“Do you know why I want to marry you?”
Varkas quietly gazed at her. Staring straight into that expressionless face, she spoke as though forcing each word down with all her might.
“Because I want to watch you become miserable. That's why I'm marrying you.”
“......”
“I want you to suffer. Very, very much.”
His eyes sank into a profound depth.
Holding her breath, she waited for his answer. She wanted that indifferent face to collapse. She wanted him to grow angry, recoil in disgust, and cast her aside.
Say that this won't do after all.
Tell me that a woman like me could never become your wife.
Even if her heart would be shattered beyond recognition, perhaps at least the rest of their lives could be saved.
But as always, he betrayed her expectations.
As though he had merely heard something insignificant, Varkas let out a short sigh. Removing her hand from his clothes, he straightened his body.
“The wedding will be held as soon as possible.”
Then he walked to the window and opened it.
The breeze that brushed past him poured over her face.
Quietly, Talia etched into her eyes his figure bathed in the glow of sunset. His deep voice sounded distant.
“That would be better, both for me and for you.”
What did he mean by that?
Did he mean that troublesome matters were best dealt with quickly?
Staring at his eyes as though seeking an answer, Talia eventually felt an overwhelming fatigue and lowered her eyelids.
It didn't matter.
She would no longer struggle to pry into his true feelings.
If he had accepted her out of duty, then she had chosen to remain by his side in order to return the wounds she had received.
Therefore, she would not do something so foolish as to expect anything from him.
She repeated once more the vow she had made thousands of times.
That tonight would be the last.
That she would put a period to this cursed love.
But she knew.
The love she killed today would come searching for her again tomorrow...
* * *
The entire Imperial Palace was in an uproar over the upcoming wedding of the Second Imperial Princess.
Under the Empress's direct supervision, the maids of the main palace began decorating the wedding venue lavishly, while servants endlessly ran between the food stores and the kitchens, preparing wine and dishes for the guests.
Yet despite all the bustle, a strange heaviness hung over the palace.
Leaving the supply depot, Edrick noticed a group of apprentices gathered in one corner of the training grounds, whispering amongst themselves. His brows furrowed.
An extremely unpleasant conversation had reached his ears.
“In the end, mother and daughter both had their men stolen across two generations.”
Edrick carefully observed the boy who snickered frivolously. He was the son of Viscount Kenden, a troublemaker who had formed his own faction among the apprentice knights.
Placing his training weapon onto the rack, the boy continued.
“They say the Second Imperial Princess is the very image of Her Majesty the Empress. With that face, it's no wonder Lord Siorcan fell for her.”
“Do you think the Commander is like you?”
A burly boy shook his head.
“That marriage never would have happened if it weren't for His Majesty's orders. It's Her Highness the First Imperial Princess I feel sorry for.”
“You naïve fool.”
The boy clicked his tongue.
“Do you think House Siorcan would switch fiancées just because of one order from His Majesty? He accepted it because he wanted to! Besides, Lord Siorcan used to be the Second Imperial Princess's guard knight, didn't he? Maybe they'd been involved for ages. According to people who went on that pilgrimage, there was something strange between them...”
“You don't know what you're talking about. Do you know how much the Second Imperial Princess tormented the Commander back when he was her guard? So what if she's beautiful? He saw that temper up close. As if they'd ever fall for each other.”
The apprentice arranging arrows for target practice let out a loud snort.
“Besides, the Second Imperial Princess became crippled because of this accident. Leaving aside someone like Her Highness the First Imperial Princess, who in their right mind would willingly marry a woman like that? She definitely used some vile trick behind the scenes—”
“So training is done with mouths these days.”
Unable to endure it any longer, Edrick suddenly stepped in.