Chapter 163
“I-I don't know the details either...”
The maid trailed off with a flustered expression before awkwardly continuing.
“I heard that because of the conflict, His Grace has to remain stationed along the Valto border for the time being.”
“For the time being... How long is that supposed to be...?”
Talia faltered, then bit her lip.
She had been the one who said she never wanted to see his face again. What right did she have to ask such a question?
She stared blankly at the flowers resting beside the bed, while the maid, cautiously watching her expression, hesitantly answered the unfinished question.
“I wasn't given an exact date... but I heard he doesn't intend to stay away from the castle for very long. As soon as circumstances allow, he'll be traveling back and forth between the castle and the encampment...”
Talia unconsciously let out a sigh of relief.
The moment she realized what she had done, a hollow laugh escaped her lips.
She was disgusted with herself.
Staring at the flower buds heavy with rainwater, she let out dry, empty chuckles before covering her burning eyes with the back of her hand.
The inside of her eyes stung as though they were being scorched.
She knew instinctively.
He had left because of her.
Instead of casting her aside, he had chosen to leave himself.
'Why...'
Only one question kept circling endlessly through her mind.
Why are you going this far?
Even if he accepted the Emperor's proposal and divorced her, no one would blame him.
Their marriage had been forced from the very beginning.
She knew that as well.
Varkas had absolutely no reason to bear her resentment.
The fact that she had been left lame... the fact that they had lost the child...
All of it had been her own responsibility.
She knew she should have told him.
You did nothing wrong.
Everything terrible that has happened to me is because of myself.
So please... don't carry any guilt or responsibility.
Just abandon someone like me.
Everyone else does.
Even the people who brought me into this world did.
Then why are you...
Her chest ached as though it were burning away.
She couldn't shake the feeling that she was making some terrible mistake.
Yet she had no idea how to set it right.
She wasn't even sure she wanted to.
“Your Highness... are you all right?”
Seeing her vacant expression, the maid asked worriedly.
Holding her throbbing head, Talia weakly shook it.
“I'm fine. It's just...”
She looked at the maid through misty eyes before turning toward the rain-streaked window.
Only hours ago the rain had been falling softly.
Now it pounded mercilessly against the glass.
He's walking through that rain right now.
Perhaps...
Perhaps he hadn't gone very far yet.
Without even knowing what she wanted to do, Talia climbed out of bed.
The maid hurried toward her in alarm.
“W-What are you doing?”
“Bring me my coat.”
Her voice carried such unquestionable authority that the young maid, who had instinctively reached out to stop her, froze in place.
Talia coldly pressed her.
“Didn't you hear me tell you to bring my coat?”
Looking as though she were about to cry, the maid timidly returned carrying a thick overcoat.
Talia threw it over her loose linen dress and stepped outside.
The dim corridor stretched before her.
She limped forward.
A large shadow suddenly blocked her path.
“Where are you going?”
A young man clad in armor looked down at her with a solemn expression.
He was the guard who had begun standing outside her room like a jailer ever since the day she had secretly escaped the castle.
Fixing him with an icy stare, Talia mocked him.
“Did His Grace order you to keep me imprisoned inside my bedchamber?”
“His Grace ordered that I never take my eyes off Your Highness, the Grand Duchess, and that I protect you at all times.”
For a moment, Talia's expression darkened.
Then she arrogantly snapped back.
“Then follow those orders and escort me. Don't presume to stand in my way.”
She started toward the staircase.
The man stepped in front of her again.
“That depends entirely on where Your Highness intends to go.”
His gaze remained unwavering.
“You may go anywhere within the castle freely. However, if you intend to leave the grounds, you must first obtain His Grace's permission.”
Talia glared at him furiously.
The young soldier did not budge.
“I'll ask again.”
“Where do you intend to go?”
“I...”
She almost said that she intended to go to Varkas.
Then she closed her mouth.
She herself had been the one who pushed him away.
What could she possibly say if she chased after him now?
Was she going to selfishly demand that he remain silently by her side, even if it meant becoming even more politically isolated than he already was?
