Ch#128
128
“Isn’t it stunning? Brother said he hunted it himself to cheer me up.”
Talia turned her gaze toward the source of the voice. Beyond the railing, she saw Laina with a silver fur draped over her shoulders.
She twirled in front of her maids, boasting loudly.
“If I have winter clothes made from this fur, I’ll be able to ride my Saika as much as I want, even in the dead of winter, right?”
“Of course! They say the Drakar is a magical beast that nests even inside glaciers. It’ll block out a cold wave with ease.”
“Seeing as he sent such a magnificent gift, the Grand Duke must hold you in very special regard, My Lady.”
Laina beamed at the maids’ flattering words.
“Do you really think so?”
“Why else would he just hand over such a precious treasure?”
The girl’s face, which had been despondent ever since the funeral, was now flush with vitality.
Talia, watching the scene from the top of the stairs, silently turned away.
To think she had believed he risked danger for her sake. How shameless had she become in just a few months? She had nearly made a fool of herself.
Talia trudged back to her bedroom.
However, the bitter feeling—like she had swallowed ash—gradually subsided as dusk approached.
She had vowed thousands of times not to expect anything from him. It was ridiculous to be disappointed by something like this.
Even if it was nothing more than an afterthought, it was an undeniable fact that he had sent her a precious gift.
‘As a decent human being, I should at least offer a word of thanks.’
Otherwise, it would look unnatural. Acting like a pouting child would mean she was disappointed, and being disappointed would mean she had expectations of him after all.
Having finally made up her mind, Talia set the book she had on her lap down as if throwing it and climbed out of bed.
When she reached his quarters, the junior knight guarding the door quickly announced her arrival. It seemed he was trying to get ahead of the Grand Duchess, who always burst through doors, before she could intrude at will.
But Talia, as usual, pulled the handle before permission to enter was given.
As she limped inside, the sight of the brightly lit bedroom filled her vision.
This was a man who always kept the lights off while waiting for her. Had he assumed she wouldn’t come today?
Frowning, she scanned the room and saw two shadows stretched out in front of the fireplace.
Talia whipped her head around and gasped sharply when she saw a young woman touching Barkas’s bare upper body as he sat half-clothed.
“What are you doing right now?”
The woman stood up with a flustered face.
“G-Grand Duchess….”
Only then did her identity become clear. She was the Grand Duke’s healing sorceress, the very person Talia had once made cough up blood.
The woman hurriedly bowed her head and spoke as if making an excuse.
“I was in the middle of treating the Grand Duke’s wounds.”
Talia, glaring at her with the corners of her eyes pulled sharp, turned her head toward Barkas.
“Have you forgotten what a pathetic healer this woman is? Why would you let someone like her…!”
Suddenly, her mouth went shut. Two long, deep diagonal lacerations running from his shoulder to his chest caught her eye.
Her heart sank at the sight of wounds far more serious than she had anticipated.
She hurried to his side.
“W-what happened? You said it was nothing!”
“It only looks this way; it isn’t that great of an injury. No bones were broken, and the major muscles and nerves weren’t significantly damaged.”
Barkas spoke apathetically.
Talia glared at him in disbelief.
With purple veins bulging around the red, swollen skin, the wound looked severe even at a glance. The pain must be immense.
Unable to bring herself to hit him, she merely let out her irritation.
“Do you hear yourself right now? If this isn’t serious, then what is, you idiot!”
The healing sorceress covered her mouth in shock. Barkas, however, remained composed.
He gave the healer a slight nod.
“You may leave.”
“B-but the bandages….”
“I can do this much myself.”
The woman hesitated for a moment, then bowed her head and hurried out of the room.
Talia didn’t even give her a glance as she reached out her hand toward him.
“Give me the bandages. You can’t even wrap them properly with one hand.”
“It’s fine.”
“Fine, my foot! Just give them here.”
The man stared at her intently before finally handing over the bandages. Talia snatched them away and pulled a chair over to sit across from him.
Up close, the wound was even more gruesome. Discharge was seeping from around the lacerations, which glistened with salve, and she could feel the heat radiating from his skin, which was redder than usual.
She bit her lower lip hard and carefully wound the cloth around his chest.
Perhaps thanks to her habit of checking the bandages on her own leg every day and retying the knots herself, she was able to bind the wound without difficulty.
“Are you sure you’re really okay? What if it gets infected later….”
“Once the toxin is drawn out, I can treat it with magic. Do not worry.”
“Who said I was worried about you? If something happens to you, my life gets complicated too….”
“I know. I am telling you this to reassure you that Your Grace will not become a widow.”
Talia fell silent, looking speechless at his blunt reply.
Barkas, who had been leaning back against the chair observing her with pensive eyes, lightly grasped her wrist and asked.
“Why did you come today?”
For a moment, her heart sank as if she had been caught in a surprise attack.
Did he mean he wasn’t happy she came?
She stole a glance at his face. Light flickered over his handsome, expressionless features.
He tilted his head to one side and added.
“You said you wouldn’t share a bed with me for the time being. Have you changed your mind?”
She reflexively shook off his hand.
“I haven’t! Do you think I’m so desperate that I’d roll around with someone in that condition?”
“Then why are you here?”
He leaned his upper body close toward her.
Talia’s eyes darted around in panic until she finally remembered the excuse she had prepared and stammered it out.
“The gift you gave… I just came to say thank you.”
The man looked down at her in silence for a long time, as if weighing the sincerity of those words, before finally speaking.
“Did you like it?”
“Who wouldn’t like a gift like that?”
For some reason, she found it hard to look him straight in the eye and awkwardly lowered her gaze.
“But don’t go hunting magical beasts ever again. No matter how much you pitied your sister, the ruler of the East shouldn’t be so reckless as to get injured….”
“What kind of man would go to such lengths for his sister?”
Talia, who had been nagging, faltered and looked up at him again.
Before she knew it, Barkas was fiddling with her hair. His touch was like a cat playing with a ball of yarn. The man, lightly stroking her hair with his fingertips, continued calmly.
“You used to catch colds often, even in midsummer. The winters here are harsher than in the central regions. You’ll need something of that caliber to get through it safely.”
“……That was when I was a child.”
Talia gulped and feigned indifference.
“Everyone goes through winter; why be so dramatic about it….”
“It is not dramatic at all.”
His pale blue eyes slowly scanned her from head to toe.
Talia unconsciously clutched the shawl draped over her shoulders. There was no way he didn’t know how pitifully thin her body had become since the accident, yet she felt a fresh sense of shame.
She hurriedly changed the subject.
“Anyway, don’t you dare think about hunting magical beasts ever again. Just make your subordinates do it instead. Do you still think you’re some lowly knight? You’re the Grand Duke now. What do you have soldiers for?”
“It was more efficient for me to do it myself. Above all, I could hardly let my soldiers face such danger for a gift meant for my wife.”
Her ears grew hot at him casually referring to her as his wife.
Hoping the sunset light would hide her blush, she acted irritable for no reason.
“If it’s something you can’t ask your soldiers to do, then don’t do it yourself either, you fool!”
“……Weren’t you here to thank me?”
He pointed out, raising an eyebrow.
Talia let out a snort.
“I came to scold you, too. Your body doesn’t belong to you alone anymore. I won’t forgive you if you treat it recklessly without my permission.”
