The Forgotten Field Novel - Chapter 93
Chapter 93
—”He is touring the territory together with the administrator of this place. Since he has just taken office, there must be a great many things to review, don’t you think?”
The nanny replied with indifference as she served the food on the table.
—”Come, stop distracting yourself and sit here. You must also eat breakfast quickly to prepare for the departure.”
Talia let out a heavy sigh and dragged a chair to sit at the table. She still had no appetite, but she did not want to argue with her nanny, who looked to be in a good mood after a long time.
—”I’m only going to eat a little bit.”
—”As you wish.”
With a smile from ear to ear, the nanny cut the food into small, easy-to-swallow pieces and served them on her plate.
Talia crumbled a piece of bread the size of a fingernail even further to check that there were no impurities mixed in. Once convinced that the food was safe, she swallowed the bread made into crumbs along with a thick jam, forcing it down her throat. She was about to finish her meager meal, but the nanny passed her meat cooked with a mysterious brown sauce and a boiled egg.
Since she did not dare to taste the meat that smelled of musk, she could barely finish an egg before standing up from her seat. At that moment, another presence was felt outside the tent.
—”Your Highness, I have come to check your physical condition.”
It was the healer that Cenévior had assigned to her. Talia replied with an apathetic voice.
—”Come in.”
After receiving permission, a middle-aged woman with neat features entered the tent. She asked kindly:
—”How is the pain going?”
—”Today it is not so intense.”
Talia replied abruptly as she sat on the edge of the bed. The woman naturally bowed before her and began to loosen the bandages wrapping her legs. As soon as the reddish scars were exposed, the nanny averted her gaze immediately.
Talia pretended not to notice and looked at her own legs with expressionless eyes. The healer applied a substance similar to a thick cream over the scars and replaced the bandages.
—”Since the skin could suppurate, today I will leave them a bit looser.”
—”I don’t care, tighten them well. Make sure they don’t come loose under any circumstances.”
—”Are you planning to increase your scars even more?”
The healer rebuked her with a stern tone. Talia, who glared at her with a sharp look, soon bit her lip and shook her head. The woman, with a slight smile on her face, finished bandaging her gently and added as if to comfort her:
—”I have tied the knots firmly so they won’t come loose, so don’t worry.”
Talia, instead of replying, felt the bandages. It certainly did not seem like they would come loose unless she tore them off with her hands. While she let out a small sigh of relief, the woman took a small censer out of the satchel she carried at her side.
—”Before departing, I will burn some medicinal herbs for you. It will make it easier for you to endure the carriage journey.”
Having said this, she placed an incense made of dried and compacted medicinal herbs inside the ceramic vessel. Talia stopped her by grabbing her hand.
—”Leave it.”
The healer opened her eyes wide, surprised.
—”Will you be alright? The pain will worsen if you remain for a long time inside a moving carriage.”
—”Even so, I prefer to endure it. Varkas…”
Talia was about to say that Varkas did not like the smell of burning herbs, but she shut her mouth abruptly. She did not want them to discover that she was keeping an eye on him. She did it even though there was no longer anyone there who would mock or jeer at her feelings.
Talia grew irritated as if she were trying to cover up her words.
—”If I say leave it, leave it.”
The healer, after casting a look of concern at her for a moment, put the censer back into her satchel.
Talia stood up, washed her face lightly, and changed her clothes with the help of her nanny.
Upon finishing getting ready and stepping outside, her field of vision was filled with dun-colored tents lined up irregularly and with people moving busily between them.
Before that unfamiliar landscape, Talia shrugged her shoulders. Children running barefoot through the grass, women squatting in front of large bonfires roasting bread and meat, men riding horses with bare torsos… Everything was utterly strange to her.
—”Wow, you’re finally up.”
While looking around abstractedly, she heard a voice that felt familiar to her.
Talia turned her head and frowned upon discovering a boy of slender build and golden eyes. Varkas’s extravagant younger brother was sitting on a large chest, staring at her.
