He crossed the deep blue-green grassland, overcome by the feeling that he was setting foot on unfamiliar land for the first time.
On the gently rolling hills, dozens of plump foals and mares were grazing.
“More than a hundred foals were born on this ranch alone this year. All of them inherit the bloodline of the famed horses of Norneck Mountain.”
Daren Dru Siorcan, who had been quietly following behind him, explained in a voice tinged with pride.
Varkas turned to look at the man, whose upright impression made him seem somewhat stubborn, and asked a question.
“How many trained warhorses are there?”
“There are three thousand on this ranch alone. If we include the ranch in the north, there should be around six thousand three hundred.”
“That is fewer than the number I was briefed on.”
At his remark, a red flush rose over the man’s face.
“You were in the central region, Young Lord. Realistically, it is difficult to relay every minute detail beyond the regular reports.”
The man avoided his eyes and added, as though making an excuse.
“A month ago, one of the horse ranches in the northeast suffered great damage from an attack by the Zram people. Afterward, retaliatory battles broke out, and we lost a considerable number of usable warhorses.”
Varkas furrowed his brow.
“Why was no report sent to the imperial family?”
“Why would we, when we could resolve it with our own strength?”
The man shrugged with a sullen expression.
“His Grace the Grand Duke always believed that eastern problems should be resolved among easterners. The vassals agreed with him as well.”
“The East is also territory of the Roem Empire.”
Varkas refuted him in a dry tone.
“We are also subjects of the Empire. Just as the East is loyal to the imperial family, the imperial family has a duty to protect the people of the East.”
The man shut his mouth tight. He seemed to feel an instinctive aversion to the word ‘protect.’ The warriors of the Khan people, who possessed a strong sense of pride, regarded outside aid as humiliation.
Instead of correcting that mistaken idea, Varkas turned his horse toward the village located below the hill.
Most of the residents living outside the castle walls led harsher lives than the townspeople.
As proof of that, the buildings lined along the muddy road were all old and shabby.
He was sweeping his indifferent gaze over them when something suddenly drew his attention.
Varkas narrowed his brow and drove his horse toward the center of the village. Then he saw something hanging from the large tree in the square.
Once he drew a little closer, he could tell what it was. Three corpses, apparently long dead and already beginning to rot purple, hung limply with ropes tied around their necks.
“They must be heretics who were executed recently.”
Daren said, wrinkling the bridge of his nose.
Varkas turned to him and asked,
“Are heretical forces spreading through Kalmor?”
“As you know, Young Lord, there are many easterners who have been unable to abandon their ethnic faith. Among them are those who worship spirits like gods or become engrossed in superstition.”
The man let out a heavy sigh.
“Especially recently, accusations against heretics have increased. It is likely because conflicts with the Zram people have become more frequent. They are all deeply immersed in spirit-worshiping beliefs, are they not? Because resentment toward heretics has intensified, religious trials are taking place frequently on a village level.”
“In the space of a few years, this place has become a mess.”
A displeased look appeared on the man’s face.
As though trying to hide it, the man forced a smile onto his lips and shrugged his broad shoulders.
“His Grace the Grand Duke has been confined to his sickbed for a long time, so it could not be helped.”
Varkas looked up at the corpses with a thoughtful expression, then jerked his chin toward his subordinates.
“If they are left like that, there is a high chance they will become ghouls. Take down the bodies and perform simple funeral rites for them.”
The man raised his thick brows.
“For heretics, you mean?”
Varkas looked at him with cold eyes.
“Do you need me to say it twice?”
Daren stared fixedly at him for a moment, then soon barked at the line of knights.
“What are you all doing instead of obeying the Young Lord’s order at once!”
The men immediately dismounted and cut the ropes holding up the corpses.
The bodies fell heavily onto the dirt with a {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} thud.
He quietly looked down at the head bent at an odd angle, as though the neck bones had broken during the fall.
Maggots swarmed inside the hollow sockets where the eyeballs had been gouged out, and beyond the lips carved away with a knife, every tooth had been pulled. These were all measures taken in preparation for ghoulification.