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.
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.