Ch#101
101
He felt his nerves prickle with sharp sensitivity.
As he slowly trickled the raw-smelling liquid into the narrow, damp space, her flushed face contorted slightly. She seemed to truly loathe the taste of the potion.
Yet, he could not empathize with what she felt. He could smell the pungent scent of grass and taste the strong bitterness stimulating his taste buds, but those sensations did not translate into discomfort for him.
Varkas repeatedly thrust his tongue into her cowering mouth and pulled it back out, drawing her squirming body even closer.
She shuddered faintly as she swallowed the liquid pooled in her mouth. Her panting breath dampened even his own throat.
He tried to wrap his tongue around her tightly retracted one, but when it didn’t go as planned, he lifted his head.
Her face, disheveled and messy from the unfamiliar act, came into view.
Suddenly, something sharp scraped down his spine.
He pressed down on her swollen lower lip with his thumb, forcing her jaw open. Then, breathing in the ragged gasps escaping from that humid cavity, he urged her roughly.
“Stick out your tongue.”
Her moist eyes wavered with anxiety.
He slid his finger past her teeth and lightly pressed down on her damp tongue.
A somewhat impatient voice escaped him.
“Hurry.”
Looking up at him with confused eyes, the woman slowly poked out her tongue.
The moment he took it into his mouth and sucked gently, her frail, thin body went stiff with shock.
He cupped her rigid nape and tilted his head even further.
Her small tongue twitched tantalizingly. He persistently ensnared it as it tried to flee, wrapping his arm around her supple waist.
Beneath the thin fabric of her clothes, he could feel her delicate frame and soft curves.
Her body, which had thinned noticeably over the past two seasons, felt as though it might shatter if he applied even a little too much strength. Feeling strangely anxious, he released her tongue.
Transparent saliva trailed between her bruised, crimson lips. As he licked it away, he heard a voice that sounded like a sob.
“Why…?”
She looked up at him with eyes that seemed consumed by fever.
“Why are you going this far?”
He knit his brows.
In fact, he wanted to ask her the same thing.
Why shouldn’t he do this?
They were husband and wife.
It was a relationship where it wouldn’t be strange even if they did far more than this. He simply hadn’t demanded it because he knew she wouldn’t want it.
But you were the one who reached out.
Suppressing the urge to blame her, he looked into her dizzy, inscrutable eyes.
His insides twisted as he saw the gaze mixed with confusion, wariness, and suspicion.
He slowly loosened his arm.
“If you hate me doing this, don’t provoke me from now on.”
The woman bit her lip and cast her eyes down.
The curve of her distorted mouth caught his gaze again. Mocking himself for his own reaction, he rose from the bed, but her choked voice grated on his nerves.
“Wh-who said I hated it?”
Varkas looked down at her with cold eyes.
She demanded as if she were reclaiming something she had left in his care.
“I won’t cry anymore, so keep going. There’s still… medicine left.”
In an instant, a fierce heat tore through his gut.
He frowned at the sensation that felt closer to displeasure.
What on earth did this woman want from him?
“I want you to be in pain. A lot, a lot of pain.”
The words she had once babbled while drugged flashed through his mind.
At the time, he had dismissed them as insignificant. Even now, more than a decade later, his sense of pain had not returned. He couldn’t even recall what pain felt like anymore.
But perhaps, he thought, this sensation he was feeling now might be close to pain.
“I-if you don’t want to, then fine. Go away.”
Unable to bear the prolonged silence, Thalia pushed against his chest.
Snatching her hand, he pulled her incredibly light body onto his lap. Her body, which had been stiff with tension, soon went limp and soft.
He wound her terrifyingly smooth hair around his finger and bit her wet lips.
She was a woman who was never satisfied unless she made a mess of others, and herself as well.
From the moment he took responsibility for her, he had guessed that his orderly world would be ruined.
Varkas closed his eyes, feeling a heat that felt as though his internal organs were festering.
It was like swallowing venom.
The journey continued smoothly.
After visiting the major estates of the Northeast, they moved south to tour several commercial districts.
For a while, a succession of grand cityscapes boasting staggering scales unfolded, followed by the enthusiastic hospitality of wealthy merchants and nobles.
However, none of it could capture her interest. Her mind was entirely filled with confusion.
Thalia touched her stinging lips and looked out the window.
Between the knights marching in orderly ranks, she caught glimpses of Varkas.
Clad in a black breastplate and riding his horse with a straight posture, he looked like the cold, stern lord himself. It was impossible to imagine him as the primal man who indulged in her lips every night.
Feeling her stomach twist of its own accord, Thalia drew the curtains. But even with her vision blocked, the thoughts swirling in her head did not stop.
She obsessively ruminated on the acts they had repeated.
Varkas never initiated a kiss unless she demanded it. Yet, he didn’t seem to be complying reluctantly, either. He would persistently continue the kiss until she was driven to her limit and started struggling. At times, it even felt like he was the more desperate one.
But when she got scared by the contact that grew uncontrollably deep and pushed him away, Varkas would retreat obediently with a dispassionate face. At those times, it made her feel like everything was just her overthinking.
Thalia habitually nibbled her lip, then winced at a sharp pain. Touching it with her fingertip, a faint smear of blood came away.
She had no way of knowing if it was a wound she had made or one Varkas had caused. Lately, Varkas had been tormenting her lips more frequently.
Fingering her swollen lips, Thalia closed her eyes. Just as she was about to try and take a nap to clear her cluttered mind, the carriage that had been running without rest came to a halt.
“We have arrived. Please step out.”
A blunt voice came through the window.
Thalia tidied her disheveled clothes and stepped out of the carriage.
On the wide plain, large conical tents and old huts were scattered here and there. A sense of bewilderment washed over her at the rather humble scenery. Compared to the North, where the gap between rich and poor was extreme, the South was generally wealthy, so it had been quite a while since she had visited such a village.
“We plan to stay here tonight.”
A young horseman Varkas had assigned as a guard approached and explained.
“It may be uncomfortable, but please bear with it for just one day.”
Thalia moved her feet without giving any response.
Varkas was in the middle of talking to a man who appeared to be the village caretaker. As she watched him blankly, Varkas gestured toward her.
Thalia cautiously stepped to his side. Then, Varkas placed a hand on her shoulder and spoke to the caretaker in a businesslike tone.
“We will be setting up our own tents, so you only need to prepare a residence for my wife.”
Thalia looked up at him with startled eyes.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Tonight, there will be a minor subjugation battle.”
