Chapter 2 #2
Soon, Riftan returned. When his eyes landed on the top of Maxi’s head, peeking out from under the blanket like a turtle’s from its shell, he frowned.
“There’s no use hiding now. I already saw everything when I was cleaning you up.”
“C-C-Cleaning me up?”
Riftan twisted his lips cynically in response to Maxi’s question. “As I’ve told you many times, you are my wife. We’ve already lain together, albeit three years ago. What’s there to be ashamed about?”
An intense flush washed over Maxi’s body, turning her beet red from head to toe. Clearly irritated by her distress, Riftan’s face darkened.
“All I did was change your clothes, but you’re acting as if I violated you! You shouldn’t have fainted if you didn’t want me to touch you!”
Maxi flinched as he began a tirade about fragile noblewomen who faint at the drop of a hat. Her eyes glistened with tears as she whispered a quiet apology.
“I’m s-sorry.”
Riftan clenched his mouth shut and left the room and Maxi lowered her head in shame. It had been less than a day since Riftan’s return, yet she had already angered him countless times. Was it really wise for her to follow him to his estate?
She bit her lip, her heart heavy with anxiety. He thought of her as his wife now, but he could change his mind at any moment—it was only a matter of time. Even now, it was clear that he disliked her, and he was bound to treat her with cruelty once he realized how useless she was.
As a distinguished knight whose name was known throughout the continent, Riftan would find himself invited to countless festivities and banquets.
Maxi knew better than anyone that she was not a wife he could proudly bring along.
She was not worth showing off. And before long, Riftan would realize that, too, and start abusing her.
Would she be better off returning to Croyso Castle sooner rather than later?
If she begged, would her father show her mercy?
Maxi pictured Riftan standing with a sword in his hand. It had taken him only a single swing to halve a monster three times his size. A whipping at his hands would cause her unthinkable harm.
But so far, he hasn’t struck me even once.
She creased her brows at this sudden realization.
He hadn’t raised a hand against her, even when he was consumed by anger.
Perhaps he was not as vicious as her father.
But before this hope could bud and bloom, she crushed and flattened it.
They had only just reunited, and there was no telling how their relationship would unfold.
She was still deep in thought when the door rattled open. Riftan walked into the room, a tray of steaming soup and bread in his hands.
“Vegetable soup and barley bread.” He set the tray on the bedside shelf. “Eat some before you sleep. We leave at sunrise.”
Maxi blinked, confused by what she was seeing. Riftan had stormed out just moments ago, yet here he was, bringing her food as if nothing had happened. He was truly unpredictable.
He placed a wooden spoon and the bowl of soup in her hands. “What are you waiting for? Eat while it’s still warm.”
“Th-Thank you…”
She stirred the soup and scooped up a spoonful, blowing on it before bringing it to her lips. It was hot, but not hot enough to scald her tongue. And though she had no appetite, a few mouthfuls of the savory soup did help to settle her stomach.
She stole a furtive look at Riftan while she returned to stirring the contents of the bowl. He had dragged a chair next to the bed and was polishing his sword. Without his armor, and with his long legs resting languidly, he looked two or three years younger than he really was.
“Why aren’t you eating?”
Did he have eyes in the back of his head?! Maxi blushed, embarrassed that he had caught her staring.
“I just…I just w-wanted to ask…” Her stirring became listless, and he turned to look at her as she continued. “I…I have n-nothing to ch-change into…”
“It’s late, so I’ll buy you new clothes tomorrow.”
“W-What about m-my old c-clothes…”
“I asked the maidservants at this inn to wash them.”
Riftan studied his reflection in the blade of his sword. Maxi hesitated for a long time before opening her mouth again.
“M-May I at least h-have my un-undergarments b-back…?”
To Maxi’s surprise, a deep blush spread across Riftan’s cheeks. He kneaded his face, roughly, before he reassumed his nonchalance.
“They were torn. I had to throw them away.”
“P-Pardon…?”
“They ripped when I was taking them off, so I threw them away.”
Maxi flinched at his brusque tone, but she continued to press him.
“W-Why would you t-take my un-undergarments off…?”
The question seemed to catch him off guard. He began to mumble a reply, his eyes avoiding hers. Suddenly, he glared at Maxi, and she clutched the blanket like a shield.
“I had no choice! You couldn’t breathe, and your face was turning blue. Those dreadful undergarments of yours were just about strangling you, so I tried to loosen the straps! All I did was pull at the…at the knot. How the hell was I supposed to know that the skirt was sewn onto the bodice?!”
