"Just in case, I've summoned the priestess. It would be best if Your Highness let her examine you."
Talia felt her face flush with embarrassment as she shot Varkas a glare.
"It's nothing. I just lost my balance for a moment."
"Only yesterday you were suffering because of your back. Please stay still."
Holding her even more firmly as she struggled, Varkas turned a cold gaze toward Edrick.
The man, whose eyes darted about in confusion, stiffened with a start. It was as though Varkas had leveled the tip of a sword at him.
"It would be best if you took your leave now. This is hardly the time to be idling around."
"...As it happens, I was just about to depart."
Swallowing dryly, the man answered in a taut voice.
Watching him expressionlessly, Varkas started toward the entrance before adding,
"Then be on your way. I've instructed the stablemaster to prepare a decent horse for you. You can ride that."
"Ah... Thank you for your consideration."
Despite Edrick's respectful reply, Varkas left the drawing room without another word.
Talia glanced over his shoulder at the man standing frozen in place before lifting her gaze to Varkas. The moment she met those blue-gray eyes quietly fixed upon her, her shoulders instinctively tensed.
His face looked no different from usual, calm and composed.
Then why had a chill suddenly run down her spine?
"What were you discussing with Rubon?"
"Nothing... nothing important."
Varkas narrowed his eyes at her evasive answer.
In a rough voice that sounded almost like an interrogation, he asked again,
"What do you mean by 'nothing important'?"
Talia awkwardly shifted her gaze.
There wasn't any particular reason to hide what she'd discussed with Edrick Rubon, but if Varkas found out she'd been asking questions about him behind his back, he would probably be displeased.
After a brief hesitation, she muttered defensively,
"We were just exchanging greetings."
"..."
"He's always been the nosy type. It seemed he'd been wondering whether I'd been doing well all this time..."
As she awkwardly added more to fill the growing silence, a fleeting coldness passed through Varkas's eyes.
Only then did Talia realize he was in a rather foul mood.
She simply couldn't understand why.
Was he angry because her carelessness had almost endangered the child she carried?
While nervously watching his expression, Varkas, climbing the stairs, murmured in an indifferent voice,
"It seems you've grown rather close to Rubon."
"He only served as one of my Imperial Guard knights for a few months."
Talia snorted reflexively.
"That man's just sticking his nose where it doesn't belong. He's the biggest nag I've ever met! He'd have been far better suited to being a nanny than a knight."
For some reason, the longer she criticized Edrick, the colder Varkas's expression became.
She'd assumed they disliked each other because of how harshly he treated him, but perhaps Edrick was actually a subordinate he valued?
Keeping her mouth shut, she cautiously watched his face. Before she realized it, they had reached their bedroom. Varkas gestured toward the servant standing in the corridor.
"Open it."
The servant immediately threw aside the cloth he had been using to clean the windows and hurried to open the door.
Stepping inside, Varkas gently set her down on the bed before naturally helping her remove her coat.
"How is your back?"
"It's fine. Maybe because I slept so well last night—it hurts less than usual."
Ordinarily, he would have shown at least the slightest sign of relief upon hearing that.
Instead, he remained silent.
After quietly staring at her stomach for some time, Varkas slowly straightened.
He then poured her a cup of the herbal tea the healers had prepared beforehand.
By then, the priestess and the two healers who had rushed over at Varkas's summons had begun examining her.
As expected, neither she nor the child she carried showed any abnormalities.