The chilly, harsh wind ruffled her hair as scenes after scenes galloped by, but Max was oblivious to it all. Nestled cozily in Riftan’s embrace, and basking in the afterglow of their intense alfresco love-making, she felt secure. A novel feeling, from the man she once feared to even breathe the same air with.
Upon reaching the castle, Riftan embraced the utterly exhausted girl closely and brought her to the room. He carefully washed her with warm water, gently changed her clothes, even affectionately fed her a nice, warm meal. Then, as if he were putting a child to slumber, she lay on his chest and tried to sleep.
It was seemingly an unusual behavior for a brusque man like Riftan. For it was certainly not a one-time occurrence. Whenever he was with her, he continued these acts as though he was her babysitter. Every day he would feed her meals directly, insist on bathing together and even going so far as coming in early in the morning, taking the comb from Rudis, and combing her hair. 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.𝘤𝘰𝘮
She was finding it all a little embarrassing now. She had never experienced such attention, not even as a child. Moreover, this was contrary to the idea of marriage that she was familiarized with.
Cold manners, a polite indifference, and marital obligation… according to the ideology this was what existed between married couples. There was ample “walking” evidence to corroborate the belief too. Neither had she seen nor heard of a husband that doted on his wife as such, at least not as enthusiastically.
This was the knowledge fed to her growing up – Riftan’s attitude deviated from that she was taught of a ‘married man’. Perhaps she was only ignorant? After all, the circumstances surrounding her life at Croix castle had confined her to within its walls. At most, she could visit the barracks at the temple. But even that was banned once she turned fourteen and hence a life of isolation it was.
All her knowledge of marriage came from the mouths of those who visited Croix Castle. Most came to see her somewhat expressionless, cold-smiling sister, Rosetta, or her father. there was no one who was interested in her – she even doubted if they were aware of her existence.
When she compared the then to the now, Max was engulfed with confusion.
Perhaps the world she knew was wrong? Was her marriage normal? Was this how a husband ought to be?
Although she was plagued with questions, she knew not where to find her answers.
“You’re surprisingly dexterous.”
Ruth’s voice cut Max out of her reverie. He shot her a satisfied smirk while meticulously going over the formulae he had arranged. “And you’re much faster than I expected,” he added.
Was that supposed to be praise? Max smiled bitterly.
“I-If it’s just repeating the sa-same thing… it’s na-natural to speed up.”
“It’s time to finish up. At this rate, we will be able to complete the spell by tomorrow.”
She breathed a sigh of relief. While it was exciting for a time, she eventually became bored of the repeated calculations and sketches so much that she even hated looking at the parchment. She rubbed her stiff neck and complained.
“I-I didn’t know ma-magic involved s-so much paperwork. I had tho-thought we would be doing som-something more am-am-amazing.”
“Magic is an advanced level of learning. It requires sophisticated calculations and research. The only time a wizard can experience the thrill of magic is on the battlefield. Wizards in the World Tower never experience it, even so, they devote their entire lives to designing spells.”
Max stopped what she was doing and looked at him with wonder.
“Ru-Ruth, you are also a wizard f-from the World Tower?”
“Yes, I used to reside there,” Ruth said distastefully.
Her eyes widened.
The World Tower was an artificial island built by ancient wizards in the center of the Sea of Ishiria; it was referred to as Nornui. The innocent and isolated maiden, Maximillian, did not hear much about it often. Only she knew it was the birthplace of sorcerers, a repository of all the knowledge in the world, a non-interventionist – that refrained from interfering in the internal affairs of any country, and an island of sages that protected the world order… Nornui.
But Ruth’s reaction just now referred to it with disgust, as if denying those accomplishments. Looking at her befuddlement, he deigned to explain.
“Wizards who enter the World Tower are restricted as soon as they are promoted to a higher rank. Instead of being allowed to master all the dangerous and secretive magic Nornui has to offer, they are watched to ensure they do not use their personal power to disturb the world. Senior wizards spend most of their life in the World Tower. Personally, I did not like it, so I escaped.”
“St-still… ca-can you go back?”
“No. It was high treason. Even now when I meet wizards from the World Tower, I’m treated as nothing more than a mere criminal.”
Ruth spoke without qualms as if it were a trivial issue. Max wondered if all wizards were so brazen.
“Th-then…did you meet Ri-Riftan while wa-wandering after you escaped the Wo-World Tower?”
“Yes, I met him not long after I became a sword for hire. Lord Calypse was already a well-known figure by then.”
Max was becoming more and more curious, her eyes glistening.
“W-why is that?”
“Is it not obvious? With his stunning good looks, bulky physique unbelievable for a teenager, a courageous heart that always looks straight ahead, he was already famous by the time he was sixteen. Since then, Lord Calypse has been a madman.”
