“Ri-riftan!” She cut him off with a surprised exclaim.
“Hey, yo-you, you – the horse, you can’t be vulgar!”
“What’s the matter?” Riftan laughed cheekily, “There’s nobody here.”
“Well, still… it’s not appropriate!”
At the sight of her blushing face, Riftan merely chuckled before bursting into unrestrained laughter.
“Oh, I don’t know what you’re so ashamed of. On the bed, that’s how you-”
“Ri-Riftan!”
Max raised her arm to shut his mouth. But before she could reach him, she began to lose her balance, almost falling down from the horse. Riftan quickly stretched out his strong arms to help her regain her posture.
“All right, all right. Calm down,” he cajoled her, the corners of his lips twitching at the repressed laughter.
Max replied with an indignant stare at his shameless actions. But Riftan merely grinned and leaned down to press a chaste kiss on her forehead, making her almost stumble a second time from her horse. Riftan finally bursted into laughter as he grabbed her back again.
“This… I might have to teach you how to properly sit on a horse again.”
“Just go on a-ahead… I wo-would be able to ride be-better.”
His smile deepened at her sullen words. Despite Max trying to maintain a dignified attitude in front of him, she found it difficult to remain angry at a playful Riftan – a sight that was rare for her to see. And the truth was, every time she heard Riftan’s carefree laughter, her heart erratically pounded against her chest. Together with her flushed cheeks, she found even breathing a laborious task.
“All right. I’ll check if you’re right.”
Riftan teasingly accepted it and drove his horse forward. He had perfect control over the horse, as if the mane’s vigorous strength was akin to his long, muscular legs. All throughout the ride, Max noticed that he was keeping up a manageable pace to make it easier for her to catch up to him.
On their way back to Anatol, they grazed the meadows like a gentle, passing wind. This trifling consideration warmed her heart for no one had ever cared about her as such. The man before her seemed genuine seeing her as a lovely lady and a satisfying wife.
“You don’t really enjoy riding horses, but do you like animals?”
Riftan suddenly threw a question out of the blue. Max blinked her eyes at him owlishly.
“I-I like them. Ho-how did you know?”
“There was a time I saw you sitting in the garden when I visited Croix Castle. You were petting a cat on your lap.”
Max was stunned. Never had she thought anyone would have been observing her. She was pondering the time when Rifan saw her when the latter continued to speak in a calm tone.
“It seemed to be having a good time rolling around. It was a gentle and peaceful sight, so I can still remember it even to this time.”
“Oh, maybe… It was the stray cat tha-that had been raised in the ki-kitchen to hunt rats. Bu-but it’s hunting skills were po-poor, so he wasn’t fe-fed much. I-I used to feed them secretly.”
“So as thanks he would do all sorts of tricks on your lap.”
A thoughtful look settled on his face as he glanced over his shoulders.
“And what else do you like?”
When she asked him for the barrage of questions, Riftan smiled bitterly, “As I said before, everything about you is mysterious. You rarely talk about yourself.” There was a pause, before he spoke in a soft tone, “Why are you so reluctant to reveal things about yourself?”
The question made Max’s heart plummet down. It only occurred to her that he had been asking questions because he truly was ignorant of who she is. Was he able to ask such things because she looked like a lady who had no problems to him?
Max was suddenly struck with confusion. Her father’s contemptuous attitude towards her and this man’s treatment of her were so vastly different that she didn’t understand how to proceed with the situation.
“Re-revealing… I-I have never been reluctant.”
“All right…” He then launched into another series of questions, “Then tell me what you like, what you hate, what you think about.”
Max suddenly felt grumpy.
“Yo-you don’t even tell me fi-first. E-even to everyone, you… are not talkative.”
“At least I speak more than you do.” A frown etched across his forehead as he tried to remember he and Max’s conversations with other people.
Ultimately, he shrugged and said, “Well, all right. Try to show yourself more,” he acceded. “As for me, I like horses, alcohol, and greasy food… Actually, I like anything that fills my stomach and stings my tongue.”
He continued to list as he moved the dropping branches that blocked their way.
“What else is there… Gold and jewels, honor, powerful weapons… The normal – I like what most men like.”
Max shifted the horse’s gait as she thought of a query, “Wha-what do you hate?”
“Lies,” he answered back without hesitation. “And the incompetent. I’ve seen too many proud people who are undeserving. And more humans cheating on other people. I’m sick of them.”
Max felt her heart sink. Even though it wasn’t meant for her, her whole body froze in trepidation.
