The Forgotten Field Novel - Chapter 110
### Chapter 110: THE FORGOTTEN FIELDS (NOVEL)
“Since this happened because of the Shirkhan family’s healer, it is the least we can do.”
Lucas frowned, and his face darkened. Recalling Tyuran’s situation, confined in an isolation cell, he felt a tightness in his chest.
“What kind of punishment do you expect Tyuran to receive?”
“Well, given that Her Highness has awakened safely, I suppose the punishment will be limited to imprisonment,” Daren replied in an indifferent tone. “She has been very lucky. If the grand duchess’s condition had been more severe, she would have already gone to the gallows.”
Lucas felt annoyed and his expression changed. Tyuran had been loyal to the Shirkhan family for decades. He felt a sort of rebellion toward Daren, who spoke of her death with such coldness.
“It happened because she was too weak. Is it really necessary to punish her with such cruelty?”
“Mr. Lucas.”
A warning tone appeared in Daren’s voice. After tossing a leather pouch full of silver coins to the merchant as if throwing away something insignificant, he dragged Lucas to one side of the hall.
“I know you harbor hostility toward the grand duchess. But stop showing that animosity in public.”
“I wasn’t…”
“Are you not more concerned about the fate of an insignificant healer than about the health of the grand duchess?” Daren retorted in a sharp, icy voice. “She is the daughter of His Majesty the Emperor and the lady of the East. According to the rules, causing her harm demands the maximum punishment. Imprisonment is an all too lenient sentence.”
Lucas fixed a penetrating gaze on Daren’s face.
“Do you accept the second princess as the lady of the East?”
“And what does it matter if I accept or reject her? This is already a fact.” Daren sighed as he rubbed his neck. “We can no longer annul the marriage arranged by His Majesty the Emperor. Whether we like it or not, we have to accept it. Right now, the priority is to strengthen the unity of the East.”
Lucas looked into Daren’s serious eyes with a heavy expression. During his travels with Varkas through the different regions of the East, he too had noticed certain things. The nobles of each area were too busy consolidating their own power, ignoring security, which had caused bandits to spread throughout the territory.
There were some talented administrators, but instead of offering absolute loyalty to the new duke, they showed a cautious attitude toward him. Just as Tyron had warned, the system of the East was silently crumbling. Perhaps they should feel grateful to have a strong new leader like Varkas.
Lucas reached an unpleasant conclusion and lowered his gaze, still full of rebellion, with difficulty.
“I know.” Then he added in a sharp tone, “But I don’t want to be treated like an obedient child. As long as my older brother controls the discipline of the nobles of the East, it’s enough for me to act with obedience, isn’t it?”
“If you know it, please do it,” Daren replied with a voice as rough as that of an enraged bear.
Lucas did not back down and smiled sarcastically.
“I am already doing it. Don’t you see how I avoid her like a sewer rat? Before my older brother, I am completely submissive.”
Daren did not look convinced and raised his thick eyebrows. He leaned forward, crossing his arms over his chest, sending him a threatening gaze.
“That is not enough. Even at official events, show respect for the duke and his wife. If you keep using such rude language, the discipline of the East…”
“Alright, alright. I understand. Stop scolding me.”
Lucas fled in annoyance and walked up the stairs quickly. He saw Daren staring at him sternly from behind the railing. He mocked him to his face with a sarcastic laugh and then ran down the hallway.
He stopped dead in his tracks upon seeing three or four maids passing through the corridor. They were the grand duchess’s maids, carefully carrying trays filled with various types of food.
‘My, she really is quite the queen.’
Lucas smiled superiority, but suddenly frowned. He did not understand why he felt so much hostility toward her. Thinking about it, hadn’t he been the one who crossed the line first? He scratched his head in irritation. Lucas was aware that he had acted in a petty manner.
However, remembering the moment of his altercation with her, he was invaded by an irrational anger instead of remorse. Perhaps it was because of the way she looked at him.
‘…As if she were looking at an insect.’
The instant he encountered her eyes, which observed him as if he were the most disgusting creature in the world, he felt a twisted impulse he had never experienced before. He wanted to break that arrogant woman. He wanted to make her weep inconsolably. That petty desire boiled in his blood, preventing him from controlling himself.
As he recalled that moment dazedly, he suddenly felt nausea rising in his throat and turned around. He realized that avoiding her was not just because of Varkas’s warning. He felt that if he went near her, he would face something filthy within himself that he never wanted to encounter.
To shake off that annoying sensation, he rushed out of the dark hallway.
—
“One more spoonful.”
Talia stared at the man holding out the spoon to her as if he were a two-headed monster. Could it be possible that a malevolent demon had taken Varkas’s form and was supplanting him?
Whether he knew of her suspicions or not, the man urged her in his usual calm tone.
“Why aren’t you eating?”
“…I’m finished. I won’t eat any more.”
“Just one more spoonful.”
“I said no.”
When she turned her head away from the spoon that hovered near her mouth like an annoying fly, he held her chin with his other hand. Talia glared at him furiously, her face flushed after being forced to turn her head back. However, Varkas didn’t even blink.
“If you eat this, I will let you have the fruit you like so much for dessert.”
“How ridiculous! I don’t want to eat this or that…!”
While she protested and opened her mouth, the spoon was inserted between her lips. Her eyes widened in surprise. He pressed the tip of her tongue with the spoon, as if commanding her to swallow.
In the end, Talia swallowed the slippery food. Your face contorted automatically from the horrible sensation of the porridge sliding down her throat. She threw him a sharp look full of rage.
Unfazed, Varkas stood up from his seat with a serene face and removed the plate. His movements seemed so natural that they aroused another suspicion in her mind. He had spent his whole life being served by others; he was a man who had never bowed to anyone outside the imperial family. So why did he seem so skilled at serving food?
“Have you ever fed anyone before?” Talia asked him suddenly, watching him with suspicious eyes.
Varkas looked at her indifferently over his shoulder while organizing the dishes on the tray. Then came his casual reply:
“To the point of exhaustion.”
Talia was stunned for a moment, and her eyes turned severe. She felt as if all the food she had just swallowed was going to come back up her throat. She forced a smile while her face trembled.
“What a pity. Leaving the fiancée to whom you were so devoted to play the role of a nurse by the side of a woman like m—”
“Her Highness the first princess did not need so much care,” Varkas interrupted detachedly as he placed the tray by the door. “The one I used to feed was not a person, but a horse. Turok, when he was little, required much more attention than you.”
Talia’s eyes widened in surprise. She couldn’t decide whether she should feel relieved or outraged by his words.
English