THE FORGOTTEN FIELDS (NOVEL) - Chapter 137
Chapter 137
A slight smile formed on Varkas's lips. With a smooth movement, he pulled out another strawberry.
"Go ahead."
Talia opened her mouth once more while looking at him with watery eyes. Varkas carefully placed the strawberry into her mouth.
When she bit into half of the fruit, which was relatively large because she could not swallow it in a single bite, the excess juice fell and moistened her lips. Varkas wiped the juice away with his thumb and directed an intense gaze at her plump lips.
Feeling embarrassed for some reason, she lowered her gaze and swallowed what she had in her mouth.
"Try one yourself. Its flavor is acceptable."
"I brought it for Her Highness the Duchess," Varkas said calmly as he brought the rest of the pulp closer to her mouth. "Go ahead, eat it all, Her Highness the Duchess."
Talia contemplated him in silence and opened her mouth obediently. Varkas quickly placed the red fruits into her mouth. Although she kept them there for a good while and chewed them slowly to enjoy the flavor, the six large strawberries disappeared in an instant.
As Talia licked her lips with a face of regret, Varkas stood up from the bed and said:
"Wait a moment. I will bring more."
"It's not necessary. I am already satisfied."
She hurriedly held back the man, who looked as though he would leave and put on his coat at any moment. The sun was about to set. It was not appropriate to make the ruler of the East run all over the place looking for a fruit that did not grow in this season. Talia gripped his arm firmly.
"This is enough, so do not overdo it."
"Overdo it?" He looked at her with bewildered eyes.
Was he perhaps not aware of his unusual behavior? Talia let out a slight sigh.
"What do you call running all over the place to get strawberries in the middle of winter if not overdoing it?"
Varkas tilted his head as if he did not understand.
"How is it overdoing it to bring food to my wife? This is a natural thing that even animals do."
Talia looked at him with an expression that reflected she was left speechless. It seemed that he sincerely believed it.
'Maybe he would behave the same way if he had married another woman who wasn't me.'
She felt her mood, which had been floating in the air, suddenly drop, so she arched her eyebrows.
"Anyway, just sit down. Even if you bring more, I won't be able to eat because I am full."
"The maids will soon bake a citron cake. Eat at least a piece of that."
His voice seeped into her ears again, making her feel as though her heart were melting. She attributed that to her pregnancy. The changes in her temperament and her sudden craving for a food she previously paid no attention to, everything was due to the living being establishing itself inside her body.
"…I will eat just one piece."
Another slight smile passed across Varkas's lips. She contemplated him for a moment and then, feeling that she could not bear the situation, averted her gaze toward the window.
Shortly after, the maids arrived carrying a tray with a steaming cake and a traditional oriental drink.
While they prepared the food on the table, Varkas returned after changing his clothes, carried her—who was still wrapped in the duvet—and sat her in front of the fireplace. Then he began to feed her the warm cake, filled with thin slices of citron, honey, cinnamon, and nuts, cutting it slowly with the fork.
Talia opened her mouth out of pure habit, but her face flushed with embarrassment as she locked eyes with a maid who was contemplating them with wide eyes. Unlike Varkas, she was aware that eating like a baby as an adult was inappropriate behavior.
"Ask them all to leave. They are annoying."
Only then, as if noticing the presence of the maids, he nodded his head:
"Thank you for the service, you may leave now."
The maids, who had stood frozen, left the room immediately. Varkas raised the fork toward her mouth again as if nothing had happened.
"Do you really think this is not overdone behavior?" Talia asked him with a reproachful look, but in the end, she opened her mouth reluctantly.
Varkas made her finish a large piece of cake completely. Then he fed her candied apricots in sugar whose origin she did not know. This was, probably, the first time she consumed such an amount of food since she had been living with the Tarn family.
"Do you feel pain in your stomach?" he asked her while gently rubbing the upper part of her belly, worried after having fed her greedily.
Talia shook her head slightly.
"I'm fine."
"…I heard you underwent an examination by the priestess today. Did she say anything unusual?"
Talia felt a slight tension, immersed in the feeling of satiety that she had not experienced for a long time. When she first found out the news of her pregnancy, she felt curious about Varkas's reaction. But now that she had him in front of her, she could not speak.
After a long silence, Talia murmured in a timid voice:
"…She didn't say anything special. She just said to eat well and rest for a while."
"…"
"I'm tired. I will sleep now."
She moved inside the duvet while avoiding his gaze, but she felt his arm, wrapped around her back, tenses up. Talia raised her gaze slightly. Varkas was contemplating her with narrowed eyes.
"Do you really have nothing to tell me?"
Talia swallowed hard.
"…No."
"Yes you do."
The tone of his voice gained strength. Talia arched her eyebrows.
'Did she say she would keep the secret until I spoke, but ended up informing him about everything?'
She avoided his eyes, which seemed to read what was inside her, and said with annoyance:
"What do you want me to say? Anyway, you already know everything."
"What is it that I know?"
"Don't pretend you don't know! You've heard everything. Isn't that the reason why you are asking?"
"If I knew, why would I bother to ask?" Varkas replied in a serene tone.
Talia looked at him suspiciously.
"…Have you really not heard anything?"
"I have heard nothing."
Her suspicion gradually vanished before his response, which did not waver in the slightest. Perhaps the head maid had only implied to him that she had something to communicate to him. Talia moistened her dry lips.
Varkas brushed the hair away from her forehead and urged her gently:
"Therefore, tell me already. What did the priestess say?"
"Well, that is to say… I've been sleeping a lot and feeling weak lately."
Her voice broke awkwardly. Talia accumulated a little saliva in her mouth, swallowed it, and then observed his expressions. The light coming from the fireplace added warm shadows to his cold face. The strange fear lurking in a corner of her heart suddenly dissolved before his calm appearance.
"This… is because there is a baby in my womb."
He remained motionless, merely staring at her fixedly without moving. However, Talia could see that the silver glints inside his blue eyes flickered like ripples.
He let out a sigh, as if expelling the air from the deepest part of his lungs, and rested his head on her shoulder. At the same time, his large hand with pronounced veins completely covered her belly. His hand, which seemed delicate, spanned her entire belly.
"…I must take better care of you in the future."
The warmth of his breath caressed her earlobe, like the purring of a large cat. Talia felt that tears were about to well up, so she bit her lips. After a long time passed, she managed to articulate a calm voice with effort:
"Yes. You must serve me with greater attention in the future."
"So I shall."
Unlike his calm response, which bordered on indifference, the touch of his hand as he caressed her belly was extremely soft and cautious.
Suddenly, she remembered her first meeting with him. At the instant she felt that the entire world was cold as ice, this hand wrapped her in warmth. The memory that sometimes seemed like a curse did not feel painful at this moment.
She curled up in his lap and hid her cheek in his broad chest, which beat strongly.