Chapter 70
Varkas, who had been breathing in the cool air mixed with the scent of rain, turned his head and watched her.
A gloomy shadow lingered over his eyes, which were as quiet as dawn.
She wondered what thoughts might be rippling beyond those eyes like an icy lake.
Was he worrying about his own future, now tangled beyond repair?
Or was he belatedly regretting his decision?
Making a mockery of her vow never to wonder again, Thalia was once more asking questions.
You didn’t intend to marry Ayla because you liked her after all, did you?
I knew it.
Because you are someone who can never burn hot for anyone.
The truth is, it probably did not matter much who the other person was.
So just as you could act as a gentle fiancé to Ayla, you can probably act as a plausible protector to me.
Thalia rubbed the corner of her mouth where Varkas had brushed against her, erasing his touch.
Thalia Roem Ghirta was also nothing more than one of the countless responsibilities he had to take on.
So she would not be fooled by meaningless kindness tossed to her like charity.
She turned her back to him and pulled the blanket up over her head.
***
At some point, she seemed to have fallen asleep for a moment.
Her body, which had been tense all day, melted instantly under the strong alcohol.
She buried her face in the pillow and let her arms and legs hang limply inside the soft blanket.
How long had she floated through that hazy consciousness? A prickling irritation began gradually gnawing at her knees.
Thalia shifted her body at the unpleasant sensation, then felt the pain growing worse and lifted her dry eyelids.
Pitch-black darkness filled her unfocused vision.
The drowsiness that had been pressing down on her body suddenly vanished completely.
Thalia looked into the black darkness with fear-filled eyes.
The sticky night, where not even a single strand of light could be found, blocked her breathing.
As she gasped roughly and touched her tightening throat, the subtle pain that had started from her knees became violent like lightning.
She hurriedly grabbed her calves with both hands.
Beneath her hands, she could feel her weakened muscles convulsing.
At the pain that felt as if blades had been thrust into her, cold sweat streamed down her back.
Thalia bit her lower lip and clawed violently at the leg muscles twisting on their own.
At that moment, the sound of flint striking rang out, and a streak of light struck her face.
When she snapped her head up, a small candle glowing faintly and the pale outline of Varkas came into view.
Varkas, who had been looking at her bloodless face with a stiff expression, bent over the bed.
Without thinking, Thalia let out a shrill scream.
“Don’t touch my body!”
She roughly struck away his hand as he tried to examine her legs and crawled to the edge of the bed.
But before she could get far, he caught her.
Varkas pressed down hard on her shoulder with one hand to keep her from moving and reached toward her calf, which was full of nail marks.
Thalia screamed like someone covered in boiling oil.
“No! Don’t touch me!”
“Stay still. I’m only trying to check the wound.”
“No! I said no!”
As she twisted her entire body, gasping as if she might stop breathing at any moment, he muttered something incomprehensible and pulled her upper body close.
Then, holding her tightly so she could not struggle, he shook the bell attached to the bed with one hand.
A short while later, the bedroom door flew open, and startled maids rushed in.
Varkas shouted loudly.
“Call a healer at once!”
A commotion soon broke out.
While an elderly mage rushed into the bridal chamber and cast recovery magic, the maids lit candles throughout the room and burned calming incense at the head of the bed.
Even during all of that, Varkas did not let go, holding her tightly in both arms without a gap.
Buried against his firm chest, which beat hotly, Thalia looked around with terrified eyes.
Every nerve in her body stood on edge in case someone tried to lift her hem and examine her legs.
She curled her legs up as much as she could and clutched her skirt like a shield.
How long had she been like that? A disheveled-looking mage held a bluish glass bottle in front of her face.
“If you drink this, the pain will subside quickly.”
Thalia glared at it with narrowed eyes.
If she drank that, she would surely lose consciousness.
While she slept, someone might try to lift her skirt.
She pressed her lips shut and turned her head in the opposite direction.
Then long fingers grabbed her chin and forced her head upward.
Soon, the mouth of the glass bottle pressed firmly against her lips.
Thalia clenched her molars and resisted.
Varkas looked down at her with eyes like thin ice, then brought the medicine bottle to his own mouth.
Before she could grasp the meaning of that action, lips wet with the strong herbal liquid covered hers.
Thalia opened her eyes wide.
Holding her jaw and pressing down hard on her cheek, Varkas pushed his tongue into her parted mouth.
Soon after, the bitter medicine flowed in.
Thalia clutched the hem of his thin shirt as if she would tear it.
She could not understand at all what was happening.
Her mucous membranes, narrowed as she swallowed the liquid gathered in her mouth, tightened around his tongue.
Their tongues rubbed together slowly on their own.
A broken moan filled her mouth.
Had he perhaps fed her poison?
Her throat burned as if it were on fire.
“Haa…”
The lips that had been overlapped for an unnaturally long time slowly separated.
Thalia looked up at him, forgetting even the pain that had been stabbing her legs.
Varkas stared into her unfocused eyes, then tilted the medicine bottle again and poured all the remaining liquid into his mouth.
Their lips overlapped once more.
Thalia dug her nails into his forearm.
The tongue that pushed through her damp mouth slowly pressed the liquid, scented with dense grass and flowers, deep into her throat.
Her throat moved, swallowing him regardless of her will.
Thalia curled her toes, swept up in confusion, shame, and an unfamiliar sensation she had never felt in her life.
Perhaps the medicine was already taking effect, because the world spun before her eyes.
Lukewarm saliva continued passing down her esophagus.
Although the liquid gathered on her tongue no longer tasted bitter, he continued to swim through the narrow, wet space.
It was a movement sticky enough to make her doubt the purpose of this act.
When she beat against his chest in confusion, the soft piece of flesh slowly withdrew.
Thalia looked up at him, breathing roughly.
Unlike her, completely disheveled, he wore the same face as always.
That calm expression made her already disordered mind even more tangled.
Had what had just happened perhaps been her delusion?
As she was seized by that doubt, he ran his thumb over her lips.
Only after hearing the wet sound did she realize that her lips were completely soaked.
Thalia hurriedly hid her face under the blanket.
A damp sigh fell over the crown of her head.
“…Sleep now.”
He held her head and pressed it down against his chest.
In his hotly beating embrace, she steadied her ragged breathing.
Before long, the medicine began spreading through her body.
Feeling her vision gradually blur, she gripped his shirt tightly.
Don’t touch my legs while I’m asleep.
Whether he heard her mumble that or not, he lightly stroked down her lower back.
Soon, the strength drained from her arms and legs, and her vision went black.
She fell into sleep as if plummeting.
When she opened her eyes again, sunlight was brightly illuminating the room.
Thalia, who had been looking up at the ceiling with eyes still heavy with sleep, sensed someone’s presence and flinched as she turned her head.
She saw Varkas standing by the window, changing clothes.
The light piercing through the glass window slid white over his body, which looked like a plaster sculpture.
As she stared at that sight as if bewitched, a calm gaze flew toward her.
Thalia hunched her shoulders.
As if everything that had happened last night had been an illusion, Varkas, with an indifferent face, slowly looked her over.
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