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Raina, who had been spewing vitriol without restraint, blanched in an instant.
Only when he saw the sheer terror on her face did Varkas realize his hand was clamped around the back of her neck.
Cold sweat seeped beneath her olive skin. He lightly pressed his thumb against the pulse hammering wildly at her throat and murmured, low and menacing,
“It seems you are entirely incapable of reading a room.”
He had barely exerted any pressure, yet all the color had drained from her face. It was the typical reaction of a sheltered noblewoman who had never faced physical danger in her life.
Varkas curled his lips into a cynical sneer, his voice flat and hollow.
“To think you could act this reckless, even after seeing with your own eyes what your brother was willing to do for that woman you so despise.”
“B-Brother…”
“I indulged your behavior because Father spoiled you rotten, but you should know my patience has its limits.”
Her reddish-brown eyes stretched wide with shock, slowly welling with tears.
Looking down at her without an ounce of pity, Varkas added softly,
“Speak carelessly of my wife again, and you will pay for it. Tread carefully while I still consider you kin.”
Raina swallowed hard. Goosebumps broke out across her stone-stiff neck.
He released his grip and gave a cold command to the servants and inner castle guards standing near the rear gate.
“Confine the Princess as well. Take her to the annex immediately.”
The guards closed in on Raina at once.
Watching them with an icy gaze, Varkas turned away. The moment he stepped forward, a venomous, tear-choked cry struck his back.
“Why do you take her side like this? Why!”
He glanced over his shoulder. His sister’s face was flushed red, her features twisted in indignant tears.
Unable to swallow her fury, she raised her voice.
“You nearly died because of her! Everyone said you’d never wake up! She betrayed you!”
Her shrill scream rang shrill across the open yard.
Varkas clenched his twitching fingers and stared silently at her. Catching the ominous fury in his eyes, the sobbing Raina shrank back a step.
He let out a weary sigh.
“You truly do not understand a single word I say.”
Spitting out the words, Varkas gestured with his chin toward the guards.
“Take her away. She is not to step foot outside her room until I permit it.”
The soldiers moved quickly to restrain Raina as she tried to shout again, plainly trying to save her from harsher punishment. Oblivious to their intent, she kept screaming at the top of her lungs.
Varkas walked across the grounds, leaving the clamor behind him.
When he emerged from the rear garden, his attendants were waiting near the entrance of the inner wall. Only then did he recall his scheduled meeting with the Kalmor Council of Doctors.
He checked the position of the sun and issued a brief command.
“Cancel all my afternoon appointments. Send a messenger to the council hall.”
“Are you unwell, Your Grace?”
The squad leader, knowing Varkas had been pushing through a brutal schedule before even recovering, looked at him with clear concern.
Varkas waved a dismissive hand.
“I’m told the Grand Duchess’s wolf is missing. It may have slipped outside the castle. Mobilize the men and search the grounds.”
The officer blinked, startled, but quickly grasped the urgency and hurried off toward his men.
As the orders were relayed, Varkas walked along the outer perimeter.
If the beast had truly evaded the guards and escaped, there had to be a hidden passage inside the inner castle. Which meant she, too, might have been slipping in and out through that very path.
The realization made his fist tighten.
If a secret passage came to light, the suspicions of heresy hanging over her would only deepen. The claims of those who insisted they had seen the Grand Duchess at pagan gatherings would carry undeniable weight.
He pressed a palm to his forehead as a searing, iron-hot throb flared inside his skull.
A sudden question crossed his mind: why was he going to such lengths?
That woman cared about nothing.
Not about him.
Not even about herself.
Nothing mattered to her except that wolf cub.
A dry chuckle escaped his throat.
Perhaps it would be better if the beast vanished for good.
Wouldn’t that relieve him of one more burden? Was there truly any need to go out of his way to retrieve the creature and deliver it back to her hands?
Varkas gazed up at the overcast sky with weary eyes, then steadied his faltering resolve.
Even setting her wishes aside, he could not leave a magical beast roaming loose.
If Khan caused trouble, even by the slimmest chance, the blame would fall squarely on her. And the mess would be his to clean up anyway.
With a self-deprecating scoff, Varkas resumed his stride. He would head outside the castle and comb the Armund Forest. If the monster had somewhere to hide, it would be there.
He passed through the inner wall toward the North Gate. Just then, he caught an unfamiliar presence close by.
His hand moved instinctively to his hilt as he turned to scan the area.
Between the small plots landscaped beside the castle chapel, a massive shadow shot past like an arrow.
He went after it immediately. Pushing through the dense brush, he found a small clearing tucked behind the chapel.
Varkas strode into the open, then stopped in his tracks. At the edge of the well-kept yard stood a small gravestone.
He approached it, his brow furrowing at the mound of withered flowers piled around its base.
There was no name carved into the stone. Yet the surface was smooth and polished, as if someone tended it regularly.
As he reached out to touch the cold rock, a rustle stirred nearby.
Varkas snapped his head around and froze. Tall and still among the thickets stood the gray wolf.
The beast was soaked through with an unknown wetness. Its sodden gray coat appeared nearly black, and clumps of mud clung to its paws.
He rose slowly, keeping his movements measured.
The wolf stared back without flinching. Sensing the distinct, lethal intent behind those eyes, Varkas took a step back and called out its name.
“Khan.”
The wolf’s ears pricked up, and its head dipped slightly.
Varkas watched it closely, pitching his voice low and soothing.
“Your master is looking for you. It’s time to go back.”
The wolf, which had been fixing him with a steady gaze, turned its head toward the tombstone.
Varkas narrowed his eyes as a brief flicker of sorrow crossed the beast’s blue pupils. Beyond mere high intelligence, it seemed to mourn and feel just like a human—a sight that sparked a sharp spike of doubt within him.
‘Is this truly a direwolf?’
Magical beasts were rarely kept or domesticated, leaving no way to know whether such behavior was ordinary.
Watching the creature with deep suspicion, Varkas cautiously reached out his hand.
END