Chapter 102
His tone was as ordinary as if he were saying he would go out for an evening walk.
Thalia raised the corners of her eyes.
“A light subjugation?”
Varkas, who had been handing a leather pouch filled with gold coins to the man who seemed to be the administrator, looked down at her. As if sensing that her mood had twisted, a faint sigh slipped between his tightly closed lips.
“There was a report that raiders have set up camp in this area. They say the base is not very large, so we should be able to return around sunrise.” Do you really have to go too?
Thalia, who had been about to say that, became aware of the dozens of pairs of eyes watching her and pressed her lips shut.
Anxiety boiled inside her stomach, but she did not want this utterly indifferent man to notice how restless she was because of him.
She knocked away the hand resting on her shoulder and snapped coldly,
“What does it matter to me when you come back? I want to rest, so just show me to my lodging.” From across from them, she heard the administrator suck in a startled breath.
But Varkas himself showed no particular reaction. He turned his head back toward the administrator and asked,
“Where is the lodging?”
“Ah... This way, please.”
The man hurriedly began walking ahead.
When they followed him, a modest stone building appeared.
The administrator stepped inside and continued explaining in a stammer.
“This building was originally used as an official residence, but when we heard that Your Grace would be visiting, we emptied it and cleaned it thoroughly. Here, you may use this room.” He carefully opened the large door located at the innermost side.
Thalia looked around the dim bedroom with uninterested eyes.
Unlike its shabby exterior, the interior was decorated rather cozily. It seemed to have been deliberately prepared for receiving guests.
The administrator watched her expression and cautiously added,
“If anything is lacking, please tell us right away. We will correct it immediately.”
“No, this is enough, so you may leave.”
Thalia, who had been examining the bed covered with thick sheets, said it with an arrogant lift of her chin.
The administrator, who had been watching Varkas’s mood, soon left.
Thalia took off her trailing robe, threw it aside carelessly, and flopped down onto the bed. Varkas, who had been watching her silently, approached her side.
Thalia deliberately ignored his presence and turned to the opposite side. If she saw his face, she felt she would end up saying something hateful again for no reason.
She groped for the blanket and pulled it up, saying curtly,
“I’m just going to sleep today, so tell Nanny I don’t need dinner.”
“Thalia.”
Thalia, feeling a dark shadow fall over her head, flinched and looked up. Varkas was leaning over her with one hand braced beside the pillow.
The sunset light that pierced through the window dyed one side of his face red. While she was staring blankly at that mysterious face, cool fingers settled on her forehead.
“Even if you are tired, do not skip your meal.”
“What does it matter to you whether I starve or not?” Thalia twisted her head away and coldly shook off his touch.
“Hurry up and go kill those raiders.”
A shallow crease formed between his brows. He seemed unable to even guess why her mood had soured.
Thalia pulled the blanket up over her head.
Before long, she heard him rise from the bed. At the sound of his footsteps moving away, anxiety suddenly surged.
He was a man who could easily defeat a giant twice his size. She had even seen him bring down a wyvern by piercing it with chains. A band of raiders would be nothing to him.
But there was nothing absolute in this world.
She sprang up and grabbed the end of his cloak.
He hesitated and looked back at her. She muttered in a voice that was almost swallowed.
“Be... careful.”
His eyes widened slightly.
Seeing him react that way to a single insignificant phrase made her heart sting.
She added harshly, as if trying to gloss over it.
“If something happens to you, my position will become precarious. So I’m telling you to protect yourself properly.” A subtle expression, one that seemed both like a smile and a frown, appeared on his face and vanished.
Thalia hid herself under the blanket again. Soon, she heard heavy footsteps.
“Do not worry. I will return shortly.” Varkas, bending over the bed again, carefully stroked her hair.
At the unexpected contact, her heart dropped.
For some reason, that gentle touch made her heart ache more than his passionate kisses.
A little while later, he left the room.
Thalia slowly lifted her head like a snail peeking out of its shell.
When she approached the window, she saw hundreds of soldiers waiting in front of the residence.
Before long, Varkas joined them. Thalia watched for a long time as he led the troops toward the outskirts of the village.
Even after his figure disappeared beyond the hill, she could not easily leave the window. Then, from outside the door, she heard a familiar voice.
“Your Highness, I have come to apply medicine.”
“......Come in.”
No sooner had permission been given than the healer of the Taren family entered.
Thalia limped over and sat in the chair placed before the fireplace. The woman knelt in front of her and carefully lifted the hem of her clothes as she asked,
“How is your condition?”
“It’s always the same.”
With practiced skill, she unwrapped the rolled bandages and carefully examined the ruined skin.
“In the end, the skin has started to fester. It would be best to leave the bandages off tonight.” Thalia glared at her with sharp eyes.
“No. Wrap it properly.”
“Today, His Grace the Grand Duke is away as well. There is no particular need to cover the scars......”
“Do you think I’m doing this because of Varkas?”
Thalia raised her voice sharply. The healer’s face stiffened in surprise.
Thalia glared at that tense face and muttered in a sunken voice,
“I hate seeing it. So wrap it properly.”
The healer let out a short sigh, then reluctantly took out a new bandage. After carefully spreading sticky ointment over the scars, she wrapped the bandage as loosely as possible.
“Does the medicine made by the practitioner from the East seem to be working?”
The woman, who had taken out a towel and was wiping the ointment from her hands, suddenly asked.
Thalia replied indifferently,
“It doesn’t seem completely ineffective. The medicine is so strong that my stomach hurts a little, but after I take it, my condition is better the next day.”
“Do you know what herbs are in it?”
“I was only told that it was made by mixing several herbs that replenish energy.” Thalia looked down at the healer with suspicious eyes.
“Why are you asking so many questions? Don’t tell me you think they might have fed me poison?”
“......Her Majesty the Empress instructed me to carefully watch over Your Highness’s body.” The healer cautiously began.
“And there are many people here who do not look kindly upon Your Highness’s presence, are there not? There is no harm in being careful.”
Thalia, who had been glaring at her with a hardened expression, coldly retorted,
“If they were going to feed me poison, they would have put it in food or a wine cup. Would they mix it into medicine when it would obviously be discovered right away?”
The woman fell silent with a thoughtful expression.
Was there something bothering her?
Thalia, wearing an uneasy expression, added as if being generous,
“If you’re that suspicious, I’ll leave a little of the medicine, so take it and check it.”
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