Ch#166
He stared silently for a long while at the tip of the pen, which had ceased its movement. Ink bleeding from the nib was creating an unsightly stain on the surface of the letter.
As he listlessly crumpled the paper and set it aside, the man continued in a worried tone.
“But it seems that wolf has caused some unpleasant rumors to circulate about Her Grace. There also appeared to be frequent friction with the vassals of the Grand Duchy.”
Barkas, who had been opening a drawer to pull out a fresh sheet of paper, furrowed his brow.
“Friction?”
“Ah, it wasn’t a conflict of a serious nature. It’s just that the wolf is so aggressive… it seems the soldiers are feeling a sense of dread.”
The man scratched the back of his head, replying somewhat vaguely.
Barkas’s eyes sharpened.
“Did the magical beast cause any harm to those around it?”
“Not exactly. I watched closely during my stay in Kalmor, and it mostly just bared its teeth to intimidate people.”
The man hurriedly denied any violence.
“It has an incredible protective instinct and possessiveness over its master. It seemed to fundamentally loathe anyone approaching Her Grace. It was docile as long as no one got closer to her than necessary. It follows Her Grace very well and is quite intelligent, so it didn’t seem like the type to attack people blindly.”
Spouting words as if in defense, the man caught his breath for a moment and added quietly.
“However, because it’s so massive… the problem is that just its growling makes those nearby feel like their lives are in danger.”
Barkas looked down at the pile of letters on one side of his desk with contemplative eyes.
He, too, had some inkling that the Dire Wolf was causing issues. Reports containing veiled complaints about the beast had begun to arrive from the subordinates he had stationed there for her safety.
And his reply to them was always the same.
If there were signs of it becoming a threat to her or if it caused direct harm to its surroundings, they were to use force to subdue it. However, if it caused no practical harm, they were to leave it be.
The fact that the wolf’s head was still attached to its neck meant that, at least until now, it had not attacked anyone.
In that case, he had no intention of taking any action for the time being.
He could endure the priests or vassals grumbling about keeping a magical beast as much as necessary. If she was happy, what did it matter if she raised a demon’s cub, let alone a magical beast?
If only Talia could be alright…
At that moment, the image of her sobbing in the rain flashed through his mind like a burn mark.
He hurriedly shook off the afterimage flickering on his retinas and dismissed his guest in a somewhat cold tone.
“If you’re finished with your chatter, leave. You should clear the canyon before night falls.”
“No, after Your Grace was the one who asked…”
The man grumbled discontentedly but let out a sigh of resignation and turned toward the entrance. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he stopped and held something out toward him.
“I almost forgot. I came to deliver this.”
Barkas narrowed his eyes, looking down at the parchment scroll held in the knight’s hand.
“What is it?”
“A dispatch sent by His Highness the Crown Prince.”
He accepted the scroll with an expressionless face.
Written in the neat handwriting characteristic of a secretary, the dispatch contained a rather direct proposal for him to participate in the siege of Blodar.
Barkas scanned it with a numb expression, his gaze coming to a halt on the sentence written at the very end of the document.
[Remember the oath you made.]
He stared piercingly at it before placing the letter over a candle flame. He then jerked his chin toward Edric Ruben, who wore a startled expression.
“If your business is finished, go now.”
The man opened his lips as if to say something but silently exited the barracks.
Barkas loosened the collar of his uniform, which felt like it was tightening around him like a noose.
The letters on the parchment, slowly shriveling over the candle flame, wriggled like tiny insects.
He watched them for a long time before dipping his dried quill back into the inkwell.
There would likely be no siege at Amasek. If the Emperor proposed a meeting, the Eastern Alliance would throw their gates wide to welcome the Imperial Army.
Still, to appease the whining Gares, he would have to show some sincerity by moving the troops.
At the end of the letter to be sent to his vassals, Barkas wrote that he planned to return before the end of this summer and sealed it with wax.
By the time this reached Raedgo Castle, the direction of the war would be decided. He intended to make it so, one way or another.
Pale light poured down over a world faded to gray. Toward him, standing alone at the entrance of a snow-white garden, a woman with a ghost-like pallor extended a white hand through which her veins were visible.
