Ch#198
198
As long as that wolf remained by her side, no one would dare approach her recklessly.
With this, he could focus entirely on resolving the heretic issue for the time being.
Varkas headed straight for the checkpoint located right next to the North Gate. There, he carefully examined the entry and exit logs from the day of the raid to the present, the duty officer’s journals, and the list of the deceased.
The damage was greater than expected. Five soldiers guarding the northern wall, four jailers watching the dungeon, and five servants within the castle had lost their lives. Even the four servants taken hostage were found as cold corpses two days later.
The loss of life didn’t end there. There were over a dozen others who had sustained injuries so severe that even healing magic could not restore them.
Varkas’s gaze, slowly scanning down that long list of victims, became fixed on one particular spot.
“Did the healer also meet with misfortune?”
“Yes. Pitifully, he was found with a dagger driven through his heart.”
The captain of the watch, watching Varkas’s reaction with a tense face, answered with a heavy sigh.
“Tiwran resided in a dwelling quite far from the main castle, didn’t he? It seems he crossed paths with the villains as they were escaping through the North Gate and met his end.”
Varkas’s lips pulled into a hard line.
As the image of his wife, who had been sleeping defenselessly in that healer’s home, came to mind, a chilling sensation spread near his heart.
She seemed to have grown quite close to that healer during that time. She would be considerably shocked when she heard this news. Varkas thought blankly for a moment before irritably raking his hair back.
He felt a surge of self-loathing for worrying about her grief even in the midst of this disaster.
Nearly twenty people had died. There was no reason to feel more regret over one specific person’s death just because they were close to her.
He set the list down on the desk as if throwing it.
“I will allocate a separate budget, so ensure that sufficient compensation is paid to the families of the victims.”
With those final words, he stood up and exited the guard post, only to hear a commotion nearby.
Varkas instinctively turned his head and frowned at the sight of soldiers lined up in front of the gate.
“What is happening?”
The soldier standing guard at the entrance turned around, startled.
“Y-Your Excellency!”
Looking up at him with an expression as if he had seen a ghost, the soldier scurried out of the way. He سپس bowed his head and spoke.
“That is, visitors have arrived… We were waiting for permission for them to enter the castle.”
Varkas narrowed his eyes and peered beyond the portcullis. Through the gaps in the iron grate, he saw a giant of a man clad in a deep navy robe standing tall.
Recognizing his identity, Varkas knit his brows. Roman Talis, a Holy Knight dispatched from the Central Church, stood there with two subordinates in tow.
“It has been a fortnight since we last met.”
The man leaned his face close to the bars and offered a gentle smile.
“I heard you suffered a misfortune, but it seems you have fortunately recovered your health. Seeing you looking so robust with my own eyes finally puts my mind at ease.”
“What business brings you here?”
Varkas dismissed the platitudes and immediately pressed for his purpose.
The man leaned his body against the iron bars and continued in an undertone.
“Since the subjugation plan ended in failure, the majority of the heretics have vanished without a trace, haven’t they? As for us, we are in a position where we can no longer simply sit back and wait. I have come to request permission for the Cathedral Guardians to commence a direct investigation.”
“As I told you before, I cannot allow outsiders to rummage through my territory as they please. Do not waste your time and go back.”
“If you insist, then I have no choice but to request investigative cooperation from the Imperial Family.”
Varkas, who had been turning toward the stables, glared at him with icy eyes.
“Are you threatening me right now?”
“Perish the thought. I am currently making a polite request for cooperation.”
The man’s voice became more secretive.
“I, too, find tedious procedures quite distasteful. Since neither of us wants this to become a larger affair, why don’t we quietly find a point of agreement?”
Varkas’s face hardened into a mask. He knew intuitively. This man was using Talia as leverage.
He spat out through gritted teeth.
“Open the gate.”
No sooner had his command fallen than the iron bars slowly rose upward.
The man, leading his subordinates through the gate, wore a leisurely smile on his lips.
“A wise choice.”
Ignoring the voice laced with a faint sense of victory, Varkas headed toward the barracks connected to the castle wall.
“Follow me.”
The man followed him with a lightness of movement that belied his massive frame.
Varkas entered the public office used by the outer wall guard and gestured to the waiting soldiers.
“Everyone, get out.”
Once they had all filed out of the room, he turned back to the giant standing in the doorway and spoke coldly.
“What are you doing? Get in here.”
After scanning the room with sharp eyes, the man gestured for his own subordinates to withdraw.
Finally left alone, Varkas sat on a conference chair and asked point-blank.
“Exactly what is it you want?”
“It is as I said before. Please grant permission for the Cathedral Guardians to investigate the reality of the heretics in the East.”
The man replied calmly. Varkas let out a dry laugh and picked up a wine bottle sitting on the table.
“And I assume you want the right to dispose of the sinners as well?”
“You seem worried that we might carry out a massacre of civilians, but if you wish, we will conduct a joint investigation with the soldiers of the Shikan Duchy.”
The man spoke as if granting a favor.
“Our goal is to stop the spread of heretical ideology, not to hold a festival of slaughter in the East. I promise that we will transport the sinners by the most humanitarian means possible to face the judgment of the law.”
Varkas took a sip of the strong wine and observed his opponent closely.
His head knew there was no reason to refuse this man’s proposal. He, too, did not want heretics proliferating in his lands.
With even the subjugation plan gone awry, there was no proper justification to refuse the Church’s assistance. However, his instincts were constantly sending warnings that he must not trust this man.
“If Your Excellency provides the consideration to allow my duties to proceed smoothly, I shall likewise look out for your convenience.”
Noticing his hesitation, the man suggested in a suggestive tone.
Varkas glared at him with eyes full of frost.
“What do you mean by that?”
“I mean that I will cover up the various suspicions surrounding the Grand Duchess.”
The man replied nonchalantly.
“Are there not rumors spreading far and wide that the Grand Duchess colluded with heretics to poison Your Excellency? Despite that, seeing as you have yet to hand down any punishment, it seems Your Excellency wishes to bury that unsavory incident.”
“…….”
“I, too, wish to avoid the troublesome task of investigating the Grand Duchess of the East on charges of heresy. If Your Excellency assists me in my work, I will leave the various suspicions surrounding the Grand Duchess as mere false rumors.”
“Meaning if I do not cooperate, you intend to make my wife a target of your investigation.”
The man replaced an answer with a smooth smile on his lips.
Varkas gripped the goblet of wine so hard it began to crumple.
This man was currently demanding he choose between his duty as a lord and his wife’s safety.
It was a matter not even worth agonizing over.
He had been educated to prioritize the safety of the Empire and the East above all else. He could not allow suspicious individuals to roam the Duchy just because of one person.
However, entirely different words flowed from his lips.
“……Very well. I grant it.”
In that moment, a hot, bitter sensation spread through his gut.
Varkas realized it was the feeling of defeat. It was an emotion that had been coiled deep inside him ever since he became entangled with her.
He looked down at the completely mangled cup with blurred eyes. The overflowing wine soaked his fingers, as sticky as blood.
Whenever she was involved, he always made the wrong choice.
Right and wrong ceased to matter, and he would run headlong in the wrong direction, possessed only by primal impulses. Like a moth approaching a flame even while knowing it would be burned to ash.
“A wise decision.”
The man spoke softly. Varkas felt that if he continued to face that face smiling with amusement, he might grab him by the scruff of the neck and crush him against the table.
He stood up and walked out of the meeting room. And he vowed to himself.
This is the last time. The last time I make a wrong choice because of her.
