Still looking down at the knife he had been using to peel the pomegranate, Varkas added calmly,
"If she takes after you, every vermin imaginable will swarm around her. Dealing with them alone would be troublesome enough."
Talia instinctively shrank her shoulders.
Rather than anger, his troubled murmur filled her with worry.
If a daughter who resembled her were born...
Just as he said, wouldn't every beast in existence set its sights on her?
A kind of fear she had never experienced before washed over her.
Talia abruptly sat upright.
"That's exactly why you'll have to protect her perfectly. Make sure no one can ever hurt her. Staying by her side and protecting her is your responsibility."
Varkas turned to look at her, faint lines appearing around his eyes.
He seemed genuinely puzzled as to why she felt the need to say something so obvious.
He nodded calmly.
"I fully intend to. Until we find her a husband worthy of her trust, it is the duty of the head of the family to protect and care for his daughter."
"Don't say such ridiculous things. She's never getting married."
A sharp edge suddenly entered Talia's voice.
She glared at him with narrowed eyes before wrapping both arms protectively around her stomach, as if afraid someone might steal the child away.
"I'll keep her with me forever. Never. Never will I send her anywhere."
Varkas's eyes widened slightly.
Only then did Talia realize that her voice had begun to tremble with tears.
She couldn't understand why her eyes had suddenly become so hot.
Biting down hard on her quivering lip, she finally forced out the words that had been lodged in her throat.
"I'll never leave my baby all alone in some unfamiliar place. I won't let my child tremble in fear among strangers, and I won't make my baby endure loneliness by themselves. I'll always... always stay beside them. I'll hold them every night and keep them safe."
What had begun as quiet muttering became almost sobbing by the end.
She didn't even have time to feel embarrassed.
Something like blazing fire kept surging up from deep inside her.
In a panic, Talia grabbed Varkas's sleeve and tugged desperately.
"You have to do the same."
Through the tears overflowing from her eyes, she could vaguely make out his expression hardening.
She shook his arm insistently.
"Say you'll do it."
The man, who had remained completely still as though startled by her sudden breakdown, abruptly tossed aside what he was holding and climbed onto the bed.
As though it were the most natural thing in the world, Talia settled herself on his lap.
His long, powerful arms immediately wrapped around her back.
"I will."
His deep voice fell softly above her head.
Gripping his clothes tightly enough to nearly tear the fabric, Talia stared directly into his pale blue eyes.
"Can you swear it?"
"I swear."
"You promised me. No matter what happens, you'll protect our baby."
His calloused thumb gently wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes.
His voice had grown slightly rough.
"Yes. I'll do everything you ask. So stop crying."
Talia parted her lips.
She wanted to press him even harder.
You have to put our child before everyone.
Before Gareth.
Before Aila.
She swallowed the words before they could escape.
If, even for a moment, he hesitated to answer...
She didn't think she could bear it.
Suppressing her sobs, Talia wrapped both arms around his neck and buried years of grief against his rock-solid shoulder.
"Even... even if it's a boy... I'll keep him with me. I won't send him to the Imperial Palace or to the Temple."
She felt the hand around her back tighten.
Varkas murmured in a low, heavy voice,
"Then that's what we'll do. Whether it's a daughter or a son, we'll keep our child with us for the rest of our lives."
For some reason, those words only made the sorrow inside her swell even more.
Talia rubbed her tear-soaked cheek against his taut neck.
Varkas gently patted her back.
It was a touch that seemed to promise everything would be all right.
That there would be no more suffering.
No more sadness.
More than anything...
Talia wanted to believe that promise.