She looked at that sight, forgetting how to breathe.
Her wheat-colored hair, glimpsed here and there through the thick undergrowth, gleamed like pure gold in the torrential sunlight. The dazzling rays of light ran down her pearly face and clung like spiderwebs to her wet neck and collarbone.
Barcas had been frozen in a daze, but soon he weaved his way through the dense trees. Every time a wave of pure laughter echoed through the rustling of leaves, a shiver ran down his spine, as if struck by lightning.
She felt a strange thirst parching her throat as she passed the azalea bushes that obscured her view. Then, she caught sight of her, waist-deep in the silvery spring water.
He stopped walking and swallowed dry saliva into his tight throat.
She was wearing only a loose, cream-colored silk dress. The thin, damp fabric clung to her body like a second skin, revealing her delicate bone structure and voluptuous curves without filtering.
Before she could even begin to feel anger at that defenseless sight, a voice filled with joy once again rang through the air.
“Be nice, stay still!”
A woman with her slender arms stretched out above the water pulled the large wolf's head to her chest.
Only then did he become aware of the presence of a huge silver beast hidden in the bushes.
The wolf, its head poking out of the water, grunted softly and tilted back, as if resisting its master's touch. The woman, with both arms tightly wrapped around the wolf's neck, grabbed its ash-star-covered snout with one hand and began scrubbing its furry neck and face with a stiff brush.
The wolf's resistance grew a little stronger, as if he didn't like it.
She hugged the beast from behind as it tried to escape from the spring, its large body twisting under the water.
“No way!”
A playful, mischievous smile brightened her small, delicate face.
As he watched the scene in shock, as if he had been hit in the stomach, the blue eyes of the woman hanging on the wolf's large body happened to fall upon him.
Barcas watched with bitterness as the smile faded from her face and a tense tension settled over her.
The woman, her whole body rigid as if she had seen a ghost, quietly hid behind the wolf.
"I heard you'd arrive in four days..."
"I came back in a hurry because I heard there was a problem."
He answered in a voice completely devoid of emotion.
The woman, who had been looking anxious and somewhat flustered by his appearance, suddenly raised the corners of her eyes.
“There is no such thing as a problem.”
She wrapped her wet, snow-white arms around the massive wolf's neck and glared at him warily.
"I don't know who said what, but it's all lies. They're just trying to find fault with Khan to get him out..."
"Khan?"
The woman who had been raising her voice with an excited face flinched and closed her mouth.
A blush rose over her cheeks.
“His name is Khan."
She muttered, stroking the wolf's pointed ears.
Barcas let out a sigh of relief. His wife's audacity in giving a monster an Easterner's name made his head spin.
He gave instructions in a blunt tone.
"First, get out of there. Let's go back to the castle and talk."
The woman who had been peeking out with her eyes walked out of the water, led by a wolf.
He slowly scattered the huge beast that had climbed up first.
The gray dire wolf possessed an overwhelming physique that was hard to believe was a juvenile less than three years old. Long, strong legs filled with strength, a muscular, powerful neck, developed jaws, and even sharp teeth.
From head to foot, it seemed to be nearly six cubes (about 180 centimeters) tall, and its body length seemed to exceed seven cubes (about 210 centimeters). Considering that the last time he had been seen, he had been the size of a slightly large stray dog, his growth was astonishing.
'I thought there would be some exaggeration in the words 'It's as big as a stallion' or 'It's as big as a bull'.
It was rather strange that a beast of this size could roam the grounds without any problems.
He glanced down at the long, lush tail dripping with water, then back to the wolf's head. Then he met the hostile eyes staring back at him, and furrowed his brows.
The wolf had already lowered its upper body and was growling.
Feeling the urge to kill, Barcas immediately reached for the hilt of his sword. Just then, a woman emerged from the water and stood between him and the wolf.
“Don’t do that, Khan!”
Then she slapped the wolf's snout with her palm, which was baring its teeth.
He yelped at her dangerous actions and violently grabbed her wrist, pulling it away from the wolf. Then, just as he was about to scold her harshly, Thalia, soaking wet, filled his vision.
Barcas swallowed his breath without realizing it. Without even realizing it, his gaze slid down the perfectly rounded breasts, the pert belly, and the elongated, small navel, stopping at the triangle between her thighs.
At the sight of her almost naked body, his blood boiled, and an indescribable anger froze over him.
He cast a sharp glance at the guards standing some distance away, their backs turned. The mere thought that they might have seen her made his back ache.
“What about outerwear?”
The frozen woman, as if belatedly realizing her appearance, covered her chest with one arm and pointed to a tall tree next to the spring.
"I hung it over there."
He immediately snatched the robe from the tree branch and wrapped it around her body.
“Do you usually wear clothes like this?”
Then, when she asked her a question in a sharp tone, she blushed and answered curtly.
"I only took off my outer clothes for a moment to wash Khan. Anyway, if Khan is there, no one else will come near me."
"There might be people spying from afar."
"All those people got beaten up by Khan."
The woman who had been snorting loudly flinched, looked at him, and then added hurriedly.
"That doesn't mean Khan harmed anyone. He just scared them and kept them out of my sight."
Then she gently stroked the nape of the dire wolf's neck, which was quietly sitting behind her.
Barcas narrowed his eyes as he looked down at the wolf, its tail wagging at its master. The beast, with its murderous intent toward him, was as docile as a loyal hunting dog toward its master.
Just looking at its appearance, it didn't seem like it would pose any particular threat to her. However, one never knew when its characteristic monster aggression would come out.
He carefully pushed her back, keeping his guard up, ready to draw his sword at any moment. Then, the beast, feigning composure, bared its teeth again. Thalia, seeing this, raised her voice, her face flushed with confusion.
"Khan! That won't do. This guy..."
The woman, who had been desperately trying to calm the wolf, suddenly trailed off and examined his expression. She seemed to be fidgeting, worried that she might somehow avoid the wolf.
"Khan originally disliked men. I think it's because he remembers almost dying at the hands of soldiers when he was a baby. He's just acting like that out of fear..."
"Let's reserve judgment on this beast."
Barcas, who had interrupted her desperate defense, glared at the wolf with a cold gaze. The monster, too, was glaring at him with its piercing blue eyes.
Perhaps angry at making his master uneasy, the wolf seemed eager to bite his neck at any moment.
He gestured to her, holding the hilt of his sword ready to respond immediately if anything happened.
"Go ahead. You will tell me the details when we return to the castle.
"Khan, come here."
She gestured to the wolf with an anxious expression. He stood firmly between them.
"No, you go first."
Khan gets anxious when she's away from him.
"Until it is determined that this beast is truly harmless, it cannot be allowed near Your Highness."
Then, as if angry, the woman glared at him with a sharp gaze, and she shook his hand away, striding towards the wolf. Without giving him a chance to stop her, she opened the beast's mouth and thrust her hand inside.
"Look, even if I do this, he won't bite. He's just acting tough on the outside; he's just innocent."
Barcas felt his blood run cold, and with a single word, he grabbed her by the waist and hugged her tightly. The wolf, too, seemed startled by his master's sudden action, and backed away, hissing.
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