Barcas, who was rubbing his temples with his fingertips as if his head was sticky, let out a heavy sigh once again.
"In any case, you can't use a separate room."
Then he wrapped me in a blanket and stood up.
I, who was pushing his shoulders in defiance, immediately lost my strength in my body. As much as I didn't want to show my ugly side to Barcas, I also wanted to be with him, so I didn't want to get into a physical fight.
"Move your luggage back to my room."
Barcas, who had given instructions to the maids waiting at the door, left the room straight away.
I peered through the cracks in the quilt into the lighted hallway. The servants all calmly bowed their heads, perhaps accustomed to Barcas strolling around the castle with me in his arms.
Barcas, who passed them with a few steps, strode down the stairs.
At that moment, a familiar voice echoed over the railing.
"Brother!"
Barcas stopped and looked down at the bottom of the stairs.
I followed him and narrowed my eyes when I saw two slender men in black robes crossing the wide hall.
I was able to identify one of them without difficulty. He was Barcas's cheeky half-brother.
Within a few months, a tall boy jumped up the stairs with long strides.
I pulled the blanket up to the back of my nose and glanced at him warily.
After the funeral of the former Grand Duke, Lucas Raedgo Sheerkhan officially joined the Wolfram cavalry and began training. Thanks to this, I did not run into him by chance in the past few months. Because of the barbarians who began to rise in the air at the end of autumn, most of the Wolfram cavalry began to be stationed outside the castle.
As if life there was not easy, the boy, who had noticeably become bulky, came to us in an instant.
"Sorry for the late hour. I have news that needs to be announced in a hurry, so I rushed from the garrison. Apparently, it is from the Imperial family."
The boy who had been spitting out hastily glanced at me in Barcas's arm, then blurted out vaguely.
I was overwhelmed with anxiety and hugged my lower belly. The eerie chill I felt every time I breathed in the cold air of the Imperial palace seemed to tingle my bones.
Perhaps feeling my float, Barcas, who pulled the blanket tightly, said in a cold voice.
"Waiting in my study."
"I don't mind, but I think it's better to give a separate room to the guests. He must be quite tired from coming a long way."
"It's okay. I'll be waiting with Young Master, too."
The man standing behind the boy suddenly interrupted the conversation and pulled his hood back.
Seeing his face, my eyes widened.
Edric Rubon.
Among the countless guard knights who passed me, the particularly annoying man stood with a tired face.
For a moment, my body trembled and stopped.
I didn't know if I was surprised to suddenly encounter a person I thought I would never meet again, or if I was surprised that I remembered his name clearly.
I stared blankly at him, my eyes widening, but the man who felt ny gaze came up with an awkward face.
"It's been a long time since I've seen you, Your Highness. How have you been doing so far..."
"If you tell the butler, he will give you a guest room. I'll call you after an hour, so I'm taking a breather."
Barcas, who interrupted him, turned to his sleeping quarters. The man scratched the back of his head as if he were cool.
I, who had been watching through the figure, glanced up at Barcas. He didn't seem too surprised by the sudden visit of his former subordinates.
Was it a scheduled visit?
Whether he knew I was looking at him with a questioning gaze or not, Barcas walked through the hallway in an instant and said, "I don't know."
"I heard that it is still before the ceremony. Is there anything you would like to eat?"
"...I don't really think about it."
"You should eat well, even for your child."
Barcas, who sat me down at the table in front of the fireplace, said sternly.
I nodded reluctantly. The pain in my pelvis and back that started a few weeks ago had completely lost my appetite, which had been strong for a while, but when I thought that if I starved, the baby in my womb might be hungry, so I felt obligated to force myself to eat.
"Then I'll just eat a bowl of chicken soup."
"Did you hear that? Come on, get ready."
Barcas gave instructions in a blunt tone to the servant who was waiting at the door, then walked to the fireplace and lit a fire with his own hands.
The crater was filled with fire stones or charcoal instead of dry firewood, which smoked, so it took less than a minute for the air in the room to warm up
"How is your neck? I heard that you coughed during the day..."
"It's just because the air is dry in winter. Shouldn't you go there sooner than that? It's urgent."
"Never mind. Even if the conversation is delayed by an hour, it won't cause any problems."
Barcas, who was rummaging through the flames with a poker stick, retorted sternly.
I looked at his face with a searching gaze.
Edric Rubon was a knight in the Imperial SS. If he had returned to his original position without any problems, he would have had Gareth or Ayla with him by now. Maybe it was sent by one of them.
'You're going to regret what you did today. Thalia Roem Guerta.'
Suddenly, the curse of my half-sister, which I had pushed to the other side of my consciousness, echoed in my ears. I unconsciously wrapped my lower belly.
When I thought of her dark green eyes stained with hostility, my body trembled uncontrollably.
As if he had felt my anxiety, the child began to wriggle loudly. I took a breath in surprise at the violent movement, and Barcas, who had taken off his doublet and hung it on the wall, turned around.
"Why?"
"The baby suddenly kicked me."
I often felt the baby, but it was the first time I felt such a strong movement, so I felt a little worried.
Looking down at my belly with a worried gaze, Barcas, who was striding over in a thin shirt, bent down in front of me and asked in a serious tone.
"Are you in a lot of pain?"
I looked at him in confusion.
How painful it would be to be kicked by a baby at most. Just as I was about to say that, I met his sincerely worried eyes and closed my mouth.
I wanted to make Barcas worry more. So I wanted to make him not think about anything but me and my baby.
"Yes. It hurts so much. Judging by the ignorance and strength, I think he looks like you."
His face became even more serious at the exaggerated words.
Barcas sat on his knees on the floor and stretched out his arms. Then, as if he remembered that I hadn't let him touch, he flinched and withdrew his hand.
After hesitating for a moment, I pulled his wrist and placed it on my belly. I didn't want to show my swollen belly, but I wanted Barcas to feel the child's presence more clearly.
Barcas, staring at my face, lowered his gaze to the spot where his hand had landed. Just in time, the child moved his body a lot. At that moment, a look of surprise flashed across his face.
I said triumphantly.
"It's very powerful, isn't it? Hey, I'm sure it's a son. And I think he looks a lot like you."
Then I placed my palm on the back of his hand and applied a little force to induce him to feel the baby more well.
I wanted Barcas to be clearly aware of it.
There are our children in this who look like him. So no matter what Gareth or Ayla says, he can't skip it. No matter what, he has to stand by our side.
I gulped down the words that were spinning only in my throat and touched the veins and protruding joints on the back of his hand.
Eleven years ago, when I saw this hand wrapping around Ayla's back as if protecting her, I longed for this person to stand by my side one day.
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