Ch#69
69
Stepping onto the mounting block, Varkas looked down at her, his eyes narrowed as they slowly scanned her form.
A faint crease formed between his straight brows.
Before she could grasp the reason why, he strode into the carriage, picked up the cloak that had fallen to the floor, and draped it over her shoulders. Then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, he reached out to lift her.
Startled, Thalia shoved hard against his shoulders.
“I can walk on my own!”
Though the pain was flaring up in her knees again now that the medicine had worn off, she figured she could manage a short walk.
She cast aside the cumbersome cloak and stepped down, taking care not to reveal her scars.
At that moment, a firm hand gripped her shoulder.
“You’re going out dressed like that?”
His gaze pinned her down like a wedge.
Shrinking back, Thalia looked down to check her appearance.
The laces of her dress must have come undone while she slept, for her thin shoulders and upper arms were fully exposed. That wasn’t all. The deep neckline had slumped low, revealing the curve of her cleavage.
Blushing furiously, Thalia hurriedly pulled up the bodice of her dress.
Varkas watched her undignified struggle in silence before letting out a small sigh and draping his coat over her shoulders again. This time, Thalia did not refuse.
After he fastened the knot tightly up to her throat, he lifted her effortlessly and stepped outside.
She felt like a carefully wrapped doll.
No. It wasn’t anything that cute. He was merely showing pity to a cripple who couldn’t even walk properly.
Thalia deliberately stabbed at her own heart with cruel thoughts.
Rather than letting him steal every last bit of her heart, she felt it would hurt less later if she poked holes in it herself.
“My Lord, what should we do about the messenger from the East?”
Just as he reached the threshold, one of the men lined up near the entrance spoke to him.
Thalia peeked at his face through the gap in the cloak. The man, who had a bear-like build and piercing, hawk-like eyes, was also stealing glances at her.
“Do I have to give instructions for every little thing?”
He snapped coldly, pulling the cloak up to cover her head completely.
“Give him a place to stay and assign someone to attend to him. I will meet him tomorrow at daybreak.”
Without waiting for the man’s reply, he strode into the building.
As he crossed the wide hall and climbed the stairs, Thalia tried to piece together the fragments of information she had gathered.
It seemed many were worried that this marriage would sour the relationship between the Crown Prince and the Si’eikan family.
Varkas had likely been busy cleaning up the mess while Senebier was preparing the wedding.
He would have had to soothe Gares, who must be trembling with a sense of betrayal, and explain to the conservative nobles, including Marquis Oristein, that he hadn’t turned his back on them.
Despite those efforts, people seemed unable to accept the sudden change of bride.
It was only natural. Even she was half-convinced this whole situation was some cruel prank.
“I will call someone to attend to you,” Varkas said, setting her down on a long velvet sofa once they were inside the room.
Thalia looked around the cozy bedroom before turning her gaze back to him.
Varkas was unbuttoning his formal coat with one hand while pulling the cord next to the bed to summon a servant with the other. The sight made her stomach knot.
She cried out in a shrill voice.
“I don’t need anyone to attend to me!”
Varkas looked back at her over his shoulder, his brow furrowing.
Thalia lowered her eyes to avoid his gaze.
“Just call my Nanny.”
“It’s late. I’ll bring her tomorrow at dawn, so please bear with it for just today.”
She immediately shot him a fierce glare.
“I won’t let anyone but my Nanny touch me. You’re the one who brought me here on a whim, so take responsibility and bring her now!”
His blue eyes took on a chilled light.
Thalia clenched her fists so hard her bones felt like they might crush.
He was a man who decided his daily limit of patience in advance. She feared he might simply walk out in disgust.
However, it seemed he still had some of today’s quota left, as he walked to the door and hailed a servant.
“Send someone to the Separate Palace immediately to bring the Quarter Dwarf here.”
“Pardon? Right now, My Lord?”
“Yes. Send the fastest rider.”
Varkas shut the door in the bewildered servant’s face and cast a sharp look at her, as if asking if she was satisfied.
Thalia avoided his eyes.
Exhaling a long breath, Varkas picked up a robe from a shelf and handed it to her.
“Wear this at least, until someone arrives to attend to you.”
Thalia immediately took it and threw it over her dress, then made a demand in a halting voice.
“Now… you leave. I want to be alone until Nanny gets here.”
“This is my room as well.”
For a moment, her head spun and her palms grew damp with cold sweat.
She clutched the tightly closed front of her robe and licked her dry lips.
“Th-then I’ll leave. Show me to another room.”
“Highness.”
He placed a hand on her shoulder.
When she managed to lift her head, she saw his blue eyes shadowed with intensity.
“You are the one who agreed to this marriage.”
She looked up at his expressionless face with wide eyes.
So, he’s staying here? With me?
Her insides shriveled with fear.
She looked down at her aching knees.
Senebier’s gaze as she looked at her scars came to mind. Her mother’s dark eyes, looking as if she were seeing something hideous, were soon replaced by Varkas’s silver-blue eyes.
Before she could control it, a jumble of words spilled out of her mouth.
“Then… then, let’s just cancel it. How can I share a room with you? I only married you to… to torment you. You only married me because the Emperor ordered it, too. You don’t want to be with me either. So, let’s just act like none of this happened and—”
“Thalia.”
He knelt before her, cupping her cheeks in his hands and bringing his face close.
Thalia met his eyes as if ensnared.
In those beautiful eyes flecked with silver, she saw her own pale face, slick with cold sweat. A voice that sounded like it had been scraped against something rough flowed from his lips.
“I won’t do anything to you.”
“…”
“It’s only for tonight. I’ve bribed the priest, but I can’t silence every servant’s mouth. For the first night, at least, we must share the same bedroom.”
At his calm demeanor, her heart, which had been thumping uncomfortably, began to find its rhythm again.
Thalia bit her lip and nodded.
Once he saw that she had calmed down, Varkas slowly stood up.
Thalia followed his movements with eyes that still held a trace of wariness.
He cast off his rain-soaked coat and sat on a chair by the window in his thin shirt. His sturdy physique, usually so disciplined, slumped with fatigue.
A heavy sigh stretched long in the room.
A short while later, servants arrived with a tray of wine and food.
Thalia mechanically forced a single piece of bread into her stomach. Then, instead of her usual sleep-inducing herbs, she drank a glass of strong moonshine.
As the alcohol took effect, her stiff muscles relaxed and the pain dulled.
She poured herself more from the golden goblet.
After she had emptied several more glasses, Varkas, who had been letting her be, finally snatched the bottle away.
“That’s enough.”
Thalia bolted upright from her chair to reclaim the wine bottle.
But her legs, already weak, had turned to jelly under the influence of the alcohol.
She swayed like a person without bones. Varkas caught her limp body and laid her straight down on the bed.
Even in her half-conscious, drunken state, Thalia checked the hem of her skirt first.
Varkas looked down at her with shadowed eyes before pulling the duvet up over her shoulders. He then walked to the window and drew the curtains.
The sunset, deepened from orange to purple, flooded over him.
Watching his broad, solid shoulders being stained a burning bronze, Thalia blinked slowly.
Even amidst that fire-like sunlight, he looked so cold it made her shiver.
