Under the Oak Tree

Chapter 105 – Unusual Winter (2)

While sitting in front of the table and flipping through the pages, the mood gradually subsided. Winter preparations were almost complete, so there was nothing more to do. Max stared blankly out the window, wondering if the day had been this long. She couldn’t believe herself that she was already feeling lonely less than half a day after he left.

She used to be alone, but…

“Madam, you must be tired. Should I get you some tea?”

Max, who had been absent-minded, hurriedly straightened her face at the careful question of Rudis. She was the hostess of the Calypse castle. It’s impossible to show that she was depressed like a child just because her husband had been away from the castle.

Max nodded with a smile. Just in time, a sharp wind shook the window frame violently. Her complexion froze with anxiety, watching the naked branch shake violently. In the distance, the cries of migratory birds resounded.

Winter was coming to Anatol.

Two days later, the first frost fell. Max looked down through the window at the glistening garden, as if it had been sprinkled with flour. Temperatures dropped noticeably, with winter everywhere. Is Riftan really okay in the mountains in this weather?

Looking at the distant mountain nervously, Rudis, who was sitting in a chair sewing, breathed out a sigh. “It’s unusually cold this winter. It’s also so early.”

“Y-you said Anatol wasn’t that c-cold even in w-winter?”

“Yes, Anatol is located in the basin, so it is warmer than other areas in winter.”

After saying that, Rudis looked a little embarrassed. “But this winter seems different. There’s already thin ice in the well.”

“The f-firewood we’re going to use in the meantime… Won’t it be s-short?”

“We’ve got more than usual, so it’ll be fine.”

A gentle smile by Rudis appeared to ease her mind. Max followed her and pulled the corners of her mouth, and sat in front of the fireplace to warm her cold hands. As the weather became rapidly cold, the castle of Calypse was filled with deep silence, as if it had fallen into a hibernation.

The servants, who were briskly wandering around the castle, spent their time in a room where the brazier was placed, doing chores, and the merchants who were visiting the castle with goods stopped coming in between, making the spacious garden look like a deserted wasteland. Despite her preference for calm and quiet rather than noisy, Max felt lonely in the sudden change of mood in just a few days.

“Shall we start cooking lunch?” Rudis broke the silence and asked in a bright voice as she noticed she was feeling down.

Max nodded her head. “W-what’s for lunch today?”

“We have cream stew with peas, smoked sausage with spices, and pumpkin pie with molasses and cinnamon for dessert.”

Just hearing the story made her mouth water. With a look of anticipation, Rudis carefully folded the sewing into the basket and left the room. Max opened up a collection of poems from the library last night, hoping to read until lunch was ready. But before she could even read a couple pages, there was a rather harsh knock on the door.

Has Rudis come back already? When she asked to come in with a curious look on her face, Rodrigo and Ruth opened the door and came inside.

“I’m sorry to come while you are resting, Madam. The wizard said he had an urgent matter, so I brought him here.”

“W-what happened?”

Max rose from her seat with a puzzled look. Then Ruth opened his mouth with a long sigh.

“At dawn, the monsters infiltrated the wall and entered the territory. The guards and knights hurriedly suppressed it, but the damage seems to be quite serious. I’ve been asking for help in the Calypse Castle, so would you please sort out some useful servants?”

In an instant, the color faded from Max’s face. She was surprised by the fact that Riftan had another problem, just even a few days after he was away, and Ruth spoke calmly.

“It seems that the sudden drop in temperature has reduced their prey, and the monsters started to rattle. It is common for the monsters to become vicious during this season… It seems to be the first time that they have ever invaded the walls, so the guards did not seem to respond quickly.”

Max managed to regain her composure by his calm voice. “H-how many servants should I p-pick?”

“We need at least ten to six people. Then tell them to take a pile of clean cloths, a bundle of small woodblocks for splints, a large pot for medical herbs, a bucket for water, a brass bowl, a thread, a needle, a herb and food. It’s a remote area, so it’s hard to get what you need right away.”

Max listened frantically to the pouring words and turned her eyes to Rodrigo. He nodded his head.

“I’ll tell them to be ready right now.”

“A-and send someone to the p-parish temple right now to h-help….”

“The Temple of Anatol does not have a fuse to use divine magic.” Ruth cut off her last words and said firmly. “Anatol is an isolated area for a long time. It wasn’t until recently that Lord Calypse was included in the parish. There’s no way the central temple would have sent a high-ranking official to such remote areas.”