I Became a Barbarian's Bride - Chapter 41
Nisha slowly exhaled.
It would take a bit of time for the warmth to return to her cold breath.
Ironically, the ‘life force’ that breathed life into others and gave new life originated from her own death.
At least three hours.
At most, she could recharge her life force for up to 24 hours.
Her breath would return at midnight, so the time her breath stopped was the time she could recharge her life force.
She had never recharged for the full 24 hours. The most she had done was 12 hours.
What was certain was that the longer her breath stopped, the stronger her life force became, and the more things it could heal.
When she first heard the whole truth from the new empress and drank poison to die, she regretted it, thinking it might have been too early to give up on life.
And when she opened her eyes again, she despaired at not being able to obtain death as she wished.
‘Addiction…?’
Sometimes, even when she wasn’t low on life force, she would think of death as if driven by some impulse.
Usually, even if her breath stopped for just six hours, most things could be healed.
Once, when her breath had stopped for twelve hours, she had saved someone who was on the verge of death from a severe injury.
The stablehand, Mesh, had been revived that way. He seemed unaware of who had treated him since he had been unconscious.
Nisha had never told them about her ability, except for that one time she mentioned it to Mary.
“…Ah.”
As her breath returned and blood circulated to her fingertips, her stiff body began to loosen, allowing her to slowly sit up.
The reason she recharged her life force wasn’t particularly significant.
It was always good to have her ability ready, and the charge she had previously accumulated had been used to alleviate Kagan’s phantom pain throughout the journey.
‘And he asked me to help his mother as well.’
Kagan was probably showing her a way to gain allies.
It indicated that he wasn’t as inhumane as he first seemed.
What his exact thoughts were, she couldn’t tell.
Initially, he had threatened to kill others if she tried to escape, but after spending a night together, he had suddenly become exceedingly gentle, as if the threat had never been made.
‘Did he find my body… appealing?’
As her stiff body gradually returned to normal, Nisha blankly stared out the window, lost in thought.
‘I don’t remember much…’
What came to mind was the image of his broad chest heaving as he breathed, expanding and contracting with each breath, and the way her mind had gone completely blank each time his chest moved away and then came back.
And then, darkness.
She didn’t remember much after that.
‘…Can I really say that’s a good thing?’
No matter how she thought about it, there weren’t many elements that seemed ‘good’.
‘Was it that we were compatible…’
The thoughts that surfaced were all embarrassing, so Nisha shook her head and sighed. She figured there must be some other reason.
And Nisha didn’t want to dwell on it too much.
After all, her life was one where she had to go with the flow, and thinking meant having to question things, which was extremely tiring.
Her concerns were simply to ensure her own safety and to find places for the few people she considered family.
In reality, nothing would change if Xieman treated her like a plaything.
Therefore, she had to somehow prove her usefulness by utilizing her abilities.
Pretend she didn’t hear or see things. Pretend she didn’t notice even if she did.
It was a familiar act to fit herself into someone’s preferences, so it wasn’t anything new.
Once she regained some warmth, Nisha went to the bathroom alone before anyone could come in.
She soaked her body in the hot water that poured out and took the cough medicine she had kept.
Today, she had a favor to ask her husband, Kagan.
To do that, she figured it was best to start by giving him what he wanted.
With that thought in mind, she donned a luxurious dress that she had never worn before, given as a wedding gift from the Roshan royal family.
She then pulled the cord dangling near the nightstand and stood aside, waiting for the door to open.
Since she couldn’t lace up this type of formal corset by herself, unlike the light, everyday dresses or casual wear she usually wore, she needed help.
