Chapter 10 #3
Riftan moaned against her mouth and the feverish sound sent a sharp surge of pleasure to the core of her, igniting a fire in her body.
As she wrapped her arms around his neck, she glimpsed through half-lidded eyes a handful of startled maidservants standing in the room behind Riftan.
Maxi’s heart stopped and she stared dumbly at them.
The maidservants had been in the middle of preparing their meal when Riftan and Maxi burst in, and they now stood frozen, their hands hovering over table settings and unlit candles.
Maxi cried out and tried to push Riftan away. “R-R-Riftan!”
Riftan leaned back and, seeing Maxi’s panicked expression, glanced over his shoulder. He calmly stepped away from the door, pulling Maxi along with him.
“If you are done, you may leave,” he said to the maidservants.
Their eyes darted between the bright red face of their mistress and the impassive face of their lord. Maxi was certain that she would die of embarrassment. The maidservants seemed to come to a wordless decision together.
“H-Have a pleasant evening, my lord, my lady,” one said with a polite bow. The rest followed her lead, and they all scurried out of the door, taking the basket of sleeping kittens with them.
Riftan thanked the maidservants, then shut the door behind them and immediately resumed kissing Maxi. She pushed his face away, her eyes stinging with tears.
“H-How am I to f-face them again?”
“They’re only servants. No need to care what they think.” Riftan leaned in and peppered her neck with kisses.
Astounded that he would persist when she felt so humiliated, she pushed him back again. “Y-You’re hardly a-around so you don’t s-see them much, b-but I spend a-all day with them!”
“But you spend most of your time with Ruth,” Riftan said, lips curved into a small, unnerving smile.
Maxi stiffened at his accusatory tone. His dark eyes reminded her of a beast, and the glint in them made her shudder.
“Th-That isn’t t-true. I-I spend far more t-time with the m-maidservants.”
“Is that so?”
“Y-Yes.”
“I am your husband. Shouldn’t I be the one you spend the most time with?”
“Th-That’s h-hardly my fault.”
Riftan was always away from the castle and, although Maxi knew that he only tended to his duties as the lord of Anatol, she could not help but take an accusatory tone with him as he had with her. She studied his face for signs of displeasure, but he simply sighed.
“I know,” Riftan said, striding to the table and sitting down. “What I mean to say is that since we don’t have much time to spend together, I’d like you to focus on me when I’m here.”
When Maxi sat down as well, Riftan pulled his seat closer to hers, took her hands in his, and kissed them. She found it difficult to think when he was so intensely affectionate.
With his lips still touching her fingers, Maxi smiled in spite of herself and nodded. She felt she could endure any humiliation if she could see him happy.
—
As the weather grew colder, Riftan began to spend more time at the castle.
Each morning, before dawn, he joined the sentries at the training grounds, and in the afternoon he did reconnaissance outside the castle walls with his knights, vanquishing any monsters they encountered.
But he always returned at dusk to join Maxi for supper.
They had far more leisure time together now than they had in the fall. During the day, Maxi read the books that Ruth assigned her or practiced cultivating mana. In the evening, she adorned herself in finery, with the help of the maidservants, and enjoyed a pleasant meal with Riftan.
As they spent more time together, Maxi began to learn more about Riftan. One of the first things she noticed was that he cared little for luxury or fine things. When he was not clad in armor, he wore plain clothes in dull colors, and he only ever wore unembellished belts.
This aversion to luxury was more than a simple consequence of being unfamiliar with it.
He seemed to find the attire commonly worn by noblemen—tight silk trousers, extravagant floor-length tunics, padded shoulders, pointed shoes, feathered hats—absurd.
When Maxi had offered him a feathered hat made by the dressmaker, Riftan had regarded it with such disdain that Maxi hid it away.
He had agreed to wear the thing for her sake, but it was apparent that he did not wish to.
Riftan valued practicality above all else, and so avoided embellishments that were designed only to impress. Instead, he favored simple clothes made of durable fabrics that allowed him to move unencumbered.
He had a penchant for liquor and greasy food, but he never demanded rare delicacies or complained about food like the nobles Maxi had met at Croyso Castle.
Years of knighthood seemed to have ingrained a love of efficiency in him, and he only gave the servants orders that he deemed absolutely necessary.
Contrary to this austerity, Riftan lavished luxury upon Maxi.
