Talia straightened as if she had been struck by lightning.
The woman turned gracefully and continued speaking.
“Her Majesty the Empress has ordered that Your Highness be adorned to perfection, so that there will be nothing lacking when you stand before the supreme ruler of the Empire. I ask for your cooperation.”
With that, she made a small gesture toward the maids. The four standing at the front stepped forward carrying garments and approached the bedside.
Talia immediately recoiled.
“Get out. All of you. I have no intention of meeting that man.”
“Please refrain from such irreverent language.”
The woman's gentle voice suddenly turned sharp as winter frost.
“No matter that you are an Imperial Princess, speaking so carelessly of His Majesty the Emperor cannot be tolerated. I shall overlook it this once, but I advise you to be more careful in the future.”
Though she had instinctively shrunk back, Talia quickly sharpened her gaze.
“And if you don't overlook it, what exactly are you going to do? Run off and tattle to His Great Majesty the Emperor?”
“There is no reason I couldn't.”
The woman replied coldly.
A dry laugh escaped Talia.
“Really? Then go running to the Imperial Palace right now and tell him this. Tell him the ill-mannered Second Imperial Princess screamed that she doesn't want to see his precious face.”
At that moment, a burning pain exploded across the back of her hand.
Talia looked up at the woman in stunned disbelief.
The woman lowered the thin switch she had struck her with and stared down with eyes as cold as ice.
“The authority Your Highness enjoys as an Imperial Princess originates from His Majesty the Emperor. I cannot overlook such reckless slander.”
“You dare... You dare to...”
Talia trembled violently before she could even finish speaking.
The woman regarded her with indifferent eyes before turning toward the door.
“Her Majesty the Empress repeatedly instructed us to bring Your Highness safely before His Majesty the Emperor, regardless of the means required. Are you truly asking us to resort to stronger methods?”
Murmuring the threat, the woman threw the door open with one hand.
Talia's breath caught.
Imperial soldiers belonging to the Empress's Palace lined the corridor outside.
The woman quietly observed her pale face, as though appreciating the sight, before speaking softly.
“There is no need for us to make things unpleasant. If Your Highness cooperates, it will all be over quickly.”
If she refused, they would drag her there by force.
Talia clenched her fists so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Humiliation burned behind her eyes.
If Senevier were standing before her right now, she felt she might be capable of driving a dagger straight through her heart.
Was she truly determined to trample even the last scraps of her dignity into the dirt?
She did not think she could ever forgive that woman.
Ever.
“Now then. Wash Her Highness immediately.”
As soon as the head maid gave the order, two maids bent over the bed.
Talia violently slapped their hands away.
“Don't touch me!”
The shrill scream startled the maids, and they hurriedly retreated as though fleeing sparks from a fire. They looked worried that she might retaliate against them later.
Noticing their hesitation, Talia adopted an even more imperious tone.
“My nanny will attend my bath. All of you leave my room.”
The woman stared down at her thoughtfully before finally releasing a resigned sigh.
“Very well. However, I must personally oversee Your Highness's preparations afterward. That much is nonnegotiable.”
The head maid soon led the other maids out.
A short while later, the nanny hurried into the bedroom.
She was a woman who constantly wounded Talia with careless words.
Yet the moment she saw her face, Talia felt as though she might burst into tears from relief.
As the nanny approached to help her up, Talia buried her face against her shoulder.
Oblivious to the turmoil rotting inside her, the nanny was simply delighted.
“You heard what the head maid said, didn't you? His Majesty asked to see you! He must have heard that you were injured and been worried about you.”