Ch#134
He looked the woman up and down.
“What is it?”
“It concerns Her Grace, the Grand Duchess. I felt it was something Your Grace ought to know….”
The woman, who had been speaking with a stiff face, suddenly turned pale and fell silent. Only then did he realize he was radiating a threatening aura.
Barkas knit his brows slightly. It had already been thoroughly explained that the incorrect prescription she had given his wife was a mistake.
Had it not been confirmed by the testimony of several servants and assistant sorcerers that she had been cautious with the medication, given that Talia repeatedly refused treatment?
This woman had received the punishment appropriate for her error; therefore, there was no longer any reason to remain hostile toward her.
Calming his mind, Barkas asked in a blunt voice.
“What is it that I ought to know?”
“It seems the Grand Duchess is….”
The woman’s lips parted anxiously as she glanced around at her surroundings. She seemed concerned about the presence of others.
He gestured with his chin toward a small receiving room located near the kitchen.
“Follow me.”
Entering the dim room, Barkas set the tray of food down on a shelf and turned around.
The woman, who had been standing by the door peering into the room, finally spoke again.
“It is something I heard from the maids… but they say it has been quite some time since Her Grace last welcomed her ‘monthly guest.’ Judging by her recent symptoms, I suspect she may be with child.”
For a moment, he couldn’t comprehend the meaning of her words.
As he stood there frozen in a daze, the healing sorceress began to speak in a rapid-fire succession.
“However, Her Grace’s personal sorceress has said not a single word regarding the matter. I am well aware that it is not my place… but there are many precautions to be taken during the early stages of pregnancy, so I felt Your Grace needed to know as soon as possible. There are many skilled midwives in Kalmor, so it would be best to call for them and have her examined immediately….”
“Wait.”
He hurriedly cut her off, clutching his forehead as his head began to throb.
A rough voice escaped his constricted throat.
“So, you are saying my wife is pregnant?”
“Given Her Grace’s recent condition, there is a very high probability….”
Barkas licked his parched lips.
The image of his wife, who had been unusually listless and slumped over for the past few few days, flashed through his mind. He also remembered how she had suddenly started pestering him for food.
In an instant, the blood rushed through his body and his ears began to ring.
He looked down at his faintly trembling hands and frowned. He couldn’t understand why his body was reacting this way. It wasn’t as if he had held her without knowing this could happen.
If you put a bull in heat in a pen with a cow, a calf will be born a few months later. That was the way of nature.
If anything, it was strange that he hadn’t noticed sooner.
“Thank you for telling me. I shall call for a midwife at once to confirm.”
After delivering the mechanical response, Barkas immediately stepped toward the door.
He was about to leave the room when he remembered the promise he had made to her, and he turned back to retrieve the tray.
Then, it suddenly occurred to him that this might not be enough.
He felt he should grab something more for her to eat from the kitchen. As he turned back with that thought, the healing sorceress hurriedly called out to stop him.
“I would like to say one more thing to Your Grace.”
He didn’t bother to hide his annoyance as he glared at the woman.
She looked intimidated for a moment, but soon met his gaze with a firm look.
“Please give me one more chance to serve the Grand Duchess.”
His expression turned incredulous.
Thinking of his wife vomiting blood and losing consciousness still made him want to hang this woman upside down.
He had only held back because he knew such a punishment would be excessive for a vassal who had served the Grand Ducal family for generations.
Had it not been for the subtle protection of the ministers, who suggested that her talents were too valuable to waste and that she should be given menial tasks at the infirmary instead of being cast out, he would have issued an order of banishment long ago.
He spoke coldly, like a wild dog baring its teeth.
“Do you truly believe your mistake can be redeemed with just this?”
“How could I possibly think that? I would never dream of returning to my position as Her Grace’s primary healing sorceress.”
The woman bowed her head hurriedly, her face deathly pale.
“I only… ask that you take me on as an assistant sorceress. If you would allow me to serve as an assistant under the person in charge of Her Grace’s care, I will do my utmost to ensure that nothing like what happened before ever occurs again.”
“I refuse. I have no intention of entrusting my wife to someone who has committed such a fatal error….”
Barkas, who had been speaking harshly, suddenly stopped.
