Chapter 130
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 130
Barkas traced the curve of her lips with his thumb, resting the bridge of his straight nose against her temple.
“I will keep the room dark when that day comes.”
Thalia, her eyes darting restlessly as she leaned her shoulder against his chest, gave a slow, hesitant nod.
He cupped her chin, his gaze fixed steadily on her eyes. Just as a surge of inexplicable shame tempted her to bolt, he lowered his lips again. This time, it was a light kiss—a mere brush of contact, like a bird rubbing its beak against another.
That feather-light touch crumbled something deep within her heart. As if to deny it, Thalia squeezed her eyes shut.
* * *
After that day, Thalia naturally began staying in his quarters. She used the unreliable healer as an excuse to monitor Barkas herself.
However, she did not leave the room even after the treatments were finished.
She would linger, feigning reluctance as she gave in to his requests to be fed his medicine, and eventually, she would end up falling asleep in his bed. It was a staggering transformation, occurring a mere month after she had raised a fuss, swearing she would rather die than not return to her own room.
She was disgusted with herself, but Thalia rationalized her behavior with every excuse she could find.
This is only a temporary change.
It’s only because he’s hurt. I can’t bring myself to turn away an injured man. I’m just compromising for a moment.
Once Barkas made a full recovery, she intended to retreat back behind the line she had drawn.
Therefore, her anger toward Barkas for failing to take care of himself was entirely justified. The slower his recovery, the longer this ambiguous state would persist.
Having spent the whole day fuming, Thalia launched a blunt accusation at Barkas the moment he returned to the room late that evening.
“You have no right to lecture me about health!”
Barkas, stepping into the room, shot her a puzzled look.
Thalia tossed the book she had been holding onto her lap and hopped down from the bed, her voice rising.
“You’re working yourself to the bone in that condition! You even had a fever at dawn…”
“My body was fine,” Barkas countered calmly, shedding his overcoat.
Thalia’s eyes flared.
“No, it wasn’t. You were warmer than usual.”
“If that were the case, it likely wasn’t because of a fever.”
Thalia looked bewildered for a moment before her face flushed crimson.
She couldn’t understand how he could say such things without a single change in his expression. It seemed the very concept of shame did not exist for him.
Thalia spoke through gritted teeth.
“Monster poison is still flowing through your body; there’s no way you’re fine. You need to rest properly until you’re fully detoxified.”
“I have already been finishing my duties earlier than usual lately,” Barkas replied in a dry tone, unbuckling his sword belt and placing it on the rack.
Thalia let out a hollow laugh.
The schedule she had pried out of the butler today was nothing short of a punishment. She wondered if even the most ascetic monk could endure it.
Every morning, before the sun even rose, Barkas got out of bed and headed to the training ground. After honing his martial arts, he moved to the military base to meticulously check the training status of each unit, the intake of new recruits, and the management of military supplies—all before processing a mountain of approval documents.
Afterward, he performed his public duties, reviewing petitions from across the Eastern Region and meeting with the City Council to discuss policy. Occasionally, he attended events hosted by the Grand Temple or meetings of the Noble Alliance.
It was almost unbelievable how one person could handle so many tasks at once.
She spoke with a hint of agitation. “Even a healthy person would drop dead living like you do.”
“I have been trained since I was eight years old to handle a schedule like this. Do not worry; I have no intention of making you a widow.”
Thalia clenched her fists at his indifferent response. If he hadn’t been injured, she would have hurled a pillow at that emotionless face.
“How can you be so sure? Everyone who dies from overwork is just like you—overconfident in their health until one day they just collapse and never open their eyes again! Just you wait. If you keep living like that, your turn will come soon.”
“Is that a concern or a curse?”
Barkas, who had been unbuttoning his doublet, looked back at her as if he found her absurd.
Thalia flashed a venomous smile, like a cat baring its claws. “Which one do you think it is?”
Barkas narrowed his eyes, let out a small sigh, and tossed his shirt onto a chair.
Seeing his bare torso revealed in the light, Thalia’s lips tightened. The bandages she had changed for him last night had been completely removed. She stepped toward him and scrutinized his shoulder. Only a faint trace remained where the wound had been.
“What happened? You said it would take another day to heal completely.”
“The ointment that healer made worked better than expected. As soon as I confirmed the symptoms of poisoning were gone, I received treatment from a priest.”
She swallowed hard. “Well… that’s good, then.”
She took a step back, her expression awkward, but a gloved finger touched her face.
“Are you relieved now?” Barkas asked, looking down at her intently.
For some reason, a chilling sensation washed over her—as if she had been bitten on the neck by a submissive hunting dog she thought she could handle at will. She turned her head away, brushing off his hand, and replied curtly.
“Fine. I guess I don’t need to worry anymore.”
An awkward silence followed.
Thalia stared down at his shadow on the carpet before slowly lifting her eyes. His contemplative gaze was fixed on her. He brushed a lock of hair from her forehead and asked, “What do you want me to do?”
Thalia gripped her skirt tightly. Her lips felt parched.
“I…”
She didn’t know why she was hesitating. Hadn’t she been badgering him about his recovery just so they could be together? Now, she had to demand he come to bed as planned.
She moistened her dry lips, clutching her clothes. Then, a soothing voice poured over her.
“If you do not want to, I will wait longer.”
However, a large hand wrapped around her waist as if he had no intention of letting her leave the room. Thalia looked up at him with trembling eyes.
If we aren’t going to sleep together, there’s no reason for me to be here. So why can’t I shake off this hand? And why do you want me to stay by your side?
To think that just being together is enough, even without doing anything...
It feels like love, doesn’t it?
At that moment, a feeling bordering on terror crawled up her spine. It felt as if she were standing naked in an open field. She tightly clasped her shivering hands.
Don’t expect anything. You mustn’t expect a single thing.
Repeating this obsessively, she forced out a voice tight with strain.
“The lights… turn them all off.”
She felt as if she would suffocate, wanting nothing more than to hide in the darkness immediately. She urged him in an anxious voice.
“Now. Right now.”
“…Are you truly all right with this?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” Thalia said with a scoff. “That is all I want from you. I don’t want anything else.”
A subtle expression flickered across his face. She didn’t want to know what it was. Thalia kept her gaze fixed on the floor, enduring the razor-sharp silence.
Finally, he turned and extinguished every light in the room, one by one. However, the moonlight pouring through the window still illuminated the room brightly.
Thalia hurried him in a stifled voice. “Draw the curtains, too.”
The man approached the window with a pace so slow it was agonizing. Yet, he did not lower the curtains; he simply stood there, looking up at the glowing moon. Thalia watched his straight back, gripped by an unidentified fear.
Then, the man, who had been standing motionless as if lost in thought, strode back toward her.
Thalia took a startled step backward. Barkas reached out, swept her up into his arms, and headed straight for the bed. Thalia instinctively struggled.
“No! I told you to draw the curtains!”
“I won’t look at anything you don’t want to show me,” Barkas whispered into her ear as he laid her down.
Thalia looked up at him with terrified eyes. Barkas leaned over her, wrapping both their bodies in the duvet.