Chapter 111
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 111
“Are you comparing me to a foal right now?”
Finally deciding to give in to her anger, Thalia let her voice sharpen with thorns. Barkas let out a faint sigh.
“Stop being difficult and finish the rest of this.”
This time, he brought over a bowl of apricots. Thalia glared at the fruit as if it were her mortal enemy before turning her head away.
Barkas watched her quietly for a moment, then pulled a chair to the bedside and sat down. As if it were the most natural thing in the world, he picked up a small fruit and began to peel the soft skin with a knife.
Thalia watched him with incredulous eyes. He was calmly performing a task usually reserved for the maids. Her voice rose in protest.
“Stop it. Who asked you to wait on me? Just leave a troublesome woman like me alone and go do your own—”
Thalia’s irritable snapping was cut short as she winced, her mouth suddenly filled with the soft fruit.
Having successfully silenced her, the man wiped his juice-stained fingers with a towel and spoke in an infuriatingly calm tone.
“If Your Highness would stop skipping meals, I would be able to focus solely on my own work.”
Thalia glared at him, the slice of apricot still tucked in her cheek.
She wanted to snap back, asking what business it was of his whether she ate or not, but to do that, she first had to swallow.
Ultimately, she crushed the soft flesh with her teeth. A refreshing fragrance spread through her mouth along with a juice so sweet it made her tongue tingle. It wasn’t as unpleasant as she had expected.
“Would you like more?”
The man, who had been watching her eat intently, picked up another fruit.
After a moment’s hesitation, Thalia gave a prim nod.
Barkas immediately began to peel the apricot. The way he carefully trimmed the fruit with the small knife made him look like a craftsman handling a delicate piece of jewelry. At that strange sight, her irritation quickly faded.
Thalia stole glances at him as if observing a mysterious creature.
Whether he felt guilty for having forced medicine down her throat before, Barkas had begun to look after her meals with a somewhat obsessive dedication. At first, he had merely checked to see if she was skipping meals, but at some point, he had progressed to feeding her himself. It seemed he had realized the severity of the situation after seeing how little she actually ate.
“Here, eat.”
He spoke as he brought a neatly peeled apricot slice to her lips.
Thalia opened her mouth, acting as if she were doing so against her will. Along with the sweet fruit, his firm fingers brushed against the tip of her tongue.
Blushing, she tried to jerk her head back, but Barkas cupped the nape of her neck with one hand and lightly covered her mouth with the other. He seemed to think she was trying to spit it out.
Thalia furrowed her brows in disbelief. Did this man think she was a child throwing a tantrum over her food?
“Just eat this last one. I won’t force you anymore,” Barkas said coaxingly.
Thalia glared at him through narrowed eyes but began to chew mechanically. Only after she had swallowed the softened fruit did his hand pull away.
“Would you like to go for a short walk today?”
Barkas, who had even tidied up the fruit bowl, suddenly made the suggestion.
Thalia, who was rinsing her mouth with lukewarm water, turned to him with surprised eyes.
“I’m allowed to go out?”
“The healer said that fresh air and sunlight would help with your recovery.”
Barkas brought over an overcoat and draped it over her shoulders.
Thalia knit her brows. “I never said I was going.”
“Do you not want to?” he asked, tilting his head slightly.
Thalia maintained a sullen expression but eventually lowered her legs from the bed as if giving in. However, before her feet could even touch the floor, her body was lifted into the air.
She was flustered for a moment by the natural way he picked her up, but she soon let the tension leave her shoulders. She no longer had the energy to be temperamental.
“Are you cold?”
Barkas, who had exited the building in an instant, asked as he pulled the hood over her head.
Thalia shook her head. A chilly mid-autumn air lingered in the garden, but the sunlight was still warm.
He stepped onto the rustling grass and walked along a narrow path. A few blackbirds, which had been pecking at flower seeds in the brown, ripened flowerbeds, took flight with a flutter of wings.
Thalia watched the scene blankly before turning her gaze to his face. The pale sunlight was tinting his light blond hair with silver. She remembered when Barkas had first set foot in her Annex Palace.
Back then, she could never have imagined this man taking care of her in such a way.
But looking back, Barkas had always been generous to the weak.
He had carefully cradled a dying bird, and he had taken in a foal that was wasting away to skin and bones while refusing human touch.
That wasn’t all. He had stepped up to be the guardian of Gareth and Aila, who had lost their mother at a young age, and he had even taken a woman he once stood against as his wife because he couldn’t ignore her broken state.
If he hadn’t been abused by the priests, he might have turned out to be a rather soft-hearted man.
As she was lost in these thoughts, he came to a halt.
She soon realized why. In a corner of the drying flowerbed, a single autumn rose was in bloom. Thalia looked up at him, surprised.
“Do you like flowers too?”
“I neither like nor dislike them,” Barkas replied dryly.
Then why?
She was about to ask but held her tongue. She realized belatedly that he had stopped just to show it to her.
On an impulse, she blurted out, “Pick that for me.”
He immediately reached for the rose stem. She saw the sharp thorns dig into his fingers, but Barkas didn’t even blink.
With an expressionless face, Barkas snapped the rose off and scraped away the thorns with his fingertips. Once the stem was smooth, he held it out to her. A strange surge of emotion welled up within her at the sight.
He was a man who had silently exercised patience even with Gareth, who treated him poorly. He had been utterly loyal to the Emperor and had played the role of an impeccable fiancé to Aila.
And now, he was performing the role of her husband without a word of complaint.
Did this man intend to live his entire life according to the expectations and demands of those around him?
For the first time, a question about his life arose.
“Are you… planning to do everything I ask of you?”
“If it is something I can do,” Barkas replied nonchalantly, looking puzzled.
Thalia watched him, lost for words, before dropping her gaze to the faintly colored rose.
To him, it was an object of no significance. A worthless blossom handed over simply because it was requested. Yet, she would likely love this flower until the moment she died.
In that moment, she could clearly see the true nature of the emotion she felt.
It was resignation.
She would never receive this long-standing love back from him in her lifetime.
The feverish madness that had once swept her away would never afflict this man. However, he would do everything he could as a husband.
Perhaps that was enough.
“If you don’t like it, I will pick another one for you,” Barkas suggested, noticing the shadow on her face.
Thalia shook her head. “This is enough.”
As she carefully cradled the large, yellow-tinted rose, he resumed his walk.
She saw pale clouds gathering on the far side of the bright sky. As the sunlight gradually faded, he turned back toward the main castle.
Just then, a booming voice called out from behind them.
“Your Excellency!”
Thalia turned her head, her face clouding as she saw Daren hurrying across the garden. Just by seeing his grave expression, she could guess that ominous news was coming.
As she expected, the man reached them in a single breath and spoke in a somber tone.
“I believe we must return to Raedgo Castle immediately.”
A hint of sorrow lingered in the man’s eyes. After catching his breath for a moment, he continued heavily.
“A telegram has arrived stating that the Grand Duke… no, Your Excellency’s father, is in critical condition.”