Under the Oak Tree



Chapter 94: Chapter 94

For the first time in her life, Maxi played a dice game, drank stale beer while watching street performers, and sampled a pie made of a thin crust and filling she was not familiar with. When her stomach was full of all kinds of new foods, the princess cajoled her into joining a pole-throwing competition.

“Holding the pole at the end will make it fly farther. Grab it here and imagine that you’re throwing it in a high arch,” explained Princess Agnes.

The princess herself had already effortlessly thrown her own pole, earning a high score.

Maxi awkwardly climbed onto the podium and gulped. A few feet away, Riftan watched her with his arms crossed. If she did well, it might just abate his excessive worrying a little.

With a look of determination, Maxi threw the long pole with all her might. However, not only did the pole not reach any of the flags, it failed to fly five kevette (approximately 1.5 meters) before clattering to the ground. Maxi’s face burned with embarrassment. The twelve-year-old who had gone before her had done better.

“Miss! You have to throw the pole so it goes up!”

A man with a bushy beard roared with laughter and handed her the pole once more. Although she wanted to step down from the podium, Maxi had a feeling she would become a laughing stock if she fled. She shut her eyes and hurled the pole again. This time, it flew quite high into the air and reached the second flag.

Her face flushed, Maxi turned to look at Riftan. Her elation evaporated as she spotted two lavishly dressed women coquettishly twisting their bodies around Riftan and Sir Elliot.

One of the women reached out to cling to Riftan’s arm, and Maxi felt hot anger shoot through her. She stepped down from the podium and marched over to them.

“R-Riftan!”

Riftan stood with his arms crossed and his brow furrowed. His head snapped toward Maxi as she called out. Four pairs of eyes simultaneously flew to her. Maxi briefly lost courage, but she quickly put on a determined face and squeezed between them.

She gave the women a stern look. “Do you have business… with my husband?”

“Oh, my. So, you were here to enjoy the festival with your wife.”

The women giggled and clapped their hands, showing no signs of embarrassment. The stench of liquor assaulted Maxi’s nose, and she frowned and took a step back. Like cats circling a fish, the women smiled and continued their flirting.

“What a fine husband you have. I’m so jealous.”

“I agree! Why don’t you lend him to us for a bit? We women should share good men amongst ourselves, you know.”

The brazen request drained the color from Maxi’s face. Having been taught that decorum was a virtue of a lady, the behavior of these women – making a move on a married man so publicly under the influence of alcohol – was incomprehensible to her.

It felt as if they had fallen into the trap of a temptress from hell itself. Maxi felt a chill run down her spine, and she clung to Riftan’s arm.

“N-No, I will not lend him to you!”

“Aww, you mean to keep him all to yourself?”

“We only want to borrow him for a short while.”

“I will not!”

Close to tears, Maxi looked up at Riftan, begging him to say something. He had been standing as stiffly as a rock. At Maxi’s silent plea, he blinked as if coming to his senses and roughly rubbed his face. A flush crept up his beautifully tanned neck.

“Uh… So…” Riftan stammered, shifting his eyes. “You heard her… She’s not lending me to you.”

Maxi stared at him. She could not believe such tentative words were his best effort. Just then, she heard a peal of laughter.

“Oh, this can’t be true. Who would believe it? To think the Mago himself is lost for words…”

Princess Agnes, who had followed Maxi, was doubled over. Her laughter was so loud that it seemed to rouse the women from their drunken state.

“Hmm, what a shame. Finally find a good man, and he’s taken by two…”

One of the women who had been studying the princess with dazed eyes seemed to lose interest and backed away.

“Can’t be helped, I suppose. Why don’t we go drink some more over there?”

After breathing sighs of disappointment, the women fluttered their fingers and turned to leave.

“It was nice meeting you. If you are ever seeking some fun, come look for us at Rhedyn Inn.”

The women sauntered away like cats swaying their tails. Maxi narrowed her eyes and stared after their retreating figures. How could they so brazenly attempt to seduce a married man? She was scowling when Princess Agnes, who was still shaking with laughter, teetered over to her.

“You have to give it to them… Not many are bold enough to approach this man.”

The princess wiped her tears, then stood on her toes to pull the hood of Riftan’s robe over his head.

“You, sir, are the one who needs to hide his face, not us. I must say I’m surprised, Riftan. I didn’t think you’d be one to flirt with other women while your wife is watching.”

“Who are you accusing of flirting?” Riftan barked. He then turned to Maxi. “I was trying to get rid of them, but they were more persistent than I thought…”

Maxi gave him a distrustful look. “It did not… s-seem like you were trying to get rid of them.”

Riftan’s face took on an indiscernible expression at her brusque reply. He looked both sheepish and happy at the same time. Maxi stared daggers at him. Seeing a smile tug at his lips suddenly filled her with anger.

She spun away from him and grabbed the princess by the arm. “H-Her Highness and I have yet to finish enjoying the festival… so you should go enjoy yourself as well, Riftan.”

