Chapter 146
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 146
He had always been her adversary.
Even now, as he played the role of a devoted husband, Thalia couldn’t shake the feeling that he might turn his back on her at any moment.
She pressed on, her voice fervent with maternal concern.
“When this child is born, you must teach them how to ride. Is it not true that you Easterners learn to ride before you can even walk? This child is half-Eastern, after all...”
Thalia had been prattling on, desperate to forge a bond between Barkas and the unborn child, but a sudden worry struck her. What if he actually placed a babe who hadn’t even taken their first steps atop one of those pungent, violent beasts? She hurried to add a caveat.
“But you must wait until they are old enough. And... if they are too frightened, I hope you won’t force them. If this child takes after me...”
She almost called the child a coward, but she quickly caught herself.
“They might simply have a distaste for horses.”
“...That would be somewhat problematic.”
A faint crease appeared between Barkas’s brows as he stared down at her abdomen.
“To rule the East after me, mastering horsemanship is essential. The successor of the Grand Duke’s Household must be capable of commanding sixty thousand cavalrymen.”
Thalia’s brow furrowed in return.
She had absolutely no intention of sending the tiny life growing inside her onto a battlefield.
Let Barkas and his knights handle those dangerous affairs. My baby will stay with me in a safe place and live a life of happiness.
She suppressed the urge to voice those thoughts. Regardless of her personal feelings, what mattered was that Barkas clearly recognized this child as his heir.
“Then teach them slowly,” she conceded. “Take your time so the child learns to love horses.”
The man raised his head to look at her. His expression remained difficult to read, but Thalia could now discern the flicker of worry and expectation dwelling in his eyes.
He spoke softly.
“Do not worry. Once the child is born, I intend to raise them with patience. More importantly... is it not difficult for you when the child moves like this?”
“Of course it is!”
In truth, this was the first time she had felt such vigorous fetal movements, but Thalia exaggerated her distress on purpose.
Barkas’s expression stiffened immediately.
“Have you spoken to the healer? There must be a way to ease the pain...”
“I refused when she suggested sedative herbs. I feared they might harm the baby.”
Thalia shared every minor detail, wanting him to understand exactly how much she was sacrificing for their child.
Barkas stroked his chin for a moment before responding.
“You should follow the healer’s advice. Your Highness must remain healthy to see the birth through safely.”
“I can handle this much,” Thalia retorted, a prickle of irritation rising in her chest. “Every woman in the world endures it. Why should I be any different?”
A skeptical look crossed Barkas’s face. When his gaze naturally drifted toward her legs, Thalia’s face flushed with a sense of ignominy.
Why? Do you think I cannot give birth because I am a cripple? She barely managed to swallow the sharp retort.
If he remembered her broken body and was overcome with guilt—if that made him prioritize her and the child above all else—then she could endure any amount of shame.
Hiding her bitter thoughts, she forced a coy, playful smile.
“Why are you taking it so seriously, you fool? I was merely complaining.”
“...”
“You’ve been like this since the beginning—so stiff. You never joke, and you take even my teasing to heart.”
“How can I take it as a joke when my pregnant wife complains of suffering?”
Barkas let out an exasperated sigh. Her heart softening at his words, Thalia allowed him to stroke her belly a little longer.
*
A short while later, the maids entered with a meal.
Barkas watched her eat before changing his clothes and heading out. Thalia waited for his return until late into the night, but she eventually succumbed to exhaustion. Her stamina had hit rock bottom after several days of poor rest.
Falling into a slumber so deep it felt like a faint, Thalia didn’t even have the chance to feel the pain. She only opened her eyes the next day when the sun was high in the sky.
Rubbing her eyes, which felt gritty as if filled with sand, Thalia first placed her hand on her lower abdomen to check on the child.
The baby had been struggling so much yesterday, yet today they were quiet. Perhaps they are finally sleeping soundly as well, she thought idly as she surveyed the room.
Barkas was nowhere to be seen, but traces of his presence throughout the night were everywhere. He had likely slipped out quietly to avoid waking her from her rare deep sleep.
She immediately got out of bed and began to dress. She suspected that among Barkas’s attendants, the head butler, or the soldiers, someone must have overheard the news Edric Rubon had brought. She intended to find out.
“Forget that coat. Bring me something that stands out as little as possible.”
The maids, who had been pulling out a coat of silver fur, exchanged troubled glances.
“What is it?” Thalia asked, puzzled.
“It’s just that... we feel Your Highness would stand out no matter what you wear,” a maid murmured, her face flushing as her voice trailed off.
Not in the mood for flattery, Thalia let out an annoyed sigh.
“Then just bring any coat.”
The maid immediately brought a thick woolen robe. Thalia draped it over her shoulders and cautiously stepped out of the room. Fortunately, the ache in her back had subsided slightly, making movement manageable.
“Do you happen to know what the knight who visited last night said?”
Passing through the hallway, Thalia spotted one of Barkas’s attendants and threw the question at him point-blank.
The boy, who looked barely twenty, flinched like a whipped horse and gave her a look filled with terror.
“I, I... well...”
Thalia frowned. She was used to people treating her like a fragile, unwanted burden, but lately, the behavior had worsened.
“Why can’t you speak properly?” she pressed. “Did you overhear anything or not!”
“I-I am sorry, Your Highness! I know nothing. I went to sleep early yesterday...”
“Then who was attending Barkas last night?”
“T-That, I also don’t...”
Why does Barkas keep such a moron around?
As she glared at the stuttering boy, a voice laced with a heavy sigh reached her from behind.
“If you’re curious about something, ask me directly. Why are you picking on an innocent boy?”
Startled, Thalia turned her head and froze. Edric Rubon stood there, scratching the back of his head.
He let out a weary breath and trudged toward her.
“I will answer whatever I can. For now, let’s move to a different—”
Thalia reflexively looked at the sword hilt hanging at his waist.
Perhaps this man had come to harm her under the orders of Aila or Gareth. Overcome by a sudden, irrational fear, Thalia stumbled backward. In her panic, she wavered, losing her balance.
In that instant, the man lunged forward with the speed of an arrow. He grabbed her wrist, pulling her forcefully toward him. Thalia slammed her nose into his hard chest, which was protected by a lightweight breastplate. She winced and hurried to pull back, only for a gruff voice to bark from above her head.
“Stay still! That could have been a disaster!”
Thalia flinched and looked behind her.
Right at her heels was the first step of the long staircase leading down to the ground floor.
Realizing she had nearly tumbled down, Thalia wrapped one hand around her belly and hunched her shoulders.
The man, having pulled her further into the safety of the hallway, raised his voice.
“Damn it, why is Your Highness always so precarious? How much more do you intend to haunt my nightmares before you’re satisfied?”
“I get it, so let go.”
Thalia pulled her wrist from his grasp and studied the knight’s pale face. Seeing him place a hand on his chest and take deep breaths as if his heart were pounding, her tension snapped.
She felt like a fool for suspecting him. This man was the idiot who had stood up to the Crown Prince just to fulfill his duty as a personal guard. If he were capable of something as cunning as assassination, he wouldn’t have been so stubbornly honorable in the first place.
Thalia let her shoulders slump and spoke in a sullen tone.
“It’s because you startled me. It’s all your fault.”