Talia glared at them with a rigid face.
“What are you all staring at? Wasn't it hung up there for people to look at?”
At the venomous words, the men clutching their bowls blinked awkwardly and quickly averted their eyes.
Snorting derisively for all to see, Talia pushed Varkas's arm aside and limped toward the carriage.
Varkas followed and seized her elbow. Talia looked up at him tensely.
An ordinary noblewoman would have collapsed in shock or politely turned her eyes away from the corpse. Was he about to rebuke her for displaying behavior unbefitting a Grand Duchess?
As she regarded him warily, Varkas gently turned her around.
“From here on, we will be traveling on horseback.”
Before she could process the unexpected statement, he guided her toward the line of horses.
Talia hastily opened her mouth.
“I can't ride!”
“Do not worry. Your Highness will ride with me.”
At his light whistle, Tork came galloping over from the pasture, his black mane streaming behind him.
Talia stared at the gray warhorse, which looked as though it had been forged from twisted steel, as if gazing upon some hideous monster.
Tork was an entirely different beast from the pureblood horses from Nornek that Gareth paraded around.
Larger than ordinary fine horses, wild-tempered, and arrogantly dismissive of every living creature besides Varkas—
Talia hated this savage horse, which Varkas treasured so dearly.
And Tork felt exactly the same.
The moment he saw her, the stallion snorted. Talia hurriedly turned away from him, only to have Varkas catch her by the arm.
“Let go! I'll ride in the carriage!”
“The road ahead grows rough. If you travel by carriage, you'll collapse before half a day has passed.”
“I'd rather collapse than ride that filthy, stinking beast!”
Several easterners nearby, who had been saddling their horses, looked over as though they couldn't believe their ears.
Their expressions plainly said they found it impossible that anyone in the world could dislike horses.
A people mad about horses indeed.
Talia clenched her teeth.
“Let go of me this instant!”
With a short sigh, Varkas effortlessly lifted her and placed her atop the saddle.
Shrieking, Talia threw herself around Tork's neck.
Climbing up behind her, Varkas pulled her stiff body against his chest. Forgetting all sense of shame, Talia wrapped both arms tightly around his waist.
She was certain Tork would throw her onto the ground at any moment.
“M-Make me get down.”
“Lean back and relax. I won't let you fall.”
Raising her chin high, Talia shot him a vicious glare.
Ideally, she would have liked to slap him, but she dared not move in case Tork started bucking.
Grinding out each word between clenched teeth, she hissed,
“I said put me down!”
Pretending not to hear, Varkas flicked the reins.
Fearing she might bite through her own tongue, Talia immediately snapped her mouth shut.
Her vision swayed with the horse's movements.
Feeling slightly dizzy, she squeezed her eyes closed.
Then a familiar voice sounded nearby.
“Everything is prepared. Shall we depart immediately?”
It belonged to the vassal named Daren.
Varkas nodded toward him.
“Divide the troops in two. Half will follow me, and the other half will escort the supply wagons behind us.”
At his command, the cavalry moved with flawless discipline.
Peeking through half-open eyelids, Talia watched them before noticing several more corpses hanging in one corner of the village square.
She instinctively shrank her neck.
Noticing, Varkas covered her line of sight.