It would only make her task easier.
Carefully, she began crossing the camp.
Then a royal guard knight spotted her and hurried over.
“Your Highness!”
Talia frowned.
Why did this man insist on wagging his tail after her so persistently?
His inexplicably friendly attitude irritated her.
She stared coldly at his harmless face, snorted dismissively, and walked straight past him.
Yet even such blatant rejection failed to discourage him.
“So you really were feeling stifled, weren't you? Please come this way. The servants are preparing food. If you watch the cooking process yourself, you'll be able to put your mind at ease.”
Ignoring the knight's nonstop chatter, she headed toward the source of the music.
Before long, she found Gareth enjoying a lavish feast before an ornate tent.
Talia stopped at a distance.
His attendants were going to extraordinary lengths to improve the Crown Prince's sour mood.
Servants dressed as ridiculous clowns performed tricks with daggers.
Musicians played sultry melodies tailored to his tastes.
Several maids pretended to serve him while openly flirting.
Talia ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) watched the spectacle with mocking amusement.
Then the royal guard knight stepped in front of her.
“You should go somewhere else.”
Talia slowly lifted her gaze to his serious face.
He had worn the same expression back at the temple.
As though he were protecting her from danger.
She sneered inwardly.
As if I'd ever believe that.
“Mind your own business.”
She snapped coldly before changing direction and walking toward the tents lined along the riverbank.
Gareth had never been her target.
Trying to appear as natural as possible, Talia searched for Aila's camp.
At last she found her half-sister dining among a group of maids.
Talia hesitated.
Knights surrounded Aila on all sides.
As far as they were concerned, she herself was a person of interest.
The moment she approached carelessly, she would be stopped.
Anxiously, she bit her lip.
How could she get close to her half-sister without arousing suspicion?
While she was lost in thought, the royal guard knight who had been chattering incessantly suddenly fell silent.
Talia glanced upward.
The man was staring at her with a suspicious expression.
Apparently her unusual behavior had finally caught his attention.
Suppressing her unease, she sat casually at a nearby table.
Then, seeking to distract him, she abruptly said,
“I'm hungry. Bring me something to eat.”
The knight's face brightened immediately.
The reaction was almost laughably simple.
“Please wait just a moment! I'll bring something right away.”
Once the bothersome watchdog disappeared, Talia lowered her gaze beneath her hood and resumed observing Aila.
The First Imperial Princess was laughing repeatedly at the jokes of her maids.
Could she really do it?
Could she truly cut off that detestable woman's breath?
Her mouth had gone completely dry.
Perhaps she would be subdued by a suspicious knight before she even had the chance to try.
If that happened, no one would dismiss it as a mischievous prank.
As her fingers played over the knife hidden in her pocket, she seriously considered whether this was worth staking her life on.
Even if Aila vanished from the world, she would never gain Varkas.
He would continue living his life exactly as before.
She would simply die on the execution grounds.
The only thing awaiting her at the end of this foolish act was a miserable death.
'Even so...'
Was watching Varkas become Aila's husband truly better than death?
While Aila, as the future Grand Duchess of Siorcan, bore and raised his heirs, Talia would slowly wither away in agony.
Perhaps she would eventually be forced to marry whatever man Senevier chose for her.
If that happened, she would be unable to endure the touch of some vile, disgusting man and would end up hanging herself.
No.
She certainly would.
Whether she died this way or that way, death was waiting for her regardless.
Perhaps it would be better to end everything tonight.
To take Aila with her and bring the story to a clean conclusion.
At last, her resolve hardened.
Talia rose from her seat.
She started moving toward Aila as naturally as possible.
Then suddenly, a familiar figure entered her field of vision.
'That woman...'