His long, elegant fingers skillfully separated the ruby-red seeds that gleamed like precious gems.
As she accepted each one from him, Talia quietly studied his face in the firelight.
Though he cared for her with the utmost attentiveness, as if tending a newborn chick, Varkas still wore that inscrutable, mask-like expression.
Once, she had been desperate to know what lay behind it.
Now...
She no longer cared.
Talia placed a hand over her lower abdomen and pressed lightly.
Beneath the thin layer of skin, she could feel the uterus beginning to swell, taut and firm.
When she had first learned she was pregnant, she hadn't been able to relax for even a single moment, terrified that something might happen to the baby.
Learning that she had difficulty conceiving had only deepened those fears.
If her lower abdomen so much as tightened a little, panic would seize her, wondering if something had gone wrong. Every tiny change in her body felt like an ominous sign.
Ironically, the one who had finally put her mind at ease was a healer from House Siorcan.
Perhaps because she herself had once lost a child, Tiuran understood better than anyone what precautions had to be taken.
At first, Talia had been somewhat reluctant to trust her, but little by little she began taking Tiuran's advice seriously.
After all, if anything happened to the child, Tiuran's own life would likely be forfeit. Surely she wouldn't make the same mistake twice.
Whatever the reason, the eastern healer's knowledge proved remarkably useful.
Thanks to her, Talia gradually regained her peace of mind.
And once her heart settled, she was finally able to devote herself entirely to the tiny life growing within her.
'At this stage... would it be about the size of a fist?'
Nibbling thoughtfully on the pomegranate seeds Varkas fed her one by one, Talia carefully traced the outline of her slightly firmer lower abdomen.
This child had originally been conceived out of necessity.
If she bore the heir to the Grand Ducal House of Siorcan, no one in the East would dare cast her aside.
Even if Gareth eventually ascended the throne, she had calculated that the child would become her shield.
She had never imagined that a life conceived solely for her own survival would become something she longed to know so deeply.
In her mind, Talia tried to picture the tiny life growing inside her.
Would the baby be small and adorable like a fairy child?
Perhaps hair and eyes had already begun to form.
If so...
What color would they be?
Maybe the child would inherit her own deep golden hair and dark blue eyes.
Or perhaps they would resemble Varkas, with pale blond hair and blue-gray eyes dusted with silver.
Whichever it was...
The child would surely be the most beautiful being in the world.
Her curiosity only grew stronger with each passing day.
Talia wanted to know everything—the baby's appearance, voice, personality...
She could think of nothing else.
Even Varkas, who had once occupied most of her thoughts, had gradually been pushed aside.
"Tell me... if it's a girl, what will we do?"
Lost in a lazy daydream while slowly chewing another pomegranate seed he offered her, Talia suddenly asked.
Varkas, who had already finished feeding her one entire pomegranate and was reaching for another, glanced sideways at her.
His brows drew together deeply.
It was the face of someone who had apparently never once considered the baby's sex.
Without warning, anxiety flooded her.
Wasn't he as curious about this child as she was?
Come to think of it...
He often sat her on his lap and stroked her belly, yet he had never once spoken about the baby itself.
Perhaps the only thing that interested him was the heir who would succeed him.
As though driving a nail into that fear, Varkas murmured quietly,
"...I'd rather not even think about it."
Talia froze in shock.