The Forgotten Field Novel - Chapter 90
## Chapter 90: THE FORGOTTEN FIELDS (NOVEL)
Talia turned toward him, her face hardening.
—”What do you mean by that?”
—”It means that, from now on, we must remain together.”
He replied calmly.
—”There will be times during the tour when I will have to ride a horse, but my intention is to use the carriage with you whenever possible.”
She swallowed hard.
—”Then, the lodging……”
—”We will also share lodging.”
Talia’s heart sank. She didn’t know if it was from fear or from the emotions that had tormented her for so long.
Talia, nervously fidgeting with the jade ornament on her wrist, blurted out anxiously:
—”Is it really necessary to go to that extreme?”
Varkas did not answer. Talia immediately began to speak aggressively:
—”It’s not as if you don’t know what people will say if they marry me. Everyone knows the internal details of our marriage, don’t you think it will be even more ridiculous if we pretend to be an affectionate couple?”
—”It is not necessary for us to appear affectionate.”
Varkas let out a long sigh.
—”It is enough that we appear to be a couple capable of maintaining a marital relationship.”
Talia, who put on a bewildered expression, suddenly opened her eyes wide in surprise.
Does he mean “marital relationship” in the sense she is thinking?
As she stared at him, analyzing that ascetic face in which not a single ounce of human desire could be discerned, he continued speaking naturally.
—”Regardless of how things happened, we have become husband and wife, and Your Highness must know what obligations marriage entails for a noble. The simple fact that we look like a normal married couple will be of help to my position, and of course, to yours.”
Talia’s face turned intense red. It seemed that, after all, he did refer to what she thought when saying “marital relationship.”
From between her trembling lips came clumsy words.
—”In other words, what you mean to say is that we must appear to be a couple that…… sleeps together?”
A slight crease formed at the corner of his eyes. It was a strange expression, as if he were about to smile or frown at the same time.
—”If we say it explicitly, yes.”
Talia bit her lip hard and scanned him slowly with her gaze.
Beneath the fine silk that shimmered subtly, a robust body with no trace of fat was clearly revealed.
Broad shoulders, a torso seamlessly woven with detailed muscles, a slender waist, and long, firm legs like those of a horse……
Suddenly feeling short of breath, Talia lowered her gaze hurriedly. Over her thin skirt, she could vaguely see her own scrawny legs.
She felt a pang in her stomach. They were scars that made even her mother frown in disgust. Even the nanny who had raised her since she was a baby could not hide her gesture of displeasure every time she washed her body.
Just thinking about showing something so horrendous to him, a cold sweat began to break out on her.
She clutched the hem of her clothes and blurted out in a sharp voice:
—”I don’t want to. Let them say whatever they want. People are always going to talk just to talk. That’s what they have mouths for. Why do I have to stage this ridiculous theater just because of what the subordinates think?……”
—”Talia.”
A large hand covered the back of her stiff hand. Talia startled and looked at him.
Varkas firmly gripped her hand, which had gone cold, and said steadfastly:
—”I am not asking you to act.”
—”……”
—”It is only necessary to show to the outside that we are spending time together.”
Varkas’s words sounded more like a request than an order. That fact blocked the words of rejection that crowded in Talia’s throat.
Talia observed his face, where a slight fatigue could be perceived, with trembling eyes. Judging by the attitude of the vassals of Siokan, Varkas’s position could also be unstable. While she remained locked in her room, he would have pressed himself relentlessly to consolidate his place.
Suddenly, her mouth felt dry. If Ayla had been here, she would have rolled up her sleeves for Varkas. She would have displayed her natural leadership and dignity to help Varkas strengthen his position.
He wouldn’t have had to make a request like this to her. The two of them would have spent a normal wedding night and would have continued their marital relationship naturally.
Talia bit her lower lip. Thoughts of self-deprecation chained one after another. How would Varkas have treated Ayla? If he was capable of showing a generous attitude even to her, who always snarled at him like an enemy, with Ayla it would have been the same or even better.
She imagined Varkas touching Ayla’s body without hesitation, just as he tried to touch her every time he had the chance. She visualized Varkas caressing Ayla’s cheek or ear, or wrapping his arm around her waist. In her imagination, the two did much more intimate things without hesitating. As she deepened into her thoughts, she felt a pang in her heart, as if she had been burned.
