Ch#75
“The exterior might look a bit rugged, but the interior is decorated so magnificently that it wouldn’t pale in comparison to any castle in the Central Region. You won’t find anything uncomfortable during your stay.”
The man said soothingly, observing her complexion. Thalia responded with nothing but a look of deep suspicion.
Did this country bumpkin have any idea what the Imperial Palace or the castles of the great nobility even looked like inside?
Whether he sensed her disdain or not, a faint vein pulsed on the man’s forehead. He added, emphasizing each word.
“Raedgo Castle was built by the Dwarves during the Era of Warring States. It boasts a scale and convenience comparable to the Imperial Palace….”
“I know. It’s the fortress your Khan people built by dragging the Dwarves of the Northeast away as slaves.”
The man’s mouth clamped shut at her sharp retort.
Thalia continued coldly, intending to ensure this flippant-looking man wouldn’t dare speak to her so casually again.
“If you’re done rattling on with things I didn’t ask about, would you mind going away now?”
“Ha, well.”
The man shook his head in disbelief, looking utterly flabbergasted.
“Does Your Highness happen to know the meaning of the word ‘sociability’?”
“Do you know the meaning of the phrase ‘unnecessary interference’?”
Thalia sharpened her voice.
“Or perhaps the meaning of ‘impertinence’?”
Realizing that further conversation would only lead to a loss, the man snapped his reins and hurried away as if fleeing.
Thalia snorted at his retreating back and promptly pulled the window shut.
People who approached with uncalled-for kindness usually harbored ulterior motives.
Furthermore, that Easterner had only been pretending to smile with his mouth; his eyes had been meticulously picking her apart and judging her.
Most likely, he was trying to scout out what kind of person the future Grand Duchess would be.
With a scoff, Thalia drew the curtains over the window and buried herself deep into the seat.
She couldn’t let her guard down for a single moment. The Shearkan clan surely viewed her with distaste.
The former Empress Bernadette and the Grand Duke had been cousins and were quite close. The Khan clan would undoubtedly harbor strong resentment that the daughter of the current Empress—their political rival—had become the next Grand Duchess instead of their own kin, Aila.
Thalia clutched her throbbing head. She might be treated with even more unpleasantness than she had imagined.
Even in the Imperial Palace where Senevier reigned supreme, hadn’t she endured all sorts of filth? Raedgo Castle would surely be worse, never better.
Thalia picked at her lip with her fingernail, where dried scabs had formed from constant biting.
Her throat, parched from the fever, stung. She pulled a water flask from a cabinet installed on one side of the carriage to moisten her dry mouth, just as a loud trumpet blast echoed from outside.
Thalia peered through the curtains again.
Before she knew it, the carriage had reached the front of the fortress.
As if undergoing an identity check, the carriage slowed for a moment before finally passing through the massive castle gates.
Spying on the surroundings through the window, Thalia let out an involuntary gasp.
The words of the Easterner named Tyrone had been no lie. Contrary to its rugged exterior, the interior of the castle was filled with a meticulously calculated beauty.
She took in the streets, which were kept surprisingly clean and organized, the spires that soared as if to pierce the sky, and the exquisite buildings one by one. It looked as if every structure had been carefully carved by a single master craftsman.
The fortress, crafted from a combination of gray stone and black marble, rose to varying heights in exquisite sculptural harmony, with arched stone bridges connecting the buildings like arteries.
As she gazed at them with admiration, a fountain located in the center of the plaza entered her view.
Thalia’s eyes widened. A fountain far larger and more magnificent than any in the Imperial Palace was vigorously spraying clear jets of water.
This fortress was clearly being supplied with an abundant water source.
The water overflowing from the fountain flowed along grooves carved into the roadside and into the waterways.
Her eyes darted restlessly, overwhelmed by the sight of the castle’s interior, seamlessly woven from stone, marble, steel, and water.
Just then, the cavalrymen marching in line came to a halt in front of a structure that appeared to be the main castle.
Thalia turned her gaze forward.
