Ch#130
130
Barkas tickled her lips with his thumb, leaning the bridge of his straight nose against her temple.
“I will keep the room dark that day.”
Talia, her shoulder leaning against his broad chest while her eyes darted nervously, slowly nodded her head.
He grasped her chin and gazed steadily into her eyes.
Just as she felt the urge to flee from an indefinable sense of shame, Barkas lowered his lips again. This time, it was a light kiss, like a bird rubbing its beak against her.
That feather-light contact caused something deep within her heart to crumble. As if denying the fact, Talia squeezed her eyes shut.
After 그날, Talia began staying in his chambers as if it were the most natural thing in the world. She used the excuse of keeping an eye on the untrustworthy healing sorceress.
However, she did not leave the room even after the treatment was finished.
She would linger, pretending to give in to his requests to feed him his medicine, and eventually end up falling asleep in his bed. This change had occurred a mere month after she had caused a fuss, swearing she would return to her own room even if it killed her.
She was disgusted with herself, but Talia dragged up every possible reason to justify her actions.
This is only a temporary change.
It’s just a temporary compromise because he’s injured, and I can’t bring myself to push an injured man away.
Once Barkas fully recovered, she intended to retreat back outside the line she had drawn.
Therefore, her anger toward Barkas for not taking proper care of himself was justified. The slower his recovery, the longer this ambiguous state would last.
Having brooded all day, Talia launched a blunt accusation at Barkas the moment he returned to the room late in the evening.
“You have no right to nag me about my health.”
Barkas, stepping into the room, gave her a puzzled look.
Talia dropped the book she had been holding on her lap as if throwing it away and hopped down from his bed, raising her voice.
“You’re working like an ox every day in that condition! You even had a fever at dawn….”
“My body was fine,” Barkas countered calmly as he took off his coat.
Talia arched her brows.
“No, it wasn’t. You were warmer than usual.”
“If that was the case, it likely wasn’t because of a fever.”
Talia, looking bewildered for a moment, soon flushed a deep red.
She couldn’t understand how he could say such things without a single change in his expression. It seemed the concept of shame simply didn’t exist for him.
Talia spoke through gritted teeth.
“There’s monster venom flowing through your body; there’s no way you’re fine. You need to rest properly until you’re detoxified.”
“As it is, I have been finishing my duties earlier than usual lately,” Barkas replied dryly, unbuckling his sword belt and placing it on the rack.
Talia let out a hollow laugh.
The schedule she had pried out of the butler today was nothing short of a punishment. She wondered if even the most ascetic monk could live like that.
Every morning, before the sun even rose, Barkas got out of bed and headed to the training grounds. After honing his martial arts there, he moved to the military base to inspect the training status of each unit, the recruitment of new soldiers, and the management of military supplies in detail before processing various approval documents.
Afterward, he performed public duties such as reviewing petitions from across the Eastern Region or meeting with members of the City Council to discuss policies. Occasionally, he attended events hosted by the Great Cathedral or meetings of the noble alliance.
It was hard to believe how one person could handle so many tasks at once.
She spoke with a hint of anxiety.
“Even a healthy person would die before long living the way you do.”
“I have been trained to handle a schedule like this since I was eight years old. Do not worry; you will not become a widow because of me.”
Talia clenched her fists at the callous response. If he had been in perfect health, she would have thrown a pillow at that impassive face.
“How can you be so sure? Everyone who dies of overwork dies because they were overconfident in their health like you, and then one day they just collapse and never open their eyes again! Just watch. If you keep living like that, your turn will come soon.”
“…Is that a concern or a curse?”
Barkas, unbuttoning his doublet, looked back at her as if he found her absurd.
Talia flashed a poisonous smile, like a cat with its claws out.
“Which one does it sound like?”
His eyes narrowing, Barkas let out a soft sigh and tossed his shirt onto a chair.
Seeing his bare torso revealed in the light, Talia reflexively caught her breath. The bandages she had replaced last night had been cleanly removed.
She stepped toward him and scrutinized his shoulder. Only a faint trace remained where the wound had been.
“How did this happen? They said it would take another day to heal completely.”
“The ointment that healing sorceress made was more effective than expected. As soon as I confirmed the poisoning symptoms were gone, I received treatment from a priest.”
She swallowed hard.
“W-well, that’s good then.”
As she took a step back with an awkward expression, his gloved fingers touched her face.
“Are you at ease now?” Barkas asked, staring quietly into her eyes.
For some reason, she felt a sudden chill, as if she had been bitten on the neck by a docile hunting dog she thought she could manipulate at will.
Talia turned her head away as if brushing off his hand and replied brusquely.
“Fine, I don’t need to worry anymore.”
An awkward silence fell.
Talia, looking down at his shadow on the carpet, slowly lifted her head. His eyes, seemingly lost in thought, were looking down at her from right in front of her.
He brushed the hair back from her forehead and asked.
“What do you want me to do?”
Talia gripped her skirt tightly. Her lips felt parched.
“I….”
She didn’t know why she was stalling. Had she not been urging his recovery just so they could be together? Now, she had to demand the bed as planned.
She moistened her bone-dry lips while clutching her clothes. Then, a soothing voice washed over the top of her head.
“If you do not want it, I will wait longer.”
However, a large hand wrapped around her waist as if he had no intention of letting her leave the room.
Talia looked up at him with trembling eyes.
If we aren’t going to sleep together, there’s no reason for me to be here. But why can’t I shake off this hand? And why do you want me to stay by your side?
To think that just being together is enough, even without doing anything.
It’s almost like love.
In that moment, a feeling bordering on terror crawled up her spine. It felt as if she were standing naked in the middle of a ballroom.
She tightly clasped her trembling hands.
Don’t expect anything. You mustn’t expect a single thing. She obsessively repeated the thought, forcing out a tight, strained voice.
“Turn off… all the lights.”
She felt like she wanted to hide in the darkness immediately, even if it meant she would suffocate.
She urged him in an anxious voice.
“Right now. Immediately.”
“…Are you truly alright?”
“Why wouldn’t I be alright?” Talia said mockingly.
“That is all I want from you. I don’t want anything else.”
A subtle expression flickered across his face. She didn’t want to know what it was.
Talia kept her gaze fixed on the floor, enduring the razor-sharp silence.
Finally, he turned and extinguished every light in the room one by one. However, the moonlight pouring through the window was still illuminating the room brightly.
Talia pressed in a stifled voice.
“Draw the curtains, too.”
The man walked toward the window with a pace so slow it was agonizing. But instead of drawing the curtains, he simply stood there, gazing up at the brightly shining moon.
Talia watched that straight back, overwhelmed by an unidentifiable fear.
Then, the man, who had been motionless as if deep in thought, strode back toward her.
Talia stepped back in surprise. Barkas reached out, scooped her up in his arms, and headed straight for the bed. Talia instinctively struggled.
“No! I told you to draw the curtains!”
“I won’t look at anything you don’t want me to see.”
Barkas whispered into her ear as he laid her down on the bed.
Talia looked up at him with terrified eyes. Barkas, leaning over her, wrapped the blanket around both of them.
