Chapter 113
“Prepare the funeral according to procedure.”
After confirming that his heart had completely stopped, Varkas gave the order in a calm voice.
Raina, who had been sobbing while clutching her father’s hand as it grew cold, lifted her head and glared at him.
She seemed to resent her elder brother for not showing any sorrow.
Compared to her, Lucas looked fairly composed.
Although his eyes were bloodshot, he seemed to have already prepared himself, and soothed his younger sister with a calm attitude.
“Stop crying now. Father must have gone to a good place.”
However, Raina’s sobbing did not easily subside.
In the end, Lucas wrapped an arm around her shoulders and went outside with her.
Only then did the waiting priests lower the curtains around the bed and begin washing the dead man’s body with water boiled with herbs.
Thalia silently watched the ceremonial scene, then, unable to overcome her fatigue, tugged at Varkas’s coat.
“Let’s go now. There’s no need to stay here any longer.”
A few people cast displeased looks at her, but Thalia paid them no mind.
Varkas, who had been looking down at his father’s cold face, nodded calmly.
“Let us go.”
Then he stepped into the corridor without delay.
Outside the bedroom stood the servants who had gathered to witness the Grand Duke’s final moments.
They all removed the hats from their heads at once and expressed their condolences.
Thalia carefully examined their expressions.
Judging by the fact that most of them looked gloomy, that eccentric old man must have been a fairly decent lord of the castle.
He had probably not been a bad father to Lucas or Raina either.
But for Varkas, surely, he had been an exception.
Thalia glanced sideways at his profile and cautiously opened her mouth.
“What was… that earlier?”
The man sent her a questioning look.
Thalia awkwardly continued.
“Your father said something strange earlier.”
“It was nothing more than the nonsense of a dying old man.”
Varkas spoke firmly, then lifted her up in one swift motion and climbed the stairs.
Thalia glared at him suspiciously.
“Why would he say nonsense like that?”
After a moment of silence, the man opened his mouth with a composed face.
“Your Highness must have heard the rumors about our family as well.”
“The rumor that the ancient Siarkan clan used the power of demons?”
At her blunt words, Varkas let out a dry laugh and calmly admitted it.
“In truth, among the Siarkan clan, there were sometimes those born with strange powers. My father believed I was one of them.”
Thalia’s eyes widened.
“Is that really true?”
A cynical smile returned.
“What do you think?”
She made an anxious expression.
Seeing her face, the trace of laughter vanished from Varkas’s lips.
“Regrettably, I have no abilities whatsoever.”
Before she knew it, they had arrived in front of the bedroom door.
Varkas pulled the doorknob and strode into the room.
Thalia shrank her shoulders at the cold air.
Seeing that, Varkas immediately set her down on the bed and wrapped a blanket around her shoulders.
A short while later, three or four servants poured into the room, lit the fireplace, and brought in trays of wine and food.
After the attendants, who had been moving around the room for a while, withdrew all at once, Thalia asked again.
“You really have no abilities at all?”
Varkas, who was taking off his coat and hanging it on the wall, turned to look at her and narrowed his brow.
After watching his expression for a moment, Thalia persistently pressed on.
“According to the rumors, Empress Bernadette could read other people’s minds…”
“They are all nothing more than baseless rumors.”
His tone grew sharp.
“She was merely a little more sensitive to the emotions of others than most people.”
Though she flinched at Varkas’s cold eyes, Thalia asked once more.
“Then you really can’t see anything?”
He stared intently into her face.
Thalia felt as though she understood why the dead old man had believed his son possessed some special ability.
His blue eyes, scattered with silver fragments, were like a living blade.
As those dagger-like eyes seemed to dissect every part of her mind, she stiffened, and Varkas suddenly let out a crooked laugh.
“Are you afraid that I might look inside you?”
Thalia flinched and lowered her eyes.
Varkas approached the side of the bed, seized her chin, and stared closely into her face.
“I am becoming a little curious as to what you have hidden in your head, for you to tremble like that.”
“Who said I was trembling!”
Thalia startled and slapped his hand away.
It could not possibly be true, but she broke into a cold sweat at the thought that he might actually be looking into her heart.
Varkas looked down at her with cold eyes and spoke dryly.
“Your head is safe, so do not worry about useless things.”
