Talia kept her gaze fixed on Varkas's eyes as she pushed with all the strength she had.
It felt as though a massive boulder were crushing her pelvis. Every pore in her body opened, and cold sweat streamed down her skin.
She gathered every last ounce of strength she possessed.
But she couldn't feel the slightest sign that anything was progressing.
She felt as though she were about to burst into tears.
How much longer did she have to endure this?
Just as the unbearable agony made her want to let go of everything, someone let out a piercing scream.
Talia forced open eyelids drenched with sweat and tears.
The priestess seated between her knees beneath the linen cloth was staring down with a grave expression.
Painfully parting her split lips, Talia whispered,
"Why... why?"
"B-Blood..."
One of the maids standing beside the bed murmured in terror.
The chief maid immediately seized the frightened girl by the arm and shoved her back with a harsh motion.
Before Talia even had time to wonder what was happening, the contractions that had briefly subsided returned with renewed force.
She clung to Varkas's neck once more.
How long did the agony last—the feeling that her bones were splitting apart and every organ and nerve inside her body was being crushed?
Her vision suddenly turned white.
Then, all at once, whatever had been blocking her from below slid free.
The sensation was so overwhelming that her head snapped back on its own, and a shrill scream tore from her throat.
Collapsed limply in Varkas's embrace like a corpse, Talia struggled to draw ragged breaths that caught in her throat.
Her ears rang as though she had been submerged underwater, and her vision remained blurred.
It also felt as though somewhere inside her body had been torn apart.
Yet the searing pain that had felt as though it were burning her brain alive had finally disappeared.
Was it over now?
She stared blankly ahead, thinking that.
Then, without warning, a strange sense of wrongness crept over her.
The room was unnaturally quiet.
With great effort, Talia lifted her heavy eyelids.
Through her unfocused vision she saw the veins standing taut along Varkas's neck.
Grabbing at the hem of his clothes with trembling fingers as though he were distracted by something, she whispered,
"Varkas... why..."
At last, Varkas looked at her.
Talia strained her eyes, trying to make out his expression.
But everything refused to come into focus.
Staring at him as though he were a pale ghost, she barely managed to finish her question.
"Why... isn't... the baby crying?"
"..."
"Varkas... why isn't the baby..."
He gave no answer.
Had she gone deaf?
Confused, she looked around the room.
The maids had gathered together in one corner, wrapping something inside a blanket.
She tried to sit up to get a better look.
But Varkas tightened the arm wrapped around her.
"You mustn't move yet."
It was a rough voice she had never imagined hearing from him.
Talia blinked blankly.
As though determined to prevent her from turning her head, Varkas gripped it tightly with a cold hand whose tendons stood out beneath the skin.
In a frighteningly low voice, he asked,