—”Is everyone from the imperial family as lazy as you? Everyone has been waiting anxiously until you finished getting ready.”
Talia arched her eyebrows. At her reaction, the face of the boy, who was acting arrogantly, showed a slight trace of intimidation.
—”No, it’s just that the sun is already high and you hadn’t shown yourself even for a moment…”
—”Where is the Grand Duke?”
Talia snapped at him coldly. The boy shrugged his shoulders and replied non-chalantly:
—”I don’t even report to my own father.”
—”Are you proud of being a bastard?”
The boy’s eyes flared with anger.
—”Who is a bastard?! I’m just a bit free, that’s all!”
Talia turned around, feeling that it was not worth continuing to deal with him. He followed her immediately.
—”You, do you always have such a rotten character? No, seriously, how is it that you’ve reached that extreme?”
—”…”
—”According to the rumors, you usually whip the maids to throw them out, and they even say that you put poison in the First Princess’s wine cup. Is all of that true?”
Talia, who was walking at a slow pace, stopped in her tracks. The boy stepped back a pace, as if fearing to be struck.
She stared at him without saying anything and then, slowly, curved the corner of her lips.
—”That’s right. All of that is true.”
The boy’s hazel eyes opened wide. Looking directly into his eyes, Talia continued speaking with a measured voice:
—”When I was bored, I whipped the maids, and it’s true that once I put drugs in my half-sister’s wine.”
The boy’s pupils trembled violently. He did not seem to know if she was speaking seriously or if it was a boast. Talia approached him and leaned her face forward in a threatening manner.
—”And do you think that’s all? To leave that pretty face in tatters, I even sharpened a knife every night.”
She saw how the hairs stood on end over his smooth and gleaming cheek. Talia whispered lugubriously close to his ear, which had turned red, probably due to the speed of his pulse:
—”So you better be careful too. I have nothing to lose.”
Upon straightening up, she encountered a face tinged with dread. Talia let out a smug “Hm!” and walked limping toward the carriage.
After spending the night in the grasslands located near the castle of Raedo, they headed toward the east to tour a village of considerable size and then set course toward the north.
While moving along the dirt roads that connected one village to another, campsites of various sizes were seen from time to time. It seemed that a large part of the Kan people still maintained their nomadic lifestyle. To raise hundreds of heads of livestock, it was inevitable to lead a life migrating from grassland to grassland according to the season.
In contrast, the residents settled in the villages led a life similar to that of the inhabitants of the Empire. They lived in houses built with stone and mud, cultivated fields, and some opened workshops to manufacture handicrafts or trade provisions in the market.
Especially the wool market was very active; high-quality fabrics and felt made of sheep’s wool seemed to be one of the main sources of income for the East.
In the main cities, large-scale markets were held, and hundreds of merchants flocked from various points of the Empire to acquire expensive fabrics. Naturally, enormous quantities of gold coins flowed into the exchange houses. Varkas’s main task consisted of supervising the operational status of these exchange houses.
—”The market is growing significantly every year. Not only the various fabrics, but the trade of provisions and handicrafts is also being carried out actively.”
The administrator who was next to Varkas continued with the explanation in a calm tone.
—”The details recorded here are the history of taxes collected during this season. In addition, I have meticulously organized the income from rentals, tolls, and even the status of the profits from the horse market that the Grand Duke’s house operates directly.”
Varkas quickly reviewed the thick account books. Talia, who was observing him abstractedly, could not bear the boredom and diverted her gaze toward the window. The landscape of the city, with its well-paved roads and crowded stone buildings, entered her field of vision.
The East was truly a strange place. Those who lived in tents in the open prairie and those who led a life in the imperial style inside high walls… It was as if two different worlds were mixed in a chaotic way.
—”It seems that this will take a little time, would you like to go out for a moment to take a look at the exchange market?”
Talia, who was looking out the window abstractedly, turned around surprised.
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