“His Grace is inspecting the territory with the local steward. Having only just assumed his position, there are countless things he must examine.”

The nurse answered absentmindedly while arranging the food on the table.

“Now, stop dawdling and come sit down. You need to eat quickly and prepare to depart as well, my lady.”

Swallowing a heavy sigh, Talia pulled out a chair and sat down. She still had no appetite, but she did not wish to quarrel with the nurse, who looked happier than she had in a long while.

“I'll only eat a little.”

“So you say.”

Smiling broadly, the nurse cut the food into bite-sized pieces and placed them on a plate for her.

Talia broke apart the tiny piece of bread into even smaller fragments, checking carefully to see if anything foreign had been mixed into it. Once she was convinced the food was safe, she forced the crumbled bread down her throat with sticky jam.

She intended to end the meal there, but the nurse handed her some meat cooked in a mysterious brown sauce and a boiled egg.

The gamey smell from the meat made it impossible for her to even attempt eating it. She barely managed to finish one egg before standing up.

Just then, another presence made itself known outside the tent.

“Your Highness, I've come to check on your condition.”

It was the healer Senevier had assigned to her.

Talia replied indifferently,

“Come in.”

At her permission, a middle-aged woman with neat features entered.

“How is the pain today?” she asked kindly.

“It isn't that bad today.”

Talia answered bluntly as she sat on the edge of the bed.

The woman naturally knelt before her and removed the bandages around her legs. As the reddish scars came into view, the nurse immediately turned her head away.

Pretending not to notice, Talia gazed down at her own legs with dull eyes. The healer spread a sticky cream over the scars before wrapping the bandages again.

“Your skin may become irritated, so I'll wrap them a little looser today.”

“It's fine. Wrap them tightly. Make sure they never come loose.”

“Are you planning to add even more scars?”

The healer scolded her sternly.

Talia glared at her sharply, then bit her lip and shook her head. A faint smile appeared at the corners of the woman's mouth as she wrapped the bandages more loosely.

“Don't worry. I've tied the knots securely enough that they won't come undone.”

Instead of answering, Talia felt the bandages with her fingers. Indeed, they seemed unlikely to come loose unless she tore them apart with her own hands.

Just as she let out a small sigh of relief, the woman pulled a small incense burner from the bag tucked under her arm.

“I'll burn some herbs before you depart. It should make enduring the carriage ride easier.”

She inserted a stick of dried medicinal herbs into the ceramic burner.

Talia caught her hand.

“No.”

The healer blinked in surprise.

“Will you be all right? The pain will worsen inside a shaking carriage.”

“I'd rather endure it. Varkas...”

She stopped herself before saying that Varkas disliked the smell of burning herbs.

She did not want anyone to know she cared about his preferences.

Even though there was no one left to ridicule or mock her feelings.

Trying to cover it up, Talia snapped irritably,

“If I say no, then just leave it at that.”

The healer regarded her with concern for a moment before putting the incense burner back into her bag.

Talia rose, washed lightly, and with the nurse's help changed her clothes.

Once she stepped outside, rows of uneven yellow-brown tents and the people busily moving between them filled her vision.

The unfamiliar scenery made her shrink her shoulders.

Children running barefoot through the grass. Women crouched before huge ovens baking bread and meat. Men riding horses with their upper bodies bare.

Everything felt utterly strange.

“So you're finally awake.”

While she was staring blankly around, a familiar voice reached her ears.

Turning her head, Talia frowned at the sight of a slender boy with golden-brown eyes.

Varkas's peculiar younger brother sat atop a large chest, glaring at her.

“Are all royals as lazy as you? Everyone's necks were practically stretched waiting for you to get ready.”

Talia raised the corners of her eyes.

At once, the arrogant boy's face briefly showed signs of shrinking back.

“No, it's just that the sun's already high and you hadn't shown your face at all...”

“Where are your manners?”

Talia shot back coldly.

The boy shrugged shamelessly.

“I don't use formalities even with my father.”

“Are you proud of being an ill-mannered brat?”

His eyes widened indignantly.

“Who are you calling an ill-mannered brat? I'm just a bit free-spirited!”

Finding him not worth dealing with, Talia turned away.

He immediately chased after her.

“Are you really always this nasty? No, seriously, how did you become like this?”

“......”

“I heard you regularly beat maids and drove them away. They even say you poisoned the First Imperial Princess's wine. Is all that true?”

Talia, who had been walking slowly, came to an abrupt halt.

As though fearing a beating, the boy took a step back.

She stared at him silently, then slowly curled her lips upward.

“Yes. It's all true.”

The boy's golden-brown eyes widened.

Meeting them directly, Talia continued softly,

“When I was bored, I beat the maids. And I did put poison in my half-sister's wine.”

His pupils shook violently.

He seemed unable to tell whether she was serious or merely bluffing.

Stepping right up to him, Talia thrust her face close and spoke threateningly,

“And do you think that's all? I even sharpened a knife every night because I wanted to carve that pretty face of hers into pieces.”

She could see the fine hairs rising on his smooth cheeks. Leaning toward his reddened ear, she whispered ominously,

“So you'd better be careful too. I don't care about consequences.”

Straightening up, she saw the shock written all over his face.

Talia snorted triumphantly and limped toward the carriage.

* * *

After spending a night on the pasturelands near Laedgo Castle, they moved east, toured a fairly large village, and then turned north.

As they traveled along the dirt roads connecting village to village, large and small encampments appeared from time to time.

Many of the Kan people still seemed to maintain a nomadic lifestyle. Raising hundreds of livestock inevitably required moving between grazing lands with the seasons.

The settlers living in villages, on the other hand, lived much like imperial citizens. They resided in houses made of stone and earth, cultivated fields, and some operated workshops producing handicrafts or traded food in the markets.

The wool market, in particular, was highly developed. Fine fabrics and felt made from sheep's wool appeared to be one of the East's primary sources of income.

Major cities hosted enormous markets, and hundreds of merchants gathered from all over the Empire to purchase expensive textiles.

Naturally, vast amounts of gold flowed into the trade exchanges.

Varkas's principal duty was to inspect the operation of those exchanges.

“The markets continue to grow significantly every year. Trade in food and handicrafts is active as well, not just textiles.”

Standing beside Varkas, the administrator continued calmly.

“The records written here contain the taxes collected this season. Rental income, toll fees, and the profits from the horse market directly managed by the Grand Ducal House have all been organized without omission.”

Varkas rapidly skimmed through the thick ledger.

Watching him blankly, Talia finally gave up on enduring her boredom and turned her gaze toward the window.

Well-maintained roads and stone buildings packed tightly together filled her view.

The East was truly a strange place.

Those who lived on vast grasslands in tents, and those who lived behind towering walls according to imperial customs...

It felt as though two entirely different worlds had been chaotically mixed together.

“Since this will take some time, would you like to go outside and look around the market for a while?”

Talia, who had been absentmindedly gazing outside, abruptly turned her head.