Ch#173
173
He looked down at the scene intently, and only after the wolf showed no further signs of aggression did he turn his gaze back to her.
“What on earth are you doing?”
“……I was just trying to show you that Khan isn’t dangerous.”
She murmured awkwardly.
Barkas, who had been about to offer a sharp rebuke, fell silent when he noticed the flush creeping up her neck.
Suddenly, the realization hit him that it had been nearly two years since he had faced her from this close.
As if she were also conscious of that fact, she spoke in a trembling voice.
“Khan would never hurt me. So stop making a fuss and let me down.”
He glanced at the Dire Wolf, which was still on edge, before setting her down a short distance away.
She immediately took a step back from him. However, she seemed to have no intention of moving further away, scanning him thoroughly from a distance where they could still feel each other’s breath.
The strange light in her eyes made his stomach churn.
Though she seemed a bit anxious, she did not look as full of hostility as she had before.
Nor did she look as though she were in agony just by seeing him. Rather, she kept her intense gaze fixed on him without even blinking, as if trying to capture every detail.
He, too, stared intently at her face, framed by her wet golden hair.
Her blue eyes, now free from the shadows of sorrow, radiated an enchanting light in the summer sunshine. Her cheeks, flushed with color, were slightly fuller than the last time he had seen her.
She had looked exactly like this when she carried my child.
The moment that thought crossed his mind, a sensation like swallowing fire and ice simultaneously pressed down on his throat.
His face contorting ever so slightly, Barkas reached out toward her again, driven by a powerful impulse.
At that moment, the beast that had been prowling nearby shook its body violently.
Barkas, who took the brunt of the massive spray of water like a sudden downpour, glared down at the wolf with a grim expression. The beast feigned innocence, wagging its tail playfully at its master as if nothing had happened.
“Let’s go back to the castle first, as you said.”
Talia, who was just as drenched as he was, let out a low sigh and turned around. The Dire Wolf followed close by her side as if it were the natural order of things.
Barkas watched the scene with an incredulous look, then let out a heavy sigh and quietly followed behind them.
When they reached the front of the main palace, Lucas and the servants, who had been waiting for their return, came swarming toward them.
“Did you go out for a swim, brother?”
Lucas murmured in disbelief, scanning him from head to toe.
Barkas ignored him and walked past into the main palace.
Talia, who had entered the Great Hall ahead of him, was drying the wolf’s body with a large towel in front of the kitchen hearth. Barkas stepped up to her side and snatched the towel from her hands.
She was a woman who had spent her entire life being waited upon. There were likely only a handful of times she had even bathed herself. His stomach twisted at the sight of her attending to a mere magical beast.
“Leave the tending of this wolf to the servants and go up to your room. I wish to hear your explanation regarding everything that has transpired.”
“No. Khan doesn’t like being touched by anyone but me.”
“Did you not just claim this wolf poses no threat to others?”
He pointed out coldly.
“If that is true, then leaving him in the hands of the servants for a moment should cause no trouble.”
Unable to find a rebuttal, Talia glanced down at her wolf.
Barkas, reading the anxiety in that look, questioned her sharply.
“Are you not certain of this wolf’s harmlessness yourself, Your Grace?”
“That’s not it!”
Talia denied it loudly, then suddenly shot him a disgruntled look.
“And stop calling him ‘the wolf.’ I told you his name is Khan. How would you like it if someone just called you ‘human, human’ all the time? If you’re going to address him, use his name properly.”
“…….”
He swallowed the sigh that rose to his throat.
Most of the Eastern nobility would feel insulted if they knew the Grand Duchess, who hailed from the Osirian people, had given a magical beast the name of the Khan tribe. Did she make such a demand knowing that?
Feeling a slight sense of fatigue toward his wife, who stirred up conflict even over a trivial matter like a name, he tossed the towel to a waiting servant.
“Take good care of that wolf.”
He then tried to lead her out of the kitchen, but Talia suddenly tugged on his arm.
“I told you his name is Khan. Say it properly. Khan.”
Seeing the desperate look on her face, Barkas furrowed his brow.
He could not understand why she was so obsessed with a wolf’s name, but if the matter was that important to her, he saw no reason not to indulge her.
He murmured like a sigh.
“Khan.”
At that, her face brightened. Talia pulled him toward the wolf, speaking in an excited voice.
“Do you want to try touching him? His fur is so soft and fluffy.”
Barkas turned his eyes to the beast sitting quietly with its paws tucked in front of the hearth.
With its haunches on the floor and its forepaws braced, the wolf looked like a loyal hound. However, he could read the intense hostility in the blue eyes staring back at him.
“Go on, touch him.”
As if oblivious to the bloodlust radiating from the beast, she urged him on innocently.
Pushed by the look of strange anticipation in her eyes, he reached his hand toward the wolf. It seemed certain he would be bitten, but he could not bring himself to refuse her request.
With his nerves on edge so he could pull his arm back at any moment, he carefully stroked the wolf’s damp, un-dried face. At that, a murderous glint flashed in the wolf’s eyes. Surprisingly, however, it did not bare its teeth or growl. It seemed it was desperately suppressing its rage for the sake of its master.
“See? He’s gentle, isn’t he?”
She said triumphantly.
He swallowed a bitter smile and carefully withdrew his hand.
It was clear that this magical beast possessed a strong aggressive streak. However, it seemed to possess enough intelligence and self-control to discern the situation.
‘……But there is no telling when or how it might turn.’
They might have been able to control it as a pup, but now that it was an adult, it would not be as easy to handle as before.
Barkas, looking down at the massive wolf with a pensive expression, soon turned away.
“Let us go to your room now.”
The woman, who had been looking up at him with expectant eyes, saw her expression cloud over.
Had she wanted him to show more active interest in her pet? The sight of her disappointed face made him feel uneasy, but he maintained his composure and left the kitchen.
“It would be best to change out of those wet clothes first.”
When they finally reached the bedroom they used to share, Barkas spoke in a polite tone as he gently ushered her into the room.
“Summon a maid and change into fresh attire. I shall also attend to myself and then come to see you.”
Standing in the doorway, she gave him a cryptic look before nodding her head.
He immediately moved to the adjoining room and shed his soaked armor and the gambeson made of wyvern leather.
In the meantime, servants arrived with water for washing and a change of clothes. He washed quickly and donned a clean tunic and Eastern-style cotton trousers.
After changing even his mud-caked boots for new ones, he returned to her bedroom. There, Talia, dressed perfectly in an elegantly designed blue dress, greeted him with grace.
He froze at the threshold, scanning her carefully. It was the first time he had seen her dressed up like that since the day she had come to him to share his bed.
Did she dress like this normally? Or…….
“What are you doing standing there instead of coming in to sit?”
Talia, perched on a chair with thick cushions, gave him a nonchalant look.