Regardless of everything, this woman was renowned as the most brilliant pharmacologist in the Eastern Region.
In fact, had she not detoxified a monster’s poison in just a few days—something even high-ranking priests couldn’t handle?
In the event that a problem arose that mages or priests could not deal with, this woman might be of help.
Most of all, he felt uneasy leaving her entirely in the hands of a healing sorceress from the Taren family. If he kept someone from the Grand Duchy by her side, they wouldn’t be able to try anything suspicious.
Quickly organizing his thoughts, Barkas clicked his tongue and spoke.
“Fine. I will grant you permission to return as an assistant sorceress.”
A flash of relief crossed the woman’s face. He watched her quietly before adding.
“However, if my wife rejects you, you will return to the lowest duties at the infirmary.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
The woman bowed her head, her face darkening. She seemed to recall Talia’s venomous attitude toward her. But it was not his place to intervene in softening her guard. If she lacked even that much tact, she could go back to doing chores at the infirmary as she had been.
He turned away coldly.
In any case, he intended to hire additional sorcerers to look after Talia. Stationing the Grand Priest at Raedgo Castle might also be a good idea.
Though it was somewhat against protocol, the Grand Priest wouldn’t refuse if he offered to fund an expansion of the church buildings.
If he used the excuse of providing lodging for the clergy while the construction was underway, he could utilize holy magic in case of an emergency.
Barkas, his mind racing fiercely, only let out a long-held breath once he reached his bedchamber.
His heart, which had never faltered even after riding for half a day without rest, was beating rapidly. Whenever it concerned her, his body always became uncontrollable.
In the past, he had hated that sensation beyond endurance. Whenever he was with her, he felt as if he were constantly at war with himself. He wanted to cut those precarious eyes out of his mind—the ones that made him feel things he didn’t want to feel and want things he didn’t want to want.
When was it that he had escaped those thoughts?
“I… I knew it. I knew you would come to save me… I knew it.”
He hurriedly pushed away the memory that had suddenly surfaced.
He had a feeling that if he dwelled on that moment, something inside him would be damaged beyond repair.
Clearing the clutter of thoughts from his mind, he pulled the door handle.
As he entered the room, a dense fragrance filled his lungs. Inhaling her scent, which had at some point deeply permeated his bedroom, he crossed the space bathed in warm light. As he approached the bed, he saw her lying there, curled up in a ball.
He set the tray down on the shelf and sat on the edge of the bed. When he brought the back of his hand to her flushed cheek, he felt a lukewarm heat.
Was this also a common reaction in the body of a woman with child?
As he scanned her complexion with worried eyes, her long, limp eyelashes fluttered upward.
“…Are you just now getting here?”
Blue eyes, still clouded with sleep, gazed clearly at him. She rubbed her eyes with her fists and let out a small yawn.
“Did you bring what I asked for?”
“Just the drink for now….”
A voice so tight it sounded awkward even to his own ears came out.
Fortunately, she didn’t seem to notice anything strange.
Talia pressed her body against his side and made her demand as if it were only natural.
“Then hurry and feed it to me.”
Then, she tilted her head back and slightly parted her rose-red lips.
Barkas, watching her with a stiffened body, gripped the glass and took the tart liquid into his mouth.
While he cupped her soft cheeks with both hands and carefully fed her the drink, his body grew as hot as if it were a ball of fire.
He pulled her into his arms and lay down on the bed. Then, remembering the healing sorceress’s words about being careful in the early stages, he barely managed to pull himself together.
“…Why aren’t you doing it today?”
As he caught his breath with her body, languid and limp from the slight fever, held against his chest, she sent him an anxious look.
He murmured while stroking her rose-tinted cheek.
“You have a fever. I won’t do anything until you’re better.”
“But I’m fine….”
He closed his dizzy eyes for a moment before opening them.
“You’re not fine.”
He let out a sigh-like breath and stroked her slender, soft waist.
Perhaps my child is inside here.
He chewed over that fact, which didn’t feel real at all, while looking down at her clear face as she began to doze off again.
When she wasn’t scowling, Talia looked just like a young girl. Seeing that youthful appearance made his heart sink heavily, like a weight of lead.
