Under the Oak Tree



Chapter 62: Chapter 62

Maxi was awoken from a deep sleep by the kittens’ cries. As she squinted into the bright light streaming in through the windows, she thought her head might split open. She groaned and gripped her temples.

Something was scraping the insides of her stomach, and her head throbbed as if someone had brought a hammer down on it. She had never felt such discomfort in her life. Overwhelmed, her face crumpled. Suddenly, a cup of water was thrust in front of her face. She slowly turned her head to see Riftan looking down at her, a brooding expression on his face and three lively kittens dangling off his leg.

“Is my carousing lady finally awake?”

Maxi stiffened as memories of the previous night came flooding back. Riftan placed the cup of water in her hand.

“You were quite the sight last night. I didn’t know you loved to drink so much.”

He spoke in a voice so soft that Maxi began to feel uneasy.

“I-I don’t! Y-Yesterday was the first time I-I d-drank that much.”

Her voice faltered. Eyeing her doubtfully, Riftan sat on the edge of the bed and let out a deep sigh. It seemed as though he was trying to contain his temper. Maxi hung her head.

Gripping the cool cup in her hand, she looked at herself in the mirror. The hair that Ludis had arranged so elegantly the night before now looked like a pile of tangled vines, and her dress was nowhere to be seen. Clad only in her chemise, she looked like a vagrant.

She slowly raised the blanket to cover her bloated face. Riftan’s soft voice reached her ears as loud and as clear as a bellow.

“Let this be my only warning. If I ever see you drunk among a group of rowdy men again, I’ll make sure you can’t get out of bed for a while.”

Maxi snapped her head up in surprise. It was not his threat that surprised her, but the fact that she was not afraid. She had absolute trust that he would never hurt her.

“Do you know what I’d do to you?”

When Riftan saw that his threat had failed to scare her, he growled softly. The hairs on her neck stood up. Realizing that his anger was genuine, Maxi quickly shook her head.

“I-It will n-never happen again.”

“If I could have my way, I would…”

He gazed down resentfully at her disheveled appearance, then breathed a sigh of resignation.

“I’ll have the maidservants bring you herbal tea to help with the hangover, so rest here awhile. I’ll save the rest of my words for the evening.”

“W-Where are you g-going?”

“I have business to take care of on the training grounds.”

Riftan jumped out of bed, his voice unnervingly calm. After plucking the kittens off his boots, he set them down on the bed and strode out of the room. Maxi quickly gathered them onto her lap; their indignant mewling had begun to aggravate her piercing headache.

While she was placating the kittens, Ludis entered with a tea tray.

“How are you feeling, my lady?”

She felt terrible, but after the spectacle she had made of herself the night before, she did not want to be seen suffering from a hangover. Trying to look as dignified as possible, she sipped the herbal tea to soothe her stomach. Ludis, however, was quick to notice her condition.

“Let me prepare a bath for you, my lady. A nice warm bath and a bowl of the cook’s special egg gruel should help you feel better.”

Maxi nodded, comforted by the thoughtful suggestion.

“Yes, th-that would be n-nice.”

A short while later, a tub of warm water was brought to the room. Maxi quickly undressed and lowered herself in. She felt refreshed after soaking her body in the steaming water and washing her thick hair with an herbal tonic. She remained until the water grew lukewarm before getting out to put on a crisp new dress.

Ludis returned with a bowl of gruel cooked with barley, potatoes, onions, and eggs over a low fire. After eating her fill, Maxi sat by the fire with a book. She was able to read without difficulty, for the herbal tea had proved effective in relieving her headache.

“Shall I take the kittens away so they don’t disturb you?” Ludis asked.

Maxi shook her head, reluctant to allow the tiny creatures out of the warmth of her room.

“Th-That won’t be n-necessary. Th-They’ve been behaving.”

Ludis smiled. “The black-haired one is very docile, but the other two are mischievous little things. The moment they regained some strength, they started running about the room. They’ll make fine mouse hunters once they’re bigger.”

Maxi breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the tender expression on Ludis’s face. She had worried that Ludis might resent the additional responsibility, but the maidservant seemed besotted with the new members of the household.

