Chapter 6 #3
“This is a letter from Sir Riftan. He plans to leave the capital as soon as the victory celebration is over. The journey will take a fortnight at most, but at their pace, I expect his arrival in ten days’ time.”
Maxi’s embarrassment melted away at the unexpected news. Beaming, she took the slip of paper from him to read it herself, noting Riftan’s date of departure and planned travel route.
Ruth shook his head and sighed. “He really doesn’t want to stay a second longer than necessary.”
“I-Is that a p-problem?”
“It wouldn’t hurt to let King Reuben save face by staying at court a little longer.”
Ulyseon quickly came to his idol’s defense. “With werewolves roaming the borders of Anatol, I’m sure Sir Riftan is only concerned about our security. I can only imagine how worried he must be.”
Wishing to avoid this uncomfortable change in topic, Maxi brought the conversation to an end. “Th-Thank you f-for t-telling me, Ruth. I really m-must be going now.”
“Of course, my lady. I am very well aware of how busy you are.” Ruth’s acerbic comment echoed behind her as she scurried off.
The lightness of her feet surprised her. Despite being almost humiliated moments ago, she was in relatively high spirits. She resisted the urge to hum a tune, conscious of the young squires following behind her.
—
After completing her inspection of the castle, Maxi returned to her room to organize her list of requisitions.
As soon as she awoke the next morning, she rushed to the library to ask Ruth to check her work for errors, only to find the sorcerer fast asleep on the threadbare carpet with books piled atop his body in place of a blanket.
He scowled when she woke him but ultimately relented and scanned the list without a word of complaint, using an ink-dipped quill to cross out a few items and adjust certain quantities.
“The steward has more than enough fuel for lanterns stocked, candles as well. We also have plenty of spare tableware in storage. And pray tell, my lady, who will be using all of this soap and scented oil?”
“The kn-knights seemed t-to enjoy baths and s-saunas…”
“Ha! Do you honestly expect those men to use such things? They’ll scowl if you so much as hold anything with a vaguely floral scent under their noses.
Only order enough for yourself.” He promptly crossed out the unnecessary items with a flourish, as if he was doing her a great favor, and continued to scan the list. “The rest seems fine.”
“Then sh-should I p-put in the o-order?”
“Let me add a few items first.”
Maxi’s eyes widened at his request. It was the first time Ruth had suggested spending more money.
Curious, she peered down at the words he was scratching onto the parchment.
It appeared to be a long series of names.
Seeing him add people to her list of purchases made her assume the worst, and she gaped at him.
He was not asking her to buy slaves, was he?
“W-What are those?!”
“Names of scholars. I’d like you to order anything and everything the merchants can find that was written by them.”
Maxi stared at him blankly for a few seconds. “Y-You’re asking me t-to buy p-personal items using the c-castle treasury? E-Expensive and e-extravagant items at that!”
“My lady, knowledge is valuable beyond all measure.” Ruth’s demeanor transformed into solemnity. “I assure you, these books are not for my personal benefit. They’re for the library. Anyone would be free to come and read them.”
Her jaw dropped at his brazenness. Ruth detested seeing others in the library. He made no attempt to hide his displeasure when even she, the lady of the castle, entered. In fact, he had practically claimed the library as his territory in addition to his tower.
“I’ve n-never seen a-anyone but yourself using the l-library.”
“I’m sure more people will use it in the future.” He gave a pragmatic shrug.
Maxi regarded him doubtfully. The majority of the castle’s inhabitants were knights who spent their days training outside, only returning to eat or sleep.
For all his uncompromising interference with her purchases, Ruth seemed to have no qualms when it came to buying the things that he wanted.
Narrowing her eyes, Maxi snatched the quill from his hand and crossed out his additions.
Startled—and rather indignant—Ruth snatched the parchment back. “I am the resident sorcerer of this castle! Cultivating my talents is for the good of Anatol!”
“I-I knew it! Y-You’re ordering these books f-for yourself! A-And…And these books aren’t e-even about magic!”
“Oh, really? And how would you know that, my lady?”
“I s-spent twenty-two years in a l-library! E-Even I know th-the names of philosophers l-like Gerald or K-Kazaham!”
The arrogance within his blue-gray eyes wavered, a clear sign that she was right. The books had nothing to do with magic in the slightest.
