Under the Oak Tree

It was hard to guess who was most surprised by all this; him, her, or the Duke of Croix. Max froze like a stone statue and waited for him to disappear like a mirage. It felt like it would be better for her to crumble into dust than have Riftan see her look so miserable. However, as always, fate turned her back cruelly against her and mercilessly betrayed her expectations. He still stood where he was, wearing an expression so empty that she had never seen before.

The first to speak was the Duke of Croix. The duke shakes off Riftan’s hand that held his arm and alternates looking between the wide-open door and the intruder’s face. His face gradually became more distorted with anger.

“How the hell did you get in here? How dare you trespass into my castle?! I can’t just let this go! If you don’t get out of here right this instant…”

“Now…”

Riftan’s voice was extremely low and flat. However, there was something so dreadful in his voice that even the heedless Duke of Croix froze. Riftan lifted his gaze which had been fixed on her and continued to speak.

“Didn’t I ask what you are doing?”

This was the first time in Max’s life that she saw her father so perplexed. There was something in Riftan’s eyes that made him flinch and take a step back, he then turned red as if he had been embarrassingly insulted by his own reflexes.

“Don’t make a fuss about whatever you’ve just witnessed! As a father, it is only right to fix my daughter’s rebellious mind. It is a parent’s duty to discipline their child.”

“Discipline…?” Riftan tilted his head to the side as if he couldn’t understand what he had just heard. His voice was extremely low and dry. “What you’re doing now is… discipline?”

As his gaze flew back to her, Max hunched her shoulders and clasped the hem of her dress to her chest with trembling fingers. His eyes landed on her disheveled hair, her bruising face that was hit by her father’s cane, and then on her swelling back: she felt like an earthworm, she had never felt so miserable and lowly in all her life. Max couldn’t look him directly in the eye and lowered her head, then she heard her father’s annoyed voice.

“A high-ranking priest is on stand-by downstairs. Wounds such as this won’t leave a trace once she is healed with magic! My daughter must be taught this difficult way to make her learn how to properly obey orders.” As the duke spat out his words, he lifted his pointed chin arrogantly, as if he wasn’t happy with the fact that he had to excuse his actions. “Now, it’s your turn to explain. How the hell did you get in here? Didn’t I clearly tell you not to return? It’s impossible for you to be unaware that trespassing into someone else’s castle is a crime… will you be able to pay the price of your actions?”

Riftan merely stared at him without a word. At the stillness of Riftan’s eyes, the duke clicked his tongue nervously and arrogantly waved his free hand that didn’t hold the whip.

“First, get out of here. Let’s discuss in the drawing room. You better have a valid excuse for your actions.”

“… Right.”

Rifan barely opened his mouth to mutter the words. He stood still with a firm, stone-like expressionless the whole time, then slowly turned around and walked towards the door. Max stared in disbelief as she watched his back grow more distant. She felt her body turn cold as if all the blood in her veins were drained. Her lips could only tremble, her mind was in complete daze and the thought of calling his name didn’t even cross her mind. Riftan paused right in front of the door. And then, he picked up a chair that was leaning against the wall that was next to him, turned around, and walked back towards them.

His face was so calm and restrained that neither she nor the Duke of Croix could understand what was happening until he lifted his arm that held the chair by one of its legs and the chair was ruthlessly slammed against the duke’s slender build. Max’s eyes widened. Suddenly, time seemed to move twice as slow. The chair shattered on impact, pieces of wood flew in all directions and the duke’s body soared in the air like he was a mere scarecrow and landed rolling on the floor. Screams, groaning, and strange sounds of pure bewilderment erupted out of her father’s mouth.

“You, you bastard… wha-what do you think you’re doing…!

The duke, who had crashed against the floor, lifted his torso, and looked up at Riftan with wide eyes as if he couldn’t believe what had just happened to him. His gray hair, which had been combed back without a single strand out of place, was strewn across his forehead and blood was dripping from his mouth. His face was horribly distorted like an evil creature by the blow, and he pointed a finger at Riftan.

“You d-dare…! You dare…! You dare do this to me…!”

The harsh hissing sound that came out of his mouth was comparable to the creak of an iron door. The duke staggered to his feet and screamed to the top of his lungs, so loud that his throat would seem to rip open.

