Chapter 3 #6
Gauzy curtains hung from the corners of the luxurious cherrywood bed, and Maxi brushed her fingers across the delicate fabric. The bedding, too, was delightfully soft, made of a thick fleece. It seemed the bedroom, at least, had received special attention from the servants.
“Everything here must seem so shabby in your eyes,” said Riftan, watching Maxi uneasily.
When she gave him a puzzled look, he dragged a hand over his face and spat out a curse.
“Damned fools. I clearly told them…”
“N-No. Th-This room is lovely. The c-castle too…And the b-bed is w-wonderful.”
“Don’t bother. I’ve seen Croyso Castle enough times to know better. Compared to your father’s castle, this place is like a barn.”
“N-No! Th-That’s not t-true.”
But Maxi’s denial must have rung hollow, for it failed to wipe away his frown. She cast her gaze down, resenting her foolish tongue.
Riftan shot her an irritated look. “It’s your job to decorate our home. The castle wouldn’t have fallen into such disrepair if you’d only come here sooner. In the lord’s absence, it is the lady’s duty to manage the castle.”
“I…I’m s-sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. What I mean to say is…Why don’t you decorate this place as you like? I’ll give you as much gold as you need. You can buy whatever you want. Expensive ornaments, new carpets…”
Maxi blinked at the unexpected suggestion.
Riftan continued animatedly. “Women love to decorate and pick out furniture, don’t they? I can get you more servants to help.”
His face glowed with expectation, but Maxi broke into a cold sweat.
She had paid little attention to her nursemaid’s lectures about a lady’s duties, doubting she would ever have an opportunity to perform them.
She had never put those lessons into practice, and her confidence in her abilities was as miserable as the courtyard below.
“You don’t want to?” Riftan asked when she did not answer right away.
Maxi hurriedly shook her head. She would do anything to prevent her husband’s generosity from ending.
Days of travel had taught her one thing for certain—Riftan Calypse did not have the slightest clue what kind of treatment she had suffered at Croyso Castle.
As far as he knew, Maxi was a refined noblewoman who had grown up in luxury, the beloved daughter of the powerful Duke Croyso.
And as unpolished as Riftan was, he was still making every effort to treat her accordingly.
Maxi’s mouth went dry, and a faint nausea prickled her throat.
Her father was likely at the root of this misunderstanding.
Ashamed of his eldest daughter’s stutter, Duke Croyso had never presented her to high society.
Instead, he confined her to the castle, playing the part of a doting father committed to protecting his sickly daughter.
The public knew her as the cherished, but frail daughter of Duke Croyso.
Riftan, too, seemed to believe that carefully crafted rumor.
Riftan could see with his own eyes how dull and plain she was.
Maxi could not understand how he saw her as someone worth doting on, but she resolved to draw out the misconception for as long as possible.
If he discovered that she was no refined noblewoman, but a reviled, unwanted pest of a daughter, he would feel deceived.
Riftan had already endured three years of an exhausting campaign because of their unwanted marriage.
How demoralized would he be to then find out that his wife was nothing but a nuisance to her family, and one they were glad to be rid of?
He would have more than enough reason to curb his generosity.
Maxi anxiously clutched her skirt, unable to bear the thought of Riftan despising or pitying her.
She was not sure which would be worse. She wanted him to think of her as a highborn lady who had wanted for nothing.
So, instead of admitting that she had little experience ordering servants around, and knew nothing about managing a castle, she simply dipped her head in a shallow, uneasy nod.
“If…If th-that is your w-wish…”
Riftan’s face lit up. “I’ll tell the steward to get the ledgers ready. Don’t worry about the money. The castle is yours to decorate.” He gently tousled her hair, absently wrapping a few locks around his fingers. “This is your home now.”
Home. The word burrowed into her heart, and Maxi held her breath against the flutter in her chest.
He means nothing by it. I shouldn’t read too much into it.
“I’ll d-do my b-best to m-make this place c-cozy,” Maxi said with feigned confidence.
“Good.” Riftan smiled, satisfied, and planted a kiss on her cheek.
Maxi shied away, suddenly aware that they were now very much alone. Her body smelled acrid from days of traveling without bathing or changing her clothes. She took a step back.
“I would l-like to take a b-bath….”
“Ah. Of course.” Riftan turned to sniff himself. He shot up, a mortified look on his face. “I’ll tell the maids to prepare your bathwater.”
After he left, Maxi rose from the bed and began to shed her dirty clothes in the corner of the room.