“I th-thought of names f-for them yesterday. The black one i-is Roy, the white one i-is Laura, a-and the gray t-tabby is R-Ron.”

Ludis knitted her brows in concentration and mouthed each name, then smiled.

“I shall let the servants know. They’ve all taken a liking to these precious things. The cook’s got high hopes for them. He even prepared treats so they can grow faster and start catching mice in the kitchen.”

Ludis pointed to a flat wooden bowl on the floor. Maxi watched adoringly as the kittens thrust their noses into the milk and fish porridge, then turned her attention back to her book. It was the last of the ones Ruth had given her. Though she had made little progress in cultivating mana affinity, reading had given her a better understanding of the concept and principles of magic.

She took out a fresh piece of parchment from a leather pouch and opened the last chapter of her book. Just as she was about to start reading, Laura, who had fallen asleep after her hearty meal, climbed out of the basket and began clawing at the hem of her dress.

Maxi looked down at the kitten fondly and scratched its back, but the cat’s loud yowling soon distracted her to the point where the words on the page no longer made sense. Agitated, she glanced down at the kitten. Ludis quickly picked Laura up and dropped her in the basket, but the unhappy little thing continued to wail.

“Shall I bring them outside, my lady?”

“N-No, I was just a-about to head to the l-library. C-Could you l-look after them f-for a little while?”

“Leave them to me. They’ll quiet down once they’ve had some milk.”

Ludis stroked the kitten tenderly before heating milk in a pan over the fire. After slipping a robe over her dress, Maxi left the room with her book. She passed through the chilly corridors to arrive at the library. She was greeted by Ruth, who looked up with a smirk from his usual spot.

“Did you grow any taller in your sleep?”

Maxi stared in confusion before blushing at the memory of her drunken behavior.

“Embarrassing a lady b-by bringing up her blunders is a g-great discourtesy.”

“I know of no lady capable of drinking half a barrel by herself.”

Maxi eyed him distrustfully. “Y-You’re lying. I couldn’t have had so much.”

“And that’s only counting the ale. If we were to include the wine… But seeing as you’re perfectly sound this morning, I take it that you’re a natural at this. Sir Hebaron wouldn’t stop singing your praises.”

“I s-suffered a t-terrible headache when I woke up th-this morning.”

“But you seem perfectly fine.”

“Because I-I drank h-herbal tea!”

As a noblewoman, she could not think of anything more mortifying than being branded a drunkard. To her relief, Ruth shrugged and sat down at the desk, ostensibly uninterested in teasing her further.

“We’ll have plenty of opportunities to see just how well you can hold your liquor.”

“H-How dare you! I w-won’t be drinking l-like that from n-now on.”

“If you say so. You’re here to study, no? Please have a seat. How far have you read?”

She shot him a resentful look before sitting down despondently.

“I-I just have th-this book left, though I can’t s-say I understood e-everything I read…”

“You’ve made fast progress. I shall try to explain any parts you found difficult in as simple terms as possible.”

Maxi pulled out rolls of parchment from her pouch and handed them to Ruth, who skimmed over the pages and smiled.

“I see that you’ve been studying hard. I’m glad to see that you’re so determined.”

“I wrote down th-the things I could not u-understand,” Maxi mumbled, embarrassed by the rare compliment.

Ruth cleared his throat and adopted a serious look once again.

“Then allow me to explain. Please focus.”

Maxi hastily took out a quill, an ink bottle, and a piece of parchment from her pouch. Ruth smiled as he waited. Once she was ready, he launched into his explanation. Maxi listened intently, making note of every word. Ruth’s monotonous voice and the scratching of her quill reverberated inside the library for the next few hours.

As their lesson continued well into the afternoon, Maxi requested a light meal from a maidservant. They moved the desk closer to the brazier and continued their lesson as they ate their bread and soup. Maxi took small bites from the piece of bread she held in one hand while her other hand was occupied taking notes.

Every so often, Ruth would begin to ramble excitedly about complex concepts, but he would always explain them to her again in simpler terms when she asked. He was surprisingly patient; even when she failed to grasp concepts right away, he did not grow exasperated or chide her. Encouraged, Maxi asked questions freely.

“This reminds me of my time in the Mage Tower,” Ruth muttered out of the blue, a nostalgic expression on his face.