"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 flax-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 right 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?"
The man who had raised a complaint flinched and stiffened at the softly ringing voice.
He added in an indifferent tone as he turned the document.
"I'll say this one last time. Let her do as she pleases."
"Hah. But..."
"She's going to get tired of it soon anyway. When that time comes, I'll take care of it myself, so don't argue about this anymore."
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 quietly walked back to the door. The man leaned his head against the backrest and rubbed the space between his eyes with his fingers. He looked extremely weary.
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 he 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 settled down by the window.
He could tell what the man was thinking as he gazed at the moon. He must be retracing 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, his desk was perfectly organized. Running his eye across the smooth wooden surface, where not a speck of dust could be found, he soon slid his head deep under the desk and pulled the handle of the secret storage compartment installed inside with his teeth.
A faint rattling sound leaked from the tightly interlocked lock. It wasn't unbreakable, but leaving any trace of damage would cause a huge uproar.
He raised the tips of his claws and carefully turned the clockwork mechanism on the metal plate attached to the drawer. Handling delicate machine parts 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. He heard the sound of the lock automatically clicking into place.
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 he returned to her chambers.
He entered the room carefully, making sure not to make any noise, and after examining her sleeping face, he slid the bunch of keys under the bed.
This key was a kind of insurance. With this alone, he would be able to evacuate her from the castle before the Zrams invaded. He could use the emergency passages provided in the castle, but the more means of escape he had, the better.
He crawled under the bed, pushed the key as deep as possible, then pulled himself 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 view. The memory of holding her in his arms in the moonlight came vividly back to life in his mind, too. 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 his mind.
It occurred to him that perhaps those moments spent with her were, for him as well, the most brilliant time of his entire life. The fact that he could only realize this after everything had passed tormented him even more.
Looking up at the moon in agonizing pain, he turned his head back to her.
He would never be able to obtain the happiness of that day again, but there was still a chance for her.
She will be happy again.
It must be so.
***
"I heard that the Grand Duke is leaving for the northern border region again in the next few days."
As she applied peppermint oil to Thalia's legs, Tiuran 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 he might not be able to return until the very end of the Windy Season."
"...Who asked?"
Thalia snapped back curtly and snapped her leg out of Tiuran's grasp.
Tiuran, who had been staring blankly at her face, wiped her 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 Highness 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 to his feet.
Thalia, holding the wolf growing heavier day by day in her arms, slipped her foot into her slipper and spoke clearly.
"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 turned 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 her shoulders.
"How about heading out to the outer wall today? I heard the warriors are holding a promotion match. It should be quite a sight."
"Why bother watching something that 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 in front of a stone staircase overlooking the vast training ground. She could see hundreds of men gathered around a circular fence on one side of the open space.
Thalia's eyes widened at the sight of them, their bare chests fully exposed, with only a thin bunka loosely draped over their bronzed upper bodies.
The promotion match at Roem Imperial Castle was a solemn event conducted according to procedures befitting chivalry. All knights engaged in the duel were 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. Men who had fearlessly charged into the training grounds without weapons soon began throwing punches at one another.
Thalia flinched and took a step back.
"Hey, what on earth is that doing?"
"It is bare-handed combat. It is the oldest way Eastern warriors compete in martial arts."
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, snatched one of his sparring partners' arms, and mercilessly twisted it behind his back. Loud cheers erupted from all directions at the horrific sight.
Thalia quickly covered Khan's eyes.
"Horrible! How could they commit such a barbaric and ignorant act...!"
Thalia, who had been hurling merciless criticism, suddenly fell silent. She had spotted Barcas among the men swarming around the fence.
He, too, was wearing nothing but a single black silk tunic loosely draped over his bare shoulders. While she was staring at him with her mouth wide open, Barcas took off his jacket, 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.
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