Talia stared coldly at the garment in her nanny's hands.

“When did you change professions and become a madam?”

At the mocking words, the nanny's face twisted unpleasantly.

Ignoring her reaction, Talia stepped down from the windowsill and headed toward the bed. But the nanny refused to back down.

“The truth is, the two of you never properly spent your wedding night, did you? Do you know what that means? It means that if His Grace the Grand Duke so wishes, he could have the marriage annulled at any time!”

Talia looked down coldly at the nanny blocking her path, then abruptly lifted the voluminous skirt of her dress.

When she stripped off the sweat-soaked gown and tossed it over her head, her twisted leg and pitifully thin naked body were revealed.

The nanny immediately lowered her eyes.

Seeing that, Talia let out a dry laugh.

“You can't even look at me properly, and yet you're telling me to throw this hideous body into a man's arms?”

“...Even so, you have to try.”

Keeping her gaze fixed on the floor, the nanny stammered.

“It doesn't seem like His Grace the Grand Duke is entirely without feelings for you, either. When you collapsed, he was so devoted to your care. Even while overwhelmed by the funeral and the succession, he always made sure your meals and medicine were taken care of. I'm sure if you asked him, he wouldn't refuse.”

Talia had been letting out breathy, humorless snickers, but suddenly the smile vanished from her face.

“So you're telling me to beg.”

“Don't put it that way. This is also for your own sake. If you have a child, your position as Grand Duchess—”

The transparent intentions behind those words instantly burned away the last of her patience.

Talia swept both arms violently across the table.

Bowls, plates, porcelain—everything crashed onto the floor with sharp, explosive sounds.

Several shards of glass flew up and pierced the tops of her feet. Paying them no mind, she snatched up the candlestick beside the fireplace and hurled it against the wall.

“Get out!”

The nanny let out a belated scream and hurried desperately toward the door.

Grabbing the dress the woman had abandoned, Talia pulled it apart with both hands.

Riiip.

With a tearing sound, the fabric split into two pieces. Throwing it aside carelessly, she walked to the bed and buried herself beneath the blankets.

How long had she remained like that?

A careful knock sounded, followed by a gentle voice.

“Your Highness, I heard you injured your feet, so I came to see you. Allow me to examine your wounds.”

Talia gave no answer.

Apparently taking that as permission, the visitor entered, soft footsteps approaching.

“Please allow me to take a look.”

When the woman pulled back the blanket, blood-covered feet and legs were revealed.

After casting healing magic over them, the healer took out clean bandages and carefully wrapped her legs.

“How is the pain?”

“......”

“If you require a sedative—”

“Did Mother tell you something too?”

The sudden question silenced the woman.

Talia stared blankly at her stiffened face.

After hesitating for a long while, the woman confessed.

“...Her Majesty asked me to pay close attention to Your Highness's health.”

“So that I'll conceive more easily?”

The woman's lips stiffened at the mocking words.

Watching her with cynical eyes, Talia turned away and muttered weakly,

“You should leave now.”

“Your Highness.”

At that moment, she sensed the woman kneeling beside the bed.

Startled by the unfamiliar warmth wrapping around the back of her hand, Talia turned her head.

Looking into her eyes with serious brown eyes, the healer said,

“If there is something Your Highness does not wish to do, then you don't have to do it. No matter what it is.”

Talia blinked.

She should have laughed.

She should have mocked such presumptuous interference.

What could a mere healer possibly know?

She ought to have told her to stop talking nonsense and mind her own affairs.

And yet, strangely, the words caught in her throat.

“I...”

Her tongue moved of its own accord inside her parted lips.

I don't want to.

I don't want Varkas to see me looking like this. I'm tired of being one of Mother's pieces. I don't want to suffer because of people who will never love me.

The words rose to her throat, and she desperately swallowed them down.

If you reveal weakness, you'll be trampled.

She didn't want anyone to hurt her anymore.

Talia ruthlessly pulled her hand free from the healer's grasp.

“Enough with the nonsense. Go fetch the maids.”

The woman stared at her with thoughtful eyes before slowly rising.

Watching her retreat, Talia impulsively spoke.

“Come to think of it, what was your name again?”

The woman widened her eyes slightly before answering calmly.

“My name is Marisen.”

Repeating the name to herself, Talia dismissed her with a casual wave.

Soon afterward, the maids came in, cleaned the wrecked room, and assisted her with dressing according to her instructions.

Talia chose the most extravagant dress among the dowry sent from the Imperial Palace. She braided her hair neatly and adorned it with pearls.

After smearing red dye over her lips, where dried blood still clung, she opened a jewelry box.

Inside the velvet case lay a small button bearing the emblem of the Roem Knights, a silver-blue moonstone, a neatly folded handkerchief, and a ruby brooch.

For a long time, Talia gazed at those remnants of lingering attachment she had sworn thousands of times to cast aside, yet never could.

Then she picked up the brooch and pinned it to the left side of her chest.

Standing before the mirror, she saw a pale woman who had desperately hidden her gauntness.

She asked that woman,

What are you trying to do?

