Under the Oak Tree



Chapter 67: Chapter 67

From that day on, Riftan stopped mentioning her studies with Ruth altogether. He even stopped barging into the library. Yet this change only made Maxi more anxious, for it seemed that he was going to unnecessary lengths to disregard the fact that she was learning magic.

Though she couldn’t comprehend why he found the matter so disagreeable, she was optimistic that he would come around once she was able to master a useful spell. No lord would be opposed to having more mages under his command. Even the princess of Wedon had become a sorceress when her talents had become known.

Even if she could not become as skilled as Princess Agnes, it would be of great help to Anatol if she were to master healing magic. And Riftan would surely acknowledge her abilities when that happened.

Maxi leafed through her book impatiently and furrowed her brow. She wanted to learn magic as quickly as possible, and her lack of progress had made her restless. Ruth, who had been scribbling something on a map, looked up from across the table.

“You mustn’t be so hasty. It takes time to learn magic, and you’ve only just finished learning the basics.”

Maxi looked at him sheepishly. Ruth must have had a pair of invisible eyes on top of his head, for he always admonished her as soon as she lost concentration. She tucked her hair behind her ears and began to grumble.

“B-But I s-still don’t know a s-single spell.”

“That’s only to be expected. You cannot perform magic with theoretical knowledge alone. You must absorb an adequate amount of mana in your body.”

Maxi shut her mouth. The truth of his words stung. As he had pointed out, she was incapable of accumulating enough mana, and she was struggling in her practice sessions with the magic stone. She doubted that she would ever be able to use magic. Her shoulders slumped as her confidence dwindled.

“I-I practice w-with the stone e-every day, b-but I don’t s-seem to be i-improving.”

“It could be that you are not compatible with the fire element stone.”

Ruth fiddled with his quill, frowning. He appeared to be deep in thought. Maxi watched him expectantly, hoping that he would come up with a solution. There was a long silence before he spoke again.

“Why don’t we try a change of location? The concentration of mana varies depending on the place, so practicing somewhere else could help.”

Maxi found the suggestion unconvincing. She narrowed her eyes.

“W-Where would you s-suggest?”

“There isn’t a significant difference between places, but the concentration of mana is greater in areas that are abundant in natural matter such as plants, wind, soil, and water.”

Maxi turned her head to look out the rattling window. In the middle of the mahogany frame, she could see the bleak winter sky. The sight alone was enough to make her shiver.

“Y-You expect me t-to go outside i-in this c-cold?”

“You won’t freeze to death from spending a few minutes outside. Think of it as a short stroll through the gardens. You’ve been cooped up in the castle far too long.”

“Y-You’re the l-last person wh-who should accuse m-me of that.”

The only person who spent more time in the library than she did was Ruth. She, at least, inspected the castle once a day to oversee the servants, but the sorcerer never set foot outside the library. He likely took fewer than twenty steps a day.

She stared at his scrawny arms and legs pointedly. Ruth scowled and crossed his arms defensively.

“I can’t leave the library even if I want to. Not only am I investigating the migration of the monsters, I’m also slaving away to design runes for a monster detection device that will be installed on the ramparts. I would gladly split myself in two to do twice the work!”

“Y-You’re w-working on another m-magical device?”

“Indeed. As you may recall, monsters took advantage of the heavy fog to sneak over our walls in the dead of night. To make sure that never happens again, I plan to install the device where monsters frequently appear. But that’s still in the planning stages.”

Ruth rubbed the back of his neck and yawned loudly. It was only then that Maxi noticed the dark shadows under his eyes. She felt apologetic. In her haste to learn magic, she had failed to notice his fatigue.

“W-Would you like help? I could assist you in o-organizing the e-equations…”

“That would be wonderful, but I must refuse. Sir Riftan looks daggers at me every time our paths cross for teaching you magic without his permission. I’d hate to imagine what he’d do if he were to find out that I was making you work as my assistant.”

Ruth shuddered. His exaggerated reaction fueled Maxi’s anxiety. Was it obvious to others as well that Riftan was opposed to her learning magic? Feeling despondent, she cast her eyes down. Ruth continued in a lighter tone.

