Chapter 223
## Chapter 223
He immediately summoned the head maid. Shortly after, a heavily built woman opened the door and entered.
“Did you call for me, Your Excellence?”
Varkas filled an empty glass while fixing his gaze on her face, which was overflowing with tension, and then opened his lips to speak:
“I want to know what has happened with the princess during my absence. Her condition… seems to have improved greatly in these past few months.”
When he finished speaking in a vague tone due to not finding the right expression, a nuance of complex emotions crossed the face of the head maid. She remained silent for a moment as if deep in thought, and then began to speak cautiously:
“I myself do not know precisely what changed her feelings. After your departure, Her Highness refused to eat for a long time and remained in her bed… Then, suddenly, one day she expressed her desire to attend the dawn prayer held at the Grand Cathedral.”
Varkas frowned; considering the existing conflict between her and the Eastern Church, this action lacked an understandable context.
It seemed that the head maid also found it difficult to understand her behavior, so she continued speaking slowly, knitting her brows:
“Since that day, she became as calm as if she were another person. She began to ask for food on her own and spends her time in simple tasks such as tending to flowers or embroidering.”
Varkas’s hand, which was about to reach for the wine glass, stopped and tensed.
“She does embroidery?”
“Recently, she even began to learn how to weave fabrics in the spinning room. Although she still lacks experience, she possesses a very high aesthetic sense, so she creates unique and beautiful patterns. And the results receive very good reviews,” the head maid said calmly.
An expression of astonishment appeared on Varkas’s face for an instant, and then an ironic laugh escaped from between his lips. Embroidery was a common hobby among noble women, but she had never shown the slightest interest in such simple tasks. Furthermore, weaving fabrics was hard work that was normally only performed by maids.
Perhaps noticing his annoyance, the head maid said as if justifying the matter:
“I knew that this labor did not correspond to the rank of a Duchess, but I… I could not stop her. I felt that having a job with which to occupy her mind would be more beneficial for Her Highness.”
“Her physical constitution is weaker than that of a normal person. What would happen if her health were affected by such heavy work?”
“Forgive me, Your Excellence, but I do not believe there is cause for that concern. We all make sure that the work is performed within the limits that do not exhaust Her Highness’s health; furthermore, her personal physician said that moving her body would be more beneficial to her.” The tone of the head maid became somewhat firm, as if fearing that he would forbid the Duchess from entering the spinning room. The woman added, emphasizing every word: “In fact, Her Highness has begun to regain her stability gradually. In addition, her relationship with the maids who work in the inner fortress has become more cordial than before. Therefore…”
“I have no intention of forbidding what she does, so leave your unnecessary attempts at persuasion,” Varkas interrupted her abruptly. He felt a strange annoyance at the attitude of the head maid, who behaved as if he represented a threat to the princess’s peace.
Varkas emptied what remained of the wine into the glass and then gave a cold nod of his head:
“You may withdraw.”
The head maid bowed respectfully and left the room with firm steps.
Varkas leaned his body back in the chair and looked out the window. He saw the black clouds gathering deep in the sky, which was beginning to darken gradually. Suddenly, he felt an intense bitterness in his mouth.
‘Perhaps my return is to her like those black clouds covering the sky.’
With that thought, he brought the glass to his lips. He felt the liquid, akin to fire, slide down his throat and settle in his entrails. But no matter how strong the wine he drank was, he felt no intoxication at all. He rested his head against the back of the chair and let out a deep sigh.
Just as the head maid had said, she was leading a quiet and simple life. Although the entourage still looked at her with displeasure, the hostility of the maids who spent time with her seemed to have subsided notably.
The employees began to deal with her with greater comfort than before, and Talia’s aggressiveness when dealing with them decreased drastically. Varkas could sometimes catch a glimpse of her in the garden conversing with the maids. She looked so calm and docile that it was difficult to believe she was the same woman who always raised her thorns, cautious of others.
What had changed her in that manner?
His thought turned automatically toward Edric Robon. He was a man who possessed the talent to integrate with anyone without reservations. Despite the weak background of his family, had he not integrated perfectly into the Imperial Guard, known for its fanaticism? Surely he had used his extraordinary communication skills to tear down her walls of caution.
He looked out the window with a bitter expression. As always happened in the afternoons, Talia was in the garden walking in the company of her escorts. And of course, Edric Robon was among them. He was talking by her side without stopping. It seemed he was telling an entertaining story, for he saw the maids cover their mouths and laugh, while Talia, who at first had a rigid expression, sketched a slight smile on her lips.
He observed that scene for a time and then turned his gaze back toward the desk. The official documents and reports that required an urgent signature were piling up on the wooden desk. It seemed that they had only sent him the minimum amount of tasks in consideration of his injury, and even so, the quantity was considerable.
He thoroughly reviewed the proposed law amendments coming from various regions, then sealed them and handed them to the waiting servant. After that, he took the list of nobles who would be invited to the engagement ceremony, but he heard hurried footsteps outside followed by violent knocks on the door.
He spoke without raising his head:
“What is it?”
“I have come to ask you about a matter, brother,” a sharp voice resonated, suggesting an attempt to contain rage.
Varkas signaled the servant with his head to open the door. Lina entered with her face distorted by anger, stomping on the floor.
“Is it true that you have decided to grant a fief to Allen?”
He frowned; because he had granted fiefs to several people recently, he did not immediately recall whom she was talking about. After a few brief seconds, he remembered that it was the name of the young man who would become his brother-in-law, so he nodded his head.
“Yes. There is a castle in the southeastern region with a suitable size for his sustenance. It is an area to which belongs a city from which large taxes are collected and a huge horse breeding farm. There you will live without lacking anything.”
“I told you clearly that I wanted the grand palace located east of Kalmore,” his sister said in protest as she approached the desk. “That palace was built by my father for me! He promised me that I would live in it when I married…”
“I am offering you now a dowry that is equivalent to twice the size of that palace,” Varkas interrupted her with a cold tone while putting down the papers he held in his hand. “What exactly is it that displeases you?”
“Don’t pretend you are doing this for me! You only want to expel me from Kalmore.” Lina looked at him, holding back tears. “You snatched my father from me, you snatched Lucas from me, and now you want to snatch from me the house in which I have lived all my life, how can I not feel resentment!”
“Lina.”
His sister’s shoulders froze upon hearing that low and soft voice. Varkas continued speaking with a tone that was calm yet capable of making one’s skin crawl:
“I could, if I wanted to, marry you off to an old noble in a remote region without a single penny. And considering the lack of respect you have committed toward me and toward my wife, it is strange that I do not do so.”
Lina’s face turned pale in an instant. He continued speaking unfazed:
“Since you are a daughter of the Shirkhan family and of my blood, I will not expel you empty-handed. Therefore, accept this generosity with gratitude while I am still granting it to you.”
Comments for chapter "Chapter 223"
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