Chapter Seventeen #5
Not long after, she watched through a window as Riftan returned and immediately joined the other knights, remaining in the council room for a long time.
Maxi was desperate to know what they were discussing.
Chewing her lip, she swore that she would get her husband to give her a thorough explanation no matter what.
She could not say so for the others, but Ruth was as important to her as he was to Riftan. He was her mentor and the first friend she ever had. Tears welled in her eyes as she recalled the sorcerer’s unreasonable anger at her ominous farewell.
But, more than anything, the thought of Riftan heading into such treacherous conditions tore at her heart.
How long would they have to be apart? Three months? Six?
What if they never saw each other again?
No one knew what fate awaited the men joining the campaign. There was no guarantee that Riftan could avoid grave danger.
Maxi anxiously stared at the horizon to try to distract herself, but it was not long before she could not bear the suspense any further, and she raced out of the great hall.
—
Maxi was as white as a ghost as she made her way to the training grounds through the dark, clutching a lamp in one hand.
She held it up as she passed through the gate, and the soldiers standing guard looked surprised to see her.
She ignored them and ran straight for the council room without stopping.
Angry shouts rang out from behind the door of the dimly lit building.
“We cannot afford to wait that long! We must leave tomorrow. It would take us twenty days to get there even if we leave tonight!”
“Calm down, Sir Hebaron. The commander is right. There are only three or four vassalages on the way to the border, and they are small villages that do not have proper merchant guilds that could supply us with provisions. And with all these monster attacks, we can’t even be sure they are still there.
It would be too dangerous for us to leave without a mage. ”
“Did you not hear me? Every last guild mage has already gone north to Livadon! I’m sure you are all aware that each landed noble in the realm is frantically competing to employ more mages in their service, so how exactly do you suggest we find one?”
“If we send a request to Osiriya, they might send us a hierarch capable of healing magic.”
“Ha! Do you not know how finicky those fools are when it comes to sending their clerics? It would take them at least a couple of months to send one.”
“Since the central church will also be sending reinforcements, we could travel with them….”
“If we did that, we’d be going the long way around for three weeks even if the Temple Knights were to meet us halfway! Goddammit! Stop talking nonsense! It doesn’t matter if we don’t have a mage. We’ve fought in situations more dangerous than this! Isn’t that right, Commander?”
Maxi stood petrified. Her chest tightened with fear that Riftan might agree with Hebaron.
The terrifying descriptions she had read in the illustrated book on monsters flashed through her mind. Creatures with venom powerful enough to melt bones in an instant, Ayin monsters that were said to possess the strength of six humans, the dragon subspecies that could wield powerful magic…
No matter how strong the Remdragon Knights were, it would be impossible for them to remain unscathed on this long journey. Maxi held her breath as she waited for Riftan’s answer. The silence stretched on for a while before his deep voice rang out.
“It would be impossible for us to depart tomorrow. Give me some time. I’ll find a mage in four…no, three days.”
“It will be a waste of time! You’ve already tried searching everywhere for a mage, and the one you finally managed to get was an eighty-year-old! So how are you going to find one in just three—”
Hebaron’s outburst ceased abruptly. Maxi wondered if she should continue listening or try to slip away unnoticed, but she reflexively leaned in when the knight’s voice died down. At precisely that moment, the door swung open, and Hebaron’s hulking form marched out.
“Who the hell is out he—”
The knight grew wide-eyed when he saw Maxi lurking outside.
“My lady? What brings you here at such an hour?”
“I…” Maxi staggered back as the other knights peered past Hebaron’s shoulder. Embarrassed that she had been caught eavesdropping, her face flushed pink. “I apologize for d-disturbing you. I m-merely wanted to know…what you were all p-planning to do….”
As she weakly mumbled her excuses, Riftan stepped out of the council room and shoved Hebaron aside. His expression was grave. Was he angry because she had left her chambers to roam the castle this late at night?
After staring down at her with a thunderous look, Riftan grunted a command over his shoulder. “Gabel, escort my wife back to her chambers.”
It was an obvious dismissal.
Maxi wet her lips. “R-Riftan…I did not mean to interrupt. I was just…w-worried for those who joined the campaign…and I wanted to know what the Remdragon Knights intended to do….”
