Ch#146
But he had always stood on the opposing side.
He was playing the role of a devoted husband for now, but she never knew when he might turn his back on her again.
She continued, her tone heated.
“When this child is born, you must teach them how to ride. Don’t you Easterners learn to ride before you even learn to walk? This child is half-Eastern, after all…”
Talia, who had been rattling on in an attempt to make Barkas feel an attachment to the child, suddenly worried that he might actually put a baby who hadn’t even taken their first steps onto one of those smelly, violent beasts. She hurried to add more.
“But, you have to teach them only after they’ve grown enough. And… if they’re too scared, I hope you won’t force it. If this child takes after me…”
She was about to say the child might be a bit of a coward, but she quickly corrected herself.
“They might just dislike horses.”
“…That would be a bit of a problem.”
A slight crease formed between Barkas’s brows as he stared down at her lower abdomen.
“To rule the East after me, horsemanship is an essential skill. The heir of the Grand Duchy must command sixty thousand cavalrymen.”
Talia knitted her brows.
She had absolutely no intention of sending the little fairy growing inside her to a battlefield.
Leave dangerous things like that to Barkas or the knights who follow him. My baby will stay happy and safe with me.
She suppressed the urge to say it out loud.
The important thing was the fact that Barkas clearly recognized this child as the heir to the Grand Duchy.
“Then teach them slowly, taking your time so the child can grow to like horses.”
The man raised his head and looked at her. His face was still difficult to read, but Talia could now easily discern the worry and anticipation dwelling in his eyes.
He spoke softly.
“Do not worry. Once the child is born, I intend to raise them well with patience. More importantly… is it not difficult for you when the child moves like this?”
“Of course it’s difficult!”
In truth, this was the first time the fetal movements had been this strong, but Talia intentionally exaggerated her distress.
Barkas’s face instantly hardened.
“Have you spoken to the healing sorceress? There must be some way to ease the pain…”
“She suggested using sleep-grass, but I refused. It might harm the baby.”
Hoping he would realize how much she was caring for the child, Talia poured out every little detail.
After stroking his chin for a moment, Barkas finally spoke.
“You may follow the healing sorceress’s advice. You must be healthy, Your Grace, to ensure a safe delivery.”
“I can manage just fine as I am.”
Talia retorted, flaring up.
“Every woman in the world endures this. Why shouldn’t I be able to?”
A skeptical look crossed Barkas’s face. When Talia felt his gaze naturally drift toward her legs, her face flushed with humiliation.
Why? Do you think I can’t even give birth because I’m a cripple? She barely managed to hold back the urge to snap at him.
If he was overwhelmed by an even stronger sense of guilt and responsibility because of her broken body—if that made him prioritize her and the child above all else—then she could endure any amount of shame.
Hiding her bitter feelings, she put on a feigned, coy smile.
“Why are you taking it so seriously, you fool? I was just complaining a little.”
“….”
“You’ve always been like this, but you’re so stiff-headed. You don’t tell jokes, and you take pranks far too seriously.”
“How can I take it as a prank when my pregnant wife complains of being in pain?”
Barkas let out a bewildered sigh. Softened by his words, Talia allowed him to stroke her belly a little longer.
A short while later, the maids entered the room with a meal.
Barkas watched her eat before changing his clothes and heading out.
Talia waited for his return until late, but eventually fell asleep, exhausted. Her physical strength had bottomed out after several nights of poor sleep.
Falling into a deep sleep as if she’d fainted before she could even feel the pain, Talia didn’t open her eyes until the sun was high in the sky the next day.
Rubbing her eyes, which felt gritty as if filled with sand, Talia first placed her hand on her lower abdomen to check on the baby.
The child had been struggling so much yesterday, yet today they were quiet. Maybe they’re sleeping soundly for the first time in a while, too. Thinking idly, she looked around the room.
Barkas was nowhere to be seen, but traces of his presence throughout the night were visible everywhere. It seemed he had slipped out quietly so as not to wake her from her rare deep sleep.
She immediately got out of bed and began to dress. Perhaps one of Barkas’s valets, the butler, or one of the soldiers had overheard the news Edric Ruben had brought. She intended to interrogate them.
“Not that coat. Bring me something that stands out as little as possible.”
The maids, who had pulled out a coat made of silver fur, exchanged troubled glances.
Talia asked with a puzzled look.
“What is it?”
“It’s just that… no matter what you wear, Your Grace, you tend to stand out.”
A maid muttered in a small voice, her face flushing. Not in the mood for flattery, Talia merely let out an annoyed sigh.
“Then just bring any coat.”
The maid immediately brought a thick wool robe. Wrapping it around her shoulders, Talia carefully stepped out of the room. Fortunately, the pain in her back had subsided a bit, so moving around wasn’t too difficult.
“Do you happen to know what the knight who arrived last night said?”
Passing through the hallway, Talia spotted Barkas’s valet and threw the question at him point-blank.
The boy, who looked barely twenty, faltered and stammered like a horse that had been whipped.
“I, I… that is…”
Talia frowned. She was used to most people treating her like a boil that shouldn’t be touched, but the tendency seemed to have worsened lately.
She added pressingly, “Why can’t you speak straight? Did you overhear anything?!”
“I-I’m sorry, Grand Duchess. I know nothing. I went to bed early yesterday…”
“Then who was attending to Barkas last night?”
“T-that, too, I don’t really…”
Why does Barkas keep such a dimwit around?
She was glaring at the boy, who couldn’t even speak properly, with an annoyed expression when a sighing voice drifted from behind her.
“If you’re curious about something, ask me directly. Why pick on an innocent person?”
Startled, Talia turned her head and froze upon seeing Edric Ruben scratching the back of his head.
He let out a heavy sigh and strode toward her.
“I’ll answer whatever I can. First, let’s go somewhere else…”
Talia reflexively looked at the sword hilt hanging at his waist.
The thought occurred to her that this man might have come to harm her on the orders of Aila or Gares. Seized by irrational fear, Talia flinched and stepped backward. In the process, she stumbled and lost her balance.
In that instant, the man rushed forward like an arrow, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her back roughly. Burying her nose in his hard, breastplate-covered chest, Talia frowned and hurriedly pulled away. Then, a gruff voice sounded above her head.
“Stay still! You almost met with disaster!”
Talia blinked and looked behind her.
Right behind her heels was the first step of the long staircase leading down to the ground floor.
Realizing she had almost tumbled down, Talia clutched her stomach with one hand and hunched her shoulders.
The man, who had pulled her further into the hallway, raised his voice.
“Damn it, Your Grace, why are you always so precarious? Just how much more do you want to haunt a man’s dreams before you’re satisfied…?”
“I get it, so let go.”
Talia pulled her wrist from his grip and carefully observed the knight’s pale face. Seeing him take deep breaths with a hand over his heart as if his own heart were racing, her tension dissipated.
She felt like a fool for suspecting that this man might be an assassin sent by her half-siblings.
This fellow was the idiot who had stood against the Imperial Crown Prince just to fulfill his duty as a royal guard. If he knew how to do something as shrewd as assassination, he wouldn’t have done something so stupid in the first place.
Talia slumped her shoulders and spoke in a flat tone.
“It’s because you startled me. It’s all your fault.”
