Admiring that face, Talia continued softly.
“You must have been terrified I'd steal your fiancé.”
“......”
“But what should I do? Hearing you say that only makes me want to take him away no matter what.”
Aila's lovely face twisted even further.
Poison seeped into eyes that usually called to mind evergreen forests.
A strange exhilaration swept over Talia.
This was the sister who always looked down on her with a perfect, immaculate face.
And now, at last, that sister was revealing raw emotion.
“He only agreed to marry you because he feels responsible.”
Aila burst out impatiently.
“He feels guilty about what happened to you! But your injuries weren't his fault. So why should Varkas have to make that sacrifice?”
The smile vanished from Talia's lips.
The pleasant feeling disappeared instantly, replaced by a rage so cold it could freeze flesh.
Her fingers itched with the urge to tear out the tongue speaking as though it were Varkas's own mouthpiece.
Grinding down the curses crawling up her throat, Talia forced out a deceptively gentle voice.
“I thought you were smarter than this.”
Aila's lips went rigid.
Talia continued slowly.
“But you're more foolish than I expected.”
Aila's mouth tightened.
“The thing you should be saying to me right now isn't that.”
“......”
“You should be begging.”
Talia's voice remained calm.
“Politely. Earnestly.”
“......”
“You should be asking me not to marry Varkas Laedgo Siorcan.”
Aila's eyes twitched.
Talia stared maliciously at the face distorted by humiliation.
Moistening her lips, Aila finally forced out the words.
“If I beg you... will you refuse to marry him?”
“Well.”
Talia answered lazily.
“I suppose that depends on how desperate the person asking looks.”
Aila bit down on her lip and lowered her eyes.
It seemed she could hardly force the words out.
How much time passed in that suffocating silence?
At last, Aila looked up with a resolute expression.
Then a pitiful voice spilled from her beautiful pink lips.
“Please. Refuse the marriage to Varkas. If you don't agree, His Majesty won't force it through. So please...”
The rest never came.
Her voice shattered and fell apart # Nоvеlight # before she could continue.
Looking up at that sorrowful face, Talia swallowed a bitter sneer.
At this moment, this woman undoubtedly believed she had given up something precious.
Her pride as an Imperial Princess.
She probably believed that because she, a noble Imperial Princess, had lowered herself before a worthless bastard daughter, she deserved to be rewarded.
Talia lowered her gaze to the legs hidden beneath the blanket.
Only after ending up like this had she become worthy of consideration as his bride.
And yet this woman believed she could win him back by sacrificing a handful of her precious pride.