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.