It felt as though someone had stolen away a treasure that belonged only to her.
Talia knew the feeling was irrational.
At a glance, the two of them clearly looked close, like people who had known one another for a long time.
Meanwhile, she herself was nothing but a stranger.
That was why Talia decided she would walk over and politely introduce herself.
She wanted to force her way somehow into the warm /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ atmosphere surrounding the two of them.
More than anything else, she wanted the boy’s blue eyes and faint smile to turn toward her.
Driven by that overwhelming impulse, she stepped out from behind the bushes and approached the fountain spilling clear streams of water.
At once, a pair of silver-blue eyes and a pair of clear green eyes turned toward her.
Having never interacted with children her own age before, Talia suddenly felt her mouth go dry.
But she was an Imperial Princess of the Empire.
Surely no one would dare reject her offer of friendship.
She deliberately lifted her chin and greeted them proudly.
“Hello?”
The boy simply stared at her motionlessly.
Doesn’t he recognize me?
When they first met, she had been covered head to toe in mud. Perhaps her current appearance—dressed like a princess—felt unfamiliar to him.
So she was just about to mention the day he had helped her months ago when the little girl sitting there suddenly let out a shrill scream.
“No! No! Anywhere but here!”
It was the desperate voice of someone confronting a terrible nightmare.
The terrified girl threw herself toward the boy.
“Please, Varkas! Drive her away! Don’t let her come near this place! Make sure I never see her again!”
Her thin arms wrapped tightly around the boy’s neck.
The boy protectively embraced the sobbing girl’s back before throwing a cold stare toward Talia over the violently trembling shoulders in his arms.
Talia stumbled backward.
In a low voice, he warned her,
“Get out of here right now.”
Talia stared blankly at his icy face before suddenly turning and running away.
It felt as though freezing water had been dumped over her head.
Her mind had gone numb; she could not think at all.
How long did she run like that?
As she neared the main palace, something suddenly seized her hair violently from behind.
Her head jerked backward, her body thrown off balance.
Before she even understood what was happening, a heavy impact slammed into her.
Talia rolled across the grass clutching her aching stomach.
“How dare trash like you step foot in a place like that!”
A furious young voice thundered above her head.
Talia looked up in confusion.
A boy she had never seen before was glaring down at her.
Dark black hair. Green eyes burning like flames.
She immediately realized he looked remarkably similar to the girl she had just seen.
But she had no idea when he had started following her, nor why he was so furious.
Still frozen in shock from the sudden assault, she was kicked viciously in the stomach again.
“Die!”
Her vision flashed white with pain.
Talia curled her body tightly inward and coughed weakly.
The boy continued kicking her as though punting around a small ball.
“Die! Die! Just die already!”
His scream pierced her ears like long iron nails.
Even when servants finally noticed the scene and rushed over in horror, the boy’s violence and curses did not stop.
Talia crawled desperately across the ground like an insect trying to escape the savage kicks.
Even after beating her like that, the boy still looked unsatisfied.
Held back by two attendants gripping his arms, he roared like a furious beast.
“Disappear from this world, you filthy bastard!”