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Chapter : 257
“ Do you really intend to leave it as it is? “
As I approached the door silently, I heard a humming sound.
He pressed his head close to the gap in the door and peered inside. He saw a man with faded amat-colored hair sitting slumped on a velvet chair in one corner of the spacious study.
The middle-aged man standing in front of him spoke in a displeased voice.
Your Excellency, you are well aware of how dangerous monsters are. They may not pose much of a threat now, but in just a few years, they will become uncontrollably ferocious. You must take action before that happens .
“ Dorian. ”
The man, leaning back against the chair and looking at the parchment document in one hand, spoke in a low voice.
Do I have to repeat the same thing twice for you to understand ?
At the softly ringing voice, the shoulders of the man who had raised the issue stiffened.
He added in an indifferent tone as he turned the document.
“ I’ll say this one last time. Let her do as she pleases. ”
“ B-but……. ”
“ You’re going to get tired of it soon enough anyway. When that time comes, I’ll take care of it myself, so stop arguing about this matter. ”
The man, who had been hesitating for a moment, finally bowed deeply and slowly turned around.
He immediately stepped away from the door and hid behind a pillar. At the same time, the man walked out into the hallway.
Watching the receding figure of his retainer while remaining as silent as possible, he stealthily approached the door again. The man was leaning his head against the chair seat, lightly rubbing the space between his eyes with his fingers. He looked extremely exhausted.
He narrowed his eyes.
Was I really making that kind of face?
With his disheveled hair swept back and staring blankly into the void with weary eyes, the man’s face looked somehow empty and desolate.
It was only after seeing that sight that he could clearly recognize the true nature of the emotions he had felt at the time. Although he was unaware of it himself, that man was in pain.
Since leaving her, he had not enjoyed a single day of peace. However, she finally regained her peace only after he was gone. Just as she had promised that she would be fine if she didn’t see him.
The man’s empty eyes, which had been staring blankly at the ceiling, slowly turned toward the window.
He could tell what the man was thinking as he gazed at the moon. He must be reliving the memory of the time he held her in his arms.
The man, who had been leaning against the armrest of the chair and gently rubbing his temples, finally stood up.
He immediately hid himself. After a while, when only the sound of the wind rattling the window frame echoed, the man’s footsteps faded into the distance. He seemed to be heading to the bedroom connected to the study to rest.
After holding his breath for a while, he cautiously pushed the door open and stepped into the study. The dim outlines of the study, where darkness had settled deep, filled his wide field of vision.
He retracted his claws and silently crossed the room to the desk.
True to his controlling and obsessive personality, the desk was perfectly organized. Running his eye across the smooth wooden surface where not a single speck of dust could be found, he soon pushed his head deep under the desk and pulled the hook on the secret storage compartment installed inside.
A faint rattling sound echoed from the tightly interlocked lock. It wasn’t unbreakable, but leaving any trace of damage might cause a huge uproar.
He extended the tips of his claws and carefully turned the clockwork mechanism on the metal plate attached to the drawer. Handling a delicate mechanical device with a beast’s paws was more difficult than he had thought.
After dozens of attempts, he finally managed to open the drawer and pulled out a bundle containing dozens of keys. Then, he pushed the drawer back in with his head. The sound of the lock automatically clanking into place could be heard.
This drawer was where spare keys were kept in case the original ones went missing. Unless there was a special occasion, there was no need to check it, so it wouldn’t be discovered for a while.
He tiptoed out of the study with a bunch of keys in his mouth.
It was quite a long time after she returned to her chambers.
He entered the room carefully, making sure not to make any noise, and after examining her sleeping face, he tucked the bunch of keys under the bed.
This key was a kind of insurance. With this alone, I would be able to evacuate her from the castle before the Zrams invaded. I could use the emergency passages provided in the castle, but the more means of escape the better.
He crawled under the bed and pushed the key as deep as possible, then crawled back out and placed his feet on the bed. Then, realizing he was covered in dust, he turned toward the chair by the window.
As he leaped onto the velvet cushion, the full moon bathed in a blue glow outside the window came into full view. The memory of holding her in his arms in the moonlight came vividly back to life in his mind as well. Had he ever been as happy as he was then?
[Maybe I just wanted to reclaim the happiest moment of my life.]
A phrase written in her diary suddenly flashed through my mind.
