Chapter 108
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 108
He felt it beneath his fingertips—a slick, viscous liquid that left an ugly stain across her porcelain skin. The thin fabric of her chemise, soaked through with blood, clung to her lukewarm flesh like tangled seaweed.
Staring down at the sight with vacant, hollow eyes, he pressed his ear against her blood-stained chest. There, he found it: a faint, fluttering pulse.
Only then did his frozen mind snap back into motion.
He scooped her up, sheets and all, and kicked the bedroom door open with a violent crash.
The maids passing through the hallway froze in terror at the sight of him. Barkas let out a thunderous roar that shook the very walls.
"Fetch a healer! Now!"
*
Her insides burned as if she had swallowed liquid fire. The searing heat felt as though it were rotting her from the stomach out. After a brief, agonizing struggle to draw breath, a sudden chill set in—a cold so piercing it felt as if shards of ice were being driven into her marrow.
She reached out with fumbling, weak hands, trying to pull the covers over her shivering frame. Perhaps moved by her pitiful state, someone pulled her into a crushing embrace. Their arms were as hot as forged iron.
She let out a soft groan of relief as the warmth seeped into her blood, but the respite was short-lived. Soon, the fire began to rage inside her once more.
She tossed and turned, drenched in a cold sweat. Sensing her agony, the arms wrapped around her began to withdraw.
She clung to that retreating warmth with every ounce of her remaining strength.
Hold me. Please, don’t leave me alone.
Whether the person understood the silent plea humming behind her lips or not, the intense heat enveloped her once again.
It was painful, yet somehow, she felt safe.
She curled into that broad chest like a chick burrowing into a hen’s feathers.
Before long, the stabbing pain in her stomach faded, and a tomb-like silence descended. It felt as if she were soaking in lukewarm water.
She remained suspended in that strangely peaceful sensation for a long time until, gradually, her hazy consciousness began to clear.
Thalia barely managed to pry her heavy eyelids open. Streaks of light piercing through the bed canopy stung her retinas. She let out an involuntary groan at the prickling sensation, and immediately, hurried footsteps approached.
"My Lady! Are you finally awake?"
Thalia turned her head, frowning as she took in her Nanny’s tear-streaked face. The older woman grabbed her hand, sniffling loudly.
"Do you have any idea how worried I was? Why does this keep happening...?"
Thalia looked on, dazed. She couldn’t quite grasp what had occurred. As she pressed a hand to her throbbing forehead, the Nanny, who had been shedding thick tears, suddenly bolted upright.
"Look at me! This is no time for crying. Please, wait just a moment. I’ll fetch the healer right away."
With that, she hurried out of the bedroom, her footsteps thumping loudly against the floor.
Once the room grew quiet, Thalia’s mind finally began to function. She slowly scanned the simple bedroom. It took several seconds to remember that they had arrived at a city in the eastern region. However, her memories after that were faint—a blurred montage, as if she had been dreaming with her eyes wide open.
"You’ve finally regained consciousness."
As she was retracing her fragmented memories, the healer rushed into the room. Breathing heavily, the woman approached the bedside.
"How are you feeling?"
Thalia looked up at her with a bewildered expression and parted her parched lips. A raspy, metallic sound escaped her dry throat. Seeing this, the healer immediately poured a cup of water and handed it to her.
Thalia struggled to sit up and leaned against the headboard, moistening her mouth with the lukewarm water. The liquid trickling down her esophagus uncomfortably irritated her stomach. When she let out a dry cough at the strange discomfort, the healer immediately took the cup away.
"Do not drink too much at once. Your stomach has been damaged; you must be careful even when drinking water for a while."
Thalia furrowed her brows. "Damaged? My stomach?"
"Do you not remember?"
When Thalia shook her head, the healer explained in a calm, clinical tone.
"Your Highness lost consciousness shortly after arriving at the castle. You have been bedridden for nearly two days."
Thalia’s eyes widened, her face paling as a jagged memory flashed through her mind.
She had been resting on the bed. Suddenly, an intense pain had struck her. She hadn’t even been able to call for help as the agony tore through her gut, and then, a hot liquid had surged up her throat. She must have lost consciousness the moment she vomited it out.
Thalia, stroking her solar plexus which still throbbed with a dull ache, glared at the healer with eyes as cold as ice.
"Was I poisoned?"
"No, Your Highness. It did not appear to be poison," the healer quickly denied. "It seems the bleeding was caused by a side effect of the medicine you have been taking for the past few weeks."
"A side effect?" Thalia gave her a look of pure disbelief.
The woman continued her explanation, maintaining a composed demeanor.
"The reagent Your Highness was taking contained ingredients that can damage the stomach. In normal cases, they are excellent medicinal herbs that replenish strength and boost vitality... but if a patient with a weakened stomach takes them for a long period, there is a high risk of internal bleeding."
Thalia let out a mocking laugh. "So, you’re saying they gave me such medicine by mistake?"
The healer’s face stiffened slightly. She let out a heavy sigh. "That is my assessment."
"..."
"I have thoroughly investigated the medicine Your Highness took. It consisted only of components meant to aid recovery. However, it seems the previous healer was unaware that Your Highness’s stomach function was as fragile as a child’s."
Thalia narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "You seem strangely defensive of them."
"I am merely stating the facts. I do not wish for Your Highness to exhaust your mental strength with unnecessary suspicion."
Responding calmly, the woman stood up. With practiced movements, she picked up a small kettle from the shelf.
"Regardless, that healer will face appropriate punishment. From now on, I will be in charge of Your Highness’s treatment."
She poured a moderate amount of clear liquid into a small teacup. Thalia looked down at it with a wary gaze. The woman gave a faint, bitter smile.
"It is honey tea infused with a small amount of herbs to aid stomach recovery. Drinking it slowly will make you feel more comfortable."
Thalia reluctantly accepted the cup. However, she didn’t feel like bringing it to her lips just yet. After staring at the lukewarm tea for a while, she asked in a tight voice, "The medicine I’ve been taking... are you certain it wasn’t poison?"
"I cannot completely rule out the possibility that other ingredients were mixed in at some point... but if that were the case, traces of toxin would have remained in your system. Your Highness showed no symptoms of poisoning."
"Then..."
Is Barkas all right?
She started to ask but bit her tongue. She wasn’t confident she could come up with a plausible excuse for why he had been taking the medicine prescribed for her.
Thalia moistened her dry lips. Barkas had also been taking that medicine, dose by dose. Was there really no side effect for him?
Unable to shake her anxiety, Thalia spoke irritably. "That medicine... it really causes no problems for a healthy person, right?"
The healer gave her a puzzled look but nodded. "That is correct. In general cases, it would actually be beneficial for recovering one’s strength."
Thalia’s shoulders slumped in relief. Then, suddenly struck by a wave of self-loathing, she let out a hollow laugh.
It was appalling. She felt more relieved by the fact that he hadn’t been poisoned than by the fact that her own life had been spared.
Thalia, weakly brushing a hand over her face, parted her cracked lips.
"Barkas..."
Where is he now? How did he react when he saw me collapse?
Swallowing the questions that rose to her throat, she lay back down and closed her eyes.