Chapter 186
Lucas stared intently at him before adding with a mocking smile,
"Isn't that right? You weren't forced into marrying my sister-in-law because of His Majesty's orders. You wanted to, so you threw aside your fiancée and eagerly accepted the Emperor's proposal."
Casting a cold glance over his shoulder, Varkas resumed walking without saying a word.
Irritated at being ignored, Lucas hurried after him.
"I hit the mark, didn't I?"
"..."
"Don't you think it's unfair? You married a woman who brings absolutely no benefit to the family, yet you're demanding that only Raina and I make sacrifices."
"Sacrifices?"
As he silently crossed the training grounds, Varkas turned a chilling gaze upon him.
Lucas instinctively took a step back.
It felt as though an icy gust of wind had suddenly swept past him.
The Grand Duke approached, carrying a coldness sharp enough to dispel the warmth of early summer, and curved his lips into a faint smile.
"Remarkable. Just how comfortably have you lived all this time, if you can call nothing more than a political marriage a sacrifice?"
The unnervingly gentle voice made Lucas's back stiffen.
Leaning his inhumanly perfect face toward him, Varkas continued slowly,
"Answer me one thing. If you refuse to shoulder even the responsibilities every noble is expected to bear... then how exactly do you intend to repay the privileges you've enjoyed all your life?"
Lucas bit down on his lower lip, unable to answer.
Quietly studying his younger brother's flushed face, Varkas let out a long breath before softening his tone.
"There's no need to resist so fiercely already. I intend to present the best possible choices for all of you. You and Raina simply have to choose the person you like best from among numerous candidates."
"...What if I don't like any of them?"
"Then choose the one you dislike the least."
Varkas's voice became stern once more.
"The time for childish whims ended long ago. Both of you have reached the point where it's time to contribute something to this family."
Clenching his fists tightly, Lucas spoke in a subdued voice.
"I understand exactly what you're saying."
"Good."
Replying flatly, Varkas squeezed his brother's shoulder once before walking away again.
Lucas watched his retreating figure with dark, conflicted eyes before eventually turning in the opposite direction.
After leaving the castle, Varkas attended a council meeting at the Kalmor Assembly Hall, where he reviewed the proposed legal revisions that had been under discussion.
Once the tedious administrative procedures were finished, he stopped by the garrison headquarters on the outskirts of the city to examine detailed reports regarding the frequency of the raiders' attacks and the areas that had suffered damage.
By the time all of his official duties were complete and he returned to the castle, the sunset had swallowed the entire world.
Looking up at the purple-stained sky, Varkas tossed the reins to the startled stablemaster who came running out before heading straight toward the main keep.
"Welcome back, Your Grace."
As he entered the spacious hall, the servants lighting the chandeliers all bowed simultaneously.
Acknowledging them with a slight nod, Varkas climbed the stairs without stopping.
He was about to continue toward the bedroom adjoining his study on the third floor when a cautious voice called out behind him.
"Y-Your Grace."
Turning around, he saw the head butler standing there with a tense expression.
Raising one eyebrow, Varkas asked,
"What is it?"
"Her Grace the Grand Duchess is currently in the second-floor bedroom. She asked me to inform you when you returned..."
Frowning slightly, Varkas immediately changed direction.
Descending one flight of stairs, he found the guards standing watch outside his bedroom.
After signaling for them to withdraw, he knocked on the door.
Only after a long pause did a somewhat hoarse voice answer.
"Come in."
Opening the door, Varkas immediately caught the heavy scent of medicinal herbs and frowned.
The air had become hazy from the sheer number of incense burners that had been lit.
He strode across the room, opened the windows wide, then extinguished the incense that was still smoldering before turning a disapproving gaze toward the bed.
"Are you trying to suffocate yourself? Just how long have you been—"
His reproachful words stopped halfway.
His weary wife's exhausted face had caught his eye.
Wrapping one arm around the neck of the wolf occupying most of the wide bed, she muttered in a tightly strained voice,
"It couldn't be helped. Khan was acting... a little strange today..."
Frowning, he walked over to the bedside.
Unlike yesterday, the wolf was no longer fully asleep.
The medicine had clearly taken effect; its body lay limp while it breathed somewhat heavily, yet its eyes remained stubbornly fixed on its mistress.
