Chapter 96
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 96
“Please let me know if you require anything else.”
The Lord of the Castle spoke from the doorway, his fastidious gaze sweeping across the room. Barkas, who was busy hanging his coat by the fireplace, responded with his usual indifference.
“I’d like some water for washing and some mulled wine.”
“I shall have them brought up at once.”
As soon as the man withdrew, Thalia sank into a velvet-cushioned chair.
She was utterly spent. They had been touring various cities and villages since early morning, and the long day had taken its toll. She made a show of straightening her damp hem, using the movement to discreetly rub her aching knees.
Barkas, watching her out of the corner of his eye, spoke quietly.
“I’ll call for a healer. You should rest for the remainder of the day.”
Thalia knitted her brows. “What about you?”
“I have a meeting with the Lord of the Castle. It may run late, so please, go to sleep first.”
“As if you ever do anything else,” Thalia snapped.
Though they had shared a room for the past few days, she had never once seen him actually lie down. Barkas worked until dawn, often staying up all night in consultations with the local lords. It had reached the point where the nervous tension she felt every time they entered a room together seemed entirely pointless.
Glaring at him with her lips pressed thin, Thalia eventually flopped onto the bed.
“I’ll rest as I please. Go do your work.”
Barkas watched her in silence for a moment before letting out a soft sigh and stepping out.
Before long, the castle servants arrived with a tray of wine and fruit, followed by a wooden tub filled with steaming water. Thalia called for her nanny to help her wash, then ate a few pieces of honey-preserved fruit to go with the wine.
She was about to ask the healer to burn some sleep-inducing herbs when a boisterous burst of laughter drifted in from the hallway. It sounded like the knights were holding a drinking party.
Thalia’s indifferent expression suddenly stiffened. Amidst the raucous noise, she caught the sound of high-pitched feminine laughter.
She urgently shook the nanny, who was nodding off by the fireplace.
“Nanny, does the Lord of the Castle have daughters?”
“How would I know that?” the nanny replied, sounding bewildered.
Thalia snapped irritably, “Haven’t you heard anything while coming and going?!”
“I really don’t know. I was called here the moment we arrived,” the nanny said with a heavy sigh. “More importantly, may I return to my room now? I need some rest as well.”
Thalia, who had been about to send her downstairs to investigate, bit her lip. Seeing the deep fatigue etched onto the woman’s face, a small shred of conscience pricked her. The nanny was exhausted, having endured the grueling journey only to wait on her during her bath.
Thalia nodded slowly. “Fine. You may go.”
The nanny left immediately. Thalia took the opportunity to peer out into the hallway.
As the noise from downstairs grew clearer, her stomach churned with anxiety—despite knowing full well that Barkas was not the type to act foolishly. Biting her lip, Thalia eventually threw on her coat and headed out.
Passing through the flickering shadows of the corridor and descending the stairs, she came upon a scene of men and women paired off, flirting openly. She narrowed her eyes, scanning the men’s faces. They were all familiar; these were the cavalry warriors of House Sieorkan.
One of them pulled a young woman, who looked like a maid, by the waist and pressed his lips to her ear. The maid giggled, her cheeks flushing crimson.
Watching the scene with disgust, Thalia turned toward the inner part of the hall. Barkas’s aides were seated around a long table laden with wine and food. They, too, were being served by women who were practically half-naked.
It seemed the Lord of the Castle had brought in a small army of prostitutes under the guise of "entertaining" his guests.
Scanning the surroundings with a grim gaze, Thalia hurried across the wide hall. Her only thought was to drag Barkas out of this filthy place immediately.
“Your Highness!”
As she navigated the banquet hall, dragging her aching legs, a familiar voice called out. Thalia whipped her head around and spotted a familiar face among the crowd. It was the Eastern knight, Tyron.
The man approached her, scratching the back of his head with an awkward smile.
“I heard Your Highness would be retiring early. What brings you here…?”
“It was so noisy I couldn’t sleep.” Thalia’s eyes darted around in search of Barkas as she gave the knight a sarcastic smile. “Am I interrupting your good time?”
“Hahaha.” The man brushed off the jab with an exaggerated laugh.
Thalia sent a cold look his way before turning her attention back to the bustling hall. “More importantly, where is Barkas?”
