## CHAPTER 142
Varkas replied in a calm voice and slowly stood up.
Her eyes followed him with a blank stare, as if she were clouded by fever. After contemplating her eyes for a long time, and just as he was about to turn away reluctantly, the tips of her slender fingers clung to his sleeve.
—You have to return soon.
—...
—I feel uncomfortable in several aspects if you do not attend to me yourself.
He bit the inside of his cheek with his teeth. After wetting his throat, which burned with a mixture of blood and saliva, he barely managed to articulate words.
—...I will return soon. You can take a nap in the meantime.
He gently ran his hand through her hair, which had become a bit messy, and then left the room in silence.
When he inhaled the cold air accumulated in the hallway, his burning stomach calmed down a bit, as if he had swallowed a gulp of a strong liquor. He roughly ruffled his hair and dictated an order to the servant waiting for him in the corridor:
—Prepare a bath for me in the sauna room. And also get clothes ready for me to change.
Then he began to walk with long strides.
—There is no need to light the fire. Tell them to prepare water as cold as ice.
---
Loel Draven moistened his lips with the select wine that the servants had served him, while examining the full panoramic view of Radgo Castle from the window.
There was not a single neglected corner in the fortress; it was just as befitted the residence of a powerful and influential family in the East, the North, and the South. Within the enormous fort surrounded by double walls, the functional stone buildings lined up in a rigorous order, and channels of crystal-clear water connected them to one another like a spiderweb.
In the front part of the castle extended an enormous barracks and a training square that, at first glance, seemed capable of housing more than a thousand soldiers. The number of troops stationed only in this area probably rounded around five thousand men if the Kalmor security force was added.
If the forces distributed throughout the East and the frontier defense units were added, the total military power possessed by Grand Duke Sherkan ranged approximately between fifty-eight thousand and sixty thousand men. This was a volume that rivaled the size of the direct imperial army. Furthermore, given that most members of the Khan tribe trained in horsemanship since childhood, it was possible to form an even larger army if additional forces were recruited.
Loel performed various calculations in his head while examining the internal structure of the castle. Suddenly, he sensed a presence and looked back quickly.
A man wearing a black velvet jacket and a cloak with gray fur stood at the entrance of the reception room, which was completely open. Promptly, Loel placed a hand on his chest and offered a greeting.
—I apologize for the delay in presenting myself, Your Excellency the Grand Duke. I am Loel Draven, leader of the northern merchants' guild. Thank you for inviting me to the castle.
—Take a seat.
The man nodded slightly and sat at the end of the long table. Loel took a seat in a chair beside him and examined the young ruler of the East with a cautious gaze.
The man possessed a polished beauty that resembled a marble statue. His refined features, the bone structure that formed a perfect harmony, and his eyes of such an unusual color... Just looking at his appearance, he might seem more suited to be a wandering poet or a theater actor. Had he not witnessed his colossal strength with his own eyes, he would have considered him simply a noble of elegant bearing.
—Have you finished spying?
Loel snapped out of his daydreaming due to the dry, low voice, and broke the tense atmosphere with an awkward smile.
—I was dumbfounded for a moment by your gallantry, Your Excellency. I beg you to forgive me for committing such an imprudence.
The man smiled. It was a smile so gentle that it instilled a terrifying feeling.
—You are very skillful with words.
—Hahaha, a merchant's tongue is his source of livelihood, is it not? Due to my frequent encounters with personalities of the nobility, my conversations have naturally become more fluid.
—Certainly, it seems you have used that clever tongue to sow discord here and there.
The man said in a soft tone, while receiving a glass handed to him by a youth who appeared to be his servant. Loel made an effort to maintain a fake smile on his face, which was on the verge of paralyzing.
—What do you mean by that?
—I know perfectly well that you sell information about the strategic military points of the East to the North. Let us avoid sterile discussions between us.
The man sentenced coldly while swirling the glass.
Loel swallowed hard. The idea of denying the matter crossed his mind for an instant, but he feared that it would provoke the fury of this young ruler. He decided to adopt a direct posture and spoke with a serene face:
—I am a man of the north, Your Excellency. Obeying my lord's orders is my duty.