“Why are you standing there so still? Come here, quickly.”
He looked up at the black-haired woman standing with her back to the sunlight. No. Perhaps her hair wasn’t black.
He had never seen this woman’s true colors. Even in a world stained in black and white, he could only clearly perceive that she was a figure with particularly sharp contrast.
The woman urged him gently, a kind smile lingering on her lips.
“There is no need to worry. It is safe here.”
Her tone was like one soothing a frightened animal.
He slowly stepped into the garden. As he did, a marble pavilion revealed itself among the neatly trimmed shrubs.
On a long bench beneath it, two small children sat huddled together, staring blankly at him with large eyes.
The woman wrapped her hands around the children’s shoulders and spoke proudly.
“Say hello. These are my children. They are your cousins, in a sense.”
He approached the pavilion and gazed silently down at the young siblings. Both had dark hair and large eyes, but the impressions they gave off were starkly different.
The boy looked thoroughly angry about something, while the girl with twin tails looked as though she might burst into tears at any moment.
He studied the girl’s tearful face with a questioning look. Then, the child, whose plump cheeks had been twitching, suddenly let out a shrill cry.
“Aila.”
The woman hurriedly picked up her daughter and patted her small back.
As he watched the scene quietly, something sticky struck his body with a wet thud.
He turned his head. A boy, his face stained dark, was haphazardly throwing pieces of soggy cake from the table.
“I hate you! Get out!”
“Gares! What are you doing!”
At the woman’s shout, maids waiting on one side of the garden rushed over, surrounding the boy and beginning to soothe him.
Covered in sticky clumps of sugar, he waited for the chaotic situation to settle.
Finally, when the girl’s crying subsided, the woman handed the young princess to a lady-in-waiting and approached him.
“I am truly sorry, Barkas.”
She pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the sugar syrup and cream from his face. Her dark eyes shimmered with tears right before his nose.
“What should I do? I’ll make sure to scold Gares severely.”
“…I am fine.”
The woman seemed excessively apologetic, so he opened his tightly closed lips.
At that, the woman’s eyes widened in surprise, then quickly curved into thin crescents.
The reaction was puzzling. Why was she so happy?
“You’ve finally spoken. I was worried you might never be able to speak for the rest of your life.”
He knitted his brows. He had only kept his mouth shut because he felt no need to speak. He hadn’t realized she thought he had become a mute.
“Now, follow me. I will give you new clothes.”
The woman led him by the hand, a smile so simple it was hard to believe she was the Empress of the Empire gracing her lips.
With every step he took following her, he saw his small shadow gradually grow longer. His light footsteps also became slightly heavier.
Before he knew it, he was standing before a wide bedroom door, dressed in a surcoat embroidered with the crest of the Imperial Knight Order.
Straightening his attire, he tapped lightly on the door with the back of his hand. Soon, a familiar voice drifted from within.
“Come in.”
As he pulled the handle, the cozy landscape of a bedroom decorated with old wooden furniture and rugs unfolded before him.
His gaze, sweeping the room as he walked, stopped at the window.
The woman, who had been staring blankly at the garden from the terrace, turned to look at him with a wan smile.
“Thank you for coming.”
In that moment, he smelled death.
“I heard you tried to take your own life.”
The woman’s smile vanished at the words he spat out accusingly. Toward that bloodless face, he added harshly.
“Why did you do such a thing?”
“Why I did it… I don’t know myself.”
The woman murmured with a vacant face.
“Everyone says I did… but to be honest, I have no memory of it. When I came to my senses, I was lying on the bed.”
Her empty eyes returned to the window.
“Why on earth did I do it? Was I hoping he would regret it as he saw me dying? Or did I hope he would belatedly realize my worth?”
The woman, murmuring as if speaking about someone else, let out a hollow laugh.
“The maids were gathered around me wailing… and even in the midst of that, I was only looking for his face. Quite foolish, isn’t it?”
He offered no response.
Reading condemnation in his silence, the woman’s face distorted as if collapsing.
“You will never be able to understand me. When I first rescued you from that place, I felt so sorry for you. I wanted to heal you, you who had become unable to feel anything, somehow.”
“…….”
“But now… I am so envious of you.”
