Ch#186
Staring intently at him, Lucas added sarcastically, “Isn’t that right? It’s not as if you married my sister-in-law because the Emperor forced your hand. You wanted her so badly you tossed aside your fiancée and snatched up His Majesty’s proposal in a heartbeat, didn’t you?”
Barkas, who had been casting a cold glance over his shoulder, resumed walking without a word of response.
Lucas, visibly bristling at being ignored, scowled and immediately chased after him.
“I hit a nerve, didn’t I?”
“…….”
“Don’t you think it’s incredibly unfair, Brother? You took a woman who is of absolutely no help to this family as your spouse, yet you demand sacrifice only from Laina and me?”
“Sacrifice?”
Barkas, who had been silently crossing the training grounds, cast a chilling look back at him.
Lucas reflexively took a step back.
It felt as though a bleak wind had suddenly blown in from nowhere. Carrying an air so frigid it pushed back the early summer heat, the Grand Duke stepped close to him, his lips curling into a soft arc.
“Absurd. Just how peacefully have you been living that you dare speak of ‘sacrifice’ in regards to a mere political marriage?”
At that hauntingly gentle voice, Lucas’s spine went stiff. Barkas leaned his inhumanly refined face toward him and continued slowly.
“Let me ask you one thing. If you intend to refuse even the basic duties expected of a noble… then how exactly do you plan to pay for the privileges you’ve enjoyed your entire life?”
Lucas bit his lower lip, unable to offer a single word in rebuttal.
Looking down quietly at his brother’s flushed face, Barkas let out a long breath and added in a more conciliatory tone, “There is no need to be so rebellious already. I intend to present the best possible options for both of you… You and Laina simply have to choose the partner you like most from a vast pool of candidates.”
“……And if there isn’t a single person I like?”
“Then pick the one who is the least eyesore.”
Barkas’s tone turned harsh again.
“The time for acting like a child passed long ago. Both of you need to start contributing something to this house.”
Lucas clenched his fists tight, his voice dropping into a heavy, low tone.
“I understand… exactly what you mean.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
Responding dryly, Barkas gave his brother’s shoulder a firm squeeze before letting go and walking away. Lucas watched his retreating back with a gloomy gaze before turning in the opposite direction.
After leaving the castle, Barkas attended a meeting at the Kalmor assembly hall to review the proposed legislative amendments that had been under discussion.
Once the tedious administrative procedures were concluded, he stopped by the garrison headquarters on the outskirts of the city to check the detailed records of raider sightings and the affected areas.
By the time he finished all his official duties and returned to the castle, the sunset was swallowing the world whole.
Looking up at the purple-tinged sky, Barkas tossed the reins to a stablehand who had come rushing out and headed straight for the main keep.
“Welcome back, Your Grace.”
As he stepped into the grand hall, the servants lighting the chandeliers bowed their heads in unison.
Acknowledging their greeting with a slight nod, Barkas went straight up the stairs.
He was about to head toward the bedroom adjacent to his third-floor study when a cautious voice called out from behind him.
“Y-Your Grace.”
Turning around, he saw the head butler looking tense.
Barkas raised an eyebrow and asked, “What is it?”
“Her Grace the Grand Duchess is currently in the second-floor bedroom. She asked me to inform you as soon as you returned…….”
Barkas frowned but immediately changed his course.
Descending a flight of stairs, he saw the soldiers standing guard in front of his bedroom door.
With a flick of his eyes signaling them to withdraw, he knocked on the door. Only after a long pause did a slightly muffled voice drift through.
“Come in.”
As Barkas opened the door and stepped inside, he winced at the thick, medicinal smell of herbs. The air was hazy, as if incense had been burning for hours.
He strode across the room and threw open the window. After extinguishing the incense that was still trailing smoke, he cast a displeased look toward the bed.
“Are you trying to suffocate yourself? Just how long have you been—”
Barkas cut himself off mid-scolding. His eyes had fallen upon his wife’s exhausted face as she lay sprawled on the bed.
She had one arm wrapped around the neck of the wolf that occupied most of the large bed, and she murmured in a thick voice, “I couldn’t help it. Today, Khan was acting a bit… strange…….”