“His Excellency is in the study on the third floor. Sir Darken requested a private audience.”
Thalia snapped her head back toward him. “Just the two of them?”
Only then did Tyron seem to realize why she was searching the hall so thoroughly. An amused smile played on his lips.
“Yes. He even dismissed all the maids, so do not worry.”
In an instant, Thalia felt as though her inner thoughts had been laid bare. Her cheeks burned.
She raised her voice. “Who said I was worried?!”
She turned away abruptly, but the man followed her.
“You shouldn’t walk around alone. I will escort you to your room.”
“I don’t need an escort.”
“You do,” the man said firmly. “If anything happens to the Grand Duchess, the responsibility falls entirely on us. Now, let’s go.”
Before she could refuse, he gripped her elbow. Thalia reflexively shook off his hand.
“I said I don’t need it!”
Startled by her violent reaction, deep furrows appeared on the man’s brow. Thalia left him behind and hurried back the way she came, almost as if she were fleeing.
As she climbed the dimly lit stairs again, her thighs and calves began to cramp. She had clearly overexerted herself today. Though it was late, she realized she would have to call the healer for recovery magic after all.
She walked down the long corridor, lightly pounding her cramping thighs with her fists. Then, she stopped in her tracks at the sound of a strange moaning. Turning toward the source, she saw a peculiar shadow flickering at the end of the hallway.
It took a few seconds for her to realize it was a man and a woman pressed together, their bodies entwined. She felt as though the food she had just forced down was about to come back up.
She stepped back, swallowing her nausea.
Right then, her eyes met those of the boy who had been lewdly kissing the curvaceous maid. Thalia swallowed a scream.
The person fooling around in the hallway was none other than Barkas’s younger brother.
Hesitating, Thalia turned to leave in a hurry. In her haste, she lost her balance and slumped onto the floor. The heavy impact sent a surge of intense pain from her knees to her pelvis. Tears pricked her eyes as she let out a muffled cry.
“Sister-in-law!”
Seeing this, Lucas pushed the maid aside and ran over in a single bound. Thalia fiercely struck away the hand he offered.
“Don’t touch me!”
Lucas flinched and stepped back. Glaring at him with eyes as cold as ice, Thalia struggled to pull herself up.
As she took a painful step while leaning against the wall, Lucas, who had been standing frozen, muttered with a look of grievance.
“Is it because of what you just saw? I wasn’t the one who suggested it. She tempted me, saying she’d give me a 'good experience,' so I just went along with it.”
His rambling words felt like they were rotting her ears. Thalia shot him a look of pure loathing.
“Did I ask? Why are you babbling about things I didn’t ask for, polluting my ears?”
Lucas’s face flushed bright red. He set his jaw and glared at her fiercely.
“Why are you making such a fuss over a little kiss? It’s not like you don’t do much worse with my brother every night...”
Thalia’s hand flew out like a whip.
As if expecting the attack, Lucas caught her wrist instantly.
“Ha! Do you think I’ll just keep taking it? If you hit me one more time, I won’t stand for it—!”
The boy, who had lowered his voice threateningly, suddenly went silent. He seemed to notice her face, which was flushed a deep, burning red. He blinked blankly before muttering in disbelief.
“No way... have you two still not done anything...? Ugh!”
Lucas doubled over as she kicked him hard in the shin. Thalia rained blows down on his back with her fists.
Lucas, who was being beaten helplessly, finally shoved her against the wall.
“Damn it! It’s because of that temper of yours that my brother hasn’t even laid a finger on you yet!” he snarled, his rage reaching its peak.
Thalia flinched as if she had been stabbed. Looking down at her with burning eyes, the boy added cruelly:
“Or maybe my brother can’t forget his former fiancée? Maybe what he had with her was so good that he can’t bring himself to touch you...”
She didn’t want to hear another word.
Thalia dug her fingernails—which she had started growing out again—into his babbling lips. With a cry of pain, Lucas grabbed her arms. Startled by her acting like a madwoman, his slender body fell backward.
Thalia sat astride his stomach, pried open his filthy mouth—a mouth no better than a latrine—and grabbed his slippery tongue with her fingers. Her face burned as if it were about to explode.