Talia withdrew her hand abruptly from his grip. Then, she averted her gaze toward the window, swallowing with difficulty the emotions that boiled inside her.
—”Do as you wish.”
A heavy silence settled. Talia wanted to check his expression, but for some reason, she felt afraid.
Talia leaned her elbow on the window frame and pretended to observe the knights.
Shortly after, along with the sound of a trumpet, the carriage began to move forward.
Talia poked her head out of the window a bit. As soon as the carriage passed through the castle gate, a vast plain stretched before her eyes. A strong gale blew over the plain that merged with the sky.
While contemplating the meadow that was tinted an ocher color, Talia observed him from the corner of her eye.
Varkas was also looking toward the field. The white sunlight projected a dazzling backlight on his face.
She felt a strange tightness in her chest.
In this unknown and beautiful land, she had to spend time with him.
Will I be able to protect the walls that took me so much effort to raise?
Lucas shook the reins without hesitation.
It had been almost a week since he last rode a horse. Turgan, who had been neglected for a few days and was in a bad mood, snorted loudly as he crossed the meadow with vigor.
Beneath his thighs, he could feel how the tense muscles of the steed vibrated.
He stood up on the stirrups and let out a euphoric shout. The dry wind lashed his body with force. It felt incredibly refreshing.
—”Do not stray from the formation!”
Tyron, who had approached him, shouted. Lucas looked at him with an expression of displeasure.
—”What does it matter for a little bit of this?!”
—”I managed with great difficulty to get permission for you to accompany me under the pretext of teaching you to behave like a vassal! What will become of me if you act on your own like that?!”
Lucas clicked his tongue roughly and pulled the reins. Once he managed to calm the horse that was running excited, Tyron also reduced his speed and approached him.
—”As I told you before, the young master will serve for a time as a squire to His Excellency the Grand Duke. Do not stray from the carriage.”
—”You don’t understand anything. I do this precisely because I am thinking of my brother.”
Lucas said with a sarcastic tone.
—”It will bother my brother even more if I hang around nearby, don’t you think? And that woman too.”
He dropped the words with a sharp tone and looked toward the carriage that was advancing slowly up the hill, quite a bit behind.
He felt a tingling in the part of his face where that woman had hit him. The cheek, which had been red and swollen for a time, only began to deflate after two days.
He twisted his lips.
—”You also saw what that woman did to me that day.”
—”I also saw the young master bringing his nose close to that person’s neck.”
Lucas blushed suddenly.
—”Put that way, I look like a pervert! I only got close to smell because she gave off a strange scent!”
—”……Whichever way it’s said, it sounds like a pervert.”
Tyron shook his head from side to side.
—”Just as His Excellency the Grand Duke said, both of you need to learn noble protocol. Under the pretext that the previous Grand Duke was in bed, you have lived with too much freedom during this time.”
Lucas looked at him with resentment. It bothered him that his words seemed to be subtly on Varkas’s side.
—”My brother has completely won you over, hasn’t he?”
Tyron did not particularly deny it. It seemed that he had already accepted Varkas as his lord.
And this did not apply only to Tyron. Although the conservative elder advisors expressed concern over Varkas’s drastic actions, the warriors full of vitality sent him enthusiastic support. Everyone had been thirsting for strong leadership.
To be honest, Lucas was also half captivated by the overwhelming power that Varkas had shown. However, he did not want to admit that fact so easily.
—”All right. I admit I was a bit rude. But that woman wasn’t far behind either! Why do only we have to be punished?”
—”That person belongs to the imperial family.”
Tyron said with an indifferent tone.
—”In addition, she is now the Grand Duchess. Therefore, you had better watch your words from now on. Did you hear what Knight Darren said a short while ago?”
He made a gesture with the tips of his fingers as if cutting his throat.
—”She is a person who throws poisonous words without even blinking before the Grand Duke of Siokan himself. To someone like the young master, she would probably draw out every last truth with her sharp tongue. So, for the peace of the East, do not provoke her without reason.”
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