Edrick alternated between looking at his superior’s cold retreating figure and the citizens glaring with condemning eyes before letting out a heavy sigh and digging his heels into his horse.

The Second Imperial Princess, who had remained hidden inside her carriage as though staging a silent protest, finally revealed herself only after they had left the capital and stopped by the riverside to rest.

The servants busy setting up tents and preparing camp cast tense glances toward Talia.

Apparently, her claim about changing clothes several times a day had not been an exaggeration. Instead of the dress she had worn when departing the Imperial Palace, she now wore a silk gown embroidered with golden thread.

Around her slender white throat glittered a necklace expensive enough to purchase an entire castle, while her birch-thin wrists were adorned with dazzling diamond jewelry.

Watching her from afar, Edrick stared in disbelief.

They were about to eat dinner and settle into camp for the night. Why in the world had she dressed herself up so extravagantly? The incomprehensible behavior was exhausting him already.

Suppressing a sigh, he handed the reins to his squire and approached the princess.

The woman who had been surveying her surroundings shot him a savage glare.

For a brief instant, Edrick felt his throat tighten.

Wrapped in the fading light of the setting sun, Talia looked like a creature forged from fire and gold.

Her wheat-colored hair, tossed violently by the riverside wind, billowed around her face in thick golden waves, and her flawless white-agate skin radiated a pale glow even beneath the burning crimson sunset.

Without realizing it, he took a step backward.

Everything about her looked too delicate, too finely made, as though she might shatter at any moment and scatter razor-sharp fragments in every direction. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

As he swallowed against the ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) inexplicable chill creeping down his spine, an irritated voice slipped from between blood-red lips.

“I dislike this place. Relocate the campsite.”

The absurdity of the order snapped him back to reality.

His spine stiffened instantly.

This woman was nothing more than a poisonous mushroom wrapped in beautiful colors. If one lowered their guard after being enchanted by her appearance, they would undoubtedly suffer for it.

Taking on a businesslike tone, he answered bluntly,

“This campsite was selected by the Imperial Guard for safety reasons. We cannot search for another location now.”

“Who asked for your opinion?”

The woman shot him a frost-covered stare.

“I ordered you to relocate the camp. All you need to do is obey.”

Edrick had to pause briefly to gather what little patience he had left.

“All decisions regarding this expedition belong to Sir Siorcan. As I already told you, we cannot arbitrarily separate from the procession.”

“So all I need is Varkas’s permission, then?”

Interrupting him immediately, the woman spun around without hesitation.

Apparently, she had been looking for an excuse to provoke Sir Siorcan from the beginning.

Edrick hurried after the imperial princess.

He genuinely could not understand a woman so desperate to cause trouble on the very first day of the journey.

With long strides, he quickly overtook her.

“What exactly is it about this place that displeases you so much?”

“I hate all of it.”

The woman snapped irritably while continuing forward.

“I hate that it’s close to the water, and I hate that it’s close to the forest. There’ll obviously be bugs crawling everywhere.”

“How are we supposed to camp somewhere without water? Besides, gryphons and harpies occasionally appear around this area. The forest acts as a natural defensive barrier if large magical beasts attack—”

“What safety?! I’ve already been bitten twice by insects! If I spend the night in a place like this, those vermin will chew my skin clean off. And what’s with those sounds coming from the forest? The rustling leaves are irritating enough already, but how am I supposed to sleep with birds screeching like that too?!”

Edrick stared at the imperial princess in stunned disbelief.

Even a spoiled five-year-old child would not throw a tantrum like this.

He desperately suppressed the irritation surging inside him.

“We’ll be camping outdoors for several more days. If you don’t start adjusting now—”

“Then just relocate the campsite! Why should I be forced to tolerate something I hate?!”

The woman shouted in a shrill voice before storming straight through the camp like a racehorse charging ahead without restraint.

Edrick had to clench his fists tightly to stop himself from physically restraining her.

“Everyone is exhausted after marching all day. We cannot dismantle the entire camp and wander around searching for a new site because of such ridiculous reasons. Stop acting childish and return to your carriage to rest immediately.”

As he stepped in front of her path and deliberately spoke in a stern voice, the breathtakingly beautiful face before him twisted faintly.

The next moment, something cracked sharply through the air like a whip, and a stinging pain spread across his right cheek.

Edrick glared at her viciously.

From the moment he had been assigned as this woman’s guard knight, he had already prepared himself for the occasional slap or strike.

But experiencing it firsthand felt far filthier than he had imagined.

“How dare you order me around.”

As he barely swallowed the humiliation, the woman grabbed him by the collar and hissed viciously into his face.

“I am the Emperor’s daughter, and you people exist for my convenience. If I order you to walk all night, then your fate is to walk until dawn. So stop speaking above your station and get out of my sight.”

Shoving him away violently, the woman resumed walking along the riverside.

Edrick stared silently at that small retreating figure with a hardened expression.

If he were being honest, he wanted to sling that ill-mannered woman over his shoulder the same way his superior had and throw her straight back into the carriage.

But unlike Varkas, he did not possess enough influence to lay hands on a member of the imperial family without consequences.

Watching her grow more distant by the second, Edrick let out a bitter sigh.

Could he truly endure the tyranny of that wicked woman until this journey ended?

His head already throbbed painfully.

Throughout the entire walk along the riverbank, Talia could feel burning gazes sticking to her back.

She shot a sharp glare over her shoulder.

The people secretly watching her immediately flinched and awkwardly pretended to look elsewhere.

It was not much different from usual.

Had people not always treated her like a powder keg ready to explode at any moment?

Yet today, even while shrinking back from her, those sneaking glances felt especially suspicious.

‘One of them is definitely Senevier’s spy.’

She carefully examined every single attendant.

Perhaps every last one of them was a spy.

If it were her mother, such a thing would hardly be impossible.

Her thoughts gradually spiraled into increasingly extreme directions.

For years, Senevier had worked tirelessly to undermine Gareth’s support base. Perhaps this entire journey was an attempt to eliminate every obstacle blocking her son’s path.

Talia’s heartbeat became uneven.

If her mother’s targets were Gareth or Aila, she did not care.

If necessary, she would even participate in the scheme herself.

But if, by some chance, Senevier’s true target was Varkas—

At that thought, Talia anxiously scanned the rows of military tents lined up throughout the camp.

No.

The campsites absolutely had to be separated.

If physical distance existed between them, then Senevier’s spies would have a much harder time attempting anything overnight.

She quickened her pace.

Before long, she discovered Tork, the gray warhorse Varkas treasured so dearly, tied in front of a large tent.

Ignoring the stallion’s loud snort of recognition, Talia stepped into the dim tent.

The inside was organized with temple-like neatness.

Talia swept her gaze across the candle stand casting faint light, the luxurious storage cabinet, and the armor rack arranged with perfect precision before noticing a dark silhouette cast behind a partition.

Without hesitation, she strode toward it.

“I want my campsite relocated. But apparently my wonderful knight claims I cannot go anywhere without Sir Siorcan’s permission. It seems your subordinates believe the commander of the Roem Knights outranks the imperial family. How exactly did the Imperial Guard become such a pathetic group that it no longer understands hierarchy—”

Still rambling without pause as she pulled the partition aside, Talia abruptly froze stiff.

Varkas stood there shirtless, drying the water from his face with a towel.