The Forgotten Field Novel - Chapter 79, 80
### Chapter 79:
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness. I will serve you to the best of my ability from now on.”
Talia scrutinized the girl with a sharp gaze; she seemed rather unreliable. Even at first glance, the maid turned out to be clumsy. Had they assigned her a novice just to make her life difficult? She snapped at her in a cold tone:
“My nanny will take care of all my needs. So go call her.”
“By ‘nanny,’ do you mean that half-dwarf woman?” The woman who had introduced herself as Areta frowned. “I am sorry, but Your Highness will become the lady of this eastern territory. You must have servants fitting your position.”
Talia, perceiving the contempt in her voice, narrowed her eyes.
“My nanny once served the Empress herself. Sincerely, you wouldn’t think a Grand Duchess holds a higher rank than the Empress, would you?”
The woman’s face hardened.
Talia pressed her harshly:
“Did you not hear me? I said bring my nanny immediately!”
The woman, who had stood firm with her lips tightly pursed, finally bowed her head.
“As you wish. I will leave your personal grooming in the hands of the maid Your Highness brought with her. Once you are ready, please call me. I will guide you through the castle.”
“I do not need any guide.”
At the blunt refusal, the woman’s face visibly tensed. Talia paid her no attention and continued coldly:
“Have you forgotten that I have traveled from very far away? I intend to rest in my room for a few days, so do not disturb me.”
The head maid, who had been pursing her lips as if she were about to say something, soon stormed out, dragging the young maid behind her.
Although she felt a surge of anger at that insolent attitude, she did not want to earn a reputation for lashing out at servants like a tyrant from day one. Talia dropped herself onto the bed.
A moment later, the nanny entered the room yawning, her hair disheveled and her eyes full of crust.
Her lack of decorum made Talia’s blood boil. Was it not that they respected her so little precisely because she went around looking like that? Talia snapped at her in a sharp voice:
“What kind of spectacle is this? Go wash your face right now.”
“Oh, come on, why are you in such a bad mood first thing in the morning?”
The nanny pouted, then poured water into the basin by the window and washed her face. After that, she roughly combed her hair with her plump hands and began to stoke the fire in the fireplace.
Meanwhile, two sturdy servants brought a large tub full of water. Once they had left the tub behind the screen and departed, Talia bolted the door and got into the water.
The nanny immediately brought a soft towel and soap, and washed her from head to toe.
Her skin turned red under the rough touch, as if she were being rushed to finish a tedious chore, but Talia gritted her teeth and endured it. It was a hundred times better to be treated with some roughness than to show her scars to strangers.
She dried herself with a towel, trying not to give too much importance to the attitude of the nanny, who had become notably cold since her body had been ruined.
“None of your clothes fit you anymore. It seems you have lost too much weight.”
The nanny, who had been dressing her in a magnificent silk gown, let out a series of deep sighs. Talia finally could not contain herself any longer and blurted out:
“Stop sighing. I hate hearing it.”
“Can I not even breathe as I please?”
“I said do not sigh when you look at me! You keep doing it because you cannot stand to see me like this.”
The nanny did not say a word. Talia, who had secretly hoped she would deny it, looked at her with a painful expression. The nanny was the one who had played the role of mother in place of Senever. Was she not the one who had cared for her since she was a newborn who could not even speak?
The fact that even the nanny found her appearance repulsive tore her heart apart. Swallowing the pain rising in her throat, Talia pushed her toward the door.
“It is enough. Leave.”
“Understood. I will leave, so please do not push me.”
The nanny shook off Talia’s hand with some roughness and left without a second thought.
Once she was left alone, the rage that had been boiling inside her immediately transformed into anxiety. In this foreign land, the nanny was the only person she could trust and depend on. If even she turned her back on her, she would be left completely isolated.
She regretted having snapped at her so suddenly. She should have had more patience…
“Your Highness, I have come at the request of the young master. May I trouble you for a moment?”
