The Forgotten Field - Chapter 149

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 149
The baby pressed against the nerve running down her left leg, causing a burning, tingling sensation that persisted day and night without respite. A sharp pain, as though a spike had been driven through her lower back, refused to subside.
She found herself resenting the Divine for burdening women alone with such suffering.
At some point, I began desperately hoping the child would be a son. I never wanted to endure pregnancy again after this—not once more.
Though I appreciated the devoted care Barcas and everyone around me lavished upon me, as the physical agony intensified, my satisfaction at carrying new life gradually withered away. Fear took its place instead.
Giving birth would surely be unbearably painful, wouldn’t it?
Even accepting Barcas’s body felt overwhelming each time—could I truly endure the ordeal of childbirth?
As my belly swelled larger each day, I was consumed by mounting dread. Part of me desperately wished to be freed from this pregnant state as soon as possible, yet another part prayed that moment would never arrive.
“Your Highness, I’ve brewed an herbal tea to calm your nerves. It should help you sleep somewhat.”
Maricen, who had been stirring a pot before the fireplace for some time, approached with a cup containing a deep brown liquid. I accepted it without protest and drank.
In the early stages of pregnancy, I had refused to consume anything that might harm the child, but now I no longer hesitated at anything that might ease my body. While the baby within me brimmed with vitality, I grew increasingly haggard with each passing day.
I worried that by the time of delivery, I would lack the strength to bear the child.
“Would you try this as well? It’s a tonic the Empress sent. It’s said to help restore your vigor.”
Scarcely had I finished the cup of tea when the Nursemaid approached with a small medicine bottle.
I stared at it for a moment, then shook my head. Though my mother regarded the child in my womb as an important game piece and was unlikely to send me something harmful, I still found it difficult to trust her unconditionally.
“My stomach is unsettled. I don’t want to eat anything else.”
“Please, just a little, for the sake of the Empress’s kindness. She sent such precious medicinal ingredients…”
“That’s enough!”
I irritably swatted the Nursemaid’s hand away. The glass bottle slipped from her grasp and rolled across the floor.
For a moment, anger flashed across the Nursemaid’s round face.
Her lips trembled as though she meant to say something sharp, but she soon released a heavy sigh and picked up the glass bottle.
I felt a pang of guilt, but instead of apologizing, I turned away and lay on my side. I was quite angry with the Nursemaid for caring more about the worthlessness of my mother’s gift than about my discomfort.
I pulled the blanket up to my head and pressed my aching pelvis with my fingertips.
I lay there groaning for some time. As the herbal tea took effect, the pain gradually lessened and drowsiness crept over me. I willingly surrendered myself to the realm of unconsciousness.
But the peace did not last long. As dusk fell, a cramp seized my leg, jolting me from my deep sleep.
I cried out, gripping the violently convulsing muscles of my calf with both hands. It felt as though a blade had been driven through my leg. Tears streamed down my face involuntarily.
“Please bear with it a moment, Your Highness. I’ll bring you medicine.”
Maricen, who had been resting by the fireplace, rushed over and held a medicine bottle to my lips.
“It’s a pain reliever. It uses medicinal ingredients that won’t harm the child, so please don’t worry and take it.”
I hesitated briefly, but as the cramping showed no sign of easing, I reluctantly took a sip of the lukewarm medicine.
In the meantime, Tiuran, who had prepared a warm compress pouch filled with hot water, carefully placed it over my leg.
Once the pain subsided a short while later, I gazed wearily around the dimly lit chamber. The Nursemaid stood beside the bed, looking down at me with worried eyes. Two young handmaidens stood in the doorway, ready at any moment to rush into the corridor and summon the High Priest.
To calm them, I murmured hoarsely.
“I think I’m better now.”
“How is your abdomen?”
Tiuran asked as she moved the compress pouch lower along my calf.
I gently touched my lower belly.
“There’s some pulling sensation, but it’s not severe.”
