However, since the question was not asked to expose her flaws, Thalia stopped the interrogation at that point.
"Anyway, keep your wits about you for the time being. Everyone is on edge because of the looters, so there is no need to get into trouble with behavior that could unnecessarily arouse suspicion."
"Understood. I will be careful."
Tiuran replied calmly, turned back toward the shelf, and began preparing the medicinal herbs.
Thalia, who had been leaning against the headboard of the bed watching the scene, suddenly felt a wave of fatigue and laid her head on the pillow. Tiuran, who had been glancing over her shoulder, approached and covered her with a blanket.
Thalia pulled the blanket, permeated with the scent of herbs, up to the tip of her nose and closed her eyes. Then, at some point, she seemed to have dozed off.
Thalia, feeling cold water droplets wetting her cheeks and lifting her eyelids, checked the neat profile hanging over her head and muttered in a hoarse voice.
“Barcas...?”
"Yes, it is me. Please get some more sleep."
Barcas whispered in a husky, low voice close to her ear. Feeling a sweet heat run down her spine, Thalia buried her face in his chest. He pulled her closer and wrapped his coat tightly around her. Thalia put her arms around his shoulders and closed her eyes again.
Thalia, who had been doing that for some time, came back to her senses at the sensation of a cold sheet touching her back; feeling him move away from her, she instinctively reached out her arm.
“Don’t go.”
As she wrapped her arms around his neck as if clinging to him, she felt his chest expand greatly for a moment. Thalia rubbed her cheek against his neck, which was lightly damp, and mumbled in a voice that was not yet fully free of sleep.
"Cold."
"...My clothes are wet.”
Barcas, who had been stiff as a taut bowstring, quietly pushed her away. Thalia clung even closer to him. At that, his finely detailed features, devoid of any human touch, could be seen distorting slightly.
She flinched for a moment at his seemingly cold demeanor, but upon suddenly realizing he was suppressing his desire, Thalia involuntarily held her breath. Through his damp clothes, she could vividly feel his rising body temperature and his irregularly fluctuating heartbeat. Feeling a sudden heat rising in her stomach, she tugged at his collar.
"Then hurry up and take it off."
He swallowed hard. Through the parted collar of his shirt, the nape of his neck with taut, protruding tendons, his thick collarbone, and the outline of his chest muscles were clearly visible.
Thalia, who had been mesmerized by his appearance that resembled a marble statue, soon slipped her fingers between the buttons and stroked his smooth, firm skin. Then, lifting her head, she gently pressed her lips against his, causing Barcas's spine to stiffen as if struck by lightning.
Finding the reaction amusing, Thalia giggled softly and stealthily slipped her tongue into his mouth. At that moment, a large, veiny hand tightly wrapped around the back of her head. Startled by the unexpected counterattack, Thalia gasped.
He held her tightly enough to hurt and sucked on her tongue as if to devour it. It was a persistent kiss that made his stubborn attitude from just moments ago look meaningless.
Thalia felt her breath catch in her throat and pushed his shoulder away. Barcas, who had been greedily teasing her tongue, finally allowed just a tiny opening. Seizing the chance, she hurriedly inhaled air, only to feel hot lips lightly nibbling at her earlobe.
Thalia dug her nails into his shoulder. In an instant, her body heated up, and a tingling shiver ran down her spine. Shuddering at the intense sensation, she pushed him away, but Barcas let out a low, dissatisfied moan and pressed his lips against hers again.
Overwhelming joy surged through her at the passionate kiss, like someone who had been starving for a long time. She was glad that this man, who seemed so unapproachable, wanted her enough to lose his self-control.
She slipped her fingers inside the hem of his clothes and slid them along the belt tightly cinching his slender waist. She wanted him to let his guard down a little more. She wanted him to crave her so intensely that he couldn't think of anything else.
"I'm soaking wet, too."
As she whispered into his ear, their chests, pressed tightly together, swelled greatly in an instant.
Thalia caressed his abdomen with a bolder touch. At that, Barcas let out a suppressed groan and clutched her wrist.
"Do not touch carelessly."
"Why?"
Thalia glared at him with a dissatisfied expression and asked. At this, Barcas frowned in confusion. He seemed unable to readily recall a reason himself to dissuade her.
Thalia gave a deliberately provocative smile.
"You touch my body as you please, so why do you stop me every time I try to touch you?"
In an instant, a tendon bulged beneath Barcas's jaw. She could tell that his patience had reached its limit. Barcas, who had been keeping his lips tightly sealed as if holding something back, finally confessed, as if exhaling the breath he had been holding.
"It is because it is hard for me to bear when you touch my body."
Thalia blushed. Only then did she realize that his massive body pressed against her abdomen was hard and swollen. A brief wave of fear washed over her as she recalled the overwhelming heat that had tormented her in the past. However, the satisfaction derived from the fact that he ardently desired her was greater.
For a very long time, she had desperately wanted this beautiful man to crumble and fall apart before her. She wished he would suffer from a terrible fever, enough to make him lose his reason, just as she does.
In fact, the child was nothing more than an excuse. What she wanted was Barcas Raedgo Sheerkhan.
She wanted to leave an indelible mark on his life. She wanted to create a strong connection that no one could break.
She wanted their blood to mingle and continue in this world forever.
Thalia stroked his waist with a subtle touch and let out a trembling voice.
"If it's hard to bear... you just don't have to bear it."
Barcas's Adam's apple bobbed violently. Thalia let out a satisfied laugh at his intense reaction and slowly slid her fingers along his spine. Then, just as she was about to kiss his shoulder, which was as hard as iron, Barcas slowly sat up.
"First, I would like to change my clothes."
“What are you doing?”
Thalia, having straightened her upper body to follow his lead, looked up at him with a challenging gaze and spoke.
"You can just take it off."
Barcas's lips hardened.
Thalia raised her eyebrows, wondering what excuse he was going to come up with this time.
After a moment of heavy silence, Barcas finally spoke.
"I don't want to put a strain on your body."
"....What does that mean?"
"It means that I wish to avoid the danger of having a child."
Thalia glared at him, feeling the blood run cold through her body. In an instant, a wave of humiliation washed over her, as if she had been slapped in the face.
She was his wife. Wasn't it Barcas who had always emphasized that fact? How, then, could she not want a child with him?
Thalia asked in a trembling voice.
"Do you... think I can't have children too?"
Barcas's eyes froze coldly for a moment.
"Who said such a thing to Your Highness?"
"What does it matter who said it! You're thinking the exact same thing anyway!"
Thalia shouted in a shrill voice. She knew that deep down, he was worried that the same thing would happen again. However, far from being grateful for that self-righteous consideration, she regarded it as nothing but a terrible insult.
She hated him for easily concluding that the future most married women naturally enjoy would be impossible for her.
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