“And why would that concern you?” Riftan shot back.
Hurt, Maxi glanced up at him before saying hesitantly, “There c-could be something I could do to help—”
“Gabel!” Riftan bellowed over his shoulder. “Did you not hear me? Why are you not escorting her ladyship back to the great hall?”
Maxi’s lips twisted into a frown. She could feel the knights behind him regarding them warily. Gabel, who had been hesitating in the back, walked out of the council room and stood next to her.
Grabbing the door handle, Riftan said in a gruff voice, “Don’t wait up for me.”
With that, he closed the door, putting an end to any further discussion. Maxi reluctantly turned away, and Gabel gently took the lamp from her.
“The commander is out of sorts at the moment because of the bad news. Please do not take offense at his harsh words. Everyone is on edge right now….”
Maxi tried to look agreeable for the knight who was clearly concerned for her, but even she could tell that her smile was stiff.
“I am all right. M-More importantly, I apologize…for troubling you like this. I found it impossible to wait.”
Gabel raised the lamp higher and said, “You are also close with Ruth, so it is understandable that you would be worried, my lady.”
They ascended the stairs in silence. So many thoughts were running through Maxi’s head: Riftan’s surly reaction, the travel woes and other details she had overheard. It was only when they reached the middle of the garden that Maxi cautiously opened her mouth to speak.
“Is a mage absolutely n-necessary…in a campaign? If I recall…you did not bring Ruth with you when you went to the capital in the past.”
Gabel paused in his tracks and let out an awkward laugh.
“There are plenty of merchant guilds and big cities on the way to Drachium. We could stop by the guilds at any time during the journey to have our wounds treated or hire mages working for mercenary groups for short periods of time. However, there are no big cities on the route from Anatol to Livadon. Since we would not be able to find a suitable place to have our wounds tended to if needed, it would be tough to travel without a mage.”
“What if…” Maxi trailed off. It was not until they reached the top of the stairs that she managed to muster the courage to finish her sentence. “What if…I was to g-go with you?”
She could feel the knight’s wary gaze studying her in the dark. She wanted to look confident, but she was unable to conceal her shaking hands.
“The commander would not allow it,” Gabel replied after a long silence.
Knowing he was right, Maxi clenched her mouth shut. Yet the idea remained even as she returned to her chambers.
Curled up in bed, Maxi mulled over how she could convince Riftan. Though the knights had not dared to suggest it, it was clear that they privately considered bringing her. Their hopeful gazes when they caught her at the door had told her as much.
Her heart fluttered anxiously. She could not send Riftan to a place swarming with monsters without any kind of magical support. Even if he were adequately outfitted, she would still be beside herself. She could not allow him to leave without a mage to tend to them in case of an emergency.
Gnawing her lip, Maxi waited for Riftan to return. No matter how staunchly he opposed the idea, she would not concede this time. She would not send her husband into danger unprotected.
The sun began to rise before she knew it, and Riftan had still not returned.
Maxi drifted off to sleep and woke to the sound of Ludis entering the room. She looked taken aback when she saw Maxi sprawled on the bed wearing the same dress she had worn yesterday. Maxi leaped up and rushed over to the maidservant.
“L-Ludis…has the lord g-gone out already? I have not been asleep long, and I did not hear him enter….”
“His lordship slept in the knights’ quarters last night, my lady.”
“Where…is he now?”
“He is currently meeting with a merchant in the drawing room.”
Maxi looked haggard from lack of sleep, but she rubbed her bloodshot eyes and hastily combed her hair with her fingers before she flew out of the room.
As she descended the staircase, she saw Riftan and Aderon sitting across from each other in the quaintly furnished drawing room.
She stopped with four steps left to go and listened to their calm voices echoing softly down the corridor.
“It would be difficult to hire a mage anywhere in the continent at the moment. You would likely have to go to the Mage Tower, but it would not be easy with all their rules. Even if you were to succeed, it would take more than ten days for them to get here.”
“We can’t wait that long. Use your guild’s trade channels to send a message to the nearest territory, and…”
Riftan trailed off when he spotted Maxi. She took a step back, steeling her nerves, then briskly descended the remaining steps and strode into the drawing room. Riftan’s face was taut with tension.