“Guards…! Guards…! Seize this bastard right awa- UCK!”

Riftan approached him and kicked him forcefully in the stomach. The Duke of Croix collapsed pathetically and rolled against the floor. Blood and vomit came out of his mouth as he struggled to breathe as if he was choking. Max was totally shocked that the tyrant who had ruled her life could be so weak and defenseless. Riftan grasped the neck of the writhing Duke of Croix. He lifted him by his throat and ruthlessly slammed him against the wall. The duke’s body swayed like a broken doll at the impact. He held his head against the wall and murmured in a low, foreboding voice.

“Why are you making such a fuss? Won’t it be simply solved when you receive healing magic from a priest?”

“Heuuuk, heuuuu…”

The duke choked as his long slender legs that floated in the air floundered. His face that was filled with shock and horror was turning blue. For the first time in his whole life, the duke sobbed and struggled, kicking, grasping, and scraping his nails at his thick forearm that was covered in armor. He writhed with all his might but Riftan didn’t even flinch. He looked down at the duke as if he was some pesky, fluttering bug and began to raise his fist. At that moment, someone barged into the room and urgently restrained him.

“Commander!”

Elliot and Uslin, who were wearing deep black robes, held Riftan back from both his sides. Riftan’s face, which has been frighteningly expressionless all this time, twisted in fury as they forcefully attempted to loosen his grip.

“Let go!”

“What the hell are you doing! Even with the commander’s position, if you do something like this…!”

Riftan shook them away at once. And then, he lifted the duke who was crawling on the floor to escape and slammed his fist on his face. The duke’s jaw was crushed like mere clay and his eyes clouded and rolled back to his head. Riftan raised his fist once more towards the duke’s lifeless, distorted, drooping face. Elliot was barely able to throw himself in between and grabbed his arm.

“Commander! He’ll really die at this rate! Any ordinary person will instantly die if the commander properly lands a blow!”

Riftan writhed and roared like a chained beast. Max could only watch the scene transpire with a bewildered look on her face. Her father’s face was covered in blood. He wasn’t even moving; his eyes were rolled back and his body drooped lifelessly on the floor. As she dazedly stared at his mangled, broken body, someone else barged into the room. Max flinched as she saw the person’s face. Ruth gasped as he looked around the room in disbelief, and when he saw her, his eyes widened in shock. His face turned whiter than the color of flour.

“Oh my god… m’lady… how the hell did this…”

Just as Ruth’s hand was about to reach her, Riftan screamed out loud.

“Keep your hands away from her!”

Riftan broke away from the other knights’ hold, shoved them, and ran to her at once, harshly pushing away Ruth’s arm. Max shuddered and hunched at the sight of him completely losing his reason and engulfed in anger. Ruth also flinched for his life at his vicious demeanor and then spoke cautiously as if he was appeasing an enraged beast.

“Please calm down. Shouldn’t I cast healing magic upon the lady?”

Riftan didn’t even seem to understand Ruth’s words. His pupils were dark, dilated, and clouded as if he was possessed by a ghost. His ashen face was strangely distorted. Ruth approached her cautiously, as if trying not to aggravate him as much as possible.

“I won’t touch her. I’m just trying to cast a healing spell.”

Riftan’s whole body tensed as Ruth reached out again towards her. This time, he didn’t push him away. Max let out the breath she had been holding as she felt all the pain slowly subside. As the physical pain went away, her crushed pride now took over. She pulled her robe to the tip of her chin and glanced between the faces of Ruth, Riftan, and the faces of Elliot and Uslin that were frozen in shock. And then, she lowered her head and hid her face with her disheveled hair. She felt humiliation and shame pierce her spine like a sharp awl. She wanted to crumble like dust and just disappear from their sight.

“Alright now, it’s all done.”

When Ruth withdrew his hand, Riftan quickly removed his robe and wrapped it tightly around her body. And then, he lifted her securely in his arms and strode towards the door. Max felt as if she was floating in a cold cloud of insecurity and averted her eyes.

Standing on one dark side of the cold hallway was Rosetta. She slowly came to the door and looked frigidly at her father’s drooping corpse-like state and asked in a sullen tone.

“… Is he dead?”

