Chapter 63
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 63
Once the unwelcome guest finally departed, Thalia hurried the healer to fill the room with a pale, drifting haze.
As she drew a deep breath of the acrid air, which shimmered like a heat mirage, her roiling senses finally began to settle. A profound sense of relief washed over her. If she waited just a little longer, the thick fog would consume her mind entirely. Then, she wouldn’t have to think about anything. She simply wanted to sleep as if she were dead.
She lay sprawled on the bed and closed her eyes. Yet, no matter how long she waited, a single thread of consciousness remained unbroken, keeping her tethered to reality.
Desperate to succumb to sleep, she leaned closer to the brazier and inhaled the pungent smoke even more deeply, but it only triggered a violent fit of coughing. As her body racked with spasms, even the slight drowsiness that had gathered in her eyes vanished.
Overwhelmed by frustration, Thalia looked out the window. The sky was already stained a deep, visceral crimson. She stared at that dizzying sunset—which sent a chill down her spine—for a long time before she climbed out of bed as if drawn by an invisible thread.
Perhaps the medicine was finally working, as she felt no particular pain. She took a few experimental steps. Her left leg moved a beat late, dragging across the floor, but the sharp, stabbing pain she usually felt whenever she bent the joint was quiet. It seemed she could walk well enough.
She slid her thin feet into slippers and pulled a hooded robe from the wardrobe. Throwing it loosely over her shoulders, she left the bedroom with a swaying gait.
By now, her nanny would be idling in her own quarters. The healer would have finished her duties and retired, and the maids would be resting in their respective rooms as well. Just as she thought, she encountered no one while walking down the long corridor and descending the stairs.
Thalia passed through the wide hall and exited the Annex Palace through a side door used by the servants. A cool breeze brushed softly against her face. Inhaling the cold air, mixed with the scent of damp grass and flowers, Thalia moved with sluggish steps.
After wandering aimlessly for some time, she suddenly realized she was near the drill ground. A faint question surfaced in her numbed mind.
Why did I come here?
Looking around the red-tinted clearing with vacant eyes, she sensed a presence and instinctively hid behind the bushes. A few knights were swinging their swords on one side of the grounds, perhaps sparring. She caught a glimpse of them through the foliage, watching them blankly for a moment before moving on.
After walking for a long while, her vision began to waver like ripples on water. The herbs were finally taking full effect. Thalia continued her pace, slow as an earthworm, practically dragging her limp leg behind her.
Then, noticing that her long shadow had been swallowed by a deep darkness, she looked up. Without realizing it, she had entered a dim, silent building.
Where am I?
As she furrowed her brows in confusion, a door at the end of the long corridor caught her eye. She stumbled toward it and knocked cautiously. After a moment, a low, deep voice drifted through.
"What is it?"
Thalia blinked slowly. Only after hearing that voice did she remember why she had come.
"I came because I have something to tell you," she said, her voice slurred.
A chilly silence followed. Wondering if she had been too quiet, Thalia cleared her throat to speak again. At that moment, heavy footsteps approached, and the door swung open.
Thalia looked up.
Perhaps he had been resting after finishing his day; Barkas was dressed only in dark cotton trousers and a thin linen shirt, worn loosely. As she scanned him with vacant eyes, a cold voice struck her from above.
"Did you really come all this way dressed like that?"
Thalia looked down at herself. Through the open robe, she could see the summer pajamas her nanny had dressed her in. What was wrong with this?
As she frowned, a large garment was draped over her shoulders. Thalia looked up at him, bewildered. Barkas, who had wrapped her body tightly in his own coat, scanned the corridor where darkness was beginning to settle.
"Where is your guard?"
"Guard?"
His eyes sharpened. Barkas lightly gripped her chin and tilted it upward. Then, leaning down toward her, he stared intently into her eyes.
"How much sleep herb did you burn?"
Thalia strained to see his face, which kept blurring at the edges. Barkas wore a strange expression she had never seen before. No—perhaps it was her own mind that was strange. If the whole world looked distorted, how could this man look normal?
She pulled his hand away from her face somewhat roughly and parted her lips.
"I told you, I came because I have something to say."
She could see his eyes narrowing. He seemed displeased. After casting a cold gaze at her, Barkas straightened his posture and looked up at the sky darkening outside the window. Then, he glanced over his shoulder, surveying his room.
Seeing him contemplating something made her increasingly anxious. Did I speak in the language of elves or dwarves? Why isn’t he answering?
"Can’t you hear me? I said I have something to say..."
Just then, her body tilted to one side. Thalia hurriedly grabbed the doorpost. It seemed her leg had cramped from the walk from the Annex Palace; she felt a faint spasm in her left thigh muscle. To keep from collapsing, she braced herself against the wall with both hands and shifted her weight to her other leg.
In that instant, her body was lifted into the air.
Startled, she looked up to see a face etched with fatigue filling her vision. He carried her in his arms and stepped into the spacious bedroom lit by candlelight. Thalia lowered her gaze, scanning the familiar yet foreign scenery. She had come here several times to meet him, but this was the first time she had ever stepped inside his private room.
A hollow laugh escaped her. It seemed she only gained the right to enter his sanctuary now that her legs were like this.
"We will talk after the medicine wears off," Barkas said, his voice sounding like a weary sigh as he set her down on his bed.
Thalia tightly gripped the hem of his shirt as he tried to pull away. Through the thin fabric, she felt his solid, well-trained torso tense slightly. Had he realized what she was about to say?
Struggling to focus her wandering eyes, she held onto his shirt like a lifeline.
"No. I’m going to say it now. If I regain my senses, I definitely won’t be able to say it..."
"..."
"You said if I agreed, you would take me as your wife, right?"
He didn’t answer, only staring intensely into her eyes. Thalia managed to move her tongue, which felt as limp as a noodle.
"Do it. Discard Aila Roem Guirta, and take me as your wife."
A heavy silence descended. An unreadable light flickered across his face as he stood with his back to the fading sunset.
Was he bewildered? She thought that since he had likely made the offer assuming she would refuse, he might be feeling dismayed by her answer. However, a chillingly calm voice flowed from his lips.
"I will do so."
Thalia traced his face with blurry eyes. A hollow laugh escaped her at his dry expression, which was utterly devoid of emotion.
Because of this man, Aila had visited the half-sister she despised so much and swallowed her pride. Thalia herself was suffering from the impulse to ruin everything. Yet, why was this man so peaceful?
At his cold face, which seemed to carry a hint of nothing but ennui, something inside her began to crack.