Ch#140
140
Suddenly, a thought flashed through Tairon’s mind: what would have happened if Barkas Raedgo Sheikan had married the First Princess as planned?
Politically, it certainly would have been more beneficial. There wouldn’t be this discord between the Sheikan family and the Crown Prince as there was now.
Yet, for some reason, he couldn’t easily imagine Barkas taking any other woman as his wife.
“I’ve kept our guests standing for too long. Come, follow me. I’ll show you to a room where you can rest.”
Tairon, who had been lost in thought, snapped back to his senses. As he turned, he saw Daren personally leading the Northerners away.
As Daren walked toward the annex, he tossed a light reproach over his shoulder.
“You should go take a bath. You look a mess.”
Tairon let out a faint sigh, scratching at a patch of dried blood on his cheek.
This was no time to be dwelling on useless hypotheticals. After washing off the blood and dust and treating his minor injuries, he had to return to his unit immediately. A mountain of overdue work likely awaited him. Among those tasks, the issue of public security was the most urgent.
His expression darkened as he recalled the group of Zram people who had attacked him. While they were busy calming the embers of war in the North, internal problems in the East had clearly worsened.
Roughly sweeping back his disheveled hair, Tairon led his subordinates across the wide courtyard with weary steps.
Then, feeling a sudden chill brush against his cheek, he looked up at the sky where ashen clouds were rolling in.
Just as the Grand Duchess had predicted, white snowflakes were fluttering on the wind.
It was an early snow.
Tairon was seized by an inexplicable premonition.
Perhaps this year’s winter would be exceptionally long and harsh.
“Did you get into a fight?”
The woman, who had been resting quietly in his arms as they moved through the long corridor, suddenly wrinkled her nose and asked.
Barkas checked to see if there were any bloodstains on his clothes. He looked exactly as he had when he first left the castle.
If so, the scent of blood must have lingered on him. She was a woman with an exceptionally keen sense of smell, after all. Moreover, her nose seemed to have become even more sensitive since she became pregnant.
He lengthened his stride and offered a calm excuse.
“I only went out for a hunt.”
“Liar. You just came back with the knights. What kind of hunt requires taking that many knights with you?”
“I increased the escort because looters have been active lately.”
The woman peered at him with narrowed, searching eyes.
“Is that true?”
“Yes.”
Having delivered a perfectly composed answer, Barkas adjusted his hold on her with one arm and opened the bedroom door.
The air inside was chilly, perhaps because it was being ventilated. He went straight to the window, closed the glass, and then sat her down in front of the fireplace. As he poked logs into the dying embers, she tugged at his sleeve.
“Don’t go hunting anymore. If looters are active, why court danger? You can leave things like meat to the hunters or buy it from a butcher.”
He knit his brows.
Since becoming pregnant, his wife had become more worried than before. She seemed to believe that if anything happened to him, not only her safety but the child’s would be at risk.
It would be useless to boast that such a thing would never happen.
After a moment of deliberation, Barkas finally nodded.
“I understand. I won’t go hunting from now on.”
The woman, who had been looking up at him with a tense face, relaxed her shoulders in relief.
It seemed he would have to warn the servants not to blabber about how the Grand Duke had personally hunted the meat.
He watched the logs catch fire and lightly brushed the dust from his palms.
He knew that, as she said, using hunters was more efficient. Even so, he had no intention of stopping the hunts for now. He simply didn’t like the idea of her eating meat caught by another man.
It was a thought he had never had before. Meat was just meat. What did it matter who hunted it? He couldn’t fathom why he was acting on such irrational thoughts.
However, when he saw the woman—who had barely touched meat since she was a child—take a large bite of fatty flesh and chew it with gusto, those self-mocking questions vanished without a trace.
Seeing her fill her belly with the food he had provided and watching her slowly gain weight was strangely satisfying. He didn’t want anyone else’s help in this matter if possible.
“So… what did you catch today?”
She asked suddenly in a cautious tone. She seemed worried that she might have scolded him too much.
Barkas stepped on the bellows to fan the flames and replied calmly.
“I caught some pheasant.”
Instantly, her eyes sparkled.
Leaning her upper body toward him, she chirped in a voice pitched an octave higher.
“The ones we had last time? Those were delicious. Tell the chef to roast the skin until it’s crispy. And don’t forget the cameline sauce!”
He stared at her without even blinking.
He found it nothing short of miraculous that a woman who was always on guard against everything around her, bristling with thorns, could get so excited over something as simple as food.
Noticing his strange gaze, she grumbled with an embarrassed face.
“It’s not that I want to eat it. It’s… it’s because this little one wants it.”
She then caressed her belly, which had begun to swell slightly, with one hand.
Barkas, his gaze naturally dropping to her hand, clenched his fists tight. If he didn’t, he felt he might grab her with his dirty hands and hold her close, touching her as much as he pleased.
Unaware of his restraint, the woman pouted her full lips and continued to grumble.
“I think this child is going to be incredibly greedy. What if they’re born and get as fat as a pig? A chubby baby will be unsightly…”
“Then I will leave the child to the nanny and ensure they stay out of Your Grace’s sight as much as possible.”
Her eyes flared at his half-hearted comment, made as he tried to keep his scattering thoughts in check.
“You idiot! Is that something you should say right now? You’re supposed to say, ‘They’ll be beautiful even if they’re chubby’!”
“They will be beautiful even if they are chubby.”
He provided the desired answer immediately, but her face showed no sign of softening.
Fuming for some reason, she snatched a cushion from the chair and swung it mercilessly at his back.
“And there’s no way my baby could be unsightly. I’m sure they’ll be very, very pretty! Even if they’re fat as a pig, they’ll be the cutest thing in the world!”
He couldn’t understand why she was angry at him when she was the one who had worried the baby might be unsightly in the first place. However, her pouting face as she vented her unreasonable anger was so terribly pretty that it was a problem.
He swallowed a sigh and turned toward the shelf. Even though he was wearing loose trousers, he felt a stifling tightness below.
It would subside eventually if left alone, so it didn’t matter much, but he was worried he might make her uncomfortable.
He didn’t want Talia to worry about unnecessary things. He just wanted her to stay comfortable and worry-free, just as she was now.
He filled a basin with cold water and washed his hands and face to cool his heat. But his aroused body showed no signs of cooling down.
‘Should I go to the next room and take care of it?’
As he frowned, glancing down at himself, he felt a warm presence behind his back.
“Are you angry?”
The woman, clinging tightly to him, poked her head forward and stared at him intently.
He narrowed the space between his brows.
Was she doing this on purpose?
He glared at her with suspicious eyes before pulling away slightly.
“I probably smell like horses. Please stay back a little.”
“It’s fine…”
She pressed her nose against his shirt and inhaled deeply. Her damp breath, seeping through the thin fabric, tickled his skin.
“The smell of peppermint and your own scent are the strongest.”
She was definitely doing this on purpose.
Gritting his teeth, Barkas turned around and swept her up into his arms. He then sat on a chair and pulled her body—which grew softer by the day—into a tight embrace.
Her breasts, fuller than before, were pressed against him. He cupped one in his hand, caressing it gently, before lowering his hand to her lower abdomen, which had begun to swell roundly.
