The nervous man stammered before turning around.
“Please follow me. I shall guide the two of you to your accommodations.”
Varkas pressed the head of the weakly drooping woman against his shoulder and followed the man. After hesitating briefly, Lucas followed behind them.
The place Kun Badera brought them to was a large tent located in the center of the encampment. Inside the cone-shaped tent, covered with tarred cloth, stood a large bed and luxurious furnishings.
After slowly inspecting the interior, Varkas laid the woman down upon the wide bed and instructed Lucas,
“Go and fetch an attendant. There should be a quarter-dwarf among Her Highness's maids.”
“...I was under the impression that my duty was to attend to you, Brother.”
Varkas, lowering the canopy over the bed, let out a dry laugh.
“Did I not just give you an order?”
“But what you ordered me to do is the sort of errand servants handle. My duty is to take care of your horses and weapons—”
“Your duty is to obey my orders without complaint.”
Varkas rose and strode toward him.
Lucas unconsciously stepped back.
Grasping his shoulder with one hand, Varkas brushed aside his disheveled hair and continued slowly,
“Lucas, from now on, you'll learn how to obey me. In truth, it is a virtue you should have learned from the day you first mounted a horse.”
Lucas stiffened like a mouse placed before a snake.
Varkas examined his face with cold eyes and added calmly,
“If you argue with me again, you will receive punishment accordingly. Understood?”
Lucas swallowed hard and slowly nodded.
Varkas tilted his chin.
“Then go fetch the maid.”
Lucas immediately ran out of the tent.
It seemed this tour was doomed not to become a pleasant outing after all.
Messing up his hair with both hands, he trudged away.
* * *
The pain that had been stabbing at her knees slowly crawled up to her hips.
Tossing upon the thick sheets, Talia laboriously opened her heavy eyelids.
An unfamiliar ceiling illuminated by flickering light filled her vision.
Blinking, Talia slowly sat up.
Then suddenly, realizing she was wearing nothing but a thin linen dress, she jumped in fright.
Hurriedly feeling her legs, she found the bandages that had been wrapped around them that morning.
Fortunately, it seemed only her outer garments had been removed.
She had just let out a small sigh of relief when she heard the faint sound of water nearby.
Whipping her head around, Talia froze.
Varkas was washing himself with his upper body bare.
He scooped up water with his hand and ran it along the back of his neck. Transparent streams slowly flowed down the taut lines of his lean muscles.
Staring blankly at the sight, Talia finally managed to force out her voice.
“W-What are you doing right now?”
Varkas, rubbing his face with wet hands, turned his head toward her.
His pale body, damp with water, filled her vision.
Talia's face turned bright red, and she hurriedly pulled the blanket up to her chest.
“W-Why are you stripping like that, you pervert!”
Varkas silently looked down at her before releasing a heavy sigh.
“One cannot wash while wearing clothes.”
“T-Then why are you washing here—!”
Talia's shrill voice suddenly died.
Varkas had bent over the bed and covered her mouth with one hand.
“Lower your voice.”