Chapter 91
Lucas snorted ostentatiously.
“Since when did easterners care about things like peace?”
“It is about time we started caring.”
A faint hint of warning appeared on Tyrone’s face. The mounted warrior, who was staring through him with narrow eyes, continued seriously.
“While His Grace has been bedridden, the East’s unity has visibly weakened. On the other hand, the Ziin have steadily expanded their power. If they decide to invade in earnest, the East will become a sea of fire in an instant. This is not the time to quarrel over trivial matters.”
Lucas erased the crooked smile from his lips.
“Aren’t you exaggerating too much? The Ziin are a headache, but we possess the most powerful cavalry army in the Empire. No matter how much strength those savages pushed to the border gain, they are still nothing.”
“Even that cavalry army is nothing but a disorganized mob without a powerful leader.”
Tyrone let out a frustrated sigh.
“While the Grand Duke has withdrawn from the front line, the lords across the East have each been growing their power. The warriors under them are loyal not to House Siar, but to their own lords. If by any chance those lords join forces and raise a rebellion, the East will split apart in an instant.”
At the repeated pessimism, Lucas’s mouth hardened.
He knew that some retainers were showing suspicious movements. But he had never once thought the situation was as serious as Tyrone said.
Lucas answered in a stiff tone.
“If the retainers plot rebellion, the Imperial Palace won’t just sit still. House Siarkan is also the Emperor’s vassal. Going against the Grand Duke’s house is no different from raising a rebellion against the Roem Empire.”
“You do not understand what I am saying.”
Tyrone clicked his tongue roughly.
“I am saying we must prevent a rebellion from happening in the first place. If the situation reaches the point where the Imperial Palace has to intervene, the East will already be a mess. Before that happens, discipline must be set right.”
Lucas could not find words to refute him and closed his mouth.
Tyrone, who had been looking at him with stern eyes, declared firmly.
“The inauguration of the new Grand Duke will become an opportunity to bind the East together again. As a member of House Siarkan, Young Master must also cooperate.”
“So in the end, you’re telling me to obediently follow Brother’s will.”
“Since you were born the second son, is that not unavoidable?”
Tyrone threw out a pointed remark.
Lucas quietly glared at him, then swung the reins to shake off the annoying nag.
He was only fifteen years old. He did not want to already concern himself with the complicated political situation of the East or his duties as the second son.
As if to show him, he spurred his horse.
As he raced across the grassland like an arrow, a vast pasture unfolded beneath the sun leaning westward.
Lucas stopped his horse at the top of the hill, looked around at the hundreds of horses leisurely grazing, then turned his horse’s head toward the large campsite nearby.
As he approached the large tent that appeared to be a meeting hall, a large-built man wearing a splendid coat ran out to greet him.
“Welcome! I have been waiting so long for you to arrive!”
He was a retainer of House Siarkan whom Lucas knew well.
Lucas lightly jumped down from the saddle and shouted cheerfully at the man.
“Kuhn Badera! It’s been a while.”
“It has been a while, Young Master Lucas. You have grown quite a bit taller.”
“You’ve gotten even fatter since I last saw you.”
The man laughed heartily and roughly ruffled his hair.
“That wicked way of speaking is still the same.”
The man, with a relaxed smile on his bearded face, suddenly looked around.
“By the way, where are the others? I heard the newly inaugurated Grand Duke would come with the mounted warriors…”
“They’ll arrive soon.”
Lucas pointed toward the hill and spoke indifferently.
“They kept nagging so much that I came ahead.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than hundreds of cavalrymen appeared along the ridge.
Kuhn Badera immediately instructed the servants to prepare to receive the guests.
Lucas also moved toward the hill to fulfill his duty.
Just then, Varkas stepped down from the travel carriage that had arrived before the meeting hall.
Lucas, who had been running over to attend him, suddenly stopped walking.
The Second Princess was in his brother’s arms.
Varkas, who was easily supporting the woman with one arm as she sagged as if completely exhausted, slowly looked around and asked.
“Where should we stay?”
Kuhn Badera, who had been staring blankly at the two of them, hurriedly ran over and bowed his head.
“I-it is an honor to meet you, Your Grace the Grand Duke. I am Kuhn Badera, the one who manages Your Grace’s horses.”
The man, stammering with a very tense face, turned and added.
“Please follow me. I will guide the two of you to the quarters where you will stay.”
Varkas pressed the woman’s head, which had drooped weakly, down onto his shoulder and followed the man.
Lucas hesitated for a moment, then followed after them.
The place the man led them to was a large tent located in the center of the campsite.
Inside the cone-shaped tent covered with tar-coated cloth were a large bed and luxurious furniture.
Varkas slowly looked around inside, then laid the woman on the wide bed and gave Lucas an order.
“You go call an attendant. There should be a quarter-dwarf among Her Highness’s maids.”
“…I understood that my duty was to attend Brother.”
Varkas, who had been lowering the canopy over the bed, let out a dry laugh as if baffled.
“And did I not just give you an order?”
“What Brother ordered me to do is a petty errand that servants would do. My duty is to manage Brother’s horse and weapons…”
“Your duty is to obey my orders without complaint.”
Varkas rose from his seat and strode toward him.
Lucas unconsciously stepped backward.
Varkas grabbed his shoulder with one hand, brushed back his messy hair, and continued slowly.
“Lucas, from now on, you will learn how to obey me. It is a virtue you should have learned from the time you began riding horses.”
Lucas stiffened like a mouse before a snake.
Varkas looked into his face with cool eyes and added calmly.
“If you talk back to me from now on, you will receive a corresponding punishment. Do you understand?”
Lucas swallowed dryly and slowly nodded.
Varkas soon gestured with his chin.
“Then hurry and bring the maid.”
Lucas immediately ran out of the tent.
It seemed this tour would not become a pleasant outing after all.
He walked with heavy steps, roughly messing up his hair.
***
The pain that had been pricking at her knees crawled up to her pelvis.
Thalia, who had been tossing and turning on the thick sheet, struggled to lift her dry eyelids.
An unfamiliar ceiling with flickering light filled her vision.
Thalia blinked, then slowly raised her upper body. Then suddenly, realizing that she was wearing only a thin linen dress, she flinched.
When she hurriedly felt her legs, she touched the bandages wrapped that morning.
Fortunately, it seemed only her outerwear had been removed.
Just as she let out a small sigh of relief, a faint sound of water came from nearby.
Thalia snapped her head around and froze when she found Varkas washing his face with his top removed.
He scooped water with his palms and swept it along the nape of his neck.
Clear streams of water slowly flowed down along the taut curves of his fine muscles.
Thalia stared blankly at the sight, then barely squeezed out her voice.
“W-what are you doing right now?”
Varkas, who had been rubbing his face with wet hands, turned his head toward her.
His wet, pale body filled her retina.
Thalia’s face turned bright red, and she hurriedly pulled the blanket up to her chest.
“Why, why are you half-naked! You pervert!”
Varkas looked down at her silently, then let out a heavy sigh.
“I cannot wash while wearing clothes, can I?”
“T-then why are you washing here…!”
As Thalia let out a shrill voice, she stopped breathing the next moment.
Varkas, who had leaned over the bed, had covered her mouth with one hand.
“Lower your voice.”
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