The Forgotten Field - Chapter 154

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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 154
Rain poured down upon the faded Ruins.
Droplets soaked his pale eyebrows—a dull grayish-brown—and traced down his hollow cheekbones along the line of his jaw.
At first glance, it appeared as though he were weeping. Yet his frozen face revealed nothing. Only a desolate, hollow shadow could be faintly discerned.
He let his arms fall as though unable to bear the weight of the rain. Between lips that released ragged, unsteady breaths, a heavy sigh escaped.
“Let us return.”
….
Talia gazed up at him with vacant eyes. Then cracks appeared in his face, which had been as rigid as hardened wax.
“You cannot remain like this. The blood….”
His words came haltingly, as though his thoughts were fragmented.
“The blood… you have lost so much. If your body grows cold….”
His voice grew muffled beneath the intensifying rain. Moving slowly, as one might approach a frightened wild animal, he knelt on one knee before her.
His bony white hand grasped her dirt-covered one. A faint warmth emanated across her cold skin.
He held her hand in both of his and carefully rubbed it, then brought it to his own hot neck. Talia recalled that he had once done the same for a bedraggled bird that had fallen into muddy water.
Her subsiding sobs surged forth anew.
“We must leave now.”
He wrapped his arms around her skeletal back through her thin nightgown.
Talia twisted her body to push him away.
She was genuinely terrified of this man who could lift her to the clouds with merely an outstretched hand.
She resented him for kindling hope within her. Had she remained at the bottom, she would never have known the agony of falling.
Though she knew her accusations were unjust, Talia wanted to rail against him.
Why did you not leave me to rot in that pile of earth that day?
Why did you not abandon me in the shadows of the Imperial Palace?
Why did you make me dream of happiness?
“I cannot bear this anymore. Leave me be!”
As she convulsed and twisted, he wrapped his arms around her firmly, preventing her from thrashing.
Talia burst into tears, overwhelmed by helplessness. His warm palms pressed into her wet hair, cradling her ice-cold neck.
His voice, heavy and rough as metal, poured down upon her crown.
“We must go now.”
Realizing he intended to take her away by force, Talia twisted her head to gaze upon the grave.
The image of the infant trembling beneath the cold earth flickered before her eyes.
Mingled with the sound of rain came the cry of a newborn once more. The fact that she could not hold and soothe the child made her wish for death itself.
Talia, who had been gasping as though her breath would cease, soon let her limbs go limp.
The entire world was submerged beneath rain and tears.
She wished only to sink into that deluge and disappear.
As her vision grew increasingly distant, she pleaded through her sobs.
Please, let me sleep forever like this. Grant me escape from this agonizing reality….
* * *
Tiuran, ascending the stairs with a pitcher of cold water, stopped upon discovering Daren Dru Sierkan standing in the Corridor.
Whether some formal occasion had taken place, the broad-shouldered man was dressed in an ornate doublet that fit his muscular frame perfectly, with an intricately crafted breastplate fastened about him. He was conversing with a Young Aide when he noticed her hesitating at the top of the stairs and offered a formal greeting.
“You’ve worked hard.”
Tiuran bowed her head with a tense expression.
“What brings you here?”
“Ah, it’s nothing serious. I merely came to inquire about the Grand Duchess’s condition.”
The man gestured with a sidelong glance toward the bedroom door deeper within the corridor.
Tiuran set down the water pitcher she had been carrying and moistened her parched lips, choosing her words with deliberate care.
“Her fever only subsided around noon today. She is currently resting after taking her medicine.”
“Then the critical period has entirely passed?”
Tiuran regarded the man with a cautious gaze.
She was well aware that some of the retainers had begun to question the Grand Duchess’s reproductive capacity. Apart from the revulsion she felt at their callousness, Tiuran desperately wished that Talia would suffer no further wounds. Thus, she offered a somewhat protective response.
“Fortunately, Her Highness is gradually recovering her strength. Within a few months, she should return to her former state.”
“Does it truly take that long?”
The man’s thick brows furrowed sharply.
Tiuran suppressed the urge to scowl.
What did this man think childbirth was?
Though it had been a premature delivery, the stillborn child had been remarkably large for a seven-month infant, and the Grand Duchess’s pelvis was narrower than that of most women. It had been scarcely different from a normal birth.
Moreover, the hemorrhaging had been so severe that she had nearly lost her life. Recovery naturally required time.
Rather than explain all this in tedious detail, Tiuran replied with a cold, cutting tone.
“This is a standard recovery pace. Women’s bodies are, after all, far more delicate and fragile than those of men.”
“In any case, she is no longer in danger, correct?”
The man pressed the question with some impatience.
After a brief hesitation, Tiuran nodded.
The man then exhaled a sigh of relief, his expression satisfied.
“Then there is no further need for His Excellency to remain at her side.”
Only then did Tiuran realize they had come because of the Grand Duke’s absence, and her face hardened.
“Forgive me, but the healing of physical wounds does not mean the heart has recovered as well. Her Highness has lost a child she held most dear. She needs her husband now.”
At this somewhat presumptuous remark, the man’s expression vanished.
Tiuran tensed her body. Daren Dru Sierkan was not a man of particularly cruel disposition, yet nobles could become ruthlessly merciless toward commoners.
She concealed her apprehension and watched carefully for his reaction. The man, whose expression had been displeased, soon explained in a measured tone.
“It may be unreasonable to expect someone of your station to understand the duties that nobles must bear. But allow me to explain nonetheless. Barcas Laedgo Sierkan is, before all else, a sovereign responsible for millions of Eastern Faction subjects. Every soldier in the Eastern Territories moves at his command, and hundreds of lords rally to his banner. Should he fail in his duty, the nobles would think thus:”
“….”
“Why should we serve him if he does not fulfill his role as sovereign?”
Tiuran lowered her head, rendered speechless.
The man added in a composed tone.
“I labor to preserve the authority of the Grand Duke. If you are likewise loyal to House Sierkan, then inform your liege that there is no further cause for concern regarding the Grand Duchess’s health.”
“…I understand perfectly what you are saying. I beg your forgiveness for my rash words.”
Upon her respectful bow, the man’s mood seemed to ease, and he stepped aside to one corner of the corridor.
Tiuran picked up the water pitcher from the floor. As she carefully made her way down the corridor toward the bedroom door, taking care not to spill the water, the two men continued their conversation where they stood.
Tiuran felt Daren’s gaze upon her as she cautiously grasped the door handle.
Upon entering as quietly as possible so as not to disturb the Grand Duchess’s sleep, she caught sight of the Grand Duke leaning against the headboard of the bed.
Tiuran, who had been about to tell him that she had brought water, found herself holding her breath without realizing it.
The way he sat at an angle, draped loosely in an ample tunic with his disheveled hair swept back, made him appear far too young and vulnerable.
Only then did Tiuran remember that he was merely twenty-four years old.
“Why are you standing there doing nothing? Bring it here.”
The man, who had been carefully pressing his hand to the forehead of the woman lying beside him, issued the command in a quiet voice.
Tiuran, who had been frozen at the doorway, hesitated before approaching the side of the bed.
The young man did not spare her a glance, his gaze fixed intently upon his wife’s face. His profile appeared just as gaunt as the Grand Duchess’s.
Now that she thought about it, had she ever seen this man sleep?
Though she had moved in and out of the Grand Duke’s chamber day and night for several days, she could not recall a single moment when she had seen him with his eyes closed.

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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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