Chapter 165
She had never been a healthy woman to begin with.
When he had last seen her the previous autumn, she had recovered a remarkable amount of her strength, but there was no guarantee that nothing had happened in the meantime.
He soothed the burning anxiety in his chest with a swallow of strong wine.
“Your Grace!”
How long had he been standing there, letting the cold mountain wind wash over him?
A familiar voice suddenly reached him from afar.
Turning his head, Varkas narrowed his eyes as he spotted Edrick Rubon riding through the mountain valley.
After passing through the checkpoint, the knight approached the palisade and called up in his usual spirited voice.
“Congratulations on your victory, Your Grace. Thanks to you, it looks like the Imperial Army will have little trouble occupying central Valto.”
“How are the Imperial forces faring?”
“The main army has already crossed the southern plains and advanced to the doorstep of Amasek, the rebels' stronghold. At this rate, we should be able to capture Blodar Keep, where Duke Heimdal has entrenched himself, within three or four months.”
Varkas took another drink of wine before giving the knight a slight nod.
“Come inside. I have an errand for you.”
Looking up at him with curiosity, Edrick dismounted and entered through the camp gate.
Varkas descended the watchtower stairs and gestured for him to follow.
Leading his horse behind him, Edrick asked,
“What sort of errand?”
“Go to the capital and deliver a letter.”
Varkas spoke calmly as they entered the tent, passing the mounted warriors of House Siorcan who were enjoying a brief rest.
Stopping by the entrance, Edrick made a dissatisfied face.
“Another letter? Everyone seems to think I'm some kind of courier.”
“It is a letter for His Imperial Majesty. I can't entrust it to just anyone.”
Answering absentmindedly, Varkas pulled out a chair at the desk inside the military tent and sat down.
After tying his horse outside, Edrick came in, scratching the back of his head.
“The main army has already submitted a report on the campaign. Why do you need to send another one yourself?”
“I'm not sending a battle report.”
Spreading a clean sheet of parchment across the desk and securing it with a paperweight, Varkas picked up a quill.
“I intend to ask His Majesty to propose negotiations to the Northern Noble Alliance.”
Edrick frowned in confusion.
“Isn't the war practically won already? Why should His Majesty be the one to extend his hand first at a time like this?”
“Precisely because we've reached this point.”
After dipping the pen into the ink, Varkas began writing in elegant script.
“Unless our intention is to wipe out the Valto people entirely, the wisest course is to show magnanimity while we hold the advantage. If we offer to punish only the ringleaders of the rebellion while granting amnesty to everyone else, the rest will abandon House Heimdal of their own accord.”
“But if we forgive the rebels so easily, won't that damage the Empire's authority? Other lords might one day begin entertaining thoughts of rebellion as well...”
“The longer this war continues, the deeper the people's resentment toward the Empire will grow. The northerners have already watched their castles and lands drenched in blood by the Imperial Army. If we do not show mercy now, they will remain enemies of the Empire forever.”
Finishing the letter in moments, Varkas melted red sealing wax and poured it over the envelope.
Silently watching the scene, Edrick rubbed the back of his neck and sighed.
“I understand your reasoning. But the day His Highness the Crown Prince learns of this, all hell is going to break loose. Even now, he's shouting that every last rebel should be exterminated...”
“Then it would be best if His Highness never learned of it.”
After pressing his seal into the wax, Varkas handed the letter over.
Only then did Edrick realize that he had been entrusted with delivering a secret message behind the back of the Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Army.
His face turned pale.
“You know His Highness the Crown Prince already has a poor opinion of me. Why not send one of House Siorcan's own messengers instead of making me do this...?”
“At a time like this, if a messenger from the Grand Ducal House starts moving around, every pair of eyes will be on him. But an Imperial Guard visiting His Majesty is perfectly natural. This negotiation must appear to originate entirely from His Majesty's own will.”
Unable to find any argument, Edrick merely opened and closed his mouth before reluctantly accepting the letter.
A heavy sigh escaped him.
“If the day comes when His Highness the Crown Prince drives me out of the Order, you'll have to take me in, Your Grace.”
Without answering, Varkas merely jerked his chin, signaling that he was dismissed.
The sullen-looking knight suddenly grinned mischievously.
“Very well. If Your Grace has no intention of taking me in, I'll simply ask Her Highness the Grand Duchess instead.”
Varkas, who had already begun preparing another letter for his retainers, suddenly stopped and looked up.
Shrugging, Edrick added,
“The last time I saw her, she told me that if I ever had nowhere else to go, she'd hire me as one of her personal guards.”
“Hah. How long ago was that?”
Varkas shook his head in disbelief.
“You actually took an offhand remark seriously... You're more naïve than you look.”
“She said she meant it.”
Edrick protested indignantly.
“It was only two months ago. I suppose she pitied me for running around delivering letters all the time and asked why I didn't become her guard instead...”
“You met my wife two months ago?”
The knight, who had been speaking so freely, stiffened.
After cautiously studying Varkas's expression, he hurriedly explained,
“I had to visit Kalmor regarding the craftsmen we were recruiting. We just happened to run into each other.”
“My wife spends all of her time inside the castle. How exactly does one happen to run into her?”
At the pointed question, Edrick stared at him in disbelief.
“Who told you she stays inside the castle all day? She goes around with a wolf the size of a warhorse. There's no way she'd remain indoors. From what I saw, she goes outside the castle almost every day because of that beast. I met her on the fields south of Laedgo Castle.”
Varkas frowned.
Come to think of it...
Around four months earlier, he had received a letter from her asking permission to take the wolf outside the castle.
At the time, he had agreed, on the condition that she travel with a large escort.
To be honest, he hadn't wanted her setting foot outside the castle at all.
But it had been the first letter she had ever sent him.
He simply hadn't been able to ignore it.
I assumed she'd only go out once or twice for a change of scenery...
Feeling his nerves tighten, he pressed two fingers against his temple.
He could feel Edrick Rubon watching him intently.
Varkas shot him a sharp look.
“What?”
“No... I was just surprised you allowed Her Highness to keep a magical beast.”
He almost replied that he had never actually granted permission.
Then he closed his mouth.
Silently tolerating it amounted to the same thing.
Leaning back in his chair, he roughly ran a hand through his hair.
When he had first received the report that she had begun raising a Dire Wolf cub, his immediate intention had been to have it disposed of.
A magical beast was still a magical beast, no matter how young it was.
He had never intended to leave such a dangerous creature by her side.
But the moment he saw her holding that tiny animal in her arms beneath the summer sun...
He had turned away without saying a single word.
Because the woman who had looked perpetually tormented ever since losing the child...
Had been smiling.
Truly smiling.
Recalling the sharp ache he had felt that day, Varkas spoke in a restrained voice.
“Did my wife seem healthy?”
“She looked very well.”
Edrick answered with a bright smile.
“I don't remember ever seeing Her Highness look that full of life, even during her time at the Imperial Palace. At the very least... there's no doubt that magical beast is making her happy.”