Chapter Twenty-Two #14
The Baltonian soldiers blocking Ulyseon began hurling curses at him. Princess Agnes rubbed her temples and turned her gaze to Maxi as though to seek her help. Up until then, Maxi had been frozen with fear. She suddenly came to her senses and rushed over to Riftan.
“R-Riftan…I am all right. So…please l-let him go now.”
She was so ashamed of her impediment that her voice was barely a whisper. Despite her plea, Riftan refused to budge.
Looking up at his rage-filled face, Maxi cautiously placed her hand on his forearm. Riftan’s whole body was rigid with tension. After a moment, he swore under his breath and released Breston.
Like a beast escaping from a trap, the vice commander scrambled away and swiped at the blood trickling down his lips. His garnet eyes burned with hatred.
He pushed away his fellow Baltonian soldiers rushing to his aid and snarled, “Do not dare to think you’ll get away with this, Calypse! This calls for a duel! I won’t let you weasel your way out of this!”
Riftan smirked. “If you wish to annihilate yourself, I will gladly accept your challenge.”
Princess Agnes leaped between them. “Duels are strictly prohibited!”
The vice commander glowered at her, his eyes ablaze. “You’ve seen what he’s done to me! No one can deny me this duel!”
“You crossed the line first! And Sir Riftan retaliated.” Princess Agnes glared at them both. “That makes it even, so this matter is over!”
“It is not!” Breston’s eyes were as wild as a rabid dog’s. “Unless I also shove a dagger down his filthy throat, it never will be!”
Riftan sneered at the man. “You call for something impossible with your petty skills.”
“Both of you, that’s enough!”
Losing her patience, the princess ignited sparks of fire all around them. The two men were forced to back away from each other to evade the flames.
Standing her ground between the two men like a judge, Agnes cried out, “We are at war! I will not tolerate internal strife just because of your foolish pride!”
Despite her thundering rebuke, the two men continued to glare at each other. Surprisingly, it was the Baltonian vice commander who broke the suffocating tension by looking away first.
Breston spat bloodied saliva onto the ground, spun on his heels, and stomped away through the cluster of tents. The Baltonian soldiers, who had been watching with their swords drawn, followed after him without another word.
Only when it felt as though the crisis had passed did Maxi exhale the breath she was holding. The strength in her legs abruptly drained away, and she sank to the ground.
Riftan promptly hoisted her up, cradling her in his arms like a child. Embarrassed, Maxi glanced around at the people surrounding them. The commotion had attracted the camp’s knights, mercenaries, and soldiers alike.
“P-Please, put me down,” she squeaked. “I can…walk o-on my own.”
“Be still,” he said tersely.
With that, he strode through the crowd.
Ulyseon trailed after them. “Please forgive me for failing to protect her ladyship, Sir Riftan.”
Riftan simply quickened his pace, not even sparing the squire a glance. Ulyseon’s shoulders sagged like a puppy that had been kicked by its master.
Maxi looked at Riftan reprovingly. “Y-You mustn’t blame Ulyseon. Those men…came out of nowhere….”
“Don’t—” Riftan’s throat bobbed as though he were swallowing a large lump. “Don’t say anything right now.”
Sensing the tense fury radiating from him, Maxi pressed her lips into a tight line. The spectators parted to make way for them as if they, too, perceived his murderous aura.
Riftan took Maxi straight back to his tent. She had to blink several times for her eyes to adjust to the sudden darkness. After placing her on the cot, Riftan lit the lamp with a flint.
Maxi gulped as she gazed at the outline of his clenched jaw illuminated in the lamplight.
To her horror, her eyes burned with tears once her racing heart began to calm down.
She wished he would yell and become angry like he usually did.
Seeing him so still, immersed in his thoughts, twisted her stomach in knots.
A stammering fool. She wondered if Riftan was brooding over those words.
Maxi bit her lip. It was a rebuke she had heard countless times from her father. It would be laughable for her to feel upset as if it were something new. But even so, the fact that her flaw had been used to mock her husband shattered her heart into pieces.
Unable to bear the silence any longer, Maxi ventured to say, “I-I’m sorry. You were sh-shamed because of me….”
His head swiveled to her, a look of incredulity flashing across his features. He strode over and knelt before her on one knee.
“Why are you apologizing?” he said gruffly. “That scum only said those things to provoke me. If it weren’t for me, you would not have had to suffer such humiliation from a low-life son of a bitch like him….”
