"Sorry to surprise you."
He wrapped his arms around her slightly trembling shoulders and stroked her stiff spine, and she let out the breath she had been holding and buried her face in his chest.
The heartbeat transmitted through the thin pajamas was faster and irregular than usual.
"Really... You didn't move like a dead person."
"It only looked like that on the outside."
Barcas patted her and cast his gaze out the window.
Before he knew it, the sun was rising in the middle of the sky. Perhaps because of the fatigue accumulated from the long expedition, he continued to oversleep after returning to Raedgo Castle.
He took a deep breath and erased the cold, sticky feel of blood that still seemed to wrap around his body.
"When I was in the monastery, I was trained to control my bodily reactions to the utmost. Because of that habit, I sometimes fall into a deep sleep that borders on trance."
"It's just... You just got a good night's sleep?"
She gave him a suspicious look.
Barcas, who wrapped her pale cheeks in one hand and wiped the water from the corners of her eyes with his thumb, replied calmly.
"Yes, I slept deeply after a long time."
"It's really okay, isn't it? Did you do something wrong..."
"No problem."
In a firm rebuttal, her stiff shoulders lowered a little.
She took a long breath and muttered.
"I thought my heart sank because of you. You were strangely still, so I touched you, and your body was as cold as ice, and I couldn't even hear you breathing..."
He looked down at his grumbling wife's face.
Her wet eyelashes drooped downwards and shone with gold. The blue eyes below looked even clearer in contrast to the reddish eye corners.
He tilted his head to look into those eyes more closely.
If a man sleeping in the same bed suddenly doesn't breather it's natural to be frightened.
Why does such a natural reaction tickle his stomach?
He kissed the tip of her slightly stained nose and asked in a whisper.
"...Were you worried that I wouldn't wake up?"
"...Why are you blowing the obvious and making your mouth hurt?"
Thalia lowered her eyes awkwardly, muttering in a grumpy voice.
If it were like before, she would have jumped up and denied it, but when she honestly demonstrated it, a corner of his heart felt special.
At the same time, there were some doubts. What kind of change of heart has occurred in the past six months that has led to such a change in attitude?
Have you ever gone through something so hard that you had to decide to rely on yourself again?
As he sent a suspicious look, the woman who was rolling her eyes around with a nervous face suddenly approached his naked upper body.
Barcas stiffened his body.
Through the thin pajamas, he could clearly feel the soft and plump touch of her breasts. She put her arms around his waist and raised her head provocatively.
"...If you're going to kiss me, do it quickly."
Feeling his thinking power volatilize in an instant, he lowered his gaze to her lips.
Last night, in the aftermath of the relentless kiss, her lips were thicker and swollen than usual.
As soon as the red mucous membrane, like crushed petals, came into view, the cold air that swirled through the body quickly subsided, and the heat rushed over the skin, making sweat soak over it.
He carefully grasped her chin and lowered his head. Soon after, the hot and humid breath mixed sweetly.
He lightly covered her lips and rubbed them from side to side, then slid his tongue into the damp, narrow space.
She naturally climbed onto his lap and grabbed his back.
Her soft thighs and swollen lower body were crushed, and his lower stomach was pulled uncomfortably, but he didn't feel like pushing it away.
Barcas wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed her closer to him.
How long did he do that?
When his excitement reached a critical point, he forced his lips away and carefully leaned back. As he was about to get out of bed, she grabbed his arm.
"Why. Don't you do it until the end?"
His head was so hot that the back of his head was tingling as she looked up with dissatisfaction.
He barely grasped the strings of reason.
"The sun is already in the middle of the sky. The backlog is like a mountain, so we have to get up."
As he passed the hair stuck to her face behind her ear and kissed her lightly on her pure white forehead, the woman who had been looking at him thoughtfully asked him in a slightly muffled voice.
"When will your official duties end today?"
"By sunset, we'll be able to finish it."
"Then come to this room in the evening. I'll be waiting for you..."
Thalia whispered softly and touched the veins that had swollen on the back of his hand.
His lower stomach tightened at the blatant temptation.
He shook his throat loudly as if swallowing the simmering heat.
Sweat soaked down his back as he resisted the urge to lay her down on the bed right away. As if to hide the fact, he pretended to be calm and placed his hands on the backs of her hands.
"...I understand."
Then he pulled her hand and kissed her, then stood up.
He wanted to pick her up and take her to the bedroom on the second floor, but he couldn't seem to endure it once he touched her warm and soft body.
He waved the bell and called for a maid to groom her, then picked up his coat, draped it over his bare body, and left the room. Then he found a huge beast towering next to the door and stopped in his tracks.
A wolf sitting right next to his bedroom with a buttocks attached like a watchman stared at him with grayish blue eyes.
Contrary to the fear that he might lose his temper at secretly stealing his master, the wolf was silent. The way he looked up at Barcas felt like he sympathized with his situation.
Barcas, who looked down with reluctance at his blue-gray eyes, which were full of emotions like humans, soon walked out of the hallway.
After completing his preparations in an instant, he headed to the meeting hall to deal with the official duties he had skipped in the morning.
When he stepped into the outer castle, which was built for military purposes, the knights around the long rectangular table all stood up and bowed.
Barcas responded with a light nod, sat down on the seat, and picked up the report spilled up on one side.
Most of them were about disputes over power between territories and plundering damage by the Zlamites. While attention was focused on the war in the north, the barbarians diligently rose to power.
The mounted warriors of the East continued to track down the enemy's tracks, but they had not yet found their home.
With a heavy sigh, Barcas put down the report and asked Lucas, who was sitting next to him, a question.
"The High Priest suspected that some of the inhabitants of the Grand Duke were cooperating with the Zrams. What do you think about this?"
"I want to dismiss it as absurd. Considering the recent actions of the looters, it is true that it is difficult to erase the suspicion that there are internal helpers."
Lucas continued, sweeping his thick black and brown hair roughly.
"The group of looters had a fairly accurate grasp of the soldiers' shift times. They would swarm near villages or walled cities, kill the guards, loot armories and food warehouses, and disappear like a persimmon. This is impossible without someone in the camp to help them hide."
"Did you conduct a search?"
"We have conducted several inspections.... There were no special clues or income."
Barkas, who had been tapping on the table with his fingertips and skimming through reports on the damage caused by the Zrams, clicked his tongue.
"Investigate all the suspicious people. If you can hide a dozen savages, you must be a person with considerable wealth. I instructed the investigators to dig up the backs, mainly the powerful citizens who have lived in the east for generations."
Barcas, who delivered instructions in his characteristic unremarkable voice, waited on the right and turned his attention to Sun Beirov.
"Haven't those sent outside the castle returned yet?"
"Yes, it looks like they're still investigating."
Barcas nodded and moved on to the next agenda. It was a discussion about recruiting additional trainees to make up for the lack of troops. He quickly skimmed through the additional budget plan and stamped it.
After reviewing all the major agendas, Barcas briefly conveyed the Information brought by the guild leader of the White Silver Alliance last night.
The knights did not take the warnings of the northerners seriously. It was also true that the probability of the situation being turned around was extremely slim.
However, reports that the instigator of the rebellion might have escaped from Amasek were not something to be taken lightly.
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