Then he turned away, as if he had no intention of continuing the topic any further.
“Have dinner first. If you are to attend the funeral ceremony tomorrow, you should replenish your energy sufficiently today.”
After giving that blunt advice, Varkas placed the tray of food beside the bed and walked toward the fireplace to build up the flames.
Thalia silently watched his back, then lowered her eyes to the tray.
Was it because she had grown used to him feeding her over the past few days?
Eating with her own hands felt a little empty.
As if to shake off that feeling, she picked up a small piece of bread and forced herself to bite into it.
Once her head cooled, she felt ashamed of her absurd suspicion.
There was no way he had any sort of affection for her.
If he did, there would have been no reason for him to feel pity or responsibility toward her.
If he knew how many long years she had been obsessed with him, he would surely be horrified…
***
As she had expected, on the day the funeral began, rain as cold as ice poured down from the sky.
However, from the next day onward, clear days continued.
Thanks to that, the previous Grand Duke of Siarkan was able to be laid to rest in the cathedral mausoleum east of Kalmor beneath dazzling sunlight.
After the family funeral was held in a reverent atmosphere, mourners began arriving one after another.
The envoys who had come from afar attended the grand funeral Mass, then stayed at Raedgo Castle for about a week before leaving.
The funeral of a great lord could last as short as one month or as long as three, and during that time, the castle transformed into a place of gathering where envoys exchanged ties.
And because of that, Thalia had to spend a grueling time there.
Dressed in traditional clothing of the East, Thalia leaned against the railing and looked down at the bustling hall with a fed-up expression.
She was using her health as an excuse to avoid banquets and funeral Masses, but she could not avoid showing her face to the guests altogether.
Reluctantly, she descended the stairs.
As she carefully entered the hall, taking pains not to reveal her limping gait, hundreds of pairs of eyes turned toward her.
Her heart dropped.
She no longer panicked as badly as before, but she was still uncomfortable with people’s gazes.
It remained the same even after she realized that most of them did not notice the flaws on her body.
She barely managed to form something like a smile on her stiff face.
“Everyone, thank you for coming all this way. Please stay comfortably before you leave.”
“Thank you for your kind welcome, Your Highness, Grand Duchess.”
A young man who had been looking up at her with entranced eyes responded in an excited tone.
Thalia tried not to reveal her discomfort and naturally turned away.
At that moment, someone subtly blocked her path.
“I hear the guests have prepared a special gift for Your Highness, Grand Duchess.”
It was Daren Dru Siarkan.
The man, dressed neatly in formal attire, naturally led her toward the banquet hall.
He seemed determined to drag her to the social gathering of the eastern nobles when she had been trying to flee after offering only a single greeting.
Suppressing the urge to shake off the hand touching her arm, Thalia gracefully crossed through the visitors.
When she stepped into the splendidly decorated banquet hall, Lucas and Raina, dressed in mourning clothes, came into view.
Only after seeing their gloomy faces did she remember that this chaotic mess was a funeral event.
Thalia swallowed a sneer and sat at the head of the long table.
As soon as Raina, seated a little distance away, saw her, she glared daggers at her.
Pretending not to notice, Thalia spoke to Daren in an indifferent tone.
“You said they prepared gifts? Bring them here.”
The man gave a bitter smile at her arrogant attitude and gestured to the servants.
Soon, an attendant came carrying a large box.
“This is an item prepared by Baron Basilar.”
Inside the box was fabric of a mysterious color, clearly made by the fairy race.
Gasps erupted here and there at the rare gift, whose value rivaled that of an entire castle.
The man who had presented the gift also looked proud.
However, Thalia felt no particular emotion.
Ever since her body had been scarred, she had completely lost interest in adorning herself.
Looking down at the box with a lukewarm expression, Thalia recited a formal word of thanks.
“Thank you. I shall keep it well.”
The baron’s face faintly stiffened, as if flustered by her dry response.
Pretending not to notice, she was about to rise from her seat when hurried footsteps came from outside the hall.
It seemed another distinguished guest had arrived from somewhere.
She let out a weary sigh.
At that moment, the breathless voice of the chief butler split through the hall.
“Your Highness, Grand Duchess, an envoy from the imperial palace has arrived.”
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