The woman’s blue «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» eyes flashed with fury as she spat out each word like she was grinding them between her teeth.

“Does my voice sound laughable to you too?”

Startled by the savage force radiating from her, Edrick unconsciously stepped back.

The Imperial Princess trembled violently, her tiny frame shaking as she shouted at him.

“How many times do I have to tell you to leave me alone before you understand? Is what I say really that amusing to you?”

“I merely brought food because I was worried Your Highness might collapse.”

Faced with the torrent of accusations, Edrick faltered before defending himself with an aggrieved expression.

The Imperial Princess openly sneered in his face.

“And why would trash like you worry about me?”

“I am Your Highness’s royal guard knight. I have a duty to attend to your safety—!”

Suddenly, the woman burst into laughter.

Edrick’s face flushed red.

Never in his life had someone mocked him so openly to his face, and for a moment he genuinely did not know how to react.

The woman looked at him as though ridiculing something pitiful before slowly continuing.

“You seem to think I’m completely brainless...... but surely you don’t believe I’m ignorant of the fact that the Roem Imperial Knights are nothing more than the Crown Prince’s obedient hounds?”

His face stiffened instantly.

Her gaze dropped coldly toward the basket in his hands as she added in an icy voice,

“How am I supposed to know what’s inside that? What exactly are you trying to make me suffer?”

“I am a knight!”

Unable to endure any longer, Edrick raised his voice.

Heat climbed all the way to his ears at the humiliation he was experiencing for the first time in his life.

“Your Highness’s words are an insult not only to me but to the entire Imperial Knights! We swore before God to protect the Imperial Family. We would never do anything to harm Your Highness—!”

“And you think I’d believe that?”

Edrick fell silent.

He could only stare at the Imperial Princess’s face, cold and sharp as carved ice.

The faint smile vanished from her lips as she cut him down mercilessly.

“If you want to wag your tail for someone, go do it for my half-siblings. I don’t need it.”

Then she ended the conversation by slamming the door shut with a violent bang.

Edrick tightened his grip around the basket.

If he did not restrain himself, he felt like he might rip the door open and scream at her to stop being so impossibly stubborn.

Glowering at the carriage door with boiling eyes, Edrick eventually turned away.

He had done more than enough already.

He had no desire to continue persuading a woman who openly insulted and treated him like an enemy.

Edrick marched toward the communal barracks and threw the basket down onto a nearby shelf before heading toward the food line.

The knights had already gathered across the plains to eat.

Squeezing himself among his comrades, Edrick piled food onto a plate and began devouring it viciously.

Repeating to himself over and over that whether that nasty woman starved or not was none of his business.

* * *

Restlessly tossing and turning in the darkness, Talia slowly pushed herself upright.

Pulling back the curtain covering the window, she saw a few lanterns glowing faintly where the guards stood watch in the distance. Everything else remained submerged in complete darkness.

Lifting her head, Talia stared silently at the moonless black sky before carefully stepping out of the carriage.

For several days she had survived on little more than a few pieces of bread and fruit preserved in honey. Her arms and legs felt weak and unsteady.

Perhaps it would have been better to simply eat the food that foolish knight had brought her.

He had not looked intelligent enough to scheme against anyone. Maybe she had been overly suspicious.

Talia recalled the knight’s awkward face—

Then immediately erased the thought from her mind.

Had she not already learned that the most dangerous people were precisely the ones who approached with harmless-looking faces?

Perhaps he intended to lower her guard before doing something monstrous.

Watching the knights standing guard near the barricades with wary eyes, Talia cautiously began moving forward.

As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she gradually made out the triangular roofs of tents, the long rows of supply wagons, and the silhouettes of horses.

Carefully avoiding loose stones beneath her feet, she slipped silently between the tents.

Wind blowing down from the hills slid through the gaps in her clothes.

The thick scent of damp grass mixed with the smell of half-burned firewood tickled her nose.

Relying entirely on instinct, Talia crept through the darkness.

Eventually, she found the area where her attendants were staying.

Narrowing her eyes, she spent a long moment confirming she had arrived at the correct place before quietly climbing onto the nearest supply wagon.

Curling herself into a ball between stacks of bundled cargo, she stared fixedly toward the tent entrance.

She intended to see whether the spy her mother had planted would make a move tonight.

Talia hugged her knees tightly and watched the darkness without blinking.

From time to time she could hear soldiers snoring or grinding their teeth in their sleep.

There were horses snorting nearby. Crickets chirped endlessly.

She had never realized nights could be this noisy.

Trying desperately to calm her painfully sharpened nerves, Talia counted each agonizing second as it passed.

How long had she remained holding her breath like that?

Little by little, the pitch-black sky began to soften into deep indigo.

Perhaps tonight would pass quietly after all.

Carefully shifting her stiffened body, Talia stretched her aching joints. Every bone cracked loudly as though screaming in protest.

She was rubbing feeling back into her numb limbs and barely suppressing a groan when she suddenly saw a dark figure emerge from inside the tent.

Talia narrowed her eyes.

The darkness concealed the face, but she could clearly tell it was a slender woman.

Forcing her creaking body upright, Talia quietly followed after the shadow.

After walking a long distance alongside the endless rows of wagons, Aila’s carriage finally came into view.

Talia wiped her damp palms against her skirts.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if that woman slipped inside Aila’s carriage?

If she carried out the deed Talia herself needed done.

Filled with desperate hope, Talia stared intently at the woman’s back.

But the woman simply passed by Aila’s carriage and continued toward the very edge of the camp.

Following her with her eyes, Talia’s face hardened instantly.

A banner embroidered with the black horse emblem of House Siorcan fluttered before one of the tents.

Talia hurried toward it in panic.

But during the brief moment she had looked away, the woman had already disappeared.

Frantically searching between the surrounding tents, Talia slowly turned her eyes toward the entrance of the pavilion.

‘Don’t tell me...... she went inside?’

Her heart dropped violently.

If Aila and Varkas became firmly bound together, Gareth’s political position would only grow stronger.

House Siorcan wielded immense influence not only in the East but throughout the North as well.

If Aila became the Grand Duchess of Siorcan, Gareth would effectively gain the support of the entire noble alliance.

There were countless reasons someone might decide Varkas needed to be eliminated before that happened.

The moment that thought crossed her mind, Talia rushed toward Varkas’s tent as though something were chasing her.

Rational thought no longer existed.

Talia hurriedly searched the dark interior of the tent before yanking aside the partition hanging in the center.

The bed was empty.

Of course it was. He was the sort of man who began his daily routine before dawn even broke. He was probably inspecting the camp or checking on Tork.

The thought crossed her mind briefly, but it did nothing to ease the anxiety clawing at her chest.

She fumbled over the empty bed, checking desperately for bloodstains.

Then heavy footsteps sounded nearby.

Talia jerked her head upward.

A tall man stood silhouetted at the tent entrance.

Thinking Varkas had returned, Talia hurried toward him—

Then abruptly froze.

Gareth, dressed casually, was staring at her with wide eyes.

“What are you doing here?”

His eyes narrowed sharply as he slowly looked her up and down.