All her resolve drained away in an instant.
“I... want to go up onto the castle wall.”
The soldier frowned suspiciously before reluctantly stepping aside.
After all, he had just declared that she was free to go anywhere inside the castle.
He had no justification to stop her.
Talia descended the stairs without hesitation.
She could feel the maid and the guard quietly following behind her, but she never looked back.
As she crossed the vast inner courtyard, countless anxious eyes followed her, fearing that the Grand Duchess might suddenly flee beyond the castle walls again.
Ignoring them all, she climbed the rain-slick stone steps.
A gray grassland swallowed by a curtain of rain spread before her.
The soldiers' procession had long since disappeared.
She walked to the battlements and silently gazed across the windswept fields lashed by the storm.
Unable to bear the sight any longer, the maid cautiously spoke.
“Your Highness... at this rate you'll catch cold. Please come back inside...”
Talia quietly studied the girl's pale face, realizing she was standing in the rain only because of her.
Then she slowly turned toward the stairs.
At that moment—
A mournful cry drifted from somewhere nearby.
She froze.
At first she thought she was hearing things again.
Only after seeing the maid's startled expression did she realize the sound was real.
“What is that?”
“Looks like the hunters caught some kind of young beast.”
At the maid's question, the soldier glanced toward the rear garden and answered indifferently.
“Don't worry about it. Let's go.”
Pretending not to hear him, Talia walked toward the source of the cries.
Following the passage atop the castle wall, the frightened, piercing wails gradually grew clearer.
For some reason, her heart became increasingly restless.
Almost running now, she hurried down the staircase leading into the rear garden.
A short while later, she found five or six armed soldiers gathered among the trees and thick shrubs behind the castle.
They had been throwing something into a shallow pit.
The moment they noticed her, they stopped.
“Your Highness, the Grand Duchess... what brings you to a place like this...?”
One of the soldiers hurriedly bowed.
Ignoring him, Talia approached the pit.
Three or four dark-colored wild dogs lay limp in the mud.
She stared at them before sharply asking,
“What are you doing?”
“We were disposing of Dire Wolf pups.”
The bearded soldier answered gruffly.
“Those damn beasts killed more than a dozen of the Grand Ducal House's horses over the course of last winter. Looks like they finally managed to breed, because we found a litter of fat little wolf pups wandering through the forest. We were just going to kill them, but figured we might harvest a magic stone...”
With a heavy sigh, he picked up one of the limp wolf cubs and tossed it into the pit.
“But they were still too young. Even after cutting them open, there wasn't anything inside. So we're just burying them.”
With a splash, the tiny corpse disappeared beneath the muddy water.
Talia instinctively staggered backward.
The crying, which had briefly fallen silent, rang out once more.
She whipped her head around.
A soldier was pulling another gray bundle of fur from a large sack.
He pressed a knife against the little animal's neck.
Without thinking—
Talia threw herself forward.
The startled soldier cried out as he was knocked onto the ground.
Ignoring the stunned man staring up at her, she rushed past him and scooped up the small gray animal lying on the ground.
Its heartbroken cries stopped as though they had never existed.
Talia carefully examined the rain-soaked gray wolf.
Beneath eyelashes as white and soft as down, pale blue eyes gazed back at her.
Within those eyes...
She saw tiny fragments of silver.
Her breath caught.
“What in the world are you doing?”
The escort who had followed her asked irritably.
Without even looking at him, Talia answered,
“I'm going to raise this one.”
She could feel everyone around her stirring in disbelief.
They were probably all looking at her as though she had lost her mind.
Perhaps she really had.
She didn't care.
Opening her coat, she gently wrapped the little creature inside.
The wolf never once took its eyes off her.
Finding an overwhelming longing reflected within those clear, tear-filled eyes, Talia gave it a tender smile.
“From now on... your name is Khan.”
The tiny ears covered in soft fluff twitched adorably.
Watching the little movement with joyful eyes, Talia buried her face in its damp fur and whispered,
“From now on... you'll stay with me forever.”