Ch#192
Varkas swallowed a low sigh.
Since their argument that evening, she had remained shut away in her room, not showing so much as a glimpse of her face. She was a woman who had locked her door whenever something displeased her since she was a child, so this was nothing new. Her mood would surely improve with time. Repeating that thought to himself, he moved his heavy steps up the stairs.
“Bring my meal to the study. Prepare a change of clothes as well.”
“Understood. I shall have them ready immediately.”
Leaving the head butler’s response behind, he headed straight for the study.
The room was already brightly lit with candlelight. It seemed even the servants had come to accept his staying here as a natural part of their daily routine.
Letting out a bitter smile, Varkas shed his damp outer coat, tossed it into a basket, and sat heavily on a chair by the window. Only then did the fatigue he hadn’t realized he was carrying wash over him.
With hazy eyes, he stared at the glass pane splattered with raindrops.
By tomorrow, he would have to ride for at least half a day through that torrential downpour. At the end of that journey, a one-sided battle bordering on a massacre awaited.
No matter how brave the Zram people were as warriors, they were ultimately nothing more than a disorganized rabble. Their crude weapons wouldn’t be able to leave a single scratch on the heavy armor of the Shekan family, which concentrated the finest dwarven technology. Unless the scale of the enemy exceeded expectations, the battle would be over before dawn.
He reached for a wine glass the servants had set out in advance and leaned his head back against the chair.
Just then, the sound of a doorknob turning broke the silence.
His brows furrowed. A flash of annoyance rose at someone opening the door so boldly without permission, but assuming it was the mistake of a clumsy servant who hadn’t heard of the master’s return, he spoke indifferently.
“Good timing. Pour me a glass of wine, would you?”
He lifted the glass without even turning his head when he heard the soft rustle of someone approaching. Recognizing the unnatural, off-beat rhythm of the footsteps, Varkas immediately straightened his slouched posture. At the same time, a sweetness that felt as if it would melt his mouth drifted through the humid air.
He turned his head toward the woman standing beside him. Clad in a thin dress that clearly traced the contours of her slender frame, Talia was leaning toward him, clutching a large bottle with both hands.
“You have to eat soon, so only drink a little.”
The woman whispered primly as she poured a bit of wine into his glass. Varkas, who had been staring up at her blankly, belatedly came to his senses and stood up.
“What are you doing here?”
Her eyes wavered slightly at his suspicious tone. However, the trace of agitation vanished instantly behind a thin smile.
“I was waiting for you to return.”
She spoke, pointing toward the bedroom door connected to the study. Shifting his gaze there, Varkas knit his brows at the sight of a dining table set beyond the half-open door. Atop the large circular table sat a water pitcher filled with colorful flowers and silver candelabras, all neatly arranged.
“We haven’t had a single meal together since you returned. So… I prepared this.”
She was trying her best to feign composure, but an irrepressible tension was laced through her voice.
Varkas let out a weary sigh.
“Doing this will not change my mind. Stop this unnecessary effort.”
His tone was cold and dry, even to his own ears. It must have sounded even more heartless to her, as the smile lingering on her red-painted lips withered away.
“I didn’t prepare this to change your mind. It’s just… I heard you’d be away from the castle for a few days….”
She stammered, her fingers nervously fidgeting with the ornaments on her skirt.
“I wanted to apologize before you left. That day… I went too far. I shouldn’t have chased you out like that….”
Varkas simply looked down at her in silence. He wasn’t sure if he should accept this invitation. He didn’t want to be helplessly swayed by her whims any longer.
He looked away from her anxious face and spoke flatly.
“There is no need to apologize. I should have clearly expressed my stance regarding the child from the beginning. But I—”
“That’s enough of that talk.”
She hurriedly cut him off.
“I want a child, but… if you say no, I don’t intend to force it anymore. I really didn’t come here for that today. I just….”
The woman, awkwardly lowering her gaze, finished in a voice barely above a whisper.
“I just want to have dinner with you.”
“…….”
