Under the Oak Tree



Chapter 55: Chapter 55

Maxi grew weary at the prospect of spending the night in that bleak place. She was absorbed in thought, wondering whether she would be able to return to the castle that night, when a wooden bowl was suddenly thrust in front of her.

“Please have some, my lady.”

Startled, Maxi looked up. It was the young knight who had tried to send her back to the castle earlier that day. He had a bowl of steaming soup in his hands.

“It’s rabbit stew. It can’t compare to the food in the castle, but it’s edible.”

Maxi blinked in surprise and reluctantly accepted the bowl. She was famished, not having eaten since morning. She eagerly brought a spoonful of warm stew to her mouth.

“Th-Thank you.”

“My pleasure. And about earlier…”

Maxi felt her body stiffen, dreading his next words. To her surprise, however, the knight bowed his head.

“Please forgive me, my lady. It was not my place to say such things.”

Maxi stared at his lowered head, her spoon still in her mouth. She had not expected such a display of deference. She quickly put her bowl down and waved her hands.

“I-It’s all right. I sh-shouldn’t have b-been so short-tempered… I-I apologize.”

“No, my lady. It was I who offended you. There’s no need for you to apologize.”

“Th-Thank you…” Blushing, Maxi relaxed her shoulders.

The knight seemed not to know what to say next, and they remained locked in an uncomfortable silence until Ruth entered the tent. He raised an eyebrow when he noticed the knight.

“Is something the matter, Sir Elliot?”

“No, I was… apologizing to her ladyship for offending her.”

Ruth looked surprised, but he did not press the knight further. Instead, he sighed loudly and began to warm his hands by the brazier.

“The knights who went to patrol the walls have returned. It seems there are no monsters still in hiding. I think it’s time for you to return to the castle, my lady.”

“W-What about you, R-Ruth?”

“I’m afraid I must spend the night here. Some of these men might get a fever at night. And once I’ve recovered my magic, I’ll be able to heal a few more people.”

Maxi hesitated briefly. Thoroughly drained, she longed to lie on her bed, but it did not seem right to return to the comfort of the castle alone.

“P-Perhaps I should s-stay and-”

“You have done enough, I assure you.”

Maxi’s face hardened. She wondered whether Ruth found her presence a nuisance. Sensing her unease, Ruth gave her a soft smile.

“If Sir Riftan finds out that you spent the night in a shack, there will be hell to pay. I’ve asked the knights to escort you back, so please go and get some rest. You need not worry about us. We’ll sleep better knowing you’re safe in the castle.”

“Allow me to escort you, my lady,” the young knight suddenly cut in.

Maxi nodded, unable to protest further. Truth be told, she was glad not to spend the night in this secluded place, surrounded by the stench of burning carcasses.

Feigning reluctance, she climbed into the carriage with two servants. When Sir Elliot came to a stop by the carriage on his horse, the coach began to move. Maxi sat slumped inside the rattling carriage and breathed a sigh of relief. As the tension in her body began to dissipate, fatigue took its place. Hugging her knees, she nodded off like a cat in front of the fireplace. It had been the most exhausting day in her twenty-two years of existence.

***

Once she arrived at the castle, Maxi threw off her blood-stained robe, bathed herself, and promptly fell asleep on the bed. When she awoke the next morning, her whole body ached as though she had been battered with a club. She rolled from side to side, whimpering in pain.

Ludis entered with some firewood.

“Are you all right, my lady?” Ludis’s voice was full of concern.

Maxi forced a smile and crawled out of bed. Ludis swiftly summoned the other maidservants to prepare a warm bath. Maxi soaked in the steaming water until the knots in her muscles had loosened, then dressed in a soft cotton chemise and thick woolen dress. Ludis dried her hair thoroughly with a towel before gently combing out the tangles.

“Why don’t you rest in your room today, my lady? It’s a cold wintry day outside.”

