Chapter 149
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 149
The baby pressed against a nerve in her left leg, causing a burning numbness that persisted day and night. A sharp ache, like a heavy nail driven into her lower back, refused to subside.
It was enough to make her resent God for burdening only women with such agony.
At some point, Thalia began to pray fervently that the child in her womb would be a boy. She never wanted to be pregnant again.
While she appreciated the devoted care she received from Barkas and everyone around her, the satisfaction of carrying a new life gradually withered as her physical suffering intensified. Fear took its place.
Giving birth will surely be agonizing, won’t it?
Even the weight of Barkas’s body during their nights together had felt overwhelming; could she truly handle the act of childbirth?
Thalia was seized by a profound sense of dread as she watched her belly grow. While she desperately yearned to be liberated from the pregnancy as soon as possible, she also wished that the moment of birth would never come.
“Your Highness, I have brewed some herb tea to soothe your nerves. It should help you sleep, if only a little.”
Marisen, who had been stirring a pot over the fireplace for a long while, approached with a cup filled with a dark brown liquid. Thalia accepted it and drank without a word.
In the early stages of her pregnancy, she wouldn’t let anything touch her lips that might potentially harm the child. Now, however, she refused nothing that might bring her body some comfort. While the baby in her womb was bursting with energy, she was becoming more haggard by the day.
Thalia worried that by the time her due date arrived, she would have no strength left to actually deliver the child.
“Would you like to try this as well? It’s a tonic sent by Her Majesty the Empress. She says it helps replenish one’s vitality.”
As soon as she finished the tea, her nanny approached, holding a small medicinal vial.
Thalia stared at it blankly before shaking her head. She didn’t think her mother—who viewed the child in her womb as an important pawn—would send something harmful, but it was still difficult to trust her blindly.
“My stomach is upset. I don’t want anything else.”
“Please, have just a little, if only out of respect for Her Majesty’s sincerity. She used very precious ingredients to—”
“I said I’m done!”
Irritated, Thalia swatted the nanny’s hand away. The glass vial slipped from the woman’s fingers and rolled across the floor.
For a fleeting moment, a flash of anger crossed the nanny’s round face. Her lips twitched as if she were about to snap back, but she soon let out a heavy sigh and cleared away the vial.
Thalia felt a pang of guilt, but instead of apologizing, she turned away and lay down. She was more than a little annoyed that the nanny seemed to care more about her mother’s gift going to waste than her own discomfort.
She pulled the duvet over her head and pressed firmly on her aching pelvis with her fingertips.
She lay there moaning in pain for some time. Eventually, the herb tea seemed to take effect; the pain gradually lessened, and drowsiness washed over her. Thalia willingly surrendered herself to unconsciousness.
However, her peace did not last long. As dusk approached, a cramp in her leg jolted her awake from her deep slumber.
She let out a scream, clutching the violently twisting muscles of her calf with both hands. It felt as if a knife had been driven into her leg. Tears streamed down her face involuntarily.
“Please bear with it for a moment, Your Highness. I’ll give you some medicine.”
Marisen, who had been resting by the fireplace, rushed over and held a vial to her lips.
“It’s a painkiller. The ingredients aren’t harmful to the baby, so please don’t worry and drink.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Thalia reluctantly took a sip of the lukewarm liquid as the spasms showed no sign of subsiding.
In the meantime, Tiuran, who had prepared a compress bag filled with hot water, carefully placed it on her leg.
Once the pain subsided a short while later, Thalia scanned the dim room with exhausted eyes. The nanny stood by the bed, looking down at her with a worried gaze. Two young maids stood by the door, looking ready to sprint into the hallway to fetch a priest at a moment’s notice.
Thalia murmured in a raspy voice to calm them down.
“I think I’m okay now.”
“How is your stomach feeling?” Tiuran asked as she moved the compress bag down to Thalia’s calf.
Thalia felt her lower abdomen. “It’s a bit tight... but it’s not too bad.”