In front of the beautiful fortress—born of a blend of the Roem Empire’s delicate architectural style and the unique aesthetic of the Easterners—people dressed in vibrant clothing stood lined up.
Varkas, bringing his horse to a stop in front of them, dismounted and shouted something in the Eastern tongue. At that, the people waiting on the stairs swarmed down and surrounded him.
‘Are they Varkas’s relatives?’
As she observed them with curious eyes, Varkas pushed aside the boisterous crowd and walked straight toward her carriage.
Thalia hurriedly drew the curtains. She tried to lie back on the seat and pretend to be asleep, but without warning, the carriage door swung open and Varkas stepped inside.
Thalia looked up at him with a tense face.
As he had always done since leaving the Roem Knights, Varkas was wearing black iron armor with an Eastern-style coat draped loosely over it.
His large frame, heavily scented with the smell of dry grass, filled her field of vision in an instant.
“How are you feeling?”
Having removed his gauntlet, Varkas placed his hand on her forehead. Sensing the heat, a faint crease formed between his smooth brows.
“Your fever hasn’t broken yet.”
“……I’m fine. It’s not like it’s only been a day or two.”
Thalia looked down with a strained expression.
Perhaps she had grown somewhat accustomed to it; her tendency to jump every time he touched her had decreased, but the awkward and uncomfortable feeling was unavoidable.
As she aimlessly picked at the fabric of her skirt, he took off the coat he was wearing over his shoulders and wrapped it around her. Then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, he reached his arms under her knees to pick her up.
Thalia immediately twisted her body away and hugged her knees.
“Don’t! Are you planning to humiliate me even in front of your family?”
Varkas’s eyes narrowed. He tilted his head to the side as if he couldn’t understand.
“How is a husband taking care of his wife a humiliating thing?”
Thalia stared at him, speechless.
She had known for a long time that this man was driven by a sense of duty. However, she hadn’t expected him to try to fulfill his responsibilities even in a marriage forced by the Emperor’s pressure.
She glared at him with fierce eyes.
“Is that what Aila taught you? That a husband should look after his wife?”
His brow furrowed at her sharp voice.
After pausing for a moment as if in thought, Varkas spoke drily.
“Did I not swear so before the altar? That I would care for my wife as my own body.”
“Ridiculous. You don’t even care for your own body.”
“…….”
“And I have no intention of playing the role of a ‘submissive wife’ just because some priest babbled it. So you can stop pretending to be a devoted husband, too.”
After snapping at him, she shakily stood up to leave, but Varkas stepped behind her and scooped her up into his arms.
Thalia glared at him with a look of indignation. But before she could snap at him again, Varkas spoke first.
“Do I look stupid enough to expect something ‘submissive’ from you?”
“What is that supposed to mean…!”
“It means I expect nothing from you, so do as you please.”
He spoke drily and adjusted his hold on her struggling body with one arm.
“As I intend to do as I please as well.”
Then, he pulled the hood of the cloak over her head and stepped out of the carriage.
Thalia winced at the strong sunlight piercing her eyes.
Once her vision, which had turned white for a moment, cleared, she saw unfamiliar faces looking at her with a mix of wariness and curiosity.
Thalia flushed with shame. A surge of humiliation washed over her at the fact that, far from displaying the dignity of a princess, she was being carried like a helpless child.
“Is this the woman who pushed the First Princess aside and took Brother’s place as his wife?”
As she instinctively hid her face against his shoulder, a neutral voice with a clear tone reached her ears.
Thalia looked back.
A boy with shaggy black hair and large golden-brown eyes was looking at her with his hands clasped behind his head.
He looked to be about fifteen. A youthful face, still retaining its baby fat, approached right in front of her.
The boy peered curiously at her as she peeked out with only her eyes showing.
“Her eyes look just like lapis lazuli.”
Then, without warning, he reached his hand toward her head and tried to pull down the hood.
While she sat frozen in shock at such unprecedentedly rude behavior, Varkas snatched the boy’s wrist.
“Lucas.”
A chilling voice rang out from above her head, startling her.