“I’ll bring you another cup of tea. It will help calm your mind.”
With effort, I raised my upper body. Beyond the window left open for ventilation, the sky was turning a deep crimson.
“Has Barcas not returned yet?”
“The Grand Duke is at the Guild Hall. He sent word a few hours ago that he would be delayed.”
Tiuran replied kindly, adjusting a pillow behind her waist.
Talia soothed her discontent by gently caressing the baby’s small bottom through the thin skin of her belly.
Throughout the season of rest, Barcas had never left her side for a moment.
He handled most of his duties from the desk in the Bedroom, and after the cold set in, he had reduced his visits to the Guild Hall and appearances at the City Court. Thanks to this, Talia enjoyed the luxury of commanding the Grand Duke of the Eastern Territories like her own servant.
Barcas would embrace her as she groaned through the night, massaging her lower back or bringing cool cloths to wipe the sweat from her neck and face, and sometimes he would even prepare heating pouches himself, holding them against her aching spots until she fell asleep.
But when the season of water began, Barcas had to return to his busy routine. The various duties postponed throughout winter came flooding in like a tidal wave.
Barcas reorganized the administration of his domain, which had stagnated during winter, and led the Knight Order on inspections of the barracks to assess military readiness.
There seemed to be no end to the matters requiring his attention. Large-scale military drills began at the Training Grounds of Laedgo Castle, and armed messengers began passing through the Castle at all hours.
Talia sensed the embers of war stirring in the Northern Region beginning to awaken, but she said nothing about it.
She desperately wanted to believe that even if war broke out in the north, it would never reach the Eastern Territories.
Barcas had fulfilled his duty as a loyal subject by dispatching the Cavalry Forces, and what came after was the Imperial Family’s responsibility.
‘Perhaps Gareth will personally take to the field to suppress the rebellion.’
If that man died in battle, Talia would have nothing but gratitude.
As she smiled faintly at the image of her half-brother pierced by a Northern blade, a thought suddenly flashed through her mind like lightning, and her body went rigid.
Could Senevir be behind this war?
If the north truly launched an independence war, there was a high probability that the Crown Prince would be named commander-in-chief.
If she could only push him to the battlefield, the Empress could eliminate her stepson without drawing any suspicion.
Lost in that thought, Talia suddenly realized she was indulging in baseless fantasies and let out a soft laugh.
No matter how powerful Senevir’s influence was, she could not manipulate the Northern nobles from behind the scenes.
Even if such a thing were possible, would the Empress really incite a civil war?
If even a shred of evidence emerged linking her to the rebellion, the Empress herself would not escape the noose. Senevir would never take such a dangerous gamble.
Talia chuckled at her own absurd imagination, then suddenly felt a pulling sensation in her belly and set down the teacup in her hand. As she carefully shifted her position, she felt the damp hem of her skirt cling unpleasantly to her legs.
Talia frowned. It seemed her entire body was drenched in sweat from thrashing about so violently.
She lowered her feet from the bed and gestured to the Handmaidens.
“I need to wash. Prepare a bath for me.”
“Hold onto me. I’ll help support you.”
Tiuran, who had pushed the heating pouch aside, grasped her forearm.
Talia gripped her slender but firm shoulders and carefully raised herself up. Then she suddenly felt a warm liquid trickling down her thigh, and her body went rigid.
Surely she hadn’t lost control of her bladder?
Looking down at her damp skirt with frightened eyes, she heard a sound like harsh, labored breathing beside her.
“Good heavens!”
Assuming that Tiuran had cried out upon witnessing her mishap, Talia’s face flushed crimson with shame. But then she noticed the look of terror in the woman’s eyes and her body went stiff.
A terrible premonition ran down her spine.
“Fetch the Priestess at once!”
Tiuran, with urgent hands, laid her back down on the bed and cried out loudly to the Handmaidens.
“Don’t just stand there! The amniotic fluid has broken! Hurry!”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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