Ch#180
180
After leaving the Grand Priest’s private residence, Barkas led his men straight out of the city gates.
Passing through the gently rolling hills, he reached the crest of a wave-like ridge, where the various villages scattered around the fortress walls came into view.
He began to inspect them one by one, starting with the largest. On the surface, they appeared perfectly peaceful, but there was no telling what lay beneath.
Village stewards and administrators were prone to downplaying issues within their jurisdictions, and constables tended to overlook minor corruption and petty crimes. If, as the Grand Priest claimed, heretical ideas had begun to spread among the inhabitants, there was a high probability they had been concealed until now.
“Inquire among those who know the inner workings of each village and gather information. Dispatch independent, trustworthy investigators to thoroughly uncover the reality of these cultists.”
“Do you believe the Grand Priest’s words to be true?”
Beyroff, who had been following quietly, asked cautiously.
Barkas scanned the wooden buildings lining the wide dirt road and the neatly partitioned rectangular vegetable gardens with a contemplative gaze.
He could feel the farmers weeding the fields stealing glances at him.
It was common for commoners to fear their lord. However, Barkas sensed a sharp wariness in their eyes that went beyond mere fear.
Feeling a dull throb in his temples from the strange atmosphere hanging over the village, Barkas furrowed his brow.
“There may be some exaggeration involved. Still, since the Grand Priest mentioned it himself, it’s unlikely to be entirely groundless rumors.”
Even if it were the senile ramblings of an old man, he had to play along.
The Grand Priest of the East was a powerful figure who managed a diocese so vast he was considered one of the top high priests in the land.
If that old man decided to brand the Grand Duchess a heretic, it would not be easily suppressed. Above all, there was the possibility that Gares would aggressively seize upon any suspicion of Talia’s apostasy. He had to resolve this matter before it leaked out.
“Station additional constables throughout the villages and announce that all assemblies must receive prior authorization.”
Barkas added as he turned his horse.
“I intend to form a subjugation force soon to conduct an extensive search of the areas surrounding Kalmor. Issue a mobilization order to the mounted warriors.”
“Understood.”
After touring even the small villages on the outskirts, Barkas turned back toward Raedgo Castle.
As he approached the fortress surrounded by sand-colored walls across the wide hills and fields, the gatekeeper immediately raised the portcullis.
Passing through the magnificent arched gate, Barkas leapt from his saddle and questioned the soldiers lined up near the training grounds.
“Where is the Grand Duchess?”
One of the guards, his face stiff with discipline, replied.
“Her Grace is resting in the garden.”
Tossing the reins to a servant who had followed him in, Barkas immediately crossed the parade ground.
He passed through the inner gate, and the sight of the garden, lush with deep green shrubs and flowers, filled his vision. Moving through the greenery at a steady pace, Barkas stopped when he spotted the back of Talia sitting beneath a white marble pavilion.
As always, she was with that massive beast.
The woman, who had been chattering away at the gray predator crouched at her feet, turned her head as if sensing his presence.
Barkas, who had intended to confirm the truth of the Grand Priest’s story with her, suddenly found himself at a loss for words. A smile of welcome had bloomed on her lips.
“Did the conversation go well?”
Looking down at her brightly smiling face, Barkas ultimately swallowed his questions regarding the heresy suspicions.
He did not want to voice such absurd doubts and sour her mood.
“There will be no more sermons targeted at Your Grace.”
“Was there nothing else?”
she asked, scratching the wolf’s ear.
Sensing a probing note in her cautious voice, Barkas narrowed his eyes.
What was she worried about? As he watched her with suspicious eyes, a low growl rumbled from right beside him. Barkas reflexively shifted his gaze and frowned at the sight of the beast, which was covered in flowers.
“You mustn’t do that.”
Talia scolded the wolf sternly, then added as if gauging Barkas’s reaction, “He seems upset because I left him alone all morning. He’s just being fussy; he doesn’t mean to be threatening.”
He offered no response, merely staring down at the Dire Wolf.
The wolf, wearing a garland woven of roses and cornflowers and a necklace of Thousand-Hand Flowers, had a distinct look of humiliation in its blue eyes.
Seemingly oblivious to this, she stroked the wolf’s scruff and said proudly, “Isn’t he adorable?”
He didn’t miss the twitch of the wolf’s ears.
The tail, which never stayed still when near its master, was tucked low, and with its ears flattened, the beast looked no different from a sulking pet.
Gazing at the sight, Barkas agreed flatly.
“Indeed.”
The wolf’s eyes flashed as if it understood his words. He added, feigning ignorance, “If he keeps going around like that, people might be a little less afraid of him.”
“Right? I’m going to keep dressing him up like this from now on.”
In contrast to the wolf’s ears drooping even further, a smile of relief spread across her face.
It seemed she had dressed the beast up in this ridiculous fashion and waited just to show him.
Realizing this, a knot of complex emotions twisted in his gut. She seemed truly worried that he might try to forcibly separate her from this creature.
Feeling a bitter taste in his mouth, Barkas changed the subject.
“More importantly, there is a favor I would like to ask of Your Grace.”
“What is it?”
she asked, her smile fading.
After a brief pause, Barkas chose his words carefully.
“I am told that the wild tribes have begun to run rampant around Kalmor. I would like you to refrain from going out until the marauders have been wiped out.”
“…Until when?”
The woman, who had been staring at her wolf with shadowed blue eyes, asked cautiously.
Her arms were wrapped around the wolf’s neck, perhaps unconsciously. He stared at her, half-buried in the beast’s large frame, before opening his lips.
“It won’t be very long.”
“It can’t be more than two months. Khan gets frustrated being stuck inside the castle.”
Whether the beast was frustrated or not was of no concern to him. Her safety was what mattered most.
But instead of saying that, Barkas simply signaled his agreement.
“I will finish it within that time.”
“…And after that, I can take Khan anywhere I want, right?”
She looked up at him intently.
After a moment’s hesitation, Barkas nodded. At that, a soft smile spread across her lips.
“Then that’s fine.”
She then added in a small voice, “I’ll trust you.”
In that instant, it felt as though an icy blade had brushed against his heart.
“I will never trust you again.”
The words she had once spat out like a curse echoed in his ears. Shifting his gaze as if to shake them off, he swallowed hard past a tightening throat.
Regardless of the agitation churning in his chest, his voice came out surprisingly calm even to his own ears.
“Even if it is early summer, the evening air is chilly. Let us head inside.”
“…My legs hurt, I can’t walk.”
The woman, who had been fidgeting with her skirt with her mouth firmly shut, suddenly spoke up as if complaining.
His face stiffened with concern.
“I will call the healing sorceress immediately.”
He was about to turn toward the main palace when she suddenly grabbed his sleeve.
When he looked back, he met a pouting gaze.
“I don’t want to wait. I want to lie down in bed right now, so you carry me.”
He stood rigid, looking down at her.
He could no longer interpret her intentions in any other way.
This woman was currently trying to seduce him.
But why?
Had his vassals pressured her regarding the matter of an heir?
As he entertained the unpleasant hypothesis, she tugged on his sleeve a little harder.
“Why? Do you not want to?”
