Under the Oak Tree

At that sight, Max felt the inside of her stomach twist. Riftan always appeared terrifyingly calm when his anger reached the tip of his head. While Max felt anxious on whether Riftan would lose his temper and attack the Duke of Croix, Princess Agnes, who had been silent, opened her mouth as if she could not bear it.

“What you’re demanding is excessive! Sir Calypse is undeniably an honorable knight. He is the warrior who risked his life by participating in the subjugation of the dragon on behalf of the duke! If you put him on trial, all the people in Whedon would place the blame on the duke.”

The duke’s face flushed red from the princess’s cold, indifferent cry. He looked at her with bloody eyes and refuted.

“The perpetrator infiltrated my castle and attacked me, who was unarmed. When that fact is made known to all, I doubt that it will be a subject of one-sided criticism…” The duke’s fierce gaze flew back to Riftan and he threw out his words with much indignation. “It does not matter if I become criticized. Through the trial, I am sure the perpetrator will pay for his sins committed. My decision won’t change no matter what happens.”

“It’s pointless listening to these endless words.”

Riftan, watching the duke’s pathetic face, unfolded his arms and slowly leaned to the table. He appeared exactly like a wild beast on the prowl just before rushing to attack its prey. Feeling threatened, Duke Croix visibly flinched and backed away. Riftan, who glared at him scornfully, muttered in a low, sinister voice.

“I have always thought that it’s excellent to have talent for coming up with a plausible cause. How about you just tell the truth? You’re scared of me to death.”

“The au-audacity of yours… what nonsense are you spouting!”

“You were terrified by my declaration of war.” He twisted the corner of his mouth and stated coldly. “It seems as if you think that you’ll be safe once my title of being a lord is stripped away from me… I want to tell you that you couldn’t be more wrong. When I am no longer bound by any vow or oath, only then you will come to know for yourself what kind of fucking insane I am.”

A chilling silence instantly fell in the hall. Riftan spoke slowly, like a tiger pushing its prey into a corner, ignoring the alarmed reactions around him.

“I have the talent for being stealth, to hide anywhere without making a single noise. When I was a mercenary, I did all sorts of unimaginably dirty work without even blinking an eye. Do you know what that means? It means that every night before going to sleep, you will think of whether you will be able to open your eyes the next day. When you wake up in the morning, the first thing you will do is check that your head is still attached to your neck. Whenever you leave the castle, you will be rolling your eyes from right to left, front and back, looking whether I am hiding somewhere around. Go ahead and strip me of that title, that is, if you are willing to live your whole life in such tension and fear, Duke…” As if checking the effect of his words, he looked across the table, towards the duke’s face, and slowly finished his speech. “If you can live through that, then by all means, try and see.”

“H-how… how dare you…! To make such a despicable threat to me…!”

The duke jumped from his seat, his face pale and frightened. His long, lean body trembled as if he was struck by lightning. He pointed to Riftan and addressed the king aloud.

“His Majesty, did you hear him too? The vulgar things this ignorant scoundrel is babbling about! How can it be said that such a shameless, groundless, boy like him is an honorable knight and a hero at that?! He is a dangerously insane person, that’s what he is! There is no need to even go to trial to prove it. He must be deprived of his title immediately and humble himself for blaspheming the great nobility!”

“Be quiet!” King Ruben’s deep voice echoed through the hall, which was nothing short of chaos. He massaged his temple like his head ached and drew in a deep breath. “Are you telling me that I went on a long journey just to see this mess?”

“Your Majesty, will you really defend what he is saying right now? If you don’t punish him soon…!”

“Enough! If you interrupt my words again, I will punish you for offending the great Royal family.”

The Duke of Croix reluctantly sat back down after looking at Riftan with a helpless dismay.

Only then did King Ruben look at the knight sternly. “Calypse, those words you just said cannot be justified, even by me. No matter how angry you are, making such disturbing threats should not be done by a knight. Such excessive remarks do not favor your situation.”

“Didn’t he just declare that he has no intentions of dropping the charges under any circumstance? In that case, there is no reason for me to mince my words.” Riftan leaned back in the chair and said sarcastically. “Once I am deprived of my title, I will no longer be a knight. That would mean I no longer have to uphold chivalry. Mercenaries have mercenary rules: to return as soon as you receive*.”

T/N: *In mercenary terms, as soon as you get paid, you do the job. But it applies in all situations, if someone hits you, you hit them back right away.

The atmosphere that King Ruben had barely calmed down quickly turned into chaos again. The duke asked how dare Riftan intimidate him, and Uslin confronted him and raised his voice to claim that he was the one who insulted him first. Even the modest Elliot flared at the duke. Including the duke’s knights, the situation turned into a complete disaster, just like King Ruben said. Such a violent and fierce discussion was not expected to be intermittent, so Max felt herself shrink in an instant. Irritated, King Ruben jumped from his seat.

“These insolent people! Should I pour cold water on your heads to make you all come to your senses! Don’t you see that the king is sitting between you! “ He hit the table roughly to make a loud bang.

Max looked at him in alarm, worried that the king, tired of the rudeness of his subjects, would renounce the mediation for the reconciliation of the parties. However, the king showed a surprising degree of patience. He walked to the window, looked up at the pale winter sky; then turned around and looked at them with a mollified expression.

“It will be impossible to speak when all of you are in the same place. I will talk to each of you separately. Calypse first, I’ll start with you.” The king declared in a dignified voice and looked at the Duke of Croix with piercing eyes. “The duke will be waiting in the next room. I would appreciate it if you could calm your feelings that have intensified in the meantime.”

