Thalia involuntarily held her breath at the lyrics, which were like a spell.
Matching the increasingly violent beat of the drums, the women's voices soared even higher. The torches they held fluttered fiercely in the swirling wind, and hundreds of masks twisted grotesquely amidst the swaying light.
Gasping for breath, overwhelmed by the sight reminiscent of a pagan assembly, those roaming the field in a massive spiral soon poured out a majestic melody in unison.
Thalia, who had been watching the scene with an overwhelmed gaze, cautiously tugged at the hem of Tiuran's clothes.
"Is this... really okay? If the Eastern Church finds out, they might be branded heretics..."
"Heresy? It's just an old Eastern folk song."
Lucas, who had been following closely like a shadow, suddenly interrupted and rebutted.
"If we were to take issue with a traditional event that has been passed down for hundreds of years, the entire Eastern community would rise up in protest. The priests are well aware of this, which is why they are not making a big deal out of it."
The statement that it was not a major issue meant that it was not completely condoned either.
Thalia looked down at the hill again with a worried expression. Just then, she noticed several of the dancers breaking away from the procession and moving toward a large bonfire set up on one side of the flat ground. They appeared to be resting there, enjoying food and drink.
"Since we've come all the way out here, let's grab a drink. Everyone must be exhausted from walking all day."
Lucas pointed to where the people were gathered and made a suggestion. She waited a short distance away and glanced worriedly at the preferred guards.
"Shouldn't we go back to the castle before the sun sets?"
"Why are you suddenly acting like an obedient child?"
Lucas, with his arms crossed in front of his chest, leaned toward her and spoke provocatively.
"You said you have no intention of living to please others, right? Surely you aren't playing it safe out of fear of my big brother, who isn't even here, are you?"
"Who said I was scared? I just..."
Just as she was about to retort, Khan, who had been standing quietly beside her, suddenly bared his teeth at Lucas. He looked quite menacing, even though he was wearing a bunch of jewelry purchased at the market around his neck.
Startled by the ominous look, Thalia hurriedly wrapped her arms around the wolf's face.
"What's wrong all of a sudden?"
Khan immediately straightened his crumpled snout and lowered his tail. However, his two eyes, gleaming fiercely, remained fixed on Lucas.
Lucas, looking down at the wolf with displeasure, clicked his tongue softly and spoke.
"That guy is hostile toward me because you keep getting angry. So please tone down your temper and try to mingle naturally with the people around you every once in a while."
Thalia was about to flare up and spew venom at that arrogant advice, but she immediately shut her mouth. She was worried that, just as he had said, the hostile attitude she was displaying might be making Khan nervous.
She tried hard to soften her expression.
"Yes, my legs were starting to hurt anyway. Let's rest over there for a bit before we go."
Then, taking Khan, she went straight down the hill.
Before she knew it, the sun had noticeably set. Thalia took a seat at the edge where the warmth of the fire gently reached, looking around at the scene of hundreds of people bathed in the purple sunset, humming songs and raising their glasses. Just then, someone handed her a cup of wine as if they had been waiting for her.
"This is wine made from grapes harvested this year. Please feel free to drink as much as you like!"
A voluptuous woman who had shouted energetically scurried over to hand out drinks to others.
Thalia examined the glass with a suspicious look, then handed it to Lucas as if pushing it onto him.
"You drink to your heart's content."
"Don't do that; at least have a taste. I heard the grape harvest was exceptionally good this year."
"I told you to get out of here! How would I know what's inside..."
Thalia, who had been raising her voice in irritation, suddenly fell silent. She had noticed Khan glaring at Lucas with a fierce look.
Worried that her reaction might actually provoke Khan's aggression, Thalia forced a smile and brought the glass to her lips. Along with the intense scent of fruit juice that was enough to numb her nose, strong sour and sweet flavors tingled from the tip of her tongue all the way down to her throat.
Since she didn't feel any particular aversion, she swallowed a few more sips of the sweet, unfermented drink down her throat.
Was it because of the surreal atmosphere of the festival? As her nerves gradually relaxed, the tension slowly drained from her stiff shoulders.
She tightly hugged Khan's soft body, who was sitting right beside her, and gazed at the blazing fire.
Khan rubbed his head against her neck and shoulder, letting out a pained groan as if in pleasure. As she held Khan tightly in her arms and playfully stroked his twitching ears, Tiuran, who had settled down right beside her, wrapped a piece of cotton bought at the market around her shoulders.
"It's getting chilly now that it's evening. Please cover yourself with this."
"...Thank you."
Thalia raised her glass up to the bridge of her nose and gulped down all the remaining wine.
At that moment, the song coming from the field surged into an even more passionate melody.
A scream echoed at the entrance of the forest
In the dry land
A river of blood flows
our mother
The wounded earth
Your song on this land
Will it repeat forever?
All the trees in the Armund Forest
The day it becomes a pillar of ice.
May everything be restored
May everything be restored
As they repeated a refrain akin to a spell, they returned to the first verse and continued the waltz.
Suddenly, she was struck by a shiver for an unknown reason.
As she watched the Easterners' dance moves with a look of mixed fear and strange excitement, Tiuran, who had been silently sipping wine for a while, quietly opened her mouth.
"This song embodies an ancient legend of the East. Long ago, the Easterners believed that Garkash, the monster who ruled this land, fathered their ancestors through a union with the earth spirit Tiramer. Garkash was completely annihilated by feeding his own flesh and blood to his newborn offspring, and Tiramer is said to have fallen into a long slumber in the Armund Forest, deeply wounded by the labor pains that lasted for a hundred days."
She pointed to the forest at the edge of the field.
"The ancient Easterners believed that Tiramer's bones had pierced through the earth to form that vast birch forest. They believed that on the day those trees all turned into cold pillars of ice... a new world would come where no pain or sorrow existed."
"... You don’t actually believe that legend, do you?"
Thalia whispered softly. The surroundings were so noisy that it seemed unlikely their conversation would be heard outside, but she was still worried that Tiuran might get hurt.
As if reading her mind, the healer's eyes curved gently.
"That is impossible. I am merely telling you this story in the hope that Your Highness will come to know this East a little better."
Thalia gazed quietly at Tiuran's face, surrounded by light. This was already the third time she had told her about Eastern folklore. There was a strange depth to the stories she told, too profound to be mere amusement.
“Perhaps you…”
Thalia, who had been giving a suspicious look, swallowed the accusatory words rising to her throat the next moment.
Even if Tiuran is steeped in superstition, is that really such a grave mistake? If one could punish someone for what happens inside their mind, she would have been executed hundreds of times over.
Thalia stealthily lowered her gaze to Khan. Come to think of it, wasn't believing that a stillborn child had turned into a wolf and come to meet her also far removed from doctrine?
As she gazed intently into Khan's jewel-like eyes shimmering with light, she shifted her gaze to the meadow sinking into the bluish evening light. In the wind blowing across the fields, the deep scent of grass, wildflowers, and the dry smell of gas faintly mingled.
Thalia, who had been taking a deep breath of it, suddenly turned her head. A strange sound was heard coming from the Armund Forest.
It took quite a while to realize that it was the howl of a beast. Thalia, who had been quietly listening to the sound that echoed mournfully like a song, felt her nose sting for no reason and buried her face in the nape of Khan's neck.
The thought crossed her mind that perhaps someone was missing a loved one.
***
From that day on, she often began taking Khan out of the castle to stroll in the fields. In just a few months, Khan had grown much larger than an average hunting dog, making it difficult to keep him confined to the castle.
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