The Forgotten Field - Chapter 70

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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 70
Barcas turned his head to observe her as he inhaled the cool air tinged with the scent of rain.
Gloomy shadows flickered across his eyes, serene as the dawn.
I wondered what thoughts rippled behind those ice-lake eyes of his.
Was he worrying about my tangled future? Or was he regretting his decision too late?
Despite my vow never to wonder again, I found myself asking another question.
So you never wanted to marry me at all—you wanted Aila, didn’t you?
I should have known.
You’re incapable of burning for anyone.
In truth, it probably didn’t matter who the bride was.
Just as you could play the devoted fiancé to Aila, you can play the convincing protector to me.
I rubbed away the sensation of his lips brushing against mine.
Talia Roem Guerta is merely one of countless responsibilities he must shoulder—nothing more. So I won’t be deceived by his meaningless kindness, bestowed like charity.
I turned away from him and pulled the blanket over my head.
* * *
At some point, I must have fallen asleep.
My body, taut with tension all day, melted away in moments beneath the potent influence of alcohol.
I lay with my face buried in the pillow, my limbs sprawled limply within the soft quilts. I drifted through that hazy consciousness for some time before a rough, prickling sensation began gnawing at my knees.
As I stirred uncomfortably at the unpleasant sensation, the pain intensified. I forced my heavy eyelids open to find only thick darkness filling my blurred vision.
The drowsiness pressing down on me vanished instantly. I stared into the pitch-black darkness with eyes wide in terror.
The sticky night, devoid of even a sliver of light, suffocated my breathing. As I gasped roughly and touched my constricted throat, the dull pain beginning in my knees suddenly erupted like lightning.
I seized my calves with both hands. Beneath my palms, weakened muscles convulsed. Cold sweat streamed down my back as the pain shot through me like blades driven into flesh.
I bit my lower lip and clawed at my own thrashing leg muscles with my fingernails.
Then came the sound of flint striking steel, and a beam of light struck my face. I jerked my head up to see a small candle glowing faintly and Barcas’s pale silhouette.
Barcas bent over the bed, his expression rigid as he gazed at my bloodless face.
Without thinking, I let out a sharp cry.
“Don’t touch me!”
I struck his hand away roughly as he reached for my legs and crawled toward the foot of the bed. But I didn’t get far before he caught me.
Barcas pinned my shoulder down hard with one hand, immobilizing me, then reached toward my calves, which were covered in nail marks.
I screamed as though scalding oil had been poured over me.
“No! Don’t touch me!”
“Stay still. I’m only examining the wounds.”
“No! I said I don’t want this!”
As I thrashed about, gasping as though my breath might fail me at any moment, he muttered something unintelligible and pulled my upper body close. Then he bound me firmly so I couldn’t struggle and rang the bell attached to the bed with one hand.
Moments later, the bedroom door burst open and startled handmaidens rushed in.
Barcas shouted loudly.
“Bring a healing mage at once!”
Chaos erupted immediately.
While an elderly mage rushed into the bridal chamber and cast recovery magic, the handmaidens lit candles throughout the room and lit soothing incense near the head of the bed.
Throughout it all, Barcas held me securely in his arms without letting go.
Buried against his powerfully beating chest, I surveyed my surroundings with frightened eyes.
Every nerve in my body tensed at the thought that someone might lift my skirts to examine my legs. I curled my legs tightly and clutched my hem like a shield.
After some time had passed, a disheveled Mage thrust a bluish glass vial before my face.
“If you drink this, the pain should subside quickly.”
I glared at it through narrowed eyes.
If I drink that, I’ll surely lose consciousness. While I’m asleep, someone might lift my skirts.
I clamped my mouth shut and turned my head away.
Then long fingers seized my chin and forced my head up. The mouth of the vial pressed firmly against my lips. I clenched my teeth and resisted.
Barcas, looking down at me with eyes like frozen glass, brought the medicine bottle to his own lips.
Before I could even comprehend the meaning of his action, lips wet with potent herbal extract covered mine.
My eyes flew wide open.
Barcas, gripping my jaw and pressing my cheek firmly, thrust his tongue into my parted mouth. Immediately, the bitter medicine flowed in.
I grasped his thin shirt collar as though I might tear it.
I couldn’t understand what was happening. The narrowed membranes of my throat, occupied with swallowing the liquid pooled in my mouth, tightened around his tongue.
Tongue against tongue, they moved of their own accord in a slow, grinding motion. Fractured moans filled my mouth.
Had he poisoned me? My throat burned as though aflame.
“Ah….”
Our lips, pressed together for an unnaturally long time, slowly parted.
I looked up at him, even forgetting the pain that had been throbbing through my legs.
Barcas, staring into my unfocused eyes, tilted the vial again and poured the remaining liquid entirely into my mouth.
Our lips met once more. I dug my nails into his forearm.
His tongue, pushing through the damp membranes, slowly forced the liquid—carrying the scent of deep grass flowers—down into the depths of my throat. My throat convulsed, drawing him in involuntarily, against my will.
Engulfed in confusion, shame, and a strange sensation I had never felt before, I curled my toes.
The medicine was already taking effect; the world spun before my eyes.
Lukewarm saliva continued to flow down my esophagus. Though the liquid pooling on my taste buds no longer tasted bitter, he continued to move through the narrow, moist space with movements so deliberate they made me question his intent.
In my panic, I patted his chest, and the soft flesh slowly withdrew.
I gasped roughly, looking up at him.
Unlike me, disheveled and in disarray, his expression remained unchanged. That composed face only tangled my already muddled thoughts further.
Could what just happened have been nothing but my imagination?
Lost in such doubt, he traced my lips with his thumb. Hearing the wet sound, I realized my lips were completely wet.
I hastily buried my face in the blankets. A damp sigh poured down over my head.
“…Sleep now.”
He wrapped his hand around my head and pressed me against his chest. I steadied my ragged breathing in his powerfully beating embrace.
Soon, the medicine began to spread through my body. Feeling my vision grow increasingly hazy, I gripped his shirt tightly.
Don’t you dare touch my legs while I sleep. Whether he heard my murmured words, he lightly stroked my lower back.
Soon all strength drained from my limbs and darkness consumed my vision. I plummeted into sleep like falling into an abyss.
When I opened my eyes again, sunlight was flooding brightly through the chamber.
Looking up at the ceiling with sleep still clinging to my eyes, I felt a presence and turned my head with a start.
Barcas stood by the window, changing his clothes.
Light piercing through the glass pane slid across his body like a marble sculpture. As I gazed at him, entranced, his quiet gaze found me.
Talia drew her shoulders inward.
Barcas swept his gaze over her with an indifferent expression, as though everything that had transpired the previous night were nothing but illusion.

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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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