She smiled triumphantly. “G-Give me that list. Y-You told me yourself th-that we need to fund road c-construction next year! We c-can’t afford all these b-books!”
“My lady!” Ruth cried, a hint of desperation seeping into his voice. “Aren’t you worried that your future child will grow up to be nothing but a sword-swinging fool?”
It was Maxi’s turn to be shaken. Her face burned as though someone had poured scalding water over her. She could almost feel steam rising from her head.
“Ch-Ch-Child? W-What on earth are you t-talking about?”
“Your child? The next natural undertaking between a man and his wife? And unless Sir Riftan leaves for yet another campaign, I suspect it’ll be a year or two at most before we hear the first cries of an infant in this castle.”
“I-Infant…?” The rising heat was pricking at her eyes now. Bringing her hands up, she tried to cool her burning cheeks with her palms, heart racing at the thought of holding a baby in her arms. As she fidgeted, flustered, Ruth grabbed her hands.
“Surely you want your child to grow to be well learned? Sensible? Clever?”
“B-B-But the ch-child hasn’t even been b-born…”
“It’ll be too late by then! Children need knowledge to grow! It’s your responsibility to prepare a good environment for them in advance!”
It was all too much too soon, and suggested so suddenly.
Overwhelmed by the sorcerer’s insistence, Maxi could not find it in herself to protest. She had no time to gather herself before Ruth took advantage of her distracted state, swiping the quill from her and penning in his list of authors once again.
“There.” He nodded with approval at the names. “All done.”
After filling nearly five entire lines with his requests, he returned the parchment to Maxi with a satisfied look, unbothered by her reluctance as she looked it over.
“W-What if Riftan gets m-mad because we b-bought too many b-books?”
“Sir Riftan wouldn’t concern himself with such paltry sums as these, truly.”
Maxi stared at him, at a loss for words.
She did not consider herself a worldly woman by any means, but even she knew that books were extremely costly—more so than glass.
Producing a book required tremendous effort and time.
Each line was inscribed letter by letter, and meticulous needlework bound the pages to gilded leather covers.
Even her father had kept certain books on a display shelf to keep them in pristine condition.
The academic tomes Ruth sought were handwritten by a handful of scholars. As such, they were not nearly as easy to locate as novels of prose or poetry derived from bards’ songs and stories. On the rare occasion that the manuscripts could be found, they were prohibitively expensive.
“You w-were the one who said w-we must c-cut spending…”
“Knowledge is more precious than gold, my lady.”
As Ruth plunked himself down in his usual seat, the impact caused the towers of books around him to collapse.
Volumes that purportedly contained invaluable knowledge were scattered across the floor.
Maxi scowled at the sight, wondering whether she should make a caustic remark, but she decided against it with a heavy sigh.
All things considered, Ruth had been of great help.
After everything he had done for her, she could not afford to antagonize him.
“I’ll put in the o-order for the b-books.”
“Thank you,” Ruth said crisply before returning to his book.
Maxi left the library shaking her head. The hallways beyond were illuminated by the sunlight pouring in through the newly installed windows. She kept her gaze fixed on the cloudless blue sky before descending the stairs with light steps.
Elegantly carved railings lined either side of the stairs, the steps of which were now covered by a soft carpet. Though Maxi had initially panicked when she was tasked with redecorating the castle, her heart swelled with pride now that she saw the small changes her efforts had made.
She smiled broadly as she entered the banquet hall, where Rodrigo was busy supervising the final phase of construction.
“Rodrigo, are y-you busy?”
“My lady.” Rodrigo’s wrinkled face brightened when he saw her.
Maxi handed him the handwritten requisition list. “I w-went around the c-castle to ch-check if there’s anything else we may need. C-Can I trouble you t-to order these items?”
“Of course, my lady.”
“And p-please ask the m-merchants to find the books authored by the scholars listed at the b-bottom.”
“As you wish.” The steward folded the parchment neatly and put it in his inner pocket.
Maxi smiled again, satisfied to have completed one of her tasks, but as she turned around to leave, Rodrigo stopped her.
“The young squires caught four ocrie in the mountain stream at dawn, my lady. They’ll soon be ready if you’d like to head down to the kitchen.”
“O-Ocrie…?”
“Fish. They live in fresh mountain streams, which gives them their soft, rich texture. There’s nothing as delicious as a freshly caught ocrie grilled over charcoal.”