Under the Oak Tree



Chapter 106: Chapter 106

“I… I see.”

Relief blossomed over Maxi’s face, and she did not try to conceal it.

Riftan cupped her cheek. “Do you dislike the thought of me leaving?”

Maxi looked up at him nervously. She was worried that she might annoy him if she told him the truth. She chose her words carefully.

“I feel… more at ease w-when you are here, Riftan. S-So do… the people of Anatol…”

“I suppose so.”

A look of disappointment briefly flickered in his eyes, but the fragile expression quickly disappeared behind his usual impassiveness before Maxi could say anything.

Riftan tossed the towel around his neck into the washbasin. “I have no intention of leaving Anatol. Since I have left it unattended for so long, I plan to do my utmost to fulfill my duties to this land from now on.”

“E-Even if… King Reuben summons you?”

“It would be inconvenient if the man insists that I join.” He gave a nonchalant shrug. “But I can always make excuses to get out of it. Unless King Reuben is a fool, he should know what would happen if he demands loyalty from me beyond what is reasonable.”

A cold sweat prickled Maxi’s back at his impertinence. Still, she was relieved. Riftan’s determination to remain in Anatol seemed firmer than she had expected.

“I-I am glad to hear that.”

“Because you feel more at ease with me here?”

Maxi slowly nodded. Riftan looked deep in thought as his eyes bore into her before he bent down to her. Maxi’s eyelids quivered. His still-moist lips brushed hers, and his rough fingers gently stroked her ear.

“Be rest assured, I will protect you no matter what.”

A deep corner of her heart ached. Maxi looked up at him.

“N-No matter what?”

“No matter what,” he repeated, cupping her face in his hands. “I won’t let any danger get anywhere near you.”

Maxi turned her head to hide the tears welling up in her eyes and rubbed her cheek against his palm. When she was young, she had once dreamed of a knight who would protect her. She had quickly given up on that dream when she realized that she possessed no enticing qualities that could win someone’s heart. Yet, whenever she was with Riftan, her childhood fantasy seemed to awaken.

In her imagination, she was a noblewoman that knights would risk their lives to protect, and he was a knight who blindly worshipped her and her alone.

Feeling her throat burn, Maxi wound her arms around his neck. Riftan drew in a sharp breath. He hoisted her off the ground and began showering her with passionate kisses.

His wet tongue gently lapped the inside of her mouth, and his calloused hand gingerly traced the ridge of her spine. Maxi responded by stroking his hair, as thick as crow feathers. Her hands drifted to his veined, steel-like forearm and stubbled chin. She felt his cheek muscles harden and saw his black eyes grow darker with desire.

“You’d think I’d be used to it by now…” he murmured in a thick voice.

Maxi barely managed to open her eyelids and gave him a puzzled look.

Riftan suppressed a sigh. “My body burns whenever I touch you, and it seems to grow worse by the day.”

Giving a shaky smile, Maxi pressed her face to his neck. She lightly licked the water remaining on his skin. Riftan’s back stiffened, and he tightened his arms around her in a crushing embrace.

A pleasant shudder coursed through her body. His heat, firmness, and strength aroused a fiery desire within her. Overwhelmed by the bone-melting sensation, Maxi wrapped her arms and legs around him. Riftan reached inside her thin muslin nightgown and stroked her calf and thigh as he strode over to the bed. Their chests pressed against each other, and Maxi could feel his heart pounding.

“Sometimes, I want you so much that it hurts,” he muttered in a choked voice as he lowered her onto the bed. His face was now shrouded in shadows, and Maxi reached up to caress him.

Riftan grabbed her wrist and kissed her palm.

“Riftan…”

Maxi closed her eyes as she felt his hands roam beneath her clothes.

***

The guests had to leave Calypse Castle with Riftan’s unsatisfactory assurance that he would think about their offer of an alliance. The knights, who had traveled through harsh mountain paths to reach Anatol, clearly did not look pleased.

Riftan did not bat an eye. He evidently planned on leaving the Earl of Loverne wanting until he could form an alliance that was more favorable for Anatol. Ruth told her that no one was better than Riftan when it came to hiking up his worth in such deals.

There was a deft negotiator beneath Riftan’s brusque exterior, Maxi discovered. Although he usually never spoke more than necessary, he was proficient at bargaining and strangely adept at manipulation.

Of course, her husband had more hidden sides to him apart from this. He was an outstanding architect, a prudent and fair judge, and an excellent engineer.

Not only did Riftan train the soldiers and supervise the road construction, he also worked with the blacksmiths to create new weapons and painstakingly looked after the affairs of the estate. Maxi had to marvel at how one person could take on so much work.

Though it is on account of that that I am able to study magic…

Maxi let out an uneasy sigh as she glanced down at the defensive rune on the floor. It was by virtue of her husband working tirelessly from the crack of dawn until late into the night that she was able to leisurely pursue magic training. He was so busy that her fears of him discovering her studies were unfounded.