Perhaps that day was the most brilliant moment of his entire life, for him as well. He was only able to realize this fact after everything had passed.
Looking up at the moon in agonizing pain, he turned his head back toward her.
She would never be able to obtain the happiness of that day again, but there was still a chance for her.
She must be happy again.
It must be done that way.
* * *
I heard that the Grand Duke is leaving for the northern border region again sometime next week .
Tiuran, who was applying peppermint oil to her legs, cautiously began to speak.
Thalia, who had been lying on the bed and repeatedly stroking Khan’s soft fur, flinched and froze. Pretending not to notice, Tiuran continued speaking nonchalantly.
It seems the conflict in the North is escalating. They said that he might not be able to return until the tail end of the Windy Season .
“ ……Who asked? ”
Thalia snapped back curtly and snapped her leg out of her grasp.
Tiuran, who had been staring blankly at her face, wiped his hands on a clean wet towel and added as if nothing were wrong.
“ I heard that a light farewell banquet will be held this evening. I mentioned this because I thought it might be nice for Your Majesty to make an appearance. I apologize if this was presumptuous interference. ”
She sat up in bed without saying a word. Khan, who had been lying pressed against her side, also sprang up.
Thalia, holding the wolf that was growing heavier day by day in her arms, slipped her foot into her slipper and spoke curtly.
I feel stifled. I’m going out for some fresh air .
I will accompany you as well .
She walked toward the door without pretending to hear. However, when she saw no sign of Tiuran chasing her, she snapped her head over her shoulder and shouted irritably.
“ What are you doing not following me! ”
The woman, smiling sweetly, picked up a summer robe and draped it over my shoulders.
“ How about heading out toward the outer wall today? I hear the warriors are holding a promotion match. It should be quite a spectacle. ”
Why bother watching something so barbaric and noisy ?
It is said that His Excellency the Grand Duke will also be attending .
Thalia glared at her with an annoyed look. At some point, the healer’s attitude, which seemed to see right through her, began to feel hateful.
She muttered with a sullen face.
I ‘m just going to show my face from afar and come back .
Tiuran smiled and gently adjusted the gown draped over her shoulders.
Thalia left the room with Khan tightly clutched to her chest. As she went down the stairs and exited the fortress, the hot sunlight stung her retina.
She crossed the lush garden, breathing in the muggy air mixed with the scent of grass and flowers.
After traveling a short distance along the straight path, a deafening roar struck her ears. Startled and flinching, Thalia soon passed through the castle gate and stopped on a stone staircase overlooking the vast training ground. She could see hundreds of men swarming around a circular fence on one side of the open space.
Thalia’s eyes widened at the sight of them with their bare chests clearly exposed, wearing only a thin tukka loosely draped over their bronzed upper bodies.
The promotion match at Roem Imperial Castle was conducted solemnly according to the procedures befitting chivalry. All the knights entered the duel fully and heavily armored in plate armor, and the spectators also took their seats dressed in formal attire.
However, the warriors of the East seemed to be undergoing the test in a completely different way. The men, having unarmed themselves, boldly stepped into the training ground and soon began punching each other.
Thalia flinched and took a step back.
“ W-what on earth is that doing? ”
It is bare – handed combat. It is the oldest way Eastern warriors test their martial skills .
Thalia gaped blankly at the unimaginably barbaric sight.
Just then, a man with a burly build struck the opponent’s jaw with a hand heavily wrapped in bandages. As the fatal blow caused the man to stagger, the man seized the opportunity, kneed him in the abdomen, and mercilessly twisted one of the sparring partners’ arms behind their backs. Loud cheers erupted from all directions at the horrific sight.
Thalia quickly covered Khan’s eyes.
“ Terrible! To think that’s a promotion match, with such barbarism and ignorance…! ”
Thalia, who had been pouring out scathing criticism, suddenly fell silent. She had spotted Barcath among the men swarming around the fence.
He, too, was wearing nothing but a single black silk tunc loosely draped over his bare shoulders. While I was staring at him with my mouth wide open, Barkas took off the garment he was wearing, handed it to the squire, and leaped over the fence.
Thalia involuntarily took a deep breath. Under the intense summer light, Barcas, with his upper body exposed like a marble statue, had strode forward toward a man with a much more burly physique than herself.