—Does that mean you were only following the orders of Björn Blodar Heimdall?
Loel bit his lips. The current name of the Duke of Heimdall was Kaelus. However, the man in front of him seemed to be aware that the real power in the north had shifted to his son. He felt his back grow damp with a cold sweat and resumed the conversation quickly:
—The information I provided was so insignificant that it cannot be considered a military secret. It was the type that anyone with a sharp gaze could easily discover. Like the state of the roads, the movement of goods in the markets, the size of the army... Are these not data with which any merchant must be familiar? I know that Your Excellency also gathers details of the situation in the north thoroughly through merchants.
—It is true. In general, using the information network of merchants to monitor the affairs of neighbors is not considered something serious...
The man prolonged his words. Loel watched with expectation his cold lips, which drew an elegant curve. After a few seconds of a silence that increased Loel's anguish, the man finally dropped the bomb:
—But participating in a treason is a slightly different matter, is it not?
Loel's shoulders shrank as if he had been struck by lightning. He stood up immediately with a distorted face.
—Trea... treason! That is an exaggerated defamation! How dare you pronounce such terrible words...!
—I understand that the circulation of silver currency in the north increased considerably since last spring. This is very strange... despite the fact that the commercial volume did not vary much compared to the previous year.
Loel, who was acting out his indignation convincingly, froze. Grand Duke Sherkan continued speaking slowly while taking a sip of the wine:
—During the investigation of the alarming situation in the north, I discovered something very interesting. An audacious goldsmith copied the minting dies of the imperial currency in Roeim in an extremely identical manner. In your opinion, for whom did that goldsmith work?
Loel lost the strength in his legs and collapsed into his chair. He expected a certain kind of reprimand and pressure upon being conducted here, but he never imagined that they had discovered everything he kept in his possession. He looked at the young Duke with eyes full of panic.
The man sighed with regret and placed the empty glass on the table with a sharp thud.
—Tampering with the minting right of the imperial currency is a major crime punishable by the extermination of three generations, and given that you filled the pockets of traitors with those coins... perhaps it will be difficult to bury your body intact in a grave. I offer you my sincere condolences in advance.
Loel fell to his knees immediately before the man. It was no longer the time to evaluate the cards his opponent possessed. Undoubtedly, there was another purpose behind his summons to Radgo Castle instead of having delivered him to the Imperial tribunal. He began to plead, casting aside all his pride:
—I... I never had the intention to participate in a treason! I was forced to collaborate in the minting of the silver currency only because I did not know what would happen to my business and my family if I did not cooperate with them! Please, have mercy!
—Are you asking me to overlook your crime knowing that doing so in itself constitutes an act of treason? What benefit will I obtain by assuming such danger?
The man tilted his head toward him. His gallant face, devoid of expressions, looked like that of an angel of punishment. Loel barely managed to articulate the rest of his words between his trembling lips:
—If you save me this time, I swear I will never mention Your Excellency's name, no matter what happens in the future. And I will not hesitate to become your arm and your eyes to perform any dirty work. From now on, I am your servant.
Loel understood by instinct that the man had cited him because he expected to hear those words. The corner of the young ruler's lip twitched as he fixed his gaze on his face in silence. It was a smile as sharp as the blade of a polished knife.
—I will trust the skill of your clever tongue this time.
---
Talia was reading a book in bed when she suddenly fell asleep.
While breathing rhythmically with her eyes closed, she felt something cold brush against her lips, so she opened her mouth unconsciously. A small pulp that looked like a grain entered her mouth. Upon biting it lightly, the sweet and sour juice of the fruit spread across her palate.
She swallowed what had melted and rubbed her tired eyelids with the back of her hand; Varkas gradually appeared in her field of vision. She frowned a little. He was sitting, resting his elbows on his knees and manipulating something.
—What is this?
—It is pomegranate. The guests brought it as a gift. Open your mouth.
He carefully took a red grain from a pomegranate split in half and brought it close to her lips. Talia contemplated it for an instant and then opened her mouth slowly. He placed the grain in her mouth and, immediately, began to extract another.