He liked to see her in extravagant dresses and adorned with glittering jewels; he wished for her to live a life of comfort, her every need attended to by servants.
Riftan despised the vanity and empty formalities of the nobility, yet seemed determined to see that Maxi had the exquisite life of an aristocrat.
All of this seemed to be the result of his desire to prove he was worthy of a duke’s daughter.
Maxi could not quite understand it, but Riftan seemed to both envy and loathe the nobility.
She tried her best to play the part of a refined noblewoman so he would not be disappointed, but it was only a poor imitation of her sister’s prim and elegant manners.
It was only a matter of time before Riftan discovered the truth.
Maxi frowned as she studied the basics of geometry. When spring arrived, nobles would visit Anatol, and Riftan would quickly notice the difference between his wife and the proper noblewomen he hosted.
She tapped anxiously at the desk with her fingertips. Perhaps she should give up geometry and study etiquette. Maxi had never attended a grand ball, let alone hosted one, and was sure to fail miserably when one was expected here at Calypse Castle.
“Please focus,” Ruth said sternly, frowning in irritation at her tapping.
Ludis had joined Maxi in the library today as a chaperone, and she turned to the mage with a sharp look for his tone. Ruth ignored her.
“Once you finish this book,” he said, “you’ll have learned all the basics, so please try to focus. You must master these theories before we can move on to runes.”
“I-I’m t-trying my best. I-I’m just a-a little t-tired….”
Ludis placed a cup of honey ginger tea in front of her. “Please have some tea, my lady.”
“Th-Thank you.”
Ludis gave her a soft smile, then placed another cup in front of Ruth with a noticeable clang and a stony expression. Maxi shook her head helplessly.
Since learning that Riftan disliked her spending time alone with Ruth, Maxi had made sure to have Ludis present for her lessons. Ludis, however, did not get along with the sorcerer. The maidservant disapproved of his brash manners and blunt words, especially when he directed them toward Maxi.
“How is your mana cultivation going?” Ruth asked, ignoring how aggressively Ludis served his tea.
Maxi clutched her cup in both hands. “I-I’m afraid th-there hasn’t been m-much progress.”
After blowing on his steaming cup and taking a sip, Ruth knitted his brows. “I must admit, I am surprised. You seem to have an innate ability to absorb mana, so I assumed that you would grasp it quickly.”
“An innate a-ability? D-Do you mean t-to say that m-my body is r-receptive to m-mana?”
“Do you not recall absorbing my magic at the oak tree? Your body is primed for mana absorption. Usually, to be capable of that, one must train from a very young age to build up a mana pathway.”
Maxi frowned. The mana pathway referred to the narrow passages in the body through which mana was absorbed.
“H-How do you develop y-your mana p-pathway?”
“A high-ranking mage must periodically infuse your body with magic—you would need to be their apprentice. Being exposed to magic from a young age naturally helps the apprentice develop his or her mana pathway, priming their body for stronger mana absorption.”
Maxi nodded silently, clenching her jaw as an unwelcome thought occurred to her.
Could her mana affinity be the product of years of magical healing?
She stared at her palms. That the one remarkable thing about her could be the result of her father’s cruel discipline left an unpleasant taste in her mouth.
Seeing her face grow dark, Ruth said, “There’s no rush, my lady. I am sure you will improve with practice.”
Maxi forced a smile. Perhaps it did not matter how she had acquired her ability. The question now was how she would use it. Pulling herself together, she resumed her study of magical theory.
She did not look up again until hours later when the library door flung open and Riftan entered. It had become his habit to burst into the library, searching for Maxi, after he finished his duties for the day.
Ruth let out an exasperated sigh. “Is training over already?”
“Training the sentries in this cold will only bring down their morale,” Riftan said. “I’ll allow them a day or two of rest.” He approached Maxi and bent down to kiss her forehead.
Maxi blushed as he stroked her hair affectionately.
“Have you been cooped up here since morning?” he whispered.
“Y-Yes, I stopped b-by the s-stables, then came here.”
Riftan frowned. “You spend more time in here than in our bedchambers.”
“Th-That’s not t-true. I’ve spent p-plenty of time there….”
Indeed, Maxi was spending far more time in their room since Riftan’s return from the raid. Thinking about how she now spent every night in his arms made her face burn.
Riftan sighed and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “I must disagree.”