Should I be happy about this?

Maxi heaved a despondent sigh. Ruth, who was inspecting her rune, frowned when he heard her.

“The ground might open up if you keep sighing like that, my lady. Could you rein in your dour mood for my sake and get back to testing out your rune when you’re ready?”

Maxi roused herself from her thoughts. It was a new spell; she could not afford to have her mind wander

“All right… I shall start now.”

Maxi drew a rune and checked it over twice. Summoning her mana, she directed it to flow following the shape of the rune. The air gradually shifted, and a translucent blue barrier formed around her.

Ruth inspected the barrier with narrowed eyes before motioning to Ulyseon, who hovered awkwardly nearby.

“Now, please attack it.”

The young squire’s shoulders flinched as though he had been whipped. “Y-You want me to attack it?”

“Of course. How else will we be able to assess the strength of her shield?”

Ulyseon scratched the back of his head, looking unwilling. “I do not think it has to be me…”

“Well, we can’t have her ladyship practice with one of the knights now, can we? And I’m afraid my attacks would not help assess anything at all.”

Ruth pulled up his sleeve to reveal a slender arm. Ulyseon looked from side to side, unsure of how to respond to the sorcerer’s utter lack of pride in his manhood. Ruth remained perfectly unperturbed.

“Come now, stop hesitating and attack it.”

“But… how can one aspiring to be a knight raise a sword to a lady?”

“It’s not even a real sword. We are doing this explicitly for her ladyship’s safety. This magic could end up saving her life if she were ever to be in danger,” Ruth said firmly.

Ulyseon gulped, then went to stand across from Maxi with a determined look on his face.

“I understand. Then, my lady… please forgive this discourtesy.”

Maxi summoned as much of her mana as possible and nodded gravely. Ulyseon raised the wooden sword and lightly swung it down.

There was a whooshing sound as the wooden sword arced through the air, followed by a loud shatter. Maxi’s eyes widened.

The sword crashed through as if her shield were a thin layer of ice. Before Ulyseon could pull back, it landed on Maxi’s forehead with a hearty thud. Ulyseon let out a shrill scream as Maxi stumbled backward, her head spinning.

“M-My lady!”

The disorienting pain made Maxi groan and twist her legs in agony. Tears involuntarily trickled down her cheeks.

“Ahh!”

“M-Mage Ruth! Quick! Please do something! Her ladyship- Her ladyship is hurt!”

Having struck the lady of the castle, Ulyseon frantically shook Ruth in a state of panic. Ruth gazed down at Maxi with a blank look as if he found the whole situation ridiculous.

Ruth crouched next to her with a sigh. “If you could remove your hands for a moment, my lady, I shall ease the pain.”

Maxi was barely able to lower her hands from her head. Tears continued streaming down her cheeks. Without even trying to disguise his disapproval, Ruth clicked his tongue and cast healing magic over her.

Maxi’s face flushed with shame as she slowly rose to her feet. She wanted nothing more than to dig a hole and hide in it.

“A-Are you all right, my lady? Does it still hurt?” Ulyseon asked as he fretted about her.

Maxi brushed the dust from her skirt and pretended to be unperturbed. “I-I am perfectly fine.”

“I am truly, truly, sorry, my lady. I can’t believe I hurt you…”

“N-No. It was because… m-my magic was weak,” Maxi muttered feebly.

Ruth shook his head and said scathingly, “Indeed. I have never seen such a pitiful shield in my life. A shield made of parchment would have been sturdier.”

“I-It was my first try! The next one… will be better,” Maxi retorted.

Ulyseon paled. “You… intend to do this again, my lady?”

“O-Of course,” said Maxi with a determined nod. “I shall keep practicing… until I get it right.”

Maxi meticulously studied the rune, but she simply could not work out what she had done wrong. She had circulated her mana as she had been taught, so why had the shield broken so easily?

“You are circulating your mana so slowly that it is diminishing the strength of your shield to a ridiculous degree. You will need to increase your speed at least threefold for it to function decently.”

“Th-Threefold?”

“Or you could double the amount of mana.”

Maxi looked dejected. “I-I think either would be difficult.”

“Try, my lady. It should at least be stronger than glass to be considered a shield, don’t you think? As it is now, I fear a dragonfly would be able to breach it with a flap of its wings.”

Finished with his barrage of criticisms, Ruth waved at Ulyseon, who still stood looking quite pale.

“You may go now, young Rovar. I think I will be able to assist her ladyship by myself.”

With that, he picked up a twig from the ground and swung it in the air as if he were swatting a fly.

“We shall consider today’s training a success if you are able to block this.”

Maxi stared at the twig, no thicker than her pinky, and nodded despondently.