Varkas reached the carriage in moments and tossed her down onto the seat as though discarding baggage.
Rubbing her throbbing backside, Talia glared at him with furious eyes.
Then she froze.
His face had hardened into something terrifying.
Looking down at her with the expression of a man whose patience had finally snapped, Varkas spoke through clenched teeth.
“Did I not warn you to stop causing troublesome incidents?”
Talia faltered only briefly before shooting him a defiant glare.
“Why should I listen to you? Who the hell do you think you are?!”
“At the very least, more than a princess in name only.”
A cold sneer touched Varkas’s lips.
Heat surged violently through Talia.
She sprang to her feet. If she did not slap that arrogant face immediately, she felt she might suffocate from rage.
But Varkas moved faster.
Leaning over her, he restrained both her arms before pinning her beneath a flat, emotionless gaze.
His dry eyes, devoid of even a trace of pity, swept over her ruptured cheek and the bruised neck that was surely already darkening black and blue.
An exhausted sigh escaped him.
“Do you truly understand nothing? No one here is going to actively protect you. If His Highness the Crown Prince truly sets his mind to it, no one can guarantee your life.”
“Why do you care?”
Talia shouted sharply.
“If I vanished from this world, wouldn’t you be the most relieved person of all?”
“I cannot deny that.”
Even though she had expected the answer, it still felt as though her heart had begun bleeding.
Varkas continued with cruel calmness.
“However, I cannot allow Your Highness’s actions to endanger the Crown Prince’s standing. So if you wish to self-destruct, I suggest you do it with your own hands.”
Talia forced strength into her burning eyes.
Varkas slowly straightened.
The sharp edge of emotion had already vanished from his face, replaced once more by the flawless mask of an imperial knight.
In a businesslike tone, he added,
“I’ll summon a healing mage for now. Recover yourself afterward and get some rest.”
Talia answered by grabbing the goblet lying on the floor and hurling it at him.
The silver cup struck his chest before clattering onto the ground.
Varkas looked at her with cold exhaustion before finally turning and stepping out of the carriage.
Talia slammed the door shut violently.
The tears she had desperately held back finally spilled down her cheeks.
Afraid someone outside might hear her sobbing, she hurriedly covered her mouth.
The crying trapped in her throat tightened around her breathing.
She wanted to suffocate just like this.
* * *
At the summit of Ulgram Hill stood only a solitary white temple said to have been built by Emperor Darian to commemorate Osiria’s independence.
The pilgrims stopped before it and stared up at the magnificent snow-white structure with reverent awe.
Despite the passage of countless years, the temple had remained almost perfectly preserved.
People traced the prayer inscriptions carved into the walls and admired the statues of legendary heroes while sinking into religious ecstasy.
But the Crown Prince seemed utterly unmoved by the relic left behind by his ancestors.
Leaping down from his saddle, Gareth swept an indifferent gaze over the arched entrance.
“So this is the second holy site?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
One of the attendants answered nervously.
The servants, fully aware that the Crown Prince’s mood had been abysmal since yesterday, all wore intimidated expressions as they carefully watched him.
Only Varkas remained as calm and composed as ever.
“There are no resident priests stationed here. We will prepare the ceremony ourselves.”