"Please don't worry too much. I will watch over Your Highness's health even more carefully."
The healing mage lightly patted the back of Talia's cold hand in consolation before switching back to the Empire's common tongue.
"Now then, let me examine your leg."
She opened the leather pouch tucked beneath her arm and took out the medicinal ointment for the scars along with the pain medication Talia took regularly.
Talia looked uneasily toward the maids.
Knowing she disliked exposing her body, the two girls immediately set up folding screens around the bed.
Quietly relieved by their thoughtfulness, Talia carefully lowered her legs over the side of the bed.
As she lifted the wide skirt of her dress, angry red scars appeared beneath the loosely wrapped bandages. The wounds had become so raw that the bandages had been wrapped loosely out of necessity.
Carefully removing them, the healing mage meticulously applied the medicinal paste over every scar before wrapping them again with fresh, clean bandages, just as loosely as before.
Afterward, she brewed a cup of herbal tea said to calm both body and mind, then quietly left the bedroom.
At last, with no one left to disturb her rest, Talia curled herself tightly beneath the blankets.
She had conceived a child.
In that sense, she had accomplished her objective.
So why did she still feel so anxious?
If the baby she carried turned out to be a daughter, everything would have to begin again from the very beginning.
And what if she failed to become pregnant a second time?
What would become of her then?
She had been fortunate this time.
There was no guarantee fortune would favor her again.
To make matters worse, if people learned that she had difficulty conceiving, the eastern nobles would surely try to strip her of her position as Grand Duchess.
In the worst-case scenario, she might even be sent away to a convent.
Even there, she could hardly expect a peaceful life.
Gareth would stop at nothing to have her killed.
As for her mother... there was no reason Senevier would continue protecting a daughter who had outlived her usefulness.
Lost in increasingly extreme fantasies, Talia finally forced herself to stop.
It was not yet time to assume the worst.
No matter what, she had succeeded in conceiving exactly as she had planned.
If she safely gave birth to the heir of the Grand Ducal House, her own safety would surely be guaranteed as well.
Suppressing her anxiety as best she could, Talia finished the bowl of porridge the maids had brought her before drifting into an afternoon nap.
When she opened her eyes again, the sun had already sunk noticeably lower in the sky.
As she gazed through the window at the darkening heavens, the heavy sound of approaching footsteps reached her ears.
Straightening herself, she watched as Varkas entered the bedroom much earlier than usual.
"How are you feeling?"
Removing his coat and casually draping it over a chair, Varkas strode toward the bed.
Judging from the strong scent of soap and mint clinging to him, he had once again washed himself in the communal bath used by the knights.
"About... the same as always."
After briefly glancing at his amber-colored hair, which had not yet fully dried, Talia lowered her gaze again, suddenly fidgeting.
Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Varkas placed the back of his hand against her forehead, his brows knitting together.
"You still have a slight fever."
"That's because I've been sitting too close to the stove."
Clearing her throat awkwardly, Talia hurriedly changed the subject.
"More importantly, why are you back so early today? The head steward said the meeting would run late..."
"I purchased what Your Highness requested and returned as quickly as I could."
Varkas slipped a hand inside his richly embroidered tunic and took out a small bundle.
Talia stared blankly at it.
His long, elegant fingers, their joints distinctly defined, deftly undid the carefully wrapped leather covering, revealing five or six red berries wrapped in crumpled sheets of paper.
"The flesh is somewhat firm, and the sweetness is lacking a little, but they said it's the best variety currently available. Even so, I've already commissioned the Lakashim merchants to continue searching. They should be able to procure better ones within a month. Until then, I hope these will suffice."
Talia could only stare in astonishment.
She had indeed asked him to find some.
But winter had already begun.
She knew perfectly well that obtaining strawberries in a region this cold was no easy task—not even for the Emperor of the Empire.
"Would you like to try one?"
Varkas peeled away the wrapping from a single strawberry and held it out to her.
Talia gazed blankly at the plump crimson fruit before slowly opening her mouth.
The small berry was gently placed upon her tongue.
She rolled it around before biting into it.
An intense sourness, strong enough to bring tears to her eyes, spread through her mouth, followed by a sweet fragrance.
"Well?"
Varkas asked as he brushed the juice from her lips with his thumb.
Feeling her throat tighten for some reason, she lowered her eyes to avoid his gaze.
It was delicious enough to make her want to cry.
More delicious than anything she had ever eaten in her life.
"...It's not bad."