Under the Oak Tree



Chapter 90: Chapter 90

“I don’t know who to be angrier at – you, or the fools who didn’t stop you from leaving. What in God’s name were you thinking, rushing into that monster-infested place? Do you not recall me saying not to put yourself in danger?”

“B-But I couldn’t be… th-the only one in the castle doing no-”

“You should have stayed in the castle!”

Riftan’s chest rose and fell with heavy breaths.

“Why do you think I work like a dog day and night? Why do you think I’m fortifying the village and this cas-”

He cut himself off, his jaw clenching when he saw Maxi’s ashen face. His shoulders shook as he tried to restrain his anger.

“Don’t even think about leaving these chambers today,” he spat out in a strangled voice.

He then spun around, picked up a robe on the floor, and marched out of the room.

Maxi stared at the door swinging shut behind him, her mind addled. Although Riftan had always been quick-tempered and gruff, she had never seen him so emotional.

Had she been the cause of such shock? Her face clouded with anxiety. This was the second time he had gotten this upset with her because she had fainted. Surely, he was sick of her by now. She tried to calm herself down, but her heart was still pounding when she heard a knock on the door.

“My lady, I have brought a meal and a change of clothes. May I come in?”

“Y-Yes, come in.”

Ludis entered the room carrying a large tray.

“Some herb soup, my lady. How are you feeling?”

Maxi forced a smile when she saw the concern in the maidservant’s eyes. “I-I feel all right. I was simply… worn out yesterday… because I used too much magic.”

“You looked terribly unwell yesterday, my lady, and you would not wake up…”

Placing the tray on the bedside table, Ludis’s face grew cautious as she carefully chose her next words. “His lordship was very worried. He explicitly instructed that I am to take good care of you today.”

Maxi’s face flushed, but her shoulders slumped in relief. So, he was not disillusioned with her just yet.

“Where… was his lordship headed? H-He barely got any rest last night… because he was busy tending to me… Did he leave the c-castle again?”

“I think he was going to the training grounds, my lady,” Ludis answered genially, laying out the fresh clothes on the bed. “Are you rested enough to get up, my lady? Please allow me to help you get dressed.”

After slipping into crisp new clothes with Ludis’s help, Maxi sat back on the bed and began eating the watery soup. While she did so, Ludis lit the fireplace and boiled some tea. Maxi threw glances at the maidservant as she worked before asking about the events of the previous day.

“Do you know… what happened… to the others?”

“The others, my lady?”

“Many were w-wounded yesterday… but then a monster suddenly appeared… and it got so chaotic…”

Maxi’s voice faltered as she recalled how the monster had blown away men like hay with a flap of its wings.

“I do not know the details… but I could go find out if you wish, my lady,” Ludis replied cautiously when she saw Maxi growing pale.

“W-Would you?”

Ludis gave her a gentle smile and nodded. “Please rest here while I go, my lady. His lordship has made it clear that you are not to leave the bedchambers today.”

Maxi nodded meekly. Even if he had not forbidden it, she was not sure she had the energy to walk out of this room. Ludis took the kettle out of the fireplace and placed it on the tray before she left. Maxi soon put down her bowl of soup on the bedside table and lay back. She rested for a short while before she heard another knock, followed by Ludis’s voice.

“My lady, Her Highness wishes to see you. May we come in?”

“G-Give me a moment!”

Startled, Maxi leaped to her feet but staggered back onto the bed as a wave of dizziness washed over her.

The thin linen dress she was wearing was far from appropriate attire for receiving the princess of the kingdom, but that did not mean she could turn away a royal that had personally sought out her chambers. Maxi hastily walked over to the mirror. She brushed her hair, which was puffed up in a red cloud, and compressed her swollen eyes with a wet towel.

Although it hardly made much of a difference, Maxi was at least content that her hair was no longer such a mess. She returned to her bed.

“P-Please show Her Highness in.”

Princess Agnes strode into the room looking radiant. She wore an uncharacteristically elegant dress that flaunted her curves, and her long golden hair was braided down her back. Her turquoise skirt fluttered as she walked over to Maxi’s bed.

“How are you feeling, Maximilian?”

“I-I am well, Your Highness. Please f-forgive me… for greeting you in this state.”

“Do not trouble yourself with trivial formalities. It is I who should apologize for coming to see you on such short notice. I know it is unpropitious, but I heard Ludis asking the sentries about what happened yesterday. I wanted to explain it to you personally.”

