The Forgotten Field Novel - Chapter 104
Chapter 104
There was no time to react.
A viscous liquid like honey seeped into her mouth through the crack that had opened in surprise.
Talia expected a bitter and strong taste that would shake her stomach, but she opened her eyes in astonishment upon perceiving an unexpected sweetness.
The liquid, imbued with a floral fragrance, enveloped her tongue with softness.
When she swallowed what had accumulated in her mouth, the flesh that pressed the tip of her tongue slowly withdrew.
—I heard you also skipped dinner.
The slight tone of reproach caused a tingling in her swollen lips.
Talia contemplated the face so close to hers with a bewildered expression.
Since he began asking her to kiss him under the pretext of taking medicine, they repeated that encounter of lips almost every night, but this was the first time he took the initiative to kiss her.
Or, to be precise, it was the second time.
Her face flushed upon remembering that first and turbulent night between them.
Varkas looked at her intently in silence and then passed his rough thumb across the corner of her mouth.
—Do you want more?
His whispering voice caused a slight spasm in her heart.
Talia pulled away from him abruptly, as if she had been burned by fire.
—W-what did you feed me?
Varkas pointed with his gaze toward the shelf next to the bed, where a small silver pitcher and a bowl filled with various fruits rested.
—A drink made from fermented goat’s milk. The inhabitants of the east usually take it as a breakfast substitute.
That simple answer left her confused mind even more bewildered.
However, he looked imperturbable, as if feeding her mouth-to-mouth were the most natural thing in the world.
And perhaps it was so for him.
In the same way he had forced her to take the medicine when she refused, perhaps he was just making sure she did not go without eating.
Yes, it was definitely that.
He was a deeply broken man.
Just as he had adapted to Ayla’s demands, now he was adapting to hers.
Talia forced herself to calm down and composed a deliberately cold expression:
—Who said I wanted you to feed me?
His stern eyes narrowed in response to her sharp tone.
Despite this, he did not seem bothered.
While rubbing his chin with a reflective air, Varkas placed a tray in front of her.
—Then, take it yourself.
Then he stood up and headed toward the window.
Talia watched him as he filled a container with water to wash his face and neck, and then lowered her gaze toward the tray.
She felt a sudden urge to bite her tongue.
If she had rejected the food, he would have fed her with his own hands.
Plunged into that humiliating thought, she took a piece of bread.
It was warm, as if it had just come out of the oven.
She broke it into small pieces and brought them to her mouth slowly, while Varkas returned to the bed after changing his clothes.
—Don’t you like the food?
Varkas frowned upon seeing the pieces of bread that Talia had crumbled and asked her.
Talia hesitated for a moment and then shook her head:
—It is acceptable.
—Then, eat properly. Stop acting as if you hold a grudge against food.
Talia arched her eyebrows at that tone that resembled scolding a whimsical child.
She was on the verge of shouting at him: “And who knows what this contains?!”, but when her eyes met his inquisitive gaze, the biting words retreated down her throat.
There was a possibility that he himself had brought that food for her.
She did not want to ruin his mood with absurd comments.
Finally, Talia took a small piece of bread fried in oil.
She closed her eyes tightly and took a big bite, savoring a hot meat mixed with spices.
Suddenly, an intense nausea invaded her.
The problem was not the greasy meat itself.
But rather that the idea of consuming food of unknown origin caused her a deep aversion.
What kind of meat was it? It wouldn’t be lizard, bat, or frog, right?
Upon crushing the meat with her teeth, she felt a crunchy texture.
Perhaps they were dried fruits. Or perhaps insects. It seemed that the minced meat contained various ingredients fried in oil.
Her stomach contracted with pain at the fear that the food had something impure.
Talia chewed the food mechanically, as if chewing mud, and unable to bear the disgust any longer, she swallowed everything she had in her mouth in a single gulp.
Varkas noticed it, so he quickly filled a glass with water and offered it to her:
—Drink.
Talia took the glass in a hurry.
Taking a sip of the ice-cold water, the food that obstructed her throat descended through her esophagus.
She felt as if she had swallowed a stone.
She shuddered at the annoying sensation of that foreign body, and at that moment she heard a voice accompanied by a sigh above her head:
—Your bad eating habits never change.
Talia raised her eyes toward him in surprise.
She did not expect him to care about what she ate, which caused her some confusion.
—It’s just that… I don’t have an appetite today.
Varkas sketched a slight smile at her excuse.
He knew perfectly well that she ate even less than the priests who practiced asceticism.
Varkas sighed once more and offered her another glass of the goat’s milk drink.
—It is better that you gradually increase the variety of foods you can tolerate. You cannot live on honey and fruits forever, right?
Talia looked at him in astonishment while he gave her those unusual pieces of advice, and then took the glass with some timidity.
She swallowed the liquid that filled the glass with difficulty, and Varkas set the tray aside.
—I will call the maid, get ready to leave.
While Varkas went out, Talia received help from the nanny to wash quickly and dress in clean and new clothes.
There was no need to call the healer, since she had changed her bandages the night before.
Talia placed a coat adorned with fur over her shoulders and, refusing the nanny’s help, went out on her own.
The weather was splendid and sunny.
Talia contemplated the clear and cloudless sky, and then lowered her gaze to observe the peaceful scene of the village.
She saw horses without saddles grazing in the vast plain. The knights who had completed the mission to exterminate the thieves gathered in an open plaza to eat.
Talia was about to pass by in the direction of the carriage, but stopped dead in her tracks.
She spotted a long pike driven far away, which entered directly into her field of vision.
She raised her head without thinking and froze upon seeing a huge head hanging at the top.
Her stomach, already weakened since morning, contracted with pain upon contemplating that grayish face that seemed to have been emptied of all its blood.
Talia covered her mouth with her sleeve.
The food she had forced herself to ingest threatened to return.
Despite this, she could not take her eyes off that face deformed by terror.
Public executions were carried out regularly in the capital, but this was the first time she saw a decapitated corpse.
A strange curiosity invaded her, so she fixed her gaze on the cloudy pupils of those eyes. Perhaps she could glimpse hell through them.
According to the teachings, impure beings fell into the pit of fire.
And being an impure being, she would most likely go to hell.
If it were possible, she wished to know beforehand the world she would go to after death.
While she remained plunged in those thoughts, a robust arm blocked her vision.
Talia turned quickly.
Varkas was looking at her with an indescribable expression.
He was not alone.
It seemed that everyone present was watching her with uneasy gazes, as if they had been horrified to see her contemplate the decapitated head with such fascination.
Comments for chapter "Chapter 104"
MANGA DISCUSSION
Madara Info
Madara stands as a beacon for those desiring to craft a captivating online comic and manga reading platform on WordPress
For custom work request, please send email to wpstylish(at)gmail(dot)com
English