Under the Oak Tree

Chapter 28: Chapter

“My lady, if I may...”

Rodrigo cleared his throat before continuing.

“Could I trouble you to inform the lord that lunch is ready? The kitchen has been busy since dawn preparing a proper meal for the knights before the long trip.”

“C-Certainly!” Maxi exclaimed.

The old man looked visibly relieved that she did not think his request to be impudent.

“Th-Thank you, my lady.”

Overjoyed to be given an excuse to see Riftan, Maxi rushed out without gracing Rodrigo with a proper reply. The gentle autumn breeze felt cool against her tense body. She glanced up at the pale sun before walking past the pavilion and down the stairs.

She bunched up her skirt to avoid the silver puddles scattered across the garden. After crossing the expansive gardens, she arrived at the inner gates. She passed a sentry, who hastily raised his hand in salute, before skipping down eight staircases. The vast training grounds were surrounded by tall, thick walls. There, knights in silver armor stood in orderly lines before Riftan. 𝘧r𝘦𝗲w𝘦𝚋𝐧o𝘷𝘦𝙡.co𝑚

Maxi halted in her tracks. They seemed to be in the middle of a serious discussion.

A young knight took a step forward. It was Gabel, who had proven himself to be an eloquent storyteller a few nights prior.

“Commander, if Anatol concerns you so, allow me to stay behind. With a Remdragon knight here, you’ll have nothing to worry about.”

“No. All knights who participated in the Dragon Campaign must attend the celebration. The honor must be shared equally.”

“I have no interest in gold or titles from the king. I’ve already made a name for myself as a knight and received enough praise. I’d rather remain here to train than waste my time at tedious festivities.”

“Do you really mean that?” Hebaron shook his head in disbelief. “All the ladies of the court will be falling at your feet. With that silver tongue of yours, you could seduce even the haughtiest lady! Are you an ascetic, to throw away such a chance?”

“Frivolous fool! Is that giant head of yours filled with nothing but vulgar thoughts?”

“What did you say?!”

Ruth sighed from Riftan’s side as he watched Hebaron and Ricaydo glare at each other.

“My good sirs, are you under a curse that will cause you to die of the plague if you go a day without snarling at each other?”

He clicked his tongue in annoyance and continued.

“Sir Riftan is right. No knight who fought in the campaign should miss the celebration. Sir Obaron, Sir Sebrique, and the sentries will be here to guard Anatol as always. I plan to stay behind as well.”

“What are you talking about? You played a crucial role in the battle as sorcerer. You must go with us!”

“Fame and heroism do not become me. And my presence in the capital will create unnecessary friction with the court sorcerers. Have you forgotten that I am an outcast among my peers for leaving the Mage Tower without permission?”

The sorcerer shrugged as though the incident were trivial, and the knights rolled their eyes.

After listening to the exchange in silence, Riftan said, “It would certainly ease my mind if you stayed.”

“That was always my intention,” replied Ruth with another shrug.

Riftan held his head high and turned toward the knights. “It’s decided, then. We leave as soon as preparations are complete. We’ll take the route that I just explained.”

The knights touched their fists to their chests before lowering them again. The gesture seemed to be the custom salute of their order. Maxi, who had been waiting in the back, noticed the discussion drawing to a close and quietly approached Riftan. He turned around with a puzzled expression.

“I told you to take more rest. Is something wrong?”

“N-No, it was t-time for me to r-rise.”

She stepped toward Riftan, pretending not to notice the knights stealing glances at her. Riftan looked worried.

“R-Rodrigo said that l-lunch is ready...” she said shyly, feeling her chest tighten. “So I c-came to t-tell you...”

Riftan looked toward the sky to gauge the time by the angle of the sun. He turned toward the knights and called out, “Let us eat first.”

The knights dispersed. Riftan wrapped an arm around Maxi’s shoulders as they began to walk. Maxi peeked at Riftan’s dashing figure standing tall under the bright sun. Dressed in silver armor and a navy-blue tunic, he looked like a magnificent hero who had just strolled out of a temple mural. Maxi understood why his subjects called him the incarnation of Wigrew, the legendary knight who had ascended to the heavens.

“Are you all right?”

“I-I’m fine,” she answered, hastily fixing her eyes on the ground.

“You looked like you were in pain the last time we did it.”

