TFM 78

Chapter 78

****

At his flat reply, Talia raised the corners of her eyes.

She had no way of knowing whether he was brushing her off halfheartedly because he found the argument tiresome, or whether he simply didn’t care about his appearance and was willing to go along with it.

Talia scrutinized his expressionless face as if dissecting it, but soon her expression turned dejected.

“Sometimes, being around you makes me want to tear my hair out.”

He showed no particular reaction to her sudden outburst.

The prolonged silence made her increasingly anxious.

Talia pulled the blanket up to her chin and turned away.

“Just get out already.”

“I’m staying until I see you take your medicine.”

“I’m not taking it, so get out.”

“I’ll leave only after I’ve seen you take the medicine and make sure you’re okay.”

“I told you I’m not taking it!”

When she turned back to him with a flushed face, his pale eyes, shimmering with gold, held her gaze captive.

He pulled a chair over to the bedside and sat down, speaking slowly.

“If you keep being stubborn, I’ll make you take it by force.”

Talia tensed up.

Suddenly, memories of her wedding night flooded her mind.

Confusing memories—where she still couldn’t tell where the dream ended and reality began—played vividly over and over in her mind.

Was Varkas thinking about that day too?

Sweat beaded on her upper lip.

Unable to bear the strange tension hanging in the room, Talia awkwardly changed the subject.

“Did you have a drink?”

“A little.”

He leaned back in his chair and replied casually.

Talia, who had been watching him with a wary gaze, snapped at him in a harsher tone than usual.

“If you’re drunk, you should go wash up and go to sleep. Why are you coming into someone else’s room to make a scene?”

“I didn’t drink enough to get drunk. They were throwing such a grand welcome party, so I just went along with it a little.”

He replied half-heartedly, then, as if it were a nuisance, untied the ornament wrapped around his arm and placed it on the shelf.

Talia, who had been staring intently at him, cautiously asked,

“Aren’t they going to say anything about me not showing my face at all?”

“Who’s going to say anything to you?”

Suddenly, a frown creased his brow.

“Your Highness is the highest-ranking person in this castle. There’s no one here you need to worry about pleasing.”

“Who said I was trying to please anyone? I just asked out of curiosity.”

Talia muttered under her breath and shot him a glare.

It was slightly infuriating to hear such words from the man who had never once treated her properly as a princess.

Just as she was about to snap back, “Mind your own business,” a knock sounded at the door.

“Young Master, I’ve brought the medicine.”

“Come in.”

The door swung open, and a petite maid stepped into the room.

Varkas took the medicine bottle from her hand and sent her back out.

Talia stared at the medicine bottle in his hand with a tense expression.

Strangely, her stomach tightened.

She swallowed hard, her throat stinging, when he held the bottle up in front of her face and shook it.

“Take it.”

Talia alternated her gaze between the small blue glass bottle and his face.

If I don’t drink this, will he kiss me like he did that night?

Her heart clenched at the sudden thought.

Unable to compose herself, she averted her eyes, and he leaned in close, asking in a low voice.

“Aren’t you going to take it?”

Her face felt like it was on fire.

If she refused to take it, she felt as though he would see right through her and know her true feelings.

With trembling hands, she snatched the bottle from him.

“Fine, I’ll just take it.”

As if to prove a point, she popped the cork and poured the potent herbal extract into her mouth.

The bitter liquid, as if it would burn her tongue to a crisp, swept down her esophagus.

Talia coughed slightly, her eyes welling up with tears. It was the most bitter medicine she had ever tasted.

“What on earth is this?”

“It was made by a healer from the Shiokan family.”

He said this as he poured a glass of apple wine from the shelf and handed it to her.

“From now on, the healer here will be your personal physician.”

Talia took the glass and gulped down the sweet liquid in a hurry, then glared at him in disbelief.

“Who decided that? I already have a personal healer. A high-ranking sorcerer trained by the Taren family has been taking care of me all this time…………….”

“That healer does nothing more than burn sleep herbs and cast healing spells. At that rate, your condition will never improve.”

Talia’s eyes narrowed.

Currently, the healer attending to her was a highly skilled practitioner carefully selected and assigned by Senevere.

Did he really think a shaman from the Kan tribe—who knew nothing more than ancient spells—could be compared to a mage from the Taren family? Or did he have some other ulterior motive?

Talia, who had been glaring at him with a suspicious look, snapped at him harshly.

“No. I’m going to be treated by the mage my mother assigned to me. How can I trust the people here? It’s obvious they all hate me………………."

His lips tightened.

“Why do you think that?”

“Do you think I’m an idiot? The Shiokan family supports the Crown Prince. I know full well they wouldn’t welcome me—someone who ousted Ayla to marry you.”

Talia sneered.

“Who knows? They might even try to poison me.”

“Talia Roem Shiokan.”

The soft voice sent a chill down her spine.

Talia flinched. More than the foreign surname appended to her own, it was the warning in that low voice that froze her thoughts.

He added stiffly.

“I’ve decided to indulge all your tantrums, as long as they’re within reason. But don’t cross the line.”

His cold tone made her temper flare.

She hurled the glass she was holding at him.

“Who asked you to put up with my tantrums?”

The sticky sweet wine soaked his chest.

A terrible silence settled over the room.

Varkas exhaled a long breath and slowly stood up.

Talia jumped in fright and hid in the corner of the bed. Varkas stared at her for a moment, then shook his head.

“Why are you acting so scared?”

Talia blushed with shame.

He casually brushed the liquid off his chest and added matter-of-factly,

“No matter how much tantrum you throw, it won’t do any good this time. Starting tomorrow, a new healer will be examining your condition.”

“I clearly said I don’t want that!”

Ignoring her, he walked toward the bedroom door.

Talia raised her voice at his back.

“You liar! You said I’m the highest-ranking person in this castle! So why are you doing whatever you want?”

“I don’t know about others, but you have to listen to your husband.”

Stopping at the doorway, Varkas turned to look at her and spoke as if scolding a spoiled child.

“I listen to you too, don’t I?”

Then, as if to prove a point, he took off his loose coat and draped it over one arm.

Talia stood there dumbfounded, her mouth agape.

As he turned the doorknob, he added calmly.

“You should get some sleep now. You’ll need to rest deeply for a few days to recover from the journey.”

Talia, coming to her senses belatedly, threw a pillow at him, but he had already left the room.

Staring down at the bundle of fabric rolling across the floor with a hollow expression, Talia soon slumped onto the bed.

Why was that? It felt as though, because of this marriage, she—and not him—was the one being tormented, and she felt unjustly wronged for no reason.

***

The next morning, Talia woke up feeling relatively refreshed.

Perhaps sleeping for nearly the entire day had helped; the pain in her legs was less severe than usual.

Rubbing her sleepy eyes, Talia got out of bed, looked up at the bright blue sky outside the window, and rang the bell attached to the bedside.

A moment later, a stern-faced middle-aged woman and a young maid who looked much younger than her entered the room side by side.

“Good morning, Your Highness. We apologize for the delay in greeting you.”

The older woman spoke first.

“I am Areta, the head of the maids in this castle. This is Brisa, who will be Your Highness’s personal maid from now on.”

As the woman tugged on the arm of the dazed maid, the girl named Brisa hurriedly bowed her head.

***

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