I couldn't hold back her boiling anger and picked up a pillow and threw it at him.
"If you have something to say, do it! Don't let people's blood dry!"
A cloth bag full of feathers struck the back of his head with a "pop" sound. As he opened the vial on the shelf and checked the contents one by one, Barcas cast a cold glance over his shoulder.
I shrank my neck and leaned close to the back of the bed. I was nervous about what kind of counterattack was coming, but Barcas, who let out a small sigh, knelt down on the side of the bed.
"Hands, please come here."
My eyes widened in the distance. Then he pulled my hand and looked at it in the light. The skin on my palm was swollen.
Barcas slammed the lid and poured sticky liquid into my hand. At the burning touch, I reflexively pulled my arm. But I couldn't move because my wrist was tightly grasped.
I glared at him with annoyance.
"What are you doing!"
"It's a medicine that works well on bruises."
Barcas retorted in a blunt tone and spread the drug evenly on my palm.
At the strange touch, I pinch my toes. Each time his long, graceful fingers rubbed my swollen skin, a tingling sensation spread. I twisted my arm, feeling a heat rise in my ears.
"Hey, that's it."
"Stay still."
The bass, which was lower than usual, swept through my spine.
I stared at him with an anxious expression, then lowered my eyes again. He slowly scanned the thin lines carved into his palms.
Is this really the right treatment?
The relentless touch of each palm of my hand felt somehow naughty.
"You have a bruise on your wrist."
Suddenly, his voice lowered a tone. I struggled to spit down my tight throat.
There was no way to know why my heart suddenly shrank.
With a glance, I, who had been watching him, pulled my arm out of his clutches with a little more force.
"Now it's done. Get out of my room."
Then I turned my back away from him, and with a thud, my body turned back.
I looked up at him with a puzzled face. Barcas, bent over me, asked.
"Why did you come to the banquet hall today?"
I contorted my face.
After all, it seemed that he was so angry because of that. I, who was sending him a poisonous gaze, asked sarcastically.
"Why? Can't I go to the banquet hall?"
"..."
"You said it with your mouth. I'm the highest woman in this castle. But why do you want me to be locked up like a prisoner?"
"...You were the one who was reluctant to appear in front of people."
"Why am I reluctant? Because I really don't know."
Suddenly, the anger that had been suppressed in my heart rose to my surface.
I rubbed my shoulders roughly, wrapped my hands around my knees, and glared at him accusatively.
"That's why it's like this!"
A dark shadow hung over his eyes. I slammed It Into his eyes like a usurer urging debt.
"But if I am ashamed of myself, you shouldn't. You can't hide me just because I'm hiding myself!"
A tendon stiffened in his throat. It was a strange thing that enraged my patience. The face that endured me made my stomach even stiffer.
I snatched the remaining pillow and swung it at him. Barcas frowned slightly in one eye. I slapped his face with a pillow and criticized him.
"Why did I come to the banquet hall? I did it to hear what you guys were talking about me! I will find out what is going on with my treatment, and I will also find a way to live! So instead of dressing up in a dress, I wrapped my robe around it like a rat and crawled in!"
He grabbed the flying pillow and pushed me onto the bed. A thin piece of cloth was torn by a wicked hand, and pure white feathers flew everywhere.
I looked up at the feathers fluttering like snowflakes and gasped heavily.
Barcas, who grabbed my wrist and pressed me down on the bed, gave me a dark look. A suppressed voice poured over the bridge of my nose.
"I know what you mean."
Taking a deep breath, Barcas added slowly.
"We will hold a succession ceremony in a few days. On the spot, I will formally introduce you as the Grand Duchess of the East."
I felt the fluff all over my body. There was no way to know if it was because of the fate that was coming to me or because of the man in front of me.
He plucked the hair from my cheek and continued softly.
"So, stay quiet until then."
I glared at him with my mouth shut and bloodshot eyes. A few feathers landed on my shoulders. Barcas brushed it off with a light touch and slowly stood up.
Soon after, the sound of the door opening and closing rang out. I looked at him from afar and pulled the blanket to the tip of my head.
***
After the brutal welcome ceremony, a heavy tension began to take place in Raedgo Castle.
The stiff maids acted cautiously, as if they were walking on thin ice, and the guards held their breath and lowered their eyes every time she went out to visit.
Apparently, rumors spread that if you treated the Second Princess carelessly, you would incur the wrath of the next Grand Duke.
It was a misunderstanding caused by the loss of life of a vassal who had been disrespectful to her. The monstrous man only paid the price for challenging the heir to the Grand Duke, but I did not bother to correct their mistakes.
It was safer to be feared than to look arrogant. If you take a somewhat bent attitude to try to win the favor of others, you will be trampled on your head. That was the situation she had learned over the years.
"I don't need to go to the market, so don't bother me and get out."
I flipped through the pages and waved a hand arrogantly
The maids standing at the door exchanged embarrassed glances. As those who would have retreated immediately under normal circumstances held on. I raised my voice to the ground.
"Can't you hear me tell you to step back?"
"Your Highness, there will be a succession ceremony this afternoon."
The maid opened her mouth with a sarcastic face. My eyes widened.
"Already?"
I had heard that Barcas would have a succession ceremony in a few days, but I didn't expect that he would hold a ceremony in less than a week.
I got out of bed in contemplation.
"Where is Barcas now?"
"The Lord is receiving the high priest who will preside over the succession ceremony. After the coordination of the ceremony is completed, the ceremony will begin immediately."
I raised the corners of my eyes.
"Why are you telling me that now!"
There was an instruction from the lord not to let it enter Your Highness's ears until the very day."
The maid sighed.
I distorted my face. I could guess what he was thinking when he gave such an instruction.
Maybe he thought I was going to hide or run away. Whenever I didn't want to do something, I would disappear immediately. It was no exception even now. I looked out the window, overwhelmed with the desire to run away immediately. The maid spoke in a gentle tone, as if to soothe me.
"You still have time, so you don't have to be so nervous."
I glared at her with a nervous glance, then muttered in a hoarse voice.
"What should I do?"
"I have prepared the traditional costumes of the East for Your Highness to wear."
The maid, who let out a small sigh of relief, stepped aside. Soon after, the big servants entered the room with piles of colorful clothes with colorful embroidery.
"It must be an unfamiliar outfit for the maids in the central region, so I hope you will leave it to us to groom you this time."
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