Riftan gripped her wrist. It was still throbbing from earlier, and Maxi flinched at his touch. His shoulders stiffened. He rolled up her sleeve, taking in a sharp breath when her wrist was revealed. The dark purple bruise was clearly visible even in the dim light.
“I swear I will kill that man.” His voice came out in the low growl of an enraged beast. “I am going to formally challenge him to a duel the moment this war is over. I’ll show him the fate of anyone who dares to harm you.”
Maxi’s skin prickled at the sight of Riftan’s fiery gaze. He did not seem to care about the insults that had been aimed at him at all. Her humiliation was the sole reason for his rage, and for once, he seemed at a loss for what to do.
She felt an odd mixture of happiness and sadness at his reaction.
If he had divorced her and married Princess Agnes as everyone had expected, he would not have had to suffer such public ridicule.
The princess would have been like a sparkling gemstone he could take pride in.
Such thoughts sprang up like poisonous mushrooms and refused to leave her head.
Agonized, Maxi squeezed her eyes shut. She would rather die than hear someone mock Riftan again for having a stuttering wife.
He bolted to his feet. “We should treat this at once. I’ll call Ruth for you.” He apparently thought that her pained expression was because of her wrist.
Maxi hastily stopped him. “Th-That won’t be necessary. Applying a salve…should be sufficient.”
Riftan scowled. “Not only did you follow me to such a wretched place, but you are looking after thousands of injured men. You should tend to your own injuries with the same care!”
“I-It really isn’t that serious,” Maxi protested feebly. “I’ll have it treated p-properly later, I promise. R-Right now…I just want you to stay with me.”
Anxiousness filled his eyes. He reluctantly sank back down in front of her. Seeing him agitated like a creature caught in a snare, Maxi dolefully lowered her gaze.
“Do…Do you not want to st-stay with me anymore? Do you h-hate me now…for f-following you here against your wishes?”
“Stop talking nonsense!” he shouted, sounding incredulous. “Do you think it’s possible for me to hate you? I simply hate the fact that you’re here in such a godforsaken place! Seeing you labor away like this—”
Riftan abruptly stopped his outburst. He clenched his jaw as his gaze slowly swept over her disheveled hair, sunburned face, simple woolen dress, and blistered hands. It was as if the mere sight of her caused him pain.
“I want to drape you in silks,” he professed in a choked voice, “and have you in dresses made only of satin, fur, the most expensive fabrics…. I want to adorn each of your fingers with colorful gems, your head with a golden tiara, and your neck with the most exquisite pearls. I want you to live in a magnificent castle with servants tending to your every need. That’s the reason I’ve been… ”
His voice cracked and trailed off.
Maxi fervently clasped his hands. “I…I do not need such things. Truly…you don’t have to do so much for me. Being able to stay with you like this…i-is enough.”
Their eyes locked for a moment before he pulled her into a suffocating embrace. His lips crushed against hers as though he wanted to suck all the breath from her lungs. Though the sudden movement startled her, it was not long before Maxi wound her arms tightly around his neck and responded in kind.
The sadness and anxiety inside her melted away like snow in the heat of her desire. This blissful sensation of being nestled against his broad chest was what she had been longing for.
Maxi gazed up at him with shining eyes. She reached out and brushed her fingertips over the sharp lines of his tense jaw.
His thick black hair glistened like satin in the lamplight, and every glowing detail of his chiseled face captivated her.
Maxi did not want to be parted from him for a single moment.
She coiled her arms around his broad neck and moaned, drawing him toward her.
Like a summer rain, he peppered wet kisses onto her eyelids, cheeks, temples, and the sensitive spots on her neck. His big hands hungrily ran up and down her breasts, hips, and thighs, sending sparks dancing across her skin.
Riftan abruptly raised his head. “Your arm…”
When she realized that he was trying to tear himself away, Maxi pulled him to her again. “I-It’s all right. It…doesn’t hurt.”
Desire burned in his eyes as he roughly pushed up her skirt. When his fingers found her most private part, Maxi thrashed as she drowned in pleasure. Each stroke ignited a blazing surge of fire in the pit of her stomach. Her legs wrapped around him almost of their own accord.
“Raise your hips,” Riftan mumbled, his voice hoarse.
She did as she was told. In one swift motion, he pulled the material bunched around her waist over her head.
He threw off his own clothes and lowered himself onto her.
All Maxi could feel now was the slightly rough texture of the tapestry beneath them and the sturdy sleekness of his muscles enveloping her.