Chapter 206
Grabbing his cloak, Varkas moved to leave the room, brushing past her.
But the woman, who had stood frozen in a daze, suddenly seized the hem of his clothes.
"Khan didn't do anything wrong. I... I was the one who told Khan to attack Lucas. Khan only obeyed my orders. So if someone has to be punished, punish me..."
A pained gasp escaped her lips.
Only then did he realize he was gripping her arm so hard it felt as though he might snap it in two.
He loosened his hold.
Even so, the fingers imprisoning her arm remained rigid for several long moments.
He stared at her with eyes as cold as ice.
Everything he had endured throughout the summer to keep this woman from ending up on the executioner's block flashed through his mind.
He had destroyed evidence that worked against her, intimidated retainers into silence, and bribed priests—only barely managing to prevent her from ever standing trial.
The realization that she was about to render every one of those efforts meaningless filled him with overwhelming fury.
"Let's assume that's true. Why?"
She looked up at him with frightened eyes before biting her cracked, scabbed lips and lowering her gaze.
Varkas pressed her harder.
"What terrible wrong did Lucas commit against you that justified leaving him like this?"
The sound of her dry swallow echoed faintly.
She stared at the floor for a long time, as though unable to force herself to speak.
Finally, she squeezed out a broken whisper.
"...We were arguing... and I got carried away. I never imagined Khan would actually attack Lucas..."
Her voice trailed off.
Pressing his throbbing temple, Varkas let out a hollow laugh.
"And you call that an excuse..."
His bitter murmur made her shoulders tremble.
Looking down at her with complete indifference, he continued in a voice stripped of all emotion.
"Even if every word you said were true, it changes nothing. I warned you before, didn't I? If that beast ever harmed a person, there would be nothing I could do."
Her breathtakingly beautiful face crumbled into utter despair.
Looking directly into that grief-stricken expression, he enunciated every word.
"A direct member of the Grand Ducal bloodline has been gravely wounded. This isn't something that can be dismissed as an unfortunate accident. More importantly, I cannot allow a beast that has tasted human blood to continue roaming my territory."
A faint sob escaped her throat.
He took a step backward.
If he stayed in front of her any longer, he felt he would completely lose control.
Varkas immediately walked to the door and gripped the handle.
At that moment, a heavy impact struck his back as slender arms wrapped tightly around his waist.
His entire body froze as though paralyzed.
Clinging desperately to him, she lifted her tear-streaked face and cried out.
"No! Please, don't kill Khan. Khan is our child!"
His vacant gaze settled upon her.
As though she had completely lost her grip on reason, the words spilled uncontrollably from her mouth.
"Tiuran told me... a child who dies before receiving baptism is reborn as a beast... Khan... Khan is our child reborn. He came back to me as a wolf!"
Varkas's face twisted in agony.
Something inside his chest collapsed, stealing his breath.
Before he could even recover, she continued in a frantic torrent.
"It's true! If you just look into Khan's eyes, you'll know. Khan is our son. He's our son who never even got to take his first breath... he's come back to us. So please... please don't hurt our child..."
"Enough!"
His roar exploded through the room.
She flinched violently and released his waist.
Varkas leaned heavily against the doorframe, looking as though he might collapse at any moment, both hands covering his face.
His entire body shook uncontrollably.
Through trembling fingers, he looked at the wife who had fallen completely beyond saving.
Those deep blue eyes, drenched in tears, mercilessly tore at his heart.
An indescribable despair crushed down upon him.
He slowly closed his eyes.
How long he stood there simply trying to steady his breathing, he did not know.
Eventually, Varkas regained his composure.
Straightening himself, he spoke through clenched teeth.
"I've heard enough nonsense."
The light disappeared from her eyes.
Turning away from that empty gaze, where every last spark of hope had died, he grasped the doorknob.
"Remain confined to your room until Lucas regains consciousness. Once this matter is settled, I'll decide your punishment."
He threw the door open and gestured toward the soldiers waiting in the corridor.
