Varkas's peculiar younger brother sat atop a large chest, glaring at her.
“Are all royals as lazy as you? Everyone's necks were practically stretched waiting for you to get ready.”
Talia raised the corners of her eyes.
At once, the arrogant boy's face briefly showed signs of shrinking back.
“No, it's just that the sun's already high and you hadn't shown your face at all...”
“Where are your manners?”
Talia shot back coldly.
The boy shrugged shamelessly.
“I don't use formalities even with my father.”
“Are you proud of being an ill-mannered brat?”
His eyes widened indignantly.
“Who are you calling an ill-mannered brat? I'm just a bit free-spirited!”
Finding him not worth dealing with, Talia turned away.
He immediately chased after her.
“Are you really always this nasty? No, seriously, how did you become like this?”
“......”
“I heard you regularly beat maids and drove them away. They even say you poisoned the First Imperial Princess's wine. Is all that true?”
Talia, who had been walking slowly, came to an abrupt halt.
As though fearing a beating, the boy took a step back.
She stared at him silently, then slowly curled her lips upward.
“Yes. It's all true.”
The boy's golden-brown eyes widened.
Meeting them directly, Talia continued softly,
“When I was bored, I beat the maids. And I did put poison in my half-sister's wine.”
His pupils shook violently.
He seemed unable to tell whether she was serious or merely bluffing.
Stepping right up to him, Talia thrust her face close and spoke threateningly,
“And do you think that's all? I even sharpened a knife every night because I wanted to carve that pretty face of hers into pieces.”
She could see the fine hairs rising on his smooth cheeks. Leaning toward his reddened ear, she whispered ominously,
“So you'd better be careful too. I don't care about consequences.”
Straightening up, she saw the shock written all over his face.
Talia snorted triumphantly and limped toward the carriage.
* * *
After spending a night on the pasturelands near Laedgo Castle, they moved east, toured a fairly large village, and then turned north.
As they traveled along the dirt roads connecting village to village, large and small encampments appeared from time to time.
Many of the Kan people still seemed to maintain a nomadic lifestyle. Raising hundreds of livestock inevitably required moving between grazing lands with the seasons.
The settlers living in villages, on the other hand, lived much like imperial citizens. They resided in houses made of stone and earth, cultivated fields, and some operated workshops producing handicrafts or traded food in the markets.
The wool market, in particular, was highly developed. Fine fabrics and felt made from sheep's wool appeared to be one of the East's primary sources of income.
Major cities hosted enormous markets, and hundreds of merchants gathered from all over the Empire to purchase expensive textiles.
Naturally, vast amounts of gold flowed into the trade exchanges.
Varkas's principal duty was to inspect the operation of those exchanges.
“The markets continue to grow significantly every year. Trade in food and handicrafts is active as well, not just textiles.”
Standing beside Varkas, the administrator continued calmly.
“The records written here contain the taxes collected this season. Rental income, toll fees, and the profits from the horse market directly managed by the Grand Ducal House have all been organized without omission.”
Varkas rapidly skimmed through the thick ledger.
Watching him blankly, Talia finally gave up on enduring her boredom and turned her gaze toward the window.
Well-maintained roads and stone buildings packed tightly together filled her view.
The East was truly a strange place.
Those who lived on vast grasslands in tents, and those who lived behind towering walls according to imperial customs...
It felt as though two entirely different worlds had been chaotically mixed together.
“Since this will take some time, would you like to go outside and look around the market for a while?”
Talia, who had been absentmindedly gazing outside, abruptly turned her head.