Under the Oak Tree

Chapter 351: Chapter 112

“You accuse me of caring more for myself?”

Riftan’s tone dripped with utter disbelief.

Tears threatened to spill from Maxi’s burning eyes, which she held back through sheer willpower.

“C-Can you deny it?” she fumed. “You never listen. You never try… to understand what 1 want! Because I refuse to follow your wishes and be tucked away in a castle! I want to do everything with you, be the person standing beside you! But that means… I can h-hurt you again… and th-that’s why you push me away… over and over!”

Her voice was shrill by the time she finished. Riftan’s eyes blazed as he grabbed her arms, bringing his face inches from hers. His throat bobbed in fury. Though he looked positively frightening, Maxi felt no fear. She glared back at him, her gaze venomous, waiting for him to explode.

In the next moment, his primal rage disappeared behind the mask of a cold knight. He released her and slowly stepped back.

“Think as you wish,” he said before striding off.

The anger roiling in her chest crumbled away like sand as Riftan left the room, the door clicking shut behind him. Maxi closed her eyes.

***

He began to ignore her completely from that point on. Hurt by his silence, Maxi moved her belongings to the mages’ quarters. Riftan was not the only one who did not wish to interact.

Just as she had begun to believe they had gotten close, he had slammed the door on her. She no longer knew what to do.

Maxi massaged her throbbing temples, looking up at the gray sky through the window. What was it that he wanted from her? Though it was clear he could not bear the thought of them growing apart, he was always anxious to put distance between them whenever she got too close.

The expedition to the Pamela Plateau and the extreme circumstances of the war had temporarily put a pause on their conflict. Now that both were over, he seemed to be searching for new reasons to keep her at arm’s length.

Maxi bit her lip. Was that what he wanted? To keep at a safe distance so neither could hurt the other? Did he want their marriage to resemble the apathetic arrangements of many in the aristocracy, concerned only with keeping up appearances?

Maxi picked up a piece of parchment from a pile on the desk to dispel her darkening thoughts, but her head was too full to take in any of the ancient scrawls. After furiously scrubbing her forehead, she slumped over the desk.

Anette, who had been flickering glances at her, heaved a sigh. “Why don’t you take a nap instead?”

“I am not tired.”

“So you can stop being such a distraction, I mean. Go bemoan your despair in your room,” Anette said heartlessly, scribbling onto her parchment.

Maxi shot her a glare before getting to her feet. Officially, she was assisting with translating the dark mages’ records whenever she could, but she knew she was not pulling her weight. Feeling defeated, she trudged to the door.

As if taking pity on her, Celric, who was going over more records by the fireplace, said gently, “It’s plain that something is on your mind, and you will only be more depressed if left to your own devices. Why don’t you all go for a meal instead? It’s not as if there is much left for us to work on after those paladins stepped in.”

There was a hint of bitterness in his last sentence. Clearly, he was displeased by the Temple Knights’ unannounced seizure of the records a few days prior. There was little the mages could do as mere aides in the expedition, however. The Basilica of Osiriya had funded and led the endeavor; put bluntly, the church had the right to all of the records.

Though the mages were fortunately allowed to keep their personal findings, the rest were loaded onto Osiriyan baggage wagons, essentially halting all research.

Celric eyed the stack of documents on the table. “It shouldn’t take us more than a few days to finish the rest. We can take our time with them until the army’s departure to Osiriya.”

No sooner had he spoken the words than those seated around the table sprung to their feet in quick succession. Before Maxi could do anything about it, she was hustled out of the building by more than ten mages.

They chattered away about various topics as they headed to the kitchen. Most of the conversation was about the council that would be held in Balbourne, speculating on how negotiations would be handled, and even wagers on what portion of the spoils would be awarded to the Mage Tower.

As Maxi trailed a few steps behind her noisy peers, she caught sight of a knight in Remdragon armor alongside Princess Agnes, her golden locks flowing loose. They were swiftly making their way behind the castle.

Freezing in place, Maxi studied the knight’s back. A hood covered his head, but his height was evident even from this distance. She felt her chest tighten.

