As Varkas stepped onto the footboard, he slowly swept his narrowed eyes over her.
A faint crease appeared between his perfectly straight brows.
Before she could even understand why, he climbed into the carriage in a few long strides, picked up the cloak lying on the floor, and draped it over her shoulders. Then, as though it were the most natural thing in the world, he reached out to lift her.
Startled, Talia violently shoved his shoulder.
“I can walk on my own!”
The effects of the medicine had worn off, and pain had begun to spread upward from her knee again, but walking for a short while should not have been a problem.
Throwing aside the troublesome cloak, she carefully lowered her feet, making sure her scars remained hidden.
At that moment, a firm hand caught her shoulder.
“You're planning to go out dressed like that?”
His gaze struck like a wedge.
Shrinking her shoulders, Talia lowered her eyes and looked over herself.
Apparently, the strings of her dress had come loose while she slept. Her thin shoulders and arms were completely exposed.
And that wasn't all.
The deep neckline had fallen low enough to reveal her cleavage.
Blushing furiously, Talia hurriedly pulled up the bodice of her dress.
Watching her unladylike state in silence, Varkas let out a quiet sigh and once more wrapped his coat around her shoulders.
This time, Talia did not refuse.
After fastening it all the way to her neck without leaving the slightest gap, he effortlessly picked her up and carried her outside.
It felt as though she had become some carefully wrapped doll.
No.
Not something that adorable.
He was merely showing pity to a cripple who could barely walk.
Deliberately, Talia drove cruel words through her own heart.
It seemed as though punching a hole in it herself would hurt less later than allowing him to take even the smallest piece of it.
“Sir, what should we do with the messenger from the East?”
Just as he reached the threshold, one of the men standing near the entrance spoke.
Through the cloak, Talia stole a glance at his face.
The man, with the build of a bear and the piercing eyes of an eagle, was also sneaking looks at her.
“Do I have to give instructions for every little thing?”
Varkas coldly replied while pulling the cloak over her head.
“Prepare lodging somewhere suitable and assign someone to attend him. I'll see him tomorrow, once it's light.”
Without waiting for an answer, he strode into the building.
As he crossed the spacious hall and climbed the stairs, Talia pieced together the fragments of information she had gathered.
Many people seemed worried that this marriage would damage the relationship between the Crown Prince and House Siorcan.
While Senevier busied herself preparing the wedding, Varkas had likely spent the entire time dealing with the aftermath.
He had probably soothed Gareth, who was furious over the betrayal, and explained to Marquis Oristein and the conservative nobles that he had not turned his back on them.
Even so, people still seemed unable to accept that the bride had suddenly changed.
And that was only /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ natural.
Even she still suspected this situation might be someone's malicious joke.
“I'll summon someone to attend you.”
Varkas, who had entered the room before she realized it, lowered her onto a long velvet chair.
Talia looked around the cozy bedroom before turning her eyes back to him.
Undoing the buttons of his ceremonial clothes with one hand, Varkas pulled the cord hanging beside the bed to summon a servant.
Seeing that, her insides tightened.
She cried out sharply.
“I don't need anyone attending me!”
Turning around, Varkas frowned.
Avoiding his gaze, Talia lowered her eyes.
“Bring my nanny.”
“It's late. I'll bring her here at first light tomorrow. Please endure just one night.”
Immediately, she shot him a fierce glare.
“I won't let anyone except my nanny take care of me! You brought me here on your own, so take responsibility and bring her!”
His blue eyes took on an icy light.
Talia clenched her fists until her bones ached.
He was the sort of man who allotted a fixed amount of patience to her every day.
She thought he might simply become fed up and leave.
But apparently today's share had not yet run out.
Walking to the door, he called over one of the servants.
“Send someone to the palace immediately and bring me one quarter dwarf.”
“Pardon? Right now?”
“Yes. Send whoever has the fastest feet.”
Closing the door in the servant's astonished face, Varkas turned back and threw her a sharp glance, as though asking if she was satisfied now.
Talia avoided his eyes.
Letting out a long sigh, Varkas picked up a robe from a shelf and handed it to her.
“Wear this at least until someone comes to attend you.”
Talia immediately took it and threw it over her dress.
Then, in a voice that broke apart with each word, she demanded,
“You can leave now. I want to stay alone until my nanny arrives.”
“This room is mine as well.”
At once, her vision spun, and cold sweat dampened her palms.
Clutching the tightly closed front of her robe, she moistened her dry lips.
“T-Then I'll leave. Show me another room.”
“Your Highness.”
He rested one hand on her shoulder.
When she managed to lift her head, she saw blue eyes darkened by shadows.
“You are the one who said you wanted this marriage.”
She stared at his expressionless face with widened eyes.
So you're staying here?
With me?
Fear shriveled her insides.
Her gaze dropped to her aching knee.
She remembered Senevier's eyes as she stared at the scars.
Her mother's dark eyes, filled with the disgust of someone looking at something repulsive, suddenly transformed into Varkas's silver-blue eyes.
Before she could control herself, tangled words burst out.
“Then... then let's just cancel it. How am I supposed to share a room with you? I only... I only married you to torment you. And you only married me because the Emperor ordered you to. You don't want to be with me either. So let's just pretend none of this happened and—”
“Talia.”
He knelt before her, cupped both her cheeks, and brought his face close.
As though trapped, Talia met his eyes.
Her pale face, damp with cold sweat, was reflected in those beautiful eyes scattered with fragments of silver.
His voice came out rough, as though something had scraped his throat.
“I won't do anything to you.”
“......”
“Just for tonight. I bribed the priest beforehand, but I can't silence every servant. At the very least, we need to share a bedroom on the first night.”
His calm demeanor gradually steadied her wildly churning heart.
Biting her lip, Talia nodded.
Seeing that she had calmed down, Varkas slowly rose.
Still unable to let go of her wariness, Talia followed his movements with her eyes.
After removing his rain-soaked coat, he remained in his thin shirt and sat down in the chair by the window.
His sturdy body, always so impeccably composed, sagged with exhaustion.
A heavy sigh stretched through the room.
Some time later, servants brought trays of food and liquor.
Mechanically, Talia forced down a single piece of bread.
Then, instead of sleeping grass, she drank a glass of strong liquor.
As the alcohol spread through her, the stiffness in her muscles loosened, and the pain became more bearable.
She poured herself another drink into a golden goblet.
How many cups had she emptied?
Varkas, who had silently let her do as she pleased, finally took the bottle away.
“That's enough.”
Talia immediately rose from her chair to snatch it back.
But her legs, already weakened, had become soft and useless from the alcohol.
She staggered like a boneless creature.
Catching her collapsing body, Varkas lifted her and laid her properly on the bed.
Even half out of her mind from the drink, Talia first checked the hem of her skirt.
Looking down at her with shadowed eyes, Varkas pulled the blanket up over her shoulders before walking to the window and drawing back the curtains.
The sunset, which had deepened from scarlet to violet, flooded over him.
Watching his broad shoulders, their firm lines stained copper-red beneath the light, Talia slowly blinked.
Even beneath the blazing sunlight that resembled flames, he looked unbearably cold.
