Chapter 225
THE FORGOTTEN FIELDS (NOVEL) – Chapter 225
THE FORGOTTEN FIELDS (NOVEL) Chapter 225
Chapter 225
THE FORGOTTEN FIELDS (NOVEL)
Her continuous voice slowly faded away gradually.
He examined her thin face, enveloped by the light of the fireplace, with a gaze as sharp as if he were dissecting her. After a silence that lasted for an instant, the woman raised her head and looked at him again.
“Of course, you don’t necessarily have to fulfill it. I just wanted you to take it into consideration at least once…”
“Stop beating around the bush and tell me the reason you have come to me.”
When he pressed her with a dry tone due to the annoyance caused by her exaggerated caution, her lips tensed. Varkas thought that this time her true and pure feelings might burst forth. However, he did not find the slightest trace of emotion in her dark eyes tinged with a deep blue.
After a silence that lasted for a moment, the woman opened her mouth slowly.
“I heard that you will depart for the North again after Lina’s engagement ceremony ends. Is that true?”
Varkas nodded his head slowly after a brief hesitation.
“That’s right. I must return to the border region as soon as I organize the situation here.”
At that instant, her face turned remarkably pale. Varkas felt a thirst of unknown origin burning his throat, so he moistened his dry lips.
“The position of Commander General is not a post that allows one to abandon the camp for a long time. I must remain in the conflict zone until the rebels are completely exterminated.”
“Then…” She chose her words carefully. “When you depart this time, couldn’t you take Edric with you?”
Varkas narrowed his eyes at that unexpected request. The woman added cautiously while watching his reaction:
“If that does not strictly go against procedures, I beg you to appoint him as your escort.”
“Why is Your Highness interested in a matter like that?”
“That is because…” She seemed at a loss for words before his sharp question and lowered her eyelashes, only to continue speaking calmly, “He sometimes trains with the sword with the soldiers… and everyone says that his skill is a waste to be a simple guard of mine…”
“…”
“Originally, it was you who placed him by my side out of fear that I would cause another problem. I have no intention of causing any more disturbances from now on. I only want to live quietly, just as I do now.”
Hardly had she finished speaking when the sound of wood cracking as it split resonated inside the fireplace. A dry and ironic laugh formed on the lips of Varkas, who remained sitting on the edge of the bed, watching her face in silence.
“Have you come all this way just to ask for something like that?”
Her fingers, placed on her knees, shrank at the severe tone of his voice. However, her eyes, looking at him, remained as motionless as a bottomless lake.
“If it is not too difficult, I beg you to reconsider. After all, there is no reason why I, who do not even leave the castle, should need a high-ranking knight of the ‘Roim Knights’ as my guard.”
He erased that ironic smile from his lips and fixed his gaze intently on her face. The woman who used to say she would never forgive him now faced him with dispassionate eyes that held no remnant of affection. And he did not know why that altered his nerves so much.
Varkas rose from the bed and approached her. He saw her rigid fingers gripping the edge of her dress tightly, as if betraying her anxiety. A bitter laugh of disdain escaped his lips.
“I did not know before that Your Highness possessed such a degree of consideration toward others, to the point of worrying about the future of a simple guard knight.”
The bones of her fingers turned white from the force of the pressure in response to his open mockery. Avoiding his gaze, she said:
“I do not care about that man’s future. I only want to get rid of unnecessary surveillance.”
He scrutinized her eyes insistently, as if attempting to unveil the truth of her words. There had always been a side to her that was difficult to understand, but now it was absolutely impossible for him to guess what was passing through her mind.
He swallowed a sigh and straightened his posture.
“I did not assign Edric Robon for the purpose of watching you. That man…”
He was about to say that he had wanted to leave someone by her side with whom she could feel a certain familiarity, but he remained silent. He did not want to admit with his own mouth that the man had already become a comfort to her.
He turned toward the shelf and opened the bottle of wine that the servants had placed. Then he took a silver cup that was upside down on the tray and pronounced coldly:
“Understood. I will consider it positively.”
Hardly had she heard his response when her rigid shoulders relaxed as if she had felt relief.
“… Thank you.”
The woman rose slowly after murmuring those words in a gentle voice. Varkas watched her walk toward the door without the slightest hesitation; he let out a desperate laugh and poured the red wine into the cup. At that moment, he heard a low voice from behind him.
“You know…?”
He turned around again and his eyes caught her image, standing and hesitating, holding the doorknob. She continued with difficulty:
“There is something else I want to ask of you.”
Varkas narrowed his eyes and made a gesture with his chin for her to speak. She continued to fiddle with the doorknob as if hesitating, and finally stated her request:
“Regarding Lina… if it were possible, couldn’t you allow her to stay in Kalmore even after her wedding?”
His hand, which was raising the cup toward his lips, stopped in mid-air. He marked her with a sharp gaze and furrowed his brow as if trying to gauge her intention, then asked in a low voice:
“Did someone ask you to try to convince me?”
“It is not that. I just felt… a certain pity toward her and that is why I spoke.”
Varkas set the cup down hard, causing a loud thud, and advanced toward her with large strides. Tension began to take hold of him at her suspicious attitudes.
“It seems you have become everyone’s saint during these few months.”
Heavily, she leaned her body against the door. He leaned his body toward her even more and asked her in an accusatory tone:
“Have you forgotten how insolent Lina was to you during all this time?”
“Whatever she does… she is still just a child. The worst that Lina did against me was simply spread some rumors,” she murmured in a low voice while lowering her gaze toward the floor, avoiding his eyes. “And besides… I know why she does it.”
The words that followed were almost a whisper.
“She resembles me a bit. That is why… I don’t want to hate her so much.”
He remained looking at the crown of her head, unable to articulate a word. The silence continued for a moment, then she pulled the doorknob and stepped cautiously out into the hallway.
“I have already said everything I had to say. I will leave now, go get some rest.”
Varkas was about to hold back the woman, who intended to walk down the dark hallway without a second thought, but he lowered his hand. He saw the maids who were waiting in the hallway follow her in silence. He observed that scene with text-book stupefaction, then closed the door and sat in the chair.
He saw the night deepen behind the window. Varkas moistened his burning throat with the wine he had previously poured, rested his head against the back of the chair, and closed his eyes tightly. He was invaded by the firm presentiment that he would greet the morning of this night as well in a long and tedious insomnia.
After concluding the engagement ceremony, the nobles who had stayed at Raidgo Castle to communicate returned to their lands on the fourth day.
Meanwhile, Varkas took the necessary measures to grant Lucas a fief in a suitable city in the southeastern region. Thanks to the omission of most of the burdensome ceremonies under the pretext of the war, the administrative procedures related to the concession of land ended without setbacks.
Not much time had passed since Lucas’s departure from Kalmore with his men when Varkas also began preparations to leave. There was no reason to rush the return, but he decided there was no reason to stay here after ensuring that Talia was well. As he had promised, she led a quiet life and a daily peace, and he did not want to ruin that. The time had come for this heavy guest to depart.
Varkas gathered the retinue and firmly emphasized the restitution of all the Duchess’s powers, and then immediately led his cavalry toward the border region. And Edric Robon was among the ranks of the armored knights following him.
“Is it alright for you to leave without saying goodbye to her?” Edric, who wore the black iron armor that completely symbolized the Shirkhan family, approached him and spoke.
Varkas confined himself to spurring his horse in response. The heavy sound of the horses’ hooves awakened the sleeping earth with a great roar.
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