Chapter 5 #2
The chill in his armor seeped in through Maxi’s clothes and she shivered against the cold, even as her pulse quickened.
“Don’t make it so hard for me to leave you,” Riftan whispered.
Maxi gazed up at him, suppressing the urge to ask if he would truly miss her. If she was not so afraid of irritating him and shattering this sweet moment, she would have asked him to bring her to the capital. Reining in her emotions, Maxi tried to speak with poise.
“We sh-should hurry t-to lunch. You n-need to e-eat.”
“Yes, let’s go.”
Riftan pulled away from her, and Maxi tried her hardest to repress the desire to cling to him as they made their way to the dining hall.
—
After lunch, the knights left the hall and mounted their horses in the courtyard. Maxi followed them out to send Riftan off, and the servants lined up on the stairs. Riftan sat elegantly atop his black stallion and tugged at its reins, slowly turning it around so he could meet Maxi’s gaze.
“I’ll be back soon.”
“P-Please b-be careful.”
Her murmur was almost unintelligible, but he smiled and leaned dangerously low in his saddle so that he could stroke her face. Though Maxi could feel the servants’ eyes on them, she did not shy away from his touch.
Maxi stood on the tips of her toes and their lips touched lightly before locking together in a deep kiss.
Riftan’s tongue gently explored her mouth and then, as if nothing had happened, he pulled away and sat up straight, leading his horse away from her and to the front of the party.
The knights, who had been watching their commander in disbelief, turned and followed him wordlessly.
Blushing, but unbothered, Maxi watched as they passed through the gates and crossed the moat in single file, then climbed the stairs up to the ramparts to watch until their silhouettes shrank into the distance.
As the long train of men passed below, the sentries on the walls blew their horns. The rich sound of the kopels reverberated through the air, forming a discordant harmony with the clopping of hooves.
Long after the knights and their horses had disappeared over the horizon, Maxi stood unmoving on the walls, gazing at the place where Riftan had passed out of sight.
—
After Riftan’s departure, Maxi fell ill and was confined to her bed for two days.
She hadn’t rested enough during the previous days, and the recent flurry of activity combined with her accumulated fatigue finally caught up to her.
The maidservants attended to her diligently, providing steady doses of herbal soup and damp towels to cool her fever.
When her condition improved three days later, Maxi asked Ludis to draw her a bath, hoping to feel refreshed after washing off the sweat of her illness.
“Shouldn’t we call the cleric, my lady?” asked Ludis.
Maxi shook her head as she shed her gown and stepped into the tub. “I f-feel b-better now.”
Ludis hovered near the tub, her voice filled with concern. “But I don’t know if the herbs the sorcerer gave us are enough. Perhaps we should call a healer instead and—”
“I-I’m really al-all right. It was j-just a f-fever,” Maxi said, forcing a smile to reassure Ludis.
In truth, she had not fully recovered yet, but her fever had broken. A day of light exercise and nourishing food would surely restore her strength.
After her bath, she put on her newly tailored dress and draped a warm shawl over her shoulders before heading out to the garden. A sharply chill wind greeted her, and Maxi hugged her shawl more tightly around her shoulders. The temperature had dropped so quickly in just a few days.
Ludis smiled at her astonishment. “The days turn cold once the autumn rains have passed.”
“It f-feels like it’s already w-winter,” Maxi said, rubbing warmth into her arms.
“Anatol’s winters are mild compared to the winters in other regions,” Ludis said, still smiling at her. “We’re close to the southern sea, so it rarely snows, even in midwinter. When it does, we only get flurries.”
Maxi’s shoulders slumped in disappointment, despite her efforts to hide it.
Her father’s lands were in the warm southeastern regions, so she had never seen a proper snowfall.
Drachium, the royal capital, was said to regularly see enough snowfall to cover the entire continent, and she wondered if it would be snowing there by the time Riftan arrived.
“You shouldn’t linger outside too long, my lady,” Ludis said, interrupting Maxi’s snowy thoughts. “You’ve only just recovered.”
Maxi smiled and nodded. “I j-just want to walk a l-little.”
Ludis seldom spoke unless it was necessary. When she did, it was always out of concern, as if Maxi were her younger sister.
This really is my home now….
