With every nerve in his body on edge, he carefully observed every facial expression and gesture of the woman. The woman continued speaking naturally.
"It will take a few days to make the medicine. Once I get the new ingredients and start production, it should be by next week at the latest..."
"Thank you, but I'll have to decline."
Thalia firmly waved her hand.
"I'm not desperate enough to use that kind of medicine."
Only then did he exhale the breath he had been holding. However, the sensation that the blood in his body had turned cold still did not easily go away. He took a deep breath and carefully observed Tiuran's reaction.
With a faint smile on her lips, the woman looked at Thalia with eyes that seemed to adore a younger sibling. If that gentle expression was fabricated, she was undoubtedly a naturally gifted actress.
The woman added softly.
"Understood. However, please let me know anytime if you change your mind."
Then, she tucked the disheveled hair beside her face behind her ear. Seeing Thalia happily accept that touch, he felt a pain like a knife wound and an unbearable rage well up inside him.
Unable to suppress the murderous intent surging up like a wildfire, he violently pushed Tiuran away. The woman screamed and tumbled backward. As he approached her, baring his teeth ferociously, Thalia, who had been frozen in shock, lunged forward and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Khan!"
He reflexively stopped moving. However, his gaze remained fixed on Tiuran's face. As if reading the hostility in his eyes, the woman recoiled in fear.
Thalia pulled his ear hard and raised her voice.
"Don't do that, Khan! Why on earth are you acting like this?"
He did not budge even at the rough touch. Thalia shouted loudly when she saw him growling as if he were about to lunge at Tiuran at any moment.
"Don't just stand there, burn the sleeping herbs right now! The strongest ones!"
The hesitant woman hurriedly rose from her seat and threw a bundle of dried herbs into the fireplace. Almost simultaneously, the door burst open, and two guards standing at the entrance rushed in and restrained him. He instinctively twisted his body. Then, he stopped moving upon hearing Thalia's desperate voice, mixed with sobs.
"Please, please don't do that. Khan..."
Seizing the moment he hesitated, one of the guards wrapped chains around his hind legs. Meanwhile, another soldier pinned him to his side and held a knife to the nape of his neck. Seeing this, Thalia let out a tearing scream.
"Don't do that! If you hurt Khan, I won't let you get away with it!"
The guard flinched and stiffened. Thalia, who had been glaring at the soldier with teary eyes, wrapped her arms around his head as if to protect him and shouted to Tiuran.
"Bring me a sedative right now! The strongest one!"
Tiuran, who had been stiffening her body, immediately grabbed a vial of medicine from the shelf and ran over. Thalia snatched it from her and poured the medicine into his mouth.
He looked up at her tearful face with helpless eyes, then shifted his gaze to Tiuran. The woman had taken a step back and was scrutinizing him with a searching look.
A fierce, murderous intent arose in the eyes filled with wariness and suspicion.
He bared his teeth menacingly and thrashed his four legs desperately to break free from his restraints. However, strength was draining from his body. As his struggles subsided, Thalia sprang to her feet and ran toward the woman.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"
"I'm... fine. Don't worry."
The woman patted Thalia's shoulder and spoke in a trembling voice. Thalia, who had been observing the pale woman with worried eyes, turned to look at him over her shoulder.
Khan, having read deep fear for the first time in the look directed at him, gently closed his eyes. The surging anger and sorrow turned into tears and flowed down.
The world should not have been this cruel to her.
That couldn't have been possible.
***
After confirming that Khan had completely lost consciousness, the soldiers carefully got up and wrapped iron chains around the wolf's body.
Thalia, who had been watching the scene with a grim face, hurriedly blocked the door as the soldiers tried to drag Khan out.
"Where are you trying to take Khan?"
"I will lock him in an underground cage for now."
"No!"
Thalia shouted in a shrill voice and urgently grabbed the soldier's arm holding the chain. Startled by the sudden contact, the man stiffened and looked down at her.
Thalia spoke in an earnest tone.
"You don't have to go that far. Khan was just momentarily agitated. He wasn't trying to hurt anyone!"
"The situation didn't look like that at all."
The man spat it out stiffly.
"Judging by the fact that you administered the medicine so urgently, didn't Your Highness also judge this beast to be dangerous?"
Thalia could not find a word to immediately rebut and merely moved her lips. Seeing this, Tiuran calmly opened her mouth.
"It wasn't that serious at all. I think you misunderstood because I let out a scream in the blink of an eye."
“A misunderstanding?”
"Yes. Khan has been constantly ruining the bedding and carpets lately, so I was just trying to trim his claws. But he was thrashing around so violently that I was slightly pushed and ended up falling over. I used the medicine because Khan seemed too agitated, so I wanted to calm him down quickly."
The guards let out a hollow laugh, as if dumbfounded.
"So, are you saying this whole commotion started just because you were trying to trim his toenails?"
"Yes. I apologize for startling you."
Tiuran replied nonchalantly and bowed respectfully. The man, who had been looking down at her with a suspicious expression, turned his gaze toward Khan and asked.
"Are you really sure you're okay? What are you going to do if this beast goes on a rampage again after waking up?"
“That won’t happen.”
Thalia hurriedly intervened.
"I only struggled more violently earlier because you suddenly rushed at me and pinned me down. Normally, I would never have thrashed around like that."
The guard's eyes narrowed slightly. He seemed unable to easily agree with her words. However, the man let out a small sigh, as if he did not want to argue further, and nodded slightly.
"Understood. Then, I will leave it as is for now and check its condition when the wolf wakes up, and then I will unchain it."
Soon, the soldiers swarmed out. Thalia immediately locked the door and slumped onto the floor. Tiuran approached her and looked at her worriedly.
“Are you okay?”
"I'm fine. I just let my guard down."
Thalia took a deep breath and turned her gaze to Khan. He was tightly bound in chains, standing motionless as if dead. Suddenly overcome with fear, Thalia approached him and felt the wolf's chest. Fortunately, she could feel a strong heartbeat. Swept up in intense relief, Thalia hugged the wolf tightly. How long had she stayed like that? Once her startled heart had calmed somewhat, Thalia lifted her head and asked in a hushed voice.
"Why did Khan suddenly react like that? He's never bared his teeth at you like that before."
"...Perhaps there was something among the herbs I handled earlier today that might have excited a direwolf."
Tiuran spoke in an uncertain tone.
"I tried making a reagent today using a few medicinal herbs brought in from the south. Could the unfamiliar smell have overwhelmed Khan?"
"But you've been in this room for hours. You were fine until then, so is it possible to suddenly overreact?"
“...I don’t know exactly why.”
Tiuran muttered with a somber expression. Only then did Thalia realize that she must have been even more surprised than she was, so she stood up and clasped Tiuran's hand.
"Anyway, thank you for shielding me even though you must have been really shocked by Khan."
"You're welcome..."
Tiuran smiled gently.
"I like Khan just as much as Your Highness does. I don't think this child tried to harm me for no reason."
Thalia's eyes welled up with gratitude. Tiuran patted her shoulder and added.
"Still, since I don't know why Khan reacted that way, I think I should take my leave now."
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