Under the Oak Tree

“My fa-father did…?” Max blinked rapidly, the Princess’ words were hard to believe.

Princess Agnes was as restless as her and nervously ran her hand through the golden hair that fell across her forehead, looking anxiously at Max’s face. It was a strange look that resembled that of knights when checking the strength of their weapon. As if checking Max’s stability, the princess took her hands and said in a very cautious voice.

“The knights calmed the Duke, but now… he doesn’t appear to be in a stable mood. Will you be alright?”

Max was in shock; she couldn’t put her head around how her father acted to create this situation. He never lost his composure in front of other nobles. Whenever he interacted with her in front of them, he would act like a genuinely generous and merciful father. She would be casually beaten by him in front of the servants, but in face of the nobility, he would place his cold lips to her cheeks dearly as if he truly adored her. Max cleared her throat, she was afraid that her anxiety would surface.

“Wha-what caused him… to flare up?”

“Well, it’s because of that— Maximillan had gone through a difficult, rough situation…”

Agnes swallowed dry saliva and lowered her eyes as if she couldn’t find the right words to speak. It was so ridiculous that Max almost burst out into a fit of laughter. Her father would not blink an eye even if he hears that she died. Perhaps, he was only acting the role of a caring father and he was not genuinely furious. That should be it. He was probably so conscious of the nobles in the palace that he felt it obligatory to visit her. Max slipped out of her bed, some tension she felt going away from the thought that ran in her mind. There was no reason why she couldn’t face her father for at least 10 minutes. Had she not withstood him for 22 years?

Max held her emotions in place. It would be unlikely for her father to beat her up when she was under the protection of the princess, he valued his image too much to do that. Max used that thought to reassure herself. She was a Calypse now, not a Croix. Even if he was her father, he had no right to treat her rudely.

“I’ll just change my clothes… and then I’ll head down soon.”

The princess hesitated for a while, as if she wanted to say something else, then closed her mouth and left the room. Her demeanor was a bit puzzled, but impatient knowing that Duke Croix was waiting downstairs. Although the princess acted a little strange, Max was overwhelmed with the fact that her father was waiting downstairs, so she hurriedly washed her face and changed into a modest dress with the help of a servant. Then, after roughly combing her hair, she immediately went out of her bedroom. As she approached the entrance to the lit drawing room, the tension twisted her stomach. Max hesitated a few steps ahead and then walked in with her eyes tightly closed.

“You’re here.”

Elliot, standing by the door, politely extended a hand. Max grabbed his arm awkwardly and walked into the room. Then she saw Uslin Rikaido, whose gaze was hostile towards the Duke. Finally, she saw the duke standing right behind Uslin. Max felt her heart freeze. Just by looking into his father’s icy eyes, she could tell how angry he was. The Duke then spoke in an ominously low voice.

“It’s been a while, my daughter.” When she stiffened and said nothing, the corner of his mouth pulled up into a warning smile. “Aren’t you going to greet your father?”

Reading the threat in his lines, Max quickly opened her lips to speak. “It’s been a whi-while… since the last time we met. I’m glad you appear to be he-healthy…”

“I heard what happened. It seems that you have gone through a lot of hardships.”

The duke interrupted her in the middle of her greeting and sat down gracefully on a luxurious chair lined with thick silk. Then, he straightened the buttons on his clothes nonchalantly while speaking words that didn’t make sense to her.

“Your story is spreading through the royal castle. When I heard about what happened to the little child, I was devastated.”

“Your grace!”

Elliott, who was standing silently behind her, suddenly raised his voice. The rude behavior immediately coaxed anger to plaster on the duke’s face.

“Can’t you see that this is a conversation between father and daughter? No one has the right to interfere with this conversation between family members.”

“Lord Calypse has ordered us to protect the lady.”

“Are you saying that I’m threatening my daughter right now?”

“But the lady still…!”

Elliot suddenly stopped talking and glanced at Max. She looked around, confused as she couldn’t understand what they meant with their exchange of words. The Duke of Croix sighed as he looked at her.

“Have I not made myself clear? This matter is something that my daughter should be aware of as well. Do you think that you know what’s better for her sake more than I do?”

Max turned pale as a parchment at the Duke’s brazen words. How could he say such things without even blinking an eye! The duke arrogantly raised his chin, he didn’t even flinch at the piercing glare that she was giving him.

“Now then, give us some space. I want to have a quiet conversation alone with my daughter.”

The knights exchanged glances and they turned their gaze towards Max. She nodded reluctantly.

“Please leave us for a mo-moment. I’m… a-alright.”

“… We’ll be in the adjacent room. Please call out in case you need us.”

The knights then turned and left the room. When the sound of the door closing echoed behind her, Max grabbed the hem of her dress anxiously. Her father was staring at her as if he would cut her to pieces. Her nerves were so tense from the hostility he’s emanating. However, contrary to what she expected, that she would be bombarded with threats, the Duke of Croix remained silent. He was ominously silent. Unable to bear the stifling silence, Max eventually opened her lips and was the first to speak.