Just as she was biting her lip nervously, an unfamiliar voice came from the other side of the door. Talia hesitated for an instant before speaking:
“Come in.”
No sooner had the words left her mouth than a young woman with deep wheat-colored skin opened the door and entered.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness. My name is Tyuran. The young master instructed me to closely monitor your health.”
Talia examined her thoroughly with a suspicious gaze. She was a beautiful woman, with long and strong limbs, smooth skin that suggested she might be around thirty years old, and dark brown, intelligent-looking eyes.
“Are you the healer of the Grand Duke’s family?”
“Yes,” the woman replied calmly.
Talia showed a skeptical expression. The woman was too young to be the healer of the most powerful house in the East. Perhaps perceiving her distrust, the woman’s smile faded slightly. The healer asked cautiously:
“I heard that you suffer from chronic pain due to a severe leg injury. May I examine the affected area for a moment?”
Talia took a step back by instinct. She had not the slightest intention of showing her scars to a complete stranger.
“I already have a personal healer. So you can go take care of other matters.”
“But, Your Highness…”
“I will speak to Varkas myself, so you may leave now.”
The woman, who had been biting her lower lip as if deep in thought, opened her mouth cautiously:
“If it is uncomfortable for you to show me your leg, would you mind extending your hand to me for a moment?”
“Why my hand?”
“I will channel magical energy through your hand to examine your body. After evaluating Your Highness’s condition, I will prepare a medicine adapted to your constitution.”
Talia frowned. She had never heard of such a strange examination method.
“Can you really do that?”
“I have been training to become a healer of my clan since I was seven years old. If you give me just one opportunity, I will do everything possible to help Your Highness.”
The woman seemed sincere. Talia, who had been scrutinizing her face, decided to try it and held out her hand. The woman wrapped Talia’s palm with her firm and calloused hand.
Talia startled at the rough texture, similar to tree bark, but only for a moment; soon she felt a warm sensation spreading through her palm like a current of water. Shuddering at the strange sensation, Talia felt the lukewarm warmth spread to her stomach and abruptly withdrew her hand.
The woman frowned as if deep in thought and stared intently at Talia’s face.
“Before beginning the rehabilitation of your leg, I believe you first need to regain your strength. Your body is in a very weakened state.”
“…And what am I supposed to do?”
“First of all, you need to eat well and rest a lot. I will prescribe a medicine that should help, so please take it every day without fail.”
Talia, who had been expecting some kind of novel treatment, looked disappointed.
“I did not arrange time for this just to listen to such meaningless platitudes.”
“…”
“It is enough. You may leave now. As you have said, I am in a weakened state, so I need to rest.”
As she lay back down on the bed, the woman left the room as if resigned to her fate.
Talia pulled the blanket over her shoulders and tried to get back to sleep. But before long, the pain that had been latent began to crawl through her bones. Tossing and turning in bed, Talia could not bear it any longer and rang the bell.
Shortly after, the young maid who had been introduced to her earlier came running in. She could not remember the girl’s name. Talia gave her a haughty nod:
“Right now, go find the healer I brought from the imperial palace.”
A frigid wind swept harshly across the vast plain.
Holding the reins while riding through the pasturelands, Varkas turned his head to contemplate his homeland with close attention.
The last time he had set foot on this land had been ten years ago, when he received the news of the death of Tesalin, the mother of Lucas and Rayna. Back then, the land was completely gray.
Since he had not visited Kalmor since that time, the home of his childhood in his memory had always remained monochromatic.
—
### Chapter 80:
Dominated by the sensation of treading on foreign land for the first time, he crossed the deep blue meadow.
On the gently sloping hills, dozens of robust mares and foals were grazing.
“Over one hundred foals have been born in this ranch this year alone. Each of them carries the lineage of the legendary Nornek horses.”
Daren Dru Sierkan, who had been following him silently from behind, explained with a tone of pride.
