Chapter 54
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 54
"What does it matter to you if my lips turn blue or purple!"
She slammed his coat onto the muddy ground and raised her voice, only to be met with another weary sigh.
Thalia’s eyes stung. He always had a smile for Aila, yet he did nothing but sigh in her presence. She couldn’t stand the sight of him.
"Even if I freeze to death right here, I’ll make sure it doesn’t cause you any trouble, so just leave! Go to the birthday banquet for those noble twins! Go and flatter them to your heart’s content!"
"Even if you spend the entire night here, Your Highness will not freeze to death," he countered calmly. "At most, you’ll catch a nasty case of the flu."
"Then I’ll just catch the flu and die!"
As she screamed, he brushed back the damp hair clinging to his eyes with a sharp, rough motion.
Thalia flinched at the gesture, which clearly betrayed his mounting irritation. However, when he spoke, his voice remained as flat and level as ever.
"Exactly what do I have to do to get you to stop playing the tragic heroine?"
Thalia’s eyes flared at his biting tone.
He was always so polite to Aila, yet he never missed an opportunity to be sarcastic with her. It was infuriating.
Glaring at him with smoldering eyes, Thalia reached up and tore a pearl ornament from her intricately braided hair. Without a moment’s hesitation, she hurled it into the shimmering lake.
"Go get that back. Then I’ll stop."
Barkas’s eyes narrowed.
Thalia expected him to either explode in anger or turn his back on her without mercy. If he did, she planned to stay right here until she collapsed.
Let him live with the guilt when he finds my cold corpse.
But as always, Barkas did not follow her script.
Right before her eyes, he began unbuttoning his uniform jacket, one button at a time.
Thalia’s eyes widened, but she quickly let out a derisive snort. He’s just bluffing. He thinks I’ll cave and stop him. There’s no way he’d actually jump into that water.
Feigning composure, she watched as he stripped off his knight’s uniform, laid it neatly under a tree, and removed his calf-high boots.
So, you want to see this through to the end?
Barkas went as far as unbuckling the sword belt at his waist. Dressed only in a thin shirt that turned translucent in the mist and light cotton trousers, he approached the water’s edge. He stood there for a moment, silently staring out at the lake under the drizzling rain.
I knew it. He’s playing chicken, waiting for me to give in first.
Just as she was mocking him in her head, he plunged into the water without warning.
Thalia bolted upright.
The gray surface of the lake swallowed his body in an instant. Stunned, Thalia scrambled to the edge and peered into the dark, murky depths.
"Barkas?"
The lake remained still.
There was no sign of the eighteen-year-old boy who had grown so intimidatingly tall over the last two years. She raised her voice, panic seeping in.
"Barkas!"
Only her own voice rang out, echoing through the drizzling rain.
Thalia began to scream in earnest.
"St-stop joking around! Come out!"
A sudden gust of wind swept across the surface, rippling the water, but there was still no sign of him.
Suddenly, the air felt trapped in her lungs.
Without thinking, Thalia threw herself into the water. She had only taken a few steps when the freezing lake rose to her waist.
She thrashed her arms against the surface, screaming at the top of her lungs.
"Barkas! Barkas! Where are you!"
She felt the sickening sensation of slippery mud and tangled branches beneath her feet.
She tried to wade even deeper. Before she knew it, the water was up to her chest.
She clawed at the ice-cold water, letting out ragged, desperate sobs.
"I—I was wrong! So please, just come out!"
Just as she was losing her mind, the water nearby rippled violently, and a tall figure rose from the depths.
Thalia stared at him, her eyes frozen wide.
Barkas shook his head to clear the water streaming down his face and turned toward her. Beneath his water-soaked lashes, his blue eyes gleamed faintly in the twilight.
"Here."
Barkas lightly gripped her shoulder with one hand to steady her and held something out.
Thalia stared at it blankly.
"Are you satisfied now?"
Lying in his palm was the pearl ornament she had thrown away.
A hollow, hysterical laugh escaped her lips.
Thalia covered her forehead with one hand and let out a series of dry, short chuckles. Then, her face contorted as if she were possessed; she snatched the pearl ornament and hurled it far into the lake once again.
Even though she had heartlessly discarded what he had gone to such lengths to retrieve, he showed no reaction.
Staring at that calm, indifferent face, Thalia couldn’t contain her rage. She swung her hand with all her might.
Slap!
"You did that on purpose, didn’t you? Just to scare me!"
Even after being struck across the cheek, he remained silent.
For some reason, his composure only made her more feral.
Thalia began to pummel his chest with her fists.
"You were waiting until I said I was sorry! You mean bastard! I hate you! I hate you so much!"
"That’s enough."
Barkas suddenly grabbed both of her wrists, his voice dropping to a low growl.
She looked up at him, her eyes brimming with tears. Seeing her expression of utter grievance, an exasperated sigh escaped his lips.
"You’ve met your quota for the day. Stop throwing a fit and get out of here."
"No! I’m never listening to you! I’m going to stay here and drown, so just go!"
Ignoring her shrieking, he dragged her back to the shore.
Even then, Thalia continued to rain punches on his back. Barkas watched her with an incredulous look, shook his head, and picked up his discarded coat. He wrapped it tightly around her body and tied the sleeves together like a makeshift straitjacket so she could no longer use her fists.
Thalia struggled to break free, but when her arms wouldn’t budge, she kicked him hard in the shin.
"Are you insane, tying up a princess? You thug! You brute!"
"Look who’s talking," he muttered.
Barkas let out a long breath and hoisted her over his shoulder like a sack of grain.
Thalia squawked like a frantic duck.
"I am royalty, you idiot! What kind of knight treats a princess like this!"
Silently gathering his sword and clothes, Barkas trudged through the rain.
Thalia, who had been thrashing like a wild animal and spewing every curse she knew, eventually went limp from exhaustion.
He didn’t set her down until they reached the Annex Palace. Thalia glared at him, huffing and puffing, but soon collapsed into bed.
And that evening, just as he had predicted, she came down with a terrible fever.
Barkas pulled up a chair and sat by her side while she burned with the flu, quietly reading a book.
She couldn’t describe how much she loathed that peaceful sight.
Feeling utterly spiteful, she picked a fight. "You probably wish I was sick every day," she rasped.
"It’s not so bad once in a while," he replied simply, turning a page.
Thalia glared at him with feverish eyes, but then, with the mindless logic of the sick, she thought, At least he said 'once in a while.' She buried her face in the covers.
Inwardly, she was happy. He had stayed by her side instead of attending Aila’s birthday banquet. Because of that, she could generously forgive his cold attitude.
She tried to fall asleep, hiding the small smile that kept creeping onto her face.
Even though the fever was agonizing, she strangely couldn’t stop smiling.
It was always like that when she was with Barkas. She felt miserable, frustrated, and angry, yet at the same time, her heart would swell uncontrollably. Sometimes, he felt like the only person in the world who was truly hers.
Could it be that we are actually... friends?
In that brazen delusion, the years they spent together piled up.
It might have been an ordeal for him, but for her, those days were like precious jewels. Because of his presence, she had been able to endure each day of her crushing loneliness.
But now, those memories of the past were no longer a comfort. They had become an unbreakable shackle, binding her fast to a man who had never truly been hers.