With that, she hurried away with the princess before Riftan could say anything. Princess Agnes chuckled as she allowed herself to be led away.

“Excellent idea, Maximilian. We should have our fun without them,” she said, swiftly darting ahead of Maxi like the wind.

They left the flustered men behind and ran straight to the music-filled green fields. Young women wearing floral wreaths on their heads danced on the slopes, their long girdles swaying as they moved. Without hesitation, Agnes pulled at Maxi’s hand.

“Let us dance as well!”

Before she knew it, Maxi was swept into the crowd. Hand in hand with the princess, she began spinning around. Their movements were closer to hopping than dancing, but in the field full of people running about in harmony with the music, their frivolous dance did not feel out of place. Soon, Maxi found herself trailing the women around the field.

The lively music that filled the air was unpolished, different from the sophisticated music that played at the balls held in Croyso Castle. The women’s movements began to pick up speed.

The rhythmic tune of the vielle and the delicate sound of the lute mingled in the wind, creating a lovely melody. Intertwined through them was the cheerful beat of the drum, the flute, and the loud resonance of the pipes.

Maxi felt as though she had become a reed swaying in the wind. As the intense rhythm washed over her, for the first time in her life, she felt what it was like to dance with complete abandon.

The women laughed as they struck their tambourines, and spectators tapped their feet to the beat. Soon, the clear falsetto of the lute player rang out above the music.

The knight gathers the pieces

Of his body broken asunder

And rises to the heavens

His beloved oak tree

Alone on a hill

Waves slender branches in the wind

Oh, dearest beloved,

When the snow melts

I shall rend my body

And with my new leaves

Sing a song for thee

How I wish the wind

Would carry my voice to thee

The song was familiar even to Maxi. It was about the legendary knight, Wigrew, and the nymph who had loved him.

The maidens wearing wreath crowns began to move at a greater tempo around the field as they, too, sang the yearning lyrics of the song which somehow felt at odds with its cheerful melody. Basking in a pleasant dizziness, Maxi laughed until her body shook. She could not recall the last time she had laughed like this.

Her heart pounded loudly in tune with the beat of the drum, and her blood coursed through her veins so quickly that, for a long while, she even felt a pulse throbbing at the tips of her fingers. She felt liberated. Who would have thought that unfurling her perpetually hunched body under the sunlight and moving it as she wished could be this enjoyable?

“Maxi.”

Feeling a hand grab her arm, Maxi glanced up, her face flushed. Riftan, who still had his hood over his head, looked down at her with smoldering eyes.

She shivered when she saw the intense desire etched across his hardened face. Pulling her by the arm, Riftan led her out of the crowd. The princess was too busy enjoying the festivities with the other women and paid no attention to them.

Thoroughly short-winded, Maxi tried to catch her breath as she trailed behind him. The music and excited voices now sounded distant.

With his hand caressing her waist, Riftan glanced around to check if they were hidden from view. Maxi could feel the pressing need that had taken hold of him. Her body grew hot and sensitive as if it longed for him to touch her.

It was an overwhelming excitement she had never felt before. Even her anger from a while ago seemed to fan her desire.

“R-Riftan…”

“Come.”

He drew her to a secluded spot and kissed her roughly like a man at the limits of his endurance. When their lips parted, his hot breath felt tantalizing as it brushed against her swollen lips. It was not enough. Rather, it only managed to intensify her thirst, as if she had just gulped saltwater. With a strangled moan, Riftan pushed her against a large tree.

With her back pressed against rough bark, Maxi wound her arms around Riftan’s neck. Their wet lips merged, and his hot, soft tongue explored her mouth teasingly.

The intense pleasure made her moan as she stroked the smooth, pulsating sides of his neck. His tongue entered deeper into her mouth and tasted the sensitive spots. She did not wish for their lips to part, not even so she could breathe.

“R-Riftan…”

She had held her breath for so long that her lungs felt like they would explode. Riftan cupped her buttocks over her thin dress and pulled her close to him. Maxi shivered pitifully as his rock-hard body pressed against hers. She could not believe they were doing such a thing in broad daylight, not to mention in a public area that was bustling with people not too far away.

Perhaps she was not in her right mind. Instead of stopping him, she found herself tugging at his tunic and caressing the sturdy muscles of his chest.

Like a frenzied hound, Riftan peppered her neck with kisses as he pulled down the top of her dress. He slid his hand inside her clothes. A feverish moan escaped her lips when she felt his hot, calloused fingers teasing the sensitive spot on her breast.

Burning with desire, Maxi buried her face on his shoulder.

Riftan pressed his hardness against her stomach and skillfully kneaded her breast. Lightning coursed through her body, and she felt a primitive fire flare up deep within her.

Panting, Maxi twisted her legs. Her body ached with the need to have him inside her. When she frantically pulled at his robes, demanding more, he shuddered as if something surged through his body. He pulled up the hem of her skirt. At that precise moment, a loud blast rang out across the sky.