Ch#206
Taking his coat, he moved to pass her and leave the room, but the woman, who had been frozen in a daze, roughly grabbed his sleeve.
“Khan did nothing wrong. It was me… I told Khan to attack Lucas. Khan was only following my orders. So if you’re going to punish someone, punish me—!”
A pained groan escaped her lips.
Only then did he realize he was gripping her arm so tightly it felt as if it might break, and he loosened his hold. However, his fingers remained locked around her for a moment, rigid and unmoving.
He glared at her with eyes as cold as ice.
The memories of the past summer flashed through his mind—all the pains he had taken to ensure this woman didn’t end up on the guillotine.
He had destroyed evidence that incriminated her, threatened vassals into silence, and bribed priests just to prevent her from standing trial.
Rage surged within him at her behavior, which seemed determined to render all those efforts futile.
“Let’s assume that’s true. Why on earth would you do that?”
Looking up at him with a terrified expression, she bit her blood-crusted lip and lowered her gaze.
Varkas continued his interrogation, pressing her further.
“Did Lucas commit a crime against you so grave that he deserved to be left in such a state?”
The sound of her swallowing hard reached his ears.
She stared at the floor for a long time as if hesitating, before finally forcing out a voice that sounded like it was being wrung from her throat.
“…We were arguing, and I got worked up. I said things I didn’t mean. I never imagined Khan would actually attack Lucas….”
Her faltering explanation trailed off.
Varkas pressed his throbbing temple and let out a hollow laugh.
“You call that an excuse…?”
At his despondent murmur, the woman’s shoulders flinched.
Watching her with cold eyes, Varkas continued in a voice stripped of all emotion.
“Even if that’s the truth, it changes nothing. I told you clearly before, didn’t I? If that magical beast harms a human, even I cannot protect it.”
Her hauntingly beautiful face collapsed in ruin.
Looking straight down at that face stained with despair, he added, emphasizing every single word:
“A direct blood relative of the Grand Ducal family has been severely injured. This is not a situation that can be overlooked with the excuse of an accidental outburst. Above all, I cannot allow a magical beast that has tasted human blood to roam free within the territory.”
A thin sob escaped her throat.
He took a step back.
He felt that if he faced her a moment longer, he would lose his self-control entirely.
Varkas immediately walked to the door and gripped the handle.
At that moment, a heavy impact hit him as slender arms wrapped tightly around his waist.
Varkas froze, his body turning rigid as if paralyzed.
Clinging to him desperately, the woman tilted up her tear-streaked face and cried out.
“No! Please, don’t kill Khan. Khan is our child!”
His gaze fixed on her, stunned.
As if she had completely lost her grip on reality, she began to pour out incoherent words.
“Tiwran said so. A child who dies without being baptized is reborn as a beast…. Khan is… Khan is our child reborn. He was reborn as a wolf and came back to me!”
Varkas’s face twisted in agony. He felt a suffocating sensation, as if something deep inside his chest was crumbling. Before he could process it, she rushed on.
“It’s true! If you look into Khan’s eyes, you’ll know. Khan is our son. Our son, who never even drew his first breath, has come back to life! So please, don’t hurt our child….”
“Stop it!”
At his explosive roar, the woman flinched and let go of his waist.
Varkas leaned against the doorframe as if his body might collapse at any moment and covered his face with his hand.
A tremor like a convulsion ran through his entire frame. Through his shaking fingers, he looked down at his wife, who had broken beyond repair.
Her deep blue eyes, soaked in tears, tore ruthlessly through his heart. Feeling an inexpressible sense of frustration weighing heavily upon him, he squeezed his eyes shut.
He stood there for a while, gathering his breath.
Finally regaining his composure, Varkas straightened his posture and spat out his words.
“I’ve heard enough of this nonsense.”
The light in the woman’s eyes faded. Turning away from those empty eyes where every spark of hope had died, he gripped the doorknob.
“Consider yourself under house arrest in this room until Lucas wakes. I will decide your punishment after I have finished this business.”
He then flung the door open and gestured with his chin to the soldiers waiting in the hallway.
“Take her to her room.”
The soldiers immediately surrounded her.
Talia did not resist. She merely stared blankly at the floor, her face devoid of color.
Leaving behind that hollow face, now dry of even tears, he stepped out into the hallway where the sunset was beginning to deepen.
The sound of his own footsteps echoed with a peculiar chill.
He quickened his pace as if to shake off the murky emotions weighing down his chest. His shadow grew long as he descended the stairs, bleeding into the dim darkness.
A subjugation party was organized immediately.
As if they had been sharpening their blades during the ten days Lucas hovered between life and death, the mounted warriors gathered before the castle gates, fuming with rage.
He selected thirty men and rode out through the north gate.
The sun was already sinking below the horizon. Looking up at the sky as it turned from purple to deep indigo, he soon shifted his gaze to the birch forest where the last of the sunset lingered.
That wolf possessed intelligence far above average. It wouldn’t be loitering near open fields or hills.
Yet, he didn’t think it would have fled far from Kalmor. Given its intense obsession with its master, it would be prowling somewhere near the castle.
Leading his men, he crossed the fields toward the Armund Forest.
Before long, they reached the edge of the woods as it began to be submerged in blue darkness.
“We will scatter and search from here. Move in groups of three and signal immediately if you find it.”
As soon as his command fell, the knights, torches in hand, dispersed into the forest.
He gestured to Beirop and Rgen as well.
“I am enough on my own. You two search the north.”
“But….”
Beirop started to protest with a worried face but quickly fell silent.
Having spent years on battlefields with him, the man knew better than anyone that the Grand Duke required no escort. With a low sigh, he turned his horse.
“Signal us if any trouble arises.”
Varkas spurred his horse without a word of reply.
The torches held by the soldiers flickered and spread in all directions through the dense trees.
Leaving behind the sounds of whinnying horses and rustling leaves, he moved through the darkness where the biting wind howled. After some time, a bloody stench began to drift through the air.
It wasn’t long before he found the source of the smell. The remains of a beast, its flesh completely torn away, lay buried among the fallen leaves, exuding the scent of decay.
‘A boar?’
No. Judging by the abnormal size of the skull, it appeared to be a Dire Boar.
Carefully examining the bones that looked as though they had been crushed by teeth, he raised his head and scanned the darkness.
Since the scent of blood had not yet faded, the creature must have fed recently.
He leaped from his saddle and carefully scanned the ground.
As if the tracks had been intentionally erased, no trace of the beast remained on the damp soil. However, Varkas could clearly catch a peculiar scent floating in the air.
His senses were unusually sharp and taut. Led by an inexplicable instinct, he walked quickly into the grim shadows of the forest.
Then, a rustling sound came from somewhere.
He drew his bow from his back. In a flash, he pulled an arrow from the quiver at his waist and drew the string.
Almost simultaneously, the shadow of a massive beast appeared from the thick brush.
Varkas fired without hesitation. Though the beast vanished behind the trees in an instant, the arrow, flying like the wind, had already pierced its hind leg.
A low, guttural howl tore through the night air. He saw the massive body stagger as if it had taken a significant blow. However, the beast immediately steadied itself and bolted through the forest.
Varkas mounted his horse instantly and galloped through the trees with acrobatic skill.
Though countless obstacles hindered his vision, hitting a beast the size of a calf was easier than hunting a rabbit or a small bird.
He fired arrows in succession at the beast as it ran for its life.
Several arrows struck the creature’s chest and flank. This time, it seemed he had hit vital spots, yet the wolf’s movements as it raced through the woods only grew more ferocious.
