Chapter 128
“Isn’t it wonderful? Elder brother hunted it himself to cheer me up.”
Thalia turned her gaze toward the direction the voice had come from.
Beyond the railing, Raina could be seen with silver fur draped over her shoulders.
She twirled her body in front of the maids and shouted as if showing it off.
“If I make winter clothes with this fur, I’ll be able to ride Saika as much as I want even in midwinter, right?”
“Of course! They say the Drakar is a magical beast that nests even inside glaciers. It should easily block a cold wave.”
“Seeing as His Grace sent such a wonderful gift, he must surely care for you very specially, Young lady.”
At the maids’ flattering voices, Raina smiled brightly.
“Do you really think so?”
“If not, there is no way he would have given you such a precious treasure so proudly.”
Vitality spread over the girl’s face, which had been dejected the entire time since the funeral.
Watching that scene from the end of the stairs, Thalia silently turned away.
To think she had believed he had risked danger for her.
How shameless had she become in just a few months?
She had nearly made a fool of herself.
Thalia trudged back to her bedroom.
However, the bitter feeling, as if she had swallowed ash, gradually sank by sunset.
She had vowed thousands more times that she would not expect anything from him.
It was ridiculous to be disappointed over something of this degree.
Even if it was nothing more than something extra, it was an undeniable fact that he had sent her a precious gift.
“As a matter of courtesy, I should at least thank him.”
Otherwise, it would look unnatural.
If she acted like a sulking child, it would mean she was disappointed, and being disappointed would ultimately mean she had expected something from him.
At last, having made up her mind, Thalia set down the book resting on her lap as if throwing it aside and climbed down from the bed.
When she reached his bedchamber, the squire guarding the door quickly announced her arrival.
It seemed he was trying to move first before the Grand Duchess, who always flung the door open, barged in as she pleased.
But this time too, Thalia pulled the doorknob before permission to enter was given.
As she limped inside, the view of the brightly lit bedroom filled her vision.
He was a man who always waited for her with the lights turned off.
Did he think I would not come today?
As she frowned and looked around the room, she saw two shadows stretching out before the fireplace.
Thalia snapped her head around and drew in a harsh breath when she saw a young woman touching Varkas’s upper body as he sat half-naked.
“What are you doing right now?”
The woman rose from her seat with a flustered face.
Only then did Thalia recognize her identity.
She was the healer of the grand ducal house, and the very person who had caused her to cough up blood.
The woman hurriedly bowed her head and spoke as if making an excuse.
“I was treating His Grace’s wound.”
Thalia glared at her with the corners of her eyes sharply raised, then turned her head toward Varkas.
“Have you forgotten what a terrible healer this woman is? Why would you let someone like her…!”
Suddenly, her mouth closed.
Two long lacerations running diagonally from his shoulder to his chest had entered her eyes.
At the wound, more severe than she had expected, her heart dropped for an instant.
She hurried to his side.
“W-what happened? You said it was nothing serious!”
“It only looks like this. It is not such a serious injury. No bones were broken, and no major muscles or nerves were significantly damaged.”
Varkas spoke numbly.
Thalia glared at him in disbelief.
The purple blood vessels swelling around the reddened, swollen skin made the wound look serious even at a glance.
The pain was probably tremendous.
Unable to bring herself to hit him, she only burst out in irritation.
“Are you seriously saying that right now? If this isn’t serious, then what is, you idiot!”
The healer covered her mouth as if shocked.
But Varkas himself wore a calm face.
He gave the healer a light nod.
“You may withdraw now.”
“B-but the bandage still…”
“I can do that much myself.”
After hesitating for a moment, the woman soon bowed her head and hurriedly left the room.
Without sparing her a glance, Thalia held her hand out to him.
“Give me the bandage. You can’t wrap it properly with one hand.”
“It is all right.”
“What do you mean, it’s all right? Stop talking and give it here.”
The man silently stared at her, then finally held out the bandage.
Thalia took it as if snatching it away and pulled a chair over to sit opposite him.
The wound looked even more terrible up close.
Fluid was seeping around the lacerations, glossy with ointment, and his skin, redder than usual, radiated heat.
She bit her lower lip firmly and carefully wrapped the cloth around his chest.
Perhaps because of the habit of checking the bandage around her leg every day and retying the knot herself, she was able to bind the wound without difficulty.
“You’re really all right, aren’t you? What if something goes wrong later…”
“Once the poison leaves my body, it can be treated with magic. Do not worry.”
“Who said I was worried about you? If something happens to you, my situation will become complicated…”
“I know. I said it to reassure you that Your Highness will not become a widow.”
At his calm reply, Thalia closed her mouth with a speechless expression.
Varkas, who had been leaning against the back of the chair and watching her with thoughtful eyes, lightly grasped her wrist and asked.
“Why did you come today?”
In that instant, her heart dropped as if she had been ambushed.
Does he mean he is not pleased that I came?
She glanced at his face.
The firelight flickered over his handsome, expressionless face.
He tilted his head to one side and added.
“You said you would not sleep with me for the time being. Has that thought changed?”
She reflexively shook off his hand.
“It hasn’t changed! Do you think I’m desperate enough to roll around with someone whose body is in that state?”
“Then why did you come?”
He leaned his upper body close toward her.
Thalia, who had been moving her eyes around with a flustered expression, barely remembered the excuse she had prepared beforehand and stammered.
“I came to at least thank you… for the gift you gave me.”
The man looked down at her silently for a long while, as if measuring the sincerity of those words, before finally opening his mouth.
“Did you like it?”
“Who would dislike a gift like that?”
For some reason, it was hard to look straight at him, so she awkwardly lowered her eyes.
“But next time, don’t do anything like magical beast hunting. Even if you felt sorry for your younger sister, how could the ruler of the East recklessly get injured like that…”
“What kind of man would go this far for his younger sister?”
Thalia, who had been nagging him, stopped and looked back up at him.
Before she knew it, Varkas was playing with her hair.
It was a touch like a cat playing with a ball of thread.
The man, lightly stroking her hair with his fingertips, continued calmly.
“Your Highness often caught colds even in midsummer, did you not? The winters here are harsher than those in the central region. You will need at least that much to pass the season safely.”
“…That was when I was a child.”
Thalia swallowed dryly and pretended not to care.
“Everyone gets through winter. Why make such a fuss…”
“It is not a fuss at all.”
His pale blue eyes slowly swept over her from head to toe.
Thalia unconsciously grasped the shawl draped around her shoulders.
Even though he must already know about her body, which had grown terribly thin after the accident, she felt ashamed all over again.
She hurriedly changed the subject.
“Anyway, from now on, don’t even think about magical beast hunting. Just make your subordinates do it. Do you still think you’re some lowly knight? You’re His Grace, the Grand Duke now. What are soldiers for?”
“It was more efficient for me to do it myself. More importantly, I could hardly make soldiers risk danger over a gift for my wife.”
At the way he referred to her as his wife so casually, her ears grew hot.
She needlessly snapped at him, hoping the sunset light would hide her blush.
“I’m telling you not to do things you can’t make the soldiers do either, you fool!”
“…Did you not come here to thank me?”
He pointed out, raising one eyebrow.
Thalia snorted.
“I came to scold you as well. Your body no longer belongs only to you. If you handle it recklessly without my permission, I won’t forgive you.”
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