Her face burned as if it had caught fire.

“I-I feel f-fine...”

“It’d be nice if you’d say that in bed as well,” he said, frowning. “Tell me it’s fine when I ask for more.”

“Y-You shouldn’t s-say such...”

Maxi looked around, afraid that someone had overheard them. The knights, however, were far ahead of them. She quickly regained her composure and gave Riftan a stern look.

“Y-You shouldn’t say s-such things. W-What if someone hears?”

“So what if someone hears?”

She wanted to say that others might think of them as shameless and debauched. Tongue-tied, she teared up in embarrassment. They had undeniably spent the previous few days engaged in shameless debauchery. Riftan, who had been watching her impassively, suddenly burst into laughter.

“Oh, my sweet, innocent lady.”

He drew her toward him by the waist and rubbed his lips against hers. She shuddered at the coldness of the armor that she felt through her clothes. Just below her ears, her pulse quickened.

“Don’t make it so hard to leave.”

Maxi gazed up at him with quivering eyes, suppressing the urge to ask whether he would truly miss her and whether she could accompany him. Had she not been afraid that she would irritate him – and thereby shatter this sweet moment – she would have begged him to bring her with him. Reining back her emotions, she tried to speak with poise.

“We sh-should hurry t-to lunch. You n-need to e-eat...”

“Yes, let’s go.”

He set her down, his excitement seemingly diminished. Repressing the desire to cling to him, Maxi made her way to the dining hall.

***

The knights exited the hall after lunch and mounted their horses. Maxi went out to the courtyard to send Riftan off, a retinue of servants trailing closely behind her. Riftan, elegantly balanced atop a black stallion, slowly turned his horse around to look at her.

...

“I’ll be back soon.”

“P-Please b-be careful.”

Her murmur was almost unintelligible, but he smiled. He leaned so far out of his saddle to stroke her face that she feared he would fall off. Though she could feel the servants’ eyes on them, she did not refuse his touch.

She stood on the tips of her toes to receive Riftan’s kiss. Their lips touched lightly before locking together, and he gently pushed his tongue into her mouth to explore its corners. Then suddenly, he sat up straight and led his horse to the front of the party as if nothing had occurred. The knights, who had been watching in disbelief, sighed and followed. Blushing, Maxi watched as they grew smaller in the distance.

The knights passed through the gates and crossed the moat in single file. As the long train of men passed below, the sentries on the walls blew their kopels. The rich sound of the horns reverberated through the air, forming a discordant ensemble with the clopping of hooves.

Maxi stood rooted to the spot long after the knights and their horses had disappeared over the horizon.

***

After Riftan’s departure, Maxi fell ill and was confined to her bed for two days. The fatigue accumulated from the flurry of activity of the previous days washed over her. The maidservants attended to her with herbal soup and cooled her fever with damp towels.

Thanks to their devoted care, her condition had improved by the time she awoke the next day. She asked Ludis to draw her a bath, expecting that she would feel refreshed after washing off her sweat.

“Shouldn’t we call the cleric, my lady?” asked Ludis.

Maxi shook her head as she shed her gown and stepped into the tub.

...

“I f-feel b-better now.”

“I don’t know if the herbs the sorcerer gave us are enough. We should call a healer and-”

“I-I’m really all r-right. It was j-just a f-fever.”

Maxi forced a smile. She was not yet fully recovered, but the fever had broken. A day of light exercise and consuming nourishing food would surely restore her strength. She put on her newly tailored dress and draped a thick shawl over her shoulders before stepping out into the garden. There, she was surprised by the chill of the wind. The temperature had dropped markedly in just a few days.

Noticing her astonishment, Ludis smiled. “The days grow cold when the autumn rains have passed.”

“It f-feels like it’s almost w-winter...” f𝔯𝒆𝚎𝚠𝑒𝚋𝓃૦νℯƖ.co𝘮

“Anatol’s winters are mild compared to other regions, perhaps because we’re close to the southern sea. It rarely snows even in mid-winter, and when it does, we only get flurries.”

Maxi could not hide her slight disappointment. Because her father’s lands were located in the warm southeastern regions, she had never seen a proper snowfall. She had heard that Drachium, the capital of Wedon, habitually saw enough snowfall to cover the entire continent. She wondered whether it would be snowing by the time Riftan reached the capital.