Under the Oak Tree

Max thought that Riftan had to be exhausted as well, but she couldn’t refuse his meticulous care. In truth, his touch, which was soft as if he was handling fragile glass, felt like a great comfort to her worn-out mind and body. Max leaned her head back in the tub, looking at his strong, copper-colored hands gently caressing her. She could feel the blood in her body warm up and her stiff muscles release the tension.

“You can sleep if you’re feeling tired. I’ll dress you up and bring you to bed.”

Not minding if the sleeves he rolled up to his elbows got wet, Riftan embraced her from behind and kissed her on the temples. Max looked up at his hair that was damp from the tub’s vapor and his tinted cheekbones. Unable to resist the heavy weight of her wet eyelashes, she let her eyes slowly shut. The sound of the wind blowing against the windows and the water sloshing around created a strange rhythm—lingering in her ears. Surrounded by the peaceful, languish atmosphere, Max slowly fell asleep.

***

Max quickly regained her health upon returning to Calypse Castle. Riftan started behaving like a person who dedicated his life to fatten her up, and everyone in the castle seemed to be doing the same. Every morning, she would be served with grilled chicken, soup, and a variety of vegetables, and when her appetite returned, they served plump pheasants, ducks, lambs, and calf. For dessert, cakes filled with sugar, honey, cinnamon, and all kinds of strange fruits from the south were brought to her.

While they were away, the construction to widen the road had been completed and Anatol’s market now overflowed with all kinds of rare goods, so Riftan seemed to have made his mission to bring her every food that exists in the world. Max sighed as she watched him enter the room with enough food for two men to eat.

“If I keep being fed like this… uh, I’ll become a fat lady.”

“Please be one.” He set the tray next to the bed and looked over her skinny frame. “You need to gain some weight. Come on, eat some.”

As if feeding a picky child, Riftan held the spoon and tried to feed her. He watched as Max ate little by little, large pieces of filled pie and steamed sea bass topped with cameline sauce and chopped geese. While she ate, Riftan cut off large pieces of wine-stewed meat next to her and Max also took those with enthusiasm. She liked the relief on his face every time she finished most of her food, but even though she ate a large portion of it each time, Riftan was never satisfied. When she barely emptied a third of the tray and set the plates aside, he offered her a piece of meat.

“Eat a little more.”

“I really… am full.”

“Just one more bite.”

Max reluctantly opened her mouth. After eating so much, she felt like she was a sack for storing food, but if it would mean reassuring Riftan, she could endure the feeling of being bloated for hours. She eagerly chewed the meat and watched as he called for the maid to pick up the tray.

Riftan’s overprotection had become several times worse after he witnessed her miserable plight. At times, he had to leave their room to fulfill his duties as the Lord of the estate, but he would come back every few hours to check her condition and bring her meals. Although she had already regained a lot of energy, she felt so restless because she had to stay in the bedroom. However, she couldn’t complain because she knew she was the one who made him so anxious.

Max hid her sigh. “There are p-preparations to be made for winter… is it really okay if I do nothing…”

“Everything has been taken care of last year. This year, it’s only food that we need to stock up on.” Riftan frowned and looked back at her as he washed his hands clean in a basin. “The preparations are almost done. Rodrigo is referring to last year’s ledger and is completing the preparations for this year step by step.”

“Well, how about the infirmary…”

“Ruth and Medrick are overseeing the infirmary. The monsters have declined in numbers, so the patrol guards are not getting injured as often as they used to get.”

He answered her without any hesitation as if he had known she would say that. Upon hearing that everything was running smoothly even without her, Max’s face became slightly gloomy. Riftan, who saw her expression, frowned.

“You almost died, and you were very ill. You even suffered through an extremely terrible situation. Don’t worry about anything else, just focus on getting better.”

In his eyes, it seemed that he could still see her bleeding. As she saw a faint hint of pain spreading through his ebony eyes, Max hurriedly spoke.

“It’s a very he-hectic time. You don’t have to spend too much of your time… on me. Nowadays, I’m feeling much b-better… Ri-Riftan has much m-more important things to do…”

“You are the most important thing to me”. Suddenly, his voice became rough.

Max’s shoulders shuddered from the abrupt shift. Riftan’s lips pressed into a line and slowly lowered his gaze. A very cautious silence fell upon them. Perhaps she was startled as he had only been showing her his soft side for some time now. From time to time, they both broke down for fear of hurting each other’s sensitivity. Riftan nervously rubbed his forehead as if the strange tension severely bothered him and exhaled as he spoke in a more subdued tone.

“I… like watching you eat. A long time ago, I once imagined serving you all kinds of sumptuous feasts.”

Max was puzzled and her eyes blinked rapidly. ” Since wh-when…”

“… Since the first time I attended the dinner banquet at Croix Castle.”

Riftan shifted his position and answered bluntly as he sat down. Her eyes shifted from side to side as she tried to recall how many years had passed, then Riftan continued to speak in a cautious tone.

“The banquet table was filled with all kinds of food I hadn’t heard of, and once the plates had gone even a little empty, the attendants would bring out new dishes. You sat quietly next to the Duke of Croix, merely staring down at your plate. I… I used to carefully watch which food you liked and ate.”

Max suddenly felt her face turn red. While looking at him with trembling eyes, Riftan slightly avoided his gaze.

