Perhaps because she had pushed herself too hard all at once, the muscles in her calves and thighs throbbed painfully.
Her knees and hips ached even more than usual.
Groaning quietly in the darkness, she reached beneath the tunic and carefully felt along her thigh.
Since she hadn't wrapped it with bandages, the uneven scars immediately met her fingertips.
Tracing the skin that felt crudely stitched together, she pressed firmly against the hardened muscles, trying to massage them.
But once the cramps had begun, they showed no sign of easing.
'I should have brought the medicine...'
Overcome with regret, she bit down hard on her lip.
Just then, noise erupted outside.
Hurried footsteps rapidly approached.
Feeling the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, she quickly pushed herself upright.
She was just beginning to crawl toward the corner to hide—
When bright torchlight flooded over her face.
Talia looked up in terror.
A mountain of a man clad in armor stood there holding a torch.
Tilting the light to illuminate her face more clearly, he shouted over his shoulder,
"We found her!"
Her heart pounded violently.
Curling herself up like a cornered mouse, Talia frantically searched her surroundings.
On one side of the cluttered shed where farming tools had been piled up, she spotted another exit.
Without giving herself time to think, she was about to throw herself toward it—
When heavy footsteps thundered inside.
A pitch-black shadow entered the shed.
At that instant, an icy chill swept through her as though every drop of blood in her body had frozen.
Talia stared up with terrified eyes at the dark silhouette of the man standing with the torchlight behind him.
Feet encased in black sabatons slowly approached.
For some reason, those measured footsteps only magnified the terror gripping her.
"Talia Roem Siorcan."
The voice was unnervingly gentle.
Barely managing to lift her eyes, Talia looked at him.
The torches held by the knights faintly illuminated one side of his cold face.
He appeared outwardly as calm as ever.
Yet she could not understand what it was about that composed expression that made her stop breathing.
The man spoke with terrifying composure.
"It's time to go home."
Without realizing it, Talia shrank backward.
A cruel gleam flashed through the man's eyes as he watched her.
"Do you wish to test my patience even further?"
His quiet voice seemed to rake down her spine.
Her eyes darted desperately around, searching for some avenue of escape.
At last, her arms fell limply to her sides.
* * *
Throughout the journey back to the castle, he did not utter a single word.
Neither did Talia.
She had no desire to speak.
There was nothing she wished to explain.
The entire time she was carried by his hands like a piece of luggage, she kept her eyes tightly shut, shutting out all the commotion around her.
At some point, she seemed to lose consciousness for real.
When Talia awoke from her light sleep, she realized she was lying on Varkas's bed.
Confused, she looked around the room.
At that moment, a sharp pain shot through her leg.
Grabbing her cramped ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) calf, she groaned softly while groping toward the shelf.
After a moment, she found the glass bottle containing pain medicine.
Just as she grasped it and tried to remove the stopper—
A large hand suddenly emerged from the darkness and seized her wrist.
Talia flinched and froze.
Only then did she realize that someone else was in the room.
Turning with startled eyes, she saw Varkas sitting perfectly upright in the darkness.
He looked down at her with eyes that were unnaturally calm.
"Does your leg hurt?"
Keeping her lips tightly sealed, Talia merely lowered her eyes in answer.
Immediately, she felt the hand gripping her wrist tighten until it hurt.
"I simply cannot refrain from asking."
His voice remained eerily composed.
"With your body in that condition... where exactly were you trying to go?"