Side Story 1 (3)

“You can’t eat this. Eat something else.”

“……”

Barca deliberately spoke cautiously, but Iz was still stiff and unable to move. Barca, who was about to let her go because she seemed to have calmed down a bit, saw that Iz was looking at the table. He looked where her gaze landed and he saw a small cut fruit on top. Barca reached out his hand and picked up the plate, then sat on the bed holding Iz.

Recognizing that Barca was not willing to let her go, Iz kept her breath in check. Barca picked up one of the largest grapes and put it to Iz’s mouth.

But Iz rarely opened her mouth. Barca sighed and put strength into Iz’s mouth. Grapes are very hard to find in the desert. Fruits that can be grown in very limited land in times of life. The grapes rolled over Iz’s lips, who stubbornly closed her mouth.

“Please, Iz.”

Barca pleaded with her, swallowing her bitterness, who refused to accept what he had given her.

“You can eat whatever you want. It’s just for you. So please…”

The doctor said that Iz’s mental state was very unstable. Iz knows who she is and where she is. But she couldn’t remember who the people were. Besides, she showed the appearance of regressing into a child even in her behavior. The doctor said it was attributed to extreme psychological insecurity, but he said he couldn’t tell if it was temporary or permanent.

“First of all, we need to try to regain our old memories. Besides Zano, other people should also talk about what happened in the past and stimulate her memories…”

Barca’s face hardened while listening to the doctor. Who else is left as a good memory for Iz other than Zano? To her, the palace was a place of horror filled with only those who tried to kill her, and he was the one who deceived and violated her for the longest time.

‘Even a child wasn’t much help.’

For the first time, he brought the child because he thought it would help regain Iz’s memory. Fortunately, zhe didn’t try to throw the child on fire as she used to. But Iz was very unfamiliar with her child. So even if the maids tried to give her the child, she was scared and only avoided it.

‘Reminds her of good memories.’

There was nothing like that in the palace. Barca realized once again how Iz was feeling here. After he said that to Taz, it took quite a while for Iz to run away. However, Iz never once showed her fear. During that time, Iz was swallowing fear alone.

“No, I don’t want to eat it.”

Iz shook her head and avoided the fruit in her mouth. Still, Barca did not give up and continued to bring other fruits to her mouth.

Did she realize that Barca wouldn’t stop until she ate something? In the end, Iz cautiously bit the grape that Barca had put to her mouth. It was quite ripe, and as soon as she bit it down, sweet and sour juice flowed down her lips.

Enchanted by the freshness and sweetness, Iz, who was licking the juice, shrank when she saw that Barca’s sleeve was wet. In an instant, an unfamiliar memory of her passed through her mind. It had a scene where a woman with the same hair color and eye color as herself was screaming at her, and she herself was in front of her begging for mercy.

‘This person will get angry too.’

So she needs to lie down and beg. As Iz struggled, Barca whispered quietly in a low voice, as if she knew what she was thinking.

“It’s all right, Iz. Don’t be scared. I won’t get angry.”

Iz breathed again after repeatedly whispering. Is it true? Doesn’t this person hit me? But he’s scary every time I see him…

As Iz was agonizing, Barca’s hand picked up another fruit and bit it back in her mouth.

“You can eat as much as you want. Don’t worry about my clothes.” 

“…….”

Iz carefully opened her mouth again at the voice of asking her. She was hungry and the things he gave her were delicious. If it’s okay to eat, and if no one gets angry, she wants to eat more.

Eventually, Iz ate some more fruits he gave her, and then ran away quickly and hid in a corner as soon as he relaxed his arm for a while. Barca didn’t grab Iz again. If he tries to hold on to her more than necessary now, tomorrow may be even harder now.

After that, Barca came every time she ate and fed Iz himself. Iz, who was running away at first, knew there was no way to avoid him and was soon caught. She ate everything she was given after she knew that he would release her after eating a certain amount.

Before she knew it was time for Barca to come, so she sat in a chair first and waited for him, and did not run away even after she finished eating. It was a very slow development compared to his efforts, but Barca decided not to be impatient. If Iz could find her memory again and come back as before, he could wait his whole life.

As Iz was getting used to him, another problem arose.

“The prince suddenly stops drinking sheep’s milk.”

The child’s nanny said to Barca with a stiff face. In Akram, it is a rule to name a child together unless one of the couples dies. Therefore, the prince of Iz and Barca, who is not even named yet, is only called prince by people.

“I’m sure I came to see that he was fine until morning. What do you mean by that?”

As soon as he was born, he was a child who came to the capital with only a little water in his arms. Nevertheless, the child was very healthy until he arrived in the capital. That fact was a great comfort to Barca. If the child was as sick and distressed as Iz, he really wasn’t sure if he could go through all this sane.

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