‘I haven't decided yet.’

After staring into her faintly trembling eyes, she dismissed the maids and left her room.

Beyond the corridor window, the sky was growing darker.

Varkas had probably not returned yet.

Since the death of the former Grand Duke, he had spent almost all his time outside the castle.

Not only was he attending nearly every religious event organized by the eastern church, he also seemed endlessly occupied calming the unrest among the people and reorganizing the military.

‘And on top of that, he's taken responsibility for cleaning up Gareth's mess. Even ten bodies wouldn't be enough.’

A bitter smile touched Talia's lips as she walked through the cold, silent corridors and descended the grand staircase.

Reaching the former Grand Duke's bedchamber, now Varkas's room, she saw the attendants standing outside widen their eyes in surprise.

Rather than ordering them to open the door, Talia grasped the handle herself.

Creeeak.

The brightly lit room revealed itself.

And the moment she noticed the long shadow inside, her spine stiffened.

Apparently having only recently returned, Varkas, still in his uniform, was undoing the buttons of his coat.

“...What is it?”

After slowly examining her over his shoulder, the man asked, narrowing his brows.

Hours spent preparing herself had been reduced to nothing by that reaction.

Swallowing her disappointment, Talia entered and closed the door behind her.

“I came because I wanted to speak with you.”

Staring at her expressionlessly, Varkas gestured with his chin toward the chair beside the fireplace.

“Sit down.”

She moved her stiff legs and sat.

Meanwhile, Varkas removed his coat, hung it on the wall, and poured her a glass of cider.

“I hear you've been eating less again lately. Even if I can't personally see to you, you mustn't skip your meals.”

Keeping her lips tightly shut, Talia merely stared down at the glass.

Watching her with folded arms, Varkas finally broke the lengthening silence.

“What is it that you wished to say?”

“You...”

Talia looked up at him helplessly.

What should she say?

She didn't even know why she had come.

Submission?

Resistance?

At least one thing was certain.

She stood at a crossroads.

And she intended to leave the choice to the tip of his tongue.

Gathering her trembling voice, she forced the words out.

“Is it true that you're opposing Aila's marriage?”

Looking directly at him as though picking a fight, she saw the corner of Varkas's lips twist slightly.

“Is that the reason you've refused even to look at me these past few days?”

Brushing back the hair that had fallen over his forehead, he let out a dry laugh.

“I opposed it solely because of the political risks involved.”

“But there are rumors in the Imperial Palace that you're still attached to Aila.”

The more she spoke, the more she felt like a childish little girl consumed by jealousy.

Shaking off the feeling, she pressed on.

“You said you'd put an end to the gossip surrounding our marriage. Is spreading ridiculous rumors like that what you meant?”

“The safety of both Their Highnesses was at stake.”

His voice carried traces of fatigue.

“It was more important to stop His Highness the Crown Prince before he acted rashly. I have a duty to protect those two.”

His tone grew rougher with every sentence.

Talia looked up at him with a frozen expression.

After releasing a long breath, Varkas bent down before her and spoke more gently.

“Soon, I intend to arrange a better marriage proposal for the First Imperial Princess. Once that happens, the rumors will naturally disappear.”

Talia stared at him quietly, then let out an empty laugh.

Did this man even understand what he was saying?

He spoke of protecting Aila while casually describing how he would drive a blade through her heart.

Ironically, despair welled up inside Talia.

Mother had been right.

This man was blind when it came to emotions.

To him, matters of the heart were not something ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) worth considering.

The only thing that mattered to Varkas was fulfilling his duty.

And at the very top of that endless list of obligations was, no doubt, protecting the twins.

Perhaps she herself had risen to a rather important place after becoming Grand Duchess.

But she would never become his highest priority.

Not above his duty as an Imperial vassal.

Not above his duty as the head of a great house.

“...You really are a loyal man.”

His eyes distorted slightly.

He seemed to realize that it wasn't praise.

The smile disappeared from Talia's face.

As her mind gradually cooled, she finally saw clearly what she had to do.

When Gareth became Emperor and demanded her life, prepared to wage war against the East if necessary, it was obvious which choice Varkas would make.

The real question was whether she herself could accept that outcome.

She imagined her own death.

The image of herself dying miserably soon became the face of the former Grand Duke.

That man had feared death and what would come afterward.

And me?

The answer came immediately.

I am afraid of death.

Terribly afraid.

That was why I struggled so desperately.

Because I knew full well that the only one who could protect me was myself.

It's the same this time.

I have to survive with my own strength.

This isn't obedience to Mother.

I simply want to live, so I'm choosing to fight.

Piling up countless excuses in her mind, Talia finally raised her head and looked directly into his eyes.

“So you're saying you've only done your duty?”

His cold eyes remained fixed upon her without the slightest movement.

As though carving every word into those icy pupils, she spoke.

“Then I'll ask you to fulfill your duty as a husband as well.”

For the first time, cracks appeared across his completely detached expression.

Sliding through those cracks, she spoke bluntly.

“Tonight, I'll come to your bedchamber.”