He frowned and moved to the side of the bed.
Unlike yesterday, the wolf was not completely asleep. Though its body was limp from the effects of the herbs and its breathing was somewhat labored, its eyes were fixed obsessively on its master.
Barkas’s expression hardened as he detected a strange sense of possessiveness within that gaze.
His wife, sensing his mood, added as if in excuse, “I think he’s on edge because I left him alone last night. And since he suddenly hasn’t been able to go outside… I suppose his frustrations have built up.”
“Did this magical beast cause some kind of trouble today?”
At his cold question, a defensive look crossed her face.
“Khan didn’t cause any trouble. He just… seemed a bit anxious.”
If she had to use such strong herbs to calm him, the animal must have been showing considerable instability.
He looked down with icy eyes at the beast, which was struggling to stay awake despite its gasping breaths.
What could have made the creature, which seemed stable enough this morning, so high-strung?
He let out a weary sigh and perched on the edge of the bed. At his movement, the beast wrinkled its snout as if about to bare its teeth and shoved its head deeper into its master’s embrace.
He scowled at the silent warning to stay away, but then the woman spoke softly.
“I think I should stay with Khan tonight.”
Barkas stared silently at her face, which looked no less haggard than the wolf’s, and slowly nodded.
“Don’t mind me. Go to sleep.”
“……Can’t you stay here too?”
Just as he was about to stand back up, she reached out and grabbed his sleeve.
After a moment’s hesitation, he pulled off his boots and climbed onto the bed.
As he sat beside her and leaned against the headboard, the wolf’s gaze landed on him. It was a look that suggested it wasn’t particularly fond of the situation.
Ignoring the wolf, he lightly brushed her forehead, which was damp with a thin layer of sweat. She seemed to have a slight fever.
“I will watch over Khan. So, sleep in peace.”
At those words, her eyelids fluttered shut as if relieved. He watched her face as her breathing soon became even.
It was a disappointing turn of events for a man who had looked forward to holding her warm, soft body after a deep, intimate kiss.
Yet, on the other hand, he felt a sense of relief. Having firmly resolved never to let her get pregnant again, her temptations had begun to feel somewhat overwhelming.
He leaned his head back against the headboard, gently stroking her silk-smooth hair.
As the fresh air from the window chased out the bitter smoke, her scent began to fill the room little by little.
Breathing in that heady fragrance, he gazed endlessly at her peaceful face bathed in the fading light of the sunset.
Suddenly, his brother’s voice drifted through his mind.
“You married the woman you wanted, didn’t you, Brother?”
He knew those words were true. But what of it? In this hollow life, he deserved to have at least one thing he desired.
Barkas lowered his gaze to her legs, which were tucked to one side. Her slender calves, tangled in the hem of her skirt, peeked out from beneath the thin summer quilt.
He reached out and traced the red marks visible through the fabric.
The thought occurred to him that she might have a fit if she woke up, but he couldn’t pull his hand away from the long scar that stretched from her knee to her thigh.
Though he revisited his past memories almost every night, he had never once relived the moment that wound was inflicted in his dreams. Nor the sight of her bleeding on the bed.
In reality, the memory was as vivid as a burn mark, yet in the deep of the night, it vanished like mist. This was because this woman could never be his nightmare.
Unable to suppress the urge to hold her any longer, he rested his head on the pillow and slid an arm beneath her head.
As he carefully turned her body, which had been facing the wolf, toward himself, the wolf—which had been resting its chin on the sheets—lifted its head.
For a moment, a strange light flickered within the beast’s characteristically expressionless eyes.
After staring at his face as if observing him, the beast hauled its heavy body up and pressed itself firmly against her back. It then rested its face, covered in short, dense gray fur, right next to her head.
He watched the beast with a sense of disbelief before sighing and wrapping his arm around her back.
Her warm breath tickled his chest. Perhaps tonight, too, he would sink into a river of blood.
As if the dream knew he was defying the vow in his heart, it would turn cold and dark.
But it didn’t matter.
Even as he felt his body gradually heating up, he did not loosen the arm wrapped around her.
