Chapter 195
## THE FORGOTTEN FIELDS (NOVEL) – Chapter 195
Chapter 195
THE FORGOTTEN FIELDS (NOVEL)
—Is that true?
Talia nodded her head with a dazed expression, as if listening to a foreign language she did not understand.
—…… It is true.
A desperate laugh escaped Varkas’s lips; only after hearing her response did he realize that, deep down inside, he had hoped she would deny it.
He did not care even if it were an obvious lie; if she had said a single word claiming she did not do it, he would have been willing to believe her voluntarily.
And the moment he faced that tragic truth, something growing inside him withered away.
He looked at her with eyes in which all emotions had died.
—Did you wish for my death?
At his question, tossed out with emptiness, a slight agitation appeared in her eyes, which were clouded like opaque, discolored glass.
The woman who contemplated him with a pale face suddenly began to tremble.
—…… No. I did not have that thought, not even for a single instant.
Varkas let out a dry, ironic laugh.
—Then, with what intention did you give me the poison?
—I thought that……
A weak, almost inaudible voice came from between her lips, on which scabs of blood had dried.
—I did not know it was poison. I only thought…… it was a harmless medicine…… that would not harm the body…… Susan.
Varkas’s features tightened with coldness at this insubstantial excuse that no one in their right mind would believe.
—Then, what medicine did you think you were giving me?
Talia’s shoulders flinched as if she had been struck with a whip.
Varkas waited for her to add a more logical excuse, but received only a glacial silence in return.
His blue eyes, submerged in the glow of a purple sunset, slowly lowered toward the floor. When it became evident that she had no intention of saying anything else, he questioned her in an even more severe tone:
—I was told that pagan symbols were found in your quarters, and even the high priest has raised suspicions about your attendance at heretical meetings. So tell me the truth: did you give me that medicine to hinder the purification campaign?
She suddenly raised her head with a face that seemed not to understand his words at all, and at the same time, looked submerged in deep anguish.
Varkas held his head, which ached as if a nail had been driven into it, and urged her with annoyance:
—Please, say anything.
—…… If I said I did not do it, could you believe me? —she said weakly, and then continued—: Believe what you want. The truth will not change, and that is that I gave you the poison for whatever reason.
Then she lowered her head and added with a calmness reminiscent of martyrs:
—…… I will accept any punishment you impose on me.
Immediately, a violent desire invaded him to grab her by the neck and choke the breath out of her.
He wanted to force his presence inside those resigned eyes and make her beg him with desperation.
The tips of his fingers began to tremble as he tried to suppress that powerful impulse.
He gripped the bedsheet tightly and emitted a choked voice:
—Are you aware of what you are saying right now?
She remained in silence, staring fixedly at her elongated shadow on the floor.
In the end, Varkas’s patience ran out, and he stood up from the bed, swaying.
He felt slight spasms in his muscles, which had weakened in an illogical way.
His joints felt rusty and his exhausted entrails still boiled like volcanic lava. He ignored all the danger signals his body was sending and advanced toward her with heavy steps.
—Do you think this time it will pass by as simply as it did when you played with the cup of ‘Ayla’? —he said while pressing her shoulders tightly, causing an evident fear to appear in her wide-open eyes.
He looked directly at her and pronounced each word as if tearing her apart:
—Now you not only face the charge of attempted poisoning, but also that of heresy. Do you understand the meaning of that? —he lowered his voice and continued in a dismal tone—: You will be lucky if this ends with you rotting in prison for life. In the worst-case scenario, you could be sentenced to death. And if you are excommunicated by the Church through a religious trial, the method of execution will be much more brutal. You will be stripped of all your rights as a human being and you will die as a being inferior to an animal.
Her face was now so pale it approached the color gray. Varkas squeezed her shoulders harder and added in a low voice, as if embedding the words into her mind:
—So stop saying that nonsense that you will accept any punishment. From now on, you only have one thing to say: that you know nothing, that the matter has nothing to do with you, and you must deny it until the end.
She looked at him with a face submerged in astonishment. To him, seeing her so oblivious to what was happening around her churned his insides completely.
He shook her shoulders back and forth, emphasizing:
—Do you understand what I mean? You never set foot in any pagan meeting, and the poison was placed by someone else. You have absolutely nothing to do with this matter.
—Bu-but…… —she moved her lips with a confused expression—. It was I who…… put the medicine in your wine. It was I who……
Suddenly, a groan of pain escaped from between her lips. Only then did Varkas realize that he was pressing her shoulders with a force that almost fractured them.
He withdrew his hands quickly, then clenched his fists and said in a restrained voice:
—You said it yourself, didn’t you? That you did not intend to hurt me…….
She nodded her head mechanically. He closed his eyes tightly and then opened them.
—It is enough. I will turn this page and leave it behind.
—Do you…… believe me? —she asked with a trembling voice. Varkas looked at her with confused eyes.
The image of her passed through his mind, she who had changed so suddenly after meeting again, and the sweet words she used to whisper to him resonated in his ears:
“You are my husband, what is so strange about me worrying about you?”
“In reality…… I have been very worried about you during all this time.”
Had all of that been a truth devoid of falsehood? And could he believe it without the slightest doubt?
He asked himself inside, and then a bitter smile drew upon his lips.
—It is not important whether I believe you or not.
That was right.
Even if it had all been a simple act to lower his defenses, what difference did it make? In any case, he could not accept a situation in which this woman became a prisoner and was taken to the stand of a courtroom.
Even if she were a fanatic who tried to poison him, the result would not change.
Therefore, the veracity of the matter lacked importance.
He continued speaking mechanically:
—The priority now is to contain the situation. Stay in your room under house arrest until things calm down.
Then he turned around to return to the bed, as he felt the strength beginning to fade from his legs.
He held onto the bedpost tightly so as not to fall in a humiliating way, but fingers as cold as ice clung to the sleeve of his shirt.
—I do not understand at all. Why do you try to cover up my mistake if you do not even believe me? Why……
He brushed her hand off him by a reflex action.
Talia looked at him with astonished eyes.
His body tensed for an instant at the horror of his own action, but he felt something break inside him upon seeing that wounded face.
At that moment, a cruel and inexplicable desire invaded him.
—I always felt I was in debt to you. —He lowered his gaze toward her legs and added in a dry tone—: But now, I owe you nothing anymore.
He spotted her completely pale face in the midst of his blurry vision, as if she were submerged in fog.
He averted his gaze from that face and pulled the rope hanging next to the bed. Almost at the exact same instant, the soldiers opened the door and entered the room.
He gestured with his head without directing a single glance at her:
—Take her to the ladies’ quarters on the third floor. The Duchess will remain there under house arrest for a time.
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