Chapter 141
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 141
The change was subtle on the surface, but because she was so lean, even the slightest swelling was unmistakable.
He slid his hand beneath her wool surcoat, tracing a slow path from her navel down to her pubic bone. Through the thin silk of her undergarment, the sensation of her skin—tauter than it had been before—felt even more vivid.
It was fascinating to feel her once-flat stomach beginning to curve, and he couldn’t stop himself from stroking it. The woman curled up in his lap shifted her hips, looking uncomfortable.
He looked into her face with a worried gaze.
“Did I hurt you?”
“No, it’s not that… It’s just, that... thing beneath you…”
Thalia stammered, her cheeks flushing a deep crimson as she awkwardly lowered her eyes.
They had shared a bed almost every day until they discovered her pregnancy. He didn’t understand why she was being so bashful now, but sensing she was uneasy with his physical reaction, he adjusted his posture.
“It will subside in time. Don’t pay it any mind.”
“How can I not pay it any mind?” she asked, glaring at him in exasperation.
Did she know that whenever she arched her brows like that, her already alluring face became even more provocative?
He suppressed the urge to devour her pouting lips as she continued to prattle on.
“I heard it’s quite painful for a man to stay in that state. That… if it isn’t resolved for a long time, it can even cause physical pain…”
“Who told you that?”
The woman flinched. Only then did he realize his voice had dropped to a threateningly low pitch. He hadn’t intended to scare her, so he consciously softened his tone.
“Who told you such a thing?”
“I don’t know. I just overheard it somewhere a long time ago,” she stammered, visibly flustered.
It wasn’t hard for him to guess where she had gathered such information. She must have heard it from some scoundrel while attending the banquets held regularly at the Empress’s Palace.
The faces of the men who used to cling to her and flirt with her flashed through his mind. As he was narrowing down the likely candidates, she hurriedly changed the subject.
“Anyway, isn’t it painful to be in that state?”
“…And if it is?” Barkas countered, staring down at her. “What do you intend to do if I say it is painful?”
A look of embarrassment crossed her clear face. Biting her lower lip, she murmured in a tiny voice.
“I heard there’s a way to resolve it… even without having sex…”
“…”
“Should I… show you?”
Barkas felt a throb at the back of his head and furrowed his brow.
His throat tightened with the urge to demand who had taught her such things. While he swallowed the harsh words rising to the tip of his tongue, a ticklish touch landed on his waist. He watched with a heavy gaze as she pulled up his shirt.
As if she were actually afraid to touch him, her fingers hesitated for a long time near his taut abdomen before slowly creeping toward his belt.
In an instant, his blood surged. The mere sight of those long, delicate fingers—like exquisite works of art—fumbling to undo his belt pushed his arousal to a dangerous level.
He quickly caught her wrist.
“No.”
She flinched and looked up at him. Her watery blue eyes and the red flush around them were devastatingly erotic. He closed his eyes tightly, repeating to himself like a mantra that she was carrying a child.
“Do not worry about my condition.”
“But… won’t it hurt if you leave it like this?”
“It does not hurt.”
“I heard it’s bad for the body to keep holding it in…”
A vein pulsed in his forehead as he glared at her. He wanted to seal those lips—the ones spouting knowledge learned from someone else—with his own and torment them until they were bruised. Barely managing to rein in that violent impulse, he spoke in a calm voice.
“I don’t know who babbled such nonsense, but erase it from your mind. It’s nothing more than a trick to appeal to a woman’s sympathy.”
“…Is it really not uncomfortable?”
“Not in the slightest,” he spoke nonchalantly, without blinking an eye.
The woman sent him a suspicious look but soon seemed convinced, leaning her head against his chest. Because she believed him and pressed her body close, his lower half was squeezed hard.
Barkas, barely steadying his ragged breathing, feigned composure and gently stroked the back of her head. She didn’t need to worry about his minor discomforts.
Thanks to her eating better since becoming pregnant, she was filling out nicely, but her body was still small and fragile. Hadn’t the healers all insisted she needed absolute rest? He didn’t want to place any burden on her.
“I am more worried about Your Highness’s condition than my own. Are you feeling unwell anywhere?”
“No. Other than being sleepy and getting hungry quickly, I don’t think much has changed.”
She tilted her head and toyed with her belly. He watched her silently before carefully cupping her soft cheek.
He was sensing more changes than she was. A slightly higher body temperature, the faint flush on her skin, a deeper scent, and more pronounced curves…
“Are you… are you really okay? Down there, it’s getting even more…”
He let out a heavy sigh. He felt like he would lose his self-control if he kept holding her.
“Guests have arrived, so I must go back out. Do not go anywhere and rest in the room.”
As he carefully set her down beside him and stood up, her eyes followed him, filled with bewilderment.
“You’re going out like that?”
Her wide eyes slid down to his lower body. Barkas picked up the Tunka hanging on the wall and spoke somewhat sharply.
“I will take care of it myself, so stop worrying about the state of my crotch.”
Her face turned a deep shade of purple.
“Who are you calling a pervert! I was just worried you might embarrass yourself!”
Barkas, having roughly covered himself with a loose coat, looked back at her with a troubled gaze. Even the way she huffed with her chest heaving looked sensual, which irritated him slightly.
He ran a hand through his hair and leaned down in front of her. He spoke as if coaxing her.
“Your Highness’s health is what matters most right now. I would prefer you not concern yourself with anything else.”
“…You don’t have to treat me like I’m terminally ill. Marisen said I’m in better shape than expected.”
“Being in better shape than expected does not mean you can be completely at ease.”
He spoke somewhat stiffly and gently brushed back the hair falling over her forehead. By now, she accepted his touch as a matter of course. Seeing her eyes, which used to be so guarded, now hazy and relaxed, a tingling sensation burned from his waist to the nape of his neck.
Feeling his resolve to act gentlemanly crumble in an instant, he pressed his lips against hers. It was an act bordering on self-harm, but he could no longer endure.
Barkas greedily sucked at the slick, moist flesh and her small tongue, only pulling away when he heard a knock at the door. The chief chamberlain’s voice came through immediately.
“Your Excellency, the guests are asking when they might see you. What shall I tell them?”
“Tell them I will be there shortly.”