Chapter 206
THE FORGOTTEN FIELDS (NOVEL) – CHAPTER 206
He took his jacket just as it was and prepared to leave the room, passing right by her, but the woman, who remained paralyzed in her place immersed in stupor, clung tightly to the edge of his garment.
—Kan has committed no mistake. I…… I was the one who ordered Kan to attack Lucas. Kan did nothing but comply with my words. So, if you are going to punish someone, punish me……!
A groan filled with pain escaped from between her lips.
He did not realize that he was gripping her arm with a force that seemed as if it would fracture it until he heard that lament, at which point he loosened his fist.
However, his fingers, which encircled her, remained numb for a moment without moving.
He transfixed her with a gaze as cold as ice.
All the efforts he had deployed during the past summer to avoid seeing this woman climb the scaffold came to his mind.
He destroyed the evidence that incriminated her, threatened the vassals to silence them, and bribed the priests to barely prevent her prosecution.
An intense fury unleashed within him at the actions of this woman, which made all those efforts result in vain.
—Suppose those words are true. Why on earth did you do that?
The woman looked at him with an expression of panic, then bit her dry lips, which were covered with traces of coagulated blood, and lowered her gaze.
Varkas continued the interrogation, exerting severe pressure:
—Did Lucas commit such a grave offense against you as to be left in that state?
The sound of a dry swallow of saliva was heard.
The woman remained contemplating the ground for a long time, as if hesitating before something, and then emitted a choked voice as if pulling it from her entrails:
—…… During a verbal dispute between us, I became worked up and the words came out of me without intention. I never imagined that Kan would actually attack Lucas…….
Her broken speech interrupted suddenly.
Varkas brought a hand to his temple, which was throbbing with pain, and let out a hollow laugh.
—Do you consider this an excuse now……?
The woman’s shoulders trembled at his desperate murmur.
Varkas directed a cold look at her and then continued speaking in a voice completely devoid of emotions:
—Even if those words are real, that will change nothing about the situation. Did I not tell you with absolute clarity before? If that beast inflicted harm on humans, I would not be able to do anything.
The features of her beautiful face crumbled in a terrifying and tragic way.
He looked directly at that face stained by despair and added, emphasizing each letter with clarity:
—A direct descendant of the ducal family has ended up with serious injuries. This situation cannot be overlooked under the excuse that it was a fortuitous incident. And what is more important, a beast that has tasted the flavor of human blood cannot be allowed to roam freely through the territory.
A faint sob emerged from her throat.
He stepped back a pace.
He felt that he would completely lose control over himself if he continued confronting her for any longer.
Varkas walked immediately toward the door and gripped the doorknob.
In that instant, with a heavy impact, two slender arms encircled his waist tightly. Varkas’s body froze rigidly, as if he had been paralyzed.
The woman who had clung to him, embracing him with vehemence, raised her face, distorted by crying, and shouted pleadingly:
—No! I beg you, do not kill Kan. Kan is our son!
His astonished gaze fell upon her.
She began to deliriously utter disconnected words, as if she had completely lost the thread of sanity:
—Tiuran said it. The child who dies without receiving baptism is reborn in the form of an animal…… Kan…… Kan is our son who has been reborn. He has returned to me in the form of a wolf!
Varkas’s face distorted tragically.
He felt an oppression in his breathing, as if something were collapsing inside his chest.
And before he could assimilate it, the woman’s words shot out like projectiles:
—It is real! You will know it if you look into Kan’s eyes. Kan is our son. Our son, who did not manage to take his first breath, has returned to life! So, please, do not harm our son……·.
—Enough!
The woman released his waist while trembling at the shout that burst from him.
Varkas supported his body, which was on the verge of collapsing, against the doorframe and covered his face with his hands.
A shudder similar to a spasm ran through the entirety of his body.
He looked from between his trembling fingers at his wife, who was completely destroyed.
Her dark blue eyes, flooded with tears, tore his heart without mercy.
He closed his eyes tightly upon feeling that an indescribable frustration pressed upon his body with heaviness.
He remained in that state, holding his breath for a moment.
Finally, Varkas recovered his coldness, straightened his posture, and said with bitterness:
—I have heard enough nonsense.
The woman’s eyes opened wide in astonishment.
He ignored her empty pupils, in which every spark of hope had been extinguished, and gripped the doorknob of the door.
—Stay in the room under confinement until Lucas wakes up. I will decide your punishment after returning from concluding the task.