By order of the king, they all stood up, leaving only Riftan. First, the duke led four knights and a priest outside the door, followed by Max and Uslin walking towards the entrance. She couldn’t tear her gaze from behind Riftan, until just before the door closed. The situation was much worse than expected. Her father’s determination to put Riftan on trial was tougher than she’d imagined, and her husband didn’t seem willing to give in at all either. Moreover, the king seemed to have no intention of actively defending him.

Max bit her lip anxiously. If King Ruben did not intervene, a trial would be held at Drakium Castle in a few months. Max anxiously thought whether Riftan would have the chance to win the trial. She wandered in anguish down the corridor, then impulsively pursued the duke. The bewildered knights hastily stopped her.

“M’lady, please stop. It is better not to talk to such a person.”

“J-just for a moment. Just a while… I ha-have something to discuss with him.”

They blocked her way, but she slipped past the knights and ran towards her father. Her strides stopped in front of the duke, who was surrounded by knights. His icy gaze penetrated her: it seemed that even a fluff crawling on the ground would receive a look warmer than her.

Her father roared violently at her, indifferent and stern. “Insolent… with what audacity do you have to stand in front of me?”

Max took a deep breath to shake off her fear. Her father could no longer hurt her now, she was a Calypse, not Croix. She repeated that in her mind and opened her mouth calmly. “Please… drop the charges.”

He was so amused that he laughed like he didn’t have the energy to get angry. Max spoke quickly. “Persistently trying to incite such charges… will not bring my fa-father any substantial benefit. On the contrary… he has a lot to lose. The friendly relationship with the royal family, being the mockery of the nobles… and it is not only that. If my father succeeds in bringing my husband to court… I-I’ll defend him. E-everything you did to me… I’ll expose all the atrocious treatments… I’ll accuse my f-father!”

She clearly saw her father’s eyes burning with anger beyond limits. Max held firm her shaking legs. She couldn’t believe she was standing against her father face to face. A cold sweat ran down her back for fear that his cane would fly towards her any moment, but she steeled herself and she looked at him straight into his bloody eyes. Later, as a suffocating silence followed, her father opened his mouth.

“Try and see for yourself.”

Max’s shoulders shrunk at his unexpectedly calm response. As if the duke was mocking her, his mouth twisted.

“No matter what you say, who will listen to you? Atrocious treatments? Ha! With what evidence are you going to prove that with? You will only end up being treated like a filthy bitch who framed her own father to conspire with her husband.”

Max looked at the knights surrounding her father with trembling eyes. As she watched their ruthless faces, a feeling of despair seeped into her bones. After all, it was difficult for people who work for her father to side with her. She even wondered if her own nanny would stand witness. Her father clicked his tongue cynically.

“For the sake of argument, let’s say that people will believe you. Do you really think it will affect the results of the trial? All I did was do my best to raise my daughter properly. Only God knows how hard it has been for me to correct her terrible flaws.”

Max was stunned by his cheeky words. She couldn’t believe what she had heard. “What you’re saying is you did all that… for my own good?”

The duke raised his head confidently, as if he did not have a single shame. “If I really did intend to abuse you, then why would I subject you to healing magic every time? I was careful not to leave a single scratch on your body. There is only one reason to do that: it is because the purpose of me turning to corporal punishment was to rectify you.”

She opened her mouth to refute, but she was so shocked that she couldn’t think of anything to say, she could only push out a grievous laugh. How could he argue that it was all for her own well-being, after distorting her life with so much suffering? The duke, who watched her with contempt while pressing his lips together, spoke as if driving a wedge.

“I struggled to make you normal. It will never be a crime for parents to whip their children to correct them.”

“And you intend to do that even when I’m already married to Ri-Riftan? Even fa-father has no right… to lay a hand on me unless my husband allows it!”

As she screamed like she couldn’t bear the rising rage, a deep wrinkle appeared on the duke’s forehead. He shook his head like it was absurd.

“What the hell are you talking about? Whatever the result of it, I will only have to pay a few pennies as compensation, but your husband won’t be able to get that far.”

Unable to take it anymore, Elliot stepped forward, placing his hand on the handle of his sword. Despite her anger, Max managed to hastily stop him. If any sword was drawn out in violence that day, it would lead to an irreversible situation. She glared at her father, gathering what composure remains in herself.

“E-even if my father does not get the punishment he deserves… it won’t matter. I will confess all the outrageous things you have done to me. Many people will blame you for your hypocrisy. A-all the honor of the family that you consider as your life… will fall to the ground. Can-can you bear such a scandal? Will taking revenge… be worth it?”

Suddenly, a grinding sound was heard. As if the duke wanted to hit her at that precise moment, he took his cane firmly between both hands. Immediately, the knights slipped between them as if to protect Max. Her father, gazing at her as if she were abominable, screamed as if to devour her.

“Go on then! Try and see how far you can go! Expose your father like that and become the laughingstock yourself! It will be something to see!” He turned and walked into the waiting room.

Max closed her aching eyes. She couldn’t look directly at the faces of the knights. She was ashamed to show her helpless side and her disgusting father. It was very dishonorable to drag Riftan into such a situation. She bowed her head and walked down the hall as if fleeing.

***

The discussions continued late into the night. After the conversation with Riftan ended, there was one between the Duke of Croix and King Ruben, and after that, the dialogue between the three began again.