Chapter 7 #3
When he finished talking to the merchant, Riftan put his arm around Maxi’s shoulders. “Let’s go up to our room. I have more gifts waiting for you.”
“Th-There’s more?”
Riftan pointed to the chests unloaded from the wagon. “Every one of those is filled with gifts for you.”
Maxi’s jaw dropped. There were enough chests to fill an entire room.
“I’ve instructed the servants to bring them up to our room. Come.” Riftan handed the mare’s reins to a servant and began walking toward the great hall.
Maxi followed at his side, her steps as light as if she were walking on clouds. Her earlier worries had all but disappeared. “I th-thought you were b-busy repairing the g-gates.”
“I’ve given my instructions to the craftsmen, and the knights will take turns standing guard until the new gate is finished. Anatol will be safe from intruders even without me there.”
Maxi hadn’t asked because she worried about the castle’s security.
She trusted Riftan and the knights to protect them all, but she did not want to keep Riftan from his duties.
Instead of correcting the small misunderstanding, she quietly followed him up the stairs and into the great hall.
Sunlight streamed in through the windows, casting golden rays on the crimson carpet.
As he strode across the great hall, Riftan stopped and turned back toward Maxi.
“I haven’t told you yet how magnificent the castle looks. Rodrigo tells me you worked tirelessly every day to complete the renovations.”
Maxi blushed at the sudden compliment. “D-Do you like it?”
“Of course. I thought I’d woken up in someone else’s castle.”
Maxi breathed a sigh of relief. “Y-You didn’t say a-anything, so I was w-worried.”
“I was a little distracted—I’d just seen you in grave danger! I had no attention left for anything else. You could have gilded the walls with pure gold, and I still wouldn’t have noticed.”
His eyes glinted, angry with the memory, and Maxi stared at her feet. Riftan sighed and stroked her hair to soothe her.
“That’s all in the past now,” he said. “Let’s go see your gifts.”
Maxi nodded and followed him up the stairs to their bedchamber, where servants were busy arranging dozens of wooden chests. Ludis, who supervised their work to ensure none of the newer hires were tempted to steal, bowed in greeting when Maxi and Riftan arrived.
“My lord. My lady,” she said.
“Is everything here?” Riftan asked, surveying the collection of treasures.
“Yes, my lord. There are thirty-two chests in total. Would you like to check the contents?”
Riftan nodded, and the servants began to open each chest. Maxi gawked at the contents that were revealed.
Fine silks and exquisitely patterned fabrics from the Southern Continent, lustrous fox furs, a belt made of snakeskin, a shawl embroidered with gold thread, a silver hand mirror, a set of pearl hairpins.
She could not believe her eyes. Though she was used to seeing Rosetta surrounded by gifts, Maxi had never been the recipient of so many treasures.
“I-Is all of this f-for me?”
“Is it not to your liking?”
Maxi quickly shook her head. She was a duke’s daughter, and Riftan would find it suspicious if this extravagance overwhelmed her.
Rosetta had faced down chests full of priceless jewels without ever batting an eye.
Remembering her half-sister’s haughty demeanor, Maxi forced herself to remain composed.
“N-No, I l-like them.”
Riftan was visibly relieved. He instructed the servants to open the remaining chests, and Maxi tried her best to play the part of a noblewoman. She must appear to be accustomed to such luxuries, but despite her efforts it was impossible to stop her jaw from dropping.
Plucking an emerald hairpin from the glittering pile within one trunk, Riftan carefully slid it into Maxi’s hair, just above her ear.
Before she could admire the ornament, he clasped a sparkling diamond necklace around her neck.
Clearly charmed by Maxi’s astonished reaction to the jewels, Riftan softly kissed her cheek.
“I knew they would suit you perfectly,” he said with a satisfied grin.
“Th-Thank you.” Maxi’s cheeks burned.
Eyes bright with pleasure, Riftan brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and urged her to try on the rest of the jewelry.
Maxi was delighted by her reflection in the mirror, but unease gnawed at her gut. Riftan was treating her like a royal princess, yet she felt more like a jester, forced to perform under an ill-fitting mask.
Riftan frowned at her troubled expression. “What’s wrong?”
“N-Nothing.” Maxi quickly smiled. “These are b-beautiful. Y-You must have been s-so busy in D-Drachium. How d-did you find the t-time to make all th-these purchases?”