Standing in shock, she watched the figures enter an empty courtyard. Jolting back to her senses, she told the mages to go ahead before hurrying after the princess and the knight.

The pair walked for some time and came to a stop in an open area edged by a wall. Maxi ducked behind a large tree when the knight turned to glance behind him.

Voices soon floated over to her. Though she was too far away to catch what they were saying, she realized the man’s low voice did not belong to Riftan. Her shoulders sagged in relief. At the same time, she felt a wrenching in her gut, and her eyes burned with tears.

What on earth was I thinking?

Crouching down, she buried her face in her knees. After some time, she heard Princess Agnes’s exasperated voice carry over.

Maxi peeked out from the tree and saw Elliot Charon calmly attempting to explain something to the princess. When the knight pulled out a piece of paper from his chest, Agnes took it and seemed to assess its contents for a long time.

There was an unusual air between them. What reason would these two, of all people, have for such a clandestine conversation? Maxi watched furtively from the shadows when she suddenly recalled Riftan and the princess’s similar private talks throughout the campaign. Her face darkened.

She had always assumed they were discussing the war. She now realized they could have been talking about something she was entirely unaware of. Could there be another reason Riftan had told her to return to the Mage Tower? Was there some grave problem that had reared its head, one that had made him put on that cold act to send her somewhere safe?

She was turning over these concerns in her mind when someone yanked her arm. With a small shriek, Maxi whipped her head up to see Elliot’s serious face. The knight looked startled and promptly released her.

“F-Forgive me, my lady. I thought someone was eavesdropping.”

Maxi flushed beet red. It was painfully evident that she had been doing just that. Realizing this, Elliot closed his mouth, looking rather awkward.

“I saw the two of you from afar…” Maxi began, “b-but I missed my chance to talk to you.”

Her eyes flickered behind him as she mumbled her flimsy excuse. To her relief, Princess Agnes was no longer there. The conversation had apparently come to an end while Maxi had been lost in her thoughts.

Relieved that the princess had not witnessed her shameful behavior, Maxi focused back on Elliot. The knight was visibly tense and flustered.

Seeing that he did not appear angry, at least, Maxi chose to proceed brazenly. She straightened and said, “It looked like you were discussing a serious matter, so 1 did not wish to disturb you.”

“How much did you hear?” Elliot asked after a while.

His keen eyes searched her face. Maxi considered feigning knowledge to get the knight to reveal something but eventually gave up the idea. She doubted he would fall for it so easily.

“I-I could not hear a thing,” she confessed, “but I did see you hand something to the princess.”

Elliot pressed his lips together. Maxi waited for him to offer an explanation. When he remained silent for a long time, she felt her temper flare.

“The day we arrived…” she began, “Sir Ursuline sought Riftan out urgently. Riftan told me it was due to a trade conflict, but that’s not really the reason, is it? Something much worse must have—”

“My lady. i am not authorized to tell you anything. If you must know, 1 suggest you speak with the commander.”

Maxi stared at the knight’s somber face. Seeing that he was unlikely to be persuaded, she let out a dejected laugh.

“So… he is hiding something from me.”

“And he has strictly instructed you and the others that 1 am to be kept in the dark.”

The knight neither confirmed nor denied it, keeping his mouth resolutely closed. That was answer enough for Maxi. She rubbed her throbbing eyes and huffed in irritation. Her chest felt close to bursting from frustration.

She was thoroughly sick and tired of Riftan hiding the truth, of the way he coldly turned his back on the pretext of protecting her. She was tired of hovering outside his walls, begging to be let in.

Wiping her forehead with a shaking hand, she said, “V-Very well. I shall press you no further.”

“You should ask the commander—”

“No. i know… he will refuse to tell me anything.”

Sensing the resignation in her voice, Elliot looked uncomfortable.

“And if he has no intention of telling me anything…” Maxi continued, no longer bothering to appear unaffected, “I have no intention of asking.”

***

A few days later, the coalition army set out for Osiriya. The conscripted soldiers of each unit had been ordered to return home with their compensation, and their forces were now half of what they used to be. With more men splitting off during the journey, a little over six thousand remained by the time they reached the Osiriyan border..