Under the Oak Tree



Chapter 110: Chapter 110

The unpleasant visits that had plagued Maxi since she had turned seventeen seemed to have come upon her once more. Not wanting to ruin the beautiful satin dress that had taken two weeks to make, she quickly rose to her feet.

Maxi discreetly asked Ludis for help, and the maidservant promptly brought her a basin of hot water, clean linen, and a new dress.

Scowling in disgust, Maxi used the hot towel to wipe the blood between her legs. She then pulled on cotton undergarments lined with thick layers of linen and checked in the mirror to make sure there were no leaks. The linen made her hips appear duck-like, a look she was not particularly fond of.

Her lower abdomen felt as if it had been stuffed with cold gravel. The thought that she would have to endure this discomfort for at least five days made her heave a sigh.

“Do not be too disappointed, my lady.”

Maxi looked at Ludis in confusion at the maidservant’s odd choice of words.

Ludis continued cautiously, “I am told that it can take more than three years for some couples to welcome their first child. If you wait patiently with a light heart, then God will surely send you the most beautiful child when the time is right.”

Maxi blinked vacantly. She realized that the discomfort she was currently experiencing was confirmation that she was not carrying Riftan’s offspring.

Suddenly filled with anxiety, Maxi asked in a weak voice, “I-It is not… strange, then… th-that I am not yet with child?”

“It is merely that it is not the right time, my lady,” Ludis replied with a reassuring smile. “You must have been anticipating good news since your monthly visitor was unusually late… but there is no need for you to feel impatient, my lady.”

Despite her reassurance, it was Ludis who seemed more disappointed than Maxi herself. Maxi had not even realized that her monthly visitor was late.

Truth be told, her cycle had become more frequent since she had been in Anatol. Prior to that, she had bled once every two or three months, and even that had not always been the case. She had once gone five months without a visit.

Maxi bit her lip in confusion. Did other women bleed more frequently? She tried to remember how it had been for Rosetta, but she was unable to recall anything. The truth was that the two of them had never been close enough to discuss such intimate matters with each other.

The possibility that Maxi was unable to conceive a child because she might have some great defect made her break out in a cold sweat. Her mother’s haggard and lifeless face briefly flashed in her mind.

Maxi turned away from Ludis to hide her agitation and said calmly, “I-I would like something warm. Could you prepare… some herbal tea for me?”

“Of course, my lady. I shall prepare it right away.”

Once the maidservant left the room, Maxi slumped at her desk and buried her face in her hands. She wanted to be honest with Ludis and ask for advice, but she was scared that the maidservant would disclose the truth to Riftan. How would he react if he found out that there was something wrong with his wife?

There was nothing more important to a man than an heir, and she knew without a doubt that Riftan would want a son who would one day inherit this castle and land. Would his affections remain unchanged even if she shared the same fate as her mother? Her throat felt as if a thorn had lodged in it.

Maxi nervously leafed through the parchments, but the worsening pain in her stomach made it impossible for her to concentrate. After staring blankly at the words, Maxi flung her quill away. Ink splattered across the desk. She sat motionless, staring at the stains, before slumping over the desk and listening to the rain drumming against the window.

Why was it that worry and woe seemed to follow her all her life? The fear that she might possess some critical flaw in addition to the dozens she already had made her feel utterly hopeless.

Don’t think too much. As Ludis said, it just wasn’t the right time.

Maxi clung to that hope.

It had always been a habit of hers to imagine the direst and darkest future. She always assumed that hardship was imminent. But was her life not slowly getting better?

She now had the perfect husband who was more than she deserved, as well as people she could talk to. She had a safe, warm home; her impediment was improving, albeit slowly, and she had even learned to use magic.

Maxi desperately chased away the fear that was beginning to coil within her like smoke. If God was merciful, He would bless her with a healthy heir someday.

Riftan was soaked from the rain when he returned. His robe clung to him like seaweed, perfectly revealing the contours of his armor, and his boots were caked in mud. Maxi rose from the bed and draped a towel over his head. His cheeks were wet and as cold as ice.

“Were you… o-out in the rain all this time?”

“I had to prevent landslides from burying the construction site. I couldn’t let two months of effort come to naught.”

As if not wanting to soil the rug, Riftan pushed the door closed with his back. After peeling off his shoes and sopping robe, he tossed them into a basket.

“D-Do you think… it will be a downpour?” Maxi asked, a little surprised.