“I’ll bring you another cup of tea. It will help settle your mind.”
Thalia struggled to push herself up. Through the window left open for ventilation, she could see the sky turning a deep crimson.
“Has Barkas not returned yet?”
“His Excellency the Grand Duke is at the assembly hall. He sent word a few hours ago that he would be late,” Tiuran replied gently as she propped a pillow behind Thalia’s back.
Thalia soothed her discontent by stroking the small bulge of the baby’s bottom through her skin.
Throughout the Season of Rest, Barkas had never left her side for a moment. He handled most of his work at a desk set up in the bedroom, and after the cold snap hit, he reduced his outings to the assembly hall or the city court. Thanks to that, Thalia had enjoyed the luxury of ordering the Grand Duke of the East around like her personal servant.
Barkas would hold her as she groaned through the night, massaging her back or bringing cool towels to wipe her sweat-slicked neck and face. Sometimes, he would prepare the compress bags himself and hold them against her aching spots until she fell asleep.
However, once the Season of Water began, Barkas had to return to his busy routine. The various tasks he had postponed throughout the winter came rushing back like a tidal wave.
While reorganizing the administration of the fief that had stagnated during the winter, Barkas also led the knights to the barracks to inspect the state of military preparations.
There seemed to be more than just a few other matters requiring his attention. Large-scale military drills had begun at the training grounds of Raedgo Castle, and at some point, armed messengers began frequenting the castle.
Thalia felt the embers of war in the North slowly awakening, but she never breathed a word about it. Even if a war were to break out in the North, she wanted to believe firmly that it would never affect the East.
Barkas had fulfilled his duty as a loyal subject by dispatching cavalry; anything beyond that was the responsibility of the Imperial Household.
Perhaps Gareth will personally set out to suppress the rebellion.
If that man were to die in the war, Thalia would be nothing but grateful.
Thalia chuckled softly, imagining her half-brother pierced by a Northerner’s blade, when a thought suddenly struck her like a bolt of lightning, causing her body to stiffen.
Could Senevia be behind this war?
If the North truly launched a war for independence, there was a high probability that the Crown Prince would be designated as the supreme commander. If she could just drive him to the battlefield, her mother would have the opportunity to eliminate her stepson without facing any suspicion.
As she dwelled on the thought, Thalia realized she was falling into a groundless delusion and let out a short laugh. No matter how powerful Senevia’s influence was, she couldn’t possibly manipulate the Northern nobles from behind the scenes.
Even if such a thing were possible, would her mother really go so far as to incite a civil war? If even a single piece of evidence linking her to the rebellion surfaced, even the Empress would not escape the gallows. Senevia would never take such a dangerous gamble.
Thalia was scoffing at her own absurd imagination when she felt a sudden tightening in her stomach. She set down her teacup. As she carefully shifted her posture, she felt her skirt clinging unpleasantly to her legs, soaked through with moisture.
Thalia frowned. It seemed her entire body was drenched in sweat from her violent thrashing earlier. She lowered her feet from the bed and gestured to the maids.
“I think I need to wash. Prepare the bathwater.”
“Hold onto me. I’ll support you,” Tiuran said, setting the compress bag aside to grab her arm.
Thalia gripped the maid’s slender but firm shoulder and carefully stood up. Then, she suddenly felt a lukewarm liquid trickling down her thigh and froze.
I didn’t... wet myself, did I?
She looked down at her damp skirt with eyes full of horror, only to hear a sharp, ragged intake of breath beside her.
“Oh, my God!”
Assuming Tiuran had screamed because she witnessed her mistake, Thalia’s face flushed bright red with shame. But then she saw the look of terror in the woman’s eyes and went rigid.
An ominous premonition crawled down her spine.
“Fetch the priestess immediately!” Tiuran shouted at the maids, hurriedly laying Thalia back down on the bed.
“What are you all just standing there for? Her water has broken! Hurry!”