TFM 69

Chapter 69

***

As Varkas stepped onto the footboard, he narrowed his eyes and scrutinized her from head to toe.

A faint furrow appeared between his straight brows.

Before she had a chance to figure out why, he strode up onto the carriage, picked up the cloak that had fallen to the ground, and draped it over her shoulders. Then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, he tried to pick her up.

Talia jumped in surprise and pushed his shoulder away forcefully.

“I can walk on my own!”

Although the pain was returning in her knees now that the medication had worn off, she was sure she could manage a short walk without any trouble.

She tossed aside the cumbersome cloak and stepped down, careful not to expose her scar.

Just then, a firm hand gripped her shoulder.

“You’re going out dressed like that?”

A piercing gaze bore into her.

Talia, who had been hunching her shoulders, looked down to check her appearance.

It seemed the straps of her dress had come undone while she slept; her slender shoulders and upper arms were fully exposed. That wasn’t all. The deep neckline had slipped down to her cleavage.

Blushing, Talia hurriedly pulled the top of her dress back up.

Varkas, who had been silently watching her undignified state, let out a small sigh and draped his coat over her shoulders once more. This time, Talia did not refuse.

After tying the knot tightly around her neck, he lifted her effortlessly and carried her outside.

It felt as if she were a well-wrapped doll.

No. It wasn’t that cute. He was merely showing pity toward a cripple who couldn’t even walk properly.

Talia deliberately stabbed her own heart with cruel words.

Rather than letting him take every last shred of her heart, she thought it would hurt less in the long run to tear it open with her own hands.

“Sir, what should we do about the messenger from the East?”

Just as he reached the threshold, one of the men standing near the entrance spoke up.

Talia peeked at his face through the folds of her cloak. The man, with a bear-like build and eyes as sharp as an eagle’s, was glancing at her as well.

“Must I give instructions for every little thing?”

 Varkas pulled her cloak up over her head and spat out the words coldly.

“Find him a suitable place to stay and assign him an attendant. Have him come before me first thing tomorrow morning.”

Without waiting for a reply, he strode into the building.

As he crossed the vast hall and ascended the stairs, Talia pieced together the fragments of information she had gathered.

It seemed many were worried that this marriage would strain relations between the Crown Prince and the Shiokan family.

Senevere must have been busy cleaning up the mess behind the scenes while she was preparing for the wedding.

She must have had to placate Gareth, who was seething with betrayal, and explain to the conservative nobles, including the Marquis of Oristein, that she hadn’t turned against them.

Despite those efforts, people seemed unable to accept the sudden switch of brides.

In a way, it was only natural. Even Talia herself was beginning to suspect that this whole situation might be someone’s malicious prank.

“I’ll call someone to attend to you.”

Varkas, who had entered the room unnoticed, sat her down on a long velvet chair and said.

Talia glanced around the cozy bedroom before turning her gaze back to him.

Varkas was unbuttoning his ceremonial robe with one hand while pulling on the cord hanging beside the bed to summon a servant. Seeing this, her stomach clenched.

She cried out in a strained voice.

“I don’t need any attendants!”

Varkas glanced back at her over his shoulder, furrowing his brow.

Talia averted her gaze and lowered her eyes.

“Just call my nanny.”

“It’s too late now. I’ll bring her as soon as dawn breaks tomorrow, so please bear with me just for today.”

She immediately shot him a fierce glare.

“I won’t let anyone but my nanny attend to me. Since you brought me out here on a whim, you take responsibility and bring her back!”

A cold glint flashed in his blue eyes.

Talia clenched her fists so hard her bones ached.

He was the kind of man who had already decided exactly how much patience he would extend to her. She felt a wave of exasperation wash over her, and she wondered if he might just storm out right then and there.

But apparently, he still had some patience left in his daily quota, for he walked over to the doorway and summoned a servant.

“Send someone to the palace right now and bring back a quarter-dwarf.”

“Pardon? Right now?”

“Yes. Send the fastest person you have.”

Varkas slammed the door shut in the flustered servant’s face and shot a sharp glance at her, as if to ask if she was satisfied.

Talia averted her eyes.

Exhaling a long breath, Varkas picked up a robe from the shelf and handed it to her.

“Wear that until someone comes to attend to you.”

Talia immediately took it, draped it over her dress, and demanded in a voice that broke off in short bursts.

“You, get out now. I want to be alone until my nanny arrives.”

“This is my room as well.”

In an instant, her vision spun, and her palms grew damp with cold sweat.

She clutched the tightly fastened front of her dress and moistened her parched lips.

“A-all right, I’ll leave. Please show me to another room.”

“Your Highness.”

Varkas placed one hand on her shoulder.

When she barely managed to lift her head, she saw his blue eyes, cast in deep shadow.

“You were the one who agreed to this marriage.”

She looked up at his expressionless face with wide eyes.

So, you’re going to stay here? With me?

Her stomach clenched with fear.

She looked down at her aching knees.

She recalled Senevere’s gaze as she stared at her scar. Her mother’s dark eyes, which had looked at her as if she were something repulsive, soon shifted to Varkas’s silver-blue eyes.

Before she could control herself, a jumble of words burst from her mouth.

“Then… then, let’s just call it off. How am I supposed to share a room with you? I just… ...I married you just to torment you. You married me because the Emperor ordered you to, didn’t you? You don’t want to be with me either. So, let’s just pretend none of this ever happened and……………”

“Talia.”

He knelt before her, cupped her cheeks, and brought his face close to hers.

Talia met his gaze as if she were trapped.

Her pale, sweat-drenched face was reflected in his beautiful eyes, scattered with silver flecks. The voice, as if scraped by something, flowed from his lips.

“I won’t do anything to you.”

“….”

“It’s just for tonight. I’ve already bribed the priest, but I can’t stop every single servant from talking. At least for the first night, we have to share the same bedroom.”

Her heart, which had been pounding uneasily, gradually returned to its normal rhythm thanks to his calm demeanor.

Talia bit her lip and nodded.

Once he was sure she had calmed down, Varkas slowly stood up.

Talia watched his movements with eyes that hadn’t quite shed their wariness.

He tossed aside his rain-soaked outer garment and sat down on a chair by the window, clad only in a thin shirt. His usually unflappable, sturdy physique sagged with fatigue.

A heavy sigh hung in the air.

A moment later, servants brought in a tray laden with food and drink.

Talia mechanically shoved a piece of bread into her mouth. Then, instead of a sleeping potion, she drank a cup of strong liquor.

As the alcohol took effect, her stiff muscles relaxed, and the pain subsided.

She poured more wine into the golden goblet and drank it.

After she had emptied a few more glasses, Varkas, who had been letting her do as she pleased, snatched the wine bottle away.

“Please stop now.”

Talia jumped up from her chair to retrieve the wine bottle.

But her legs, already weakened, had turned to jelly under the influence of the alcohol.

She staggered as if she had no bones. Varkas scooped up her swaying body and laid her flat on the bed.

Even in her drunken stupor, Talia checked her skirt first.

Varkas, who had been watching her with shadowed eyes, pulled the blanket up over her shoulders, then walked to the window and drew back the curtains.

The sunset, deepening from crimson to purple, flooded over him.

Watching his sturdy shoulders turn a reddish-bronze, Talia blinked slowly.

Even in the fiery sunlight, he looked chillingly cold.