don’t you think?”
The nanny spoke distractedly as she set the table.
“Now, stop daydreaming and sit. You need to eat quickly and get ready to depart, My Lady.”
Thalia swallowed a heavy sigh and pulled out a chair. She still had no appetite, but she didn’t want to argue with her nanny, who seemed to be in a rare good mood.
“I’m only going to eat a little.”
“I’m sure you will,” the nanny replied with a knowing smile. She began cutting the food into bite-sized pieces, piling them onto Thalia’s plate.
Thalia took a piece of bread no larger than a fingernail and tore it into even smaller fragments, meticulously checking to see if anything suspicious had been mixed in. Once she was certain the food was safe, she forced the crumbled bread down her throat with a bit of thick jam. She intended to end her meal there, but the nanny pushed more toward her—meat drenched in a mysterious brown sauce and a steamed egg.
She couldn’t bring herself to touch the gamey meat, so she managed to finish the single egg before standing up. Just then, she sensed a presence outside the tent.
“Your Highness, I have come to check your condition.”
It was the healer Senevia had assigned to her. Thalia responded in a listless voice.
“Come in.”
A middle-aged woman with neat, composed features entered. She asked kindly, “How is the pain faring today?”
“It’s manageable,” Thalia replied curtly, sitting on the edge of the bed.
The woman knelt before her and began to unwrap the bandages on her leg. As the mottled scars were revealed, the nanny immediately averted her gaze.
Thalia tried to ignore the reaction, looking down at her own leg with indifferent eyes. The healer applied a thick, cool salve over the scars and began re-wrapping the limb.
“Your skin might get irritated, so I’ll wrap it a bit loosely today.”
“I don’t care. Wrap it tight,” Thalia countered. “Make sure it doesn’t come undone.”
“Are you trying to make the scarring worse?” the healer scolded, her tone stern.
Thalia glared at her, eyes flashing, but she soon bit her lip and looked away. With a faint, patient smile, the woman finished wrapping the bandages loosely.
“I’ve tied the knot securely so it won’t slip. Don’t worry,” she added soothingly.
Instead of answering, Thalia felt the bandages. They seemed secure enough; they wouldn’t come loose unless she tore them off herself. As she let out a small sigh of relief, the woman pulled a small incense burner from the bag tucked under her arm.
“I’ll burn some herbs for you before you leave. It will make the carriage journey easier to endure.”
She began to place a dried herb candle into a ceramic jar. Thalia reached out and caught her hand, stopping her.
“That’s enough.”
The healer’s eyes widened in surprise. “Will you be all right? The pain will only worsen as the carriage jolts.”
“I’ll endure it. Barkas…”
She almost blurted out that Barkas hated the smell of burning herbs, but she caught herself just in time. She didn’t want to be caught caring about his preferences. Even though there was no one left to mock her feelings, the habit of concealment remained.
Thalia snapped at her to hide her slip. “I said it’s fine, so leave it.”
After a moment of worried hesitation, the healer tucked the incense burner back into her bag.
Thalia stood, washed her face, and changed her clothes with the nanny’s assistance. When she finally stepped outside, her vision was filled with rows of tan, jagged tents and the frantic movement of people between them.
Thalia’s shoulders hunched at the unfamiliar landscape. Children ran barefoot through the grass, women crouched before large ovens roasting bread and meat, and men rode horses with their chests bared to the wind. Everything was utterly foreign.
“You’re finally up.”
As she was blankly taking in her surroundings, a familiar voice reached her.
Thalia turned her head and frowned. A slender boy with golden-brown eyes was perched on a large crate, glaring at her. It was Barkas’s strange younger brother.
“Are all royals as lazy as you? Everyone’s been waiting with bated breath for you to finish getting ready.”
Thalia arched an eyebrow. At her cold look, a flicker of intimidation crossed the boy’s arrogant face.
“I mean... the sun is already high in the sky, and you hadn’t even shown your face yet...”
“Where are your manners?” Thalia snapped.
The boy shrugged, his expression turning shameless. “I don’t even use formal speech with my own father.”
“Is being an ill-mannered brat something to be proud of?”
The boy’s face crumpled. “Who are you calling a brat! I’m just free-spirited!”
Thalia decided he wasn’t worth the effort and turned away. He quickly scrambled off the crate to chase after her.
“Is your personality always this rotten? I mean, how did you even end up like this?”
“...”
“Rumor has it you used to whip your maids and kick them out for no reason. They say you even poisoned the First Imperial Princess’s cup. Is any of that true?”
Thalia, who had been walking slowly, came to a dead halt. As if afraid she might actually strike him, the boy took a panicked step back.
She glared at him in a heavy silence, then slowly let the corners of her mouth curl upward.
“That’s right. It’s all true.”
The boy’s golden-brown eyes went wide. Looking him straight in the eye, Thalia continued in a low, predatory voice.
“I whipped my maids whenever I was bored. And I did indeed put drugs in my half-sister’s cup.”
The boy’s pupils shook violently. He seemed unable to tell if she was being serious or simply trying to provoke him. Thalia stepped closer, thrusting her face toward him menacingly.
“Do you think that’s all? I even sharpened my knife every night, planning to tear that pretty little face of yours to shreds.”
She could see the fine hairs standing up on his smooth cheeks. Leaning toward his earlobe, which had turned bright red as his heart raced, Thalia whispered gloomily.
“So you’d better be careful, too. I have nothing left to lose.”
When she straightened her back, she saw a face pale with horror. Thalia gave a sharp, mocking huff of laughter and limped toward the carriage.
*
After spending a night in the pastures near Raedgo Castle, the party moved east to tour a large village before turning north.
As they traveled the dirt roads connecting the settlements, campsites of various sizes dotted the horizon. It seemed a significant number of the Khan people still adhered to their nomadic roots. To raise hundreds of livestock, a life of following the pastures through the seasons was an inevitable necessity.
On the other hand, the settlers in the villages lived much like the citizens of the Empire. They resided in houses of stone and earth, tilled the fields, and operated workshops for handicrafts or traded in the marketplaces.
The wool market was particularly thriving; high-quality fabrics and felt made from sheep’s wool were clearly the core of the East’s economy.
Large-scale markets were held in the major cities, drawing hundreds of merchants from across the Empire to purchase expensive textiles. Naturally, vast amounts of gold flowed into these trade exchanges. Barkas’s primary task was to grasp the operational status of these hubs.
“The market is growing significantly every year. Not only textiles, but trade in groceries and handicrafts is also very active,” the administrator standing beside Barkas explained in a calm tone.
“These entries are the tax records collected this season. In addition, I have organized everything—rental income, tolls, and the profit margins of the horse trading posts operated directly by the Grand Duke’s household.”
Barkas flipped through the thick ledger with practiced speed. Thalia, watching him blankly, eventually succumbed to boredom and turned her gaze to the window. The city landscape, filled with well-maintained roads and dense stone buildings, filled her sight.
The East was a strange place. Those who lived in tents on the open plains and those who lived an Imperial lifestyle within high stone walls... it was as if two different worlds had been tangled together.
“It looks like this will take some time,” Barkas said, breaking her trance. “Would you like to go out and see the trading post for a moment?”
Thalia, who had been staring blankly out the window, turned her head with a start.