Chapter 250

The voice belonged to the chief maid.

Talia cast a suspicious glance toward the door.

“What is it?”

“A messenger has arrived from the northern border. His Grace the Grand Duke sent several items, and I thought it best that Your Highness inspect them personally, so I brought them here.”

At the unexpected words, Talia stiffened. She could feel the two healers beside her discreetly watching her reaction.

She quickly composed her wavering expression and replied in a nonchalant tone.

“Fine. Come in.”

Soon afterward, five or six servants entered the bedroom one after another, carrying gleaming lacquered chests. Talia watched them with a tense gaze.

“What is all this?”

“Tonics to help restore your strength, along with rare medicinal herbs found only in the North. It seems His Grace sent them in hopes that they would aid Your Highness’s recovery.”

The chief maid explained in her usual businesslike tone, then held out a sheet of parchment bearing the seal of the Grand Ducal House.

“Would you like to check whether anything is missing?”

No sooner had she spoken than the servants opened the chests one by one to display their contents. Arranged neatly atop velvet cushions were dark reddish pieces of dried flesh that looked like animal organs, roots from various plants, and strangely shaped fruits.

After giving them only a cursory glance, Talia asked impatiently,

“Is there any other news?”

“What sort of news do you mean?”

Realizing that she had little interest in the inventory, the chief maid folded the parchment in half again and asked bluntly.

Talia glared at her irritably.

“I’m asking whether you heard anything about the situation in the North!”

“The messenger sent by His Grace handed over the goods and immediately headed for the council chamber. Therefore, I was unable to hear any details concerning the situation.”

The chief maid replied calmly.

Talia regarded her suspiciously, wondering whether she might be lying, then asked in a subdued voice,

“......Was there no other message for me?”

Instead of answering, the chief maid gave her an odd look.

Talia realized that the woman was recalling all the atrocious ways she had treated her husband, and her face flushed. The older woman’s stern eyes seemed to condemn her shamelessness for expecting to hear from him after all that.

Talia abruptly turned her head away from the chief maid’s gaze and snapped irritably,

“If he didn’t say anything else, then fine. You may go.”

“......His Grace said he intends to stop by the castle once before the season changes.”

After a long pause, the chief maid finally spoke.

Talia’s eyes widened at the unexpected news. The chief maid glanced down at the wolf in her arms before adding cautiously,

“I was told that His Grace expressed concern upon hearing that Your Highness had taken in a dire wolf pup.”

Talia instinctively tightened her arms around Khan, then quickly loosened her grip when she felt the wolf squirm his legs in discomfort.

Instead of immediately escaping from her embrace, the wolf straightened himself and pressed his downy face against the tip of her chin. The gesture seemed intended to reassure her, and the corners of her lips naturally curved upward.

The chief maid watched them thoughtfully for a moment before turning away with a quiet sigh.

“I will have these medicinal ingredients stored separately in the valuables storeroom. Please let me know if you require them.”

“There is no need for that. If you give them to me, I will prepare a medicinal decoction for Her Highness immediately.”

Marisen, who had been silently listening to their exchange, suddenly spoke up. The chief maid looked down at her thoughtfully for a moment, then turned back to Talia as though asking for her opinion.

Talia nodded indifferently.

“Do that.”

“Understood. Then I will have these medicinal ingredients arranged in the storage cabinets of the preparation room.”

With that, the servants filed out of the room. Only then did Talia let the tension drain from her shoulders.

Watching her from the corner of her eye, Marisen gathered up her treatment tools and rose first.

“We will take our leave as well. Please summon us at any time if you need anything.”

Talia merely gave a perfunctory nod as she slumped against the back of her chair. Soon their footsteps faded into the distance, followed by the sound of the door closing.

Talia stared out the window with a half-dazed expression until she suddenly felt an intense gaze fixed on her and lowered her head. The moment she met those beautiful blue eyes that were always turned toward her, like a sunflower following the sun, the anxiety churning in her chest rapidly subsided.

She gently stroked Khan’s pointed gray ears.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure Varkas will soften once he sees you too. Because.......”

When she playfully tickled the nape of his neck, the wolf tucked his head in slightly. Looking down at him affectionately, Talia whispered as though sharing a secret.

“You and Varkas have exactly the same eyes. His eyes are scattered with beautiful silver flecks just like yours.”

The wolf blinked his enormous eyes blankly and tilted his head.

Sometimes Talia found herself under the illusion that this wolf truly understood every word she said.

Khan seemed to empathize with every emotion she felt. It was an entirely new experience for her. Someone upon whom she could lavish her affection without reservation or suspicion. Someone who returned as much love as she gave him—no, even more.

Talia, who had never possessed anything like that before, fell even more deeply in love with Khan.

“Want me to show you?”

Holding Khan in her arms, Talia rose from her seat. She walked over to the bed and opened a cabinet beside it. At the very back of one drawer sat a small jewelry box.

She carefully took it out and placed it on the blanket, making Khan’s ears perk up.

Talia set Khan down on the bed and cautiously opened the jewelry box. Inside were yellow flower petals that were slowly drying and turning brittle. From among them, Talia took out a moonstone about the size of her thumbnail and proudly held it right in front of Khan’s nose.

“I got this not long after I came to the East. What do you think? It looks exactly like your eyes, doesn’t it? Your daddy’s eyes are exactly this color too.”

The wolf stared fixedly at the small uncut stone without moving a muscle.

Talia regarded his strange reaction with puzzlement for a moment, then took out a ruby brooch and a handkerchief embroidered in the eastern style, showing them to him one after another.

“Your daddy bought me this. Isn’t it beautiful? They’re all my treasures.”

The wolf, who had remained perfectly still for some time, lifted his head and looked at her.

The smile vanished from Talia’s lips. It almost looked as though the wolf were suffering.

Talia sprang upright in alarm and scooped him into her arms.

“What’s wrong?”

The wolf trembled and burrowed into her embrace. Talia fidgeted anxiously, wondering whether something hurt, but soon realized that he was merely distressed and gently patted his little back.

She had no idea how long they remained like that.

Suddenly, a languid sensation spread throughout her body. It seemed the ointment the healer had applied was finally beginning to take effect.

The rigid muscles in her legs gradually relaxed, and soon she felt as though her body were floating in midair. Overcome by the blissful sensation of her body melting away, Talia closed her eyes.

Before she even realized it, a song slipped through her slightly parted lips. It was a melody her mother used to hum whenever she was in a good mood.

Caught in a strange feeling of happiness, Talia let out a soft, tinkling laugh. Then her vision suddenly blurred, and she lay down on the bed.

At some point, she seemed to have drifted off to sleep.

It was only when the sun had begun to sink toward the horizon that Talia finally came to her senses. Still groggy, she looked out the window.

Beyond the glass, the sunset looked as though the sky were on fire. As she stared blankly at it, a scorching thirst tightened around her throat. She groped toward the water pitcher on the shelf.

At that moment, a searing wave of heat engulfed her as though she had been thrown into a fire.

Talia gasped out a harsh groan. It felt as though her entire body had turned into firewood. The light was unbearably bright, and her skin burned as though it were being scorched alive.

Writhing in pain, Talia urgently grabbed the cord beside the bed and pulled it.