“For what re-reason… I…”

“Prepare to leave for Croix Castle right away.”

Max froze at his unexpected words. As if he couldn’t bear to even look at her, the Duke kept his gaze on the window and continued speaking in the same low foreboding voice.

“Rosetta’s union to the royal family is in the works. I can’t have you staying here in the palace. Prepare to leave today.”

“B-b-but…”

She was so flustered that she couldn’t find the right words to say. Suddenly, an expression of disgust clearly emerged on her father’s face.

“In the first place, what on earth were you thinking, coming to the royal castle? You should be locked up in the countryside, keeping quiet… yet how dare you come here and embarrass me.”

Max trembled at his increasingly hostile tone, but she quickly clasped her hands tightly. Her father had no right to order her to go wherever he pleased her to. The only person who had the right to do so would be her husband, Riftan, and so she shouldn’t have been trembling as she was now. She repeated those thoughts to herself and spoke as calmly as she could.

“I have no intention of interfering with… Rosetta’s be-betrothal. Just a few more days… My husband is coming here to take me-me. Until he does… I’ll lay low and stay in the princess’ palace.”

“Now… are you going against my order?”

The Duke’s voice lowered a notch. Max tried to hold herself back, but her pleading voice came out without her accord.

“Ri-riftan will soon come to Drakium… so I can’t leave the palace. Father also… didn’t want me to… get di-divorced.”

“I am telling you to leave now so you won’t end up like that!”

The Duke jumped out of his seat and strode towards her. Max rushed to grab the doorknob. However, her father’s actions were much faster. He pulled her harshly and spat his words into her ear.

“Which man would live with a woman who has no hopes of bearing a successor! Do you really think he will take you with him when he comes to the capital? You’re a hopeless idiot! You really had to dishonor the family name! That was disastrous for all the nobles to see.”

“What-what do you…”

“Right now, are you even aware that not one or two people in the Drakium Royal Place are whispering about your miscarriage? How far have you lost your mind that you don’t even know that you’ve had a miscarriage!”

Max could not comprehend what her father had just said and could only stare blankly at her father’s face. ‘A miscarriage? What is he talking about?’ Her ears pounded as her mind clouds in confusion.

He shook her violently by her shoulders, half-alarmed as he got more and more angry, and shouted at her fiercely. “King Ruben has even questioned Rosetta’s fertility all because of you. He mocked me right in my face, questioning what if Rosetta will have difficulties bearing children just like her older sister! Now, how does it feel to pull your younger sister down too? If this betrothal fails, how the hell are you going to take responsibility for it?”

“I, I…I… did not lo-lose… a child! There must be… a mis-misunderstanding…”

The Duke of Croix distorted his face and raised a hand high, aiming to strike her. Max closed her eyes tightly. However, no matter how long she waited, the severe pain did not come. When she slowly opened her eyes again, she saw her patting his own chest as an attempt to calm his anger. He turned and picked up his ivory cane, which he had placed next to the chair, then, as if he didn’t want to argue further, he straightened his posture and spoke in a firm tone.

“There is nothing to say. Prepare to leave immediately before he returns. The divorce must be postponed, at least until Rosetta’s marriage is over. The divorce and separation… it is absolutely unacceptable that because of you, the family name will be tarnished and my name will be mocked among the nobility!”

“I’m… I-I can’t go. When Ri-Riftan arrives… he-he will tell you! Ri-Riftan said he has no-no intentions of di-divorcing m-me. I’m telling the t-truth!”

Max grabbed her father’s hem urgently. She could see the Duke’s face fiercely distorted but she couldn’t stop herself. As if her feet were shaking with anxiety, she couldn’t control her body and her mind felt like it was being swept by a whirlwind.

“The mi-miscarriage… must be a mis-misunderstanding. I’ve never… h-heard of such a thing. It was because of magic… that my body is this weak…”

“You must really want to be dragged away from here.”

The Duke swatted her hands away furiously. Max looked at him with dismay. Her eyes welled up to hot tears and a loud sob broke out. She turned around, opened the door with shaking hands, and ran out. Perhaps hearing their argument, she saw Uslin, Elliot, and Princess Agnes running out of the opposite room. Max ran to them at once and asked as if pleading.

“Did I-I lose my child? No, right? My fa-father has misunderstood, right?”

“Maximilian…”

The Princess’s face turned painfully distorted. When Max read the answer on her face, her legs went weak, and she staggered enormously. If Elliott hadn’t caught her fast, she would have collapsed. She stared at the ground blankly, sweeping her face roughly. One by one, memories came flashing in her chaotic head. A week of unconsciousness, people looking at her with sadness, their careful demeanor around her, and the painful look in Riftan’s eyes. Max cupped her mouth with trembling hands. It felt hard to breathe, like someone was choking her.

