If you're going to apply military pressure anyway, wouldn't it be better to strike first?
Sending troops to the Valto border might only encourage the North to strengthen its own military even further.
She was about to argue exactly that before changing her mind.
Edrick Rubon was merely a messenger dispatched to relay the Emperor's orders.
Arguing with him would accomplish absolutely nothing.
Anxiously biting her lip, Talia forced herself to look at the situation more positively.
Perhaps seeing the overwhelming military strength of the Roem Empire with their own eyes would create divisions within Valto itself.
After all, how many people would willingly throw away their lives in a war they were almost certain to lose?
If some of Valto's nobles defected to the Imperial side, perhaps the flames of war would die out before they could spread.
“So... how did Varkas respond?”
“He agreed to His Majesty's orders and said he would dispatch cavalry units to the regions bordering Valto.”
Without realizing it, Talia released a sigh of relief.
Only then did she recognize what had truly frightened her.
She had been afraid Varkas would leave her side.
It's simply better for him to be here than not.
She tried to justify it to herself, yet the explanation felt woefully inadequate to account for the fear she had experienced.
Leaving behind the painful realization that she was still hopelessly obsessed with him, Talia forced herself to focus on the conversation before her.
“So you'll be returning to the Imperial Palace with his reply?”
“Yes. I'll be leaving today.”
The man shifted his gaze toward the window.
Talia looked surprised.
“Already?”
“Given the seriousness of the situation, we can't afford to delay even a single day.”
He rubbed the back of his neck with a faint smile.
“To be honest, I should have departed at sunrise. But I delayed my departure a little because I wanted to see Your Highness.”
“Why me?”
Talia looked at him suspiciously once more.
Seeing her expression, the man awkwardly scratched the back of his head before speaking.
“I haven't had a chance to see Your Highness since we returned from the pilgrimage. I wanted to know whether your health had recovered afterward.”
Caught completely off guard, Talia's eyes widened.
Smiling sheepishly, he added gently,
“I'm relieved to see you looking much healthier than the last time we met. The maids told me Lord Siorcan treasures Your Highness greatly. It put my mind at ease to know you've been doing well.”
“Why?”
Genuine curiosity filled Talia's eyes as she stared directly at him.
“Why do you care whether I'm doing well?”
The smile on his face faded slightly.
After fumbling awkwardly for a moment, he finally revealed his feelings with disarming honesty.
“I was Your Highness's Imperial Guard knight. I've carried the burden of believing that your injuries were my responsibility ever since.”
“...So you only wanted to see me to ease your own guilty conscience?”
Talia asked spitefully.
The words struck him like a blade.
His shoulders twitched before he quietly admitted,
“...Perhaps that's true.”
He let out a self-deprecating sigh.
Talia knitted her brows together.
She had never met anyone so painfully honest about their own feelings.
Suddenly, she found herself genuinely worried about this half-witted man.
“...With a personality like yours, you won't survive long in the Imperial Palace.”
“That's what everyone keeps telling me.”
The man exaggerated his misery as though trying to lighten the mood.
“My career prospects already look pretty hopeless.”
It sounded like a joke, but Talia nevertheless felt a weight settle in her chest.
Perhaps he had ended up running errands simply because he had fallen out of the Crown Prince's favor.
Looking at him with unexpected sympathy, she spoke generously.
“If your future really looks that bleak, come to the Grand Ducal House. I'll ask Varkas to hire you.”
“Edrick Rubon is one of the elite knights of the Roem Knights.”
A cool voice interrupted them.
Turning her head, Talia's eyes widened as she saw Varkas standing at the entrance to the sitting room.
Apparently he had hurried over, because his appearance was slightly disheveled.
Crossing the room in long strides, he added in his usual blunt tone,
“It would be a waste to leave someone destined to become one of His Majesty's Imperial Guard knights languishing in a remote frontier like this.”
“...I never realized Lord Siorcan held me in such high regard.”
Edrick Rubon muttered with an amused smile.
Varkas answered only with a cold look.
“I heard you helped my wife when she nearly suffered a serious accident. You have my gratitude.”
“Not at all. If anything, I was the one who startled her and nearly caused something terrible to happen.”
Talia shot the knight an exasperated glare.
Did this fool truly not realize that his habit of blurting out things better left unsaid was exactly why his career kept running into dead ends?
She barely resisted the urge to click her tongue.
At that moment, Varkas suddenly bent down.
Sliding one arm beneath her knees while firmly supporting her back with the other, he carefully lifted her into his arms.