Riftan soon returned, four maidservants following close behind, carrying a divider and a wooden bathtub between them.
As they poured hot water into the tub, Riftan took off his armor and set it on a nearby table.
“Leave us now,” he said to the servants. “I’ll summon you if you’re needed. In the meantime, prepare something for us to eat.”
“Yes, my lord. We will leave your clothes here.”
Once the maidservants were gone, Riftan pulled his dirty, sweat-stained tunic over his head and undid the straps of his trousers. Flustered, Maxi turned away from him. Riftan approached her and loosened the laces on the back of her dress.
“R-Riftan…!”
“Let’s bathe together.”
As his warm hand ran down her bare back, she let out a soft gasp. He combed her tangled hair with his hands, sweeping her tresses over her shoulder to expose her vulnerable nape. Maxi trembled as his soft lips brushed against her.
“It’s salty,” he murmured.
“D-Don’t…It’s d-dirty…”
Riftan turned her to face him and pulled her dress down. She closed her eyes, unable to look squarely at his naked body under the light.
“Would it kill you to stop making that face?” he asked, his voice cold. Grabbing her chin, he tilted her face up to him. “I know I don’t have the pretty looks of a nobleman’s son, but am I that horrid to look at?”
“I never said y-you were h-horrid!” Her eyes fluttered open. Was he oblivious to his own beauty? “I’m just n-not used to th-this. I’m…I’m ashamed….”
Riftan stared at her, his intense gaze dark with displeasure. “It’s normal for married couples to bathe together.”
“N-Normal…?”
“At every castle I’ve visited, the lord bathes with his wife,” he commented coolly, tugging at her dress once more.
Maxi wanted to ask how he knew, but she closed her mouth when her dress slipped down and pooled at her feet. She focused her attention on the light from the fireplace, its warm glow softly illuminating the room.
“It’s not strange at all,” Riftan reassured her. “Did you know, in the north, it’s customary for the lady of a castle to wait on visiting nobles and knights as they bathe?” He gently massaged her shoulders.
Maxi’s eyes went round. “W-Will that be e-expected of me t-too?”
“You jest.” A savage grin spread across Riftan’s face. “Any fool who dares to make such a request, I’ll personally bathe in the Stemnu River. I’m the only one you need to tend to. Come.”
As Maxi imagined Riftan tossing another man into the river to the underworld, his brawny arms wrapped around her waist, and they entered the bath.
Water spilled over the rim. Maxi sat against the edge of the tub, hugging her knees.
Riftan, on the other hand, shamelessly relaxed his body in the water and leaned his head against the tub.
“Is the water too hot?”
“It’s…It’s all right.”
Chin-deep in the water, Maxi curled into a ball and tried to avoid touching his long legs. After a moment watching her, Riftan pulled her toward him and placed her on his lap.
“R-Riftan…!”
“Let me wash you.”
He picked up a bar of soap from a small table set near the tub. She tried to free herself, but his grip around her waist was so tight she could not budge. Riftan began to rub the soap over her shoulders and neck.
“I-I can d-do it m-myself!”
“You can wash me afterward,” Riftan said, gently kneading the round swell of her breasts with soap-covered hands.
Maxi hastily lowered her arms to cover herself, but it did nothing to stop him.
When something hard pressed between her buttocks, she clenched her eyes shut.
Riftan’s hands continued to glide through the warm water, exploring her waist and abdomen.
Tenderly, he caressed every curve of her body and massaged the knots out of her muscles before washing her tangled hair.
As he carefully rinsed her hair clean, Maxi began to relax.
“Now wash my hair,” Riftan breathed in her ear when he finished.
Maxi gazed at him blankly, her eyelids heavy. Nevertheless, she soon took the soap in her hands and began to rub it over his scalp. When Riftan lowered his head so she would not strain her arms, his hot breath rolled across her breasts.
Suppressing her embarrassment, Maxi carefully worked her fingers through his soft hair.
Riftan gently licked the droplets of water that pooled in the hollow pit of her collarbone.
It was not unlike bathing a large dog—he could not stay still, and he was intent on licking everything he could reach.
It reminded her of her father’s hounds, when she was little and used to sneak out and play with them in the garden.
The hounds had splashed water all over, too, just like Riftan.
“The foam’s getting into my eyes,” Riftan whined, scooping a handful of water to his face.
His pouting nearly made her laugh. She splashed water onto his hair to rinse it clean of foam.