“If you don’t feel like it, you can refuse. I’ll just eat alone.”
When he didn’t respond, she flushed red and abruptly turned around. Varkas reflexively grabbed her wrist and let out a sigh tinged with defeat.
“Please wait a moment. I will change and join you.”
Only then did her face brighten. Nodding like a child, Talia hurried toward the bedroom.
As the sound of the door closing echoed, he threw off his damp clothes and wiped his body with a dry towel. Then, after changing into clean indoor wear, he stood before the mirror to tidy his disheveled hair and straighten his clothes.
Finishing his grooming in an instant, Varkas threw on a silk tunca hanging on the wall and stepped into the bedroom where she was waiting.
“That was faster than I thought. Here, come sit.”
Talia, who had been nervously rearranging the cutlery on the table, jumped up from her seat.
After a brief hesitation, Varkas walked to the opposite side and pulled out a chair. The table was elaborately set with steaming soup, perfectly roasted meat, and a variety of fruits.
Talia, serving portions onto his plate, chattered in a tone so cheerful it felt awkward.
“You’re hungry, right? Hurry and eat. The head butler said you’ve been skipping meals often lately. How can you do that when you nagged me so much about my eating habits?”
He caught her hand as it moved busily over the table to stop her.
“I will eat on my own, so please sit.”
“You used to look after my meals often. I wanted to do it for you today.”
She murmured in a trembling voice, her eyes fixed on the flickering candlelight. Realizing she was tense with the fear of being rejected, Varkas quietly let go of her hand.
Soon after, Talia, with awkward movements, cut the meat into small pieces and smeared various sauces over them. She seemed to be taking great care, but it was impossible for a woman who had been served by others her entire life to handle food skillfully.
He looked down at the mangled pie, the butchered pieces of meat, and the mess of food tangled with sticky jam and various sauces, letting out a faint, hollow laugh.
She looked at him with a worried gaze.
“What’s wrong? Is the food not to your liking?”
“No.”
He picked up his fork and pushed the messy food into his mouth.
“How is it? Is it good?”
He couldn’t even tell what he was eating, but he gave a stoic nod.
“You should eat as well, Your Grace.”
When he served a reasonable portion of food onto her plate and handed it over, a happy smile touched Talia’s lips.
She tasted the lamb and fruit he had neatly sliced and took a few more spoonfuls of the plain chicken soup. Though she still ate sparingly, it was a vast improvement considering her childhood, when she had treated food like an enemy.
“When do you leave tomorrow?”
While he was watching her eat intently, the woman who had picked up a napkin to wipe her lips suddenly asked a question. He replied half-heartedly.
“I plan to depart at dawn.”
“Lucas said you’re going to wipe out the marauders… how many soldiers are you taking?”
Varkas, who was chewing through lamb drenched in peach jam, frowned and stared at her. He thought she had been holed up in her room, but when had she spoken to Lucas? Suppressing his displeasure, he answered in a blunt tone.
“Roughly seven hundred men should be gathered.”
“Isn’t that too few?”
She asked, looking startled. He let out a soft chuckle.
“It is merely the subjugation of a bandit group. Seven hundred mounted warriors is more than enough strength.”
“Still… you’ll just be commanding from the back, right?”
Without confirming or denying, he diligently moved the food she had served into his mouth. Watching him anxiously, Talia suddenly stood up and grabbed the silver pitcher from the shelf.
“Aren’t you thirsty? I’ll pour you some wine.”
Before he could stop her, the goblet was filled with a deep-colored liquor. Varkas knit his brows at the pungent aroma that stung his nose. It didn’t seem to be simple wine; the scent of various herbs rose through the sharp smell of strong alcohol.
“They say it’s a special wine that replenishes one’s energy. It has many medicinal herbs in it… it should help relieve your fatigue.”
She explained in an awkward voice.
Looking down at the red liquid with suspicious eyes, Varkas took a sip of the thick fluid as a test. It wasn’t as terrible as he expected. He swallowed a few more gulps of the wine, which was strong enough to sting his throat, and set the glass down.
