TFM 71

Chapter 71

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His dry gaze made her mouth go parched.

Talia bit her fingertips with her chapped lips and lowered her eyes.

She didn’t know what to say.

She kept her mouth tightly shut as if she were mute, her eyes darting back and forth, when his monotone voice spoke up.

“Your nanny is in the next room. Call for her if you need her.”

Talia looked up at him again.

Varkas slipped his arms into his shirt sleeves and continued calmly.

“We plan to leave for the East in a week. I’ll have the servants come by, so if there are any belongings you wish to take, please pack them in advance.”

“S-so soon?”

As she stammered with a flustered expression, Varkas, who had been buttoning his shirt, turned his gaze back to her.

His eyes, shrouded in a deep mist, carefully studied her face.

“Is there any reason you should stay at the palace any longer?”

Talia looked up at him, speechless, then slowly shook her head.

Varkas, who was staring at her, approached the bedside with measured steps. Her heart clenched as his face suddenly drew near.

Without realizing it, Talia found herself staring at his lips. Through the narrow gap where they parted slightly, she could see his red tongue.

That had been inside her.

Had that been reality, or a dream?

As she stood there dazed, lost in thought, her chin was lifted, and those clear blue eyes came right up to her face.

“Like yesterday, do you often experience sudden, severe pain?”

Her heart, already clenched tight, cracked open with a sharp snap.

Talia roughly pushed his hand away. She felt a surge of irritation at being treated like a terminally ill patient.

“I don’t know. How should I know?”

“If there is a problem, we’ll need additional treatment…….”

“If even the mages of the Taren family couldn’t do anything about it, how on earth do you plan to cure it?”

As she raised her voice, unable to contain her anxiety, his lips pressed tightly together. Those red lips, drawing a sharp line, once again captured her gaze.

What matters now was the fact that last night, those lips tore her apart at will. So why on earth should she care about her legs?

Talia parted her parched lips.

“More importantly... yesterday…………………."

Why did you do that to me? Was it just to get me to take the medicine?

She was about to ask that, but closed her mouth again.

Perhaps their lips had touched for only a split second. Maybe her muddled mind had distorted the memory.

She swallowed hard and glanced at his expression.

As if he wasn’t even curious about the unfinished sentence she’d left hanging, Varkas stood up straight and spoke in a monotone voice.

“I have a healer standing by in the room next door. If you feel unwell, please call for them immediately.”

Is that all?

Don’t you have anything else to say to me?

Just as she was rolling the questions swirling in her mouth around on the tip of her tongue, his calm voice cut in.

“Until the day we depart, I plan to stay at the Imperial Palace.”

Talia looked up at him with an expression as if she’d been struck on the head.

A cool finger settled on her forehead.

Her skin tingled as if touched by a blade.

As she instinctively flinched, Varkas, who had been brushing the stray strands of hair from her face, withdrew his hand.

A dark shadow fell across his face as he stood with his back to the window.

“You won’t have to see me for a while. So please, try to relax.”

Talia opened her mouth in a panic.

She felt as though she had to say something, but her throat was so tight she couldn’t make a sound.

He slowly turned around and picked up the coat hanging on the wall.

Talia could only stare blankly at his retreating figure as he crossed the room.

Varkas, his hand on the doorknob, glanced back at her over his shoulder. As if about to speak, his lips parted slightly. But in the end, he said nothing and walked out.

Staring blankly at the door as it clicked shut, Talia lowered her feet to the floor. A tingling sensation ran up her bones. Ignoring the searing pain, she approached the doorway and turned the knob.

Perhaps Varkas had already gone down the stairs; only silence hung in the hallway.

With a look of disappointment, she closed the door again and went back to the bed.

The only trace of him left in the room was a neatly folded ceremonial robe.

She unfolded the garment, which had been neatly stacked on the shelf, and buried her face in the smooth fabric.

Instead of the scent of mint, a rich rose fragrance filled her nostrils.

Perhaps because he had held her all day, the satin fabric, embroidered with elaborate patterns, was heavily imbued with the scent of perfumed oil that the maids had slathered on. Reluctantly, she put it on and lay down on the cold, unmade bed.

She recalled the broad embrace that had wrapped her tightly as she writhed in pain.

Having to tend to a patient all night, it must have been the worst night of his life. Where in the world would a man be found who would welcome such a grueling and troublesome wedding night?

Talia bit down hard on her lips, which were twitching slightly.

It was a marriage she had accepted in the first place to satisfy a childish desire for revenge. Since he had made her want to scream from the very first night, she ought to be pleased.

She looked up at the gleaming white window, trying to calm her bitter heart. Sunlight streamed brightly through the transparent pane.

Suddenly, it occurred to her that this was her first morning as Talia Roem Shiokan.

Talia muttered with a bewildered expression.

How will my life unfold from here on out………

***

Before she knew it, the day of her departure for the East was fast approaching.

Having started getting ready early in the morning, unable to resist the maids’ nagging, Talia gazed out the window with weary eyes.

In the vast courtyard, more than twenty carts stood in a row. Piled high upon them were chests containing silk wrapped in linen, dwarf-crafted artifacts, dresses woven by the elves, and rare jewels.

Half were gifts sent from the imperial palace, and the other half were items she had obsessively collected over many years.

Talia, who had once been obsessively fixated on these treasures, now looked down at them with a listless gaze before closing the curtain.

Just a season ago, she had been desperate to acquire rare dresses and jewelry. She had wanted to see herself shine more brilliantly than anyone else, hoping that Varkas would regret his engagement to Ayla.

But now, jewels and clothes no longer mattered to her. After all, she could never be as elegant as Ayla, nor as beautiful as Senevere.

Even if she dressed up to the nines in this body, she would only look pitiful and pathetic.

Talia sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed her aching knee.

Perhaps the painkillers she’d taken at dawn had already worn off; the pain that had been dormant was beginning to resurface.

She inserted a new scented candle into the brazier, whose embers had long since died out. Just as she was about to light it, a knock sounded from behind her.

“Your Highness, Lord Shiokan has arrived.”

In that instant, her senses, which had been as blurred as if submerged in water, snapped back to life.

Talia hurriedly set down the scented candle and rose from her seat.

As she approached the door and pulled the handle, she caught sight of the maids lined up along the wall.

Talia scanned them with a quick glance.

“………………Where is the nanny?”

“She has already boarded the carriage.”

Talia, who had been anxious that the nanny might insist on returning to the palace, let out a sigh of relief.

“Wait a moment. I’ll be right out.”

As she turned to grab her outer garment, an elderly maid spoke urgently.

“Lord Shiokan asked me to give you this.”

Talia looked down with a frown at the flowing garment the maid held out.

It was a loose, hooded cloak that would cover her entire body. It seemed to have been brought to conceal her limping gait.

Her ears burned with humiliation, but Talia put it on without a word.

The long hem covered her down to her toes. It probably looked as if she were draped in a curtain.

She ran her fingers over the smooth fabric, then gave the maids a nod.

“Let’s go.”

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