This love is like a curse (63)
- Do you know why I want to marry you?
Longboat looked at her silently. She spoke as if pressing words into his impassive face:
- To see how unhappy you will be. Here's why.
-...
- I want you to feel pain. It really, really hurts.
His gaze darkened and went deeper.
She held her breath, waiting for an answer. I wanted this indifferent face to collapse, for him to break loose, scream, and push her away.
Say it's impossible.
Say that you will never take someone like me as a wife.
Let my heart crumble into dust, but perhaps we can both still save the remnants of our lives.
But, as always, he deceived her expectations.
Longboat just sighed briefly, as if he had heard something insignificant, released his clothes from her grip and straightened up.
— The wedding will take place soon.
He went to the window and opened the shutters.
A gust of wind hit her face.
Thalia silently absorbed his silhouette, bathed in sunset light. His low voice came as if from afar:
- It will be better... for both of us.
What did he mean?
Is it better to end this annoying matter as quickly as possible?
Thalia peered into his eyes, trying to find an answer, but soon lowered her eyelids, overcome by fatigue.
She didn't care. She will no longer try to understand his soul.
If he accepted her out of a sense of duty, then she chose him to fully return everything she had caused.
No expectations.
For the hundredth time she repeated her oath to herself:
“Today I will put an end to this damned love.”
But Thalia knew.
Love killed today will return again tomorrow...
* * *
The wedding of the second princess was soon to take place in the palace, and the entire imperial court was buzzing.
Under the direction of the empress, court maids of honor decorated the ceremony site, and servants scurried back and forth between the kitchen and storerooms, preparing food and drinks.
However, despite all this excitement, there was a strange, heavy and alarming atmosphere in the air.
Edric, coming out of the warehouse, frowned when he noticed a group of knight students whispering in the corner of the training field. Snippets of an unpleasant conversation reached him.
“It turns out that mother and daughter lose men in turns,” one of the youths chuckled.
He looked carefully at the laughing boy. The problematic son of Viscount Kendon, who organized his own faction within the students of the knights.
He, putting the training weapon on the stand, continued:
- They say that the second princess is the spitting image of the empress, right? With an appearance like that, it was no wonder that Lord Siyekan succumbed.
-Are you completely stupid? - the stocky guy snorted. “Actually, if it weren’t for His Majesty’s order, this wedding would not have taken place.” The first princess just didn't agree...
- Aw, you naive. Do you even know what kind of family Siekan is! Do you think he would change his bride just because of the emperor's order? — the guy clicked his tongue. - Yes, he himself didn’t mind! They say he used to be the personal knight of the second princess. Who knows, maybe they already had something then... People who took part in the last pilgrimage said that there was some kind of strange atmosphere between them...
- Don't talk nonsense. Do you have any idea how the second princess tormented him at that time? Okay, beautiful, but with such a character... He would never fall in love.
The student who was sorting the arrows snorted loudly:
“Besides, after that incident, she is now also a cripple.” Who, tell me, in their right mind would exchange the first princess for such a woman? I'm sure there were some insidious intrigues here...
“I see that current training takes place in the form of conversations,” Edric unexpectedly intervened.
The knight disciples shuddered in fear and immediately straightened up. He looked at the boys with a cold gaze.
— Do you realize that your conversation can be regarded as an insult to the imperial family?
The faces of the youths immediately turned pale. Edric, having carefully examined each of them, added sternly:
“The Knights of Roem were created to protect the imperial family. If you want to become part of this order, then at least learn a simple truth: public gossip about members of the imperial family is unacceptable.
- F-forgive us, Sir Lubon! — the young men bowed in unison, their faces hardened.
Edric looked down at them silently for a moment, and then slowly turned and headed towards the barracks.
And then someone’s heavy hand fell on his shoulder.
Turning around, Edric opened his eyes wide when he saw his superior, Sir Theoric Hart. He said with a grin:
- I see you keep everyone strict.
- At this hour... What brought you to the training field?
He looked at the bell tower with bewilderment. There was still time before noon, and the senior knights should now be busy with affairs in the palace.
At his questioning glance, Theorik chuckled quietly and ruffled his hair with his wide palm.
— I wanted to share some good news. You have finally been released from punishment. Starting tomorrow you will begin serving in my squad again.
Edric froze and looked up at him. This, no doubt, was good news, but a wave of complex feelings suddenly arose inside. He asked hesitantly:
“Then... who will guard the second princess?”
The chief's eyes narrowed. He removed his hand from his shoulder and sighed heavily.
“The Knights of Roem were completely removed from guarding the second princess. Her Majesty the Empress felt that we had deliberately neglected our duties. At the same time, she removed us from the guard of the second prince.
Edric's face hardened. This was a direct blow to the honor of the order.
Since the founding of the empire, the Knights of Roem have served as guardians of the imperial family, protecting it. To take away this right from them is to deny the whole purpose of their existence.
Edric lowered his head.
- Sorry. Due to my incompetence, the order...
- It's not your fault. It was an unpredictable attack. You have nothing to blame yourself for.
Theorik said this firmly, patting him on the shoulder.
But seeing that Edric had not calmed down, he scratched the back of his head with a slight sigh and, as if having made a decision, led his subordinate out of the field. Edric, confused, obediently followed him.
They walked in silence until they reached a secluded wasteland. Only then did Theorik stop.
“I know you are a man with a keen sense of duty.” But this time it's really not your fault. “Don’t waste your energy on empty remorse,” he said seriously, sitting down on a cut stump.
Edric frowned.
“But I was her personal knight.” If you look at it objectively, it was I who failed to cope with security. How can I just accept this...!
— That attack was orchestrated by the empress.
Edric froze, staring at the boss.
Theorik continued in a calm tone, still looking down:
“Didn’t you think it was strange?” That at such a time the wyverns attacked the guarded army in a crowd? Such creatures usually avoid armed units if they do not touch their lair. And the camp was far from their habitat.
- Yes, I really thought it was suspicious... But how can you be sure that the empress was behind this...?
“Before the attack, strange actions were recorded in the retinue of the second princess,” his voice became harsher. “And near the site of the attack they found traces of powerful magic.” Someone deliberately provoked the wyverns.
Edric opened his mouth in shock. When the meaning of his boss's words dawned on him, a cold sweat ran down his back.
“But the second princess also took part in the pilgrimage... She could have gotten hurt.” Как мать может пойти на такое…?
“That’s why no one suspected her.”
Edric was speechless.
Theorik continued with a gloomy intonation:
— The Empress is a calculating woman. We began an investigation immediately after the incident, but she did not leave any direct evidence - only indirect evidence. And the main victim is her own daughter. Who dares to doubt?
Edric slowly lowered his gaze.
The image of a princess crying under a pile of stones arose before my eyes. He remembered how she squirmed in pain while he administered first aid.
All this is the work of her own mother.
His stomach turned over.