Humiliation flushed her face.
"I can make it all the way to the Empress Palace without any trouble!"
The man's eyes narrowed above the veil.
A strange sense of dread settled over her.
The man stroked his chin as though considering something.
Then, without warning, he seized her injured leg.
A scream tore from Talia's throat.
The pain was so intense that her vision turned white.
He squeezed her wound so hard that fresh blood seeped through the bandages.
"If we let you walk on a leg like this and the wound bursts open, we're the ones who'll suffer for it. Stop being stubborn."
Talia stared up at him in shock.
The man released her leg and nodded toward another man waiting opposite him.
"You carry her."
The other man immediately bent down and slid an arm beneath her back.
Goosebumps exploded across her skin as though a snake had touched her.
Talia twisted away from him and swung her arm.
"Don't touch me!"
The man she struck in the jaw muttered something incomprehensible in a harsh metallic voice.
The moment she realized it was the language of elves, Talia's body went rigid.
Beneath the hood, she caught sight of abnormally long ears, skin pale as plaster, and whitish hair tinged faintly blue.
Not a half-blood.
Not a quarter-blood.
An Origin Elf.
Knowing very well how inhuman such beings were, Talia felt terror seize her.
The two men exchanged words in their own language before gripping her arms tightly from both sides.
Talia opened her mouth to scream.
At that moment, a cold, damp hand covered her eyes.
All strength drained from her body.
It felt as though every bone and muscle inside her had melted away.
"What a nuisance. Making me waste magic for no reason."
The man removed his hand from her face and muttered under his breath.
Talia stared at him with dilated eyes.
She wanted to demand what he had done to her.
Instead, only ragged wheezing escaped her throat.
Straightening, the man issued an order to the elf seated opposite him.
"She won't be able to move now. Take her to the treatment room."
The man Talia had struck immediately obeyed.
Lifted effortlessly like a sack of grain, Talia turned pleading eyes toward her nanny.
But as always, her nanny remained strangely insensitive to her fear.
"Just endure it a little longer, my lady. Everything will be fine."
Dabbing at her eyes with her sleeve, the nanny hopped down from the carriage.
The man carrying Talia followed after her.
As the brilliant sunlight poured into her eyes, Talia frowned.
After blinking several times, she finally made out the soldiers of the Empress Palace surrounding the carriage.
She scanned them uneasily.
Then, beyond the wall of soldiers, she spotted a familiar Imperial Guard knight shifting restlessly.
As he tried to push past the Empress Palace soldiers and approach her, one of the Taren magicians firmly stopped him.
"Your duty is finished. We will take care of Her Highness. Step aside."
"But I am her guard knight. I should escort—"
"Her Highness has ended up in this state. Doesn't that mean your qualifications have effectively been revoked already?"
The knight fell silent, unable to respond.
Clicking his tongue lightly, the magician shoved him aside with one hand and continued across the chaotic open square crowded with supply wagons.
Talia looked around in confusion.
Before long, among the knights waiting at the entrance to the main palace, she found a glimpse of pale flaxen hair.
For an instant, she almost called his name.
Then she came to her senses and bit down on her tongue.
Varkas would never step forward for her.
In truth, she did not even understand why the impulse to seek his help kept rising inside her.
These were magicians sent by Senevier.
They would not do anything to harm her.
Repeating that to herself, she struggled to suppress her unease.
Then the man carrying her changed direction and began walking straight toward him.
Talia's body tensed as Varkas's face grew steadily closer.