Chapter 205
## Chapter 205: THE FORGOTTEN FIELDS (NOVEL)
Varkas burst through the castle door covered in the dust of the earth, leaving behind his exhausted horse, which was trembling with a mouth full of bloody foam from the intensity of the race, and charged across the training ground.
Hundreds of riders came out of the barracks after learning of the Duke’s arrival, but Varkas passed right by them without turning to return their salute, and climbed the stone stairs, crossing the gate of the inner castle wall.
His sight was flooded with the landscapes of a garden that had been completely covered in the hues of late autumn.
He crossed the courtyard, where the dry leaves from the trees had accumulated, with hurried steps, and entered the great hall, where dozens of servants were lined up in a long row.
“Oh…… Welcome, my lord.” The butler, who was waiting by the door, offered his greeting in a trembling voice. “You have suffered greatly on your long journey, and just as you learned from the report……”
“How is Lucas?” Varkas interrupted him coldly as he uncovered his face, throwing back his hood.
The wrinkled-faced man replied with features overflowing with affliction:
“Thanks to the efforts of the high priest, he barely managed to pass the danger stage…… However, the wound on his neck is so deep that it could leave a permanent aftereffect…….” The man fell silent, unable to finish the sentence.
In his place, the head maid, who was waiting to the left of the gate, added a cautious explanation:
“They said the definitive diagnosis cannot be confirmed until the young master regains consciousness.”
“Has he not awakened yet?”
“The bleeding was extremely severe at the time of the incident, and it is said that recovering the full extent of his strength will take some time.”
Varkas remained frozen for a moment before his voice emerged in a faint tone:
“I want to check his condition myself. Where is Lucas?”
“He was settled in his quarters on the second floor, the room he has always used.”
Varkas did not hesitate and crossed the hall in a hurry.
He climbed the stairs covered in a dark carpet until the bedroom that successive dukes of Sherkan had used generation after generation appeared before his eyes.
The head maid guided him through a split-level hallway.
“It is that room,” she said, pointing to a double door at the end of the corridor.
Varkas pulled the handle, and the dark interior design of the room revealed itself with a heavy sound of friction.
He advanced inside and examined the room slowly; the maids, the high priest with his grim face, and Ryna, with reddened eyes, surrounded the bed.
“W-We greet the Grand Duke.” One of the maids bowed her head quickly upon noticing his presence, and the others present in the room followed her lead, standing up to pay their respects.
Varkas passed right between them and approached the bed, discovering his brother lying like a corpse behind the canopy, with thick bandages wrapped around his neck.
He contemplated that pale, bloodless face in silence, and asked the priest stationed at the head of the bed:
“Is there any improvement?”
The priest shook his head with sorrow:
“We must keep him under observation. We are applying medicinal magic to him continuously, but the wound was extremely serious…….”
Varkas fixed his gaze on Lucas once more; that face, which had overflowed with vitality months ago, now looked withered and gaunt.
He clenched his fist tightly, and at that very moment, a sharp voice exploded at his side:
“Are you satisfied now?!”
He shifted his gaze to the other side of the bed; Lina, with exhausted features and a gaze loaded with reproach, was confronting him intently.
“Even though the courtiers unanimously agreed on the need to get rid of that wolf, you ignored them and listened only to that woman. What happened to Lucas is entirely your fault! If you hadn’t left that beast alone, this never would have happened!”
“Ah…… my lady!” the head maid tried to restrain her in terror, but Lina paid no attention.
“Get out of here right now! You don’t deserve to be in this place!”
The echo of the scream resonated in the room. Varkas looked at his trembling sister with a completely expressionless face and then left the chamber.
In the hallway, seven of the courtiers were waiting after learning of the news.
One of them spoke in a solemn tone:
“My lord, we can no longer tolerate the actions of the Grand Duke’s wife.”
Varkas did not respond, so the man continued with a harsher edge, despite being disconcerted by his lord’s cold gaze:
“The Grand Duke’s wife secretly released that beast that attacked Lord Lucas. She does not care about the safety of us, the inhabitants of the East! How long must we remain silent before her wicked deeds?”
Another man seconded him in an agitated tone:
“That beast that attacked Lord Lucas must be eliminated immediately! And the Grand Duke’s wife must receive the corresponding punishment.”
Varkas looked with an unperturbed face at the hallway, over which the twilight was beginning to settle.
At the thought that Talia might be listening to these insults, his nerves tightened to the limit; he closed his eyes, feeling self-loathing, and then opened them.
“Form a hunting unit immediately. I will deal with that wolf personally.”
“And as for the Duke’s wife……?”
“I will impose the appropriate punishment on her as well.”
One of the veteran courtiers restrained another man who tried to inquire about the nature of the punishment.
Varkas went up the stairs to the third floor and entered the room adjacent to his office, where he found the bed prepared and the fireplace lit.
He took off his torn clothing and threw it to the floor, unbuckled his breastplate, and placed it on the stand. He stripped off his clothes steeped in sweat and dust and washed his face with water, at which point a knock was heard at the door.
“Come in.”
A white specter entered, resembling a ghost; Talia looked in a state similar to the one he was in when he woke from the clutches of death.
She looked at him with eyes flooded with anxiety, while he remained fixing his gaze on that face he hadn’t seen in months.
He dried his face with the towel coldly, and then ordered the guard stationed by the door in a gelid tone:
“Take the Duke’s wife to her quarters on the third floor. Her departure is strictly prohibited without my authorization.”
The soldiers approached to execute the order, but she took a step toward him pleadingly:
“W-Wait a moment, I want to talk to you for just a second.”
Varkas turned toward her while putting on a clean shirt; her body beneath the linen dress looked remarkably emaciated.
He felt a sudden fury boil in his head, but he suppressed it and indicated to the soldiers:
“Wait outside.”
The soldiers withdrew immediately and closed the door, causing her shoulders to relax subtly.
Varkas said in a sharp tone while pulling out a new coat:
“I do not have much time. Say what you have to say quickly.”
“Is Lu…… is Lucas alright?”
Varkas mocked with a dry laugh at her hesitant question:
“How do you think he is?”
The woman bit her lips and lowered her head.
Varkas put on his armor crafted from wyvern leather, and as he adjusted his gear, her weak voice, steeped in tears, broke the silence:
“Save…… save ‘Kan’, please.”
Varkas froze in his place, and she continued gripping his arm in desperation:
“I-I will do anything you say from now on. I won’t argue with the courtiers again…… and I will be kind to the servants. Even if you ask me not to leave my room for the rest of my life, I will do it…… I only beg you, don’t kill ‘Kan’.”
Varkas felt a boiling in his entrails, as if he had swallowed scalding oil.
He gripped her jaw roughly and leaned in toward her face threateningly:
“My brother is hovering between life and death at this very instant, and you are worried about the safety of that insignificant beast?!”
Her face turned completely pale; he released her jaw forcefully and stepped back with bitterness, saying:
“The time for your whims is over. Since it has harmed a human being, I cannot let it pass.”
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