The Forgotten Field - Chapter 93

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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 93
“You’re touring the territory with the Administrator Official. Since you’ve just taken office, there must be plenty to inspect, yes?”
The Nursemaid answered dismissively as she arranged food on the table.
“Now, stop pretending and come sit down. You need to eat quickly and prepare for departure.”
Talia swallowed a heavy sigh and pulled out a chair to sit at the table. She still had no appetite, but seeing the Nursemaid in good spirits for the first time in ages, I didn’t want to quarrel with her.
“I’ll just eat a little.”
“Of course you will.”
The Nursemaid, her face radiant with smiles, cut the food into manageable pieces and placed them on a plate.
I broke the bread—cut to the size of a fingernail—into even smaller fragments, checking carefully for any foreign matter. Once assured the food was safe, I forced the crumbled bread down my throat along with sticky jam. I tried to end the meal there, but the Nursemaid offered more—meat prepared in a mysterious brown sauce and steamed eggs.
The gamey flesh was utterly unappetizing, so I managed to choke down a single egg before rising from my seat. Just then, I heard another presence outside the tent.
“Your Highness, I’ve come to check your condition.”
It was the Healer Senevir had assigned. I replied in a flat voice.
“Come in.”
With permission granted, a middle-aged woman with refined features entered. She asked gently.
“How is the pain today?”
“Not as severe as usual.”
I sat on the edge of the bed and answered curtly. The woman naturally bent before me and unwound the bandages around my legs. As the mottled scars came into view, the Nursemaid immediately turned away.
I pretended not to notice and gazed down at my legs with indifferent eyes. The Healer applied a sticky cream-like substance over the scars, then rewrapped them carefully.
“The skin may become irritated, so I’ll wrap it loosely today.”
“Never mind. Wrap it tight. Make sure it doesn’t come loose.”
“Are you trying to create more scars here?”
The Healer rebuked me sternly. I glared at her with sharp eyes, then bit my lip and shook my head. The woman, a faint smile playing at her lips, wrapped the bandages loosely while speaking in a soothing tone.
“Don’t worry—I’ve tied the knots firmly so they won’t come undone.”
Instead of answering, I felt the bandages. Indeed, they wouldn’t come loose unless I tore at them with my hands. I exhaled a small sigh of relief, and the woman withdrew a small incense burner from the bag at her side.
“Before you depart, I’ll burn medicinal herbs for you. It will make the Carriage journey much more bearable.”
She then placed a bundle of dried herbs into a ceramic vessel. I caught her hand to stop her.
“That’s enough.”
The Healer’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Are you certain? The pain will worsen once you’re in the swaying Carriage.”
“I’ll just endure it. Barcas….”
I was about to say that Barcas hated the smell of burning herbs, but I stopped myself. I didn’t want him to know I was thinking of him. Even though no one remained to mock or ridicule my feelings, I still couldn’t bear it.
I spoke irritably, changing the subject.
“If I say that’s enough, then it’s enough.”
The Healer, her eyes briefly clouded with concern, pushed the incense burner back into her bag.
I rose and washed my face lightly, then changed clothes with the Nursemaid’s assistance.
Once I finished dressing and stepped outside, my vision filled with the irregular rows of tan-colored tents and the figures of people moving busily between them.
Confronted with this unfamiliar landscape, I hunched my shoulders. Barefoot children running through the grass, women crouched before massive hearths roasting bread and meat, men riding horses with their chests bare—everything was utterly foreign to me.
“You’re finally awake.”
As I stood gazing blankly at my surroundings, a familiar voice reached my ears.
I turned and frowned upon seeing a lean boy with amber eyes perched atop a large wooden chest, staring at me. It was Barcas’s peculiar younger brother.
“Are all the Imperial Family as lazy as you? Everyone was craning their necks waiting for you to finish your preparations.”
Talia’s eyes narrowed sharply, and the boy’s smug expression faltered for just a moment.
“No, but the sun’s already high in the sky and you haven’t shown your face once…”
“What about respect?”
Talia’s voice turned glacial. The boy shrugged his shoulders with brazen indifference.
“I don’t show respect even to my own father.”
“You’re proud of being undisciplined?”
The boy’s eyes crinkled sharply.
“Who’s undisciplined! I’m just a bit free-spirited, that’s all!”
Talia found him unworthy of further engagement and turned away. He quickly followed after her.
“Is your personality always this vile? Or did something happen to make you this way?”
“…”
“According to rumors, you whip the Handmaidens and cast them out on a whim, and you even poisoned the First Princess’s wine cup. Is all of that true?”
Talia, who had been walking slowly, came to an abrupt halt. The boy instinctively stepped back, as if bracing for a blow.
She stared at him silently for a moment, then slowly curved her lips into a smile.
“Yes. It’s all true.”
The boy’s tawny eyes widened in shock. Holding his gaze steadily, Talia continued in a measured tone.
“I whipped the Handmaidens whenever I was bored, and I’ve even drugged my half-sister’s wine.”
The boy’s pupils trembled violently, unable to discern whether she was speaking in earnest or merely bluffing. Talia leaned in close to him, her face thrust forward in a threatening manner.
“But that’s not all. I’ve even sharpened my blade every night, dreaming of slashing that pretty face of yours to ribbons.”
Fine hairs bristled visibly across his smooth, lustrous cheek. Talia whispered darkly against his ear, which had flushed a deep crimson as blood rushed to it.
“So you’d better be careful. I have no sense of propriety or restraint.”
When she straightened up, his face was etched with shock. Talia let out a scornful snort and limped toward the Carriage.
* * *
After spending a night in the Pastureland near Laedgo Castle, they moved eastward to tour a fairly large Village, then turned their steps northward.
As they traveled along the dirt roads connecting Village to Village, scattered Campsites appeared sporadically. It seemed that a considerable number of the Khan People still maintained their nomadic way of life. To raise hundreds of livestock, it would have been inevitable for them to move between Pastureland with the changing seasons.
Meanwhile, the settled inhabitants living in Villages led lives similar to those of Empire citizens. They dwelt in homes built of stone and earth, tilled their fields, and some opened workshops to craft handmade goods or trade foodstuffs at markets.
In particular, the wool market was thriving significantly, and it seemed that fine textiles made from wool and felt were among the Eastern Territories’ key sources of revenue.
Major cities hosted large markets, and hundreds of merchants from across the Empire flocked to purchase expensive textiles. Naturally, vast quantities of gold coins flowed into the Trading Posts. Barcas’s primary task was to assess the operational status of these Trading Posts.
“The market is growing substantially each year. Not only are various textiles being traded actively, but foodstuffs and crafted goods are also moving briskly.”
The Administrator Official standing beside Barcas continued his explanation in a measured tone.
“The entries recorded here are the tax records collected this season. Beyond that, I have compiled without omission the rental income, toll revenues, and the profit status of the Horse Trading Ground currently operated directly by the Grand Ducal House.”
Barcas quickly scanned through the thick ledger. Talia, who had been staring vacantly at him, could no longer bear the tedium and turned her gaze toward the window. The sight of a well-maintained city filled with orderly Stone Buildings came into view.
The Eastern Territories were truly a peculiar place. Those who pitched Tents and lived on the open Steppe, and those who conducted their lives in the Empire style within the tall City Walls… It was as if two entirely different worlds were chaotically intermingled.
“It seems this will take some time. Would you care to step out and view the Horse Trading Ground?”
Talia, who had been gazing blankly out the window, turned her head with a start.

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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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