Max opened her mouth in shock. Without skipping a beat, Riftan kissed her lips and slipped his tongue in. Max squeezed his thick, hard arms. His soft tongue swept inside her mouth, touching everywhere it could reach. The soft hairs on the back of her neck fluffed up one by one.
His kiss was savage and unpredictable (Note: In Korean, the mouth is described as rough, but it means the kissing part was very passionate). Her breasts ached as their kiss deepened, the sensual movement inside her mouth gently sweeping over her teeth, her tongue, and the inside of her cheeks. She gasped and clung to his body, trembling.
“Haaa…”
She groaned as if she were suffering from fever and her body became hot from the pleasure, as goosebumps rose from her skin. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and at that moment, when she looked over his shoulder, she saw the maids widen their eyes. Max stared at them blankly as her heart stopped.
The three maids stood solid as stones, forgetting their task of setting the table. Their arms were still outreached as if they were still setting up plates and lighting the candlesticks. Max screamed and pounded Riftan’s back with her weak fist, hiding her face near his neck.
He glanced back and moved out of the doorway, holding Max in one arm. He said calmly with no expression.
“Leave when you’re done.”
Max felt like she would die from shame. The maids moved slowly for a second, as if awakening from a trance from watching where their lady and lord’s faces met. The maids opened the door and went outside, saying goodbye with a polite expression.
“Um, well, have a good time.”
They even took the kittens sleeping in their basket in case they would disturb them. Riftan could care less about the maids’ red faces. It was hard to determine if Max’s face was redder than theirs. He closed the door and began to kiss Max again, but she cried out and pushed him away in disbelief.”
“Nuh-now, di-did yu-you see how the maids looked!”
“What then. They’re maids. You don’t have worry about it.”
Riftan removed her arm, annoyed that it kept her body away from his, and continued to pour a small kiss over the nape of her neck. Even though Max was heavy with embarrassment, she still enjoyed his touch. Yet she held a hand over his mouth and leaned her head back.
“Rif-Riftan, you are st-staying in the castle for only sh-short amounts of time… but I-I am always with t-them every day!
“You spend the most time with Ruth.”
Max’s shoulders tensed at the level in his voice. He closed the gap between their faces until she could not see his terrifying, soft smile. His black eyes shone like a savage beast’s that thrilled her.Max gulped dryly.
“We-well, that is. Nuh-No. I sp-spend the longest times with the maids.”
“Really?”(Note: I’m stanning him so hard rn.)
“Yeh-yes.”
“Anyway, don’t you think it’s unfair that I, your husband, spend the least time with you?”
“We-well, it’s not my fault. And not yours.”
Riftan often left the castle. As a lord and knight, Max knew that Riftan had many responsibilities. Nonetheless, she could not stop her tongue from accusing him. He noticed that she was upset. Riftan sighed and set her on the table.
“I know. I just meant since we don’t have much time together, don’t mind other people when I am with you.”
He pulled a chair next to her and sat down, taking her hands and grazing his lips over them. She could no longer blame him when she saw his sincerity, as he gazed at her intensely.
Max nodded her head up and down like a fool, her face still pink. A smile crept on his lips as he pressed her fingers, and when he laughed, she softly laughed along with him.
During the winter, Riftan stayed in the castle for longer periods of time. He went to the training grounds in the early morning and led knights regularly around the castle walls to subdue monsters. No matter his schedule, he made time to have dinner with his lady when dusk started to fade.
It was more peaceful time compared to the last autumn. During the day, Max read the books Ruth left her or trained to feel mana while holding a gemstone. In the evenings, her maids helped her dress beautifully and set the table for her sweet and relaxing meals with Riftan.
These were the moments when Max came to know her husband naturally. The first thing Max noticed was that Riftan had a simple taste in clothes. When he wasn’t armed, Riftan preferred monotone, unpatterned clothing, and refrained from wearing brooches or jeweled belts. He detested luxuries on him and other men. His lip would curl at the sight of tight-fitting silk pants worn by mannequins, or the other latest fashions, such as ornate tunics that dragged on the floor, clothes with padded shoulders, shoes with pointed toes, or hats adorned with feathers.
When a seamstress team once came to the castle, the seamstress blatantly told Max that Riftan would wear whatever his wife would give him. With a horrified look, Max hid the feathered hat she was gifted by the seamstress for her husband. Riftan valued practical clothes and tools, and hated having items without worth.