“He’s still alive. But if you don’t hurry and call the priest, he might stop breathing any moment.”

Elliot had bent over to check the duke’s condition and responded calmly. Rosetta merely nodded but did not call the priest. Max looked at her sister with dazed eyes. She wondered what on earth was going on. She must have fainted while being beaten by her father and was now having a strange dream. Her beautiful younger sister, whom her father was so proud of, turned her head away from the mangled body of the duke and pointed to a dark hallway.

“I ordered a maid to induce sleeping pills in the guards’ meals. However, there are guards who remain awake in the eastern annex. They must have heard the commotion and are probably already running on their way here. You must hurry and escape out of the castle.” Then she turned quickly to the other side. Her cold eyes swept over Max and Riftan’s faces and then moved away. “Please don’t forget that this has nothing to do with me.”

“There will be no harm to the young miss.”

When Uslin answered bluntly, she walked down the hall calmly and gracefully. As Max stared dazedly at her back that slowly retreated, Riftan turned and quickly strode to the direction that Rosetta had pointed. No one spoke as they descended the stairs of the long hall. Riftan went down four flights of stairs at once like a silent swish of a sharp blade and immediately headed for the castle grounds. Just as they were about to escape through the backdoor, the Duke’s guards appeared and drew their swords to block their way. The guards gasped in surprise as if they had immediately recognized Riftan.

“This blatant behavior is absolutely atrocious! How dare you sneak around the castle! Are you aware that this could warrant the Croix family to declare a war against Anatol?”

One of his father’s loyal knights came forward from among the guards and screamed in defiance. However, his firm attitude was immediately trampled on by Riftan’s piercing gaze. He then spoke in an eerily low voice.

“You’ll get what you wish for. All of you, your families, this damned piece of land, I will burn everything down without a spare.”

The guards who were around 12 or so in number, backed down and slightly moved away. The guards’ faces grew pale, they knew well what fate awaited them if they went against Whedon’s best knights. Elliot stepped forward as if to mediate when the tension was rising between them.

“You must be well-aware that the lady belongs to Lord Calypse. In the first place, the line has been crossed the moment that his wife was imprisoned in Croix Castle! Looking at it logically, it is clear that the duke is the one at fault.”

“The miss is the duke’s daughter! He has the right to keep her here…!”

“Caron, what’s the point of trying to settle this with words? As of today, Anatol and the Duchy are in conflict. Since that’s the case, then it wouldn’t be a problem if we cut anyone who stands in our way and get this over with.”

As if his patience had reached its limit, Uslin drew his sword and stepped forward. The knight that led the guards and stepped forward hesitated for a long time, it seemed that he had decided that they would not be able to stop them on their own and nodded at the other guards as if signaling for them to make way.

Riftan strode through them while Elliot and Uslin vigilantly held their swords, watching any attack that may come from whatever direction and quickly escaped from the castle. The cold evening air gently brushed her cold cheeks filled with dried stains of tears. Max buried her face against Riftan’s cold chest that was covered in armor and huddled her body close.

Riftan pulled his horse, which was tied by a tree, and mounted her on the saddle, then climbed behind her. It was only when she heard the echoes of horseshoes galloping against the ground that Max choked out the sob that she was holding back. She didn’t know whether it was from relief or from hopelessness. Max burst into a breathless cry.

***

No one questioned what had happened at Croix Castle. The Knights who were waiting outside the castle walls felt the tense aura that surrounded them, so they quietly drove their horses, not opening their mouths to ask about what had transpired. They rode non-stop across the hills as darkness began to dim the skies until they saw a town that was nestled at the bottom of the hills. Max blinked her puffy eyes in the darkness, squinting at the dim light. As she raised her gaze, she saw Riftan’s sharp-angled jaw glimmer. He spurred his horse and descended the hill at once without sparing her a look. They boarded an entire large inn at the southernmost part of the town. The knights got off their horses and moved them to the stables then took their loads.

Meanwhile, he lifted her in his arms, strode up the inn’s stairs, and brought her into an empty room. He carefully laid her down on bed and walked towards the lamp sitting near the window and lit it. Max sat curled up tight, hugging her body. The expression on Riftan’s face, which had been shrouded in the dark, was clearly revealed in the flickering light.