Ch#136
136
Talia looked suspiciously back and forth between the head maid’s rigid, honest-looking face and the maids standing behind her.
“You say that now, but you’re planning to report everything behind my back, aren’t you?”
“How could we? We will not utter a single word until Your Grace chooses to announce it yourself, so please do not worry.”
The head maid promised with a solemn face, her back held straight.
Talia looked up at her with narrowed, squinting eyes before eventually giving a haughty toss of her head.
“Fine. Now, everyone get out.”
“Have you already forgotten what the priestess said? You must maintain absolute stability for the time being. From now on, designated maids will be stationed by your side to serve you.”
Speaking with firm finality, the head maid called forward the maids standing behind her.
“Brisa, Yvonne.”
The two girls who were called stepped forward obediently to the front of the bed.
Talia scanned their youthful faces carefully. They were young maids who had occasionally helped her dress or brought her food.
“They are the quickest and most skilled among the maids. Keep them close and use them as you see fit.”
The two girls bowed their heads simultaneously.
Talia watched them with a dissatisfied gaze before issuing a warning in a dignified voice.
“If you get in my way even a little, I’ll kick you out.”
“We will do our utmost to serve Your Grace without causing any discomfort,” the maid named Brisa replied in a clear voice.
Talia gave a light snort and turned over in bed.
At the silent dismissal, everyone except the two maids left the room one by one. However, the silence did not last long. Before long, the healing sorceress arrived.
“Congratulations, Your Grace.”
The woman approached with her usual calm expression and offered a careful greeting.
Talia glared at her with suspicious eyes.
“Did you really have no idea I was pregnant all this time?”
“I had some suspicions. However, I judged it better to speak once it was certain,” the woman replied in a composed tone.
Talia let out a scoffing laugh.
“Judged? You think you have the right to make judgments about my body?”
“…I was merely concerned that Your Grace might be disappointed,” the healing sorceress excused herself, casting her eyes down.
“Are you not already feeling pressured by the issue of pregnancy? There is a possibility of misdiagnosis in the early stages, and since Your Grace’s physical condition was so poor, I intended to observe for a few more days before telling you.”
Talia’s complexion clouded over.
“Is my condition that bad?”
A flicker of conflict passed over the healing sorceress’s face.
She glanced at the two maids waiting by the bedside and began to explain in the language of the elves.
“Your Grace has a constitution that makes pregnancy difficult in the first place. Your vital energy is weak, and since your pelvis was slightly shifted due to the accident, you must be exceptionally careful even if you do conceive.”
There were a few words mixed in that Talia was hearing for the first time, but it wasn’t difficult to grasp the meaning.
Talia’s face went pale, and she clamped her lips shut. Confirming through her reaction that she understood, the healing sorceress continued her explanation.
“That is why I have remained silent until now; I did not want the Grand Duke’s family to know. If something were to go wrong with the child, Your Grace might face blame.”
Talia swallowed hard and stammered out a few clumsy words in the elven tongue.
“A priestess from the Kalmor Great Cathedral examined me. Everyone must know by now.”
“I am just returning from meeting that priestess under the pretext of hearing her opinion. Fortunately, she does not seem to have noticed anything regarding Your Grace’s constitution.”
The healing sorceress let out a small sigh and took her hand, urging her.
“Still, please refrain from being examined by others as much as possible from now on. If Your Grace successfully gives birth to a son this time, there will be no problem… but there is always the possibility of the worst-case scenario.”
The lines of Talia’s mouth tightened. Her mood, which had been floating as if she were drunk, plummeted in an instant.
Biting her lower lip repeatedly, Talia gave a small nod.
“I understand what you’re saying.”
“Do not worry too much. I will look after Your Grace’s health even more meticulously.”
The healing sorceress patted the back of her cold hand as if to comfort her, then switched back to the Empire’s common tongue.
“Now, let me examine your leg.”