Varkas turned toward the man, who looked stern and somewhat obstinate, and asked:
“How many trained warhorses are there?”
“There are three thousand right here, in this ranch. If the northern ranch is included, they total around six thousand three hundred.”
“Those are fewer than the figures reported to me.”
At his comment, a flush rose to the man’s cheeks.
“Your Excellency was in the central region, were you not? It is practically impossible to report every single detail beyond the regular reports.”
Avoiding his gaze, the man added defensively:
“A month ago, one of the horse ranches in the northeastern region suffered severe damage from a Zram raid. Since then, we have lost a significant number of useful warhorses in the subsequent retaliatory battles.”
Varkas frowned.
“Why was this not reported to the Imperial Court?”
“Why bother when we could handle it ourselves?” The man shrugged with indifference. “It was the firm conviction of His Highness the Grand Duke that the people of the East should solve their own problems. His vassals agreed with this as well.”
“The East is also territory of the Roem Empire,” Varkas replied in a dry tone. “We too are subjects of the Empire. Just as the East is loyal to the Imperial Court, the Imperial Court has the duty to protect the people of the East.”
The man snapped his mouth shut. He seemed to feel an instinctive aversion toward the word “protection.” The warriors of the Khan people, with their strong sense of pride, viewed outside help as a humiliation.
Instead of correcting that conceptual error, Varkas steered his horse toward the village situated at the foot of the hill.
Most of the residents living outside the city walls led a harder life than the inhabitants of the city. As proof of this, the buildings lining the muddy dirt road were all old and dilapidated.
While examining them with an indifferent gaze, something suddenly caught his attention.
Varkas narrowed his eyes and guided his horse toward the center of the village. There, he saw something hanging from a large tree in the plaza.
As he drew closer, he could distinguish what it was. Three corpses, which appeared to have been dead for a long time and were beginning to decompose into a purplish hue, hung limply with ropes around their necks.
“I suppose they are heretics who were executed not long ago,” Daren said, wrinkling the bridge of his nose.
Varkas turned to him and asked:
“Are heretical forces spreading in Kalmor?”
“As you know, Lord, there are many among the easterners who cannot abandon their ancestral beliefs. Among them are those who worship spirits as gods or are deeply submerged in superstition.”
The man let out a deep sigh.
“Especially in recent times, reports of heretics have been on the rise. It is probably due to the growing conflicts with the Zram people. They are all deeply immersed in spirit worship, are they not? Due to the increasing hostility toward heretics, religious trials are being carried out frequently in the villages.”
“It has become a complete chaos in just a few years.”
A grimace of disgust crossed the man’s face. As if trying to hide it, he forced a smile and shrugged his broad shoulders.
“His Highness the Grand Duke has been bedridden for so long; it cannot be helped.”
Varkas contemplated the corpses with a thoughtful expression and then nodded toward his men.
“If we leave them like this, there is a high probability that they will turn into ghouls. Once you have lowered the bodies, take care of a simple funeral.”
The man raised his bushy eyebrows.
“Do you mean for the heretics?”
Varkas looked at him with a cold gaze.
“Do I have to say it twice?”
After staring at him for an instant, Daren was not slow to bark orders to the knights lined up before him.
“What are you all doing that you do not obey the Young Lord’s orders immediately!”
The men dismounted at once and cut the ropes holding the bodies. The corpses fell with a heavy thud onto the dirt ground.
Varkas silently contemplated one of the heads, which had snapped at a strange angle, as if the neck had broken during the fall.
Maggots swarmed in the empty sockets where the eyeballs had been gouged out, and inside the lips, which had been slashed with a knife, all the teeth had been extracted. These were precautions taken against transformation into a ghoul.
Corpses that had not undergone a purification ritual had high probabilities of turning into undead, which was why heretics were often stripped of eyes, teeth, and even nails.
