Chapter 120
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 120
Thalia felt a lingering warmth flooding her body, her limbs finally going limp with exhaustion.
The man who had been looming over her straightened up. As he pulled away, the heat that had filled her began to ebb, leaving a cold void in its wake. Thalia bit her lip at the unfamiliar, hollow sensation and pressed her thighs tightly together.
Suddenly, his hand reached for her bandaged leg. Thalia shrieked, flinching instinctively.
“Don’t touch me!”
In the shadows, she saw Barkas’s shoulders stiffen.
Ignoring his reaction, she hurriedly yanked down her hiked-up skirt and scrambled off the bed. She tried to force her trembling legs toward the door, but a powerful arm wrapped around her waist. In an instant, she was hauled back onto the mattress.
Thalia flailed her arms, panic rising.
“L-Let go! It’s over now. I’m going back to my room!”
He seized her wrists, his eyes glowing with an intense, predatory light.
“You’re just going to leave? Now that your business is finished?”
“I told you that was the plan from the beginning.” Thalia swallowed the sob threatening to break through and glared at him, her eyes full of venom. “I have no more business with you.”
For a moment, the air in the room froze.
His grip on her wrists tightened until it was painful. She wrenched herself free with a desperate surge of strength and crawled toward the edge of the bed.
I didn’t give myself to him out of love. There’s no reason to linger here.
Muttering the words like a self-hypnotic spell, she stumbled to her feet.
Barkas spat something out in the Ancient Language of the East—words she couldn’t understand, though the fury in them was clear. He snatched the duvet from the floor and wrapped it tightly around her. Caught in his firm embrace, Thalia lost her composure and began to struggle violently.
“No! Let me go!”
He didn’t even pretend to listen.
Having bundled her up, Barkas strode out of the room, wearing nothing but his trousers. The attendants guarding the door stared at them, mouths agape, but Barkas didn’t even blink.
Carrying her like a prize, he headed straight down the hallway, climbed the stairs, and kicked open the door to the bedroom on the third floor.
Thalia glared at him, her face stained with sweat and tears. The light from the candelabra illuminated his sleek, sweat-drenched torso, his disheveled silver hair, and the piercing blue eyes set in his handsome face. Though he looked more vulnerable than she had ever seen him, he still appeared as solid and cold as stone.
“Are you satisfied now?” Barkas spat.
Thalia pulled the duvet up to her chin and looked away. She knew he was angry, but she didn’t care.
“I want to be alone. Get out.”
“……”
“Please, just leave.”
When she shouted, her voice hoarse and trembling, his expressionless mask finally contorted. Taking a deep breath, Barkas leaned down toward her.
“Just tell me this. Did I hurt you?”
Yes. You always hurt me.
The retort was on the tip of her tongue, but she bit it back. She knew, rationally, that it would be an unfair answer. She was the one who had barged in; she was the one who had forced this encounter. She knew she must look ridiculous, acting like a victim after what she had initiated.
But logic offered no comfort now. She shook her head, hugging her knees like a caterpillar curled in a cocoon.
“I just want to rest. So please, just leave me alone. I don’t want to look at your face anymore.”
Perhaps his patience had finally snapped at her selfishness. His entire body stiffened, and veins bulged across his bare chest. He looked threatening enough to make her heart skip a beat in fear.
However, as he always did, he mastered himself in an instant. Taking another deep breath, Barkas stood up, his face a mask of hardened resolve.
“I will call a healer to check your condition.”
“I don’t need one.”
“I will not leave unless you promise to receive proper treatment,” Barkas countered, his tone turning harsh and unyielding.
Thalia glared at him through teary eyes before finally giving a sharp nod. “Fine… just go.”
The muscles in his jaw tightened. The man stood still for a long time as if he wanted to say something more, but he finally turned away.
Soon, the sound of the door closing echoed through the room, followed by a desolate silence. Thalia listened to his rhythmic footsteps fading down the hall, then curled into a ball and closed her eyes.
She was devastatingly tired. So tired she felt she might simply melt into the sheets and disappear.
*
A flock of kites circled and soared over the fields, which were now fully tinged with the golden hues of autumn. A few of them glided toward the ground in graceful curves, landing where the carcass of a stallion lay, mangled by a predator.
It was the work of the wolves that had appeared out of nowhere the previous night.
“Fortunately, there were no human casualties. However, the ranch has taken a significant hit,” Daren reported.
Barkas watched a grayish-brown raptor tear flesh from the horse’s ribs before turning his gaze toward the gently sloping ridge. Beyond the collapsed stone wall, three or four mares lay fallen, their throats and bellies ripped open. Daren followed his gaze and let out a deep sigh.
“I suppose we should consider it a blessing that the stallions from Mount Nornek are safe, but still…”
“Has a subjugation force been formed?” Barkas asked.
“The garrison has been scouring the Armund Forest since early this morning. But they say the pack vanished without a trace. It seems they are led by a very clever alpha.”
“Double the tracking personnel. Station guards at the ranch and the outskirts of the village.”
Barkas, gripping his horse Torque’s reins with a gloved hand, gave the order in a heavy, low tone. Daren immediately gestured to the subordinates standing behind him.
“You heard him. Convey His Excellency’s orders to the unit immediately.”
Two soldiers hopped over the broken fence and ran toward the fortress.
After checking the damage to the ranch once more, Barkas headed toward the village. The small settlement to the north of Kalmor was bustling with people who had come out to catch a glimpse of their new lord. Without sparing them a glance, he walked along the gravel road. Daren, following quietly, spoke up cautiously.
“Troublesome things have been happening one after another lately. As if the Zram raiders weren’t enough, now we have a wolf pack running wild.”
“……”
“I know you must be distressed by these misfortunes following the succession ceremony, but please take care of yourself, My Lord. You haven’t looked like your usual self lately.”
Barkas, who had been walking in silence, came to a dead stop and looked back. Thinking he had caused offense, Daren immediately bowed his head.
“Forgive me if I overstepped. I was merely concerned for Your Excellency’s well-being…”
“Do I look tired enough to warrant such concern?” Barkas asked, rubbing his chin.
After studying his face for a moment, Daren scratched the back of his head and spoke awkwardly. “You’ve seemed exceptionally sensitive these past few days. I wondered if perhaps you weren’t sleeping well.”
Barkas frowned and turned back, replying with a sigh. “It seems I’ve caused you worry. I’ll keep that in mind.”
It was true; he had barely slept three or four hours a night recently. It wasn’t just because of the mountain of official business. He turned his head and looked up at the fortress situated on the hill. The midday autumn sun poured down on the massive stone building where she was staying.
That woman is probably still holed up in her room.
Suddenly feeling a metallic bitterness spreading in his mouth, he ran the tip of his tongue along the lining of his cheek. Blood was seeping from the flesh he had bitten with his molars—a strange, nervous habit he had developed recently.
He scraped the mangled flesh inside his cheek with his tongue and swallowed the copper-tasting liquid. As the scent of blood brushed his nose, an unpleasant afterimage flickered in his mind.
Barkas furrowed his brow at the strange heat surging in his gut and roughly raked his hair back.