The maids quietly walked out of the hallway.
I followed suit and stepped as carefully as possible.
When I barely reached the stairs at a slower pace than a turtle, my spine was soaked with sweat.
I looked down the stairs with gloomy eyes.
At that moment, I saw Barcas striding into the mansion.
I skimmed him from head to toe, forgetting how to breathe.
Instead of a Roem Knights uniform, Barcas wore a black breastplate with the coat of arms of the Sheerkan family and a dark gray coat made of animal skin loosely draped over his shoulders.
My heart tightened at the appearance of the mounted warriors of the Khan people, who had terrified the entire continent of Robiden in the past.
He strode up the stairs with a long stride and stopped in front of me.
Perhaps because he came in a hurry, his head, which had always been neat, was disheveled like never before.
He bent over me, his polished metallic eyes slammed into him.
"How is your body?"
My eyes flickered in the distance. If it were normal, I would have shot at him viciously to turn off his nerves, but strangely, the tip of my tongue was dry.
I barely spat out a word after a long time.
"...It's okay."
His eyes narrowed. He seemed to have doubts about my calm response.
Barcas, who had been staring at my face intently, took off his gloves and rested them on my forehead. I reflexively threw out my hand.
At the end of the sound, a fierce silence settled. I clasped my tingling fingers and looked at him.
He didn't show any signs of being particularly displeased. Do you know I don't know. Have you ever read his expression properly?
I lowered my eyes and muttered in a muffled voice.
"Hey, you were surprised when I suddenly touched you."
At that moment, his long, white fingers invaded my vision again.
I shrank my neck. But he wouldn't allow me to push his hand away twice.
Barcas lightly brushed my forehead, and this time, he opened the knot of my coat to the end of my neck. Then, without giving me a chance to refuse, he hugged me with both arms and spat out bluntly.
"From now on, you will have to get used to me touching you."
My eyes widened. My heart convulsed.
What do you mean?
Do you know? Do you know? Don't expect it.
He is only trying to take care of the poor, lame man. I hurriedly overcame the lingering feelings that grew like weeds, but Barcas, who had fixed me in a more comfortable position, slowly descended the stairs.
Fearing that I might fall, I wrapped my arms around his neck. Barcas wrapped one hand around my back and took a careful step.
After a while, the scenery of the garden full of unfamiliar men unfolded in front of me.
I glanced at them with a puzzled expression. It didn't look like they were soldiers from the Roem Knights.
All the men carried long axe spears on their backs and wore loose coats in the form of gowns over their thick armor.
One of them walked out in front of Barcas.
"Is she the one who will be the next Grand Duchess?"
I searched the company with a cautious gaze. He was a young man with dark wheat skin that looked like he was tanned by the sun, with dark brown hair and black eyes.
He looked at me curiously, barely looking out of my coat, and then bowed politely.
"Nice to meet you, Your Highness. My name is Tyrone El Drakhan."
It was only when I heard the unfamiliar name that I realized that the people lined up in front of me were the Eastern men. Apparently, the vassals of the Sheerkan family came to assist him.
I pulled down the hem of my shirt that covered my face to respond to the greeting. However, due to Barcas's interference, my attempt was in vain.
Barcas, with a hood over my head, said in a nonchalant tone as he walked past the man.
"We're leaving soon, so get your horses ready."
"Is it okay if we don't stop by the imperial palace?"
"The handover of the Templars has already been completed. I have no reason to stay here anymore."
Barcas, who resolutely retorted, gave a cold look to the attendant standing far away next to the carriage.
"What are you doing without opening the door?"
The servant, who had a look of anger, immediately opened the carriage door.
Rising into it, Barcas lowered me onto a thick seat. Then he arranged my clothes with careful hand gestures and said.
"We will be moving non-stop for several hours. If you feel unwell, please give the coachman a signal."
I looked up at him with confused eyes.
There was no way to know why we were in such a hurry. Someone is chasing us.
Gareth and Ayla's faces flashed to my mind.
Maybe the two of them are up to something.
Ayla's voice, which she thought I would regret, echoed in my ears.
I bit my lip. It was always my job to plot tricks. But now their position is the opposite.
If Ayla loved Barcas as much as I did, she would do anything to get him back.
Perhaps, they will send monsters to attack us. Barcas is also concerned about such a situation...
"Your Highness."
As if noticing the complicated work in my mind, he lifted my chin and made eye contact.
"Didn't I tell you before? You don't have to think about anything."
The beauty of the bass resonated in my mind as if it were hypnotizing.
I looked puzzled.
What is the intention of saying that? Are you trying to block me in advance so that I don't cause trouble?
Or... or...
I quickly applied the brakes because I was about to stretch to the wrong place.
He was a man who made a mess in my head and left as if nothing had happened.
A man who threw me in an unfamiliar place and didn't even show his nose for a week.
The fan ditch inside me was too deep to hold vain hope in a few meaningful words.
I pushed his hand away.
"...Don't make strange noises, if you're going to go, leave quickly."
He didn't even budge despite the blunt words.
An incomprehensible gaze scratched my forehead. I pursed my dry lips. It was only when my throat was burning that he slowly stood up and walked out of the carriage.
Only when I heard the door closing, I let out the breath I had been holding back.
As I sneaked my body close to the wall of the carriage, I saw Barcas talking to the East men through the windowsill.
Among the men with dark hair and light wheat skin, he stood out like a stranger. I thought it might not be much different.
He left his hometown at a young age and spent most of his years in the imperial palace. The East must be an unfamiliar place for him.
Suddenly, the image of a young boy sent alone to a foreign land was pictured in my mind. That appearance has changed to the same as when I first came to the imperial palace.
Was six-year-old Barcas as lonely as I was? I wonder if I was suffocated and suffocated as if I had entered the belly of a monster.
Just as I was thinking about it in a daze, the carriage began to move. I watched the unfamiliar and familiar scenery flow like a river.
Suddenly, a bitter smile flowed out. Is it time for me to worry about the man who will rule the East?
From now on, I will go to a strange land with a single body. I have to start my life anew in a place where I have no one to rely on, and I am worried about the wrong things....
'When did you have a place to rely on?'
I sat in a circle in the corner of the carriage and buried my face in my lap.
The Imperial Palace also had nowhere to stand.
To Senevere, I was nothing more than a useful tool.
For the Emperor, I was an inconvenient reminder of past mistakes, and for my half-brothers, I was like a messy stain that had to be cleaned up someday.
I suddenly became curious.
What will I be in the East?
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