The Crown Prince was still glaring at his half-sister as though he wanted to kill her.
His face twisted with fury and humiliation.
The sight of him acting like the victim was so absurd that laughter escaped Talia between coughing fits.
Gareth’s face flushed crimson as he raised a fist.
“You fucking bitch...!”
But his hand never reached her.
Varkas had seized Gareth’s thick muscular arm as casually as though restraining a child.
Then he turned a sharp gaze upon Talia instead.
It was as though he had become utterly sick of her inability to stop provoking her brother even after nearly dying.
“Escort the Second Imperial Princess back to her quarters.”
He issued the order to the guard knight who had rushed over with a pale face.
The knight immediately moved to support her.
Talia violently shook off the helping hand and staggered upright on her own.
Then, as though nothing whatsoever had happened, she calmly brushed the dirt from her skirts.
Gareth stared at her with burning eyes before shouting at Varkas.
“Take your hands off me right now!”
“That’s enough!”
Aila’s sharp voice rang out from nearby.
Apparently this was the first time she had witnessed her younger brother’s violent temper so closely. Her face had gone completely white.
She hurried toward him and demanded in a stiff voice,
“What in the world are you doing? You’re the Crown Prince of this Empire! How could you possibly behave in such a disgraceful—!”
“Stay out of this!”
Gareth snarled like a beast.
Aila flinched backward.
She looked deeply shocked that the younger brother who always behaved gently around her like a tame dog had suddenly bared his fangs.
Watching her half-sister, Talia spoke mockingly.
“That’s right. Sister shouldn’t interfere in our affairs.”
Aila shot her a sharp glare with glittering emerald eyes.
Then her gaze fell upon Talia’s miserable state, and her body stiffened.
Talia lightly touched her swollen cheek with one hand and smiled strangely.
“It was only a minor disagreement between siblings. Isn’t that right, Brother?”
She tilted her head as though asking for agreement.
A grinding sound came from between Gareth’s clenched teeth.
Talia walked directly toward him.
A knight stepped in front of her as though trying to stop her, but she ignored him entirely and stared straight into Gareth’s dark green eyes.
“In truth, we’re close enough to share secrets, aren’t we?”
His face was now so red it looked ready to explode.
He wore the expression of a man who wanted to devour her alive.
But apparently he had no desire to risk having his filthy secret exposed in front of his sister.
The tension slowly drained from his body as he said in a strangled voice,
“...Take your hand off me.”
Varkas silently studied Gareth’s face for a moment before finally releasing him.
Apparently he had been gripping him quite hard. Clear finger marks remained pressed into Gareth’s sun-darkened skin.
Gareth rubbed at them silently before glaring back and forth between Varkas and Talia with naked hostility.
Then he abruptly turned and stalked back toward the camp.
Talia giggled softly while watching his retreating figure, which resembled that of a defeated soldier.
Then she felt a cold gaze settle over her.
The laughter vanished from her face.
She slowly lifted her head.
As always, Varkas was staring down at her with an unreadable expression.
But Talia could clearly read the disgust and fury hidden within those icy eyes.
He grasped her arm with a gauntleted hand and motioned toward the knight.
“Escort the First Imperial Princess back to her quarters.”
Then he gave Aila, who still stood frozen stiff, a brief bow of the head before dragging Talia away between the trees as though escorting a criminal.
Talia’s face twisted viciously.
Whatever anyone said, she was still an Imperial Princess of the Empire.
A mere vassal of the imperial family had no right to drag the Emperor’s daughter around like some stray mutt.
Talia violently jerked her arm free.
“You insolent bastard! Let go of me this inst—!”
Suddenly, her body lifted clear off the ground.
Talia screamed.
Ignoring the horrified stares around them, Varkas slung her over one shoulder like luggage and strode through the tents.
Talia’s face burned scarlet as she thrashed like a furious beast.
She pounded violently against his back and shoulders with her fists and kicked savagely, but Varkas did not so much as flinch.