“When I was alone, I imagined sitting with only you at the table. I wanted to throw you a dinner banquet as great as the ones your father threw, or even better than that, so that you could eat to your heart’s content every day. I don’t know how many times I have pictured your eyes in my mind, shining brightly amidst the candlelight with a satisfied smile on your lips. I wished that you would lift your head and look at me even just once…”

Perhaps thinking he had talked too much, Riftan suddenly stopped talking. His face turned reddish. As if trying to hide it, he scratched his head nervously and muttered to himself.

“They were childish delusions.”

“Even if my fa-father threw such banquets… we didn’t have such en-enjoyable dinners together every day. It was merely a way… to show off his wealth… to the g-guests.”

Max couldn’t bear the pounding of her heart and lowered her eyes. Even her fingers were pink in embarrassment. She wiggled her toes beneath the blanket and spoke her next words in a gibberish manner.

“I-in Anatol… the food is much more delicious. There are a variety of foods such as this… It is the first time that I eat like this every day.”

Suddenly, a chill passed through Riftan’s eyes. “Has that man ever starved you?”

“Oh, he’s never done th-that! To tell you the truth… whether I-I eat or not… my father didn’t care.”

Riftan looked into her eyes for a while, as if trying to figure out whether it was true or not and spoke slowly.

“I care for everything about you. Whether you are eating well, healthy, and happy, all of those are the most important things to me. So, don’t flinch away from me. Every time you do that, it makes me want to kill that man.”

“I, I…” Max stuttered as she swallowed dryly. “I really don’t… know why… I’m, I’m like this…”

Suddenly, a faint tension rose in Riftan’s face. “…I can’t explain why.”

He looked at her clenched fists and suddenly pulled her close by her shoulders. Max’s throat clenched when she felt his warm lips settle on her neck’s pulse. Riftan pressed his cheeks against her hair, then stood up with a sigh.

“I’ll be back in the evening. Take a nap.”

Max watched him from a distance as he turned and left the room. She thought that no one would care for her, and now that someone actually had her in his mind, her heart fluttered. She felt thrilled as if she was floating on a cloud and at the same time, she felt anxious as if she were floating in the vast open sea. Max held her shaking hands firmly. Riftan wanted her even without knowing the truth about her. Perhaps, he was merely pouring his affections because of the fantasies he had created. Perhaps, he is just stubbornly denying the truth…

She looked at herself in the mirror on the wall. Her complexion had improved and she had gained weight, but to her, she still appeared ugly. She had vine-like red hair, small brown freckles that stuck around her nose and cheekbones, her nose was too small, and her eyes were abnormally large. Max frowned, looking one by one at her clashing features. It was hard to imagine how a dazzling, handsome man fell in love with her at first sight. And Rosetta was at Croix Castle, so how could someone be attracted to her when an angel-like beauty was around?

She heaved a disturbed sigh, tucking her too long and wavy bangs behind her ears. Perhaps wanting to console Max for her depressed appearance, one of the cats who were perched in front of the lit fireplace, climbed into her lap and snuggled up to her. She stroked Roy’s smooth black back and looked out the window. Bare branches and the blue sky filled the view. With a frustrated heart, she walked towards the window and pushed it open, watching the servants running through the courtyard. As she watched, twelve men, who appeared to be from the southern continent, were crossing the garden along with the knights.

Max looked at them with curiosity. They all wore long swords around their waists and their clothing was a bit unusual. They didn’t look like merchants to her, so she narrowed her eyes to see better, but she heard a knock from behind.

“M’lady, I have brought your medicines”.

“C-come in.”

As Rudis entered the room with a tray and saw her standing in front of the window, she panicked.

“The weather is quite chilly today. If the lady catches a cold from the chilly winds…”

“It’s okay, it’s j-just… for a little while. Anyway… do you know who those people are?”

Rudis placed the tray down and approached to see from the window. She had an ambiguous expression as she spotted the men who appeared to be from the south climbing up the stairs. While Rudis hesitated to release an answer, Max frowned and spoke.

“There are guests entering the ca-castle… the la-lady of the castle should at least be informed of it, yes?”

“As far as I-I know…” She hesitated for a moment but eventually opened her mouth. “As far as I know, they are mercenaries. The lord said that he plans to hire a lot of mercenaries and guards from the caravans coming from the south…”

The unexpected words hardened Max’s face. “F-for what?”

“That’s as far as I know. I only overheard it from the knights…”

Max was worried that what she heard from Rudis must be mistaken so she looked right through her eyes, but she seemed to be telling the truth. Max averted her eyes again to look out the window. The mercenaries seemed to have already entered the castle as they were nowhere to be seen. She bit her lips nervously. It made her wonder if hiring so many warriors was merely for Anatol’s safety. Perhaps, Riftan really was planning to declare a war. Max wrapped herself around her soft forearms. As Rudis saw her embrace herself, she quickly closed the window, and urged her.

“M’lady, your complexion doesn’t look so good. I’ll close the window for now.”

Max sat on the bed, guided by Rudis’ hand. Her thoughts were complicated. If there was no valid cause for war, Riftan’s status would surely be trampled upon. King Ruben never tolerated any alteration from the current order. The Duke of Croix would surely not be appeased either. She bit her lip anxiously, then jumped out of bed and wore a cape. Rudis, who was pouring the medicine into a cup, had her eyes widen in surprise.

“M’lady, you can’t go out yet…”

“I won’t go out of… the ca-castle. I just want to meet the guests for… a moment. Do you know wh-where they would be?”