The Forgotten Field - Chapter 18

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 18
As I passed before the Main Palace, I could see the servants who recognized me hastily prostrating themselves on the ground. Perhaps they feared that the infamous Second Princess might cause trouble.
Talia passed by the Handmaidens, who wore expressions of shock at her sudden, unannounced appearance, and stepped into the Empress Palace—adorned more lavishly than any castle in the Imperial Palace.
When evening fell, Senevir would either enjoy dinner with the Emperor at the Main Palace or spend her time quietly at the Empress Palace. Talia believed today would be the latter.
As she had predicted, Senevir was resting in the Secret Workshop located behind her Private Study.
Descending into the basement through an entrance nestled between bookshelves, Talia could detect the scent of various medicinal herbs that made her head spin, the intense aroma of fragrant oils, and the faint smell of smoke that tickled her nose.
In the spacious chamber where violet particles seemed to drift, countless vials containing alchemical materials and various instruments for experimentation were scattered about, and beside a massive fireplace burning brightly, books written in the languages of countless races were stacked in layers.
It was a scene so chaotic that one could scarcely believe it belonged to a mother who always dealt only in precious and elegant things.
Yet Talia walked across the chamber with familiarity, approaching the desk where Senevir sat. She reclined against the back of a chair thickly cushioned with velvet, perusing a parchment scroll.
The fact that she did not even acknowledge my presence made my stomach burn as if I had swallowed a coal.
Talia leaned over the desk and spoke sharply through gritted teeth.
“Astros came looking for me a moment ago.”
Only then did those deep blue eyes turn toward her. Talia continued with a cynical tone.
“According to him, I am to be married soon.”
“I had no idea Astros took an interest in you.”
Senevir set down the parchment and spoke indifferently.
The sight of her continuing to pay attention only to her younger sibling ignited an urge to hurl objects about recklessly. Talia clenched her skirts and barely suppressed that violent impulse.
“Why must I learn of my own marriage through that child? And what of this talk that I am to participate in this pilgrimage journey? What scheme are you plotting?”
“A scheme? That is unpleasant to hear.”
Senevir exhaled softly and rose from her seat. For but a moment, Talia was captivated by the elegant motion without a single flaw, but she soon regarded her mother’s face, which bore a gentle smile, with wary eyes.
Senevir spoke cheerfully in a voice as innocent as a naive girl.
“It is time for you to marry, after all. When a suitable proposal arrived from an appropriate suitor at an opportune moment, I simply proceeded with the arrangements.”
“Is this appropriate suitor that Serian—that snake of a man?”
Talia recalled the slick-looking man who had escorted her at the banquet and twisted her lips.
“Of course, you have thoroughly verified this man, Mother?”
“If you are asking whether Serian is capable of fulfilling his duties as a husband… yes. That man possesses quite excellent talents in that regard. Should you wish it, he would gladly serve you with a willing heart.”
As a far more terrible counterattack returned to her jab at her mother’s romantic history, Talia completely lost the composure she had barely maintained. Each word from Senevir seemed to transform into spiders crawling across her skin.
Talia cried out as if screaming.
“I need no such nauseating man! Rather than let that wretch lay a hand upon me, I would sooner bite my own tongue and die!”
“My, my…”
Senevir cupped one cheek and sighed as if in regret.
“Then I shall seek out another groom. I was already in the process of compiling a list to see if there might be another suitable candidate.”
She gestured toward the parchment scroll on her desk. Talia recognized several of the men’s names written upon it and shuddered. They were all fanatical devotees of Senevir.
Was this woman truly planning to make one of the men who desired her into her daughter’s husband?
Anger and fear churned and bubbled up within my belly in a chaotic mixture.
“I do not wish to marry at all! Stop pretending to care now and please, just leave me alone as you always have!”
“That statement means… you dislike any man other than the heir to Grand Duke Sierkan?”
Struck suddenly at her vital point, Talia staggered backward, her face drained of color.
Senevir pulled her lips into a smile and wielded her tongue like a viper’s fang.
“If you desired him so greatly, you should have obtained him by any means necessary. I have kept that man at your side for a full seven years. What have you done in all that time?”
She shook her head with unmistakable disdain.
“In a few months, the man you desired will belong to another woman. Do you truly intend to stand idle and watch that unfold?”
Talia’s shoulders trembled. The realization that Senevir could see so deeply into her heart sent chills down her spine.
Senevir gazed at her daughter’s pallid face before slipping back into the mask of a tender mother. Her voice took on a coaxing, melancholic tone.
“Talia, I have orchestrated this entire affair solely for your sake. To offer my precious daughter a path of escape from this wretched circumstance.”
Long, pale fingers traced gently along her cheek—like a white serpent gliding across skin. Talia went rigid, as though paralyzed, her body stiffening involuntarily.
Senevir gazed into her frightened daughter’s eyes and whispered with feather-soft gentleness.
“You have two paths before you. One is to seize the man you desire by any means necessary. The other is to become a loser who is, at least, somewhat less pitiful.”
Her honeyed voice clung to her ears like sticky sap.
“I chose the former method and obtained everything I desired. But if you lack such capability, then selecting a more tolerable alternative and feigning happiness as well as any victor would is also an option. It is rather pathetic, admittedly, but if you are destined to lose, is it not better to preserve your pride?”
Talia wrenched herself away from her mother like a trapped animal desperately fleeing a snare.
Senevir offered her daughter a gentle smile.
“This journey is the final opportunity I grant you. Consider carefully which path you shall choose.”
Talia shot her a defiant glare before fleeing the Secret Workshop like prey escaping a predator. Cheerful laughter, bright as birdsong, pursued her like a shadow. That sound lingered in her mind long after, refusing to fade.
* * *
In the end, Talia found herself embarking on a journey with half-siblings who despised her.
Thanks to the Empress Palace providing all the personnel and equipment necessary for the expedition, there was little for her to personally arrange. Senevir had even attempted to assign her own private soldiers and high-ranking mages as escorts.
However, this plan collapsed under Gareth’s vehement opposition. The Crown Prince, already seething at the prospect of traveling with his despised half-sister, refused to comply with orders to bring the Empress’s subordinates along.
According to reports, Gareth had personally sought out the Emperor to overturn Senevir’s command, engaging in a fierce debate. For Talia, this was fortunate. She harbored no desire whatsoever to be surrounded by her mother’s zealous followers.
‘For my sake? How absurd….’
Talia glared at the servants loading luggage onto the carriage, picking at a hangnail beside her fingernail.
Senevir would never orchestrate such tedious arrangements purely for her benefit. There was undoubtedly some hidden agenda at work.
She examined the servants sent from the Empress Palace with suspicious, narrowed eyes.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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