The Forgotten Field - Chapter 189

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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 189
For the past several days, I had been forced to sleep alone because of the Wolf Beast, who would bristle every hair on his body the moment he saw me. Thus, while her resolve was welcome, I found myself seized by concern.
Could I truly endure this to the very end?
Barcas gazed quietly down at Aria, whose breathing had grown steady and even in his arms, before letting out a heavy sigh and moving toward the doorway.
“Here… please wear my cloak.”
The Healer, who had hurried after him, snatched a robe from the wall and thrust it forward. Taking it, I wrapped her form completely before immediately departing the cottage.
By now, a thick gray darkness had settled over the Castle Courtyard. I traced my steps slowly along the Hazel Forest Path, shrouded in deepening shadow.
I felt the rain, gradually lessening, thoroughly soak my back and shoulders. Yet I felt no chill whatsoever. Every nerve was concentrated on the warm breath touching the nape of my neck. I carefully adjusted the deeply pulled hood to ensure no rain touched her, and gently drew it back.
I could see her thick golden lashes casting long shadows across cheeks tinged with pale rose.
As I carefully wiped away the droplets clinging there with my thumb, her thin eyelids trembled slightly, and her luminous blue eyes flickered open.
“Barcas…?”
“Yes, it is I.”
My low voice, threaded with a metallic quality, mingled with the damp air.
I cleared my throat and continued.
“Rest more. I shall escort you to the Sleeping Chamber.”
Aria, her eyes still glazed as though the medicinal effects had not fully worn off, soon leaned her face against my chest.
I tightened my grip on the forearm wrapped around her back.
A sensation akin to vertigo suddenly swept over me—from the warmth I felt beyond the damp fabric and the sweet scent mingled with the grassy, briny air.
I drew the cloak tightly closed and swiftly crossed the rain-darkened forest.
By the time I finally reached the Main Castle, I was drenched as though I had taken a plunge. Yet my body burned with an inner heat that seemed to consume me.
I passed the Servants rushing toward me with startled expressions and ascended the Staircase.
“Your attendance is not required.”
I issued the warning to the Servants trailing after me, then opened the Bedroom door.
The Chamber was brightly illuminated by candlelight. I stepped inside and carefully removed the cloak that had been shielding her. Fortunately, she had remained largely dry.
I carelessly cast the rain-soaked robe to the floor and gently laid her upon the neatly arranged sheets.
Then slender arms wound around my neck. Rough breath burst from my lips as I attempted to rise. My voice emerged ragged and oddly fractured, tickling those lips.
“Don’t pull away. I’m cold.”
“…Your clothes are soaked.”
“Then remove them quickly.”
She gazed up at me with half-lidded eyes, her soft fingers flushed with color brushing the wet strands from my forehead.
In that instant, my heart struck heavily against my ribs.
I stared down at her parted lips as though nailed in place, then slowly turned my head aside. As I attempted to free her arms, warm lips covered mine.
At the sensation of her small tongue slipping between the gap, I surrendered utterly.
I immediately cradled the back of her head and drew her into a deeper kiss.
Her tongue, honeyed and pliant, carried the faint fragrance of herbs. I drew upon it persistently while holding her delicate frame close. The moisture seeping from my garments transferred instantly to her dress.
The wet silk clung to her smooth skin, revealing elegant, flowing curves without concealment. As I traced my fingers along those exquisite lines, Talia drew her lips back slightly and murmured in a hoarse voice.
“I’m soaked through as well.”
Then she slipped her fingers beneath my tunic and gently caressed the taut muscles of my abdomen.
In that moment, an intense desire surged so powerfully my vision blurred. I gritted my teeth and seized her wrist.
“Do not touch me so carelessly.”
Immediately, a look of displeasure flashed across her eyes.
“Why?”
He furrowed his brow, not immediately grasping what she was asking.
She continued in a petulant tone, reminiscent of how she used to torment him with her willfulness in childhood.
“You touch my body whenever you please, so why do you always stop me when I try to touch you?”
He gazed down at her defiant face with narrowed eyes.
Was she truly asking because she didn’t understand?
This woman scattered temptation all around her like a provocateur, yet sometimes she feigned complete ignorance about men. Barcas exhaled slowly.
“When you touch my body, it becomes difficult to restrain myself.”
As he confessed in a blunt tone, her sharp gaze widened in surprise.
She slowly lowered her eyes. Only then did she seem to notice his heavily aroused state, and her cheeks flushed crimson.
“If it’s difficult to restrain yourself… then don’t restrain yourself.”
Talia pulled his tunic upward and traced her fingertips along the taut muscles of his waist, offering a subtle smile.
Barcas swallowed hard.
His body felt as though it might burst from the desire to surrender to her seduction. Yet he could not risk her life again with another reckless gamble.
He marshaled every ounce of his willpower to pull himself away from her.
“…Perhaps it would be better if you changed into different clothes.”
“Why?”
She sat up and shot him a provocative glance.
“You could simply remove them.”
At her brazen demand, the faint smile he had barely managed to maintain faded.
Barcas met her gaze with eyes shadowed by tension.
Between the brigands and the Heretic Cult, and the interference of that damned beast, they had not had much time, yet whenever the opportunity arose, he had shared sweet caresses and kisses with her.
If he revealed that he did not want children, all of that would seem to dissolve like a mirage, and he could not bring himself to speak. Yet neither could he continue to push her away with transparent excuses indefinitely.
He raked his wet hair roughly and exhaled words heavy with resignation.
“I do not wish to burden your body.”
“What does that mean?”
She asked in a trembling voice.
Watching the warmth drain from her eyes as they turned cold, Barcas felt his jaw tighten with dismay. He spoke somewhat anxiously.
“It means I wish to avoid the risk that Your Highness might conceive a child.”
The color drained from her face in an instant.
“You too… do you think I cannot bear children?”
Barcas’s eyes froze over.
“Who told Your Highness such a thing?”
“What does it matter who said it! You’re thinking the same thing anyway!”
The woman, her eyes filled with resentment, spoke in a trembling voice.
“You think I cannot produce a proper heir, don’t you? That’s why you’re rejecting me. If that’s the case, just say so. Why would you make me hope? Do you pity me?”
Barcas, his face hardened like stone as he looked down at her, bent forward before the bed. He grasped her trembling shoulders and silenced her lips, which were uttering such absurd words, with his own.
The woman, momentarily startled, pushed him away roughly.
Ignoring her resistance, he wrapped his hand around her slender neck and thrust his tongue into her quivering mouth.
Soon his hand, which had been striking her chest frantically, clung to her damp clothing like adhesive.
He pulled her waist closer, pressing their entire bodies together without a gap. Then he brought his lips to her flushed ear and spoke each word with deliberate force.
“You think this is happening out of pity?”
She kept her mouth firmly shut, glaring at him with eyes reddened and bloodshot.
He pressed his lips to the corner of her eyes and continued speaking in a soothing tone.
“House Sierkan has two other people capable of continuing the bloodline besides me. There is no need for Your Highness to damage your health just to bear an heir.”
“…But I want to have another child.”
She murmured with yearning in her voice.
“Thanks to Tiuran, I’ve become much healthier all this time. This time, I’m confident I can deliver safely.”

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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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