“Ho-how come… you didn’t tell me earlier? Ho-how come…”

“The commander has ordered us to keep silent about what happened.” Uslin responded with a stiff face. “The lady almost died. It was a really serious situation, with your mana depletion and excessive bleeding. If the lady was also made aware that she had a miscarriage, you might not also be able to handle the shock…”

“Shock from… the child… child, I lost…”

Max muttered with a lost expression as she placed a hand on her belly. She was bearing Riftan’s child in there, and now that child is gone. She didn’t know how to digest that fact, so she was in utter confusion. Losing a child that she didn’t even know existed, she couldn’t feel the sudden crash of despair and mourning. Instead, she felt numb, paralyzed, and a faint, strange sense of loss. Finding out about this so suddenly, it was as if she was pulled out of her mind. The princess approached her and patted her on the shoulder.

“Maximilian, I know it hurts… but you will be able to bear another child in the future. What’s most important now is that you are safe and recovering.”

Max looked at the princess’s face with blurry eyes. Above those beautiful blue eyes, a sign of sympathy was clearly visible. Suddenly, her heart raced violently. She knew how difficult it had been for her biological mother to have children and how many miscarriages she went through before giving birth to her. The Duke of Croix always recounted how incompetent his first wife was. She knew well what kind of treatment a wife who could not produce a successor would receive. She also watched Rosetta’s mother grow weak by the day and eventually die in a hospital bed. Her heart sank in fear. No. Riftan was different from her father. He wouldn’t treat her so harshly.

‘He wouldn’t be so cruel, but…’

She bit her lips. Remembering his dark, sunken eyes, her heart shuddered with anxiety. There was no one to blame but herself if Riftan ended up resenting her. He begged for her to stay put in a safe place and yet she selfishly and stubbornly broke her promise and followed him. She had no excuse if he blamed her for killing their child because of her recklessness. Max held her face in agony. When she thought that Riftan might not want her anymore, her entire body trembled so violently that she couldn’t control it. Elliott urgently went to comfort her.

“M’lady, please calm down. It’s all in the past. You have to make peace with your feelings…”

“It’s… not all in the past for m-m-me!”

Max pushed his hand away and screamed between her cries. Uslin looked at her with utter sadness in his eyes. She suddenly felt nauseous. She took a step back and abruptly turned around. Unbeknownst to her, the Duke of Croix was approaching her from behind. At the moment she turned around, the Duke grabbed her arm tightly. She swallowed the groan of pain that crept up her throat as she felt his fingers adorned with golden rings dig deep into her flesh. Croix placed an arm on her shoulder and spoke bluntly to the knights.

“I will bring my daughter back to my castle. It would be better and more comfortable for her to stay in her home.”

The knights then strongly objected to the Duke’s statement. “Lord Calypse will be arriving soon! Without his permission, going anywhere…”

“I can’t stand having my daughter in a place where frivolous people whisper around over her. Everyone here is insensitive and indifferent to her situation.” Duke Croix sighed and then turned to Agnes. “No one in Whedon has not heard about the talks of marriage between the Princess and my son-in-law. Has her majesty ever wondered how in the world her loyal servants would view my daughter as?”

The princess’ face grew bright red at the duke’s words. “I don’t think my relationship with Riftan is like that at all!”

“Does her highness’ loyal servants think the same as her highness does?”

The Princess could only stare at the Duke with a pale weary face and turned her head away. The servants who were standing on one side of the hallway bowed their heads in unison. Upon seeing this, the Duke of Croix clicked his tongue.

“No wonder, malicious rumors are spreading within the palace. I can’t let my daughter stay here any longer. I will take her to my castle, so tell Calypse to come to my castle if he has the will to take her.”

Agnes kept her mouth shut, not being able to find any more words to dissuade him. Uslin, who had been glaring fiercely at the duke, turned his head towards Max.

“M’lady…do you want to return to Croix Castle?”

“I, I’m…”

Max, who could only listen to the conversation as if it wasn’t her own business, shuddered and was startled when she was spoken to. She raised her head, and she felt the hand of the Duke on her shoulder tighten, as if threatening her if she didn’t obey his orders. The cold, violent touch made her heart tight with fear. However, she was more afraid of seeing Riftan now. She then muttered her words in an empty voice.

“…Yes.”

She felt the tears in her eyes heat up and bit her trembling lips to swallow her cries which were about to burst out.

“I want to g-go back… to Croix Castle.”

***

Every time the wind blew, dead leaves would flutter in the air like moths. True to its name, autumn, the season of wind, would have the cold northeastern winds blowing endlessly over the hills. Amidst the deep, blue sky, migratory birds would fly over the dark river, and the ripe, golden-colored rice paddy would sway like a golden sea. She sat on the wagon, looking out at the land of Croix that grew closer and closer. At the end of this vast, endless land of granary, there was a prison where she was held for countless years.