“You were forced to leave all your belongings behind at Croyso Castle because of me. It’s only right that I make up for it.”
“Th-Thank you…” Maxi forced another smile, trying to hide the stinging dismay in her heart.
Riftan seemed to relax, and he began instructing the servants to put away the gifts.
Maxi watched him, struggling to shake the strange sense of guilt.
She hadn’t lied, not exactly. Riftan had simply assumed she was worthy of this indulgence because she was Duke Croyso’s daughter.
That was the truth, but why was her mind still so unsettled?
—
After confirming that all the items were accounted for, Riftan left to check on the Livadonian captives.
Maxi’s preparation of the fabric order had been interrupted by the tumultuous arrival of Rob Midahas, so she decided to finish it now that Riftan was occupied.
After discussing the order details with the maidservants, she made a thorough list of the necessary items, then went to the kitchen to oversee the food preservation for the winter.
Late autumn to early winter was the busiest time of year at any castle.
As the weather grew colder, fresh vegetables became scarce and the price of meat increased.
During this time, the servants at Calypse Castle tirelessly cured meat, pickled fruit, smoked sausages, and carted copious bags of flour from the mill.
If they had any time to spare, it was spent preparing winter fodder for the livestock.
Ludis explained all this to Maxi as they observed the bustling activity in the kitchen. The smell of oil permeated the room.
“It’s difficult to find enough grass to feed the livestock during winter,” Ludis continued.
“So we keep only the number of animals that we can keep fed, and the rest are slaughtered. Butchers prepare the meat and entrails, which are then sent to the castle. The meat is smoked, and the entrails are used for sausages.”
Maxi nodded as Ludis spoke, watching the cook and servants at work.
The kitchen was always busy, but it had become a veritable battlefield over the past few days.
On one side of the room, four servants were busy stuffing sausages at a long table, washbasins and plates piled in small mountains beside them.
On the opposite end of the room, more servants sawed whole cuts of meat, already drained of blood, into much smaller pieces.
Smoke pricked Maxi’s nostrils and she wrinkled her nose, looking over her shoulder. Outside, four makeshift stone ovens were being used to smoke meat. Steel mesh had been placed over the stones, and a half dozen servants were hard at work placing meat on top of the mesh.
“I-I’ve never s-seen so much m-meat,” Maxi said, her eyes wide as she watched.
“We’ve prepared enough to last the whole winter,” Ludis said. “Smoked meat doesn’t keep for long, so most of the meat will need to be cured. Jerky will serve the knights well when they go on expeditions or monster raids.”
“W-We’re c-curing all this?”
Maxi inspected the hunks of meat hanging along the walls. Ludis had supplied her with records of the quantity of food preserved in previous years, along with how much they planned to preserve in the current year, but seeing it all laid out in one room was still surprising.
“With the knights’ return, we must prepare twice as much food as last year,” Ludis explained. “We should have started the process earlier, while it was still warm….”
“D-Does it take a l-long time?”
“Yes, my lady. The meat is cured with salt, which takes several days. After that, the meat must be cut into thin strips before being dried.”
Dismayed, Maxi worried that the refurbishment of the castle had delayed the winter preparations.
When Maxi’s face fell, Ludis quickly added, “But with the extra help we have this year, I’m sure everything will be ready before it gets too cold.”
“Th-That’s a relief….”
Maxi glanced at the servants laboring away in the kitchen.
As the lady of the castle, it was her responsibility to manage every item of housekeeping, and it was clear the servants never had a moment’s rest. As Ludis explained the different methods of food storage, Maxi tried to gauge the amount of work that remained.
The servants already had a backbreaking list of duties to perform every day, including cooking meals for all who lived in the castle, and cleaning every inch of the grounds.
With winter approaching, their workload only grew.
Now they must also make warm clothing for the knights, store fodder for livestock, and preserve enough food to last until spring.
They needed to hire more servants. She would have to ask Riftan first, but Maxi was sure he would agree.
“I’ll a-ask Aderon if he can f-find us more help f-first thing t-tomorrow—”
“My lady!” A cheerful voice interrupted Maxi.
She turned to see six squires standing near the braziers, sweat glistening on their foreheads. At the head of the group, Ulyseon grinned and quickly bounded toward her.
“I heard what happened, my lady,” he said when he reached her side. “Is it all right for you to be walking around? Those damned Livadonian bastards! How dare they—”
“I-I’m fine.”