Chapter 263

As his joints and muscles rapidly grew throughout his entire body, Khan seemed to ache all over and could not stay still for even a moment. He would spend all day pacing around the room or clawing pointlessly at the floor with his front paws, and sometimes he would even chew on the bedding or furniture.

Seeing how difficult it seemed for him to remain confined in a limited space, Talia frequently took him for walks through the garden or let him roam around the rear grounds, but even that was not enough to exhaust Khan's overflowing energy.

In the end, she had no choice but to take Khan beyond the castle walls almost every day and let him run across the grasslands.

“Please do not go too far. The area up to where the flags of House Siorcan are displayed is hunting ground under our management, but beyond that lies dangerous territory. You must take particular care not to leave our sight.”

Leaving the guard captain's overbearing warning behind, she began walking along the edge of the forest, now covered in white frost.

Khan circled around her excitedly before suddenly shooting across the snowfield like an arrow. She had barely begun to grow anxious at the sight of him rapidly disappearing into the distance when Khan circled through the trees and came racing back to her, wagging his tail furiously.

Talia giggled, scooped up a handful of snow from the ground, and playfully scattered it over Khan's head.

Abruptly showered with snow, Khan flattened his ears back and shook his head vigorously. As she sprinkled snow over his head again, Khan suddenly spun around and kicked wildly at the ground with his hind legs, sending up a small blizzard.

Covered in snow from head to toe, Talia narrowed her eyes at Khan before abruptly wrapping her arms around his fluffy neck and rubbing fistfuls of snow all over his face. Apparently delighted by the childish game, Khan's bushy tail spun around as quickly as a windmill.

“My big baby.”

Talia playfully tugged on the ears of the wolf rubbing his face against her neck and whispered affectionately, laughter in her voice.

Khan looked joyful and happy. His blue-gray eyes, flecked with silver, sparkled as he eagerly licked her face with his hot, wet tongue.

Leaning backward to escape the barrage of affection, Talia suddenly lay down on the snow and looked up at the pale winter sky.

Glittering snowflakes fluttered between the snow-white branches.

She stared at the sight in a daze for a while before getting back up and continuing along the forest path. Before long, an expansive snowfield opened up before her eyes.

Talia gazed at the panorama of Kalmor with newfound wonder. Beyond the vast plain, an enormous fortified city surrounded by sand-colored walls and a magnificent fortress revealed their hazy outlines.

Armund Forest, encircling the plain, was shrouded in winter mist, its pale form only faintly visible, while thin snow clouds hanging low above it swept rapidly westward with the wind.

For the first time, she thought this land was extraordinarily beautiful.

“I believe it would be best for Your Highness to return now.”

As the wind grew increasingly fierce, the guard captain who had been following her from a distance approached and urged her to leave. Talia made no complaint and headed toward where the carriage had been left.

Just then, something black came charging rapidly into the edge of her vision.

Before she could even recognize what it was, Khan, who had been wagging his tail gently beside her, shot forward like an arrow.

Talia let out a shrill scream.

“Khan!”

As though that cry had been a signal, the guard captain standing to her left drew his sword. At the same moment, a savage roar rang out.

Talia blindly rushed in the direction Khan had gone. After passing between the densely packed trees, she saw Khan with his jaws sunk into the neck of a black wild boar.

The enormous beast looked five times Khan's size and thrashed violently in resistance, but the wolf kept his powerful jaws firmly clenched and stubbornly hung on to its massive body. The boar then twisted its body and mercilessly crushed Khan beneath it.

A piercing scream burst from Talia's lips at the sight.

“Save Khan right now! Hurry!”

The guard captain immediately charged forward and swung his sword. Before long, the massive body of the violently thrashing boar fell still.

Talia approached Khan on trembling legs.

“Khan, it's all right. You can stop now.”

Khan, whose body had been heaving roughly as he held the boar's neck between his jaws, finally raised his head.

Talia unconsciously faltered and took a step back. Khan looked so unfamiliar with dark red blood staining his muzzle.

“It's dangerous, Your Highness! Do not go near him!”

While she hesitated, the guard who had approached her roughly pulled her by the arm. Talia finally snapped back to her senses and sharply slapped his hand away.

“What do you mean, dangerous! Khan only killed a dangerous beast!”

As if to prove her point, she abruptly wrapped both arms around Khan's body. The wolf stiffened for a moment before quietly settling into her embrace. Talia let out a small sigh of relief.

“Look. He's perfectly docile.”

“He may be now, but we don't know when he might suddenly turn. Now that he has shown aggression once.......”

“Shut up! If you had killed that monster first, Khan wouldn't have had to fight it in the first place! You couldn't even do your own job, so who do you think you are blaming him!”

The guard captain's face hardened at her furious rebuke. Yet apparently unable to find anything to say in response, the man pressed his lips together, returned his sword to his waist, and bowed his head slightly.

“......My apologies, Your Highness.”

He then bent over the boar sprawled on the ground to examine it before shouting loudly at the soldiers who had belatedly arrived.

“A Dire Boar has infiltrated the hunting grounds. Search the surrounding area for any others!”

Then he addressed her in a courteous tone.

“Your Highness, please wait in the carriage. We will depart as soon as this area has been secured.”

Talia immediately turned away. Then, suddenly remembering something, she glanced back at him over her shoulder.

“There's no need to report what happened today to the Grand Duke separately.”

“That would not be.......”

“The Grand Duke must already have enough headaches from the conflict. Does he really need to concern himself with something this trivial as well?”

Talia deliberately raised her voice with an air of authority.

“Nothing happened to me. Don't cause a commotion over something pointless!”

The man's brow furrowed. His expression made it obvious that he had seen straight through her intention to silence them because she was afraid Varkas might forbid her from going out.

She deliberately snapped at him coldly.

“That's an order!”

“......Understood. I will do as you command.”

The man bowed his head reluctantly.

Only then did Talia look relieved as she took Khan and climbed into the carriage. She picked up a blanket that had been carelessly tossed onto the seat and wiped the blood from around Khan's mouth. But the dark red stains stubbornly refused to disappear.

A powerful sense of unease suddenly washed over her.

Khan was no longer a small animal she could simply pick up in her arms and cuddle to her heart's content. He would only grow larger from now on, and his aggression would probably grow stronger as well. Would she still be able to keep taking care of Khan when that time came?

Talia bit her lip, then took out a clean new blanket and draped it over Khan's body. The wolf lowered his head onto her lap as though exhausted and let out a rumbling growl. Slowly stroking Khan's head, she looked out the window. Just then, the carriage began to move.

Talia watched Armund Forest recede into the distance before eventually closing her eyes.

* * *

The guards seemed to have decided to quietly bury the incident that had occurred in the hunting grounds.

As several days passed with everything continuing exactly as usual, he was overcome by a strange mixture of anger and relief.

The behavior of the subordinates who had failed to faithfully carry out his orders provoked intense displeasure in him. Yet at the same time, he was relieved that what he had done had not been reported to ‘him.’

If that man learned that he had attacked a Dire Boar, he would try to separate him from her regardless of the reason.

He would not care even if she resented him for it. That man never compromised when it came to her safety.