She opened the leather pouch she had brought under her arm and took out the ointment for the scars and the painkillers Talia took regularly.
Talia looked at the maids with an uneasy expression. As if sensing her reluctance to expose herself, the two girls immediately set up a screen around the bed.
Relieved by their quick wit, she carefully lowered her legs over the edge of the bed.
When she lifted the hem of her voluminous skirt, reddish scars were revealed through the loosely wrapped bandages. They had been wrapped loosely out of necessity because the skin had become raw.
The healing sorceress carefully unwound them, applied the salve thoroughly over the scars, and rewrapped them loosely with fresh bandages. Then, after brewing a cup of medicinal tea to help stabilize her mind and body, she quietly left the bedroom.
Finally able to rest without interruption, Talia curled her body deep under the covers.
She was pregnant, so her goal had been achieved. Yet, why was she so anxious?
If the child in her womb was a girl, she would have to start everything all over again. But what if she couldn’t get pregnant a second time?
Luck had been on her side this time, but the next was not guaranteed. To make matters worse, if it became known that she had a constitution that made pregnancy difficult, the people of the East would try to drag her down from the position of Grand Duchess.
In the worst case, she might be sent away to a place like a monastery. Even there, she couldn’t expect a peaceful life. Gares would try to kill her by any means necessary, and her mother wouldn’t bother protecting a child who had outlived her usefulness…
Lost in these extreme delusions, Talia soon put a brake on her thoughts.
It wasn’t time to assume the worst yet. Regardless, she had succeeded in conceiving just as planned. If she successfully gave birth to the heir of the Grand Duke’s family, her safety would be guaranteed.
Struggling to calm her anxiety, Talia emptied a bowl of porridge the maids brought her and then tried to take a nap.
When she opened her eyes again, the sun had noticeably dipped.
Looking up at the darkening sky through the window, Talia sat up upon hearing heavy footsteps.
Barkas was entering the bedroom earlier than usual.
“How are you feeling?”
Barkas, who tossed his coat carelessly over a chair, strode toward the bed. Perhaps because he had just washed in the common sauna used by the knights, a thick scent of soap and mint wafted from him.
“Just… the same as usual.”
Talia glanced briefly at his flaxen hair, which was not yet fully dry, before quickly averting her gaze restlessly.
The man sat on the edge of the bed and pressed the back of his hand to her forehead, furrowing his brow.
“You still have a slight fever.”
“It’s because I’ve been near the hearth for too long.”
Talia cleared her throat awkwardly and quickly changed the subject.
“More importantly, why are you here so early? The butler said you’d be late because of the meeting…”
“I returned quickly after purchasing the item Your Grace mentioned.”
Barkas reached inside his richly embroidered tunic and pulled out a small bundle.
Talia stared at it blankly. As his long, beautiful fingers with prominent knuckles skillfully unwrapped the leather casing, five or six red berries wrapped in crumpled paper were revealed.
“The flesh is firm and the sugar content is a bit low, but they said it’s difficult to find a better variety than this at the moment. I’ve placed an order with the Lacasim merchants, so I should be able to get better quality within a month. Please make do with these until then.”
Talia looked stunned.
She had asked him to get them, but it was already the beginning of winter. She knew well that finding strawberries in this cold region was no easy task, even for the Emperor of the Empire.
“Would you like to try one?”
Barkas picked up a strawberry and held it out to her.
Talia stared vacantly at the tempting, glowing red fruit before slowly opening her mouth.
Soon after, the small fruit entered her mouth. She rolled it on the tip of her tongue before biting down. A sweetness spread along with a sourness so sharp it brought a sting to her eyes.
“How is it?”
Barkas asked, brushing her juice-moistened lips with his thumb.
Feeling a lump in her throat for some reason, she lowered her eyes to avoid his gaze.
It was so delicious she could cry. More than anything she had ever eaten in her life.
“…It’s not bad.”
