Startled, Talia lifted her head and met a face that had turned cold and hard.
Varkas looked down at his younger relative with sharp eyes and spoke quietly.
“You’ve been raised with quite a lack of manners.”
The youthful face of the boy twisted into a sulky expression.
Varkas released his hand as though shaking off something unpleasant and turned his gaze toward the middle-aged man standing beside the stairs.
“How exactly did you teach him his manners?”
“I have no excuse.”
The stern-looking man bowed his head apologetically.
Seeing that, the boy immediately raised his voice.
“If you have something to say, say it to me! Why are you scolding someone else for it?”
Varkas’s ice-cold eyes immediately turned toward him.
The boy, who had shouted so boldly, shrank back and lowered his eyes.
“It’s not like it wears out. She could at least let us see her face.”
At his muttering, Talia raised her eyes sharply. The way he spoke as though she were some rare animal to be gawked at instantly made her blood boil.
“How dare you treat me like some spectacle—!”
Just as she was about to snap at him, long fingers blocked her vision.
Varkas pulled her hood down tightly, covering her eyes, and climbed the stairs.
Talia stared in disbelief.
She simply could not understand why he insisted on hiding her so thoroughly. Was he trying to prevent her from clashing with his household?
Pushing the hood back, she glared viciously.
“What exactly are you trying to do? You could at least introduce me!”
“You’ve been suffering from a fever throughout the journey.”
Crossing the spacious marble-floored hall, he replied calmly.
“First, recover your strength. Introductions can be made later, once Your Highness is feeling better.”
“I’m perfectly fi—!”
She was about to argue, but a dry cough scraped up her throat.
Covering her mouth, Talia's shoulders shook. Her throat, dried by the fever, stung as though it had been rubbed with sandpaper.
Varkas let out a small sigh.
“Stop wasting your strength and go to sleep.”
Then he once again pulled the hood over her head.
Still glaring at him with a frown, Talia eventually lowered her head weakly.
As he said, several days of illness had drained all her strength. Deep down, she felt relieved that the uncomfortable meeting had been postponed. Yet unable to honestly reveal those feelings, she merely grumbled.
“You really irritate me.”
Without replying, he silently continued up the stairs.
A man who appeared to be the butler hurried after them and guided him to a large bedroom on the second floor of the main castle.
Moments later, a room far more luxurious than her chamber in the detached palace unfolded before her eyes.
Talia widened her eyes and looked around.
A chandelier studded densely with crystals hung from the high ceiling, and golden candlesticks had been placed throughout the room with perfect symmetry.
The walls were lined with furniture so magnificent it would not have looked out of place as tribute to the Emperor himself. At a glance, it was obvious that dwarf craftsmen had made them.
Tapestries woven with unfamiliar patterns, shields engraved with the Siorcan family crest, beast furs, and white porcelain ornaments decorated every corner.
As she slowly examined them, Varkas approached the enormous bed in the center of the room and carefully set her down.
“You will use this room from now on.”
Without thinking, Talia grabbed his sleeve.
“And you?”
Varkas had been ringing the bell beside the bed to summon attendants. He paused and looked down at her.
Heat instantly rushed into her cheeks.
Flustered, she hurriedly added,
“I’m not saying we should share a room...”
“Do not worry. I intend to use a separate bedroom.”
He spoke calmly.