Chapter 4 #4
Maxi lay on her stomach and clenched her thighs together.
She ached from the previous night. Any more intimacy would render her immobile—she was sure of it.
Biting her bottom lip, she waited for him to fall asleep again.
When his arms relaxed, she began to cautiously rise from the bed, but he suddenly pressed her back down with his weight.
“R-Riftan…!” Maxi flailed, startled by his weight.
He placed himself behind her and seized her buttocks, spreading her open before thrusting into her. She gripped the sheets and gasped for air, breathing through the brief, sharp soreness.
“It feels like I’m melting.” Riftan’s sleep-laden voice tickled the backs of her ears.
Maxi buried her face in her pillow as Riftan cupped her breasts and slid deep inside her.
“Mmm…”
“O-Oh…” Maxi let out a soft moan as she received him, and his hands released her breasts, roving down to tenderly rub between her legs. The quiet warmth inside her grew into a hungry blaze.
Maxi’s toes spread out as Riftan pushed deeper into her with each thrust. His broad chest pressed into her back, and she felt a bite of pleasure on her neck.
Though she had experienced it several times last night, the feeling of him, swollen and moving inside her, still felt strange. Her whole body convulsed as a lightning-like pleasure unraveled within her.
“It’s only morning, and you’re already making me go crazy,” Riftan said, pressing his lips to her quivering back as he pulled out slowly.
Maxi whimpered at the fleetingly sweet sensation.
“Wait here.” Riftan ran a hand through his tousled hair and yawned loudly before springing out of bed.
Stark naked, he strolled across the room to retrieve his trousers and pulled them back on. His first act in the morning had been to ravage her, but he looked as languid as a cat basking in the sun as he walked to the door. He opened it and stuck his head out.
“Bring us some bathwater and a change of clothes,” he instructed a maidservant waiting outside their door.
With that, he ambled back to the bed, where Maxi still trembled softly in the aftershock of her climax. Gazing down at her with his dark eyes, Riftan perched on the edge of the bed and leaned over to press kisses against her bare shoulders and back. She groaned.
“I-I’m t-tired…” Maxi mumbled, fearing that he might try to enter her again.
Riftan frowned and brushed a hand across her pale buttocks. It came away sticky and wet.
“Are you in pain?” he asked, his voice thick with concern.
“It’s a b-bit s-sore,” she managed to stammer.
Brows still furrowed, Riftan ran a hand through his hair. “I pushed you too far,” he muttered.
Maxi could only blush in response. Moments later, maidservants entered with towels and a bathtub filled with hot water.
After sending them away, Riftan scooped Maxi into his arms and carefully lowered her into the tub.
She sighed as her aching muscles loosened and watched Riftan shed his trousers.
He stepped into the tub, and water spilled over the edges as he sank down behind her.
“You can relax. I won’t do anything more today.”
Sitting with his long legs stretched on either side of her, Riftan massaged her shoulders, then began to wash his face and hair.
Maxi hugged her knees to her chest and looked over her shoulder, watching as he scrubbed soap into his scalp.
After rinsing his hair, Riftan poured fresh water into the tub and proceeded to wash hers.
She was embarrassed to be treated like a child, but she was too tired to object.
“Your hair is so fluffy, like a red cloud,” Riftan said.
Maxi’s eyes went round. She had never imagined that anyone would compare her bright, unruly hair to something as beautiful as clouds in the sky. Her long tresses floated on the surface of the water, looking to her like the tentacles of a jellyfish.
“It’s always g-getting t-tangled up. I-It’s uncomfortable.”
Riftan took a few locks in his hand and twirled them around his fingers. “But your curls are so cute.”
Her eyes widened further. The man had peculiar taste.
“Let your hair down when you’re with me,” Riftan said, still playing with the long tendrils. “I love seeing the way it falls over your shoulders. And I love feeling your curls on my skin.” He hugged her waist from behind and nuzzled at her shoulder.
After soaking in the warm water until their fingers and toes pruned, Riftan sat Maxi down in front of the fireplace and dried her hair with a towel. When he finished, she did the same for him in return.
“Just stay in bed and rest today. It’s raining, so you won’t be able to go out,” Riftan said as he pulled on a snow-white tunic. The neckline was embroidered with gold thread, and it made him look absolutely stunning.