“I don’t think it will be that bad, but it is problematic since the ground has been weakened because of the monsters. The summer monsoons are also due in two or three months’ time, so it would be better for us to make the necessary preparations in advance.”

Riftan threw off his armor and the remainder of his wet clothes. Maxi led him to the fireplace and handed him a towel that was large enough for his huge frame.

While he warmed his frozen body in front of the fire, the servants brought a tub full of hot water into their chambers. As usual, Riftan began to coax Maxi to bathe with him. Maxi stood as stiff as a rock for a moment before informing him with an embarrassed look that she was currently in an unclean state.

Riftan gave her a puzzled look. “If you are unclean, it’s all the more reason for you to bathe with me.”

Maxi was slightly taken aback that the man who could do no wrong would say something so insensible.

She had only bled four times since she had come to Anatol. The first was when Riftan had been away, and the rest when he had been extremely busy. There had never been a need for her to explain such a mortifying thing to him before now.

Looking embarrassed, Maxi stammered, “I-It’s that day…”

“That day?”

Maxi gazed up at him, close to tears. Her husband, whom she considered the best in the world, looked back at her blankly. It was apparent that he did not have the faintest idea what she was referring to. How could she explain this ordeal without losing her dignity?

“What I mean is… I am c-currently in a state… th-that makes me unable to have relations with you… f-for about a week.”

“What in the devil are you talking about?” Riftan asked, his face hardening. “Stop being so cryptic and speak plainly. Are you rejecting me?”

Maxi could only gape at the accusation. It truly did not seem like he would understand unless she explained it to him as directly as possible.

Suppressing tears, Maxi cried out, “I-I am saying… th-that I am bleeding!”

Maxi’s eyes widened at the sight of her husband’s pleasantly tanned face turning as white as a sheet.

He immediately began inspecting her. “You’re bleeding? Where? How did it happen? Show me. We have to get it treated right now!”

Terrified that he might actually check the place she was bleeding, Maxi tried to pull away from him, but Riftan was apparently more frightened than she was. She barely managed to stop him from ripping off her dress in his attempt to find the source of her supposed injury.

“Y-You misunderstood! I-I am not hurt! I swear to you, I am not!”

“You said you were bleeding!”

Heavens. He truly did not seem to know anything about the curse that women had to endure on a regular basis. Maxi was unsure whether to laugh or scream. Deciding to calm him down first, she spoke as evenly as she could.

“A-All women… bleed r-regularly… o-once they are of marriageable age. It is… perfectly normal. M-My nurse told me… that it is proof… th-that we are old enough to conceive.”

“Are you certain? Are you sure you are not sick or hurt?”

Maxi nodded firmly.

Clearly still skeptical, Riftan studied her face before frowning. “But where exactly do you bleed?”

Maxi turned beet red. She had never imagined that she would find herself in such a mortifying situation. Did she truly have to spell it out to him?

After a long pause, Maxi whispered the answer in his ear despite being the only two people in the room. These visits were bound to happen to her again in the future. It would be better for her to explain everything to him clearly so that she would never find herself in such a mortifying situation again.

“Are you… being serious?”

Wide-eyed, Riftan stared down at her as though he found her words difficult to believe. His face was still ashen.

“Are you certain that it’s normal for women to bleed… down there?”

“Y-Yes, it is perfectly normal! It’s something every woman g-goes through.”

“Then, this must not be the first time this has happened to you. Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“I-I assumed… that you kn-knew. I was told… that it wasn’t something o-one had to explain. My nursemaid… said that you would understand… i-if I hinted at it.”

To Maxi’s surprise, Riftan’s cheeks reddened. He began babbling excuses in what seemed like an attempt to justify his ignorance.

“Maxi, I grew up in a mercenary group full of men. After I became a knight, I spent most of my life fighting in campaigns. What on earth would I know about women? All I know is that they have breasts, that it’s impossible to figure out what they’re thinking, and that they can bear children!”

Maxi looked skeptical. He spoke as though he had never had a lover to teach him everything there was to know about women.

She eyed his perfectly symmetrical masculine face, his intense black eyes, and his sculpted body. He was simply too beautiful to claim that he knew nothing about women.

Even if Riftan himself was not a rake who had regular conquests, she was certain that the women around him would not have left him alone. Maxi recalled the brazen pair who had tried to come on to him on the day of the festival. She did not think a man as insatiable as Riftan would have resisted such blatant seductions all his life.

Feeling a sharp pang of jealousy, Maxi glowered at him.