Chapter 71
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 71
Her mouth went dry under the intensity of his parched gaze.
Thalia worried her chapped lip with a fingertip and lowered her eyes, at a total loss for words. She remained silent as if struck dumb, her eyes darting restlessly, until his monotonous voice finally broke the tension.
"Your nanny is in the next room. Call for her if you need anything."
Thalia looked up at him again. Barkas spoke calmly as he slid his arm into his shirt sleeve.
"We are scheduled to leave for the East in a week. I will summon the servants, so if you have luggage to take, please have it packed in advance."
"S-so soon?"
As she stammered, her expression flustered, Barkas paused while fastening his buttons and turned back to her. His eyes, shrouded in a thick mist, carefully weighed the look on her face.
"Is there any reason to remain in the Imperial Palace longer?"
Thalia stared at him, speechless, before slowly shaking her head.
Barkas watched her for a moment, then approached the bedside with disciplined, measured strides. Her heart shriveled at the sudden proximity of his face.
Thalia found herself staring at his lips. She caught a glimpse of his red tongue through the slight gap between them.
That... had been inside her.
Was that reality, or a dream?
While she was lost in the haze of that thought, he lifted her chin, bringing those transparent blue eyes level with her own.
"Is it common for the pain to intensify so suddenly, as it did yesterday?"
Her shriveled heart seemed to crack open with a sharp snap.
Thalia roughly brushed his hand away. A surge of irritation rose within her at being treated like a critically ill patient.
"I don’t know. Why do you care?"
"If there is a problem, then additional treatment—"
"Even the mages of House Taren couldn’t do anything about it. How do you plan to treat it?"
When she raised her voice, unable to withstand the mounting anxiety, his lips pressed into a firm line. Those red lips, forming a sharp edge, caught her eye once more.
What mattered now was the fact that last night, that mouth had ravaged her as it pleased. So why was he worrying about something as trivial as her leg?
Thalia’s dry lips parted slightly.
"More importantly... about yesterday..."
Why did you do that to me? Was it really just to give me the medicine?
She tried to force the question out, but her throat seized. Perhaps the moment their lips touched had been nothing more than a fleeting instant. It was possible her messy, jumbled mind had distorted the memory of its own accord.
She swallowed hard and stole a glance at his expression.
As if he weren’t even curious about the words she left hanging, Barkas straightened his posture and spoke in a flat tone.
"I have a healer on standby in the room right next door. If you feel any discomfort, call for them immediately."
Is that all?
Don’t you have anything else to say to me?
The questions swirled at the tip of her tongue, but his calm voice continued.
"Until the day of departure, I intend to stay within the Imperial Palace."
Thalia looked up at him, feeling as if she had been struck over the head.
A cool finger descended upon her forehead. Her skin prickled as if touched by a blade. When she instinctively shrank back, Barkas, who had been brushing a stray lock of hair from her face, withdrew his hand. A dark shadow fell over his features as he stood with his back to the window.
"For the time being, you will not have to face me. So, please make yourself comfortable."
Thalia opened her mouth urgently. She felt like she had to say something, but her throat ached, and she couldn’t make a sound.
He slowly turned around and retrieved his coat from the wall. Thalia could only stare blankly at his back as he crossed the room.
Gripping the doorknob, Barkas looked back at her over his shoulder. His lips parted slightly as if he were about to say something. But in the end, he left without a word.
Click.
Thalia, who had been staring vacantly at the closed door, lowered her feet from the bed. A tingling sensation shot up through her bones. Ignoring the searing pain, she limped to the door and turned the handle.
Perhaps Barkas had already gone down the stairs, for only silence hung in the hallway.
With a hollow expression, she locked the door again and returned to the bedside. The only trace of him left in the room was a neatly folded set of formal wear.
She unfolded the garment that had been stacked on the shelf and buried her face in the smooth fabric. Instead of peppermint, a thick scent of roses seeped into her nose.
Perhaps because he had been holding her all day, the satin—embroidered with lavish patterns—was heavily permeated with the scent of the oils the maids had slathered on her. For lack of anything better, she draped it over herself and lay down on the cold bed.
She remembered the broad chest that had wrapped tightly around her while she writhed in pain.
Since he had to look after a patient all night, it must have been a miserable experience for him. Where in the world was a man who would welcome such a grueling and bothersome first night?
Thalia bit her trembling lip hard.
In the first place, this was a marriage she had accepted to satisfy a childish desire for revenge. Since she had made him sick of her from the very first night, she ought to be pleased.
Struggling to calm her bitter heart, she looked up at the white, glowing window. Beyond the transparent pane, the sun was dawning brightly.
Suddenly, the thought occurred to her that this was the first morning she was greeting as Thalia Roem Sieorkan.
Thalia muttered with a bleak face.
"How will my life flow from now on...?"
*
Before she knew it, the day of departure for the East was upon her.
Thalia, who had begun grooming herself early in the morning at the insistence of the maids, looked out the window with weary eyes.
In the wide courtyard, more than twenty wagons stood in a line. Atop them were layers of silk wrapped in linen, ornaments crafted by dwarves, dresses woven by the fairy race, and chests filled with rare jewels.
Half were wedding gifts sent from the Imperial Palace, and the other half were things she had obsessively gathered over many years.
Thalia, who had once been fanatically attached to these treasures, looked down at them with indifferent eyes and soon closed the curtains.
Only a season ago, she had been frantic to obtain rare dresses and accessories. She had hoped that Barkas would regret his engagement to Aila upon seeing her shining more brilliantly than anyone else.
But now, she didn’t care about jewels or clothes. In any case, she could never be as elegant as Aila, nor as beautiful as Senevia. Dressing up to the hilt with a body like this would only make her look miserable and pathetic.
Thalia sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed her aching knee. Perhaps the effect of the painkiller she took at dawn had already worn off, as the quieted pain began to rear its head again.
She placed a new incense candle into the brazier where the embers had died out. Just as she was about to light it, a knock sounded from the door.
"Your Highness, Lord Sieorkan has arrived."
In that moment, her senses, which had been blurred as if submerged in water, woke up vividly. Thalia hurriedly put down the candle and stood up.
As she approached the door and pulled it open, she saw the maids lined up along the wall. Thalia scanned them.
"...Where is my nanny?"
"She has already boarded the carriage."
Thalia, who had been anxious that the nanny might refuse to leave the Imperial Palace, breathed a sigh of relief.
"Wait a moment. I’ll be out soon."
As she turned to grab her outer garment, an elderly maid spoke urgently.
"Lord Sieorkan asked me to deliver this to you."
Thalia looked down with narrowed eyes at the long, flowing garment the maid held out.
It was a loose, hooded cloak designed to cover her entire body. It seemed he had brought it specifically to hide her limping gait.
Her ears burned with a sense of humiliation, but Thalia donned it without a word. The long hem covered her down to her toes. She likely looked as if she were draped in a heavy curtain.
She felt the surface of the smooth fabric before gesturing to the maids.
"Let’s go now."