Maxi’s cheeks burned, and her scalp felt as though it might soon give off steam. Knowing that he had seen her undergarments, she wanted to sink down into the ground. Her nursemaid had forced her into those undergarments, convinced that they would help her win her husband’s affection.
She had put on the dreadful things at her nursemaid’s stubborn insistence, but she never imagined that Riftan would see them. She buried her face in her hands, resisting the impulse to throw herself out the window.
Riftan sighed. “Don’t make that face. I’ll get you new undergarments tomorrow. Would you like to borrow mine for now?”
She shook her head. “N-No! Th-There’s n-no need…”
Maxi did not have the faintest desire to wear undergarments that belonged to someone else, let alone ones that belonged to him.
But at the same time, she felt uneasy wearing nothing but a loose tunic.
She returned to fiddling with her spoon, and she tried to read his face.
This only made him stare back at her, his brow creased with frustration.
“Are you going to stir your soup all night? Eat up. You haven’t even touched the bread.”
She shoveled a few spoonfuls of the soup into her mouth. She usually ate like a bird, though, and there was still a mild discomfort in her belly. Unsure that she could stomach the coarse bread, she took only a few more sips of the soup before lowering her bowl.
“You didn’t even finish half of it.”
“I…I have no a-appetite…”
“Don’t be picky. You won’t get anything extravagant until we reach my estate. Eat, even if the taste doesn’t agree with you. How else will you endure the journey?”
He scolded her as if she were an ill-mannered child, and she blushed.
“Do you plan to trouble us all by starving yourself, and fainting throughout the entire journey?”
“I-I’ll eat…” Maxi forced down a few more spoonfuls, but she had to stop when her stomach churned in protest.
Riftan frowned when she set down the spoon, but he did not insist further. He took the tray from her with a sigh. “Satisfying the noble lady’s palate…I can already tell it’s going to be a pain.”
He turned away, clucking his tongue, and Maxi hunched her shoulders in an attempt to make herself smaller. His mood changed like the wind. He had kindly brought her supper, only to burst into sour agitation again. She could not adapt fast enough.
Am I that much of a nuisance to him? He must secretly regret bringing me along. Why did he make me come with him…?
Maxi had been treading cautiously, but she could no longer suppress her curiosity. “W-Why are you t-taking me w-with you?”
“What?” Riftan stopped in his tracks. He had been walking toward the door with the tray in his hands, but he now turned to examine her. “What do you mean?”
“I kn-know you d-didn’t marry me b-because you wanted t-to…so I d-don’t know why you’re t-taking me w-with you…”
His face hardened. She held her breath, unsure if it had been her stutter or the question that displeased him. She continued, her words stumbling over her trepidation.
“W-We’re…W-What I mean to s-say is…We d-don’t kn-know each other w-well enough to be…to be m-man and w-wife…A m-man like you d-doesn’t have to t-take me…You c-could have any w-woman…”
“Shut your mouth!” Riftan stomped back to her bed and slammed the tray down, his eyes smoldering with anger.
“If you don’t want to come with me, just say so!”
“N-No, th-that’s not w-what I—!”
“Don’t try to fool me! My castle may not be as large as Croyso Castle, but it’s more than enough to house a small woman like you! I have gold if gold is what you want! You’ll continue to live in luxury, damn it, so enough of your nonsense!”
She shrank back like a frightened tortoise. Why did he think luxury was her greatest concern? She tried to rebut him, gesturing frantically with her hands.
“Th-That’s n-not…That’s not what I’m w-worried about! I was j-just w-wondering why you’re t-taking me…”
“You’re my wife! Our marriage is recognized by the church! Do I need any other reason to take you home? You’re the one who remained in your father’s castle even after our wedding!”
“If you w-want a d-d-divorce…”
“What?”
He grabbed her shoulders. Maxi’s body went numb, her strength evaporating in the wake of his rage-filled voice. She was like a mouse before a hissing serpent. Perhaps he really would strike her this time. She clenched her eyes shut in terror, bracing herself for a blow that never came.
Maxi cracked her eyes open, and a pair of black eyes stared back, gleaming with cold wrath. The hands on her shoulders trembled, as if they could barely contain their anger.
“Divorce? Are you saying you want a divorce?”
“N-No…Th-That’s not what I…”
“What is it, then? Is there another man?”
Unable to make sense of Riftan’s words, Maxi could do nothing but bear the blaze in his eyes. He closed in on her, spitting his words through clenched teeth.