Chapter 221
## CHAPTER 221
He was barely regaining consciousness when this meager report that he had anticipated so much reached him.
Recalling all the incidents and troubles she had caused, it was not difficult to understand the cold attitude of the retinue, but he could not prevent a strong feeling of resentment from boiling within him.
He threw the leather scroll into the fire that the soldiers had lit and then turned toward Darin with a cold gaze.
—Prepare a separate escort unit.
—Do you mean…?
—As soon as the withdrawal process is finished, I will head to Kalmore.
—Understood. I will finish the handover procedures immediately and have the knights ready.
The man gave a slight salute and then headed toward the area where Wolfram’s cavalry was concentrated.
Varkas contemplated for a moment the leather shrinking and burning in the midst of the flames, and then returned to the tent where the commanders were gathered.
After the Northern Alliance army, composed of about 8,000 armored combatants, finished building the camp, Varkas left behind a portion of the imperial elite forces and guided the rest of the army toward the southern end of the Jotunheim mountain range.
The objective was to block all access points leading to the stronghold of the rebel forces.
After distributing the troops along all the routes through which supplies could pass, he established a new camp for the Alliance forces on the border between the East and the North.
It was an ideal location that allowed for immediate support to the Northern Alliance army if the battle situation worsened, while simultaneously preventing the enemies from escaping through other routes.
Now, Björn Bloodaxe Heimdall was like a mouse in a trap.
He slipped his hand inside his coat to feel the scar left on his flank. That had been the first defeat he had tasted since he was knighted.
He did not lack the desire to return that humiliation with his own hand, but, in any case, that was a man destined for destruction. A man dominated by a reckless ambition who had plunged the entire North into the crucible of war; it was absurd to hold a grudge against the ravings of someone who had lost everything due to his own foolishness.
Varkas looked with a sarcastic smirk at the steep and elegant peaks of the Jotunheim mountains, and then turned his horse’s head.
The banners of the families that had sworn loyalty to the Empire fluttered over the massive barracks erected along the mountains. He examined the dozens of colorful flags and then spurred his horse to move to the end of the barracks.
In front of the checkpoint, the commanders he had designated as his successors lined up in a long row.
Darin, who was conversing with the knights in the center, saw him and approached him, making his way through the ranks of soldiers.
—All handover and reception procedures are finished, you may leave now.
—I will return as soon as Lina’s engagement ceremony is over.
—There is no need for that. Are there not still aftereffects from the wound? —the man whispered in a low voice as he placed himself close to the side of the horse, as if ensuring that those present would not hear his words.
Varkas frowned; he did not expect the man to notice that detail.
—Do not worry about this place. Stay in the East for a while and rest —the man added in a firm tone.
Varkas looked at that face in silence, then let out a slight sigh and turned his horse’s head.
—Inform me immediately through the emergency communication network if any problem arises.
Then he crossed the checkpoint and began to guide his horse along the descending hills that led to the East. Thirty heavily armed knights in black iron armor followed him in two parallel rows.
They did not reach the eastern border region until nightfall. There, Varkas meticulously examined the living conditions in the peripheral areas of the East, including Tarlin, and the next day guided his men southeast again.
When he finally arrived in Kalmore, the vast meadows welcoming the spring stretched out before him.
In a fleeting instant, a strange illusion overcame him, as if he had taken a leap in time. Balto was a harsh land that remained half the year under winter, and perhaps that was why it sometimes gave the impression that the flow of time had stopped.
He looked strangely at the blue sky pouring down warm rays of sunshine, and then spurred his horse.
Shortly after, villages of various sizes and a massive walled city appeared.
When he crossed the center and entered the majestic fortress surrounded by a double wall, hundreds of people from the retinue came out to receive him.
—Welcome, Your Excellency!
Varkas dismounted from his horse and examined the faces of the soldiers in the training ground and of the servants working in the outer fortress. It was said that a great commotion had broken out due to the news of his wound, and the faces of the retinue overflowed with a mixture of anxiety, worry, and a deep relief.
—You have fatigued yourselves greatly on your long journey. Seeing you in good health again dissipates all worries —Modrian said in a low, clear voice as he stepped forward toward him, seeming to try to completely dispel the anxiety of the retinue.
Varkas nodded indifferently.
—It seems I have caused you worry. As you can see, I am fine, so everyone stop worrying unnecessarily.
—That is something that truly instills joy. It seems that God includes you under his special protection, my Duke —the old knight said in an exaggerated tone.
Varkas felt the weight of fatigue pressing upon his shoulders, so he handed the reins of his horse, Tork, to a servant waiting nearby.
—I want to rest. I will go now to take a rest, let everyone return to their posts.
As soon as his instructions were issued, the crowd dispersed in all directions.
He crossed the training ground directly and passed through the gate of the inner fortress. As he passed through the garden whose flowers were beginning to open to approach the Great Hall, he saw the palace servants lining up at the entrance.
He intended to pass between them indifferently, but he stopped suddenly, unable to help himself.
For in the midst of the crowd that had come out to receive the lord of the province, there was an unexpected figure.
In that instant, it seemed as if the flow of the air had stopped.
He stood rigid in his place like a statue while looking at the woman standing at the front of the line of maidservants.
She wore a loose dress of a gray color verging on brown, and a white cotton veil was placed lightly over her carefully combed dark blonde hair.
He examined that strange attire that suggested austerity, and she raised her head, which was slightly tilted. The beams of light filtering through the windows fragmented over her delicate face as if she were a marble statue in the corridor of a temple.
He felt a tightness in his throat before that scene which lacked reality. Even though her clothes went beyond modesty to reach simplicity, she was beautiful to the point of taking one’s breath away. And she looked much healthier than she did at their last encounter.
Varkas prolonged his gaze on that face that looked so calm it made her seem like a stranger, and then said slowly:
—It has been a long time.
Her blue eyes wavered very slightly, but the trace of perturbation disappeared immediately without leaving a trace. The woman replied in a quiet voice while lowering her long eyelashes:
—… It has been a long time.
He saw her fingers gathered in front of her, lightly holding the edge of her dress, but her next sentence was utterly serene.
—I heard you were wounded… I am glad you returned safely.
He distorted the features of his face.
She had been a woman who hurled curses full of resentment at him until the moment of his departure. It discomforted him that she offered him this so formal greeting with a sober appearance, as if nothing had happened.
He approached very close to the woman, who showed a coldness as if she were dealing with a stranger she did not know. He saw her shoulders tense weakly from nervousness, but her eyes, looking at him, remained completely calm.
In that moment, a strange impulse to disturb that tranquility assaulted him.
—You seem disappointed because I returned alive and well.
When he leaned toward her and whispered in a low voice, he saw her lips tremble clearly. He waited for sharp and venomous words to pour out from between them, but she did not answer.
She confined herself to looking at him in silence with somber eyes in which one could not read what was inside.
For some reason, that silence hurt him in the deepest part of his chest.
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