“It is kind of you to offer, my lady, but I would rather you focus on your studies for the time being. That would be of greater help to me.”

“I-I understand.”

Maxi picked up the book she had been reading and stood up. Ludis, who had been sewing quietly a short distance away, promptly gathered up her things as well. When Maxi reached the door, she turned to look back at Ruth.

“Th-Then I shall leave you t-to your work.”

Ruth waved half-heartedly. “Thank you. Please enjoy the fresh air for both of us.”

“I-I’m only g-going to collect mana,” Maxi grumbled.

As she stepped out of the library, Ludis hastily came after her and draped a cloak over her shoulders.

“Th-Thank you.”

“Would you like to stop by your room for a warmer cloak?”

“N-No, th-this will do. C-Could you bring this b-book to my room? I-I’d like to go s-straight to the g-garden.”

“Allow me to carry it for you, my lady. I cannot leave you unattended.”

“Th-That won’t be n-necessary. I-I’m only going f-for a walk.”

“But…”

“A-And I find that I can c-concentrate better w-when I am a-alone.”

Seeing that Maxi had made up her mind, Ludis dutifully took the book and bowed.

Maxi turned around and made her way down the corridor. The shutters had been opened for the first time in a long while, and bright sunlight was flooding onto the carpeted stairs. She squinted at the window before quickly making her way downstairs. Servants must have aired the castle, for it felt colder than usual indoors.

She turned in the direction of the kitchen, thinking that she would warm herself by the fire first so the cold would feel less biting. She walked briskly across the hall, pulling the cloak closer to her body.

Once she arrived at the kitchen, however, all desire to rest there quickly evaporated. She hovered by the door and observed the servants bustling about. There were more of them than usual preparing ingredients, lighting fires, and moving buckets of water here and there.

“Fools! Are you trying to burn the bread? Take the loaves out of the oven at once!”

“S-Sorry!”

Two young lads grabbed a wooden spatula to remove pumpkin-sized loaves of bread from the oven. Their faces had gone red from the cook’s scolding. While the youths were busy stacking the loaves onto a clean wooden board, eight maidservants seated around a table stuffed half-moon-shaped pies with minced onion, diced sausage, and various spices.

Five cauldrons simmered inside the fireplaces that lined the walls. The kitchen rang with the chatter of the servants, whose hands flitted about grilling meat, mashing turnips for salad, and boiling potatoes and eggs, which they then placed in wooden bowls.

The kitchen was always busy near mealtime, but it seemed abuzz with even more activity than usual. Maxi timidly approached the cook.

“D-Did his lordship r-request something that I-I’m unaware of?”

“My lady! Please forgive me for not noticing your presence.”

The cook bowed hastily. Maxi waved her hand to signal that she was not offended.

“It’s all right. I-It just seems th-the kitchen is b-busier than usual.”

“Yes. His lordship has informed us that he will be holding cavalry training today and has asked us to prepare more food than usual.”

“C-Cavalry training?”

“The knights have mock battles on horseback at the training grounds. It’s quite a spectacular sight.”

The cook beamed at her. Then, realizing that he had forgotten about the oil pot, he gave a cry and rushed to remove the crisply fried pies. After sprinkling cinnamon powder and pouring syrup over them, he gave Maxi an apologetic look.

“My apologies, my lady. They burn so quickly that I was afraid we’d end up wasting perfectly good ingredients.”

“It’s m-my fault for disturbing you. Please c-carry on.”

“Are you not here because you need something, my lady?”

“N-No, I was just p-passing through.”

Not wanting to disrupt their work any longer, Maxi quickly left the kitchen through the back door. Laborers were cutting firewood and loading them onto a cart in the open courtyard. The men removed their hats in greeting. Maxi waved in return before briskly walking along the path that led to the garden.

Everything grew calm once she had walked a short distance away from the great hall. After surveying the area, Maxi threw her head back and took a deep breath. The pale winter sunlight was streaming through the bare branches, which resembled charred bones. The wind was biting, but it was a rare sunny day. After spending several weeks inside the stale, dimly lit library where it smelled of burning wood, she found the crisp winter air invigorating.