‘What a useless thing…’
Ghouls could use tools just as they did in life. To avoid danger, it was better to completely incinerate the corpses or perform a purification ritual.
He observed how the soldiers dragged the three corpses toward a corner of the open ground, then turned his head to examine the farmers dressed in frayed clothes who were gathered at one side of the plaza. Most appeared terrified, but a few showed expressions of discontent.
He pointed to one of them.
“You, go fetch the priest right now.”
The man who had been pointed out walked slowly toward the chapel situated at the edge of the village. Shortly after, the priest arrived running and performed a simple purification ritual.
Observing in silence, Varkas left instructions to bury the bodies in a suitable place, and then guided his horse out of the village.
At that moment, a discarded wooden statue at the end of the wide path caught his attention. A statue of a three-headed dog—no, a wolf—lay abandoned on that narrow path leading to the Forest of Argand, split in half by the blade of an axe. It was a clear sign of a curse.
Daren, who spotted it late, changed his expression to a stern one and shouted loudly at the soldiers:
“Get rid of that immediately!”
Varkas looked at the statue calmly, then directed his eyes toward the village. Judging by the fact that they had placed it there specifically for his visit, it was clearly the work of someone harboring ill will.
He let out a dry laugh.
‘It seems there are those who are not exactly delighted with my return.’
He had no way of knowing whether this was the work of superstitious heretics or a provocation from anti-imperial forces, but he had a presentiment that life here would be no bed of roses.
“Shall we look for the culprit?” Daren asked, gauging his reaction.
Varkas pulled the reins and shook his head slightly.
“Leave it be. What use would it be to cause a fuss over a simple statue? It would only make us a laughingstock.”
The man swallowed a sigh and nodded.
“You are right.”
Although he agreed for the moment, his eyes scanned the village with such intensity that it seemed his anger had not appeased at all. It gave the impression that at any moment he could gather his men and cause a disturbance. Varkas had only observed him briefly, but even among the mounted warriors, this man possessed a particularly belligerent temperament.
Sensing a strange wave of weariness washing over him, Varkas spurred his horse to move forward.
By the time he returned to Laedgo Castle, the sun was already setting in the west. Varkas dismounted with an agile leap, handed the reins to the stable boy, and crossed the vast training ground.
Upon entering the main castle, the head of servants, who had been directing the staff, rushed out to meet him.
“You have arrived, Young Lord.”
He acknowledged the greeting with a nod, then made his way through the bustling hall and headed for the stairs. The man hurried to follow him and said:
“Lords from various regions have come to see you, Young Lord.”
He frowned and turned to look at the butler.
“Regional lords?”
“They are vassals who govern the southeastern region,” the man added cautiously. “It seems they have come to make a good impression before His Highness’s succession ceremony.”
He rubbed his chin lightly with his gloved hand, then continued up the stairs, speaking with indifference:
“Prepare a banquet for the guests. I will change my clothes and head to the reception hall.”
“Uhm…”
Just as he was heading toward his bedroom on the second floor, the butler left the sentence hanging. Varkas looked at him over his shoulder.
After hesitating for a long moment, the man opened his mouth cautiously:
“I was wondering if the young lord’s wife will be able to attend the banquet tonight…”
Varkas narrowed his eyes. The butler, calculating his reaction, quickly continued as if gossiping:
“Is she not the one who will soon become the lady of the Grand Duke’s house? Everyone is curious to know what she is like. But since she has not left her quarters all day…”
“Head of servants,” Varkas interrupted him in a low voice. “Do you think Her Imperial Highness should endure discomforts just to satisfy the curiosity of my relatives and servants?”
The color vanished from the butler’s face. Varkas added coldly:
“Her Highness suffered a severe accident only a few months ago. Her body has not yet fully recovered, and she has just endured an exhausting journey that lasted several weeks. She must rest and recover for the time being, so tell everyone not to disturb her with trivial matters.”
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