Ch#85
Immediately after, a thunderous roar shook the training grounds.
Lucas let out a long breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.
Varkas pulled the halberd from the man’s chest and turned his horse around.
As the flickering torchlight vividly illuminated his handsome features, the cheers of the crowd grew even more intense. Lucas scanned the faces of the warriors, glowing red with excitement, before turning his gaze back to Varkas.
Even amidst all the commotion, the man seemed infinitely serene.
With an expressionless face that even hinted at boredom, Varkas crossed the training grounds and leaped lightly from his saddle.
“Find out if there are any other capable men in the Gutban family.”
Varkas handed his weapon to a servant who had come running in a flurry and gave instructions to Daren.
“If there is no suitable heir, you may look among the vassals for another candidate fit to manage the southeastern region.”
“There… there is a fairly capable warrior among his half-brothers,” Daren replied in a trembling voice.
“He was originally meant to join the Wolfram Lance Knight Order… and since he attended the academy in the capital, he should be more than capable of fulfilling the role of a lord.”
Taking off his steel gauntlets and handing them to the servant, Varkas lightly stroked his lips with a thoughtful expression.
“Bring him before me as soon as possible. If he is deemed suitable, we will hold the appointment ceremony immediately.”
Just then, two servants removed the heavy iron breastplate from his chest. Feeling lighter, Varkas strode straight through the crowd toward Lucas.
Lucas reflexively took a step back. Then, as the woman he had been holding onto stumbled as if she were about to fall, he hurriedly grabbed her waist to steady her.
In an instant, heat rushed to his head.
The woman’s waist was slender enough to be fully encircled by his hands, which hadn’t even finished growing yet. Furthermore, her skin, which glowed white even in the darkness, gave off a sweet scent he had never smelled before in his life.
What on earth is this smell?
Without thinking, he leaned his face toward the nape of her neck and sniffed, only to have his cheek catch fire with a sharp slap.
Lucas clutched his face with a dazed expression.
The woman, who had pushed him away, shouted at him with eyes full of fury.
“What do you think you’re doing?! You little pervert!”
“P-Pervert?”
He gaped in bewilderment.
“I was just trying to catch you from falling…!”
“If you were catching me, why were you sniffing me?”
Lucas’s face turned beet red. As she looked at him with contempt, a wave of intense shame—the likes of which he had never felt before—washed over him.
He raised his voice in frustration.
“I only did it because there was a strange smell coming from you…!”
This time, a stinging heat spread across his other cheek. Lucas stumbled back.
What kind of woman is this?
He was used to getting bruises all over his body during harsh training, but he had never been struck in the face like this by anyone in his life.
He glared at the woman, his face contorted in humiliation. Just as he was about to snap back at her, Raina came rushing over and violently shoved the woman away.
“How dare you lay a hand on his face! You witch!”
The woman’s body fell back like a sheet of paper under the strength of Raina’s arms, which were hardened by horse riding. Lucas, still huffing with rage, reached out reflexively.
But just as he was about to catch her, a long arm snatched the woman away. Lucas looked up, startled.
Varkas, who had approached before anyone noticed, was holding her in his arms, looking down at him with a chilling gaze.
“…It seems everyone needs to be retaught the basic rules.”
Varkas muttered coldly, then turned to the pale-faced Raina and added, “Both of you are forbidden from riding horses for the time being.”
“That—that’s not fair…!”
Turning his back heartlessly on Raina’s protests, Varkas gave an order to Daren.
“Assign a strict tutor to those two. Do not let them take a single step outside the castle until they have learned proper etiquette.”
Then, without waiting for Daren’s response, he began walking toward the main castle.
Behind his receding back, the enthusiastic cheers of the warriors continued. It seemed the majority of the Easterners, who worshipped strength, were completely captivated by him.
On the other hand, the servants, seemingly terrified by the extraordinary martial prowess he had displayed, were chanting prayers or crossing themselves. The nobles were also engaged in heated debates regarding the next leader’s radical actions.
Leaving all the commotion behind, the man leisurely departed the venue.
Raina, who had been watching his back with bated breath, let out a belated protest.
“This is so unfair!”
She looked around as if seeking agreement.
“That woman is the cause of this whole mess! So why are we the ones being punished?!”
Lucas ignored his younger sister, who was on the verge of tears, and stepped into the center of the ruined training ground.
The soldiers clearing away Alec Gutban’s corpse naturally made way for him. Kneeling beside the blackened body, Lucas meticulously examined his brother’s handiwork.
The man appeared to have had his heart pierced in a single blow. Thick blood was oozing from inside the crumpled breastplate, and brain matter was slowly leaking from his skull, which seemed to have been crushed upon hitting the ground.
When the soldiers completely removed the dented helmet, a pair of white, wide-open eyes and thick lips flecked with blood foam were revealed.
The end of the man who, until this morning, was revered as the strongest spearman in the East, was truly wretched.
“He was all size; his skills must have been mediocre.”
“Far from it.”
Tyrone, who had walked up beside him, shook his head with a hollow laugh.
“In his teens, he was a man who took down trolls with his bare hands. He was a warrior who possessed superior technique that belied his monstrous strength. No one would have expected this man to meet such a futile end.”
Lucas looked up at Tyrone with a worried gaze.
“Won’t this cause trouble?”
“It was a duel accepted by both sides. If they make an issue of it, the Gutban family will become a laughingstock to everyone,” he replied indifferently.
“Furthermore, although it was the Young Family Head who proposed the duel, they say it was this man who first challenged his authority. No one will be able to blame the Si’eikan family for this outcome.”
The man replied firmly, then gazed toward the area where the nobles were gathered with a pensive look.
“However, there might be some discord among the lords.”
Lucas followed his gaze toward the seats of honor. The local nobles seemed flustered by the fact that the administrator of the southeastern region had been replaced overnight.
Watching the murmuring nobles, Tyrone added with a sigh, “The succession ceremony might be moved forward. To settle all this chaos, a powerful Grand Duke will be needed.”
“Why are you the one who’s angry?”
Thalia, who had been sitting huddled on one side of the bed with a sullen expression, finally couldn’t take it anymore and demanded an answer.
Varkas didn’t say a word as he walked over to the shelf and rummaged through the display case. He looked as calm as usual. However, Thalia could easily tell that his mood was at rock bottom. On the way back to the room, he had maintained a persistent silence and hadn’t even spared her a glance.
It was absurd. She was the one who should be angry. Wasn’t he the one who went out to fight without even pretending to listen to her?
Thalia glared at him with sharp eyes.
When she recalled the sight of that monster of a man lunging at Varkas, a chill ran through her entire body and her stomach twisted painfully.
The events that followed didn’t shock her at all. She simply felt like thanking God for the fact that he was safe.
At the same time, she wanted to beat this man who had made her heart race so much. If her legs hadn’t been shaking so hard she felt like she might collapse, she would have rushed over and acted on that impulse immediately.