Maxi nodded. She was still wrapped in bedsheets, lacking the courage to dress in front of him. Riftan put on a pair of long boots over his starched trousers and fastened the leather straps.
“A-Are you g-going out?”
Maxi watched him, confused, as he donned his armor and gathered his sword and cloak.
Riftan turned and smiled gently at her. “Do you want me to stay?”
Maxi opened and closed her mouth, unsure of how to answer. He fastened his sword to the belt around his waist, then draped his cloak around his shoulders and continued to speak in a detached tone.
“I’ve been away for a long time, so there is much that requires my attention. I’ll be inspecting the estate all day. Send a guard to me if anything happens.”
“B-But it’s r-raining so heavily.” Maxi looked at the rain pounding against the window.
“I once crossed an entire mountain in a heavy storm,” Riftan said with a shrug. “A stroll around my estate in the rain is nothing.”
With that, he lowered his hood over his head and strode toward the door.
“I’ll be back tonight.”
“T-Take care…”
He glanced over his shoulder at her before leaving, but it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.
—
Maxi climbed down from the bed and stood on trembling legs. She pulled on the undergarments and chemise prepared by the maidservants, but she could not find a dress. After she rang the small bell next to the head of the bed, Ludis entered the room with fresh clothes.
“Would you like your hair braided and pinned up again, my lady?”
“J-Just b-braid it over my sh-shoulder.”
Ludis deftly twisted Maxi’s hair into a braid and fastened it with a ribbon, then helped her into a simple but elegant dress.
After eating a breakfast of warm chicken soup and cornbread, Maxi sat by the window to watch the rain.
In the afternoon, she summoned Rodrigo to continue the tour of the castle.
Each step she took flared aching and sore between her thighs, and her nipples chafed against her clothes.
Still, she did not want to idle around in bed all day.
I only just got to the castle….
Maxi did not want the servants to think she was a slothful mistress, so it was not until she finished visiting the drawing room in the annex that she finally returned to her room.
Before they parted, Rodrigo gave her a ledger of purchases, but she found it difficult to tell which items listed on the yellowing parchment were essential and which ones were not.
The truth was that Maxi had no experience making any sort of purchases. The extent of her knowledge was that gold coins were called soldem and silver coins were liram. But the ledger listed the names of currencies that she had never heard of.
Denar, derham, dant…Maxi began to sweat as she read them all.
All she knew about these currencies was that they came from the Southern Continent, but she did not have the slightest clue how much they were worth in soldem and liram.
As she leafed through the ledger, she noted purchases of weapons, foodstuffs, clothing, oil, candles, and firewood.
Numbers in the column next to each item description seemed to indicate the quantities and total cost.
Maxi tried to estimate the value of each currency based on these figures, straining to remember the arithmetic lessons with her governess. After a long struggle, she gave up and closed the ledger. Discouraged, she flung herself onto the bed.
It crossed her mind that it might be best to ask Rodrigo to help her, but the thought was eclipsed by the echo of her father’s voice: A master must always maintain his dignity in front of his servants. Servants will mock and deceive a foolish, incompetent master!
Maxi winced, recalling the indifferent servants at Croyso Castle.
They had never been openly disrespectful, but she had always sensed condescension in the way they spoke to her.
She could only assume that the servants at Calypse Castle would treat her with the same disdain if they became aware of her lacking abilities.
Th-There’s still time…she thought, attempting to comfort her withering heart.
—
Riftan and his knights returned late in the evening, drenched from the rain, and the servants quickly ushered them into the saunas.
After warming himself in the steam, Riftan ate a hearty meal with a generous amount of wine before withdrawing to their room to polish his sword and armor.
Observing his nimble hands, Maxi asked why the servants were not tasked with the job.
Riftan shrugged. “I’ve been doing this since I was fourteen, and I don’t trust anyone else with the maintenance of my companion here.”
He raised the sword to the light. The blade was entirely different from the ornamental sword that Duke Croyso wore at banquets.
Broad and long, the tip of Riftan’s sword was pointed like a spire, and the handle undecorated.
It was simple and unsophisticated, yet seemed far more impressive than her father’s jewel-studded golden sword. Maxi studied it with wonder.
“It m-must be a fine b-blade.”
“I won this in my first competition,” he said with unmistakable pride. “It’s one of the finest swords in all the Seven Kingdoms.”