Chapter 211
A cold, mocking smile brushed across Varkas's lips as he rested his chin on one hand and quietly looked down at the woman.
The memory of his wife threatening that if he sent this woman back to the Imperial Palace, she would leave with her, filled his mouth with bitterness.
"B-But... Her Grace the Grand Duchess doesn't need me anymore anyway. So..."
As the silence dragged on, the woman began rambling nervously.
Varkas cut her off simply by rising to his feet. Startled, she immediately clamped her mouth shut and watched him anxiously.
Turning his gaze away from the irritating sight, Varkas addressed the maids.
"Take this woman to the kitchen immediately."
"Y-Your Grace, my request..."
"If she starts eating of her own accord, I'll send you back to the Imperial Palace."
The woman's dark face brightened instantly.
Then, as though dousing her with cold water, he added,
"However, if she refuses even the food you prepare, you'll be thrown out of this castle with nothing but the clothes on your back."
The healthy color drained from her face in an instant.
Ignoring the woman who was trying to protest, he left the drawing room.
He had only just crossed the hall and started toward the staircase again when an urgent voice called from behind him.
"Your Grace!"
Turning around, Varkas spotted Regen entering the annex and frowned.
The man hurried across the hall at a run.
"How is Her Grace the Grand Duchess? Is she still..."
"What business brings you here?"
Varkas cut him off with a weary expression.
After glancing toward the upper floor, the knight went straight to the point.
"The council has concluded. This is the list of candidates for lordships in Tarlin and the other northeastern territories. Once you approve it, we'll begin the appointments immediately."
Regen held out the bundle of parchment tucked beneath his arm.
As Varkas unfolded it and skimmed through the contents, the man cautiously continued,
"Also, Sir Daren sent a messenger. It seems he wanted to know when Your Grace expects to return."
Varkas lifted his eyes from the document and looked at him.
Regen swallowed nervously before asking,
"What should I tell the messenger?"
"Tell him I'll return after the Season of Rest has passed."
Slipping the folded parchment inside his Tunka, Varkas answered in an even tone.
Regen looked genuinely surprised.
Apparently he hadn't expected Varkas to remain in Kalmor for such a long time.
Without giving him a chance to ask any further questions, Varkas simply turned away and climbed the stairs.
When he entered the bedroom once more, he found his wife still fast asleep under the effects of the medicine.
He stood silently for quite some time, watching the woman breathe softly beneath the curtain of her long eyelashes.
Then he walked to the table and pulled out a chair.
Outside the window stretched a dull, overcast sky.
For some reason, he thought it might snow tonight.
It wasn't until sunset that Talia finally regained consciousness.
He immediately summoned a maid and ordered food to be brought.
Before long, the table was filled with egg soup, cake made with assorted preserved fruits, braised quail, and various other dishes.
After examining them carefully, Varkas gave the maids a slight nod.
"That will be all. Leave us."
"If you need anything, please call for us at any time."
After the two young maids left the room, he served a moderate portion onto a tray and approached the bed.
"Please eat."
As he placed the tray beside her, the woman, who had been staring blankly out the window, slowly turned her head toward him.
Her eyes were filled with undisguised hatred.
Ignoring it, he forced a spoon into her hand.
Her exhausted voice followed.
"Just how long are you planning to keep repeating this pointless nonsense?"
"I was about to ask Your Highness the same thing."
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Varkas replied indifferently.
"How much longer do you intend to continue this tiresome struggle?"
Eyes as dark and deep as the abyss glared at him.
Without paying them any mind, Varkas held out the bowl of egg soup before her.
Talia's gaze flickered for a moment.
She seemed to notice immediately that this was different from the meals usually brought to her.
Narrowing her eyes, she carefully examined the contents before looking back at him.
"Who made this?"
"Your Highness's nurse prepared it."
Varkas answered calmly.
"I thought perhaps, if it were made by her, Your Highness might be willing to eat."
The instant he finished speaking, Talia hurled the bowl.
With the sharp crash of shattering glass, the thick soup splattered across the carpet.
"So you forced her to make it because you ordered her to."
Her thin shoulders trembled violently as her lips twisted.
She had probably intended to sneer at him, but the tears gathering in her eyes only made her look pitiful.
Her cracked voice dripped with mockery.
"That woman means nothing to me anymore. I got sick of her just as much as I did you and threw her away a long time ago! So just disappear! Every last one of you!"
"If Your Highness refuses to eat that food, then at least that woman will disappear from your life forever."
She froze.
"...What do you mean?"
"Isn't she one of the Empress's people? If she no longer serves any purpose to Your Highness, there's no reason to keep her in my castle."
"...You mean... you're sending my nurse back to the capital?"
Varkas's lips curved into a cold smile.
"Why would I go to such trouble? If the Empress sends someone to retrieve her herself, I won't stop her. But I have absolutely no intention of wasting my soldiers for that woman's sake."
For the first time since losing the wolf, unmistakable fear crossed her unnaturally beautiful face.
Other than the moments when she erupted in rage, she had always looked like an empty shell.
Seeing her become visibly restless twisted something deep inside him.
Suppressing the feeling from showing on his face, he continued in a flat voice.
"If she's lucky, she might find some menial work somewhere in Kalmor. Though she's far more likely to die abandoned by the roadside."
"...Are you threatening me?"
"A threat?"
Varkas leaned toward her, the corners of his mouth curling upward.
"You just said she means nothing to you. If that's true, how could throwing her out possibly be a threat?"
She bit down on her swollen lips.
Watching her with cold eyes, Varkas rose and walked toward the door.
Just as he was about to leave, a trembling voice came from behind him.
"...I'll eat."
Still holding the doorknob, he turned around.
Her pale face was stained with utter defeat.
Grinding the words out between clenched teeth, she said,
"I'll eat. So just... leave her alone."
Varkas remained motionless for several seconds before walking back to the table.
He served portions of each dish into a separate bowl and carried them to the bedside.
Trembling with the effort of suppressing her anger, she picked up the bowl of soup.
Then, with the expression of someone swallowing filth, she slowly forced each mouthful down.
At last, every bit of the food he had served her was gone.
She raised her pale face, drenched in cold sweat, and glared at him.
"Are you satisfied now?"
Without a word, he gathered up the empty dishes.
Watching him with quivering eyes, Talia snapped through clenched teeth.
"I did exactly what you wanted! Now get out of this room."
"You may force yourself to vomit, so I'll remain here for a few more hours."
Those words seemed to sever the final thread of her reason.
She began grabbing everything within reach beside the bed and hurling it at him.
"Get out! I said get out! I did everything you wanted! Then why are you still hanging around here?!"
Tilting his head just enough to avoid the wine cup flying toward him, Varkas crossed the distance to the bed in a single stride and seized her wrist.
He was afraid she might struggle so violently that she'd lose consciousness again in another fit of rage.
Holding the nearly hysterical woman firmly in both arms, he sat down on the edge of the bed.
Talia struggled even more violently, crying out.
"No...! Don't touch me...! Just touching you makes my skin crawl!"