Chapter 225
Her voice gradually trailed off.
Varkas studied her delicate face, illuminated by the fireplace, as though dissecting it. Uncomfortable beneath his gaze, she lowered her eyes slightly and continued hesitantly.
“Of course, you don't have to grant my request. I only hoped you might consider it...”
“Stop beating around the bush and tell me why you've come.”
Her excessive caution irritated him for reasons he could not explain, and his voice came out cold and impatient.
Her lips stiffened.
For the first time, Varkas thought she might finally reveal some raw emotion.
Instead, he found nothing.
Those dark sapphire-blue eyes remained utterly devoid of feeling.
After a long silence, she slowly spoke.
“I heard that once Raina's engagement ceremony is over, you'll be returning to the North. Is that true?”
After a brief pause, Varkas slowly nodded.
“It is. As soon as matters here are settled, I must return to the border.”
Her complexion noticeably darkened.
An inexplicable dryness settled in Varkas's throat, and he moistened his parched lips.
“A Commander-in-Chief cannot remain away from the army for long. Until the rebellion has been completely suppressed, I have to stay in the war zone.”
“In that case...”
She carefully chose her words.
“When you leave this time... could you take Edrick with you?”
The unexpected request caused Varkas's eyes to narrow.
She glanced up, cautiously gauging his reaction before continuing.
“If it doesn't violate procedure... I'd like you to appoint him as one of your attendants.”
“And why is Your Highness concerned about such a thing?”
“Well...”
His sharp question left her momentarily speechless. She bit her lower lip before calmly continuing.
“He occasionally spars with the soldiers as part of his training... They all say it's a waste for someone with his abilities to spend his days serving as my bodyguard...”
“...”
“He was assigned to me in the first place because everyone was afraid I'd cause trouble again. But I have no intention of creating any more problems. I only want to continue living quietly... like this.”
The moment she finished speaking, a log cracked sharply inside the fireplace.
Seated quietly on the edge of the bed, Varkas watched her face before a dry, humorless smile spread across his lips.
“So you came all this way... just to ask me that?”
His cutting tone made the fingers resting on her lap curl inward.
Even so, her eyes remained as tranquil as a bottomless lake.
“If it isn't too difficult... I'd appreciate it if you would reconsider. After all, I spend all my time inside the castle. There's no reason for someone like a senior knight from the Roem Knights to remain as my personal guard.”
The mocking smile faded from Varkas's lips as he stared at her.
The woman who had once declared she could never forgive herself now looked back at him with detached eyes, completely free of any lingering emotion.
For some reason, that fact grated on him.
He rose from the bed and walked toward her.
Her stiff fingers anxiously clutched at the folds of her skirt.
A bitter laugh escaped him.
“I never realized Your Highness was considerate enough to concern herself with the future of a mere bodyguard.”
His open sarcasm made the joints of her fingers turn white.
Avoiding his eyes, she quietly replied,
“I'm not worried about his future. I simply want to be free from unnecessary surveillance.”
Varkas searched her eyes relentlessly, trying to determine whether she was telling the truth.
She had always been difficult to understand.
Now...
He could not even begin to guess what she was thinking.
Running a hand roughly through his hair, he spoke.
“I didn't assign Edrick Rubon to watch you. That man...”
He fell silent.
He had nearly admitted that he wanted to leave at least one person beside her whom she might find approachable.
He refused to acknowledge aloud that Edrick had truly become a source of comfort to her.
Turning toward the shelf, Varkas uncorked a bottle of wine left there by the servants.
Picking up a silver goblet from the tray, he said gruffly,
“Very well. I'll give it favorable consideration.”
At his answer, the tension gradually melted from her shoulders.
“...Thank you.”
She murmured the words quietly before slowly rising to her feet.
She immediately headed toward the door without the slightest hesitation.
Watching her leave, Varkas let out an empty laugh as he poured wine into his goblet.
Then her soft voice came from behind him.
“You know...”
He turned back.
She stood awkwardly beside the door with one hand resting on the doorknob.
After struggling for a moment, she finally spoke.
“There's one more thing I'd like to ask.”
Varkas narrowed his eyes and tilted his chin, signaling for her to continue.
She fidgeted with the doorknob for a long while before finally saying,
“About Raina... If possible, could you let her continue living in Kalmor even after she's married?”
The hand lifting the goblet stopped in midair.
Studying her expression, Varkas frowned slightly before asking quietly,
“Did the retainers ask you to persuade me?”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“Nothing like that. I just... felt a little sorry for her.”
Varkas set the goblet down with a sharp clack before walking toward her.
The more impossible it became to understand her intentions, the more restless he felt.
“It seems you've become everyone's saint over the past few months.”
She flinched and leaned back against the door.
He stepped even closer, questioning her almost accusingly.
“Have you forgotten how rudely Raina has treated you all this time?”
“She... she's still just a child.”
Keeping her eyes lowered, she murmured softly,
“The worst she's ever done to me was gossip about me and insult me.”
Then, after a pause, she added almost in a whisper,
“And... I know why she's like that.”
Her next words were barely audible.
“She and I are... a little alike.
So...
I don't want to hate her that much.”
Varkas stood speechless, looking down at the crown of her head.
An awkward silence stretched between them.
At last, she opened the door and stepped into the corridor.
“I've said everything I came to say. I'll be going now. Get some rest.”
She turned toward the staircase.
Varkas instinctively started to reach out to stop her.
Then he slowly lowered his hand.
Her retreating figure gradually disappeared into the flickering light.
He watched blankly until she was gone, then quietly closed the door and sat back down in his chair.
Beyond the window, the night had deepened.
Taking a drink from the wine he had already poured to soothe his burning throat, Varkas leaned his head against the back of the chair and slowly closed his eyes.
He had a powerful feeling that tonight, too, he would greet the dawn trapped in another endless bout of sleeplessness.
* * *
Even after the engagement ceremony, the nobles who had remained at Laedgo Castle to strengthen their ties finally departed for their respective territories on the fourth day.
During that time, Varkas searched the southeastern region for a city suitable to entrust to Lucas and completed the formal process of granting it to him as a fief.
Using the ongoing war as justification to omit most of the cumbersome formalities, the administrative procedures surrounding the grant were completed without difficulty.
Not long after Lucas departed Kalmor with his men, Varkas also began preparing to return to the front.
There was no urgent need for him to leave immediately.
But having confirmed that she was living safely and peacefully, he no longer saw any reason to remain.
Just as she had promised, she was leading a quiet, peaceful life.
He had no desire to disturb it.
It was time for the unwelcome visitor to disappear.
Gathering his retainers, Varkas firmly declared that every authority belonging to the Grand Duchess would be fully restored.
Then, without delay, he led the cavalry toward the border.
Among the procession of armored horsemen following behind him rode Edrick Rubon.
“Are you certain it's all right to leave without even saying goodbye?”
Clad head to toe in the black iron armor that symbolized House Siorcan, Edrick rode closer and spoke.
Varkas answered only by digging his heels into his horse's flanks.
The heavy thunder of iron-shod hooves echoed across the sleeping land.