Thalia, who had been wearing a blank expression at the preposterous story, soon let out a hollow laugh.
"Don't talk nonsense. How can a five-year-old take on three men? No matter how outstanding Barcas's physical abilities are..."
"The soldiers who were in charge of the guard at the time are still on duty at Raedgo Castle. They witnessed it with their own eyes."
Tiuran, after looking around for a moment, came close to her and whispered in her ear.
"I heard that when the search party found the young Grand Duke, he was lying in a pool of blood. And around His Excellency the Grand Duke, there were three corpses scattered, torn to shreds as if they had been mauled by beasts."
A chilling breath, like a night breeze, tickled her earlobe.
She continued speaking calmly.
"On the other hand, I heard that His Excellency the Grand Duke did not have a single scratch on his body. However, his two hands were said to be completely stained with blood."
Thalia flinched and stepped to the side. A faint glint of wariness flickered in her eyes as she looked at Tiuran.
"Why are you telling me that?"
"I thought that if Your Highness the Grand Duchess were to continue living here, you needed to know every detail about the Sheerkhan family."
Tiuran replied in her usual calm tone and turned toward the window. As she opened the shutters, the scent of dry grass swept into the room along with a cold breeze.
"The blood of the cruel Great King who once struck terror into the continent of Robiden flows through the veins of the House of Sheerkhan. That wild spirit is deeply rooted even among the people of the East. While most of the Khans adhere to the state religion of the Empire, deep down they have not been able to completely shake off indigenous beliefs passed down from ancient times. Your Highness must understand this if you wish to reign as the Grand Duchess of the East."
Thalia frowned.
Is this woman saying this because she sincerely wants me to be fully recognized as the Grand Duchess of the East? Or does she have another hidden motive?
Just as she was giving a suspicious look, someone rushed into the bedroom.
"Excuse me, Healer. Could you stop by my house for a moment? My daughter has suddenly lost consciousness."
A burly man approached and abruptly grabbed Tiuran's hand. Without showing any signs of panic, she calmly wrapped her other hand around the back of the man's hand.
"Calm down. I'll be right there."
Then, speaking apologetically to Thalia, who was standing a step back cautiously.
"I apologize for letting you wait so long. It looks like we will be running late, so please return to the castle first and rest."
"It’s fine. I’m going back with you, if only for the sake of having waited this long. Just hurry up and treat the patient."
"But..."
Tiuran, who was about to say something more, let out a small sigh and slowly turned around.
As Thalia followed her past the entrance, the figure of Khan standing guard by the door came into view. Thalia gently stroked the large wolf, which was flapping its bushy tail as soon as it saw her, and then stepped over the threshold.
Outside, a luxurious carriage, three or four guards, and the figure of Lucas standing with his back against the wall came into view.
"Are you all finished?'
"Not yet. She says she has to look after the neighbor's kid, too."
Thalia, who had replied curtly, informed her subordinate as if giving an order.
"You guys stay here until it's all over."
"The sun has already set. If my brother finds out that my sister-in-law has been wandering around private homes at this hour of the night..."
"You just don't have to say anything.'
Thalia snorted.
"You're the one who insisted on dragging someone out when they didn't want to. If I tell Barcas, they'll blame everything on you, so watch your step."
Then, taking Tiuran, who was looking down with a troubled expression, past the fence, she headed to the next-door neighbor's house.
Light was leaking out from inside a small hut with a low mud wall.
She slowly looked around at the timber and carts piled under the eaves, and the workbench heavily laden with planks, before shifting her gaze to the wooden house. Compared to the spacious yard, the house looked somewhat cramped.
Thalia, scanning the cluttered interior through the wide-open door, sat down on a chair placed next to the entrance.
“I’ll wait here.”
Tiuran, looking at her with concern, took off her robe and draped it over her shoulders.
"Then please wait a moment."
"Yes."
Thalia nodded, pulling her coat, which smelled of herbs and hay, up to her chin.
As she entered the hut, Thalia gently stroked the nape of Khan's neck, who was sitting close to her feet.
Khan leaned his head close to her face as if he had been waiting. She giggled, cupped the wolf's face in her hands, rubbed his twitching ears, and kissed his forehead.
A faint scarlet light emanating from inside the front door was beautifully coloring Khan's blue eyes. He gazed quietly at the golden fragments twinkling like stars inside, then was pulled up by a sudden gust of wind.
Her heart immersed in moonlight, the meadow stretching beyond, and the bluish silhouette of a birch forest bathed in a pale light faintly came into view.
It was a gloomy yet beautiful, desolate yet abundant landscape.
After gazing at the scene for a while, Thalia slowly shifted her gaze to the night sky. A bright full moon and stars resembling small glass shards filled the vast expanse of the sky.
As she looked up at the endless sky like someone facing the night for the first time in their life, Thalia rested her cheek against Khan's thick neck.
"I never knew there were so many stars on this earth."
As if in response to those words, a languid growling sound rang in her ears.
Thalia was swept up in an unfamiliar emotion. It was a strange sensation, feeling incredibly lonely yet her heart swelling with emotion.
She hunched her shoulders and exhaled a thick puff of breath.
Is Barcas also looking at this sky right now?
Suddenly, the image of him standing with his back to the moonlight came to mind.
The appearance, which seemed as solid and flawless as a shard of ice, soon turned into the image of a child submerged in a pool of blood.
As she imagined the confusion and fear a boy must have felt, banished from this beautiful land at the tender age of five, her heart ached as if it were being torn apart.
She didn't believe all the rumors, but it seemed clear that something terrible had happened.
Thalia looked back on the trajectory of the life she had lived.
A man who, not content with being treated like a monster by his father, was sent to an unfamiliar place and raised thoroughly as a tool for the imperial family and clan.
Perhaps she herself is another burden added to that desolate and barren life.
Thalia buried her face even deeper into the wolf's thick, soft fur.
She wondered how long they had been sitting there, exposed to the night breeze. Tiuran came out after finishing all the consultations.
"I apologize for keeping you waiting."
"I said I would wait, so what? Is the child okay?"
As she took off the coat she had wrapped around her and was about to hand it to her, Tiuran smiled gently and adjusted the collar for her.
"Please keep wearing it. The night air is quite chilly."
Then, wrapping one arm around her back, she led her toward the carriage. Tiuran seemed to have noticed that her lower back and legs were starting to ache.
Supported by Tiuran, Talia boarded the carriage and let out a long sigh as she settled into the plush seat.
As the tension released, the fatigue she had been suppressing surged in all at once. Thalia, holding Khan’s head close to her chest as he sat at her feet, drifted off to sleep before the carriage even started moving.
***
Taking that outing as an opportunity, Thalia began to frequently tour the city and the heart of the castle with her guards.
It was to firmly imprint her presence on the people of Kalmor and to ensure that they naturally accepted the Khan's existence.
As if such efforts bore fruit, at some point the residents of Kalmor began to take the sight of the Grand Duchess marching with a giant wolf for granted.
When she was making her way through the heart of the suburbs, young boys would follow Khan around, reaching out to touch her ears or tail, and occasionally some girls and women would muster the courage to present her with baskets filled with wildflowers or fruit.
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