Reading an unsettling possessiveness in that gaze, Varkas's expression hardened.
Watching his reaction, Talia hurriedly explained,
"I think he's upset because I left him alone last night. And then suddenly he wasn't allowed to go outside either... I suppose all of that frustration built up."
"Did this beast cause some sort of trouble today?"
His cold question immediately put her on the defensive.
"Khan didn't do anything wrong. He just... seemed a little anxious."
If they had resorted to burning such potent medicinal herbs to calm him, then his condition must have been far worse than she was admitting.
Varkas looked coldly down at the beast, which struggled desperately to stay awake despite its labored breathing.
Only this morning it had seemed perfectly calm.
What had caused it to become so agitated?
Releasing a weary sigh, Varkas sat down on the edge of the bed.
The wolf, whose muzzle had begun wrinkling as though preparing to bare its fangs, immediately buried its head against its mistress instead.
The unspoken warning to keep his distance made Varkas narrow his eyes.
After a hesitant pause, Talia spoke.
"I think... I should stay with Khan tonight."
Varkas silently studied her face.
She looked almost as exhausted as the wolf.
Slowly, he nodded.
"Don't worry about me. You should get some sleep."
"...Can't you stay here too?"
Just as he was about to stand again, she reached out and caught hold of the hem of his coat.
After a brief hesitation, he removed his boots and climbed onto the bed.
Leaning against the headboard beside her, he immediately felt the wolf's gaze settle on him.
It was obvious the beast was not pleased with the arrangement.
Ignoring it, Varkas gently brushed the damp hair away from Talia's forehead.
She seemed to be running a slight fever.
"I'll watch over Khan. Rest without worrying."
Reassured by those words, her eyelids slowly drifted shut.
Before long, her breathing became slow and even.
He quietly watched her sleeping face.
After the deep, lingering kisses they had shared, he had hoped to fall asleep holding her soft, warm body in his arms.
The current situation was somewhat disappointing.
Yet, in another sense, it also brought him relief.
He had firmly resolved never to make her pregnant again.
Because of that promise, her seduction had secretly become almost more than he could bear.
Gently stroking her silky hair, he leaned back against the headboard.
The fresh air flowing in through the open window gradually drove away the bitter herbal smoke, allowing her natural scent to fill the room.
Breathing in that rich fragrance, he quietly gazed at her peaceful face bathed in the glow of the setting sun.
Without warning, his brother's words echoed in his ears.
"But you married the woman you wanted."
He knew those words were true.
But so what?
In this empty life of his, surely he was allowed to possess at least one thing he truly wanted.
Varkas lowered his gaze to her legs, folded gently together.
Her slender calves peeked out from beneath the hem of her skirt, where it had become tangled above the thin summer blanket.
Reaching out, he traced the reddish marks faintly visible beneath the fabric.
The thought crossed his mind that she might fly into a panic if she woke to find him doing this.
Even so, he could not bring himself to remove his hand from the long scar stretching from her knee to her thigh.
Almost every night he wandered through memories of the past, yet he had never once dreamed of the moment she received that wound.
The same was true of the sight of her bleeding upon the bed.
In reality, those memories were as vivid as burn scars.
Yet each night they dissolved like mist.
Because this woman could never become his nightmare.
Unable to suppress the desire to hold her any longer, he lowered his head onto the pillow and slipped one arm beneath her neck.
Carefully turning her away from the wolf and toward himself, he noticed the wolf lift its head from where it had been resting on the sheets.
For a brief moment, something strange flickered within the beast's otherwise expressionless eyes.
After silently studying Varkas's face as though observing him, the enormous animal awkwardly rose to its feet and pressed itself firmly against Talia's back.
Then it rested its face, covered in dense gray fur, beside her head.
Varkas stared at the absurd sight before finally letting out a quiet sigh and wrapping his arm around her back.
Her warm breath gently brushed against his chest.
Perhaps tonight, too, he would sink once more into a river of blood.
As though the dreams had somehow sensed that he was breaking the vow he had made in his heart, they grew colder and darker with each passing night.
It didn't matter.
Even as he felt his body gradually warming, he never loosened the arm wrapped protectively around her.