Ch#220
220
Varkas glared at him with eyes as cold as ice.
Normally, the Crown Prince would have been cowed by such a gaze, but this time, he seemed utterly unable to contain his fury. He rampaged about, ruthlessly trampling the clothes scattered across the floor.
“You’ve made me a scapegoat for that filthy bastard! You’ve betrayed me twice now because of that bitch!”
The wine bottle the Crown Prince hurled shattered at Varkas’s feet, splattering dark red liquid everywhere.
Varkas looked down at the stain spreading across the carpet like a bloodstain and let out a weary sigh.
“Just how long do you intend to act like a spoiled child?”
In an instant, the Crown Prince’s face twisted hideously with a sense of humiliation. Varkas spoke again, his voice heavy with emphasis as if driving nails into that very face.
“You are the Crown Prince of this Empire. Marrying a daughter of a house selected by the Council is an inescapable duty. If it can soothe the public sentiment of Valto and strengthen the Empire’s unity, you should accept it with a willing heart—”
“A daughter of a house selected by the Council?”
A blatant sneer erupted from Gares’s lips. He strode forward, crushing shards of glass under his boots.
“Ha! You mean a girl from a family that raised a rebellion against the Imperial Family. It wouldn’t even be enough to put every single one of those northern turncoats on the guillotine, yet you want me to take that foul bloodline as my Crown Princess? Don’t make me laugh!”
Gares gave his shoulder a hard shove. The pair of green eyes positioned inches from his own flashed as if they might spit fire.
“And do you think you’re in any position to lecture me about duty? You, who keeps a woman with no hope of producing an heir in the position of Grand Duchess and does nothing but coddle her—where do you get the nerve to preach to me?”
Varkas’s face became expressionless, as if he were wearing a mask.
Failing to realize that Varkas’s anger had reached its breaking point, Gares continued to rant.
“If you want to tell me what to do, get rid of that woman first. If you abandon Talia Roem Guirta right now and take Aila as your Grand Duchess, I’ll do whatever you say—marriage or anything else.”
At 그 moment, Varkas felt the thread of patience he had been barely holding onto snap completely.
Before he was even conscious of it, his hand shot out and seized the Crown Prince by the collar. Gares’s body went rigid, his mind seemingly paralyzed by the unprecedented, violent touch.
Varkas yanked the man’s body toward him roughly and spat out a low, chilling bass directly into his face.
“I’m starting to get tired of listening to your whining.”
The Crown Prince’s face turned pale with shock.
Staring straight down into those wide, bulging eyes, Varkas added grimly.
“If you truly do not wish to marry, then do as you please. I too am quite curious to see how His Majesty the Emperor, who is currently struggling to prevent the Empire’s fragmentation, will react. I wonder how the North will respond after suffering the insult of a broken engagement, whether the other lords will continue to support an utterly irresponsible Crown Prince as the next Emperor, and what sort of schemes the Empress—who is desperate to put her young son on the throne—will concoct this time…”
“…”
“It should be quite entertaining to watch.”
A flicker of fear momentarily crossed the Crown Prince’s previously arrogant face.
Gares gritted his teeth as if to hide it, and Varkas, after staring at him with indifferent eyes, finally released his grip. Just as he turned to leave the tent, a tight, choked voice called out from behind him.
“Are you… saying you’re going to abandon me now?”
Varkas looked back at him with eyes full of disillusionment.
Over the Crown Prince’s face, twisted with a sense of betrayal, overlapped the afterimage of the young boy who had wailed after losing his mother. The man, who had grown only in body while remaining frozen in that era, screamed out in spite.
“My mother saved you! My mother took you in and cared for you when even your own biological father cast you aside! She worked so hard to make you even slightly human when you were broken beyond repair…! How can you turn your back on me and Aila because of the daughter of that filthy whore who drove my mother to her death!”
Varkas closed his eyes tightly and then opened them. He drew a line with a voice that didn’t waver in the slightest.
“I have done my best to keep my promise to the late Empress. You are the one who has trampled over those efforts at every turn.”
“Don’t give me that bullshit! You care more about that bastard than us—”
“Do not bring her up in a matter that has nothing to do with her. Talia has done nothing wrong to any of you.”
The Crown Prince flinched and fell silent at his fierce tone.
Varkas continued, his words ground out between his teeth.
“If you want revenge on Senevier, I will cooperate as much as you like. I can even bring that woman to her knees before you myself. But not my wife. She is neither Taren nor Guirta. She is Shikan.”
His tone grew increasingly intense, and veins stood out in the Crown Prince’s eyes.
Turning away from that murderous face, Varkas added coldly.
“If you want to keep me on your side until the end, you had better accept that fact.”
Whether his warning had worked or not, Gares left Yotengar with the main force not long after.
Varkas watched from the watchtower as the Crown Prince’s banners receded into the distance, then immediately ordered the soldiers to strike camp.
Tents were folded and stakes were pulled up at once. Since they had been preparing to withdraw to the rear for several weeks already, the evacuation proceeded with lightning speed.
While the soldiers loaded stacks of crates onto hundreds of wagons, he moved throughout the camp, checking the remaining supplies.
There were enough military rations stockpiled to last for several months, but they couldn’t take it all. A significant portion had to be handed over to the Northern Allied Forces, who would take over the defense of Yotengar.
He called for the supply officer and instructed him to transfer two-thirds of the total stockpile to the Alliance, then headed toward the common tent where the unit commanders were waiting.
Just then, he caught sight of Daren crossing the camp.
Seeing the telegram held in Daren’s hand, Varkas came to a dead stop. He had asked Daren to check on the situation in the East. Had some bad news arrived?
Varkas stepped toward him immediately.
“What is it now?”
“Ah, I was just coming to deliver a regular report from the East.”
The man held out a letter stamped with the family seal and gave his report in a calm tone.
“I took a quick look, and there don’t seem to be any major problems. There was apparently some confusion for a while following the news of the Grand Duke’s injury, but I’m told everything has been settled now. However, there seems to be a flood of suggestions from the vassals to hurry with the marriages of Young Master Lucas and Lady Laina.”
Fine lines formed around Varkas’s eyes as he took the parchment document and unfolded it.
As Daren said, most of the contents written in the letter were regarding the marriages of Lucas and Laina.
“Young Master Lucas’s marriage talks seem to be stagnant, but it looks like Lady Laina has chosen a partner. It says she wishes to hold an engagement ceremony with the second son of the Skart family.”
Skart was one of the prestigious families in the East that had been loyal to the Grand Ducal house for many years.
He nodded as he flipped through the letter quickly.
“She chose a suitable partner. Tell them I approve.”
“The vassals are hoping that the Grand Duke will personally preside over the ceremony.”
Varkas, who was skimming the letter, glanced up at him. Daren leaned against a fence and continued in a persuasive tone.
“This is the second time the Grand Duke has nearly died, isn’t it? Wouldn’t it be good in many ways to show everyone that you are alive and well through this opportunity?”
Varkas looked down at the last page of the letter with contemplative eyes.
The news about her was only a few lines long. He scanned the indifferent sentence stating that she was staying quiet and doing well without causing any trouble, then eventually crumpled the parchment in his grip.