As she walked, Maxi took in Calypse Castle with fresh eyes and recalled her solitary life at Croyso Castle. Imagining the new experiences that awaited her here in Anatol, her heart fluttered with hope so that her chest felt too small to contain it. Could she really pave a new life for herself?
The brief hope sputtered out so that her chest just hurt.
Her new surroundings hadn’t transformed her into a different person—she still stuttered, still knew nothing about running an estate.
Riftan would one day realize that she was foolish and useless.
Then, everything would change. He might even come to hate her, just like her father.
The thought of losing Riftan’s affection froze her blood.
“My lady, are you feeling unwell?”
Ludis had noticed her agitation, and her brow creased with concern again. Maxi tried to shake off her doubts.
“I’m f-fine. I’d like t-to have a w-warm cup of t-tea.”
“I’ll prepare it at once, my lady.”
Maxi turned around to begin the walk back and tried to collect herself.
I’ll change. I’ll become a proper lady for this castle. I’ll become someone Riftan can depend on.
—
The next day, Maxi received a visit from the merchant, Aderon.
After a long deliberation, she chose white marble with a jade sheen for the banquet hall floor, and masterfully crafted transparent glass for the castle windows.
Construction was set to begin the next day, and Aderon assured Maxi that the masons from his guild would arrive on time.
Afterward, Maxi headed straight to the library with the receipt from Aderon in hand.
She attempted to record the transaction in her ledger, using Rodrigo’s accounting books as a guide, but she was only able to achieve a clumsy imitation of the steward’s records.
By the time she managed to complete the list of purchased items and their costs, it was dark outside.
The days that followed were hectic as construction began on the castle.
Many repairs were needed, and there was no end to the list of required items. Early each morning, Maxi met with Aderon to discuss the refurbishments and approve the purchase of additional tools, as needed.
After their meeting, they would supervise the workers, observing the progress of each project.
In the afternoons, Maxi met with the landscaper to review the plans for the gardens.
Then, she examined designs for the window frames and railings with the artisans.
But her day did not end there. Each day brought a jumble of new receipts for salaries, materials, and tools, and Maxi worked late into the night, recording them in the ledger.
“My lady, you look exhausted,” Ludis said to her one morning. “You should rest.”
But Maxi shook her head determinedly. “I’m f-fine,” she said, and headed down to examine the latest shipment of goods from the merchant guild.
Aderon and his workers arrived at precisely the appointed hour with a large horse-drawn wagon. The merchant flung back the wagon’s leather canvas, revealing its contents to Maxi.
“These are the marble slabs for the floor, my lady, and the tools needed to lay them.”
“And f-for the w-windows…?”
“The guild branch in Anatol lacks the required quantity of the high-quality glass you’ve requested,” Aderon explained, his face regretful. “It will need to be shipped from the capital or from Livadon. For now, I shall send a message to see if we can purchase the glass in bulk.”
He spoke as if he was granting a favor, and Maxi almost thanked him, but she caught herself.
Quietly frustrated with her servile attitude, she led Aderon to the drawing room, where the merchant launched into a long-winded explanation of construction times and costs before the maid could even serve them tea.
Maxi tried to memorize every detail, but when Aderon began to rattle off the names of foreign currencies, her head spun.
Struggling to keep up with his calculations, Maxi did her best to keep track of the currency rates.
One soldem was worth twenty liram, and twenty liram were equal to two hundred and forty derham, or twelve denar.
This meant that thirty denar were worth…
“Oh, dear,” Aderon said, just as Maxi thought her head would burst. “It seems I got carried away in my excitement. Please forgive me.”
She forced a smile. “I-It’s all right.”
“My poor nerves just won’t calm down. To think that I’m contributing to the refurbishment of the great Lord Calypse’s castle!”
“Th-Thank you for y-your hard w-work.”
Hearing this dismissal, Aderon awkwardly rose from his seat.
As soon as he was gone, Maxi dashed to the library with the parchment listing the latest expenses from the merchant.
Just recording the workers’ wages took her several hours, and she was still hard at work when a rustle interrupted her exhausted sigh.
Maxi whirled toward the sound, and a man emerged from behind a pile of books in the corner.
“R-Ruth?” Maxi stared at him blankly, unsure of what else to say. How long had he been there?
The sorcerer scratched his light gray hair absently and gave her a bleary-eyed look. He appeared to have been napping in the collection of precious books.