Then he opened the door wide and gestured with his head to the soldiers waiting in the hallway:
—Take her to her room.
The soldiers surrounded her immediately.
Talia offered no resistance.
She limited herself to contemplating the ground with stupor and a pale face devoid of blood.
He left behind that deserted face from which even tears had dried, and directed his steps toward the hallway, over which the dark shades of sunset were beginning to project.
The sound of his hesitant steps was strangely mournful.
He increased his speed as if trying to rid himself of all those viscous emotions that oppressed his chest.
His shadow lengthened as he descended the stairs and dissolved into absolute darkness.
The extermination unit was formed immediately.
As if they had been waiting impatiently during the last ten days that Lucas spent between life and death, the enraged warriors of the cavalry gathered before the castle gate.
He selected thirty men and then guided his mount out of the north gate.
The sun had already hidden behind the horizon.
He looked toward the firmament, which was beginning to be stained dark blue with purple hues, and then shifted his gaze toward the pine forest, where the vestiges of the twilight light still remained.
That wolf enjoyed an intelligence superior to average.
It would not go prowling near the open fields or the hills.
However, it did not seem to have fled far from Calmore.
Given that it kept an extreme attachment toward its mistress, it would certainly hover near the castle.
He guided his men through the fields, heading toward the Armond forest.
Shortly after, they arrived at the margins of the forest, which was beginning to sink into a bluish penumbra.
—Disperse for the search from here. Move in groups of three people and send a signal as soon as you locate it.
And immediately after the order was dictated, the knights carrying torches dispersed through the forest.
He gestured with his head toward Perov and Lorgin as well.
—I alone am enough. Search along the northern flank.
—But…… —Perov tried to object with a bewildered face, but soon closed his mouth.
The man, who knew better than anyone after years of war by his side that he did not require protection, pulled the reins of his horse with a slight sigh—. Please, send a signal if any inconvenience arises.
Varkas answered nothing; instead, he dug the spurs into his mount.
Among the dense trees, the torches of the soldiers appeared and disappeared as they deployed in all directions.
After a period of advancing in the penumbra amidst a frigid wind, the neighing of the horses, and the rustling of footsteps on dry leaves, a fetid odor mixed into the air.
And it did not take long to find the source of that pestilence. It was the remains of an animal from which the flesh had been completely torn, buried among the dry leaves and giving off the stench of decomposition.
“Is it a wild boar?”.
No. Weighing the abnormal volume of the skull, everything indicated that it was a boar of the Dire Boar species.
He examined minutely the skeletal remains, fractured as if they had been crushed by bites, and then raised his head to search the penumbra with his gaze.
Given that the smell of blood had not yet dissipated, the depredation must have occurred a short time ago.
He jumped from the saddle of the horse and examined the ground carefully.
No trace of it appeared on the humid mud path, as if the tracks had been deliberately erased.
However, Varkas was able to perceive a strange aroma floating in the air with clarity. His senses tensed in an unusual way. He let himself be guided by an inexplicable instinct and advanced quickly into the dismal shadows of the forest.
In that instant, he heard the sound of a rustle coming from somewhere.
He removed the bow from his back.
And extracting an arrow from the quiver hanging at his waist with lightning speed, he drew the string.
Almost at the same instant, the silhouette of a huge animal emerged from among the dense brushwood.
Varkas released the arrow without hesitation.
Although the animal hid quickly among the trees, the projectile, which flew like the wind, had already pierced its hind leg.
A low, hoarse howl ripped through the night air.
And its colossal body seemed to stagger as if it had received a heavy impact. But the animal recovered its balance immediately and charged toward the interior of the forest.
Varkas mounted his horse instantly and launched himself at high speed among the trees, as if performing an acrobatics.
Although multiple obstacles hindered visibility, wounding an animal the size of a young ox turned out to be simpler than hunting a rabbit or a small bird.
He fired successive arrows toward the animal that ran with all its strength.
Several projectiles settled in its chest and in its side.
This time it seemed evident that he had impacted vital zones; however, the rapid displacement of the wolf as it went deeper into the forest took on a greater ferocity.
Comments for chapter "Chapter 206"
MANGA DISCUSSION
Madara Info
Madara stands as a beacon for those desiring to craft a captivating online comic and manga reading platform on WordPress
For custom work request, please send email to wpstylish(at)gmail(dot)com