She took the seat Ludis had brought for her and gave Maxi a faint smile.

“And I also wished to apologize.”

“Apologize?”

“Our plan yesterday was to round up the wyverns in the valley to deal with them one by one. It was my task to cast the barrier to stop them from escaping while the knights lured them to one side. But there was a breach in the barrier…”

The princess sighed, visibly annoyed, and swept a lock of hair that had slipped over her forehead.

“And that is how a wyvern was able to get away. The camp was devastated, and you could have been badly hurt, all because of my momentary oversight. I am truly sorry.”

Maxi was taken aback by the princess’s open admission of her mistake. After all, she was currently the highest-ranking person in this castle; she did not need to apologize to anyone. In truth, she did not even have to feel responsible at all.

Maxi waved her hands. “Y-You need not apologize, Y-Your Highness… You… fought to help Anatol e-even though you were not required to do so. If you had not… helped us yesterday…”

“I did not assist you without receiving anything in return, Maximilian,” the princess confessed with a wry smile. “We slew twenty-three wyverns yesterday, and I was able to attain twenty-three magic stones as well as a mountain of bones and hides… which is excessive compared to my measly contribution.”

Maxi shifted her eyes nervously. Though she did not know the exact worth of the compensation the princess had received, she was certain that it was an exorbitant amount.

The princess shrugged, looking sheepish. “But after the mistake I made yesterday, my conscience would not allow me to take all of the loot as promised, so I shall have to discuss it with Riftan again.”

“W-Were there many casualties? What happened… to the people… at the camp?”

Even so, Maxi did not care what the princess did with the loot. She only wanted to know what had happened to the people she had painstakingly healed.

The princess, who had been studying Maxi’s anxious face, remained silent for a moment as though carefully choosing what she was about to say. Her voice was calm when she finally opened her mouth.

“Six were gravely wounded but survived because they were able to get treatment on time. Others got away with minor injuries. However… two of the workers who had been crushed beneath the wyvern could not be saved. They were already dead by the end of the raid.”

Maxi’s face blanched in shock. The thought that people who had been in the same place at the same time as her had lost their lives sent a chill down her spine. Could they have been one of the people she had tended to?

She lowered her gaze and murmured, “I-I suppose… everything I did was for naught.”

“Nonsense.”

Warm fingers grazed her cold hand, and Maxi flinched in surprise. The princess held Maxi’s hand and regarded her with her signature uninhibited stare.

“The people you healed were among those who were able to flee from the wyvern in time. What you did required a lot of courage.”

“Y-You think… too highly of me. I was not the only one… who was there to offer assistance, and I… merely did what was expected of me… as the lady of the castle,” Maxi mumbled bitterly, fixing her gaze downward. “Th-Though I do not think… Riftan appreciates what I did.”

“Oh, it was much worse than that. The man was nearly out of his mind when he found you unconscious. Heavens, I never imagined I’d see our fearless Mago look so sick with worry!”

Maxi was slightly offended by the princess’s obvious amusement. Perhaps Riftan had been right in saying the princess only wanted to get a rise out of him.

“Riftan… was simply concerned for my well-being,” Maxi muttered, a little indignant. “H-He is a kind man… so he worries for me… since I have always been frail.”

For some reason, the princess burst into laughter at her words.

“Right,” she said, gasping for air and wiping tears from her eyes. “He is a kind man indeed.”

Maxi was baffled for a moment, but quickly grew angry when she felt that she was being slighted.

Seeing Maxi’s face harden, the princess’s smile slid from her face. “What I wished to say was… what you did was commendable, Maximilian. Pay no heed to Riftan’s behavior. I’m sure the man will be proud to have such a brave and reliable wife once he’s able to think sensibly again.”

Considering how Riftan had reacted, Maxi was unconvinced, but she chose not to refute the princess’s words.

“Thank you… for saying so, Your Highness.”

“I mean it. I heard that you began learning healing magic so you could help in situations like yesterday. Not many ladies would do so, you know.”

Feeling a little guilty, an intense flush crept over Maxi’s cheeks. Her reason for learning magic was not as noble as the princess proclaimed; it had simply been to prove useful to Riftan, as a precaution against him abandoning her.

“I have only been learning since last winter… s-so my skills… are quite inadequate,” Maxi replied awkwardly, avoiding the princess’s eyes.

“You healed seven severely injured men yesterday. That is an amazing feat for a novice,” the princess remarked with a shrug. “You might just possess a great talent for healing magic.”