Ch#149
The baby pressed against the nerves leading to her left leg, causing a burning numbness that persisted day and night, and a pain like a large spike driven into her lower back never faded.
She felt like resenting God for burdening only women with such agony.
At some point, Talia began to pray fervently that the child in her womb would be a boy. She never wanted to be pregnant again after this.
While she appreciated the devoted care from Varkas and everyone around her, as the physical pain intensified, the satisfaction of carrying a new life gradually withered away. In its place, fear took root.
Giving birth would surely be agonizing, wouldn’t it?
Even accepting Varkas’s body had felt overwhelming every time; could she truly handle childbirth?
Watching her belly grow larger, Talia was gripped by extreme anxiety. She desperately wanted to be free from the pregnancy as soon as possible, yet at the same time, she wished that moment would never come.
“Your Grace, I have brewed some herb tea to soothe your nerves. It should help you sleep, even if just a little.”
Marisen, who had been stirring a pot in front of the fireplace for a long while, approached with a cup filled with a deep brown liquid. Talia took it and drank without a word.
In the early stages of her pregnancy, she wouldn’t touch anything that might potentially harm the baby, but now she didn’t refuse anything that offered her body some comfort. While the baby in her womb was bursting with energy, she was becoming more haggard by the day.
Talia worried that by the time her due date arrived, she would have no strength left to give birth.
“Would you like to try this as well? It is a tonic sent by Her Majesty the Empress. It is said to help restore one’s vitality.”
As she finished the tea, her nanny approached holding a small vial.
Talia stared at it blankly before shaking her head. While she didn’t think her mother—who viewed the child in her womb as an important pawn—would send something harmful, it was still difficult to trust her blindly.
“My stomach feels heavy. I don’t want to eat anything else.”
“Please, just a little, for the sake of Her Majesty’s sincerity. Her Majesty used very precious ingredients—”
“I said no!”
Talia swatted the nanny’s hand away in annoyance. The glass vial slipped from her grasp and rolled across the floor.
For a split second, a flash of anger crossed the nanny’s round face.
Her lips twitched as if she were about to snap back, but she soon let out a heavy sigh and cleared away the glass vial.
Talia felt a pang of guilt, but instead of apologizing, she turned her back and lay down. She was quite angry with the nanny, who seemed more concerned about her mother’s gift going to waste than about Talia’s own discomfort.
She pulled the duvet up to the top of her head and pressed her fingers firmly against her aching pelvis.
She moaned in pain for some time until the herb tea began to take effect. As the pain gradually subsided, drowsiness washed over her. Talia gratefully surrendered herself to the world of the unconscious.
But peace did not last long. As dusk fell, a cramp in her leg jolted her awake from her deep slumber.
She clutched the violently twisting muscles of her calf with both hands and let out a scream. It felt as if a knife had been plunged into her leg. Tears streamed down her face involuntarily.
“Please bear with it just a moment, Your Grace. I will give you some medicine.”
Marisen, who had been resting by the fireplace, rushed over and held a vial to her lips.
“It is a painkiller. It uses ingredients that are not harmful to the baby, so do not worry and drink.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Talia reluctantly took a sip of the lukewarm liquid as the spasms showed no sign of subsiding.
In the meantime, Tiuran, who had prepared a hot water bottle, carefully placed it on her leg.
Once the pain subsided a short while later, Talia looked around the dim room with weary eyes. The nanny stood by the bed, looking down at her with a worried gaze. Two young maids stood by the door, poised to run into the hallway and summon a priest at any moment.
Talia murmured in a raspy voice to calm them.
“I think I’m okay now.”
“How is your stomach feeling?”
Tiuran asked as she moved the hot water bottle down toward her calf.
Talia stroked her lower belly.
“It’s a bit tight… but not too bad.”
“I will bring you another cup of tea. It will help settle your mind.”
She struggled to lift her upper body. Through the window left open for ventilation, she could see the sky turning crimson.
“Has Varkas not returned yet?”
“The Grand Duke is at the Association. He sent word a few hours ago that he would be late.”
Tiuran replied kindly as she tucked a pillow behind her back.
Talia soothed her discontent by stroking the baby’s small bottom through her thin skin.
Throughout the Season of Rest, Varkas had never left her side for a moment.
He handled most of his work sitting at the desk set up in the bedroom, and after the cold wave hit, he reduced his trips to the Association or attendance at the city courts. Thanks to this, Talia could enjoy the luxury of ordering the Grand Duke of the East around like her personal servant.
Varkas would hold her as she moaned through the night, massaging her back or bringing cool towels to wipe her neck and face when they were sticky with sweat. Sometimes, he would prepare the hot water bottles himself and hold them against her aching spots until she fell asleep.
However, once the Season of Water began, Varkas had to return to his busy routine. All the tasks that had been postponed through the winter came rushing in like a tidal wave.
While Varkas reorganized the administration of the fief that had stagnated during the winter, he also led the knights to the barracks to inspect the state of military preparations.
There seemed to be many other matters requiring his attention. Large-scale military drills had begun at the training grounds of Raedgo Castle, and at some point, armed messengers began frequenting the castle.
Talia felt the sparks of war that had sprouted in the North slowly awakening, but she didn’t breathe a word about it.
Even if a war broke out in the North, she wanted to firmly believe it would not affect the East.
Varkas had fulfilled his duty as a loyal subject by dispatching cavalry, and everything after that was the responsibility of the Imperial family.
‘Perhaps Gares will personally step forward to suppress the rebellion.’
If that man died in the war, Talia would be nothing but grateful.
Talia chuckled softly, imagining her half-brother pierced by a Northern blade, when a thought suddenly flashed through her brain like a bolt of lightning, and she froze.
Could Senebier be the one behind this war?
If the North actually started a war of independence, it was highly likely the Crown Prince would be designated as the commander-in-chief.
If she could just drive him to the battlefield, her mother would have the chance to eliminate her stepson without facing any suspicion.
Talia, engrossed in the thought, let out a smirk as she realized she was falling into a baseless delusion.
No matter how powerful Senebier’s influence was, she couldn’t manipulate the Northern nobles from behind the scenes.
Even if such a thing were possible, would her mother really incite a civil war?
If even a single piece of evidence linking her to the rebellion surfaced, even the Empress would not escape the gallows. Senebier would never take such a dangerous gamble.
Talia let out a faint laugh at her own absurd imagination when she felt a tightening in her stomach and set down the teacup she was holding. As she carefully shifted her posture, she felt her skirt unpleasantly damp and clinging to her legs.
Talia frowned. It seemed her entire body was drenched in sweat from her violent tossing and turning.
She lowered her feet from the bed and gestured to the maids.
“I think I need to wash up. Prepare some bathwater.”
“Hold on to me. I will support you.”
Tiuran, who had set the hot water bottle aside, grabbed her arm.
Talia grasped the slender but firm shoulder and carefully stood up. Then, she suddenly froze as she felt a lukewarm liquid trickling down her thigh.
Surely she hadn’t wet herself?
She looked down at her damp skirt with eyes filled with horror, and then she heard the sound of someone gasping for breath beside her.
“Oh my God!”
Assuming Tiuran had screamed after witnessing her mistake, Talia’s face turned beet red with shame. But then she saw the look of terror in the woman’s eyes and went stiff.
An ominous premonition shivered down her spine.
“Call the priestess immediately!”
Tiuran, laying her back down on the bed with urgent hands, shouted toward the maids.
“What are you all just standing there for! Her water has broken! Hurry!”
