"Khan. Do you want to try some too?"
As if noticing his gloomy gaze, Thalia, who was busy munching on a biscuit, held out a half-finished piece.
After hesitating, he soon took a careful bite. As if the tickling of his teeth brushing against her finger had made her giggle, a giggling sound escaped from her lips.
"It's delicious, isn't it? Want some more?"
She placed the entire bowl of biscuits in front of him.
He pushed the edge of the bowl with the bridge of his nose. He wanted her to eat even a little more. However, Thalia stood close to Tiuran, watching her prepare the vegetables with interest.
He watched the scene with a bitter heart, and soon ate every last biscuit in the bowl.
In the meantime, Tiuran, having perfected a new dish, placed a pie made with various vegetables and rabbit meat on her plate.
She set aside a piece for him. She devoured the simple dish, which used hardly any spices, with relish as she savored the meal. Tiuran, who had been watching her with a pleased look, picked up a knife and asked.
"Would you like me to cut you another piece?"
"That's enough. If I eat any more here, my stomach might explode."
"Then, I will bring out some fruit to cleanse your palate. I heard that fresh grapes arrived this morning."
"I said that. Do you think I'm a pig or something...?"
Thalia, who had been spat out a refusal as if annoyed, suddenly fell silent. Then, she quietly looked up at Tiuran's face with a thoughtful gaze before curtly nodding her head.
"Yes, bring out a plate."
Tiuran immediately went to the chef and asked for fruit.
A servant who was doing his job in one corner of the kitchen took two bunches of fresh grapes out of a small container and gave them to her. Tiuran washed them thoroughly, placed them on her plate, and spoke politely.
"Here it is, Your Highness."
Thalia immediately picked up a grape and shoved it into her mouth. The sweet scent of the ripe flesh wafted all the way to her strongly. However, Thalia immediately scowled as if she had eaten something inedible.
“It’s not tasty.”
Then, pushing the plate away, she added coldly.
"I'm fine, so you eat it."
Tiuran, who had been looking down at the grapes with a troubled gaze, soon picked up the plate again.
"It looks like it's not fully ripe yet. I'll go get a replacement."
"It's okay."
Thalia grabbed the hem of Tiuran's robe as she was about to turn around, and pointed to the opposite seat with an annoyed expression.
"I told you I'd stop eating now. Stop being a bother and sit down."
"Just take this back to the storage room and..."
"Don't make me say it twice.'
Her voice shot a sharp chord. Tiuran let out a small sigh as if resigned to the situation, put down the plate, pulled out a chair, and sat down.
Thalia pushed the plate in front of her and added curtly.
"You handle the rest."
"But how could I... something so precious..."
"What's so precious about it? It's sour anyway, so no one else can even eat it."
The healer looked down at the grapes with a troubled expression.
Green grapes sweet enough to be eaten raw were a very rare variety. Perhaps aware of this, the woman could not easily reach for the plate.
At that, Thalia raised the corners of her eyes fiercely.
"Are you disobeying my orders right now?"
"...No problem. I will enjoy it."
"There's nothing to be thankful for. I'm just making you dispose of the leftovers."
Thalia let out a small snort, turned around feigning indifference, and stroked his head. However, he could easily tell that her face had flushed slightly. A faint smile flickered across the corners of her lips as she stole a sidelong glance at the healer eating grapes.
He suddenly became curious. Had they experienced such times in the past he had traveled back to? If so, how must she have felt when she heard the news that the healer had died?
Feeling the now-familiar pain piercing his chest, he turned his head toward Tiuran.
If he saved that woman's life, she would have no reason to be sad. He vowed once again that he would change the future at all costs.
***
As night fell, her legs started to ache and tingle again.
Thalia, who had been tossing and turning on the bed, suddenly felt a stinging sensation on her skin and lifted her eyelids. Since candles had been lit throughout the room beforehand, she was not overwhelmed by the fear of suffocation.
However, something strange was reflected in the flickering light. She gasped for breath. Thousands of red butterflies were completely covering the bed.
Thalia let out a suppressed scream as she saw them land on her exposed legs and crawled to the head of the bed. However, far from fleeing, the swarm of butterflies swarmed even more ferociously.
The goosebump-inducing sensation of countless downy hairs brushing against her skin made sweat rise all over her body. Gasping for breath, she desperately pulled the blanket closer.
Just then, a large red butterfly plunged a long needle into the instep of her foot. She let out a metallic cry and roughly tore at the butterfly.
It was a move taken too late. The venom injected by the butterfly had already begun to stain the skin black.
Thalia began tearing at her skin like a madwoman. Her only thought was that she had to stop the poison from spreading somehow.
As she rubbed her rapidly decaying skin as if to peel it off, Thalia urgently reached for the shelf. Her fingertips touched a small knife used for applying butter.
Just as she grabbed it and was about to stomp on her ankle, something jumped up onto her leg.
She hurriedly stopped her hand, but the knife had already stabbed Khan in the back.
"Khan!"
Thalia, having regained her senses, threw down the knife and picked up Khan. Fortunately, the wound was not deep, but blood was flowing from the torn skin.
Thalia, who had been staring at it with a look of utter despair, suddenly sprang up from the bed. Just as she was about to run outside to ask for help, she came face-to-face with Tiuran, who was opening the door and entering.
She shouted loudly without thinking twice.
"Help! I stabbed Khan!"
As she opened her eyes wide, the healer calmly seated her on the edge of the bed.
"Please calm down. I will check on the condition."
Thalia handed over Khan with trembling hands. The healer carefully laid the flailing beast on one side of the bed, examined the wound closely, and let out a long sigh of relief.
"Don't worry. A wound like this will heal quickly."
Even with the calm explanation, Thalia could not easily calm down.
Shrugging her shoulders low, she stammered out in an agitated voice.
"This is the second time I hurt Khan. I don't think I can keep him by my side anymore."
Eventually, thick teardrops overflowed from her eyes. Seeing this, the young wolf quickly slipped out of the healer's hand and burrowed into her embrace.
Thalia looked with a gaze full of guilt at the wolf who kept licking tears from her face.
At that moment, something she had been holding back inside her stomach burst out of her mouth.
"I'm not normal. When it rains, I hear nonsense, and I see terrible hallucinations every night. It made no sense from the start for someone like me to raise a child. I can't even take care of myself, so what am I thinking about having a child..."
"Your Highness, please do not say such things."
Tiuran clutched her pale hand and spoke urgently.
"Your Highness is taking good care of the Khan. After all, Khan follows Your Highness more than anyone else."
"Look at me. I can't even walk properly. Because of me, Khan has to spend most of his day trapped in this cramped bedroom. How is this taking good care of him!"
Thalia cried out in a voice mixed with sobs. An obsessive thought that she must not show weakness crossed her mind, but she could not control herself at all.
"I always end up hurting the people around me. Someday, I will surely hurt Khan, too. So, once this child grows up enough to live on his own, I will send him far away. I will let him leave my side and live freely."
"Your Highness the Grand Duchess."
Thalia, who had been whimpering like a child at the affectionate call, flinched and lifted her head.
Tiuran, gripping her hand tightly, continued speaking softly.
"Perhaps Khan was born into this world to meet Your Highness."
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My shayla :(
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