Chapter 254

“Khan, do you want to try some too?”

Perhaps noticing his gloomy gaze, Talia, who had been munching on a biscuit, held out the half-eaten piece to him.

After hesitating, he carefully bit into it. His teeth must have tickled as they brushed against her fingers, because a giggle escaped her lips.

“It’s good, isn’t it? Want some more?”

She placed the entire bowl of biscuits in front of him.

He pushed the edge of the bowl away with the bridge of his nose. He wanted her to eat at least a little more. But Talia had already moved to stand beside Tiuran, watching with interest as she prepared the vegetables.

He watched the scene with a bitter feeling before eventually eating every last biscuit in the bowl.

Meanwhile, Tiuran finished preparing another dish and served a slice of pie made with various vegetables and rabbit meat onto Talia’s plate. Talia happily ate the simple dish, made with hardly any spices, her cheeks puffing out as she chewed. Tiuran watched her with satisfaction and picked up a knife.

“Shall I cut you another slice?”

“No. If I eat any more, my stomach might burst.”

“Then I’ll bring you some fruit to cleanse your palate. I heard fresh grapes arrived this morning.”

“I said I’m done. What do you think I am, some kind of pig.......”

Talia had been refusing in an annoyed tone when she abruptly fell silent. She stared thoughtfully at Tiuran’s face for a moment, then jerked her chin curtly.

“Fine. Bring me a plate.”

Tiuran immediately went to the head cook and asked for some fruit.

One of the servants working at the other side of the kitchen took two fresh bunches of grapes from a small container and handed them over. Tiuran washed them thoroughly, placed them on Talia’s plate, and spoke politely.

“Here you are, Your Highness.”

Talia immediately plucked off a grape and popped it into her mouth. Even he could smell the sweetness of the ripe flesh. Yet Talia promptly frowned as though she had eaten something inedible.

“It tastes awful.”

She pushed the plate away and added coldly,

“I don’t want any. You eat them.”

Tiuran looked down at the grapes awkwardly, then picked up the plate again.

“They must not be ripe enough yet. I’ll exchange them for something else.”

“Forget it.”

As Tiuran was about to turn away, Talia caught the hem of her robe and pointed irritably at the seat opposite her.

“I told you I’m done eating. Stop bustling around and sit down.”

“I’ll just put these back in storage first.......”

“Don’t make me say it twice.”

Her voice sharpened. Tiuran let out a small sigh as though she had no choice, put the plate down, pulled out a chair, and sat.

Talia pushed the plate toward her and added brusquely,

“You finish the rest.”

“But how could I possibly eat something so precious.......”

“What’s so precious about it? They’re sour anyway, so no one else will eat them.”

The healer looked down at the grapes with a troubled expression.

Green grapes sweet enough to be eaten raw were an extremely rare variety. Tiuran clearly knew that as well, for she could not bring herself to reach for the plate.

Talia’s eyes narrowed sharply.

“Are you disobeying my order?”

“......No. I’ll eat them gratefully.”

“There’s nothing to be grateful for. I’m just making you dispose of the leftovers.”

Talia gave a small snort and turned away as though she had lost interest, stroking his head instead. But he had no difficulty noticing that her face had turned slightly red. As she stole sidelong glances at the healer eating the grapes, the faintest smile passed over her lips.

Suddenly, he wondered.

Had they spent time like this in the past he had returned from as well? If so, how had she felt when she heard that this healer had died?

Feeling the now-familiar pain cut through his chest, he turned his head toward Tiuran.

If he could save that woman’s life, Talia would never have to grieve over her death.

Once again, he vowed that he would change the future no matter what.

* * *

By nightfall, her leg had begun to ache and throb again.

Talia tossed and turned on the bed until she suddenly felt a prickling sensation across her skin and opened her eyes. Since candles had been lit throughout the room beforehand, she was not overcome by that suffocating terror.

But something strange appeared in the flickering light.

Talia drew in a ragged breath.

Thousands of red butterflies covered the entire bed.

When she saw them settling over her exposed leg, Talia let out a strangled scream and scrambled toward the head of the bed. But instead of fleeing, the swarm of butterflies descended on her even more fiercely.

The sickening sensation of countless fine hairs brushing against her skin made cold sweat break out all over her body. Panting harshly, she desperately dragged the blanket toward herself.

Just then, one enormous red butterfly plunged a long needle into the top of her foot.

Talia let out a shrill cry and violently tore the butterfly away.

She was too late.

The poison injected by the butterfly had already begun turning her skin black.

Talia frantically clawed at her flesh. Her only thought was that she had to stop the poison from spreading somehow.

She rubbed at her rapidly corroding skin as though trying to scrape it away, then urgently reached toward the shelf.

Her fingertips touched a small knife used for spreading butter.

She seized it and was about to drive it down into her ankle when something leaped onto her leg.

She hurriedly stopped her hand, but the knife had already stabbed into Khan’s back.

“Khan!”

Talia abruptly came to her senses, threw the knife aside, and scooped Khan into her arms. Fortunately, the wound was not deep, but blood was trickling from the torn skin.

Talia stared at it in horror before suddenly springing out of bed. She was about to rush outside to call for help when she ran straight into Tiuran, who happened to be opening the door.

Without even taking the time to think, she shouted,

“Help! I stabbed Khan!”

The healer’s eyes widened, but she calmly guided Talia back to the edge of the bed.

“Calm down. Let me examine him.”

Talia handed Khan over with trembling hands. Tiuran carefully laid the squirming beast on one side of the bed and closely examined the wound before letting out a long sigh of relief.

“Don’t worry. A wound like this will heal quickly.”

Even after the calm reassurance, Talia could not easily settle down.

She hunched her shoulders and trembled, stumbling over her words in an agitated voice.

“This is already the second time I’ve hurt Khan. I don’t think I should keep him beside me anymore.”

At last, large tears spilled from her eyes.

The young wolf immediately wriggled free of the healer’s hands and burrowed into her arms.

Talia looked at the wolf licking the tears from her face over and over, her eyes filled with guilt.

At that moment, something she had kept tightly bottled up inside finally burst from her lips.

“I’m not normal. When it rains, I hear things that aren’t there, and every night I see horrible hallucinations. Someone like me had no business trying to raise anything in the first place. I can’t even take care of myself, so what was I thinking, taking care of a child.......”

“Your Highness, please don’t say that.”

Tiuran urgently took Talia’s bloodless hand between her own.

“Your Highness has been taking good care of Khan. And Khan follows you more devotedly than anyone else, doesn’t he?”

“Look at me. I can’t even walk properly. Because of me, Khan has to spend most of every day trapped inside this cramped bedroom too. How is that taking good care of him?!”

Talia cried out, her voice broken by sobs. The obsessive thought that she must never show weakness flashed through her mind, but she could no longer control herself.

“All I ever do is hurt the people around me. Someday, I’m going to hurt Khan too. So once he grows big enough to survive on his own, I’m going to send him far away. I’ll make sure he can leave me and live freely.”

“Your Highness, Grand Duchess.”

Talia, who had been sobbing like a child, flinched and raised her head at the gentle address.

Tiuran clasped her hand tightly and continued softly.

“Perhaps Khan was born into this world so that he could meet Your Highness.”