Forgotten Fields - Chapter 297

Faint wrinkles formed around Barcas's eyes. He appeared to believe her words in the slightest. However, as if he had no intention of prying further, he soon walked toward the door.

"Then I will convey my decision to my retainers."

“Do you want to go right now?”

Thalia stared at him with a stern face. She had changed into her prettiest clothes and even sprinkled pearl powder on her face to make a good impression on him. And yet, after interrogating her to his heart's content, he was just going to leave?

"You just got back. I thought you should take a rest for now..."

"As Your Highness said, having just returned, there is a mountain of matters to attend to. It is a pity, but I will postpone my rest until later."

At the firm rejection, she felt as though she were about to cry. Thalia forced a smile, trying to keep the corners of her mouth from convulsing.

"Oh, really? Then go ahead."

She shot back curtly in a deliberately cold voice, but he showed no particular reaction.

As Barcas stared at her silently with an expressionless face, he soon opened the door and went outside. Almost simultaneously, Khan rushed into the room.

Thalia immediately wrapped her arms around Khan's neck. The soft, cozy touch seemed to soften her frayed nerves a little. Gently stroking the wolf burrowing into her embrace, Thalia cautiously raised her head to look toward the door. Barcas had already moved quite a distance away.

Thalia, who had been staring intently at that solid, iron-like back, soon clenched her fist tightly.

They have just been reunited. There is no need to be anxious. They have plenty of time to spend together in the future.

It was a matter of getting closer again little by little without rushing.

***

He looked with a sour expression at Thalia, who was punching the pillow like crazy.

Over the past few days, the effort she put into seducing Barcas Raedgo Sheerkhan was heartbreaking. The problem was that none of those efforts had worked at all.

Thalia, who had been pounding the pillow until her elaborate grooming over nearly three hours was ruined, flopped down on the bed panting.

He couldn't bring himself to approach her, so he kept his distance and cautiously watched her. He never imagined that his wife would go to such lengths to seduce him. Nor did he realize just how much of an idiot he had been acting.

"It's annoying."

Thalia, who had been staring at the ceiling for a while, raised an arm and covered her eyes.

Realizing that she was crying, Khan jumped up from his seat and crept over to the side of the bed. At that moment, a hand suddenly reached out and grabbed his ear.

"I hate you too. Why do you keep getting in my way?"

He glared at her with a wronged expression. It was true that he had succumbed to jealousy and intervened between the two a few times, but he had still tried his best to behave himself for her sake. Hadn't he even meekly let her be when she burned sleeping herbs to separate him?

She had silently endured the situation where she completely sidelined him and poured all her attention into that idiot. So how could she even resent him?

He bared his teeth and growled inadvertently. Seeing this, Thalia mercilessly punched him in the head.

"You're always picking fights with Dad, and now you're taking your temper out on me too?"

Then, she pulled his cheeks to the left and right.

"Do you want to get really severely punished?"

He immediately let his ears droop and tucked his tail between his legs. It was a purely instinctive reaction.

As if satisfied with his quiet demeanor, she let out a small, smug snort with a triumphant expression. Then, in a tone that sounded as if she were scolding a teenage son, she added.

"Look how hard Mom tried to protect you. Is it okay to be mean to me? Is it not okay?"

He let his head hang limply.

Only then, perhaps feeling a little apologetic, Thalia stroked his ear. Just as his heart was beginning to soften at that gentle touch, Tiuran, who was sitting by the fireplace rummaging through the teapot, chuckled softly and spoke.

"Please don't scold him too much. Khan is just throwing a tantrum out of anxiety that he might lose Your Highness."

At the remark that hit the nail on the head, he needlessly scratched the floor.

The fundamental reason he wanted to stay close to Thalia was to guard against and prepare for what would happen after Barcas Raedgo Sheerkhan's return. However, that did not mean Tiuran was entirely wrong. It was becoming increasingly difficult for him to watch Thalia be with Barcas Raedgo Sheerkhan.

He trudged over to the corner of the bedroom and crouched down.

He knew very well that the man was his past self. However, ultimately, he was a separate being distinct from his current self.

If Thalia were to be with him, he would inevitably be pushed out of her life. It was also true that accepting that fact was difficult.

"Please don't get so angry. Have some of this. It is an herbal decoction that helps with blood circulation and flushes out waste from the body."

Tiuran held out a steaming teacup in front of her.

Thalia said, frowning.

"I told you to refrain from using herbs. What are you going to do if you drink this and develop dependency symptoms again?"

"When you were extremely frail, even a small amount of herbs would have been a burden, but now that you have recovered much of your strength, this amount is fine. In fact, it will help flush out the toxins remaining in your body."

Thalia, who had been looking down at the light brown tea suspiciously, finally took the cup. She sniffed it for a moment before carefully taking a sip. Her brows furrowed slightly, as if the taste wasn't as bad as she had expected.

She took a few more sips of tea and glanced at Tiuran.

"How much has my body recovered now?"

"You've passed the critical point. The hallucinations have almost completely disappeared, and your pulse is much more stable than before. However, because you suffered from medication for such a long time, you need a little more time to fully recover."

"How much?"

"If you continue to eat well and rest well just like you are now, you will fully recover in about three or four months."

She smiled and added, as a joke.

"You might actually become much healthier than the average person."

"Then having another baby won't be a problem, right?"

He, who had been secretly letting out a sigh of relief at the back-and-forth conversation, stiffened and looked at her. Thalia wore a hopeful expression. The healer, who had awkwardly lowered her eyes as if feeling a little burdened by her expectant gaze, cautiously opened her mouth.

"Based on what I have observed so far, there are no major issues with Your Highness's ability to join. If you wish, you could acquire it immediately."

Her face brightened up immediately.

As he watched that scene with mixed feelings, Tiuran's cautious voice was heard.

"However, pregnancy and childbirth are burdensome even for healthy women. Wouldn't it be better to wait about a year?"

"You said I would be fully recovered in three or four months?"

Thalia spoke with a stiff expression.

"The war isn't completely over yet. If, by any chance, the peace treaty falls through, Barcas will have to return to the battlefield. If that happens, we'll have to wait indefinitely for months or years again."

She said, clutching the teacup tightly.

"You may not understand, but for a woman of a noble family, leaving an heir is not a choice, but a duty. If you fail to fulfill this, it becomes difficult to guarantee your position, no matter how high your status may be."

Suddenly, a deep shadow fell over her eyes.

She fiddled with the rim of the teacup with her fingertips and continued speaking coldly.

"I absolutely need a child, if only to protect myself. If I bear an heir to the Grand Ducal family, even the Crown Prince won't be able to easily oust me."

He bared his claws without realizing it. He felt as though his insides were rotting away at the sight of her showing not the slightest thought that her husband would protect her. The most miserable thing was that her distrust was entirely a result of his own making.

"Will you not speak to His Excellency the Grand Duke about His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"

Tiuran glanced at her complexion and asked discreetly.

Thalia opened her mouth after a long while, as she quietly looked down at the teacup with a conflicted expression.

"...Not yet."

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