“I-I intend t-to spend some t-time in the library. Th-There’s a book I’d l-like to read…”

“Then I’ll see to it that a fire is lit immediately. The sorcerer hasn’t been there since yesterday morning, so it’s quite cold in there.”

Ludis strode out of the room. Maxi ate her fill of the creamy barley porridge brought to her by a maidservant. Then, with a thick robe draped around her shoulders, she made her way to the library. The room was already warm when she arrived.

Maxi drew the curtains to let light in, then began browsing the bookshelves. But finding the book she wanted proved more difficult than she had anticipated. She pulled out book after book to check their contents before returning them to their place.

Should I wait and ask Ruth when he returns?

After spending hours combing through the books, Maxi sank to the ground in disappointment. She was on the verge of giving up when the title of the book she had been searching for caught her eye. It was in a messy pile of books stacked on the edge of the desk. Her face broke into a smile.

Maxi reached for the book, which contained age-old remedies and illustrations of medicinal herbs. With great numbers of monsters inhabiting the land surrounding Anatol, it was likely that the events of the previous day would occur again. For that reason, Maxi had resolved to study the art of healing.

She sat near the window to read by the weak winter light. The book was not easy to comprehend. The illustrations had faded, and remedies such as sprinkling ash on bruises or soaking hair with raw eggs for fevers seemed dubious at best. At length, Maxi sighed and closed the book, discouraged.

I’d feel better if we had just one more person capable of healing magic besides Ruth…

She could ask Riftan to hire another mage or request that the central church send hierarchs to Anatol. Neither option, however, was easily viable. Nobles were always in fierce competition for the best mages, and Ruth had already told her that the central church in Osiriya would never send a hierarch to a hinterland like Anatol. After a moment of deliberation, Maxi decided to search for more books.

But even after scouring the library for an entire afternoon, she was unable to find anything of use, and she left in disappointment. When she returned to her room, Ludis served her crisply grilled goose meat, crepe with crystallized apple, and savory pumpkin soup with a goat milk base. But Maxi barely touched the food as she leafed through the book she had taken from the library. Part of her doubted that her efforts would bear fruit, but she could not stand to do nothing.

Maxi stared into the fire, her eyes quivering. Riftan liked her now, but there was no guarantee that he would continue to like her forever. The moment he realized that she was not the charming noblewoman he had believed her to be, his affections might disappear like a mirage.

Maxi could not shake off her anxiety. She wondered how she could become someone who was needed by others; if she could be useful to Riftan in some small way, it was possible that he would allow her to remain by his side even after he had tired of her. Sighing at her servility, she stopped frantically leafing through her book.

After staring at the cover for a moment, Maxi pressed her face to her knees. In these moments of self-awareness, she could see her distorted thoughts as in a mirror, and her mind entered a state of turmoil. She wished that Riftan were there to hold her in his arms, but the thought only deepened her sense of solitude.

***

The next day, Maxi discovered a book on ancient remedies in the corner of the library. She spent the rest of the day reading the faded yellow pages. Though the book was written in the ancient tongue, Maxi was able to read it with ease, having spent most of her life hiding in a library. But as she read on, words she had never encountered before began to appear more frequently, and it soon became difficult to understand the passages.

As she slowly flipped through the pages, she carefully wrote the words down on a piece of parchment. They appeared to be names of body parts or tools used for treatment. Maxi searched for titles on the subjects, and before long, she had gathered an enormous pile of books on the desk.

Quill in hand, Maxi scrunched her nose. She had frantically read anything that seemed useful, but she had understood no more than half of the material. She took a deep breath and sighed, doubtful that she would ever be able to learn anything that way. She was impatiently running a hand through her hair when she heard the door fly open. Her face lit up when she saw Ruth stride in.

“R-Ruth! W-When did you r-return? Did you m-manage to t-treat all the injured?”

“I returned last night. And yes, everyone has been tended to,” Ruth answered flatly.

He trudged over to his usual chair. When he saw the books lying open on the desk, he looked surprised.

“Are you trying to learn medicine, my lady?”