Free Web NovelFeeling something warm filling her body, Talia let her limbs go limp.
The man lying over her raised himself. At the same time, what had been filling her slowly slipped out.
Biting her lip at the unfamiliar sensation, Talia pressed her thighs tightly together.
Just then, his hand came down onto the leg wrapped in bandages. Talia instinctively screamed.
“Don't touch me!”
In the darkness, she saw Varkas's shoulders stiffen noticeably.
Pretending not to notice, she hastily pulled down her rolled-up skirt and stepped off the bed.
She was about to drag her trembling legs toward the door when a strong arm wrapped around her waist. In an instant, she was pulled back onto the bed.
Instinctively, Talia flailed her arms.
“L-let go! It's over now. I'm going back to my room!”
Grabbing her wrist, he stared at her with shining eyes.
“So you're just going to leave after finishing what you wanted?”
“I told you that from the beginning.”
Swallowing the tears threatening to spill out, Talia glared at him viciously.
“I have no business with you anymore.”
For an instant, the air in the room froze.
She felt painful strength enter the hand gripping her wrist. Shaking him off violently, she crawled to the edge of the bed.
I didn't give myself to him because of love.
So there's no reason to linger here.
Repeating those words in her head as though hypnotizing herself, she staggered off the bed.
At that moment, Varkas muttered something she could not understand in the language of the East. Snatching up the blanket that had fallen to the floor, he wrapped her body tightly inside it.
Captured in his solid embrace, Talia lost her composure and began struggling violently.
“No! Let me go!”
But he paid her no heed.
Having wrapped her up completely in the blanket, Varkas strode out of the room wearing only his trousers around his waist.
The attendants guarding the doorway stared at them with their mouths hanging open.
But Varkas didn't so much as blink.
Carrying her in his arms, he crossed the corridor and climbed the stairs before opening the door to a bedroom on the third floor.
Talia glared at him with a face stained with sweat and tears.
The candlelight illuminated his sweat-soaked, smooth upper body, his disheveled silver hair, and his blue eyes and handsome face.
Despite looking more defenseless than ever before, he still appeared solid and cold.
“Is this satisfactory now?”
After setting her on the bed, Varkas spoke icily.
Pulling the blanket up to her chin, Talia turned her face away. She knew he was angry, but that was none of her concern.
“I want to be alone. Leave.”
“......”
“Please, just leave.”
As she shouted in a trembling voice, his expressionless face finally twisted.
Drawing a deep breath, Varkas bent down before her.
“Just tell me this. Did I hurt you?”
Yes. You always hurt me.
She was about to answer that way but closed her mouth.
She knew rationally that it would be unfair.
She had barged in and forced him into bed without warning. She also knew how absurd she must look, acting as though she had been violated.
But at this moment, those rational thoughts were of no help.
Curled up like a larva inside a cocoon, Talia hugged her knees and shook her head.
“I just want to rest. So please leave me alone. I don't want to look at your face anymore.”
Had his patience finally reached its limit because of her unreasonable behavior?
His entire body stiffened, veins standing out all over his bare upper body. He looked frightening enough to make fear rise in her chest.
But as always, he calmed down almost immediately.
Drawing another deep breath, Varkas stood up with a hardened expression.
“I'll summon a healing mage so your condition can be examined.”
“I don't need one.” freewebnoveℓ.com
“If you don't promise to receive proper treatment, I won't leave.”
Suddenly, Varkas's tone became rough.
Staring at him with tearful eyes, Talia finally nodded.
“Fine... just please go.”
The muscles of his jaw hardened.
The man stood motionless for a long time, as though he wanted to say something, before finally turning around.
Soon, the sound of the door opening and closing echoed, and silence descended like a ruin.
Listening to the steady sound of his footsteps, Talia eventually curled into a ball and closed her eyes.
She was unbearably tired.
Tired enough to wish she would simply melt away and disappear...
* * *
Flocks of hawks circled over fields painted with the colors of autumn.
Several of them swooped gracefully toward the ground.
Their destination was the carcass of a breeding stallion torn apart by wild beasts.
It was the trace left behind by wolves that had appeared unexpectedly before dawn.
“Fortunately, there were no casualties. But I hear the ranch suffered considerable damage.”
Watching a gray-brown bird of prey tear flesh from the horse's ribs, Varkas turned his gaze toward the gently rolling hills.
Beyond a collapsed stone wall lay three or four mares.
Their throats and bellies had all been ripped open.
Following his gaze, Daren let out a deep sigh.
“At least the Nornrek stallions are safe. I suppose we should be grateful for that...”
“Has a hunting party been assembled?”
“The guards have been searching Armund Forest since early morning, but the beasts disappeared without a trace. It seems they're led by an exceptionally clever alpha.”
“Double the number of trackers and station guards around the ranch and the outskirts of the village.”
Holding Tork's reins with a leather-gloved hand, Varkas gave his orders in a heavy voice.
Daren immediately signaled to the men behind him.
“You heard His Grace. Deliver the orders to the troops at once.”
Two soldiers vaulted over the broken fence and ran toward the fortress.
After surveying the damage once more, Varkas headed toward the village.
The small settlement north of Kalmor was bustling with people who had come to see their new lord.
Ignoring them completely, he walked along the gravel road while Daren, following quietly behind, carefully opened his mouth.
“One troublesome thing after another lately. As if those Zram raiders growing more active weren't enough, now even wolf packs are causing chaos.”
“......”
“I know Your Grace is troubled with so many misfortunes after the succession ceremony, but please take care of yourself. Your complexion hasn't looked the same recently.”
Walking silently, Varkas suddenly stopped and looked back.
Thinking he had offended him, Daren immediately lowered his head.
“If I overstepped, please forgive me. I was simply concerned for Your Grace's wellbeing...”
“Do I look tired enough to warrant such concern?”
Varkas asked while touching his chin.
After studying his face for a moment, the man scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
“You've seemed unusually sensitive these past few days. I thought perhaps you haven't been sleeping.”
Frowning, Varkas resumed walking and answered with something like a sigh.
“It seems I've caused concern. I'll pay more attention.”
Indeed, for the past several days, he had barely managed three or four hours of sleep a night.
And it wasn't solely because of the mountain of official duties.
Turning his head, he looked up at the castle standing atop the hill.
The midday autumn sunlight poured over the massive structure where she was staying.
That woman is probably still shut up in her room.
Suddenly tasting something bitter and metallic in his mouth, he ran his tongue over the inside of his cheek.
Blood was seeping from flesh he'd bitten with his molars.
It had become a strange habit recently.
Scraping the ragged flesh inside his cheek with his tongue, he swallowed the metallic liquid.
As the scent of blood brushed past his nose, unpleasant afterimages rose before him.
Feeling the strange heat stirring inside his stomach, Varkas furrowed his brows and roughly raked a hand through his hair.
