The Forgotten Field - Chapter 63

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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 63
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Once the unwelcome visitor had departed, Talia pressed the Healer to fill her chamber with billowing clouds of fragrant smoke.
As she drew in the acrid, shimmering air that wavered like heat haze, the turbulent sensations within her gradually began to subside.
A profound sense of relief washed over her.
If I wait just a little longer, the herbal mist will seep into my very mind.
Then I won’t have to think about anything. I just want to sleep like the dead.
She sprawled across the bed and closed her eyes. Yet no matter how long she waited, one thread of consciousness refused to snap, keeping her tethered to reality.
Desperate to fall asleep, I brought my face closer to the brazier and inhaled the pungent smoke more deeply, but only coughing erupted from my throat.
As my body convulsed with violent coughs, even the faint drowsiness that had begun to gather in my eyes scattered away.
Wrapped in disappointment, Talia gazed out the window. The sky had already turned a deep, blood-red hue.
After staring at that dizzying, spine-chilling crimson sunset for some time, Talia found herself drawn by something unseen. She slipped out of bed and stood on her own two feet.
The medication seemed to be working properly—she felt no significant pain.
I took a few tentative steps.
My left leg moved sluggishly, and my foot dragged across the floor. Yet the sharp pain I’d felt whenever I bent my joints had subsided. It seemed I could walk well enough.
I slipped my thin feet into slippers and retrieved a hooded robe from the wardrobe.
Draping it loosely over myself, I shuffled out of the bedroom.
By now, the Nursemaid would be lounging in her quarters.
The Healer had finished her duties and returned to her Residence, and the Handmaidens were likely resting in their own chambers.
As I expected, I encountered no one while traversing the long Corridor and descending the stairs.
Talia passed through the vast Hall and slipped out of the Separate Palace through a servants’ side entrance.
A cool breeze brushed gently against her face.
Breathing in the cold air mingled with the scents of grass and flowers, Talia moved forward with measured steps.
After wandering aimlessly for some time, I suddenly realized I had arrived near the Training Grounds.
A faint question stirred in my muddled mind.
Why did I come here?
With vacant eyes, I surveyed the clearing bathed in crimson light, then instinctively hid my body behind the undergrowth upon sensing a presence.
A few Knights were wielding swords at one end of the Training Grounds, as if engaged in sparring.
I watched them from a distance, then moved on.
After walking aimlessly for quite some time, my previously clear vision began to ripple and undulate like waves. The herbal remedy was finally taking effect.
Talia dragged her limp legs as if they were worms, continuing forward with an agonizingly slow gait.
Then, suddenly, I noticed my shadow—which had stretched long across the ground—being swallowed by deep darkness. I lifted my head and realized I had entered a dimly lit building.
Where am I now?
As I furrowed my brow in confusion, a single door at the far end of the long Corridor caught my gaze.
I staggered toward it and knocked gently on the door.
After a moment, a low voice came from within.
“What is it?”
Talia blinked slowly.
Only upon hearing that voice did I remember why I had come here.
I uttered a halting response.
“I came because there’s something I wanted to tell you.”
A cold silence settled between them.
Talia wondered if her voice had been too quiet, so she cleared her throat and opened her mouth again.
At that moment, heavy footsteps echoed, and the door swung open.
Talia lifted her head.
Barcas had apparently finished his day and was resting—he wore only dark trousers and a thin linen shirt draped loosely over his frame.
As I gazed at him blankly, a cold voice cut down from above.
“You came all this way dressed like that?”
Talia lowered her eyes to examine her own clothing.
Through the open robe, the summer nightgown the Nursemaid had dressed her in was visible.
What was the problem with this?
As I frowned, a large piece of fabric settled across my shoulders.
Talia looked up at him with a bewildered expression.
Barcas, who had wrapped his own coat snugly around her body, glanced down the Corridor as darkness began to deepen.
“Where is your escort?”
“My escort?”
His eyes sharpened.
Barcas gently gripped her chin and tilted it upward, then bent toward her and peered directly into her eyes.
“How much of the sleeping draught did you burn through?”
Talia strained her eyes to see his face clearly as it kept blurring.
Barcas wore an expression I had never seen before—something strange.
Or perhaps it was my head that was strange.
When the entire world appeared distorted, how could this man possibly look normal?
She roughly removed his hand from her face and moistened her lips.
“I told you—I came because I have something to say.”
I saw his eyes narrow. He seemed displeased about something.
Barcas, who had been regarding her with a cool gaze, straightened and looked up at the sky beginning to darken beyond the window, then turned his gaze over his shoulder to survey his Chamber.
His contemplative manner made me increasingly anxious.
Did I accidentally speak in the language of Elves or Dwarves? Why isn’t he responding?
“Can’t you hear me? I said I have something to tell you….”
Suddenly, my body tilted to one side.
Talia hastily grabbed the doorframe. It seemed her legs had cramped from the walk from the Separate Palace to here. She felt her left thigh muscle trembling faintly.
She pressed both hands against the wall to keep from collapsing to the floor, shifting her weight to the other leg.
In that instant, her body lifted into the air.
Startled, I looked up to find a weary face filling my vision.
He carried her in both arms and stepped into the spacious Bedroom where candles had been lit.
Talia lowered her gaze and swept across the familiar yet unfamiliar landscape.
Though I had come here many times to meet him, this was the first time I had entered the Chamber itself.
A soft laugh escaped me. It seemed I had only earned the right to step into his sanctuary now that my legs had given out.
“We can discuss this after the medication wears off.”
Barcas laid her down on his bed and spoke with a weary sigh.
Talia gripped the hem of his garment as he tried to step away, feeling his tautly muscled torso tense subtly beneath the thin fabric.
Had he somehow sensed what she was about to say?
She fought to steady her wavering focus, clinging to his sleeve as though it were a lifeline.
“No. Not now. I need to say this. Once I come to my senses, I won’t be able to speak…”
“….”
“You said if I agreed, you would take me as your wife, didn’t you?”
He said nothing, only studying her eyes with relentless intensity.
Talia barely managed to move her tongue, which felt as limp as overcooked noodles.
“Do it. Abandon Aila Roem Guerta and take me as your wife instead.”
A heavy silence descended.
An indecipherable light flickered across his face, silhouetted against the setting sun.
Was he taken aback?
The thought crossed her mind that he might feel deflated by her response, having spoken those words with the expectation of rejection.
Yet from his lips came a voice so disturbingly calm it was almost chilling.
“I will do so.”
Through blurred eyes, Talia traced the contours of his face. A hollow laugh escaped her at the sight of his expression—utterly devoid of emotion, parched and hollow.
Because of this man, Aila had been forced to swallow her pride and seek out the half-sister she so despised.
I am consumed by an urge to destroy everything.
Yet why does this man remain so utterly serene?
Something within me fractured at the sight of his cool, apathetic countenance—a face that seemed to radiate nothing but indifference.

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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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