~CHAPTER 73~
“……Come in.”
Harbirich spoke in a low voice and rose to his feet.
He was already short on sleep from watching over Lincia as she rested, yet these bothersome northerners never failed to disturb him.
He had been glaring at the door, ready to lash out at whoever it was, but when he saw the person who stepped through, all his strength drained away.
“Lincia?”
The woman smiled awkwardly and closed the door behind her.
Harbirich stood up and strode quickly toward her.
“Is something wrong?”
Standing in front of her, Harbirich looked her up and down in haste.
Thankfully, Lincia looked perfectly fine.
Perhaps she remembered his words about dressing warmly, because she had even wrapped herself in fur, looking safer than usual.
If there had been even a trace of tears, both the cause and the guard—most likely Hyu—would already have been thrown out of the fortress by now.
“I’m fine.”
“Then why…”
“I heard you had indigestion. Are you okay? You look pale.”
Oh no.
Her lips parted slightly in worry as Lincia gazed at him with genuine concern.
Her slender fingers brushed against Harbirich’s forehead.
Surprised by her sudden show of care, he blinked.
“It’s because of me, isn’t it? I kept offering you food yesterday… How could you foolishly eat all of it? I feel terrible.”
He looked down at the woman who was fussing over his face.
“You feel terrible?”
Why?
Lincia looked up at the man who blinked slowly, his crimson eyes gleaming like pomegranate seeds.
“Oh no… you really are sick, aren’t you? You’re reacting so slowly.”
“My slow reaction is…”
…not because I’m sick, but because your warmth feels too good.
Harbirich barely managed to hold back the words that nearly slipped from his lips.
“…because I just took a short nap.”
“Did I wake you up?”
“I was supposed to get up anyway. Think of it as helping me before my schedule fell behind.”
In truth, he had planned to scold whoever interrupted him—but once he realized it was Lincia, that thought became meaningless.
Before she could worry more, Harbirich changed the subject.
“Have you seen Hyu?”
“Yes.”
“He didn’t make you uncomfortable, did he?”
When Harbirich assigned Hyu to her, his biggest concern was that she might feel uneasy around him.
There was no shortage of untrustworthy men in the northern fortress, and Hyu, while dependable, shared a rough past with her.
Lincia’s eyes softened as she reached out and hugged him.
“That’s why I came running to you.”
Her playful gesture made Harbirich catch his breath for a moment before he slowly wrapped his arms around her in return.
He gently stroked the back of her head.
“Even if it’s uncomfortable, please endure it for a while.”
“…”
“Until I appoint a new guard, I need Hyu by your side so that I can have peace of mind.”
Once the words left his mouth, they sounded selfish, as if he was making her endure discomfort just for his own sake.
He quickly added,
“I understand.”
Lincia shifted slightly in his arms and looked up at him.
“I won’t complain.”
Meeting his gaze, she smiled softly.
She had the kind of face that seemed incapable of ever hurting anyone, and Harbirich couldn’t help but think to himself,
My life has been nothing but chaos. How did I end up with something this precious?
What if, one morning, I wake up and it’s all gone like a lightning strike?
That familiar unease, the one that always followed any moment of happiness, tightened around his chest.
Startled by the feeling, Harbirich pulled her closer.
“You can complain if you need to.”
My ears will always be open to you.
There was only one thing he truly wanted.
“Just don’t run away.”
Lincia thought he was joking and laughed.
“Where would I go, leaving my husband behind?”
Then, as if realizing her own words, her cheeks flushed red.
Harbirich rolled the word that had just come from her lips around in his mind.
Husband.
For the first time, even the tip of his tongue felt sweet.
After hugging him for a while, Lincia eventually slipped from his arms and began to look around his office.
Harbirich allowed her to wander freely, even near important documents.
If Hyu or any of the aides had seen it, they would have been horrified, but he wasn’t the least bit concerned.
It wasn’t as if Lincia would steal information, and even if she did, he’d probably forgive it as something she needed to do.
As she looked around the room, Lincia turned to where Harbirich stood a few steps away, keeping a respectful distance so she wouldn’t feel uneasy.
“You’re sick. Should I help you a little?”
“I can handle it.”
Having her sort through his work was entirely different from making her create new documents herself.
“And I’m not sick, so you don’t need to worry.”
He said it because she seemed unable to relax, but Lincia only looked at him skeptically.
“So you’re not resting today?”
“By regulation, someone with authority must remain in the office during these hours.”
The moment he said it, Harbirich thought to himself,
Why didn’t I abolish that stupid rule sooner?
If he had, he and Lincia could have been spending some much-needed quiet time together right now.
Ever since he acknowledged his feelings for her, the northern fortress had begun to feel like a burden.
He made no effort to suppress that thought.
After all, this place had always been filled with people who only weighed on his shoulders.
That was when Lincia spoke.
“I want to help you too.”
“You already are helping me enough.”
After all, the only reason he was still here—and not wandering near the cliffs where his father had died—was because of her.
Lincia’s ears turned pink.
“I meant I want to help you with your work.”
“…That’s not possible right now.”
It wasn’t that he disliked the idea of her helping; he simply didn’t want her tiring herself out over paperwork.
Lincia was already fragile from her pregnancy.
Harbirich’s gaze drifted to her stomach.
The gentle curve there was proof of how much weight she had recently lost.
“But after you’ve given birth, if you still want to help, I’ll gladly accept it then.”
He added quickly, as if to explain,
“I just don’t want you overworking yourself right now.”
“All right.”
Though a little disappointed, Lincia accepted it easily.
Harbirich watched her carefully for a moment.
He knew she wanted to do something lately.
But as her husband—she had admitted as much—he couldn’t allow someone so frail to exhaust herself.
After thinking for a moment, he suggested a compromise.
“Then, how about today, you just take a quick look at the kind of work you’ll be doing in the future?”
