Chapter 145
Varkas rubbed his temples with his fingertips as if his head were throbbing, then let out another heavy sigh.
“In any case, using separate rooms is not allowed.”
Then he wrapped her tightly in the blanket and rose from his seat.
Thalia, who had been pushing against his shoulder in defiance, soon let the strength leave her body.
As much as she did not want Varkas to see her unsightly appearance, her desire to stay with him was also strong, so she did not want to go so far as to struggle physically.
“Move her belongings back to my room.”
After giving the order to the maids waiting by the door, Varkas immediately left the room.
Through the gap in the blanket, Thalia spied on the corridor lit by lamplight.
Perhaps they had grown used to seeing Varkas carrying her around the castle, because every servant bowed their heads with calm expressions.
Varkas passed them with quick steps and strode down the stairs.
At that moment, a familiar voice rang out from beyond the railing.
“Brother!”
Varkas came to an abrupt stop and looked down the stairs.
Following his gaze, Thalia narrowed her eyes when she saw two slender men in black robes crossing the wide hall.
She could identify one of them without difficulty.
It was Varkas’s arrogant half-brother.
The boy, who had grown much taller in just a few months, ran up the stairs with long strides.
Thalia pulled the blanket up to the bridge of her nose and looked him over warily.
After the funeral ceremony for the previous Grand Duke ended, Lucas Raedgo Siarkan had formally entered the Wolfram Lancers and begun training.
Thanks to that, she had not happened to run into him even once over the past few months.
Because of the barbarians who had begun running rampant from the end of autumn, most of the Wolfram Lancers had started being stationed outside the castle.
The boy, whose body had grown noticeably sturdier as if life there was far from easy, came right up to them in an instant.
“I apologize for coming at such a late hour. I rushed here from the garrison because there is news I must inform you of quickly. It seems the Imperial Family...”
The boy, who had been speaking hastily, glanced at her in Varkas’s arms and vaguely trailed off.
Thalia was seized by unease and wrapped her arms around her lower abdomen.
The eerie chill she had felt every time she breathed the cold air of the Imperial Palace seemed to pierce her bones.
As if he had sensed her trembling, Varkas pulled the blanket tightly around her and spoke in a cold voice.
“Wait in my study.”
“I do not mind, but I think it would be better to give the guest a separate room. He must be quite tired from traveling such a long way.”
“It is fine. I will wait together with the young master.”
The man waiting behind the boy suddenly joined the conversation and pulled back his hood.
After confirming his face, Thalia widened her eyes.
Among the countless guard knights who had passed through her life, the man who had been especially troublesome was standing there with a tired face.
For an instant, the trembling in her body stopped abruptly.
She did not know whether she was surprised to suddenly encounter someone she had thought she would never see again, or whether she was surprised by the fact that she clearly remembered his name.
As she stared at him blankly and blinked, the man seemed to feel her gaze and bowed his head with an awkward expression.
“It has been a long time, Your Highness. I hope you have been well...”
“If you speak to the chief butler, he will give you a guest room. I will call you in two hours, so catch your breath until then.”
Varkas cut off his words and turned toward his bedchamber.
The man scratched the back of his head as if embarrassed.
Thalia stared fixedly at him, then glanced up at Varkas.
He did not seem very surprised by the sudden visit of his former subordinate.
Could this have been a scheduled visit?
Whether or not he knew she was looking at him questioningly, Varkas quickly crossed the corridor and entered the bedroom, saying,
“I heard you have not eaten yet. Is there anything you would like to eat?”
“...I do not really feel like eating.”
“You must eat well, even for the sake of the child.”
Varkas sat her at the dining table set up in front of the fireplace and spoke as if admonishing her.
Thalia reluctantly nodded.
Because of the pain in her pelvis and waist that had started a few weeks ago, the hearty appetite she had enjoyed for a while had completely vanished, but when she thought that the baby in her belly might go hungry if she starved, a sense of duty to eat, even by force, surged over her.
“Then I’ll just have one bowl of chicken soup.”
“You heard her. Go prepare it at once.”
Varkas gave the order in a blunt tone to the attendant waiting by the door, then walked to the fireplace and lit the fire himself.
Since the brazier was filled with fire mana stones and charcoal instead of dry firewood that gave off smoke, it took less than a minute for the air in the room to grow warm.
“How is your throat? I heard you coughed during the day...”
“It’s just that the air gets dry in winter. More importantly, shouldn’t you hurry and go? They said it was urgent.”
“Do not concern yourself. Even if the conversation is delayed by two hours, there will be no problem.”
Varkas replied indifferently as he stirred the flames with a poker.
Thalia carefully studied his face with searching eyes.
Edrick Lubon was a knight of the Imperial Guard.
If he had returned to his original post without issue, he should now be serving Gareth or Ayla.
Perhaps one of those two had sent him.
“You will surely come to regret what happened today, Thalia Roem Ghirta.”
Suddenly, her half-sister’s curse, which she had pushed to the far side of her consciousness, rang in her ears.
Thalia unconsciously wrapped her arms around her lower abdomen.
When she recalled those thick green eyes stained with hostility, her body began trembling uncontrollably.
As if sensing her anxiety, the child began wriggling violently.
When she unconsciously drew in a startled breath at that intense movement, Varkas, who had been taking off his doublet and hanging it on the wall, swiftly turned around.
“The baby suddenly kicked.”
She often felt fetal movement, but this was the first time she had felt such a strong movement, so she felt somewhat worried.
As she looked down at her lower abdomen with worried eyes, Varkas, dressed only in a thin shirt, strode over and bent down in front of her, asking in a grave tone,
“Does it hurt a great deal?”
Thalia looked at him as if dumbfounded.
How much could something barely the size of a fist hurt by kicking?
She was about to say that, but when she met his eyes, which seemed sincerely worried, she closed her mouth.
She wanted to make Varkas worry more.
So much that he could think of nothing but her and the baby.
“Yes. It hurts terribly. Judging by how stupidly strong it is, I think this child takes after you.”
At her exaggerated words, his face grew even more serious.
Varkas knelt on the floor and reached out.
Then, as if remembering that she had refused to let him touch her, he flinched and withdrew his hand.
After hesitating for a moment, Thalia grabbed his wrist and placed it on her lower abdomen.
She did not want to reveal her swollen belly, but she wanted Varkas to feel the child’s existence more clearly.
“I’ll specially let you touch it just this once.”
Varkas quietly stared at her face, then lowered his gaze to where his hand rested.
Just then, the child moved greatly.
For an instant, a faint look of surprise crossed his face.
Thalia said triumphantly,
“It’s incredibly strong, right? This child will definitely be a son. And I think he’ll resemble you very much.”
Then she placed her palm over the back of his hand and applied a little pressure so that he could feel the baby better.
She wanted to make Varkas clearly recognize it.
Inside here is your child who resembles you.
So no matter what Gareth or Ayla says, you must not be swayed.
No matter what happens, you must stand on our side.
Swallowing the words that only circled inside her throat, she touched the veins protruding on the back of his hand and his prominent knuckles.
Ever since she saw these hands wrapping protectively around Ayla’s back eleven years ago, she had desperately hoped that someday this person would stand on her side.
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