He preferred sturdy, active attire that only supported his training and was not overdemanding of his servants. Although he enjoyed alcohol and greasy food, he never complained when anything he craved was limited or unavailable, and never requested meals that were difficult to make, as common noblemen did. He was raised as a knight, and all he pursued for himself and his castle was efficiency.
However, his frugal taste did not apply to his wife. He sought out beautiful clothes and fabrics to dress her. Frequently, he pressured her to wear jewels he would buy on a whim and ordered the maids constantly to treat their mistress well.
Max came to believe that Riftan felt obligated, almost to the point of obsession, to give her the luxurious lifestyle that a Duke’s daughter deserved. He had a surprisingly complex mindset. While he viewed the vanity and whimsy of nobles with contempt, he saw the aristocratic lifestyle as a birthright to his wife. Showing off her status was very important to him.
Envy and contempt for aristocratic society co-existed within him. Though she couldn’t understand it all, Max dressed extravagantly to meet his expectations, and tried to imitate her younger sister’s sophisticated and elegant mannerisms in her clumsy way. Fortunately, Riftan did not see her struggles when she was not herself, yet Max always fretted when he would find out when she was pretending.
When she was at her desk studying the basic theory of geometry, Max suddenly widened her eyes at the thought. When spring came, nobles would visit Anatol. When the Calypses’ would host them, Riftan would be able to compare the truly elegant noble ladies and his wife.
Max tapped the desk with her fingertips and wondered if she should study etiquette for young ladies. She had no experience attending large banquets. She cringed at embarrassment from even the thought of hosting a ball.
“You seem focused.”
Ruth, who was sitting across the room said sternly, cracking his knuckles and rolling his eyes with sarcasm. His gaze was still on the brass kettle he was making tea with over the furnace. Max gazed at him in reproach for talking to her rudely, but the magician didn’t care.
“If you’ve finished that book, your study on basic theory is over. Please make sure you understand it thoroughly. In order to learn any magic formulars, it is necessary to understand the basics.”
“I-I am wo-working hard today. I’m, I’m just a little tired.”
When the kettle whistled, Ruth made a sweet tea of honey, ginger, and other herbs and set a cup on her desk.
“My lady, please have refreshments.”
“Th-thanks.”
Ruth smiled softly at Max, faking sincerity as he bowed. Max rolled her eyes at his sarcastic attitude.
Since Riftan seemed to detest Max and Ruth being alone together, Max only came to the library with her maids. However, the maids noticed that they made the wizard uncomfortable. To retaliate, Ruth often addressed Max politely, stressing that he should treat her well as the lady of the house in front of spying eyes. Max knew he didn’t like being disturbed by the maids, but she ignored his unrest.
“Your training on sensing mana, Is it going well?”
“Yeh-yes? No, not yet.”
Max shook her head while holding her teacup with both hands. Ruth took a sip of his steaming tea before narrowing his eyes, giving serious thought.
“You were gifted with a high mana absorption rate. I thought teaching you would be a lot easier…but results will take more time, I see.”
“I-I have a high absorption rate?”
“Last time, you saw my powers enter into your palms. This means you have a high affinity to absorbing magic. Usually, it takes apprentices years of effort from a young age to absorb magic that quickly.
In a passage she read, Max remembered reading that mana was received into the body through what magicians called Ma Ryok. Although the tube was invisible and seemed nonexistent, there were only certain entrances where mana could enter the body.
“Huh-how do you us-usually de-develop this Ma Ryok?”
“The magician injects magic into his student’s body periodically. As a child, I was constantly exposed to magic. Therefore, my Ma Ryok has widened well for absorbing mana.”
Max nodded in quiet understanding until her complexion hardened. Was she used to mana because the healers had repeatedly healed her after her father’s beatings? She had also been constantly exposed to magic. Max stared at his palms. She could not believe that something good could have come out of her father’s cruel discipline.
“You don’t have to be nervous. With practice, you’ll get better at absorbing mana little-by-little.”
After seeing her face occupied with dark thoughts, Ruth had tried to comfort her. Max tried to smile and tried to focus on the present. Did it matter how she became gifted to use magic? She made up her mind to study the basic theory again to practice well.
Max turned her head when the door opened loudly, making the bookshelves tremble.
