The Price of the Gift
“Isn’t it wonderful? My brother hunted it himself just to lift my spirits.”
Thalia turned toward the sound. Beyond the railing, she saw Laina draped in a silver pelt, spinning in front of the maids.
The girl preened, her voice bright. “With a winter coat made from this fur, I’ll be able to ride the Saika to my heart’s content even in the dead of winter, won’t I?”
“Of course! Drakars nest inside glaciers, after all. A little cold like this won’t bother them one bit.”
“If His Grace sent such a magnificent gift, it’s clear he holds you in very special regard, my lady.”
Flattery from the maids brought a radiant smile to Laina’s face. “Do you really think so?”
“How else would he send something this precious without a second thought?”
Color returned to the girl’s face, which had been listless since the funeral. Thalia watched from the foot of the stairs, then turned away in silence.
She had believed he had braved danger for her sake. How shameless she had grown in just a few months. She had nearly made a fool of herself.
Thalia trudged back to her bedroom. Yet the bitter taste, like ashes on her tongue, gradually settled as dusk fell.
She had sworn countless times never to expect anything from him. Being disappointed over something so small was ridiculous.
Even if the gift had been an afterthought, the fact that he had sent her something precious could not be denied.
As a matter of simple courtesy, I should at least offer my thanks.
Otherwise it would only look unnatural. Sulking like a child would mean she had been disappointed, and disappointment would mean she had harbored expectations after all.
At last decided, Thalia tossed the book from her lap and rose from the bed.
When she reached his chambers, the knight on duty quickly announced her arrival, as though hoping to forestall the grand duchess who usually burst in unannounced.
Thalia pulled the door open before any permission was granted.
She limped inside. The brightly lit bedroom filled her vision.
The man who always waited with the lights extinguished. Had he assumed she would not come today?
Frowning, she scanned the room and spotted two shadows stretched across the floor before the hearth.
Thalia whipped her head around and drew a sharp breath. A young woman, half-undressed, sat tending to Barcas’s bare torso.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
The woman rose in flustered haste. “Y-Your Highness the Grand Duchess……”
Recognition struck. This was the healing mage of the grand ducal household—the very woman Thalia had once driven to vomiting blood.
The healer bowed deeply, words tumbling out in explanation. “I was treating His Grace’s wounds.”
Thalia’s eyes narrowed to slits as she glared at the woman, then turned to Barcas.
“Have you forgotten how incompetent this woman is as a healer? Why on earth would you let her—!”
Her voice cut off. Two long, diagonal lacerations ran from his shoulder down across his chest.
The wounds were far worse than she had imagined. Her heart plummeted.
She hurried to his side. “How did this happen? You said it was nothing serious!”
“It looks worse than it is. No bones are broken, and the major muscles and nerves remain largely undamaged.”
Barcas spoke without inflection.
Thalia stared at him in disbelief. The swollen, reddened skin was laced with bulging purple veins; even at a glance the injury looked grave. The pain must have been excruciating.
She could not bring herself to strike him and settled for snapping instead. “If this isn’t serious, then what is? You idiot!”
The healer clapped a hand over her mouth in shock, but Barcas remained perfectly calm. He gave the woman a slight nod.
“You may go.”
“B-but the bandages……”
“I can manage this much myself.”
After a moment’s hesitation the healer bowed and hurried from the room.
Thalia did not spare her a glance. She held out her hand. “Give me the bandages. You can’t wrap them properly with one hand.”
“I’m fine.”
“Fine, my foot. Stop arguing and hand them over.”
Barcas studied her for a long moment, then finally passed her the roll. She snatched it and dragged a chair across the floor to sit opposite him.
Up close the wounds were even more horrific. Ointment glistened over the torn flesh; clear fluid seeped from the edges, and heat radiated from skin far redder than usual.
Thalia bit her lower lip and carefully began winding the cloth around his chest. Years of tending her own bandaged legs made the task surprisingly easy.
“Are you truly all right? What if it leaves a scar later……”
“Once the poison drains, magic can finish the healing. There is no need for concern.”
“Who said I was worried about you? If something happens to you, my own position becomes precarious……”
“I know. You will not become a widow. That is all I meant.”
At his matter-of-fact reply, Thalia’s mouth closed, her expression momentarily speechless.
Barcas leaned back against the chair, gaze distant, then reached out and lightly caught her wrist.
“Why did you come today?”
Her heart dropped as though ambushed.
Did he not welcome her visit?
She glanced at his face. Firelight played across his handsome, expressionless features.
He tilted his head. “You said you would not share my bed for the time being. Has that changed?”
She jerked her hand free on reflex. “It hasn’t changed! Do you really think I’m desperate enough to tumble around with someone in your condition?”
“Then why are you here?”
He leaned closer, his upper body nearly touching hers.
Flustered, Thalia fumbled for the excuse she had prepared. “The gift you sent…… I came to say thank you for receiving it.”
Barcas regarded her in silence for a long while, as though weighing the sincerity of her words.
“Did you like it?”
“Who wouldn’t like a gift like that?”
She lowered her eyes, suddenly unable to meet his gaze.
“Still, don’t go hunting magical beasts again. No matter how pitiful your sister looked, the ruler of the east shouldn’t risk himself so recklessly……”
“Where else would you find a man who goes this far for his younger sister?”
Thalia faltered mid-scold and looked up at him again.
At some point Barcas had begun playing with a strand of her hair, his touch light and idle, like a cat toying with yarn. His fingers brushed the lock gently as he continued in an even tone.
“You used to catch colds even in midsummer, Your Highness. Winters here are harsher than in the central regions. Something like this is necessary if you are to pass the season without incident.”
“……That was when I was a child.”
Thalia swallowed and looked away. “Everyone sends winter gifts. There’s no need to make such a fuss……”
“It is not a fuss at all.”
His pale blue eyes traveled slowly from the crown of her head to the tips of her toes.
Thalia clutched the shawl draped over her shoulders without thinking. He must already know how terribly thin she had become since the accident, yet shame still burned through her.
She changed the subject in a rush. “Anyway, never even consider hunting magical beasts again. Order your men to do it. Do you still imagine yourself some common knight? You are the grand duke now. What are soldiers for?”
“It was more efficient for me to handle it personally. Above all, I could not ask my men to risk their lives for a gift meant for my wife.”
Heat flooded her ears at the casual way he called her his wife.
Hoping the sunset would hide her flush, she snapped, “Then don’t do things you can’t order your soldiers to do either, you fool!”
“……Weren’t you here to offer thanks?”
One eyebrow arched.
Thalia snorted. “I also came to scold you. Your body no longer belongs to you alone. If you act recklessly without my permission, I will not forgive you.”