"Take her back."
The soldiers immediately surrounded her.
Talia offered no resistance.
Her bloodless face remained lowered, staring blankly at the floor.
Leaving behind that hollow face from which even tears had dried, Varkas stepped into the corridor, now bathed in the deep crimson glow of sunset.
The sound of his own footsteps echoed with chilling clarity.
As though trying to cast off the countless heavy emotions weighing on his chest, he quickened his pace.
His shadow stretched long as he descended the stairs, slowly disappearing into the gathering darkness.
* * *
A hunting party was assembled immediately.
The mounted warriors, who had apparently spent the past ten days seething while Lucas hovered between life and death, gathered before the castle gates, burning with fury.
After selecting thirty men, Varkas led them out through the northern gate.
By then, the sun had already slipped beyond the horizon.
After briefly looking up at the sky, where purple was slowly giving way to deep indigo, he turned his gaze toward the birch forest still faintly illuminated by the lingering sunset.
That wolf possessed intelligence well above the norm.
It wouldn't be wandering around open fields or hillsides.
At the same time, he doubted it had fled far from Kalmor.
Its obsession with its master ran far too deep.
It would still be lingering somewhere near the castle.
Leading his men across the plains, he headed toward the Armund Forest.
Not long afterward, they reached the forest's edge as blue darkness gradually settled beneath the trees.
"From here on, spread out and search separately. Move in groups of three. The moment anyone finds it, send a signal."
No sooner had the order been given than the knights carrying torches dispersed throughout the forest.
He motioned toward Beirof and Regen as well.
"I can manage alone. The two of you search the northern side."
"But..."
Beirof started to protest before quietly closing his mouth.
After years of fighting beside Varkas on countless battlefields, no one knew better than he did that the man required no protection.
With a quiet sigh, he turned his horse.
"If anything happens, send us a signal."
Without replying, Varkas spurred his horse forward.
Torches flickered among the dense trees, scattering points of light throughout the forest.
Leaving behind the sounds of horses neighing and fallen leaves crunching beneath hooves, he rode through the darkness where icy winds howled.
Then a foul, metallic scent drifted through the air.
It did not take long to discover its source.
The mangled remains of a beast lay half-buried beneath fallen leaves, its flesh almost completely stripped away, the stench of decay rising from the carcass.
'A wild boar?'
No.
Judging by the unnaturally massive skull, it appeared to be a dire boar.
He carefully examined the bones, shattered as though crushed between enormous jaws, before lifting his head to scan the darkness.
The smell of fresh blood still lingered.
Whatever had fed here couldn't have finished long ago.
He leaped lightly from the saddle and carefully inspected the ground.
Though the creature had deliberately erased its tracks, leaving no footprints in the damp earth, Varkas could still detect an unusual scent hanging in the air.
Every sense in his body suddenly tightened to an unnatural degree.
Guided by an instinct he couldn't explain, he walked swiftly into the deepest shadows of the gloomy forest.
Then—
A rustling sound came from somewhere ahead.
He drew the bow from his back.
In one fluid motion, he snatched an arrow from the quiver at his waist and drew the string.
At almost the exact same instant, the silhouette of an enormous beast emerged from the dense undergrowth.
Without the slightest hesitation, Varkas released the arrow.
The beast instantly darted behind the trees.
But the arrow, flying as swiftly as the wind, had already pierced straight through its hind leg.
A deep, savage howl split the night.
Its enormous body staggered under the impact.
Yet it regained its footing almost immediately and bolted deeper into the forest.
Varkas vaulted back onto his horse without losing a heartbeat, weaving between the trees with almost acrobatic precision.
The countless obstacles obscured his vision, but striking a beast the size of a calf was easier than hunting a rabbit or a small bird.
He fired arrow after arrow at the fleeing creature.
Several shafts buried themselves in its ribcage and flank.
This time he had clearly struck vital areas.
Yet instead of slowing, the wolf charged even more ferociously through the forest.